Diggin’ Deep on UFC 201: Lawler vs Woodley main card preview

My mood is a bit sour as I found out Justin Scoggins was forced out of his contest with Ian McCall due to weight cutting issues. Not only was I very much looking forward to that contest, but I had just finished writing up this preview. Plus, it was probably the fight I was most looking forward to — outside of Ruthless Bob doing his thing of course. Not that anyone cares, but I had picked Scoggins.

Seeing as how it is highly unlikely that a replacement at flyweight could conceivably be found less than 24 hours before weigh-ins, it seems safe to assume that McCall will not be participating on the card. That’s a huge setback for the former #1 ranked flyweight in the world. He’s been out for 18 months due to injuries, leading him to contemplate retirement. Indications were that the camp went about as well as can be expected for him and to find out his fight was off had to be a dagger in the heart for him.

Ryan Benoit and Fredy Serrano were moved from the fight pass prelims to the main card to fill the hole. It isn’t nearly the same talent level as what McCall and Scoggins would have presented, but it should still provide good bang for the buck in terms of entertainment value. I haven’t included their fight on this preview as I covered it already here. I know… shameless plug.

The main card starts at 10:00 PM ET/7:00 PM PT.

Matt Brown (20-14) vs. Jake Ellenberger (30-11), Welterweight

On paper, this looks like a horrible contest as Brown has lost three of his last four and Ellenberger has dropped five of his last six. And then I remember both of these guys hit hard and I get over the fact it probably shouldn’t be on the main card of a PPV.

Prior to his recent run of mediocrity, Brown revitalized his career with an impressive seven-fight win streak with all but one of them coming by way of stoppage. To be fair to Brown’s recent rough stretch, his losses came to current champion Robbie Lawler, former champion Johny Hendricks, and potential title challenger Demian Maia. Even though its proven that he isn’t an elite fighter, he’s only been losing to the elite.

It’s hard to be optimistic about Ellenberger. He was on the verge of a title shot prior to his losing stretch, only needing a win over Rory MacDonald before getting his shot at gold. He turned in a horribly tentative performance and the wheels have fallen off since that time with the only victory in that time coming over a shot Josh Koscheck. I struggle to see him remaining employed if he is unable to secure a win here. Not even Leonard Garcia survived losing six of his last seven appearances under the Zuffa banner….

One of the most frustrating elements of Ellenberger’s decline is that, at first glance, his physical tools still seem to be intact. He flashed his power in each of …

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