Breaking Down UFC 132: Siver Vs Wiman / Condit Vs Kim
Added on Jun 29, 2011 by John Petit in
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Welterweight bout:
Carlos Condit vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Carlos Condit
Odds: +125
Reach: 76 inches
Record: 26-5
UFC Record: 3-1
Last 5: 4-1
Streak: +3
Dong Hyun Kim
Odds: -139
Reach: 76 inches
Record: 14-0-1 (1nc)
UFC Record: 5-0 (1nc)
Last 5: 4-0 (1nc)
Streak: +3
This has fight of the night written all over it, and frankly is the one I’m looking forward to the most. People have had high expectations for Dong Hyun Kim, and so far the Korean has lived up to them. He only lost once, to Karo Parysian, but the fight was turned into a no contest because Karo tested positive for painkillers. Some, including me, thought Dong Hyun Kim did enough to win the fight.
Dong Hyun Kim’s striking is the glaring hole in his game, and that makes him hard to watch for some fans of MMA. His last win over submission expert Nate Diaz wasn’t even a little exciting, but its hard to tell a fighter like Kim that he should change his style when he has a near perfect record. He will need to use his black belt level judo to toss around Condit in the clinch, and take advantage of catching Condit’s kicks when he throws them to get the fight to the mat.
Carlos Condit is riding a three fight win streak after losing his UFC debut, but he was doing extremely well in the WEC where he went undefeated and left their welterweight champion. He has been working with Greg Jackson and there is a huge difference in his game since he started training under him. Most recently, Condit faced off against Dan hardy in what everyone guess would be a striker vs striker brawl. Hardy was coming off a loss to Georges St. Pierre and was the favorite, but it was Condit who knocked Hardy out called at the end of the first round
This makes the fight a rough match up for Condit as he will have to use striking and his kicks sparingly against Kim. Condit’s becoming more and more comfortable in the Octagon, and its showing. Its also important to mention that his takedown defense has been improving, and if its still progressing the way it has been, then he may be able to avoid the ground more than many predict. Baring a tko/ko punch from Condit, this is Dong Hyun Kim’s fight to win, and I see him grinding out a decision on Saturday night.
Lightweight bout:
Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman
Dennis Siver
Odds: -130
Reach: 70 inches
Record: 18-7
UFC Record:7-4
Last 5: 4-1
Streak: 3
Matt Wiman
Odds: +110
Reach: 68 inches
Record: 13-5
UFC Record: 7-3
Last 5: 3-2
Streak: +3
Many thought that when Dennis Siver faced George Sotiropoulos that he was in way over his head, and would have a hard time dealing with the takedowns and ground game of Sotiropoulos. Siver used his striking and kicks to disrupt the game plan of George, and he used his upper body strength and take down defense skills to confuse him for three rounds. That is the exact type of performance he will need to deal with Wiman at UFC 132. Siver has three losses, one of them is to lightweight title contender Gray Maynard, and the other is to Melvin Guillard who is probably a win away from a title shot.
Matt Wiman is also on a 3 fight win streak, but his win against Mac Danzig deserves a big asterisk on my fight records. If you remember, he defeated Danzig by guillotine choke by technical submission at UFC 115. Yves Lavigne thought Danzig was unconscious from the choke, but Danzig wasn’t even close to being submitted and never tapped. They were scheduled to fight again, but Danzig was forced out with an injury. This wasn’t Matt Wiman’s fault, and he has since defeated Cole Miller by decision and has put it behind him. Wiman has the wrestling ability to pose the same kind of threat that George Sotiropoulos posed to Siver, but he will have to watch that tape closely and differentiate his attack from the the mistakes that George made.
I think Siver has exactly what it takes to win this fight, and he displayed all the right techniques in his last fight. I see Siver picking apart Wiman on the feet and using his upper body strength and take down defense to out muscle Wiman. Wiman is hard to knock out, and it took a flying knee to do it in his only loss where he was finished. I don’t see Siver being that brazen in the cage, but I expect him to get the decision win.
