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UFC Fight for the Troops
December 10th, 2008 6 PM PST
Antônio Steve Bruno Vs. Johnny Rees
UFC Betting Pick: Johnny Rees
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UFC Welterweight fight: Steve Bruno Vs. Johnny Rees
Hollywood Steve Bruno (11-4-0) is one of American Top Team's five dozen or so active professional fighters. Don't let his record fool you though, the average level of his opponents is rather low. There are plenty of cans in his history, including two of his losses. His story is heart warming, given the kind of event this is: 5 year Navy vet who survived a helicopter crash. However, this is only his second fight in 18 months, after a long time off for injury in most of 2007 and part of 2008. He lost handily to Chris Wilson at UFC 87, and ring rust had to be part of that. All he could do is shoot in and get hammered by strikes all match long.
Steve is one of those 'almost' fighters. He almost made an impact when he was with Lion's Den, but never pushed for better competition. He almost had career with Spirit MC, winning their middleweight title, but got hurt and never defended it before losing it by default this past June. He's almost well rounded enough, but his game plans aren't flexible enough. He has a winning record, but you would be hard pressed to pick any of his opponents out of a line up.
Steve is a gamer. He has a puncher's chance. We might see him get a couple of nice highlight reel knock outs over the course of the next two years or so. But I don't predict a lot of long term success for him in the UFC, and I can't honestly say that I predict any success against Rees, who I think is a bad match up for this former Pan American Pankration champ. The recent injuries, the ring rust, the lack of momentum, and the late change of opponent will wipe out any advantage that the pro-military crowd might give him.
Johnny "The Hater Hurter" Rees (10-1-0) has one of the most stupid nicknames in mixed martial arts. However, he's a good fighter. The average quality of his opponents has been fairly high, much higher than Bruno's. Like his opponent, he lost his UFC debut. But what most people don't know is: Johnny was fighting up a weight class, at 185, in his debut. He was the UFL 170 lb champ.
With Luke Cummo's DWI arrest, a brand new door has suddenly opened for Rees. He gets to fight at his natural weight class. He gets to showcase his incredible BJJ against an opponent that was preparing for the much less orthodox Cummo. An opponent who, last fight, had nothing better to do than launch takedown after takedown and get beat up quite a bit. Rees will have a favourable game plan whether his opponent is trying for the shoot, or he has to shoot in himself.
The only down side to Johnny is that up until recently, he had a full time job at Laibe Corporation, manufacturing drilling rigs. And yet his training, it has to be said, seems disciplined and well rounded. He could stand, but he won't. He has the cardio to go three rounds, but this one shouldn't. He's going to take this to the ground and find his comfort zone quickly. I don't predict that the military biased crowd will get in his head.
Bottom Line: This is a bad match up for Steve. His nagging injuries won't help against a seasoned BJJ fighter with a passion for ground and pound. He'll be hard pressed to find the right combination of distance and agility to keep this one standing against the dangerous Rees.
Rees will lock in a choke in round two, for the win.
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