Contributor: Marta Gallo

When I decided I was going to write an I Love Gray Maynard piece, I figured I should research some interesting tidbits to tell you about him.  It couldn’t only be about his awesome dogs after all.  What I discovered is that there are a lot of reasons why I love Gray Maynard.  While his sister Misty is quick to rattle off the statistics she has complied on Gray’s fights and opponents, I wanted more than that.

Gray finds himself in sunny California these days.  Needing a change of pace after his last fight with Frankie Edgar, he left Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas and settled down at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose.  There you will find him riding a bike adorned with a basket, following behind good friend Martin Kampmann.

Clearly, this is a man that doesn’t take himself too seriously.

Bring up wrestling though, and you will experience his passion for the sport.  Quick to talk about the good values that wrestling teach an individual, on his social media you will find his nephew wearing his first pair of wrestling shoes, mean-muggin’ for the camera.

Wrestling is in his blood.  Named after his father’s idol, Gray Simons, it was wrestling that brought him into the MMA world.  He wrestled alongside Rashad Evans at Michigan State University.  Relating a story of when they were team captains, he talks about a drunk man staggering into their room at 2am.  Initially thinking it was another wrestler coming to check his weight, Gray instead wakes up to a naked man he’s never seen before in his life.   Gray relates the rest of the story, “For like the last two years in college I didn’t have my front teeth, they got knocked out in a match. So this dude–who is drunk as shit, passed out–wakes up and looks at us, and he sees a big black dude and a crazy white dude with no teeth, and he’s looking around disoriented, and he’s buck naked except for black socks. He had a cheesy homemade tattoo. We were throwing things at him. Then he started trying to put on my clothes. We’re like slapping his hand, and I swear we were close to beating the shit out of him.”

The match that he lost his two front teeth?  Northern Iowa Open, Griff Powell from Illinois lands an elbow midway through their match.  Gray went to his coach, spit out the teeth, and went back out.  He won in overtime, and went on to win the tournament.  Gray Maynard is a tough bastard.

Here is where the contradiction comes in…try balancing that image with Gray in a bath robe, adorable baby girl and aging bull terrier asleep on his lap.  He sits, updating his Twitter about the adopting a dog:

Saw this on tjlavin page. So true. A dog will never judge or hate u, it will always forgive u, it will… instagram.com/p/YA-5vJs6oF/—
Gray Maynard (@GrayMaynard) April 12, 2013

Hank, a bull terrier, muzzle whitening with age, sleeps dutifully by Gray’s side.  Estella, Gray’s daughter, lays on her canine protector.  Hank use to be Tank.  Gray found him chained in a neighbors backyard along with a couple American pit bull terriers.  Being neglected and abused and living with a suspected dog fighter, Gray rescued him.  Incidentally, this is also where Gray’s nickname comes from, of course.  Tank was in need of training.  Who better to do it than a disciplined wrestler?  Along came Ruka, a sweet female bull terrier, as a companion for Hank.

You will find picture after picture like this.  Gray and his dogs playing at the beach.  Hiking in Santa Cruz.  Riding in the car, heads hanging out the window.  In bed, snuggled up together.  Hank laying on his back, all paws in the air, in between Gray and his father.  Dressed up for Halloween.  At the gym with Gray.  “Helping” him sign autographs.  My point is, they are completely a part of his life.  They are family to Maynard.  Like wrestling, you can tell there is a lot of passion for his dogs.  He makes appearances to raise money for It’s the Pits, making sure all the proceeds went to the charity.  Though, they mistakenly claim Maynard has a pittie.  Let me tell you from personal experience, a bull terrier is much different from a pit bull terrier.  [Ed Note: proud Pit Bull owner, can confirm.]  Very similar in lineage, very different in personality, but I digress.

That is Gray Maynard.  In wrestling he dedicated himself to the highest level of competition.  In MMA, he trains everywhere and any time to develop new skills.  He is also refreshingly straightforward.   “I think having an open mind and being grounded about who you are is the best. To know your abilities, and then to pick and choose what can apply to you. I know I’m not Anderson Silva. So, I’m not going to try and be like him.”  There is no ego, only a goal.  A goal he will take one step closer to on Saturday night.  I know who my household will be rooting for.

-Marta can be reached via paper airplane.

Contributor: Benjamin Kohn

In just 3 short days, the fight everyone has been waiting for will finally go down. After a tense period in which Mark Hunt could not get a visa to fly to the US, and Roy Nelson may have had to step in for another beatdown at the hands of JDS, the MMA gods mercifully decided to let us have this one. Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt, K-1 GP HW champion and all around badass will go head-to-head against the former UFC HW champion and all around badass Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos in a fight that can end up being one of the best of the year if not all friggin time!

As I am sure you can all tell from my previous Mark Hunt breakdown, Mark Hunt fucking rocks and should be named President of Earth. That being said, we all know what his strengths and weaknesses are as a fighter. He is a short and stocky HW that has immense power, a chin made of dolomite (RIP Futurama), and more swag than everyone at the VMAs can even dream of. His striking is obviously his deadliest weapon and despite his 265 pound frame, he moves deceptively fast and can blast you out of nowhere putting you to sleep for a while. His weakness as a fighter is obviously his ground game and always has been. Mark however has been working diligently on improving his grappling and it has definitely helped him out. His last fight against Stefan Struve showed that he has the ability to survive extended periods of time on the ground against a good submission fighter (let’s forget that one time he pulled Struve into mount). Mark’s chances of beating Dos Santos lie solely on this fight remaining on the feet and that completely lies on where Dos Santos wants to fight.

Junior Dos Santos’ best weapon is his lethal boxing. He darts in and out of slower and more plodding HW’s blasting them with quick and powerful punches to the body and head until nothing is left but a bloody and beaten mess at the end of the fight (see Shane Carwin fight). Dos Santos has something that most strikers would kill to have, incredible TDD. Taking and keeping Junior down is harder to do than catching the greased up deaf guy from Family Guy. Throw in his blackbelt in BJJ and you have a fighter that is near impossible to beat. Did I also mention his chin is insanely good? The only man to beat him at the highest level of competition was the current champion Cain Velasquez and Cain’s skillset is completely different from Hunt’s so looking at that fight will not show much for us in the “strategies Mark Hunt can use” department. Junior also has shown darn good offensive wrestling when needed as he took down massive HW and 3 time D2 All-American, 2 time runner up, and 1 time D2 champion Shane Carwin with ease. Junior has stated that he thinks he can knock Hunt out and for the sake of us fans, I sure as hell hope he tries to do so on the feet.

Striking: I will begin by breaking down the striking of Mark Hunt, than Junior, and then I will match them up together to make three separate parts.

Mark Hunt: The style of striking Mark Hunt employs is very simple. He has more power than his opponent and a better chin as well. He knows he can take your punches and you can’t take his. This allows him to strike without fear and that is a huge advantage at HW. Mark Hunt’s favorite combination and one that he used to great effect against Struve is the cross-counter right hand over a jab followed by his ridiculously powerful left hook (sometimes leaping). He used this to initially rock Struve as well as in the finishing sequence and works extremely well for someone like him who will almost always be at a height and reach disadvantage. Mark also has a pretty decent jab to boot although he usually gets hit when he throws it because head movement is too much of a hassle for a boss like Hunt. While not known as a kicker, Mark has shown to have a pretty good kicking game when he feels like using it but he mostly employs his cinderblock fists to KO his opponents. Against another striker in Cheick Kongo, Mark Hunt used his signature cross-counter right and left hook to finish the French striker in the first round (although he rocked him exclusively with the left, the cross-counter was used throughout the short fight whenever Cheick would jab him). Mark Hunt knows JDS needs to stand with him in order for him to have a shot and assuming he does, let’s break down JDS’ striking game.

Junior Dos Santos: Junior is a fast, agile, mobile, and extremely powerful striker. He uses quick hooks to blast his generally slower opponents and dart out of danger before his opponents can strike back. His attacking style includes a steady stream of jabs and straights to the body in order to get his opponent to drop their hands and then attempts to fire an overhand right before they can retrieve their defenses. His style uses a straight, darting forward attack, generally without many angles. He is an absolutely fantastic offensive boxer and no HW has been able to withstand his onslaught of ferocious boxing (aside from Cain in the rematch). His defense however does leave much to be desired. He carries his hands rather low and is definitely a hittable target. He trusts his chin to hold up (and it definitely has) which definitely can be a liability should he choose to stand with the great and powerful Hunto. Junior will also generally not kick, though when he does, it hurts. He has also shown susceptibility to kicks and in his fight with Mir, who is slower than the average Floridian driver, was able to land kicks whenever he threw them. Against Hunt, this could be a mistake as Hunt kicks hard as shit. His biggest flaw and the one upon which this fight will decide upon is his lazy jab. Whenever backing up, JDS will throw a lazy, half-hearted jab to keep at a distance from his opponent. This is the exact punch that got him floored against Cain Velasquez in their rematch.

How they match up: Junior has the speed and athleticism advantage as his power and chin are near, if not at the same level as Hunt (ok probably not the same but they are both incredible). He seems to have all the tools on the feet to calmly outbox Hunt en route to an easy, possibly completely lopsided decision. The game changer for me is the lazy jab he ALMOST ALWAYS throws when backing up. Hunt’s favorite technique is the cross-counter right over the taller man’s jab. He has floored and KO’d multiple fighters with this technique and a follow up left hook would spell doom for pretty much any species known to man. For God’s sake, he broke Struve’s jaw with that combo! Junior showing he doesn’t mind taking a shot combined with lazy jab and extreme confidence in his striking could really screw him over here and I think that it will bite him in the ass badly. Edge goes to MARKU HUNTO!!!!

Wrestling and Grappling: This is pretty straightforward to be honest. JDS is the better wrestler, both offensively and defensively. Mark Hunt’s TDD has improved immensely though as well as his grappling awareness. I don’t think that JDS will shoot as he feels he has something to prove on the feet but if he does, he hasn’t really shown much in the way of offensive submission ability in the little time he has spent on the ground. In fact Shane Carwin nearly submitted him on the ground after being ground into pulp for nearly 15 minutes. Should the fight end up on the ground, Junior should ground and pound Mark and wear him down for when they return to the feet. Edge is strongly in favor of Junior.

Cardio: The last major factor that will matter in this fight is cardiovascular endurance. Neither of these guys are cardio machines but JDS will definitely have the advantage in this department. Hunt definitely has a tendency to tire, generally near the mid-point of the second round, and sometimes earlier. This can play a big factor as JDS usually doesn’t tire until about the third round and usually after beating up on iron chinned HW’s for the two previous rounds. Against Cain he definitely slowed down but was still fighting back the entire time which is incredible to say the least. Mark however has shown that even late in the fight when tired, he can put you out hard and that is also incredible. Because Mark’s style involves quick explosions of strikes, he can still attack with these when gassed out which makes him dangerous no matter how late in the fight it is. The edge still definitely goes to Junior here though.

Bottom Line: This is Junior’s fight to lose really. He should immediately work to ground Hunt and not take any risks but that doesn’t seem to be Junior’s style and that’s why he is beloved by fans. He wants to put on a show with Mark Hunt and I think they will put on one hell of a show for us. I can see this going a few ways on the feet. JDS batters Hunt for 3 rounds and wins a decision (I don’t see him finishing Mark). Mark knocks out JDS in the first because MARKU HUNTO. The other scenario I see is Hunt winning the first, winning the second early but tiring and JDS takes over, and JDS winning the third causing a decision that will piss people off regardless. However I am going with my heart (as always in a Mark Hunt fight) and predicting MARKU HUNTO BY KO ROUND 1!!!!!

-Ben can be reached @agentbenten or steroidben57@yahoo.com

Contributor: Connor Dillon

Here at Undercard, I’m considered the video game guru (not that I work on them or anything, I just play them fanatically) [Ed. Note: I'm willing to challenge Connor for this crown whenever the punk would like.]  I’ve played EA MMA and all three UFC Undisputed video games. Out of all, the one that came off the best to me was UFC Undisputed 3.  [Ed. Note: EA MMA was my favorite.].  It had the depth of selection for strikes, ground movements, and tactics, as well as decent graphics and a smooth slip-and-counter system. The striking system was one of my favorite features of the entire MMA game genre, as I could have at least three different strikes for each limb, usually more than that. I often play it for hours on end because, why not? That said, there were several things I took issue with: the length (or lack thereof) of the campaign, the difficulty in building up a character’s skill vs building up a move set in campaign, glitches that would leave me at the whims of an AI, the submission system, and some portions of the controls for the ground fighting.

However, THQ owned that, and anyone familiar with the video game industry knows that they went under and sold all their assets. Before that though, the UFC and EA bought out the partnership from THQ and now EA has the rights to make UFC video games. Now, in general, EA is the devil. No, not in general. They are the Devil. Their constant takeover of small developers then shut down and firing of employees, the death of series under their watch, and their belief that money is better than gamers’ opinions can be insulting. One thing I can admit, they know their games (*sometimes).

One video game they got mostly right was EA MMA. While its graphics were kind of cartoonish in comparison to the more realistic graphics in THQ’s Undisputed series, they were top notch and interesting. They had walkouts, songs, good voice work from people like Bas Rutten, and an easy to use grappling control system. Things they messed up on include the voiceovers for some of the foreign gym owners in Japan and Brazil, the stamina system, the two separate submission systems, the striking system, and the cast of fighters being limited. The voiceovers that were messed up seem to have an integration issue within the game, either the file wasn’t fully rendered properly or there wasn’t enough studio time to get quality voice work done, but that’s a small issue.

The size of the cast was something that didn’t bother me too much, outside of some funny issues where one or two fighters wouldn’t be in the weight class they actually fought in. The stamina issue just seemed odd to have, and was difficult to keep an eye on and control. The submission system was one of the worst issues I had with the game; I could get a leg or arm and press buttons to get the submission and actually watch the submission at work, whereas I had to take myself out of the game to attempt a choke submission and even then it was very difficult to get, as the controls for chokes weren’t very intuitive. Above all other problems was the striking system. There was no depth to potential move sets, hands were held at odd angles, if you became gassed it looked like you were throwing dumbbells at a very, very slow pace. To knockout someone, you had to have extremely high striking ability and get the hurt before unloading like crazy, and even then you were more likely to get a TKO than a KO. This drove me away from EA MMA and into the open and deeply satisfying arms of UFC Undisputed 3.

So what would I like to find in the new EA UFC videogame? What follows is a list of my top three wants in EA UFC, explanations included:

• A deep striking system. I want to be able to slip & counter, use a “back” kick, a push kick, a head kick, a straight punch, a hook, an uppercut, a special punch, and counter strikes (this goes for both sides right & left). I’d also like to see integrating strikes against the cage, like Anthony Pettis’ Showtime Kick. This may be a feature, as the recent Xbox One reveal had this exact move from in-game (apparently it wasn’t a render). This is very exciting.
• An intuitive, fluid, and extensive ground system. I liked being able to use many reverses and movements on the ground like Undisputed 3, but sometimes it was difficult to get the joystick to move at the right angle for it to be accept. Maybe a mash-up between the easily used EA MMA ground controls and the complex systems used in the Undisputed series.
• A strong career system. I want a career system that gives me the time to grow a fighter and build up the move set that I want, rather than force me to join a camp and only give me two “moves” to work with per fight. I’d also like for the individual player to choose when to retire, which would mean a system for deteriorating skills/attributes to the point you can’t compete at the top-level like you used to. I’d also like to see something like EA MMA’s career path that let you choose regional leagues to fight in, and a demotion like activity where you could be cut from the UFC or another organization after enough losses and have to earn your way back in, a la real life.

I feel like if there was a way for EA to do these three things right, they could attract plenty more common fans and introduce the UFC to a broader base of consumers.

-Connor can be reached @connorhavok.

Contributor: Connor Dillon

This is a little nostalgic for me. The first MMA-type book I bought was A Fighter’s Heart. I kept seeing this awesome cover and thought to myself, “Looks good. Might as well buy it.” Let me tell you, I was enraptured with this book. From Sheridan’s open dialogue about his personal issues in Muay Thai or MMA training, to his very honest assessment of his own skills, this book is definitely about his own path through the combat world. However his tale is one that relates to many others, as Sheridan has faced many obstacles that would-be contenders in sports like kickboxing, boxing, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts will learn to cope with.

The book is formed around nine different ‘chapters’, each with a special topic like Gameness and A Fighter’s Heart, and takes place in a roughly chronological order. For my money, the best chapters deal with Sheridan’s training in Thailand and with Pat Miletich in the U.S. It’s really interesting because you get two separate cultures talking about fighting. Sam’s Thai trainer couldn’t speak English but his fighting heritage and skill training farang (foreign fighters) meant he was an excellent fit for Sheridan. Miletich shows off that hard-nosed determination with stories about Tim Sylvia and broken bones.

Overall, this is a good fighting book. It should appeal to more than just MMA fans, as it talks about boxing, Muay Thai, and even dog fighting. He talks about the personal experience it is to fight, opening himself up as a person through his writing. It’s a really good book, and I recommend it to anyone who follows combat sports, or anyone who just wants an inspiring tale.

Connor’s Rate: 8/10. Solid, good narrative.

Pros: Personal story told through the eyes of a fighter.

Cons: Wished there was more.

-Connor can be reached @connorhavok.

Cory Braiterman, our mad rankings scientist finally emerged from his lab with Top-25s for every division and some sort of strange rash.  Check them out on the “Cory’s Rankings” header above, or if you’re that colossally lazy, click here.

(Taking a look at fighters who weren’t on your moving picture box over the weekend.)

• James DeGale def. Sebastien Demers [R2 KO]
• Denis Lebedev lost to Guillermo Jones [R11 KO]
• Alexander Povetkin def. Andrzej Wawrzyk [R3 TKO]
• Edgar Sosa def. Giovani Segura [UD]
• Oliver McCall lost to Krzysztof Zimnoch [UD]
• Marcus Davis def. Darrius Heyliger [UD, New England Fights Fight Night 7]
• Henry Martinez def. Desmond Green [R2 TKO, New England Fights Fight Night 7]
• Jon Manley def. Mike Winters [UD, Victory Combat Sports: Winters vs. Manley]
• Chris Tickle lost to Christos Giagos [R2 Rear-Naked Choke, Flawless FC 3: California Love]
• Luigi Fioravanti def. Edwin Aguilar [R1 Rear-Naked Choke, Flawless FC 3: California Love]
• Ricky Legere Jr. def. James Chaney [R3 TKO, Flawless FC 3: California Love]
• Rin Nakai def. Brenda Gonzales [R1 Rear-Naked Choke, Pancrase 247]
• Motonobu Tezuka def. Taichi Nakajima [UD, Pancrase 247]

• John Lineker is a future UFC Flyweight Champion. It seems he learned from that Gaudinot fight where he got sloppy and has looked fantastic since then. He’s only 23, and he’s ready for the big boys. I got carried away and suggested Joe B for him, but not yet. The flyweight division is shallow and doesn’t really have a “young gun”, until now. Bring Lineker along slowly, and he can be the RoryMac of this division. Also, body shots make every MMA fan salivate.
• Aside from Vitor, a rather subdued Brazilian crowd. I know the UFC wants to go to smaller markets, but that was rather disappointing. I wanted the ruckus.
• Unrelated, but enough of Ken Jeong. Seriously.
• In Formiga, we might have our first high-level flyweight gatekeeper. Lineker is the next logical step, but I don’t want to rush him. Would be fun, though.
• I seriously do not have any words to describe the Fab-Hollett fight. Not being cute, if someone asked me “Yo BV, what happened in that Maldonado fight?”, I wouldn’t know what to tell them. Did that fight really happen? There’s no way a grown-ass man offered literally NO defense against another man’s boxing, right? Jesus, that was weird.
• Yuri is about due for the bantamweight gatekeeper gauntlet. In case you forgot, that means Mizugaki first, then Jorgensen, then Wineland. God, I love bantamweight.
• I thought Leon Roberts did an excellent job tonight across the board. Handled the hellacious Fab nutshot well, perfect stoppage on Rockhold, good standups and breaks in the action, just a good night from him.
• Paulo Thiago is one of my favorite fighters, but for whatever reason, it seems he’s lost something lately. He resorted to a 29-28 UD over a guy that had no business being in the cage with him. This was the same guy who turned Josh Koscheck’s lights out. I hope he gets back whatever he lost.
• Patron Saint.
• I am truly surprised by the Lentz-Dias fight. I thought, for sure, this was going to go like the Aldo-Mendes fight. A Nova guy thwarts a wrestler, who has to frustratingly keep it standing and bombs him on the feet. Very good showing by Lentz, someone I’ve always pulled for. There are some interesting matchups to be had there.
• I had it a firm 29-28 Dunham, the fact that all three judges saw it for RDA was a joke. I like RDA too and picked him to win, but that was garbage. As I tweeted, RDA’s combinations are like communism, great in theory, poor and misguided in practice, while Dunham kept his strikes and combos clean and easy. The 1-2 has worked since the first caveman fight and will always work. A damned shame. The kid seems to be in a lot of controversial decisions.
• The Jacare-Camozzi fight reminded me almost verbatim of the Palhares-Massenzio fight. An extremely skilled BJJ middleweight against someone who had no business in the cage with them. Ended about the same, too. Chomp Chomp
• Chomp.
• Jacare vs. Vitor in the 161 main event is a pretty solid idea. Unfortunately, it makes too much sense, so they’ll probably shine the Faber signal in the night sky and Urijah will headline another Canadian card.
• The Vitor stuff with TRT, admittedly, I’m not versed enough in the medical field to comment on it one way or another. Vitor has looked fantastic lately, but it blows that we need to attach a “yeah, but…” to it. But, as every athlete’s favorite cliche phrase goes, it is what it is. As of now, it’s legal, and Vitor has finished two of the most unfinishable middleweights in the world, and I, personally, would love to see him get another crack at Silva sooner than later. 

Contributor: Nolan Howell

-Vitor Belfort is like a fine wine. He just gets better wirh age. TRT or not, you can also see a shift in Vitor Belfort’s style. Gone is the boxing blitz, with him now adapting a more calculated shotokan karate attack. If he keeps this in mind when he gets his next shot, I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight for a belt once again. He has earned it either way.

-As for Luke Rockhold, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. He’ll probably maintain an Okami/Boetsch level of contendership, where he’ll float around the bottom of the top ten and get some surprising wins. Either way, no need to close the door on Rockhold just yet.

-Ronald “Jacare” Souza chomped on Chris Camozzi in a predictable bout. “Jacare” has some beautifully brutal grappling and it is going to keep him at the top of the division for quite awhile, especially considering his standup looks crisp as of late. He should move into a top contender’s bout soon. Camozzi is a tough dude and he’ll be back to be the top low-level gatekeeper soon enough. Kudos for stepping up to him.

-I scored the Evan Dunham vs. Rafael dos Anjos 29-28 for Dunham, giving him the last two rounds. Robbery seems to be the cry when any decision goes against your scorecard, but this was a razor-thin decision and brought one of the best fights of the night. Dos Anjos should expect a top-ten guy or big name next. Maybe Jim Miller or Melvin Guillard? Dunham should get another fun scrap to give him a win. Guys like Matt Wiman or Danny Castillo come to mind.

-The less said about Rafael Natal’s win, the better. Natal is his own worst enemy it seems and he won’t rise onto the main card anytime soon, hopefully.

-Nik Lentz brought it to Hacran Dias in a fight I enjoyed immensely. Lentz isn’t boring like most write him off as, as I always seem him working for position and strikes. Time for Lentz to get some top guys at 145. Dias put in a great fight and should be back on track in his next fight.

-Francisco Trinaldo sonned Mike Rio with an arm triangle from half card. It might be a big step up here, but I think Trinaldo would do some bad things to Melvin Guillard should he get past Mac Danzig. That sounds like a good fight.

-A Gleison Tibau submission win? Man, crazy stuff. Fuck getting guillotined by that brick house of a man. I wouldn’t mind seeing Tibau moving up a rung in his next fight.

-Paulo Thiago put on a lackluster performance against Michel Prazeres. The fight was fun, but Thiago showed that beating Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick could have been a nice streak of luck.

-Yuri Alcantara just brutalized a flyweight in Illarde Santos. I say give him a shot at Eddie Wineland and move that fight down the card a bit. May not make the most sense, but it’ll do in a pinch.

-Fabio Maldonado is just the best fighter to watch. Sure, he may be mediocre, but his body shots bring me a lot of joy. Nothing like some “boxing” in MMA.

-Speaking of sloppy boxing, John Lineker hits like a semi-truck and he’s more the size of a Tonka. This guy will be a fan favorite if you give him the spotlight. Unbelievable fun and he should be inching to a title shot soon.

-Jussier da Silva displayed grappling brilliance against a master scrambler in Chris Cariaso. Da Silva probably needs one more win against a fringe top-ten guy and then he can move up the ladder. Also, Cariaso is on a skid, but the guy brings a fight each time, so hopefully he has job security from Uncle Dana.

-The opener between Jeremy Larsen and Lucas Martins was ridiculously fun. It was something that belonged on Bellator prelims, but still, true grit displayed by both men. Larsen’s faceplant into the mat was a thing of beauty. I like Martins vs. Daron Cruickshank or some other fun striker next.

-Nolan can be reached @nolanhowell