- Liittynyt
- 14.11.2006
- Viestejä
- 3 965
Kamikazeoverdrive nettisaitti ennakoi herrojen ottelua:
155lbs- Michael Chiesa (8-0-0) vs Anton Kuivanen (17-5-0)
In the Lightweight division Ultimate Fighter 15 Tournament winner Michael Chiesa makes his sophomore appearance against Finish prospect Anton Kuivanen. Chiesa is undefeated and last saw action back in June with a first round submission win over Al Iaquinta. Kuivanen picked up his first UFC victory with a split decision win over Mitch Clarke after dropping his promotional debut.
Kuivanen has a lot of experience for a prospect with 22 total fights and although he has won 8 times by submission, it is his grappling that appears to be his most significant short coming. He has been submitted twice in his pro career and his two UFC opponents Justin Salas and Mitch Clarke combined for 7 takedowns on 23 attempts. Clarke had the greater part of his success early getting in close and grinding on Kuivanen, while Salas used timing to duck under Anton’s punches to land his takedowns. He did show signs of improvement from one fight to the next, but fundamentally he made several mistakes both offensively and defensively.
Chiesa has won 6 of his 8 fights by submission, along with a submission win in the elimination round to get into the TUF house. He has won four straight by tapout, all by rear naked choke. Kuivanen is a physically strong fighter with a well built physic, but he will have to deal with a 5 inch height and 3.5 inch reach advantage of Chiesa. Normally advantages like these serve as an aid to the fighter in the stand-up, but with Chiesa he uses his long limbs to help control his opponent and set up submission opportunities. Against Iaquinta, he shot a single leg early but lost the position in the scramble. For his second attempt, he ducked under Iaquinta’s strikes, established a body lock, and rotated to back control before pulling the fight to the ground for the RNC finish. Chiesa is easily the most dangerous submission fighter that Kuivanen has had to deal with in his brief UFC career, but the key to the success of either fighter will be their ability to implement their game plan.
Chiesa’s striking is a liability, especially his defense. In the initial moments of the tournament finals he was getting blitz with big shots along the cage by Iaquinta. Kuivanen has picked up four wins by knockout and Chiesa has never been stopped, but with the Fins’ physical attributes if he lands with regularity it will have a significant impact on this fight. Kuivanen tends to use a kick heavy approach landing 12 in the opening round against Salas. While this approach can be effective and widening the distance between two fighters, it can also lead to opportunities for takedowns that Kuivanen can ill afford to give up.
It is hard to predict a young fighter’s development from one fight to the next and that applies to both guys. If Kuivanen has shored up his takedown D then this is his fight to win, but Chiesa’s grinding submission heavy attack coupled with Anton’s takedown issues are the most notable facet of this match-up. It is hard to overlook the glaring mistakes that Kuivanen made allowing his opponents to control his arms and leaving them in vulnerable for submission attacks. His opponent’s weren’t able to capitalize on these opportunities, but Chiesa will so my prediction is Michael Chiesa to defeat Anton Kuivanen by submission.