The Prelim Breakout Star is a once per event article that helps fans get to know those who will be entertaining them from the undercard. The intention of the article is not to bring attention the most talented guy on the preliminary card, but rather one that the common fan may have overlooked or underestimated.
After noted wrestler Tryon Woodley’s right hand announced his UFC arrival, we look again this week to a fighter who can get it done on the feet or ground. Three-time UFC veteran, Vaughan Lee looks to impress his home crowd this weekend and get back into the win column. Let’s take a look at why he’ll wind up there.
Vaughan Lee
Nickname – Love
From – Birmingham, England
Height – 5’5”
Weight – 135lbs (Bantamweight)
Record – 12-8-1 (1-2 UFC)
What makes him impressive
What makes Lee such a potentially dangerous foe is that he has the ability to fight just about anywhere the fight takes him. The first and foremost weapon that opponents must be wary of is his long legs. Despite not having a very large reach, at only a mere 66 inches, he does a phenomenal job keeping distance due to his kicks. This makes it much easier for him to find his range while his opponent is still feeling him out.
Although he does possess some striking skills, his ground game is where he’s picked up the majority of his wins. He’s got a finish-heavy mentality on the ground that leads to some high risk moves. While that’s not always the smartest strategy for some fighters, that thought process lead him to become the first and only person ever to put Kid Yamamoto away via submission.
Why he’s been overlooked
The most glaring reason Lee has been overlooked is his record. Having only won 60% of his fights and only one out of three in the UFC is certainly not what anyone hopes for. However, many of those losses came early in his career. Also, his UFC losses came at the hands of TJ Dillashaw and the impressive Chris Cariaso, who he only lost to via split decision. It should also be noted that Cariaso is ranked 12th in MMA-Manifesto’s bantamweight rankings. Certainly, no shame in losing to those two.
What makes this a good matchup
Lee’s opponent Motonobu Tezuka, is pretty much the anti-Lee. The guy is wrestle-heavy and plays it safe in the top game as much as possible. 13 of his 19 career wins have come by decision. While this may look like trouble for Lee, his finishing mentality will force the issue with Tezuka and likely put him in uncomfortable situations. These situations didn’t work out well for Tezuka against Alex Caceres.
The Caceres fight also showed a lot more about Tezuka than just what he does when faced with adversity and pressure. In many ways, Vaughan Lee is like a better version of Alex Caceres. They both are quicker than Tezuka, both have long limbs and both use those limbs to strike as well as setup submissions. With Tezuka having problems with this stuff the first time around, count on Lee giving him a great deal of trouble this time as well.
Daniel Vreeland is a writer (PrelimPicker) and teacher with an avid love for martial arts. He has practiced jiu jitsu and submission grappling under and next to many top names including Royce Gracie, Rousimar Palhares, Murilo Bustamante and Marco Alvan. He has placed in multiple NAGA grappling tournaments and currently trains under black belt Dave Roy in Amherst, MA.
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