UFC 111 Preview: Ricardo Almeida vs. Matt Brown

Note: Spring is here and that means it is time for Spring cleaning. So, we here at WKR decided to overhaul our preview format because, let's be honest, they were tedious to write and probably weren't that enjoyable to read. Instead we are going to try something far less structured, which will hopefully make it far more interesting. If you have any feedback or suggestions about the new format feel free to comment or shoot us an email at watchkalibrun@gmail.com.

Spike Preliminary Fight: Ricardo Almeida (11-3) vs. Matt Brown (22-7)
Odds: Almeida (-165), Brown (+135)
Fun Fact: Almeida is a big fan of British Polar Explorer Sir Ernest Shakleton.

Zak Woods: UFC 111 marks the return of the Spike Preliminary cards and fans will get to see Ricardo Almeida make his welterweight debut against the perpetually overachieving Matt Brown. Brown may have somehow put together an impressive UFC run since the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter (he's 4-1 with his lone loss being a split decision to Dong Hyun Kim) but it appears that the UFC is sending him out to be a ritualistic sacrifice at the jiu-jitsu alter. Five of Brown's seven losses came via submission and Matt is facing off against a BJJ black-belt and ADCC finalist, Ricardo Almeida.

Is this just submission of the night waiting to happen?

Nick Becker: Matt Brown is just plain fun to watch. The guy always brings it and is one the biggest surprises to ever come out of TUF. That said, I do think he's being set-up to lose here although I have no idea why. Brown is the more exciting and marketable fighter, and while granted, his record sucks, Almeida has disappointed ever since he pulled off that sick guillotine in his UFC return.   And guys, let's not forget that Patrick Cote was also in possession of some very shaky submission defense prior to his fight with Almeida. Most people thought as soon as that fight hit the mat it would be all over -- Well, things didn't exactly turn out that way, did they?

Zak Woods: To Nick's first point. Matt Brown has been a pleasant TUF-7 surprise, almost making the season not completely worthless, but he will never be a top-ten welterweight. Better to have him stick around in the middle and test James Wilks.

Your right, Patrick Cote was able to neutralize Almeida but Ricardo was still in the process of returning from his four year sabbatical to open his own gym. Though, if we dig deeper we see that Almeida hasn't been submitting a lot of people lately, perhaps a possible avenue for the "tough" and "fun" Brown to win?

Zach Krantz: F*** if I know. If Almeida is have what he is supposed to be and does what he is supposed to do then we will see a submission victory, but who knows recently. Matt Brown is definite fun surprise from TUF and somehow keeps winning, but his competition has been less than stellar. Yeah, Wilkes is a solid grappler, but far from sold on him. I thought Demarques Johnson was most overrated fighter on the show in awhile and Wilkes victory over him did not impress me too much, therefore neglecting Brown's win. Do not get me wrong, big Brown fan (not just UPS), but Almeida is too high a level of competition

Zak Woods: I am surprised to see none of the standard conerns about a fighter cutting to a new weight class for a first time but it appears that the consensus is Almeida over Brown.

Tape Watching: Ricardo Almeida vs. Ricardo Arona at ADCC Final

Tape Watching: Matt Brown vs. Chris Lytle