Fuel TV cards tend to be the least interesting ones that the UFC put on, but this one seems slightly better than usual. The top four fights are of some interest and the Bahadurzada/Kim fight could be fun also.
| Welterweight Match [FUEL8-11] | ||||
| N/A | ||||
| Match Points: 3.48 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| WW #119 | Marcelo Guimaraes (8-0-1) | +260 | 9.05 | 12.53 |
| WW #165 | Hyun Gyu Lim (10-3-1) | -328 | 1.06 | 4.54 |
The last time the UFC was on Fuel TV, underdogs won four of the six undercard fights. Lim is the biggest favorite on this card, and at a little over four points, not really worth much fantasy-wise. Guimaraes is the only one of the two with UFC experience, but that was an unimpressive split decision win over an unimpressive opponent. Marcelo most often wins via decision whereas Hyun usually finishes his opponents. Generally that means I'd take Lim, but due to the limited amount of points I'd get for that, I'll take the underdog.
| Bantamweight Match [FUEL8-10] | ||||
| N/A | ||||
| Match Points: 7.64 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| BW #33 | Alex Caceres (8-5) | -144 | 5.31 | 12.95 |
| BW #53 | Kyung Ho Kang (11-6) | +122 | 9.32 | 16.96 |
I can't believe that "Bruce Leeroy" already has six fights in the octogon going an even 3-3. Submission defense has been his big downfall so far, and that's just where Kang excels. While I hate to admin that Caceres is improving, I think this match will bring an end to his current winning streak.
| Lightweight Match [FUEL8-09] | ||||
| N/A | ||||
| Match Points: 3.46 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| LW #104 | Cristiano Marcello (13-4) | -154 | 2.25 | 5.71 |
| LW #213 | Kazuki Tokudome (11-3-1) | +130 | 4.50 | 7.96 |
Marcello is 1-1 so far in the UFC and ends most of his fights via submission. Tokudome is an octogon newcomer on a two fight win streak and has won six of his last seven. There aren't a lot of points available to be won on either fighter, so I'll go with UFC experience and the favorite in this one.
| Bantamweight Match [FUEL8-08] | ||||
| N/A | ||||
| Match Points: 10.35 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| BW #12 | Takeya Mizugaki (16-7-2) | -231 | 4.48 | 14.83 |
| BW #16 | Bryan Caraway (17-5) | +187 | 19.35 | 29.70 |
Mizugaki has alternated losses and wins since joining Zuffa, and since he won his last one, the pattern suggests he will lose this one. Caraway has won 15 of his 17 fights via submission and is on a three fight win streak. Faber is the only fighter so far that's been able to submit Mizugaki. This fight's likely going to a decision, and that favors Takeya. I'm going with him breaking his current loss-win pattern.
| Middleweight Match [FUEL8-07] | ||||
| N/A | ||||
| Match Points: 7.07 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| MW #49 | Riki Fukuda (19-6) | -113 | 6.26 | 13.33 |
| MW #51 | Brad Tavares (9-1) | -109 | 6.49 | 13.56 |
Although both have decent records in the UFC (Fukuda 2-2; Taveres 4-1), neither has been particularly impressive. The betting odds are pretty even, so the question comes down to will Fukuda prevail in his home country or will Taveres's brash style win out? I think I'll go with home "field" advantage on this one.
| Welterweight Match [FUEL8-06] | ||||
| Fuel / Main Card | ||||
| Match Points: 12.72 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| WW #14 | Siyar Bahadurzada (21-4-1) | +230 | 29.26 | 41.98 |
| WW #26 | Dong Hyun Kim (16-2-1, 1 NC) | -287 | 4.43 | 17.15 |
The "Stun Gun" hasn't finished an opponent in the UFC since his debut in UFC 84. Bahadurzada has just one fight in the octogon but has TKO'd his last five opponent. Kim has some quality wins in the UFC, but a couple of his more notable ones were against competition now fighting at lightweight. Siyar's striking will be too much for Kim, and he'll get his sixth straight KO.
| Featherweight Match [FUEL8-05] | ||||
| Fuel / Main Card | ||||
| Match Points: 10.97 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| LW #45 | Mizuto Hirota (14-5-1) | -117 | 9.38 | 20.35 |
| FW #32 | Rani Yahya (17-7) | -107 | 10.25 | 21.22 |
Yahya has been better in his UFC/WEC career than I recall and has beat a couple big names at featherweight. Hirota is a transfer from Strikeforce (where he had just one fight: one loss) and is moving down a weight class. Rani's relentless takedown attempts will pay dividends in this fight, and Yahya will score points on win rounds by riding Hirota on the mat.
| Middleweight Match [FUEL8-04] | ||||
| Fuel / Main Card | ||||
| Match Points: 14.27 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| MW #6 | Hector Lombard (32-3-1, 1 NC) | -201 | 7.10 | 21.37 |
| MW #7 | Yushin Okami (28-7) | +168 | 23.97 | 38.24 |
Lombard has quite the impressive record, but losing his debut fight in the UFC slowed his rise towards the title. Okami recently lost back-to-back fights via knockout (one to the champion; the other in the third round of a fight he was clearly winning) but now is on a two fight winning streak. Okami at times can get off to a slow start but will gain the advantage the longer this fight goes. If Okami can escape Hector's power in the first round, I think he'll take this. I see this as a more even match up than Vegas has it, so I'm going with the underdog.
| Lightweight Match [FUEL8-03] | ||||
| Fuel / Main Card | ||||
| Match Points: 12.13 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| WW #23 | Diego Sanchez (23-5) | -292 | 4.15 | 16.28 |
| LW #28 | Takanori Gomi (34-8, 1 NC) | +233 | 28.26 | 40.39 |
After an uninspiring second run at welterweight, "The Dream" returns to lightweight where he once challenged for the title. Gomi is on the tail side of an impressive career and is currently riding a two fight win streak. Gomi's fights in the UFC against better competition have not gone his way. Sanchez ought to be able to wear him down and grind out a decision.
| Heavyweight Match [FUEL8-02] | ||||
| Fuel / Main Card / Co-Main Event | ||||
| Match Points: 14.20 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| HW #10 | Stefan Struve (25-5) | -175 | 8.11 | 22.31 |
| HW #12 | Mark Hunt (8-7) | +149 | 21.16 | 35.36 |
This should be a fun but short fight. Each represents the others weakness: Struve most often loses by knockout; Hunt most often via submission. The big question here is will Hunt be able to get enough power into a shot that can land high enough on the 6'11" Struve before Stefan takes the fight to the ground? Big Country was able to do that, but Nelson has better takedown defense. I don't see Hunt replicating that performance and will be tapping before this one is over.
| Light Heavyweight Match [FUEL8-01] | ||||
| Fuel / Main Card / Main Event | ||||
| Match Points: 13.53 | ||||
| Rank | Fighter | Line | Points | Total |
| MW #18 | Brian Stann (12-5) | -243 | 5.57 | 19.10 |
| MW #25 | Wanderlei Silva (34-12-1, 1 NC) | +197 | 26.65 | 40.18 |
As much as I'd like to see Wanderlei get a KO victory in the country where he spent most of his career, I just don't see it happening. Age has caught up to the legend, and his chin betrays him too easily now. Might this finally be his long-overdue retirement fight? Stann has lost just once via KO but really hasn't fought a lot of knockout artists. That and the location are the only points in Silva's favor in this fight. The "All-American" has enough power to take out Wanderlei, and that's how this one will unfortunately end.
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