UFC Fight Night 30 Machida vs. Munoz Preview
UFC Fight Night 30 takes place this Saturday, October 26th, in Manchester, England.
By Richard Crenwelge, RCM MMA Correspondent
Manchester Uk, (October 26th, 2013)–There are a number of excellent bouts on the undercard, most notably featuring TUF vet Al Iaquinta (9-2 MMA), and former Legacy FC employee Andrew Craig (9-1 MMA). They will be facing off against submission specialist Piotr Hallmann (14-1 MMA), and undefeated Englishman Luke Barnatt (6-0 MMA), respectively. Iaquinta has a dynamic, aggressive style that is usually too intense for the more casual stylist, but that will probably not be the case against the more experienced Hallmann. Hallmann likes to move forward, create pressure, and throw hard, as well. Similarly, Craig will have his work cut out for him with Barnatt, as we have seen Barnatt display smooth, calculated striking in his career thus far. On paper, though, they have a very similar resume, with a smattering of KO/TKOs, submissions, and decisions.
The matchup between Cole Miller (19-8 MMA) and Andy Ogle (9-2 MMA) looks promising, but for those that have paid attention to previous seasons of TUF, emotional over-pour has clearly been a problem with Ogle, and Miller’s experience is the perfect antidote.
The highlights of the main card include Lyoto Machida vs Mark Munoz (13-3 MMA), of course, along with Ross Pearson (15-6 MMA) vs Melvin Guillard (31-12 MMA). Pearson and Guillard are both brash, I’ll-kill-you-or-die-trying fighters, but Pearson’s submission wins from earlier in his career could prove devastating to the notoriously susceptible Guillard. Finally, although Machida and Munoz are both devastating opponents in their own right, Machida’s varied and unorthodox training should shut down Munoz’ offensive wrestling. His striking is not as elusive or crisp as Machida’s, and Machida tends to expend much, much less energy throughout the course of a bout. It is also extremely difficult to take down an opponent that continuously moves in-and-out, and laterally, especially one that has a black belt in sumo.
The card is as follows:
Lyoto Machida vs Mark Munoz
Ross Pearson vs Melvin Guillard
Jimi Manuwa vs Ryan Jimmo
Norman Parke vs Jon Tuck
Alessio Sakara vs Nicholas Musoke
Phil Harris vs John Lineker
Al Iaquinta vs Piotr Hallmann
Luke Barnatt vs Andrew Craig
Rosi Sexton vs Jessica Andrade
Andy Ogle vs Cole Miller
Jimy Hettes vs Robert Whiteford
Brad Scott vs Michael Kuiper
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