A very strong lineup of preliminary fights from Saturday night’s UFC 133: Evans vs. Ortiz event will be streamed live and free on the UFC’s Facebook page.
With the Dennis Hallman vs. Brian Ebersole bout being shifted to the main, the allotted matches for the Facebook stream consist of Mike Brown vs. Nam Phan, Johny Hendricks vs. Mike Pierce, Ivan Menjivar vs. Nick Pace, and Rafael Natal vs. Paul Bradley. Spike TV will then take the hand off and broadcast the Matt Hamill vs. Alexander Gustaffson and Chad Mendes vs. Rani Yahya fights.
Mike Brown (24-8) vs. Nam Phan (16-8)
This featherweight duel between well rounded veterans has enormous potential for Fight of the Night honors.
Both powerful and adept boxers, Mike Brown and Nam Phan each hold black belts in BJJ. These two fighters began their professional career in MMA back in 2001 and have come a long way to get where they are today. With a decade of experience, they bestow each other with years of experience against quite respectable opposition at 145 and 155.
Mike Brown, a grappling-wise power player, prefers to apply his special ATT-honed submission from a dominant top-side perch. I would liken his mat prowess to that of a catch wrestler who grinds through the guard and snatches power-subs while rarely sacrificing position.
Nam Phan’s approach is much more fluid. He’s the type of technician that will use his opponent’s force and momentum against them, patiently coaxing them into traps and then springing sweeps and submission attempts that typically come from within his guard. Both are technical, high-level and weak nowhere on the ground, but I’d give Brown the same slight edge from the top with ground-and-pound that I’d give Phan for his clever arsenal from the guard.
Check out Nam Phan’s Fighter Diary if you haven’t seen it yet:
