UFC Fight Night 29 Date: October 9, 2013 Arena: Jose Correa Arena City: Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil Light Heavyweight bout: Joey Beltran (+160) vs Fabio Maldonado (-185) Fight Breakdown: The main card for UFC Fight Night 29 features a light heavyweight brawl between two of the toughest guys in the division, when Alliance MMA’s Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran steps inside the cage against the always durable Brazilian Fabio Maldonado. Beltran is currently the underdog in this scrap at +145 ($100 to win $145), while the favorite Maldonado is -165 ($165 to win $100) at Several Bookmakerss. JOEY BELTRAN (14-8-1 NC MMA, 3-5-1 NC UFC) is making his return coming off a suspension he served for testing positive for the banned substance ‘nandrolone’. The positive drug test overturned his original unanimous decision victory over Igor Pokrajac into a no-contest, wiping off his first win as a light heavyweight in the UFC. He returns looking to get another win, and this time in impressive fashion. I think he will show up looking to fight. Beltran is a solid boxer with a great chin. He will take two to give one. He is a powerful man and has strong control over his opponents. He can hold them either down on the mat or against the cage and pepper them with shots, especially since he has more of a power advantage at 205 than he did at heavyweight. He used to weigh in at the maximum 260lbs, but now meets the 206 limit for the light heavyweight division. The Mexicutioner is well-versed in the submission game, as he owns a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. That said, he certainly prefers to keep his fights on the feet and always looks to put his opponents away. In fact, 11 of his 14 career victories come by way of knockout; Beltran is a finisher. On top of everything, he has tremendous cardio and is capable of going hard for all 15 minutes of action. FABIO MALDONADO (19-6 MMA, 2-3 UFC) is coming off a unanimous decision victory over the Canadian Roger Hollett at UFC on FX: Rockhold vs Belfort. He will look to continue his win streak as he steps inside the Octagon against Beltran, who will be a couple of steps up in competition after the Hollett bout. Early on in his professional mixed martial arts career, Maldonado also competed professionally as a boxer in his native Brazil, compiling a record of 22 wins and no defeats, with 21 victories coming by way of knockout. That said, I am not personally very impressed with his boxing. Everybody talks about his body shots, and sure, he’s somewhat effective with them. But who has he stopped with them? Who has he really put in trouble with them? I’m not talking regional circuit, I’m talking UFC. I just don’t think his boxing is nearly as good as it’s talked up to be. However, he has scored 12 knockouts in 19 pro MMA victories. He prefers to stand and trade, because he loves to box and has one of the best chins in the sport. That aside, he does hold his own on the ground, as he has a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is no slouch and his submission defense is solid. The durable veteran does not display much of an offensive submission game and while there isn’t much tape of it, he does own two victories by submission. He has great cardio and stepping in front of his fellow Brazilians, Maldonado will be ready to go hard for three full rounds. Fight Prediction: I expect this to be a back and forth battle that takes entirely on the feet, with portions of it against the cage. I think this will be one the fans will love. Gabe’s Pick: Joey Beltran by Split Decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Beltran/Maldonado o2.5 -225, Joey Beltran +160, Beltran by Dec +244
