UFC 146 Preliminary Card Breakdown

This weekend promises to deliver an exciting event split down the middle between Heavyweights on the UFC 146 Main Card, and the UFC 146 preliminary card which features many stars leading the fans into the PPV. With all the changes to the card from top to bottom, the UFC has had their hands full with this card, yet the extra hours they put in has produced yet another solid card. Below is the Preliminary card breakdown which is more than worth its weight in gold and should not go missed.

The night will open with one of the WEC’s biggest stars Mike Brown as he meets hot prospect Daniel Pineda, who is riding two fight win streak inside the Octagon. Brown has had his ups and downs in MMA but finally seems to be over his mental blocks and looks to put his heavy hands on Pineda. Pineda is on a 7 fight win streak (overall) with them all by way of finishes and looks to keep his impressive stretch going by defeating Brown in the opening fight.

In the second fight of the night Kyle Kingsbury will meet heavy hitting Glover Teixeira in what could be the best clash on the Facebook portion of the fight card. This will be a very hard fight to pick as both guys have solid wins, and have been involved in some very good fights. Teixeira fights out of the Pit with many past legends of the sport in his corner and will be sure to bring it on the mat and with strikes. Kingsbury fights out of AKA and should be in his prime seeing that Koscheck, Thompson, Velasquez, and Cormier were all training for major fights that peaked in a one week timeframe.

Welterweights will then clash in a mix between a ground savvy English fighter in Paul Sass and the powerhouse wrestler in Jacob Volkmann. Sass has incredible submissions off his back and Volkmann is the anti-hero with perfect offensive MMA wrestling that seems to frustrate top-tier fighters.

Onto the FX portion of the prelims now with Dan Hardy making his return to the cage after nearly a year off for a striking affair against Duane Ludwig in what seems to be a loser leaves town match of the ages. Duane will hold a power advantage but could fade fast to Hardy’s great technique and pace.

Next up is mister bully beat down himself; Jason Miller will meet the tough grinder in CB Dalloway. Both are in need of a win and this one will not be an easy affair at all for Miller, as CB is from a legit camp of wrestlers and has a few submission tricks up his sleeve.

Jamie Varner

To draw us all into the PPV we get one hell of a matchup in Jamie Varner vs. Edson Barboza. On the feet the muay thai phenom in Barboza could very easily have another highlight video up for knockout of the year but Varner should not be overlooked and possesses a great MMA wrestling past and even golden gloves in boxing. Barbosa has had trouble in previous UFC fights and seems to pick up the pace as the fight goes on. If Varner starts fast and secures a solid takedown this could be anyone’s fight.

In the final preliminary fight of the night TUF superstar Diego Branado hopes to stop the run of the rising star in Darren Elkins. Elkins is a 15-2 grappler who could pose the same threats as Bermudez was to Branado in the TUF finale. Branado is a wildly fast paced fighter who is dangerous with strikes and Jiu Jitsu and has even taught bjj lessons for team Greg Jackson for quite some time. Branado knows all about capturing fight night bonuses and this fight would be a good catch for fight, knock out, or even submission of the night from either fighter.

Overall the prelims deliver and offer a stark contrast to the all heavyweight main card. Check back soon for complete card predictions and well as the breakdown of the nights main card.

Tags: Breakdown, CB Dalloway, Dan Hardy, Daniel Pinada, Darren Elkins, Diego Brandao, Duane Ludwig, Edson Barboza, Glover teixeira, Jacob Volkmann, Jamie Varner, Jason Miller, Kyle Kingsbury, Mike Brown, MMA, Paul Sass, UFC, UFC 146, UFC 146 Preliminary

Category: Featured, MMA, UFC