UFC ‘Fight for the Troops 2’ Preview: The Prelims

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Featherweights
Mike Thomas Brown vs. Rani Yahya

The matchup: Yahya still approaches MMA circa 1996, banking on one outstanding discipline -- Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Brown, meanwhile, has fallen on tough times, losing three of his last five since Jose Aldo bested him for the WEC featherweight belt in November 2009.

Yahya may be one-dimensional, but the one dimension he brings to the dance is quite dangerous. The grappling wunderkind is so effective on the mat that he’s perfectly content to pull guard to get the fight on the ground. This is not a sound strategy against Brown, however, as the American Top Team representative excels from top position. There, he uses his compact frame to punish opponents while improving position and exerting crushing pressure.

Brown’s stand-up is far better than Yahya’s, and, as a guy who can choose where the fight goes, he has a huge strategic advantage. Yahya can get takedowns against opponents who allow him to dart in and out and chase them all over the cage. He did so in his bout with Mark Hominick, an excellent striker against whom Yahya tried a dozen takedowns and guard pulls before finally succeeding and submitting him. Against Brown, such pursuits could result in his being knocked out or turtled in a bad position, where the ex-champion will feast on openings.

Yahya’s stand-up game is all but non-existent, meaning this one could end up looking more like an early no holds barred bout than modern MMA. However, Yayha has few peers when it comes to transitions, chained submission attempts and the ability to keep opponents on the defensive when the fight goes horizontal, even if he’s looking up at the lights while doing so.

Unless Brown makes an egregious mistake and gets caught in a submission, Yahya looks like an ideal opponent against whom to start his campaign back toward title contention. He hit speed bumps in recent losses to “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 finalist Manny Gamburyan and the world-ranked Diego Nunes.

The Pick: Expect Brown to get comfortable on the feet, work over Yayha there and then drop him in the second round, delivering ground-and-pound to a stoppage.

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