UFC 152: September 22, 2012 Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario UFC Featherweight Contender Charles Oliveira (-265) Profile: Charles Oliveira (16-2, 1 NC) may only be 22 years old, but the hard-hitter from Sao Paulo is a grizzled vet by MMA standards. He has participated in 19 bouts and flaunts a solid and surprisingly well-rounded skill set for someone his age. He is a brown belt in BJJ and routinely wins via submission (three-time Submission of the Night winner), but he has power in his fists and legs to spare. He is 4-2 in the UFC, with a submission win overturned to a NC after striking Nik Lentz with an illegal knee. The scariest part about Oliveira is that he is still learning and nowhere near his prime yet. UFC Featherweight Contender Cub Swanson (+205) Profile: Former WEC featherweight title contender Cub Swanson (17-5) had a pretty good run in the WEC leading up to a title shot loss against Jose Aldo. Since then, the 28-year-old California native has seen mixed results with a 4-3 mark, including 2-1 in the UFC. Swanson suffered a frustrating submission loss to Ricardo Lamas at UFC on FOX 1, but he successfully rebounded with an incredible knockout of George Roop at UFC on FOX 2 in Chicago and followed that up with a second-round TKO of Ross Pearson. He is a very entertaining fighter who won Fight of the Night in the WEC three times before the company was absorbed by the UFC. Swanson is a complete mixed martial artist trained by Greg Jackson and can finish the fight standing or on the ground. Opening UFC 152 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made Oliveira a moderate -265 favorite (bet $265 to win $100) against Swanson, who opened as a +205 underdog (bet $100 to win $205) according to the MMA odds. Oliveira has dominated his two opponents at featherweight with a pair of submissions after dropping down from lightweight following a first-round TKO loss to Donald Cerrone. He has a three-inch height and reach advantage over Swanson, who has won consecutive fights for the first time in nearly four years. Swanson had gone 4-4 in his previous eight bouts after an impressive 11-1 start to this career, but he has bounced back with second-round TKOs over Roop and Pearson to put himself back on the MMA map. He is nearly six years older than Oliveira and has almost four more years of experience, giving him a slight advantage there. Both fighters are equally dangerous with their submission games as they are with their stand-up, making for a very intriguing match up between a dangerous rising star and an underrated veteran.
