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USFC 93 & 94 Previews!Event Preview: Hello, ladies and gentleman! This is Rodrigo Oliveira back with a TON of USFC action for you guys to enjoy, as the promotion takes over the weekend with not one, but two shows packed with quality sanctioned violence. First off, we have USFC 93, which emanates this Saturday from the Liberty Dome. The show is headlined by a featherweight title fight between superstar champ Neymar Junior and The Hound. The action continues through Sunday, with USFC 94 taking over the Liberty Dome as lightheavyweights Der Debil and Thomas Campion set foot in the cage. We've got a lot of fights to go through, so let's cut to the chase: USFC 93 PREVIEW MAIN EVENT Featherweight Championship Bout (145 lbs) - "The Outlaw" Neymar Junior (16-2) vs The Hound (9-4) Knockout machine and reigning USFC champ Neymar Junior returns to action following yet another sucessful title defense at USFC 90, where he - yep, you guessed - knocked Turd Ferguson out cold in less than 5 minutes. The next man in line trying to usurp his throne is Hound, a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt who has never been knocked out and is yet to taste defeat inside the USFC cage. That said, he's facing a truly elite talent in Neymar here. The man they call "The Outlaw" has iced his opponents in all but one of his wins, flaunts some of the finest striking in the division and is a gigantic featherweight, standing at 6'1". Hound's grappling chops are not to be taken lightly as he finished seven of his nine victims with an outstanding variety of submissions, ranging from armbars and kimuras to the rare Anaconda choke, but he certainly has his work cut out for him. PREDICTION: Hound's venomous grappling could certainly give the champ fits, but will he be able to ever get the fight to ground? To do it, he will have to navigate through a huge reach disadvantage. While getting punched in the face. Hard. I'm siding with the champion, Neymar by early knockout is the pick. CO-MAIN EVENT Lightweight Bout (155 lbs) - Vladimir Emelienko (8-1) vs Sigurd Ragnarsson (8-2-1) Two top lightweight talents take center stage just before our main event, as former champion Vladimir Emelienko locks horns with one-time title challenger Sigurd Ragnarsson. Emelienko will be looking to bounce back from his first defeat as a pro, a unanimous decision loss to Mathew Ridgeway which also cost him his title. A powerful puncher and slick boxer, the 25-year-old Russian boasts an impressive 75% finish ratio and will be looking to ad Ragnarsson's name to his resume. The Las Vegas-based Dane is a Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt and a very good one at it, as he forced tapouts in all 8 of his wins. Ragnarsson was last seen in action at USFC 90, where he pocketed the Submission fo the Night bonus. PREDICTION: This has all the makings of a very competitive fight, with both guys having clear advantages in specific areas. As always in a striker vs grappler matchup, wrestling will be the key factor, and, since both fighters are competent wrestlers, i'll give Emelienko the slight edge as the fight always starts standing. MAIN CARD Heavyweight Bout (265 lbs) - Joe Doe (6-3) vs Alistair "Demon" Spong (6-3) The USFC cage will certainly be about to shake, as colossal heavyweights Joe Doe and Alistair Spong do battle in a featured main card attraction. Both men come into this bout with similar records - 6 wins each, 5 of those by KO - but while Doe will look to regain some momentum after being halted by Soa Palelei, Spong will try to put together a 3-fight winning streak. Their records are alike, and so is their fighting style: Doe and Spong both are primarily strikers well-versed in boxing and muay thai. While Doe is also a Brazilian jiu jitsu brown belt, i highly doubt he will be looking for takedowns - this is just not how he operates. Look for the mammoths to charge at each other until only one is left standing. PREDICTION: It's really hard to pick a winner here since both guys are almost mirror images of each other, so we'll have to go through the details. Doe will hold a slight but meaningful reach advantage, which he can use in the form of kicks to the legs and body and keep Spong at bay. The "Demon", meanwhile, is running high on confidence, courtesy of his back-to-back wins. I flipped a coin, and it told me Spong will take it. USFC 94 PREVIEW MAIN EVENT Light Heavyweight Bout (205 lbs) - Der "Tepang" Debil (10-14) vs Thomas "Spear of Rage" Campion (9-3) In the main event of the evening, rugged veteran Der Debil will look to exact revenge on the Campion family as he takes on Thomas Campion, elder brother of Matthew Campion, who bested "Tepang" via unanimous decision all the way back at USFC 81. A veteran of over 20 professional fights, Debil is primarily a grappler and his BJJ purple belt has netted him 7 submissions among his 10 professional wins. The 26-year-old Filipino is adept at finding submissions in any position, having finished opponents with leglocks, chokes and armlocks. He will look to stop Campion's rise through the division's rankings. The man they call "Spear of Rage" got his act together after losing his first three fights within the promotion, and now finds himself riding a four-fight winning streak where he finished all of his opponents. Campion is a dangerous grappler himself, boasting a BJJ brown belt and some solid wrestling to back it up. PREDICTION: Campion is the superior grappler, comes in with a lot a confidence and overall just looks to be in his zone right now. There will be some fun scrambles once the fight hits the mat, but i can see the "Spear of Rage" getting a hold of something and coaxing a tapout midway into the second stanza. CO-MAIN EVENT Lightweight Bout (155 lbs) - Leo Yaj (4-1) vs Lucas Blye (11-5) Two of the division's finest meet in a cracking lightweight contest. In the red corner, we have Leo Yaj, a 25-year-old prospect who's fresh off of his defeat as a pro. One of the so called "new breed" of MMA fighters, Yaj is well-rounded and dangerous anywhere the fight goes, as he's competent both striking at range, punishing his opponents in the clinch or hunting for submissions on the ground. Across from him, in the blue corner, will be Lucas Blye. Despite being just 24-years-old, the Chicago-native has racked up a wealth of experience and a pretty respectable record as a mixed martial artist, with 11 wins and just 5 defeats. Blye is a wrestler by trade, and his modus operandi consists of blasting his opponents to the ground and then metodically advance position while dishing out some very effective ground n' pound. PREDICTION: Tough one to call, but Yaj's more rounded game certainly gives him a slight edge. Make no mistake, though: Things can get nasty for him if he allows Blye to get top position. The pick is Yaj by decision in a back-and-forth, exciting fight. MAIN CARD Featherweight Bout (145 lbs) - Keef Hash (5-3) vs Pat Tillman (4-2) Closing out our double-header preview, we have a featherweight bout between Keef Hash and Pat Tillman. Hash is still looking to get back on track after failing a title bid against Neymar Junior back at USFC 77. He lost his next bout to the ultra-tough Jolly Leg Byrd, but let's not forget, this is a very talented fighter we're talking about. Hash is solid in all areas of the game and flaunts a BJJ black belt. He has finished all but one of his victims, and has a particularly dangerous muay thai game. He will have a tough nut to crack in the form of Army vet Pat Tillman, who has been on a tear since changing his management. Tillman is 4-0 with his new boss and is yet to lose a fight inside the USFC cage. While he lacks the finishing power of his opponent, Tillman's high skill cap coupled with his toughness, makes him a daunting challenge for any fighter weighing in at 145 pounds. PREDICTION: Tillman is facing probably his toughest opponent to date, but i really believe he will be able to keep his momentum going. Both guys are very evenly matched and will fight tooth and nail at every turn, but i see Tillman getting his hand raised after the full 15 minutes.
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