UFC on FOX 9 is one of the best WEC shows that never happened, or is happening. I guess that depends on how you look at it. Team Alpha Male is invading the Sleep Train Arena tomorrow night (Dec. 14, 2013), the same arena they’ve fought in many times before under the WEC banner. We’re looking at the prelims today, which have been drastically shuffled due to injuries, but the card is still solid throughout. In the prelim main event on FOX Sports 1, Court McGee (16-3) takes on Ryan LaFlare (9-0). Both of these large welterweights want to move up a level in the rankings, with McGee at 2-0 since dropping to welterweight, and LaFlare 3-0 this year after not fighting for nearly three years. This fight will likely be a grind-fest with both men trying to impose their will on the other. Both men are very good wrestlers, with deep gas tanks, while McGee holds the advantage on the feet. Both men fight until they’re burger, so this could be another decision for these two men, as neither of them have finished a fight in the UFC welterweight division. A lightweight Team Alpha Male member makes his way to the cage as Danny Castillo (16-5) fights the deadly Edson Barbosa (12-1) in a fight that could mean quite a lot for the division. Barbosa famously lost his first fight to Jamie Varner last year, after landing some of the best knockouts the division has ever seen in the last few years. Barbosa is a dynamic, quick striker, who attacks from angles not normally seen in the UFC. Barboza has nine of his 10 stoppages via strikes, while Castillo has only finished two opponents in the last three years. Castillo is well-rounded, but he’s stil lfrom Team Alpha Male, so this could be booked as wrestler vs. striker, but there is one factor that no one is mentioning – the Duane Ludwig factor. Team Alpha Male members have looked like new monsters since he became the coach, so perhaps Castillo will look to overwhelm Barbosa much like Varner did. Speaking of Varner, he was supposed to fight Pat Healy (31-16-1) at this event, but he pulled out with an injury, so in stepped Bobby Green (21-5). Green has really come into his own in recent years. When we originally saw him debut on a large stage against Dan Lauzon at Affliction, he was raw, but interesting, but he’s been great in his King of the Cage and Strikeforce runs, and even better since joining the UFC. He’s on a six-fight winning streak including two stoppages in the UFC over James Krause (a possible low blow?) and Jacob Volkmann, whom he completely out-hustled. Healy was on a hell of a run coming into the UFC, and would’ve had a title shot against Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce had Gil not been injured. Healy debuted impressively, beating up Jim Miller, but was suspended for marijuana in his system. He followed up that huge win-turned-no contest with a loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov. What we have here is to gritty, ballsy fighters who are going to bite down on their mouthpieces and attempt to get the job done however they can. Healy has the size advantage, but he’s a plodding striker compared to the quick and nimble Green. Healy should have no problem eventually wearing down Green after a quick start from the up and comer. This could be the fight of the night. Former Boise State wrestler Scott Jorgensen (14-7) is moving to flyweight after almost an entire career at bantamweight. His opponent changed multiple times in the lead up to this card, with him first scheduled to fight Ian McCall, then an injury to Ian brough in contender John Dodson, but an injury to him led the UFC to turn to former Bellator bantamweight champion Zach Makovsky (16-4). Makovsky is a superlative wrestler, but that won’t mean much to Jorgensen, who is a fantastic wrestler himself and trains with some of the best. This means this could end up on the feet, or Jorgensen will attempt to see how Makovsky fights off his back. All scenarios are going to be difficult to overcome for the UFC newcomer. Jorgensen has solid submission skills, and is still very dangerous to anyone despite losing three of his last four. The men he lost to include Faber, Wineland and Barao. Not bad company to lose to. Jorgensen’s better submission game could also come into play here.
