UFC on Fuel TV 10: Nogueira vs. Werdum 2 is coming at the end of TUF: Brazil 2 and features a host of good up and coming fighters mixed with a few veterans in the Facebook prelims. Instead of the normal jump from Facebook, to Fuel to FX, it’s just Facebook and Fuel, so it will be easy on the channel surfer this Saturday. In the Facebook main event of the evening, Raphael Assuncao (18-4) will battle Vaughan Lee (13-8-1) in an attempt to move up the ladder in the shallow bantamweight division. Since moving to bantamweight, Assuncao has looked fantastic. He’s gone 3-0 after just a 1-3 mark at featherweight in the WEC and UFC, defeating Mike Easton, Issei Tamura and Johny Eduardo rather handily. Vaughan Lee is an entertaining fighter who tends to go out on his shield. He’s finished 7 fights by submission, lost 5 by submission, and has gone 2-2 in the UFC with his most impressive performance coming in a submission win over Kid Yamamoto. This should be an entertaining scrap, likely ending with some sort of submission. In the penultimate Facebook fight, middleweight Ronny Markes (14-1) takes on Strikeforce vet Derek Brunson (10-2). Brunson is coming off his first win in 18 months after he decisioned Chris Leben in a frustrating to watch takedown-fest at UFC 155. Ronny Markes is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak, including a three fight winning streak in the UFC, where he’s been able to defeat the likes of Karlos Vemola, Aaron Simpson and Andrew Craig. It should be mentioned that Paulo Fihlo is in that winning streak as well, another Markes decision victim, which has been a recent development for the fighter. Before his current streak of not being able to finish his opponents, 9 out of 10 of his wins were via stoppage. This could be of some concern to Brunson, who has been stopped before, but it’s more likely we see an exact repeat of the Leben fight, but with a more vertical feel. Think lots of pushing against the cage. Both fighters likely will bring this to an annoyingly close decision. Featherweights head back to the cage, as Godofredo ‘Pepey’ (9-1) looks to make it two in a row after beating Milton Viera at UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Bisping by split-decision and dropping his promotional debut to Rony Bezerra. His opponent is Chute Boxe product Felipe Arantes (14-4-2-1) who himself is 1-1-1-1 in his last 4, with the loss coming to Yuri Alcantara. ‘Pepey’ has seven first round finishes, and is more of a pure BJJ player while Arantes’ possesses more of an overall well-rounded — but not great in any one area — fight game. Between these two men, there are 18 finishes, so it should be a knock down drag on fight if ‘Pepey’ can’t finish Arantes quick. Next, welterweights Ildemar Alcantara (18-5) and Leandro Silva (11-0) look to make their mark in front of their home country. Alcantara, the brother of bantamweight Yuri Alcantara, made his debut against the light heavyweight Wagner Prado on extremely short notice at UFC on FX 7, submitting the big man with a kneebar. Alcantara will make his welterweight debut at this show, while Silva, who was eliminated early from TUF Brazil 2, was brought in to replace Jason High when he was moved to take on Erick Silva. Both of these fighters match up well, but the big difference is in the size. Alcantura is much, much bigger than Silva, and on top of that, Silva usually fights at lightweight. So we have a guy who can win at light heavyweight meeting a guy at welterweight who usually fights at lightweight who is also preparing on short notice. The cards are definitely stacked in Alcantara’s favor, even though Silva is a skilled fighter. In the featherweight division, Japanese Shooto, Deep, Dream and Strikeforce vet Mizuto Hirota (14-6-1) takes on Rodrigo Damm (10-6). Hirota is as tough as they come, and even though he was fairly dominated in his UFC debut by Rani Yahya, he can give anyone in the featherweight division trouble. Damm was forced off TUF Brazil 1 with dehydration, but still made the UFC roster and cemented his spot with a submission win over Anistavio Medeiros at UFC 147, but he then lost via split-decision to Antonio Carvalho at UFC 154. That loss was Damm’s fifth loss in the last seven fights. Four of those losses for Damm have come from stoppage, but he’s also only had six fights in the last four years. Hirota is 2-2 since having his arm famously shattered by Shinya Aoki at Dynamite 2009, and since his mending, he’s looked somewhat like himself; which is the tenacious grappler and plodding striker with some of the best stand up out of Japan since well, I really don’t even know. This fight will be competitive, and it will be good.
