UFC on Versus Sanchez vs. Kampmann Primer: The Undercard

Thursday begins the crazy month of MMA known as March. It'll be incredibly busy and as such, we'll be incredibly busy bringing you the matchups and news of all the happenings and going-ons. The UFC hits Louisville, Kentucky to promote their third card on Versus and it's a pretty solid card from top to bottom. To kick things off for the month, let's take a look at the undercard for the event.

Igor Pokrajac vs. Todd Brown

It's only fitting that the first fight of the night is a "loser leaves town" match. Neither man has had a particularly great UFC career with Igor Pokrajac going 1-3 and Todd Brown sitting at 0-1 with the promotion. Pokrajac has faced some solid Light Heavyweight competition in his UFC run with his losses coming from Vladimir Matyushenko, James Te Huna, and Stephan Bonnar, while his sole win inside the octagon came at UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko against James Irvin. He's a training partner of Mirko Filipovic, which explains his run in the UFC and why he's been given ample opportunity despite his sub .500 record. 

Todd Brown is more of an enigma when it comes to his overall skill level. He claims the rank of Kru in Muay Thai and alleges a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt, but I haven't been able to confirm these rankings anywhere. He also claims to have won various titles in the smaller regional shows. His biggest win to date is over Rick Roufus in 2008 and his only UFC fight occured at UFC 117: Silva vs. Sonnen against Tim Boetsch. He was able to win a round against Boetsch which leads me to believe he's not a total scrub but he definitely isn't UFC caliber.

The match should be exciting for the live crowd as typically two fighters fighting for their job bring it for the full 15 minutes. Both fighters have knockouts and submissions to their names and neither has shown an ability to compete at the highest level. I expect Todd Brown to come away with the victory and keep his job for another event as he's shown the ability to put his standup and ground skills together with a greater success rate. Pokrajac has faced better competition in his career but has never won so I can't think Thursday will be when he puts all his skills together. No matter the outcome, neither fighter has a long term future with the UFC so they may as well enjoy their time while they can.

Rousimar Palhares vs. Dave Branch

This fight was originally supposed to be Palhares against Alexandre Ferreira but Ferreira was forced to pull out after being dismissed from Chute Boxe and losing family and friends in the Brazilian floods this past January. Prior to pulling out of the fight both Palhares and Ferreira took issue with being booked to fight each other as they have trained together in the past and maintain a friendship. Dave Branch has stepped in for Ferreira and looks to extend his win streak in the UFC to three in a row.

Rousimar Palhares joined the UFC with much fanfare as one of the last solid fighters out of the once great Brazilian Top Team. He won "submission of the night" honors in his first fight in the UFC against Ivan Salaverry, who was once one of the top ranked Middleweights in the world. Joe Silva, seeing great potential put the man fans lovingly refer to as "Paul Harris" in against Dan Henderson at UFC 88: Breakthrough. While Paulhares wasn't victorious, he was competitive against the legend. He then went on a three fight win streak with two wins by way of heel hook, one of which landed him on the 90 day suspension list. Last time we saw him he was knocked out by Nate Marquardt at Ultimate Fight Night 23. He has a strong submission and wrestling game but his build limits his stand up potential. At 4-2 in the UFC, he shouldn't be in any danger of losing his job, but a win would definitely get him back on track toward the title picture. 

Dave Branch is a black belt under Renzo Gracie. Unlike Rolles Gracie, a black belt under Renzo means a lot in the grappling circuits. Dave is a big Middleweight with a solid stand up game but his bread and butter is definitely on the ground. He went undefeated in his two fight run in Bellator before signing with the UFC. His first fight was against the now departed Gerald Harris at UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin. He was competitive in the fight with many believing he was on his way to winning a decision before an ill advised attempt to jump guard. The knockout landed him on ESPN, just not in the way that Branch probably planned. He's been able to bounce back, winning two in a row. 

This fight could either be an extremely entertaining ground battle or incredibly boring. It really depends on both fighters desire to put on a fight for the fans in attendance. Palhares has the ability to get fight to the ground so it will be nice to see how Branch deals with a physically stronger fighter. 

The rest of the prelims after the jump...

Rob Kimmons vs. Dongi Yang

Another loser leaves town type fight. Rob Kimmons has been the definition of mediocrity when speaking of a UFC fighter. Currently 3-3 in the UFC, his victories have been over the likes of Rob Yundt, Joe Vedepo, and Steve Steinbeiss. Needless to say, that's not exactly a murderers row of top flight oppositions. His loses have been to Dan Miller, Jorge Rivera, and Kyle Noke. That should give an idea of how the UFC views Rob Kimmons, in that he is fodder to build up fighters and create win streaks. He doesn't have a single notable win and the only thing that he really has going for him is that he trains at Jackson's MMA, so at least he's trained with some top flight fighters. At .500 in the UFC, this is most likely his last fight with the promotion until they need someone else built up and then he'll get another phone call from Joe Silva.

Dongi Yang or Dong Yi Yang, depending on which source you read, is one of the UFC's blue chip Korean signings. He is a member of the roster because he could potentially be used to break into the South Korean market if and when the UFC decides to run shows with some regularity in Asia. He entered the UFC undefeated with eight wins by TKO stoppage and one submission via triangle choke. He has a notable win over Pawel Nastula at Sengoku: Fourth Battle. He entered the UFC and was given Chris Camozzi as his first fight. It was a fight designed for him to be the winner. He showed good takedowns and ground and pound for the first two rounds but lost a split decision. This was a big set back for Yang and explains why he drew Kimmons for his second fight in the UFC.

This fight reeks of the UFC giving Yang the "perform or get cut" ultimatum. He's supposed to beat Kimmons. In fact, anything besides a stoppage I believe would be a disappointment. This fight is meant to showcase Yang and build his confidence in the UFC. There is no reason he shouldn't be victorious and he has better skills in every part of MMA. If he isn't victorious he won't get another chance in the UFC, he'll be another Asian import that fizzles out in North America. This fight should and will be brutal and Yang will be the winner with his ninth TKO stoppage.

Takeya Mizugaki vs. Reuben Duran

The fight between Takeya Mizugaki and Reuben Duran was originally booked to feature Francisco Rivera, but an injury gives Duran the opportunity to show that he belongs in the UFC's Bantamweight division against one of the top fighters in the weight class. At 2-3, many would think he isn't worthy of a roster spot; it's only when you break down his record that you see that he's faced the best in the division in his tenure with Zuffa. A two time fight of the night winner, he will always put on a great fight for fans in attendance and he's willing to "go out on his shield" as seen in his fight with Urijah Faber where he was choked unconscious. His wins have come against one-time Featherweight championship challenger Jeff Curran and three-time submission of the night winner Rani Yahya. He's been given the opportunity to regroup in Louisville against UFC newcomer Reuben Duran.

Reuben Duran is stepping in on relatively short notice to take on the veteran. He faces an uphill battle as Mizugaki is currently #7 ranked Bantamweight according to the USA Today/SB Nation Rankings. He is 7-2 -1 according to Sherdog with three wins by way of TKO, three by submission and one decision. He hasn't faced anyone of note and is currently riding a four fight win streak. This fight will either showcase a fighter who knows he has nothing to lose as he is a short notice fighter being used to regroup a talented veteran or a fighter who will have big fight jitters and will quickly be finished in highlight reel fashion.

My gut tells me this fight will be short and sweet with Mizugaki walking through Duran in a bout that will display Mizugaki's skills and talents. Unfortunately, this is MMA and there is always the chance that Duran pulls a "Joe Lauzon" and knocks Mizugaki out. Either way, with Mizugaki fighting for what could be his Zuffa career, expect this to be a highly entertaining fight.

Thiago Tavares vs. Shane Roller

The fight between Thiago Tavares and Shane Roller was broken down beautifully by our own DavidAC but I'll try and break it down further. As David said, there was a time when Thaigo Tavares was thought to be the future of the UFC's lightweight division. He had slick submission skills and pretty good stand up for a Jiu Jitsu fighter. He's been incredibly inconsistent in the UFC and due to a two fight skid in 2008, he hasn't been mentioned in any talks concerning contendership. He's only 26 and has the potential to turn his career around going 2-1 since 2009 and is looking to rebuild his once bright future. His quick choke of Pat Audinwood at UFC 119 got him featured on the Spike TV portion of the broadcast and showed that he's still a fighter to be feared in the deep lightweight division.

Shane Roller is a member of Team Takedown and a three-time NCAA D1 All American wrestler. He's brought his wrestling pedigree to Cobra Kai and has worked with coach Marc Laimon to become an incredibly talented grappler in his own right. Going 5-2 in the WEC, his wins include three rear naked choke submissions over Danny Castillo, Anthony Njokuani, and Jamie Varner. Two of those wins netted him Submission of the Night honors. His two losses are to Anthony Pettis and Benson Henderson, the current number one contender for the UFC's lightweight title and the former WEC champion. He's shown heavy hands and but his stand up skills are still pretty rudimentary. He's excelled as a grappler with solid top control.

The fight could turn out to be a complete snoozer under normal circumstances. These days, fights in the UFC's Lightweight division aren't normal circumstances with the division taking up the most roster spots in the organization. Neither fighter is particularly skilled on their feet so this could turn into either an awful kickboxing match or a fantastic grappling match. I'm hoping for the latter as both can be extremely entertaining on the ground. The advantage has to go to Tavares on the ground but it'll really come down to his ability to handle the much larger and physically strong Roller.