A middleweight fight between submission ace Rousimar Palhares and Mike Massenzio will take place at UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this Saturday night. It’s a fight that many casual fans will overlook, but those in the know realize that this fight could end violently at any point with a submission. Palhares is quietly inching himself closer to being a top 10-15 middleweight as he’s gone (6-2) during his UFC career since 2008 with the two losses coming against top middleweights Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt(at the time they fought). Let’s see how this one shakes out.
Mike Massenzio comes into this fight with a career record of (13-5) with six wins via submission and two wins via TKO/KO. Massenzio is coming off an impressive come from behind unanimous decision victory against Steve Cantwell which took place back at UFC 136. Massenzio took a bit of damage in the first round only to push the pace and batter a fading Cantwell the remainder of the bout. Massenzio is (2-3) in his last five fights getting stopped in four of those bouts. Massenzio has a wrestling and submission grappling background which are probably his strongest areas, but he did show that he could strike with power in his last bout as well.
Rousimar Palhares comes into this fight with a career record of (12-3) with nine wins via submission. Palhares was last seen in action back at UFC 134 winning a unanimous decision over Dan Miller in an action packed fight. Palhares looked to have stopped Miller via TKO, but the referee never stopped the fight, but Palhares got off Miller to jump on top of the cage and celebrate his victory claiming that Miller said ‘stop’ or something of that regard. Once the bout was restarted Miller hit Palhares with a head kick that almost put the Brazilian away, but he was able to score the decision victory as the right went on. Palhares is extremely powerful with good takedowns, but his specialty is his jiu-jitsu which is feared by many because he’s so violent with them. His striking isn’t too technical to say the least, but he does pack a good punch if he lands. Palhares does seem to have a questionable gas tank at times, but he rarely lets fights go to the judges so it’s usually a non factor.
Bet on Fighting has Palhares as the betting favorite in this fight at (-485) and Massenzio as the underdog at (+385).
I’d probably have to agree with those odds as Palhares is a higher caliber grappler than Massenzio in my opinion, and I’m pretty sure this fight is going to go to the ground at some point. I think Palhares is more versatile in his attacks as he is great at leg locks, but also has a number of wins via armbar. Massenzio favors chokes in regards to his submission game. Neither fighter has great standup, but Massenzio may have a slight edge there. I see Palhares closing the distance and attempting to take Massenzio down while going to work from the top position. However, we must keep in mind that Massenzio does have a wrestling background so he may be able to defend some of the takedowns Palhares brings to the table.
Ultimately, I see Palhares getting Massenzio to the ground and submitting him or winning a decision.