(The Daily Haymaker is a daily series that takes a look back and covers the news, fights being made, and all the other insanity revolving around combat sports. The Haymaker’s purpose is to keep you up to date with the ever changing combat sports world and also provide thought-provoking [hopefully] analysis from yours truly.)
The News
1. The cast for The Ultimate Fighter: Nations seasons that pits Team Canada coached by Patrick Cote against Team Australia coached by Kyle Noke was announced.
Here’s the cast as well as some information on each contestant.
Team Canada – Welterweights
Chad Laprise (7-0) – Normally a lightweight, Laprise has pieced together an undefeated resume by finishing four of his opponents by TKO and one via submission. Laprise won two of his more recent contests on the undercard of Bellator shows against opponents with a combined record of 8-5. Q-Rating: 21
Kajan Johnson (19-10-1) – Also a fighter who usually competes at 155 pounds, Kajan Johnson’s most recent fights in the MFC organization have been broadcasted on HDNet. Johnson is coming off two of the more impressive victories of his career over Ryan Healy and Richie Whitson, although he hasn’t competed since late 2011. Eleven of his victories have come by way of submission. Q-Rating: 33
Olivier Aubin-Mercier (4-0) – By god, we have another fighter who is a natural lightweight. Aubin-Mercier has put his judo and BJJ background on display in his first four fights by submitting each of his opponents in the first frame with a rear-naked choke. Q-Rating: 9
Matt DesRoches (4-0) – DesRosches has also finished each of his opponents within the first frame. He trains out of Wulfrun MMA and is a relative unknown on the Candian circuit. Q-Rating: 6
Team Australia – Welterweights
Richard Walsh (7-1) – After a 2009 submission loss to Robert Whittaker, Walsh pieced together five consecutive wins, four of them coming by way of first round KO/TKO. Walsh is a usual customer at welterweight and could be one of the surprises this season. Q-Rating: 27
Brendan O’Reilly (5-0, 1 NC) – Right off the bat, I noticed that O’Reilly’s nickname was War Machine. I have no further comment on that. Aside from a no contest that was caused by an accidental headbutt, O’Reilly’s record is unblemished. He still has not beaten a fighter with winning record. Q-Rating: 13
Jake Matthews (3-0) – Matthews started his career off in 2012 and has finished all three of his opponents within in the second round. He also shares the same name as the starting left tackle for Texas A&M, so Gig ‘Em! Q-Rating: 54
Chris Indich (5-1) – Following a tough TKO loss on a KOTC Australia card, Indich has strung together three straight finishes. He last beat Dominic Harrison-Campbell. This could lead to Olivier Aubin-Merceiver avenging his fellow hyphenated last name brethren in a grudge match. Q-Rating: 7
Team Canada – Middleweights
Nordine Taleb (8-2) – Thanks to a three fight stint in Bellator that ended with a loss to Marius Zaromskis, Nordine Taleb is one of the better known fighters on the cast. Prior to the Zaromskis loss, Taleb amassed seven fight win streak that included victories over Pete Sell, Matt MacGrath, and Matt Secor. He trains out of the Tristar gym. Q-Rating: 38
Elias Theodorou (8-0) – A perfect record through eight fights helped raise Elias Theodorou up the middleweight prospect rankings, and he’s got some of the greatest upside amongst the season’s cast. The most impressive win on Theodorou’s resume is a first round submission victory over Mike Kent earlier in the year. Q-Rating: 23
Sheldon Westcott (8-1-1) – A pair of exciting clashes against Thomas Denny under the MFC banner earned Westcott some much-deserved notoriety, and he’s lived up to the hype since then with three wins over Jay Jensen, Nic Herron-Webb, and Aaron Shymer. Q-Rating: 12
Luke Harris (10-2, 1 NC) – Harris is another contestant that has had prior experience in MFC, his experiences being the most recent. Aside from a TKO loss to Joseph Henle, Harris has beaten his other opponents, Edwin Dewees and Jason Zentgraf, in his most recent stay in the company with submissions. At 36 years of age, time may be running out for Harris. Q-Rating: 15
Team Australia – Middleweights
Vik Grujic (6-2) – The resume of Vik Grujic is a bit questionable since he’s lost two of his last three and hasn’t beaten a fighter with a record over .500, so that leads me to believe he looked impressive in his tryout for the show. Q-Rating: 4
Daniel Kelly (5-0) – 36 year-old Daniel Kelly returned to professional MMA competition in 2012 after a six year lay-off. Since his return, Kelly reeled off 4 wins in a nine month time frame. Q-Rating: 8
Tyler Manawarao (10-0) – Despite being only 19 years old, Manawarao is the Australian middleweight contestant with the most career victories. He’s one of the favorites to win the show and could be a breakout star after the season. Q- Rating: 40
Zein Saliba (4-0) – Following two submissions to start off his career, Saliba beat his next opponents via decision. His most recent win, in 2012, came against teammate Vik Grujic. Q-Rating: 8
My pick to win the welterweight is Olivier Aubin-Mercier, and my pick for the middleweight side of things is Tyler Manawaroa. The middleweight portion of the show is the more deeper and interesting of the two.
(Note: I have no idea what a Q-Rating is.)
2. The World Series of Fighting 8 card has a new a main event. After MMAJunkie reported that Gesias Cavalcante pulled out of his lightweight championship fight against Justin Gaethje, MMAFighting announced that Gaethje’s new opponent will be Lewis Gonzales. Original Reports: http://bit.ly/IvnJ6G and http://bit.ly/1hBxHSL
3. The Canadian branch of WSOF has signed Ryan Ford according to Sherdog.com. Ford is a one of the best non-UFC welterweights, but the growth of his career has been hampered due to visa issues because of a crime he committed in 2003. Original report: http://bit.ly/1bkFr3l
4. On the promotions Facebook page, PXC announced that they have “parted ways” with Harris Sarmiento, the promotion’s lightweight champion, due to contractual issues.
Fight Results
1. At CEF 8, lightweight prospect Gilbert Burns (6-0) knocked out Paulo Goncalves Silva (19-9) in the first round. It’s a huge win for Burns who should be on the radar of the top MMA organizations.
Fights Made
UFC on FOX 10 – January 25th
Bantamweight Bout
Yves Jabouin (19-8) vs Eddie Wineland (20-9-1)
Heavyweight Bout
Walt Harris (5-2) vs Nikita Krylov (15-3)
Ultimate Fight Night 35 – January 15th
Flyweight Bout
John Moraga (13-2) vs Dustin Ortiz (12-2)
UFC 169 – February 1st
Middleweight Bout
Tom Watson (16-6) vs Nick Catone (9-4)
RFA 12
RFA Featherweight Championship
Keoni Koch (5-0) vs Brian Ortega (7-0)
LFC 28 – February 21st
LFC Middleweight Championship
William Bush (6-2) vs Roger Narvaez (6-0)
That’ll do it for today’s Haymaker. Thanks for reading, and I’ll leave you with a quote from Nelson Mandela. Rest in peace Madiba, you were on of the greatest human beings of your generation.
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
-Dan can be reached at [email protected] or @danielgal.
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