UFC 132 Preview: The Main Card

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Welterweights
Carlos Condit (26-5, 3-1 UFC) vs. Dong Hyun Kim (14-0-1, 1 NC, 5-0, 1 NC UFC)

The Matchup: If someone was going to invent a fighter with zero standup to beat Condit, Kim would be pretty close to it. The Korean grinds out wins on tie-ups, pressure, takedowns and persistence. His latest performance was a yawn-inducing decision over “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate Diaz at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day.

Condit’s aggressive standup flows nicely from his 6-foot-2 frame, as he uncorks knees, high kicks and punches. The former WEC champion also has a solid defensive guard. His biggest weakness remains his lack of takedown defense and upper-body strength against larger guys, but his offensive potential, both standing and on the mat, is considerable. If Condit’s to move up and be considered a Top 5 welterweight, he has to have an impressive showing here.

This matchup features a straight grappler against striker/submission fighter, and Condit has his work cut out for him. He will have to use kicks intelligently, while wrestling himself free from clinches, where the judoka is excellent at tossing opponents to the mat. Kim is a big welterweight himself, at 6-foot, and is not likely to get submitted, as he shut down Diaz’s guard while on top. One suspects this fight could engender some strong debate about what exactly constitutes “scoring” in a bout, with Condit landing a few clean blows per round while getting taken down and parked upon for much of them, with little effective damage from Kim.

Either way, the guess here is that this is a bad style matchup for Condit, who will have to score a Dan Hardy-style knockout -- which would be huge, considering Kim is unbeaten -- or suffer over three rounds of toss, squash and hold.

The Pick: Kim by close decision.

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