Donald Cerrone has something to prove while Vagner Rocha has a chance to make a good first impression.
That is the story of Saturday’s UFC 131 lightweight contest. Cerrone is in his second UFC bout and working his way up the lightweight ladder while Rocha is making his UFC debut after filling in for the injured Mac Danzig.
Here is a look at both fighters heading into this contest.
Donald Cerrone (14-3) – Cerrone is coming off a submission win over Paul Kelly in his UFC debut, giving him a three-fight win streak. Cerrone is a pressure fighter that mixes in boxing with great submission fighting. He has been stopped just once in his career and 12 of his 14 victories have come by submission. Cerrone may have the edge in this fight no matter where it takes place.
Vagner Rocha (6-1) – Rocha is veteran of Bellator and Strikeforce, but has just seven pro fights. He has a good mixture of striking and submissions, with three of his wins coming from an armbar. Rocha will be facing the toughest opponent of his career on the biggest stage in his career, so jitters could be an issue for him.
Who Will Win: It would be hard for me to see any way that Cerrone doesn’t win this fight. He should be able to out-strike and out-grapple Rocha. I look for Cerrone to tire Rocha with his punching and put forth some good submission attempts before winning an easy decision.
