UFC on FUEL TV 6: November 10, 2012 CotaiArena, Cotai, Macao UFC Welterweight Contender Dong Hyun Kim (-200) Profile: Dong Hyun Kim (15-2-1, 1 NC) saw a dominant run in the Japanese promotion DEEP to start his career, going undefeated and entering the UFC in 2008 at 9-0-1. He went on to win his next two UFC bouts, then after losing a split decision to Karo Parisyan, he got a second chance with the fight being ruled a No-Contest due to Parisyan testing positive for banned substances. Since then, he has racked up four more wins with a pair of losses coming against UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit at UFC 132 and Demian Maia at UFC 148. The “Stun Gun” had previously defeated some solid opponents before losing two of his last three, including Nate Diaz and Amir Sadollah. His recent loss to Maia is marred by the fact that he broke a rib during a takedown. The freak accident deprived the fans of what should have been an excellent fight for one of the UFC’s more underrated welterweights. UFC Welterweight Contender Paulo Thiago (+150) Profile: A Brazilian special forces officer and trainer by day, Paulo Thiago (14-4) has been hovering around the welterweight Top 20 for years. He was welcomed into the UFC after an impressive career in Jungle Fights by receiving Knockout of the Night honors when he destoyed Josh Koscheck with an uppercut at UFC 95. Thiago followed his debut up with a loss to Jon Fitch, a Submission of the Night win over Mike Swick and a welterweight beating of Jacob Volkmann that would end up sending him down to lightweight. Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez proceeded to pull out decisions over Thiago in close fights. Then, after one win in one fight in 2011, Thiago would ring in 2012 with a brutal KO loss to Siyah Bahadurzada, which remains the only time he has been finished in his career. Despite losses in three of his last four fights following an impressive 11-0 start to his career, Thiago is a complete fighter who is solid in the clinch, can strike with some of the better fighters in the division and fight off his back with formidable BJJ and good judo. Opening UFC on FUEL TV 6 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Kim a small -200 favorite (bet $200 to win $100) while Thiago opened as a +150 underdog (bet $100 to win $150) according to the MMA odds. Kim is searching for redemption following an extremely disappointing loss to Maia as a small favorite at UFC 148. He had lost only once previously in 18 bouts, falling to Condit by first-round KO nearly a year earlier. Thiago has lost three of four after winning 13 of his first 14, and he is now at a crossroads with another loss possibly sending him packing. Two of those losses came against quality opponents though in Kampmann and Sanchez via unanimous decisions, so he has definitely shown the ability to go the distance, as five of his past seven bouts have also gone to the judges. Kim has seen more than half of his wins (eight) result from decisions as well, which means we could be witnessing a lengthy battle between two fighters who are happy to just stay active and try to score points.
