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News Features Rankings Fight Finder All Access Pictures Forum Shop UFC 170 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Watch Tweet13 0 Share13 By Mike Whitman Feb 17, 2014 Alexis Davis will enter the cage on a four-fight winning streak. | Photo: Dave M andel/Sherdog.com The UFC 170 main card may be topped by a pair of Olympic medalists in Ronda Rous ey and Sara McMann, but Saturday s undercard should also have you excited. I write these prelims previews roughly once a week at this point, and this under card is one of the more stacked that I can readily recall. For instance, fans wi ll be treated to a marquee women s matchup just prior to the pay-per-view broadcas t, as Alexis Davis battles Jessica Eye from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in La s Vegas. For my money, Davis is the world s best 135-pound woman not nicknamed Rowdy. Granted , the Strikeforce veteran s punching power is not exactly frightening, but that ta kes away nothing from her ability to accurately string together combinations. Fa ctor in Davis capable ground work, and I have to believe she is the next challeng er to the Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight crown currently held by Ro usey. Davis has lost just one fight in her last eight, and she made sure to grab a big chunk of Sarah Kaufman for the road in spite of the judges majority decisi on going the way of the British Columbian. Bottom line: If you can go toe-to-toe with Liz Carmouche and Amanda Nunes while submitting Shayna Baszler and Hitomi Akano, you are one bad individual and certa inly worthy of my time as a fight fan. Davis well-rounded game is but one reason tune in to Fox Sports 1 and UFC Fight P ass to catch the UFC 170 undercard. Here are four more: EYE FOR THE GOLD I know I just got done singing Davis praises, but she could easily have her hands full with a competitor as game as Eye. Like her foe, Eye might stand just a victory away from a title shot, despite her recent issues with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. There is n o denying that Eye has much to deal with mentally after testing positive for mar ijuana and seeing her UFC 166 victory over Kaufman changed to a no-contest. We should also remember that Eye s father was diagnosed with brain cancer in Novem ber. I cannot fathom what Eye has gone through under those difficult circumstanc es, and I do not know if it will affect her in the cage. Frankly, the latter par t is unimportant when contrasted against the life-and-death nature of that first sentence. Still, as fans and media, we naturally wonder whether a fighter can overcome tho se hard moments and perform, and I will certainly be watching Eye intently on fi ght night.
THE YOUNG PUNISHER Photo: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com Munhoz got his wish. I love seeing a young fighter who knows what he wants and is not afraid to ask f or it. Pedro Munhoz is one of those guys. Following his 41-second submission of Billy Daniels last month at RFA 12, the Re surrection Fighting Alliance bantamweight champ seized the opportunity to ask UF C matchmaker Joe Silva for a shot in the big show. Silva clearly heard the unbea ten 27-year-old s plea, and after Francisco Rivera went down with an injury, the B razilian received the call to step in against Rafael Assuncao, a 25-fight pro wh o has won his last five bouts and appears to be on the verge of a title shot. On paper, Assuncao is undoubtedly Munhoz s toughest test to date, but I cannot glo ss over how impressed I was by The Young Punisher in his RFA career. Munhoz has pr oven that he is both a finisher and possesses what it takes to gut out a 25-minu te decision if need be. Can Munhoz pull off an upset in his Octagon debut or has he bitten off more than he can chew in an opponent like Assuncao? FUN SIZE VS. THE GREMLIN
If you have ever read my work before -- and for the sake of my fragile ego, let us pretend you have -- then you know my feelings about flyweights: I love them a s much as I loved Dunkaroos when I was 8. This upcoming clash between Zach Makovsky and Josh Sampo is no exception, as bot h of these guys are bona fide scrambling machines. Makovsky really impressed me in his UFC debut against Scott Jorgensen. No disres pect intended to Fun Size, but I honestly thought Jorgensen was going to cut right through him with his punching power. Instead, Makovsky stepped up on just two w eeks notice to replace an injured John Dodson and took a unanimous decision from Jorgensen in a competitive, three-round outing at UFC on Fox 9. Sampo, meanwhile, eventually out-grappled fellow UFC debutant Ryan Benoit at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale in November, taking Benoit s back and choking him out to conclude the back-and-forth affair. I do not know which of these grappling experts will have the edge once the fight hits the floor, but I feel confident in predicting that neither man will be con tent to lie on his back. Look for plenty of action and a fast pace from these 12 5-pounders. NEW BREED, OLD WEIGHT
Remember when Erik Koch was regarded as the top contender for the UFC featherwei ght title? Do not feel bad if you have no idea what I am talking about. That was more than two years ago after all. Koch was one of many exciting prospects to come out of the defunct World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. After walking through the likes of Bendy Casimir, Franc isco Rivera and the aforementioned Assuncao, Koch was offered a crack at UFC kin gpin Jose Aldo in July 2012. However, the matchup was postponed after Aldo suffe red an injury and was canceled altogether after Koch withdrew from their resched uled meeting at UFC 153.
Losses to Ricardo Lamas and Dustin Poirier would follow in 2013 for New Breed, who now steps into the cage at 155 pounds for the first time since coming under the Zuffa umbrella in 2009. Standing in Koch s way will be Rafaello Oliveira, a Brazi lian jiu-jitsu black belt looking to right his ship after suffering three losses in his last four fights. It is currently unknown if this appearance will be a one-and-done stint for the Roufusport product or the first in a series of lightweight outings, provided he earns a victory. Either way, I am curious to see if the 25-year-old can pick up his first win since September 2011. Tweet13 0 Share13 Related Articles Pics: Daniel Cormier Trains for UFC 170 Week-in-Review: List of UFC, Bellator & Other Fights Announced Cummins: UFC 170 Clash with Cormier Couldn t Have Come At A Better Time Patrick Cummins Replaces Rashad Evans, Meets Daniel Cormier at UFC 170 Leg Injury Knocks Rashad Evans from UFC 170; Daniel Cormier s 205-Pound Debut Delayed Comments Comments powered by Disqus Top trending fighters Chris Weidman | Cain Velasquez | Ronda Rousey | Anderson Silva | Georges St. Pierre | Jon Jones Events/Fights UFC BELLATOR WSOF More > UFC 170 Rousey VS McMann Ronda 'Rowdy' Rousey Versus Sara McMann February, 22, 2014 UFC Fight Night 37 Kim VS Hathaway Dong Hyun 'Stun Gun' Kim Versus John 'The Hitman' Hathaway March, 01, 2014 Feb222014 Mar012014 Mar082014 Mar152014 Mar232014 UFC UFC UFC UFC UFC 170 Fight Fight 171 Fight Rousey vs. McMann Night 37 - Kim vs. Hathaway Night 38 - Gustafsson vs. Manuwa Hendricks vs. Lawler Night 39 - Shogun vs. Henderson 2
MORE UFC FIGHTS Latest Articles UFC 170 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Watch Viewpoint: The Machida Code Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night 36 By the Numbers: UFC Fight Night 36 A Night of Tweets: UFC Fight Night 36
View more Sherdog Blogs Podcast: UFC 170's Pat Cummins, Cody Gibson Podcast: Pat Barry on 'SRN Rewind' Podcast: 'Beatdown After the Bell' UFC Fight Night 36 This Week s MMA Birthdays: Stefan Struve Turns 26 Saturday MMA: A TV Viewer s Guide View more Around The Web Dog Sherdog.com is a property of CraveOnline Media, LLC, an Evolve Media, LLC company. ©2014 All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | RSS | Advertise | Contact | AdChoices Mobile Version monitoring_string = "0ca85270192359a0306703d8430e1ace" monitoring_string = "9899 0d7e939e4a8d26c6e6b539094b9c"
THE YOUNG PUNISHER Photo: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com Munhoz got his wish. I love seeing a young fighter who knows what he wants and is not afraid to ask f or it. Pedro Munhoz is one of those guys. Following his 41-second submission of Billy Daniels last month at RFA 12, the Re surrection Fighting Alliance bantamweight champ seized the opportunity to ask UF C matchmaker Joe Silva for a shot in the big show. Silva clearly heard the unbea ten 27-year-old s plea, and after Francisco Rivera went down with an injury, the B razilian received the call to step in against Rafael Assuncao, a 25-fight pro wh o has won his last five bouts and appears to be on the verge of a title shot. On paper, Assuncao is undoubtedly Munhoz s toughest test to date, but I cannot glo ss over how impressed I was by The Young Punisher in his RFA career. Munhoz has pr oven that he is both a finisher and possesses what it takes to gut out a 25-minu te decision if need be. Can Munhoz pull off an upset in his Octagon debut or has he bitten off more than he can chew in an opponent like Assuncao? FUN SIZE VS. THE GREMLIN
If you have ever read my work before -- and for the sake of my fragile ego, let us pretend you have -- then you know my feelings about flyweights: I love them a s much as I loved Dunkaroos when I was 8. This upcoming clash between Zach Makovsky and Josh Sampo is no exception, as bot h of these guys are bona fide scrambling machines. Makovsky really impressed me in his UFC debut against Scott Jorgensen. No disres pect intended to Fun Size, but I honestly thought Jorgensen was going to cut right through him with his punching power. Instead, Makovsky stepped up on just two w eeks notice to replace an injured John Dodson and took a unanimous decision from Jorgensen in a competitive, three-round outing at UFC on Fox 9. Sampo, meanwhile, eventually out-grappled fellow UFC debutant Ryan Benoit at The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale in November, taking Benoit s back and choking him out to conclude the back-and-forth affair. I do not know which of these grappling experts will have the edge once the fight hits the floor, but I feel confident in predicting that neither man will be con tent to lie on his back. Look for plenty of action and a fast pace from these 12 5-pounders. NEW BREED, OLD WEIGHT
Remember when Erik Koch was regarded as the top contender for the UFC featherwei ght title? Do not feel bad if you have no idea what I am talking about. That was more than two years ago after all. Koch was one of many exciting prospects to come out of the defunct World Extreme Cagefighting promotion. After walking through the likes of Bendy Casimir, Franc isco Rivera and the aforementioned Assuncao, Koch was offered a crack at UFC kin gpin Jose Aldo in July 2012. However, the matchup was postponed after Aldo suffe red an injury and was canceled altogether after Koch withdrew from their resched uled meeting at UFC 153.
Losses to Ricardo Lamas and Dustin Poirier would follow in 2013 for New Breed, who now steps into the cage at 155 pounds for the first time since coming under the Zuffa umbrella in 2009. Standing in Koch s way will be Rafaello Oliveira, a Brazi lian jiu-jitsu black belt looking to right his ship after suffering three losses in his last four fights. It is currently unknown if this appearance will be a one-and-done stint for the Roufusport product or the first in a series of lightweight outings, provided he earns a victory. Either way, I am curious to see if the 25-year-old can pick up his first win since September 2011. Tweet13 0 Share13 Related Articles Pics: Daniel Cormier Trains for UFC 170 Week-in-Review: List of UFC, Bellator & Other Fights Announced Cummins: UFC 170 Clash with Cormier Couldn t Have Come At A Better Time Patrick Cummins Replaces Rashad Evans, Meets Daniel Cormier at UFC 170 Leg Injury Knocks Rashad Evans from UFC 170; Daniel Cormier s 205-Pound Debut Delayed Comments Comments powered by Disqus Top trending fighters Chris Weidman | Cain Velasquez | Ronda Rousey | Anderson Silva | Georges St. Pierre | Jon Jones Events/Fights UFC BELLATOR WSOF More > UFC 170 Rousey VS McMann Ronda 'Rowdy' Rousey Versus Sara McMann February, 22, 2014 UFC Fight Night 37 Kim VS Hathaway Dong Hyun 'Stun Gun' Kim Versus John 'The Hitman' Hathaway March, 01, 2014 Feb222014 Mar012014 Mar082014 Mar152014 Mar232014 UFC UFC UFC UFC UFC 170 Fight Fight 171 Fight Rousey vs. McMann Night 37 - Kim vs. Hathaway Night 38 - Gustafsson vs. Manuwa Hendricks vs. Lawler Night 39 - Shogun vs. Henderson 2
MORE UFC FIGHTS Latest Articles UFC 170 Prelims: 5 Reasons to Watch Viewpoint: The Machida Code Matches to Make After UFC Fight Night 36 By the Numbers: UFC Fight Night 36 A Night of Tweets: UFC Fight Night 36
View more Sherdog Blogs Podcast: UFC 170's Pat Cummins, Cody Gibson Podcast: Pat Barry on 'SRN Rewind' Podcast: 'Beatdown After the Bell' UFC Fight Night 36 This Week s MMA Birthdays: Stefan Struve Turns 26 Saturday MMA: A TV Viewer s Guide View more Around The Web Dog Sherdog.com is a property of CraveOnline Media, LLC, an Evolve Media, LLC company. ©2014 All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | RSS | Advertise | Contact | AdChoices Mobile Version monitoring_string = "0ca85270192359a0306703d8430e1ace" monitoring_string = "9899 0d7e939e4a8d26c6e6b539094b9c"
