UFC 109 Preview: The Prelims

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu Tarzan, a vegan face-smasher and the world’s scariest schoolteacher make up just part of the motley crew on the prelims of this Saturday’s UFC 109 event.

The main card airs live on pay-per-view from the sin miasma that is Las Vegas, and at least two prelim bouts will get to set the table on SpikeTV when Mac Danzig takes on Justin Buchholz and Melvin Guillard meets Ronys Torres.

Quality violence awaits, so read on and get your knowledge fix.

Melvin Guillard vs. Ronys Torres

The Breakdown: When Guillard looks across the cage at Torres, you have to wonder if there will be a moment of déjà vu for the self-destructive striker from New Orleans. Just as Torres will enter the cage advertised as the next big thing out of the vaunted Nova Uniao gym, Guillard was once a blue-chip prospect himself. Unfortunately, out-of-cage issues and a low fight IQ have hampered “The Young Assassin.”

On the opposite end of the fistic spectrum is Torres, who can’t match Guillard’s vertical leap but has the Brazilian jiu-jitsu skill befitting an Andre Pederneiras student and surprisingly adroit wrestling to match. Getting Guillard down is really what Torres’ hopes hinge on here. Guillard’s excess of athleticism allows him to stuff single- or double-legs as he did repeatedly in his bout with Gleison Tibau at the Ultimate Fighter 9 finale, but as soon as Tibau combined a single leg with a collar tie, the fight immediately hit the mat.

Torres’ ability to quickly close the pocket and attack with different takedown techniques makes him ideally suited to grounding Guillard. He has consistently shown that he can transition from failed leg attacks into successful second-effort techniques, perhaps most notably in his dominating win over Luiz Azeredo at Jungle Fight 10. That difference in wrestling fundamentals sets the table for the fighting pride of the Amazonas to work his top game, which might as well be kryptonite laced with cobra venom to Guillard.

The only strategies Guillard has on the ground are to try and cage walk back to his feet before his opponent can pass guard or shrimp from half-guard to create space and escape. The problem with both of those approaches is that Torres excels at establishing dominant positioning against the cage and at using kimura attempts from half-guard to pass and finish.

All this of course ignores the great equalizer: Guillard throws down like he’s half-man/half-Chuck Norris, and Torres isn’t even 10 percent Chuck. However, Guillard’s hyperactive offense short-circuits when he has to worry about getting taken down. Torres will be far more interested in snapping limbs than trading blows.

The Bottom Line: More than anything else, Guillard’s over-reliance on landing the lead right will sabotage him: Torres will be on him long before he can measure a wig-splitter. An early takedown and some Leavenworth-style lockdown on half-guard will be all Torres needs to snatch a kimura and make Guillard choose between keeping his pride or his arm.