UFC 133 Preview: The Main Card

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Welterweights
Dennis Hallman (50-13-2, 1 NC, 3-4 UFC) vs. Brian Ebersole (47-14-1, 1 NC, 1-0 UFC)

The Matchup: Call this one a veteran’s special. Both guys have 60-plus fights on their resumes and a boatload of experience across multiple organizations. That is a hell of a lot of fights for someone not named Travis Fulton or Jeremy Horn.

Ebersole’s promotional debut was an impressive upset of Chris Lytle at UFC 127 in February, when he used his solid wrestling and some unorthodox moves to completely dominate the bout, hurting the readily durable Lytle a couple of times en route to a decision. Hallman, whose conditioning has been a question mark in the past, seems to have resolved that issue but has experienced mixed luck in recent bouts, losing via last-second knockout to John Howard in a bout he was winning before blowing out a faded Karo Parisyan.

Hallman’s excellent submissions have always been his bread and butter, and since both these welterweights have mediocre to moderate standup, this one goes into the clinches and on the ground. Ebersole, who has won eight in a row and 12 out of 13, has better wrestling chops. Interestingly, despite more than 60 bouts in each of their careers, Hallman has never lost by submission and Ebersole has never been knocked out. Hallman is either going to catch a submission or get KO’d going for it; if it goes the distance, Ebersole may have the edge in takedowns and control.

The Pick: Hallman by late submission.

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