UFC on Versus 1 Preview: The Prelims

John Howard vs. Daniel Roberts

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The Breakdown: Perhaps the most ignored fighter to ever notch a 3-0 record in the UFC, Howard continues his slow trudge to fistic glory against the undefeated Roberts, who enters this fight as a short-notice replacement for the perpetually weight-cutting Anthony Johnson. The void of respect that has become Howard’s career is owed entirely to the fact that he could easily be 0-3 in the Octagon.

His split decisions over Chris Wilson and Tamdan McCrory were, at best, contentious and he needed a miraculous last-second KO of Dennis Hallman to avoid an upset decision loss. The problem inherent in Howard’s style is that he relies on pure physical ability to compensate for the dearth of technical ability he so routinely displays. No such issues exist for Roberts, who comes from a collegiate wrestling background and has shown a surprising penchant for scoring slick submissions.

The question here is whether or not Roberts can overcome the difference in physical ability as well as Howard’s murderous striking power. Past fights on the local circuit reveal Roberts is just as sloppy standing as Howard and doesn’t have the skull-crushing power to survive any exchanges. Considering Roberts’ past issues with iffy cardio, he’ll need to work a submission early or risk landing right in Howard’s wheelhouse.

The Bottom Line: This just isn’t the right fight for Roberts at this point in his career. His natural talent for submissions is still held back by his overall lack of seasoning and technical knowledge. The early going will look like something out of an acid-tinged videogame, but Roberts is eventually going to run out of juice and end up getting leveled by one of Howard’s widow makers.