Jens Pulver vs. Urijah Faber

I love Jens Pulver. He’s definitely one of my favorite fighters for the mere fact that he’s a pure fighter and never makes excuses. He just puts up or shuts up. Unfortunately, he’s going to battle with a great fighter in Urijah Faber. The key factor in this bout will be whether Pulver can keep this fight on the feet. Faber’s takedowns are as explosive as you can get at 145 pounds, and I find it hard to believe that Pulver can simply stuff them at every encounter in the cage.

I’m also not convinced that Pulver’s training on the ground is going to be enough to stop his power on the ground. This fight could easily be ended in much of the same way that Penn ended his fight with Pulver.

Leland’s Prediction: Urijah Faber via submission, Round 2

Jeff Curran vs. Mike Brown

A lot of people are calling this an upset special, but few remember that Curran is one of the better jiu-jitsu guys in MMA today at his weight class. Although Faber was much quicker than Curran during their bout, I doubt Curran will allow that to happen once again. Brown has shown in the past that he’s susceptible to the submission, and he’s mostly a guy who tries to knock his opponents out. Curran doesn’t have bad standup at all, and he will likely spar with Brown until the opportunity to hit the floor presents itself.

This should be a decent war between these two veterans, but I’m going to pick the Jeff Curran due to his ground superiority over Brown.

Leland’s Prediction: Jeff Curran via unanimous decision

Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda

Maeda is probably best known for being “that guy” who got KO’d by “Krazy Horse” Bennett at Bushido 7 back in PRIDE’s days, but he’s made his way to the cage in WEC to fight one of the best grapplers at 135 in Miguel Torres. Maeda has some great power in his hands, and it’s evident that his kicks can also take opponents out as Charlie Valencia found out. Can he avoid Torres ground game? That’s the big question in this fight.

Torres is a monster on the ground. His length helps his guard stay high on his opponent’s back which allows him to transition to multiple submissions quickly and effectively. I can’t bet against a guy who can transition so smoothly.

Leland’s Prediction: Miguel Torres via submission, Round 1

Rob “Razor” McCullough vs. Kenneth “The Machine” Alexander

Alexander doesn’t stand much of a chance here, in my opinion. He doesn’t have the ground game to keep McCullough down, and his striking is average at best. McCullough should be able to stalk him and use his Muay Thai striking abilities to wear down Alexander. Leg kicks will be a big part of this bout early, and McCullough will likely throw some huge bombs that will eventually land.

Leland’s Prediction: Rob McCullough via TKO/KO, Round 1

Quick Picks

Charlie Valencia vs. Dominic Cruz: Evenly matched in this one, but Valencia has fought some tougher competition than Cruz. I also need to see another German suplex… with release from Valencia. Valencia via submission, Round 2

Mark Munoz vs. Chuck Grigsby: Tough to call considering Grigsby’s record recently is padded with subpar competition. Munoz is only 3-0, tough to judge his talent at this point in his career. I’ll lean toward Grigsby due to experience. Grigsby via TKO/KO, Round 1

Chase Beebe vs. Will Ribeiro: Chase has a decent chin and can likely avoid Ribeiro’s power, but it’s more likely that Beebe will put this to the ground quickly. Beebe via submission, Round 2

Jose Aldo vs. Alexandre Franca Nogueira: Nogueira makes his way to the States after fighting in Shooto for quite awhile. His first test in Aldo should be a decent warm-up bout, and I think his jiu-jitsu will be much better than what Aldo can fend off. Nogueira via submission, Round 1

Luis Sapo vs. Alex Serdyukov: Serdyukov had a solid win over Ryan Stonitsch in his last bout, but Sapo has fought some decent competition including a win over Daniel Acacio. His only loss is to current UFC fighter Yoshiyuki Yoshida, who is a monster in the cage. I’ll take Sapo. Sapo via TKO/KO, Round 2

Tim McKenzie vs. Jeremy Lang: While Lang boasts a 12-0 record, his strength of record is questionable considering he has a lot of wins over sub .500 fighters. I’ll take McKenzie based on his losses being to higher caliber opponents. McKenzie via TKO/KO, Round 1

Danny Castillo vs. Donald “Cowboy Cerrone: Cerrone was well on his way to getting some bigger matchups when he was busted for using diuretics. He’s tough, versatile on the ground, and should be able to avoid the striking game. Cerrone via submission, Round 1

Results:

Charles Valencia over Ian McCall via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 3:19, Round 1
Brian Bowles over Marcos Galvao via TKO(Strikes) at 2:09, Round 2
Ed Ratcliff over Alex Karalexis via TKO(Strikes) at 1:26, Round 2
Bryan Baker over Eric Schambari via Decision (Split) at 5:00
John Alessio over Todd Moore via Decision (Unanimous) at 5:00
Doug Marshall over Ariel Gandulla via Submission (Arm Bar) at :55, Round 1
Paul Filho over Chael Sonnen via Submission (Arm Bar) at 4:55, Round 2
Jens Pulver over Cub Swanson via Submission (Anaconda Choke) at :35, Round 1
Urijah Faber over Jeff Curran via Submission (Guillotine Choke) at 4:34, Round 2

Paulo Filho escapes defeat

Paulo Filho was being dominated. Chael Sonnen was looking confident and winning the standup battles. What's wrong with this picture? Arguably ranked the #2 Middleweight in the world, Paulo Filho was expected to have a fairly tough battle with Olympic quality wrestler Chael Sonnen. It was a much more lopsided fight early on. Chael managed to catch Filho in the first couple of exchanges and then work his wrestling for most of the bout. Instead of using a gameplan that Frank Mir was suggesting he use for most of the fight, Sonnen didn't stick with his standup after tiring Filho with his ground work. Sonnen shot and eventually Filho caught Sonnen in an armbar that ended the fight.

In addition to a bad performance by Filho, the ending of the fight also had some controversy. Filho managed to sink in a painful armbar on Sonnen who was visibly hurting from the pull of Filho's giant biceps. The referee stepped in and stopped the bout before Sonnen tapped and proclaimed the fight over. Sonnen argued immediately that he never tapped. From my perspective, the referee saved Sonnen's arm from being the first LIVE compound fracture to be broadcast in MMA. Sonnen should not allowed himself to get into that position. Frank Mir was right, shooting on Filho is something that is always dangerous and should be avoided. His strength is unmatched in the Middleweight division.

Urijah Faber continues his reign

Many fans believe Jeff Curran had a legitimate shot at stopping the relentless and quick attack of Faber. There were also some comments by Curran's trainer regarding his standup as being much better than Faber's striking. Curran never had a chance to show us. From the get go, Faber used combinations of punching and shooting to put Curran in some tough spots. Early in the fight however, Curran did manage to get Faber's back and maintain it for most of the round. Faber eventually escaped, but didn't manage to hurt Curran until the second round.

With some ground and pound techniques, Faber cut Curran with a nasty elbow, pounded his face in with huge punches, and absolutely pushed a horrendous pace over the extent of the battle. Eventually, Faber impressively sunk in a choke on the Brazilian ju-jitsu black belt to maintain his belt.

Jens Pulver impresses

In a surprise submission win, Jens Pulver proved that he isn't done yet. At 145 lbs., he still remains undefeated after defeating Cub Swanson by an anaconda choke at only :35 seconds into the bout. Swanson's hype before this battle had increased in the MMA community to epic proportions. It was surprising considering that Swanson really doesn't seem to have overly impressive skills in one area against great competition. This was his first test, and he failed.

After the fight, Pulver mentioned that instead of training to use his left hand; he has been training to grapple. This is one aspect of MMA that simply seperates the men from the boys. Fighters who grow in this sport deny stubborness and become well-rounded fighters. If only Pulver's wisdom could crack Chuck Liddell's game.

Other matchups

Doug Marshall continued his reign as the Light Heavyweight champion with an odd win over Ariel Gandulla, an ATT prospect. Instead of using his sloppy standup brawling style, he went for a flying knee, missed, but was able to put Gandulla in an armbar while Gandulla worked a ground and pound game. Impressive to say the least from a guy mainly known for simply brawling inside the cage.

Charlie Valencia defeated Ian McCall with some devastating striking over most of the first round. Valencia stood much like a patient boxer, waiting for McCall to attack and countering with big punches. At one point during the fight, Valencia landed a crushing uppercut and then combo'd into a suplex from hell. Definitely one of the more impressive combinations I've ever seen, and I encourage you all to check it out. Valencia set up a guillotine choke from all of the striking and action to win it in round 1.

On the upset note, Brian Bowles beat highly touted Marcos Galvao with some good takedown defense and striking. He continually caught Galvao with punches, and it became increasingly worse and worse for Galvao as the fight went on. Eventually, Galvao ate a punch dead center on the chin and went down. Surprising upset win for Brian Bowles, likely putting some merit to his standing in the rankings world of the division.

And on a final note, I picked Ed Ratcliff to defeat Alex Karalexis despite the many people who thought I was crazy. In fact, I only saw that Jeff Comstock over at BloodyElbow.com and Jordan Breen actually picked the karate practitioner to win. Why did I pick him? I don't think Alex Karalexis is as good as he's been said to be and watch this video. Ratcliff disposes of his opponent in the video via a spinning back kick, Chuck Norris style. Very impressive. He also had some fairly good ground and pound during the fight. I'm glad the research paid off.

Only four days following the spectacular Ultimate Fighter Finale, Zuffa once again puts on another great show on paper in World Extreme CageFighting 31. A sister promotion to the UFC, WEC has seen a resurgence in its stance in the MMA market with a television deal with Versus and supporting programming that continues to market the WEC well. The card on Wednesday night will only feed the hunger for likeness to the UFC. The event features three... count 'em three title bouts. Urijah Faber will defend the Featherweight crown against Jeff Curran, Doug "The Rhino" Marshall will defend his Light Heavyweight belt against Ariel Gandulla, and PRIDE veteran Paulo Filho, arguably ranked #2 at Middleweight, will defend his title against an able Chael Sonnen. Here's some more in-depth looks at each matchup and myself and John McKiernan weigh in our picks.

WEC Featherweight Title Bout
Urijah Faber vs. Jeff Curran

If there is one defining aspect of one fighter over another, it's experience. Curran (28-8-1) has a plethora of international and national experience in the cage. He has fought some of the best in the world, and still remains an underdog in this battle. Namely, he has recently beaten Rafael Assuncao, Wagnney Fabiano, Charles Bennett, and Antonio Carvalho all within the last 3 years. Fighters who are not slouched in the striking or ju-jitsu arena of the MMA skillset. He's taken on Matt Serra and "Kid" Yamamoto and taken them the distance. We can safely say that Curran is no stranger to high-level competition.

There is one aspect of his skillset that he lacks, and that is his ability to end fights. He is always a danger to submit his opponent, but he also has a tendency to miss holds and allow opponents to slip away from him. Stephen Ledbetter, his most recent win at WEC 29, was a perfect example of that. The question really becomes whether or not his great ju-jitsu background can counter Faber's relentless attack.

Urijah Faber (19-1) is an animal in the cage. His relentless attack has sometimes been likened to that of a Clay Guida, but he has knockout power along with a solid wresting game on the ground. The major X-factor in this fight is Faber's ability to keep the fight standing and putting the leather on Curran's face. If he can keep the fight standing, Faber will prevail. If the fight goes to the ground, Curran must avoid the devastating power that Faber can unleash on the floor.

Leland's Prediction: Urijah Faber by second round TKO

Faber is powerful, has the ability to avoid submissions, and is very strong in both his standup and ground game. Curran's ju-jitsu abilities are world-renowned, but he will have to avoid the fists of fury from Faber. I see Faber putting him out.

John's Prediction: Urijah Faber by second round TKO

Tougher fight for Faber than many expect.  Curran is well experienced with almost thirty wins.  Faber has explosive athletic ability, should look to keep this fight standing and will be able to.  The face of the 145 LB division in the U.S. gets his 20th win.

Joe's Prediction: Urijah Faber by third round TKO

Faber’s wrestling is too good, and he has shown good submission defense in the past. While Curran has great jiu-jitsu, I don’t think he’s going to be able to submit Faber. Faber will look to keep the fight standing for a bit, but then I expect him to take the fight to the mat where he’ll finish Curran with strikes sometime in the 3^rd round.
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WEC Middleweight Title Bout
Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen

Arguably the #2 ranked Middleweight in the World, Paulo Filho (15-0) made his WEC debut in winning fashion with a surprising TKO win over the veteran Joe Doerksen at WEC 29. Filho, primarily known for his ju-jitsu skills on the ground, has fought and defeated some of the best in the world in the weight class. Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan, Murilo Rua, and Yuki Kondo have all fallen to Filho either by decision or by the feared armbar. Filho has some extensive ground game, but his striking has always been lacking. Sonnen will be a test in Filho's standup game to an extent, but Sonnen's ground tactics may not be able to nullify Filho.

Chael Sonnen (19-8-1) is an interesting matchup for Filho. Sonnen is known to have some great knockout power, but he's been known to fade and go the distance on multiple occassions. His one weakness against better competition has been the submission. This is where Filho may have the opportunity to win this fight if Sonnen doesn't land a big punch early. Sonnen has been racking up wins in BodogFight for the last year, and recently won at SportFight 20 up in the Northwest. There is an opponent that Sonnen has lost to convincingly 3 times that really sums up what Filho's gameplan will be, that's Jeremy Horn. Horn has defeated Sonnen three seperate times, two by submission. I wouldn't put Horn on the same level as Filho on the ground, although he is a very good grappler. It does outline a big problem in Sonnen's ground game though.

Leland's Prediction: Paulo Filho by 3rd round submission

This is an interesting fight due to the fact that Filho hasn't faced a hard-nosed wrestler in awhile, if at all. Sonnen will have power, and I think it will take Filho some time to work on the ground. Nonetheless, I believe Filho will submit him late in the bout.

John's Prediction: Paulo Filho by 2nd round submission

15-0 and Sonnen is no joke, but also not the guy to give Filho his first loss. The Brazilian is the undisputed #2 Middleweight world (possibly #1 in my mind) and has subbed a number of guys better than Sonnen. Wrestling and ju-jitsu is too good.

Joe's Prediction: Paulo Filho by 1st round submission

Filho is too strong and his grappling is too good for Sonnen. Sonnen has shown weakness in the past against fighters that have a good submission game. I think this fight will go similar to Filho’s last fight with Doerksen, but he’ll be able to finish this time with his grappling. Look for a submission, most likely an armbar, in the first round.
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WEC Light Heavyweight Title Bout
Doug Marshall vs. Ariel Gandulla

I'll make this short and sweet. Marshall (6-2) is a straight brawler. He has good knockout power and standup skills, but to be honest, I've only seen him roll on the ground once to win a fight. This fight wasn't made for a ground war, and it will certainly be a standup fight. Ultimately however, someone is going to shoot for the takedown to ground and pound their opponent or try to clip their opponent's chin and put him to the canvas for the ground and pound. Either way, strikes will end this fight.

Gandulla (4-0) isn't overly impressive in his standup or ground and pound tactics. He's more reserved than Marshall will be as Marshall seems to be overly aggressive at times. Could this be a strength? It's possible because I expect Gandulla to be taller than Marshall, and I think he'll have an easier time keeping Marshall at a distance. Does this equate to a victory for Gandulla? I'm not completely convinced, but I may go with the upset pick.

Leland's Prediction: Ariel Gandulla by TKO, 2nd round.

Marshall's striking is sloppy, and I believe Gandulla's patience can outlast the onslaught. He has some good power and the ability to elude the big blows. Marshall just isn't championship material in my eyes.

John's Prediction: Ariel Gandulla by TKO

Gandulla has proven he's tough and I see an upset.  ATT will have Ariel ready.

Joe's Prediction: Doug Marshall by TKO, 1st round.

As much as I want to pick against Doug Marshall here, I can’t. Marshall is strictly a brawler who likes to bang out his victories. I think Gandulla will be overwhelmed by Marshall’s assault and succumb to strikes early in the first round.
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Jens Pulver vs. Cub Swanson

One of the toughest fights for me to pick because I believe Jens is a class act in mixed martial arts. He's a warrior and trains just as hard as anyone out there and expects results because of it. Mainly known for his striking skills, Jens Pulver (21-8-1) has fought along side the best for a majority of his career. Most notably known for defeating BJ Penn at UFC 35 in a matchup that BJ was expected to win, Pulver went on to fight internationally against many of the best fighters in the world, although not having a whole lot of success. He was beaten by Hayato Sakurai and Takanori Gomi while fighting in PRIDE's Bushido series, and fell on hard times recently by losing to Joe Lauzon and BJ Penn in the UFC. Now, Jens will try his hand at a weight that he should have been fighting at his entire career. The featherweight in the division and around the world has recently garnered more interest and more fighters and has now allowed Jens to move down and fight legitimate competition.

Swanson (11-1) will be no easy fight for Jens Pulver. His most impressive battle as of recent was against Micah Miller at WEC 28. He showed a well-rounded skillset, great striking, some good ground tactics that enabled him to escape Miller on the ground and outlast him. He did a lot of damage once escaping holds and eventually tired Miller. Will we see this type of fight? Considering the fact that Pulver seems uninterested in heading to the mat, I would imagine a good standup war. Swanson does have a good ground game though. He has some nice takedown technique, and it could become a big problem for Pulver.

Leland's Prediction: Jens Pulver via second round TKO

Nearly everyone is picking Swanson, and I like Jens in this fight for the simple reason that he has dynamite in his hands. Swanson looks to be an easy pick, but Jens looks ultra motivated for this war. I think having 2 recent losses and coming down to his natural fighting weight will help tremendously. Look for Jens to feel out Swanson, and then attack in the second.

John's Prediction: Jens Pulver via first round KO

Coming off of two losses, one to a legend and a very devastating upset loss to Joe Lauzon, Pulver needs this win. Swanson is no cupcake, but he's never fought Pulver. All the pressure rests on Jens' shoulders, and the former champ will show he still has the hands that earned him the UFC belt.

Joe's Prediction: Jens Pulver via second round TKO

This fight is going to come down to Jens’ takedown defense. If he flops around and looks like he did against Joe Lauzon, this will be a very short night for him. However, I think Jens is truly motivated and is ready to make an impact in the 145lb weight class. He has excellent boxing and great power. I think Cub will try to stand and trade for him until he feels Jens’ power, but by then, it might be too late. Look for Jens to wear Cub down and finish him with strikes in the second round.
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Quick Hits

Brian Bowles (3-0) vs. Marcos Galvao (6-1)

Leland's Prediction: Galvao by unanimous decision

All of his fights have went the distance, showing some great cardio. He has a solid ju-jitsu background and has experience fighting some decent battles in Shooto as well. Bowles is a very green fighter, only having one fight in the WEC and two others against low-level competition that didn't present a challenge. I think Galvao will be a challenge and his ju-jitsu alone may be too much for Bowles.

John's Prediction: Galvao by unanimous decision

The Shooto veteran will make a succesful WEC debut.  Look for good jits from Galvao.

Joe's Prediction: Galvao by unanimous decision

Marcos Galvao is a Shooto veteran and possesses some good ground skills. Bowles is a green fighter, and hasn’t faced good competition so far. Galvao should win this fight on the judge’s scorecard.
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Bryan Baker (5-0) vs. Eric Shambari (7-0)

Leland's Prediction: Shambari via unanimous decision

I haven't been terribly impressed with either fighter. Baker was in trouble against Jesse Forbes and managed to reverse his luck and defeat Forbes. Schambari, on the other hand, hasn't been decisive in the WEC as far as finishing opponents goes. He has, however, continued to win against greener competition. I think both will bang, but get tired toward the middle of the fight. I think Eric can do enough early to win this one by decision.

John's Prediction: Shambari via decision

Past two opponents Art Santore and Logan Clark are solid, while giant Baker will be tested.

Joe's Prediction: Baker by second round TKO

The only fight I’ve seen of Baker was his fight with Jesse Forbes. He was getting outclassed for the most part, but managed to come from behind to pull off the victory. I think he’ll do the same against Shambari. 
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John Alessio (20-10) vs. Todd Moore (9-0)

Leland's Prediction: Alessio via first round submission

Alessio has a plethora of experience, but is susceptible to the submission himself. Most of his losses are against top competition, competition that Todd Moore hasn't seen before. I believe Alessio will be too much for him and will be a much tougher opponent than Moore's past opponents. This should be a win for Alessio.

John's Prediction: Alessio via first round submission

Alessio could be a star in the WEC on the way back after a loss to Condit. This is top level fighter, WEC will finally give the mainstream opportunity the seasoned vet has earned.  Moore is undefeated, but large increase in opponent quality here.

Joe's Prediction: Alessio via first round submission

Alessio is a well rounded fighter. He has some decent strikes, and an underrated ground game. He’s had some notable fights, particularly against Diego Sanchez and Carlos Condit. This fight should showcase some more of Alessio’s skills. Moore is undefeated, but he has yet to face any real competition. Alessio is too big of a step up for him at this point in his career. 
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Alex Karalexis (9-2) vs. Ed Ratcliff (5-0)

Leland's Prediction: Ratcliff by second round TKO

Ratcliff has a karate/grappling background as well as some decent striking ability. From what I've seen, his style is very quick and explosive, allowing him to move in for the kill and move away from the counters. I'm going to take the upset pick here.

John's Prediction: Karalexis by first round KO

This fight will have some fireworks! Alex has some real nice hands, and he's a way better fighter from the TUF series than he's given credit for.

Joe's Prediction: Karalexis by unanimous decision

Karalexis has some pretty good power, but tends to rely on his overhand right too much. He has a pretty good wrestling game and I think that’s where the difference in this fight will be. Look for Karalexis to start off striking, but he’ll eventually take the fight to the mat. I don’t think Ratcliff will have the takedown defense needed to stay off his back. Karalexis won’t finish, but it will be a dominating performance.
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Ian McCall (6-0) vs. Charlie Valencia (8-3)

Leland's Prediction: Valencia via second round TKO

Valencia actually has some power when he isn't being pummeled by some of the best in the WEC. I look for him to stop McCall's streak here.

John's Prediction: Valencia via decision

Valencia has fought two stars on this card, Faber and Swanson. Tough guy, I like him here.

Joe's Prediction: Valencia via second round TKO

I like Charlie Valencia in this fight. He has faced top flight competition, and lost, but he always brings it in each of his fights. Look for Valencia to finish this fight with strikes late in the first round or early in the second. 

“Razor” Rob McCullough vs. Rich “Cleat” Crunkilton
(WEC Lightweight Championship match)
Interview with ''Razor'' Rob McCullough is here... done by our very own Matt Kaplan from Kodiak MMA.

“Razor” Rob McCullough and Rich “Cleat” Crunkilton are two top lightweights who have stopped all of their WEC opponents and boast unblemished records in the WEC. Both will ride into this match on multi-year win streaks, one of which will unfortunately come to an end.

Look for this fight to be an exciting one. By his own admission, WEC lightweight champ “Razor” Rob McCullough gets “pissed off” when fans boo a lack of action, and says that when he fights, he gets “in there to have fun and entertain people, as well as kick the shit out of someone.” That’s what I like to hear.

In Rich “Cleat” Crunkilton, McCullough faces a very tough guy. In his only loss (to Hermes Franca back in 2003), Crunkilton was in an arm bar late in the final round that actually dislocated his elbow. Crunkilton let out a scream that reached the rafters, but he refused to tap.

Jens Pulver, the UFC’s first ever lightweight champion, is making his highly-anticipated WEC debut against Cub Swanson in what many expect to produce the next challenger for WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber.

Dropping down to 145 lbs for this match – and most likely for good – is the Miletich-trained Pulver, who suffered two stoppages losses at 155 lbs. in the UFC (KO’d by Joe Lauzon; choked out by BJ Penn). Jens has fought seven times at or below 145, scoring 6 KOs and 1 submission, so I expect a much better showing from featherweight Jens.

Those who are picking Jens in this fight are most likely doing so with expectations of a KO or TKO, which I can understand. For a guy his size, he packs a monster of a punch and has recorded wins as a professional boxer. Keep in mind, though, that Jens lives and dies by the KO; 13 of his 21 wins have come by knockout, but so have 5 of his 8 losses.

“I can’t wait to put my skills on display in the WEC. Cub Swanson is a tough opponent, and I plan on showing why my nickname is ‘Lil Evil’ by delivering a performance fans will remember,” an always smiling Jens promised.

Across the cage from Jens will be a very tough, very athletic Cub Swanson, who acknowledges Jens’ place in MMA history but remains focused on reaching the top of the WEC featherweight heap: “Jens was a great MMA star and one of the game’s legends, but my time is now. Everybody knows both of us come to fight, but ‘Lil Evil’ is gonna run into a bigger evil in Cub Swanson. I’m going to show the world why I’m the best featherweight in the WEC with a knockout over Jens.”

A knockout over Jens? That’s right, folks. I’m surprised any time I hear that someone actually wants to trade punches with Jens, so I asked Cub about it in a recent interview. His answer was pretty simple: “I feel that the people want to see me knock him out, so that's the plan.” Cub says that he’ll look to take the fight with Jens to the ground “just to mix it up” but feels that the only way he’ll get respect is to stand and bang with Jens. I can’t wait for this fight!

Jens may be the more powerful puncher of the two, but momentum is certainly on the side of Cub Swanson, a jiu-jitsu brown belt with Muay Thai training who lost his first pro fight in 2004 and has since rattled off 11 consecutive wins. Most recently, Cub faced the very tough Micah Miller, against whom Cub exhibited excellent submission defense, as well as fast, strong hands that fly in dangerous combinations.

Cub Swanson is young and hungry and realizes that a win over Jens will make him “a household name.” Cub’s eyes are firmly set on the WEC featherweight championship, but standing in his way is the sprawl-and-brawl master himself, Jens Pulver. Are Jens’ best days in the rear view mirror, or can the legend’s trademark sprawl-and-brawl stop the younger, faster Cub Swanson?

Chase Beebe vs. Rani Yahya
(WEC Bantamweight Championship match)

In addition to the WEC lightweight belt being up for grabs at WEC 30, so too will the bantamweight belt, as champion Chase Beebe and Rani Yahya are scheduled to get it on for 135-pound supremacy.

Chase Beebe is a four-time Illinois high-school state champion wrestler, who – despite earning 9 submission wins in 11 of his pro wins – lists “knockout” as his favorite technique. I haven’t seen too many of Beebe’s fights (only 2 to be exact), but as you might expect, he’s very aggressive on the ground and has a knack for finishing off his opponent with the rear naked choke.

“Rani is an impressive fighter with great grappling skills. I don’t care if I beat him by knockout or with a submission, no one is taking the title away from me,” Chase guaranteed.

“Great” may very well be the apex of understatement when describing Yahya’s fight game. The 22-year-old Rickson Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is a three-time World Brazilian jiu-jitsu champ and the 2007 Abu Dhabi world champion. Making matters worse for Chase is the fact that Yahya is dropping down from bantamweight for this fight and should be very strong at 135 lbs.

Against a tough, well-rounded Mark Hominick at WEC 28, Yahya needed just over a minute to choke out the Team Tompkins product in the very first round. Not surprising at all, considering his jiu-jitsu skills. What worried me a bit was how Yahya shot in on Hominick almost desperately. He practically dove in and his shots came with virtually zero set-up. As a result, Hominick was able to sting Yahya with some crisp punches. Yahya forged ahead and eventually got the takedown and the submission win, but I’ll be looking to see if Yahya how Yahya sets up his takedowns in this fight.

“Beebe is an impressive wrestler, but my submissions will be too much for him to handle. I’m not leaving the cage without the belt wrapped around my waist,” said Yahya, and I tend to agree.

If, however, Yahya dives in on Beebe like he did against Hominick, Beebe needs to capitalize on this and punish Yahya with punches. As I said earlier, Beebe loves going for the KO, so that will probably be his best bet in defeating Yahya. Then again, Yahya has never been TKO’d or KO’d, so this could be a tough night for the champ.

When more fights for the WEC 30 card are confirmed, I'll get back to you. Until then, make a note to tune in for all the WEC 30 action on September 5 at 9 PM ET on the Versus Channel.

The World Extreme Cagefighting organization will be LIVE from Las Vegas, Nevada at the Joint Hard Rock Hotel on September 5th. The event will feature two title bouts and one featherweight contender bout. The WEC, as of late, has had a boom in viewership and attention as the UFC grows, and the WEC gains more popular fighters, sponsors, and access to cable television. All WEC events are featured on the Versus television network as well, appealing fans because there is no PPV events on the WEC schedule. MMA-Analyst.com will have previews, predictions, and coverage of all of the upcoming WEC events. We will provide in-depth analysis of each fight card just as we have for UFC 74. Please keep an eye here for more upcoming events. Now, let's get into the fight card for WEC 30:

WEC 30 Fight Card:
Rob "Razor" McCullough vs. Richard "Cleat" Crunkilton
Chase Beebe vs. Rani Yahya
Jens "Little Evil" Pulver vs. Cub Swanson

This fight card is shaping up to be a pretty damn good one, featuring two title bouts and a featherweight contender bout. Let's go inside each matchup.

Rob "Razor" McCullough vs. Richard "Cleat" Crunkilton
WEC Lightweight Championship Bout
Let's start off with the current WEC Lightweight Champion, Rob McCullough. Rob is a straight Muay Thai standup fighter who has won 5 World Muay Thai championships in his fighting career. He fights out of Huntington Beach, California, so he's a Team Punishment fighter out of Tito Ortiz's camp. Rob just recently won the Lightweight title at WEC 25 with a victory over Kit Cope, another champion Muay Thai fighter. Rob's main strenght is his kicks. Since he is a Muay Thai Champion, he has great form and is able to get kicks off fairly quickly and with some power. He also uses very crisp combinations with his kicks and hands as seen when he fought   Olaf Alfonso at WEC 19. He was able to lay a kick into Olaf's midsection and then deliver a tremendous right that broke Olaf's jaw. He has a very good sprawl that he uses as his takedown defense. He is able to avoid wrestlers and grapplers with the sprawl. He also has tremendous cardio, but who expects anything less coming out of Team Punishment? His chin is very strong. In a number of fights, he has shown that he can take a punch and deliver a counter almost always landing. Here is a highlight reel of fights McCullough has fought, mainly showing some of his technique.

Richard "Cleat" Crunkilton is a submission wrestling fighter fighting out of the American Kickboxing Academy. His only blemish on his record was a decision loss to Hermes Franca at UFC 42 - Sudden Impact. After that loss, he rattled off 6 straight victories, 3 by TKO/KO and 3 by Submission victory. Crunkilton has excellent ground and pound game, along with a very good kicking game up top, much like McCullough. Crunkilton's main trait is his takedowns and wrestling. In most of his fights, he aims to catch kicks or fake his own kick into a takedown. He uses fakes to flinch opponents and then shoots the opponent's legs for the takedown. In most of his fights, he uses this technique within the first 30 seconds of the fight. He has a very good transition game on the ground in which he can move from full guard to side mount rather quickly. He has a tremendous ground and pound style that will be the key to winning this matchup. 

For this matchup, McCullough won't have too many weaknesses at all that Crunkilton can expose. The only real blemish I can see in McCullough's game right now is his record. He has fought a lot of sub .500 fighters. Kit Cope is 1-4, granted he's fought some top guys in the WEC and Kenny Florian who is in the UFC. His opponents who aren't sub .500 are barely above a .500 winning percentage. Ryan Healy is the only recent win that is considerably above the 50% mark. McCullough will also be fighting against a wrestler in Crunkilton who is very used to catching kicks and taking down his opponent. He also has devastating elbows and with his transition game on the ground, has a very effective ground and pound that McCullough will have trouble with. McCullough's cardio comes into play here tremendously. If McCullough can avoid the takedown with his great defense, look for a 1st or 2nd round KO/TKO from McCullough. I believe Crunkilton will be able to take down McCullough, and possibly ground and pound him. Crunkilton has beaten bigger and stronger fighters before in convincing fashion. Both fighters have padded records though. Crunkilton has fought a majority of sub .500 fighters, more than McCullough. He did manage to decision a surging Hermes Franca, the only fighter on both fighter's records that has any real skill to gauge this fight on besides McCullough losing to Josh Thomson back in 2002 by decision. So, who will win this battle of the unprovens? I call them unprovens because with as many sub .500 fighters as they have fought, this is really their first real competition for both of them in a long time. If McCullough's takedown defense prevails, look for McCullough to win this in the 1st or 2nd round by TKO/KO. I believe Crunkilton will get the takedown though, he has some dynamic ways of doing so. Look for Crunkilton to take it into the later rounds, it's a stretch, but Crunkilton has more experience dealing with aggressive fighters such as McCullough, and stronger fighters as well. All scenarios aside, McCullough has a superb takedown defense, great cardio, strength, and speed on his feet. Look for a McCullough TKO win in the 1st or 2nd round.

Final Prediction: Tough Decision. I'm taking.... Rob McCullough, 2nd round TKO/KO.

Chase Beebe vs. Rani Yahya
WEC Bantamweight Championship Bout
Chase Beebe is essentially a "choke" artist, winning nearly all of his fight by Rear Naked Choke. He sports a record of 11-1. Chase Beebe's background is extensively in wrestling. He is a four-time Illinois State Wrestling Champion. He is primarily a ground fighter, but he does have some standup and a small amount of submission skill. There is little video of Chase Beebe online, and I haven't seen enough of him to justify a good review of his skill then what I have already stated. I do believe that this is a very bad matchup for Chase Beebe. Let's move on to his opponent.

Rani Yahya is a different story. He is a well-known black belt in ju-jitsu in the WEC. He is the 2007 Abu Dhabi grappling champion in his weight class of 65kg. He recently submitted Mark Hominick at WEC 28 in the 1st round by rear naked choke. Rani has also fought in such events as    K-1 HERO'S in Japan, and participated in numerous ju-jitsu competitions and serves as an instructor in ju-jitsu.

Chase is an aggressive fighter on the ground, but if we've learned anything from great ju-jitsu, it counters wrestling very well if used properly. I'm looking for Rani to take advantage of Beebe's wrestling game and pull off a submission victory in the 1st or 2nd round. Rani is very aggressive in his submission game. He literally transitions from one submission to the other with very quick movements. In his matchup with      Kazuya Yasuhiro in K-1, he tried to pull a submission off in the first 10 seconds of the fight, and then transitioned from legs to chokes and so forth until he sunk in a Brabo Choke. Very skilled, and for as small as he is, very aggressive. I'm looking for Rani to win this via 1st round submission victory.

Final Prediction: Rani Yahya via 1st round submission

Jens "Little Evil" Pulver vs. Cub Swanson
This is probably the most anticipated fight on the card for me. Jens Pulver is coming off a horrible loss to BJ Penn at TUF Finale 5 via submission in which Pulver looked horrible against the ground attack. Pulver has had two straight losses in his last two fights, one to Penn and the other by KO in the 1st round by TUF veteran Joe Lauzon. Pulver is trained out of Miletich Martial Arts in Bettendorf, Iowa. He's a world class boxer with some wrestling skills for body control. He is most notably known for holding the first Lightweight UFC Championship belt and defending that belt against BJ Penn at UFC 35 in a much publicized bout in which Pulver was considered a huge underdog. Pulver went the distance proved he was the champion by defeating Penn by decision. Of course, in the eventual rematch, Penn dominated him. What most people don't know about Pulver is that he won two state wrestling championships in Idaho and wrestling briefly for Boise State University. He does have a prominent wrestling background to supplement his superb boxing skills. Pulver is known to have pioneered the technique of "Sprawl and Brawl" and is known for his defensive wrestling/striking skills.

Cub Swanson is an interesting fighter. He is on an unbelievable winning streak, compiling 10 straight wins. His most recent against Micah Miller, who had much better ju-jitsu than Swanson, was impressive in that Swanson was able to avoid every submission attempt Micah had to offer. He also convincingly won the standup and ground and pound battles during the matchup. Swanson has a brown-belt in ju-jitsu and a Muay Thai background. Swanson has above average ground skills, but not nearly as good as some of the better ju-jitsu guys in the game. He has above average striking and mixes in kicks and punches for combinations.

The lowdown on this fighter is that Swanson is the underdog, and a lot of people inside the MMA community think Pulver is just old and out of the game. A lot of fans believe Swanson will do away with Pulver fairly quickly. I am going to take the opposite view here. Pulver is dropping to a base 145 lbs. He has stated in the past he feels great at 145 and feels it's his best fight weight. Swanson is by no means an incredible striker. He is by no means an incredible ground fighter either. He tends to scramble on the ground, and it doesn't work to his advantage. Pulver is a defensive wrestler, much like some notable UFC fighter like Chuck Liddell. He uses his wrestling to counter submission attempts and then body control his opponent to a ground and pound position. The most notable difference in their styles in Pulver's striking ability is world renowned. He has heavy hands and they will only grow faster and more powerful as he drops to 145. Pulver also has plenty of wrestlers to train with at MFS in Iowa, and will have more ability to train against Swason-like opponents during his camp. I believe in the MMA community, Swanson is favored. I'm going to go ahead and pick Pulver to win via TKO/KO in the 2nd round. I think Pulver is going to show us one last flurry before his career is over.

Final Prediction: A "Little Evil" knockout win in the 2nd round

That concludes our WEC 30 preview, predictions, and analysis. I hope this gives a little bit of insight into the WEC fight card and fighters. These predictions, I feel, are a bit off the norm of what most of the community is expecting from this event. The McCullough vs. Crunkilton matchup is also a very tough fight that I believe Crunkilton has a great chance to win as well. The fact that a lot of these fighters have great records against a lot of bad fighters doesn't help in analyzing a fighter's skillset. Video helps tremendously, and fortunately, I do have some of these fights here in my possession. I hope you enjoy these, and it gives you some insight.

Check out the rest of the predictions here.