UFC 131 Preview: The Main Card

Donald Cerrone will be a threat in the UFC for years to come. | Photo: Jeff Sherwood/Sherdog.com

The Matchup: A longtime favorite in the WEC, “Cowboy” Cerrone brings with him a technical standup style, slick jiu-jitsu and a penchant for exciting fights. In a lightweight division dominated by great wrestlers -- the one chink in his armor he is constantly working to improve -- Cerrone takes on grappling specialist Rocha.

Anybody good enough to teach jiu-jitsu under the uber-talented Pablo Popovich knows his stuff, and for Rocha, it is the one area where he will be Cerrone’s equal. However, in the context of MMA, it is pretty hard to translate if one does not have the standup skills required to close the gap.

Thus far, Rocha has not really demonstrated much more than jiu-jitsu, and unless you are a power wrestler, you are not going to beat Cerrone without the takedowns and top control necessary to dictate to him.

The Pick: Look for “Cowboy” to work punches and kicks and frustrate Rocha before catching him in a clinch with a big knee, taking a second-round knockout win.

Jason Probst can be reached at Jason@jasonprobst.com or at www.twitter.com/jasonprobst.

UFC 131 Prelims: Yves Edwards vs. Sam Stout