A Closer Look At UFC 132: "UFC Prelims LIVE" On Both Facebook And Spike TV

Hello once more fans and friends, I’m pleased to announce that it’s time for another round of my “A Closer Look” series! For the next two days, I’ll be diving head-first into this weekend’s UFC 132 fight card, which is shaping up to be one of the UFC’s big can’t-miss events of the summer. Much of the main card is loaded with talent and intrigue, and right now I’ll be giving a quick rundown of the undercard. This is “A Closer Look At UFC 132”, and these are the preliminary bouts scheduled to air live first on Facebook and then on Spike TV.

The first bout of the evening pits the 9-4 Jeff Hougland against the 15-6 Donny Walker. Both men are making their debut in the UFC, although Walker does seem to be coming in with a bit more hype. Both men are on long win-streaks and have a history of finishing opponents, but Walker has faced the tougher competition. And at one point in his career, Hougland lost four straight fights. Walker should take this one, although not easily.

Next up we have Anthony Njokuani facing Andre Winner. Njokuani is a far cry from his days as one of the WEC’s brightest prospects, he’s lost three out of his last four fights and two of those losses have been stoppages. A former participant on “The Ultimate Fighter”, Winner’s career is in equally-dire straits, with Winner winning just twice in his last seven fights (one fight was a draw, though). Both men can be entertaining and even dominant at times, so this fight really will come down to “who wants it more”?

We then see Brad Tavares taking on Aaron Simpson. Tavares is 7-0 and already has two UFC fights under his belt, his last victory inside the Octagon coming by way of first-round KO. Simpson will basically be taking on the role of the gatekeeper in this fight, he’s 1-2 in his last three but he does hold a very respectable record of 8-2. Experience could play a factor, Tavares may only have a handful of fights less than Simpson but Simpson has been in there with guys like Mark Munoz and Chris Leben. But if Tavares wants it badly enough, he can beat Simpson and maybe even stop him.

The main event of Facebook’s “UFC Prelims LIVE” broadcast will see former WEC Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles fight the always-game Takeya Mizugaki. Bowles recently rebounded from the fight that lost him the championship with a great performance against the tough Damacio Page. Mizugaki is currently 3-3 in his last six but has fought some of the best Bantamweights in the world throughout that run. But with his propensity to get dominated by top-level fighters, it’s hard not to pick against him in a fight against a former champion like Bowles.

The first of two “UFC Prelims LIVE” fights scheduled for a Spike TV broadcast sees the wily Australian submission specialist George Sotiropoulos take on the 14-5 Rafael dos Anjos. Sotiropoulos’ standing as the next big can’t-miss Lightweight took quite a hit when Dennis Siver recently beat him in a fight that Siver controlled for the duration of their bout, while Rafael dos Anjos has been out since August 2010 healing an injury. This should be a fight where “G-Sots” firmly reestablishes himself as a fighter that should not be missed.

And the main event of the Spike TV broadcast sees Melvin Guillard take on Shane Roller. A perennial gatekeeper, Guillard has recently gotten people talking again thanks in no small part to his recent four fight win-streak that’s currently highlighted by his all-out destructions of both Evan Dunham and Waylon Lowe. Meanwhile, Shane Roller has won five of his last six fights with four stoppages. This one has “sleeper hit” written all over it and it should definitely be a very wild, very entertaining encounter.

And that’s one down and plenty more to go, fans and friends! Stay tuned as we take “A Closer Look” at UFC 132.