Diggin’ Deep on UFC Sao Paulo: Machida vs. Brunson - Fight Pass preview

Get the inside scoop on the early contests from UFC Sao Paulo, featuring a competitive scrap between unbeaten flyweight prospects Deiveson Figueiredo and Jarred Brooks.

Only the hardest of hardcore fans will take interest in the Fight Pass portion of UFC Sao Paulo. It opens with a low level heavyweight contest followed by a flyweight contest. While I find flyweight bouts to be consistently entertaining, the public has let their voice be heard regarding their opinion of smaller fighters: they don’t care. Whatever. I realize I serve a niche crowd and I got just what y’all need to know for the opening contests for UFC Sao Paulo.

The Fight Pass prelims begin at 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT on Saturday.

Deiveson Figueiredo (12-0) vs. Jarred Brooks (13-0), Flyweight

While this contest is being looked at as a pair of young flyweights on the rise, it will be a surprise for many to learn that Figueiredo is already 29-years old. Nonetheless, he’s young enough in his career that he should be far enough away from his prime that the title of prospect should still fit the talented Brazilian. Though known more for his striking upon entering the big league, Figueiredo used trip takedowns, top control, and some heavy ground-and-pound to wear down Carlos Beltran before a hard uppercut dropped his Mexican opponent. He does have heavy hands with above average accuracy, but he also completely neglects any sort of defense, often marching forward with his hands down.

Brooks unlikely has the power to make Figueiredo pay too much for his lack of defense, but there is no doubt he’ll make the attempt. Part of the reason Brooks struggles is his compact frame with a miniscule 62" reach – by comparison, Figueiredo is at 68" – but also because he doesn’t set up his attacks very well, throwing naked kicks or shooting naked takedowns. He does chain his takedown attempts relentlessly and finds a lot of success when he disguises his shots, so it isn’t to say he doesn’t have any success with his wrestling. When the fight does hit the ground, Brooks is active in looking for submission opportunities with a knack for snaking around the back amidst a scramble.

Brooks disappointed me some in his UFC debut as I believed Eric Shelton deserved the decision. Nonetheless, Brooks fooled the judges in that instance and may be able to do so again thanks to his constant movement making it look like he’s doing something when he really isn’t doing much of anything. Despite the holes that are there, Figueiredo’s game is more complete than Shelton’s and he knows how to use his reach better. It’ll be a close contest, but I think some country cooking will be a bigger factor than Brooks’ activity level. Figueiredo via decision

Marcelo Golm (5-0) vs. Christian Colombo (8-2-1), Heavyweight

Colombo was originally scheduled to meet Carlos Felipe before the latter was flagged by USADA, creating an opening opposite the Dane. Enter the inexperienced Golm.

An intriguing prospect, Golm secured first round KO’s in every one of his appearances thus far. He has only been fighting for two years, which is disconcerting, but not nearly as much as the fact that his opposition has had a combined zero wins when he faced them. Nonetheless, the sport seems to come natural to him as he shows great timing in his takedowns and counters, showing significant power in both phases. His technique could use some sharpening and he tends to expend his energy reserves in a hurry, but what would you expect from such a raw prospect? Worth noting is despite his reliance on his punching power and takedowns, BJJ is his base with a surprisingly slick guard for a man of his size.

As opposed to Golm, Colombo is a very technical striker. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he’s one of the most technical strikers in the division. He’s also accurate and does an excellent job of making use of his 80" reach. The problem with Colombo is that he makes a tortoise look like its moving quickly. His lack of speed takes away some of the power in his strikes in addition to making it easy for his opponents to avoid his attack. The big man hasn’t shown much by way of takedown defense either outside of some well-timed knees that could scare off an opponent. But actual wrestling skills? It’s hard to recall seeing any out of Colombo, though he does possess underrated defensive grappling.

Colombo’s durability and savvy could be enough for him to walk out of Brazil a winner, but he’s facing an uphill battle in terms of athletic ability in any UFC contest. That’s saying something considering some of the behemoths that lumber in the division. It’s plausible that Golm is in for a rude awakening, but the safer bet appears to be that he’ll make good use of his physical advantages and get an early stoppage. If he doesn’t, look for Colombo to steal a decision as I can’t see Golm’s gas tank lasting more than half of a 15-minute contest. Golm via KO of RD1