UFC on FX preview: Mike Easton welcomes UFC newcomer Jared Papazian to the big leagues

The UFC on FX event will feature a bantamweight fight between Mike “The Hulk” Easton and Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian which will take place this Friday night in Nashville, Tenn. It’s a bout in which Papazian has taken on short notice after Easton’s original opponent had to withdraw due to an injury in training. Let’s see how this fight will shake out between two up and coming fighters.

Jared Papazian comes into this fight with a career record of (14-6) with five wins via TKO/KO and one win via submission. He was last seen in action in the  King of the Cage promotion against Marvin Garcia back in September 2011, winning the bout via unanimous decision. Papazian is currently riding a three fight win streak and has won eight of his last nine bouts dating back to 2010. Papazian trains under Gokor Chivichyan, the same camp as Manny Gamburyan and Ronda Rousey. Papazian has said that he wants to fight in the newly created UFC flyweight division, so he’ll probably be looking to drop down after this fight as a bantamweight.

Mike Easton comes into this fight with a career record of (11-1) with four wins via TKO/KO and two wins via submission. Easton was last seen in action making his UFC debut against another guy making his UFC debut while taking the fight on short notice in Byron Bloodworth. The bout was fought at a catch weight of 138lbs after Bloodworth missed weight, and Easton finished him in the second round via TKO. Easton is currently riding a six fight winning streak and trains out of Alliance MMA and Team Lloyd Irvin. He has a background in tae kwon do and jiu-jitsu. 

This is a tough fight to call between two quickly rising prospects, but I’d give the edge to Mike Easton in this fight for a number of reasons. Papazian has more fights but Easton has been in the game for nearly a decade, which is incredible since he is only 27 years old(he’ll be 28 later this month). Easton will have a distinct size and speed advantage in this fight while also being well versed in submissions as he is a Brazilian blackbelt under Lloyd Irvin. Interestingly enough well over half of Papazian’s losses have come via submission.

Papazian has shown that he will stand and bang with his opponents, or take the fight to the ground if the opportunity presents itself. However, Easton should be able to dictate where this fight takes place. Easton is extremely quick and has very good takedown defense. He could win this fight standing or on the ground just depending on his game plan. If he keeps it standing I look for him to press the action against someone taking the fight on short notice just as he did against Bloodworth. Papazian hasn’t demonstrated big KO power, so Easton will likely mix it up with combinations that end with that hard right land kick he likes to throw. However, Easton could take Papazian down and try to exploit the lack of submission defense that Papazian showed in his early fights. Easton has a very tight guillotine choke that he likes to go to when opponents leave their neck exposed.

Papazian is a tough kid but fighting someone like Easton on less than two weeks notice is a tall order. I like Easton in this one via submission.