Brisbane, Australia will get a compressed FOX Sports 2 preliminary card for UFC Fight Night 33 later tonight (Dec. 6, 2013), with the main card getting shuffled due to injuries. There still looks to be some good action on this Aussie-heavy card, so let’s take a look at who is going to throw down. The main event on FOX Sports 2 looks to be a good one, with bantamweights Takeya Mizugaki (18-7-2) and Nam Phan (18-11) expecting to put on a show. Mizugaki is actually on his best winning streak in years, winning three in a row and four out of his last five. During his recent run, he’s defeated Bryan Caraway, Jeff Hougland and most recently, Erik Perez. Nam Phan has had a rough UFC run, going 2-4 in his three years in the Octagon. It feels like he’s fought much more, however, as he’s constantly been in really close fights, and this one will likely be no different. Mizugaki’s greatest advantage are his takedowns. While Phan has improved marginally in his takedown defense, Mizugaki will likely work long and hard to get the takedown while dishing out a beating in the process. Phan may have the slight advantage on the feet, while both men have good gas tanks. This one will likely go to the judges, which is appropriate considering both men have a long history of entertaining decisions on their resumes. Next up, Nick Ring (13-2) will fight for the sixth time inside the Octagon, as he faces 25-year-old BJJ ace Caio Magalhaes (6-1). Ring has a knack for winning fights like this, but losing to higher level competition like Tim Boetsch and to a lesser extent, Chris Camozzi. Magalhaes has excellent submission skills, but Ring has decent cardio and good submission defense. This is Magalhaes’ toughest fight and he is 1-1 in the UFC with a win over Karlos Vemola in June of this year via rear naked choke and a loss to Buddy Roberts in June of 2012. This fight is close, but it could also be Nick Ring picking Magalhaes apart if the Brazilian can’t get in and wear him down and pass his guard en route to a submission. Ring, however, has never been submitted, and has only lost via decision to the two aforementioned names, so this could be a tough fight for Magalhaes. In the opening FOX Sports 2 bout, TUF: The Smashes contestant Richie Vaculik (9-1) will face fellow 125-pounder Justin Scoggins (7-0). Scoggins is a 21-year-old tough guy who has finished the vast majority of his fights via knockout and is making his UFC debut after only a little more than a year as a pro fighter. Scoggins has never seen the third round and Vaculik has never seen the judges either. The 30-year-old Vaculik is still searching for a Zuffa win after losing to Colin Fletcher and Norman Parke on TUF Smashes, granted he was competing as a lightweight to gain exposure. This fight has all the hallmarks of what should be a damn good fight. It’s got a bit of the striker vs. grappler thing going on, as Vaculik plays the grappler role with six submission wins, to Scoggins who has five knockouts. This should be a good one. I’m looking forward to it. Both men have a lot to fight for here.
