Monday, November 8, 2010

Fresh Faces: UFC 122 edition

For every UFC event, TapouTVTC.com introduces you to the fresh faces making their debuts.

Name: Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Weight class: Welterweight
Fighting: Kris McCray
Record: 8-0 (1 (T)KO, 7 submissions) for various promotions in Germany
Recent body of work: Submitted Fatih Balci by arm-triangle choke at "GMC 1 - The Beginning" in May
Who he is: Rocha's path to the UFC is an inspirational one. Nicknamed, "Ta Danado," (which is roughly equivalent to the Tasmanian Devil cartoon character) Rocha grew up on the streets of Joao Pessoa, Brazil, without a family. He took to Brazilian jiu-jitsu and was eventually invited to Germany to teach BJJ. Now living in Hamburg, Rocha has amassed a large following, due in large part to finishing seven of his eight professional fights in the first round.



Name: Pascal Krauss
Weight class: Welterweight
Fighting: Mark Scanlon
Record: 9-0 (2 (T)KO, 7 submissions) for various European promotions
Recent body of work: Submitted John Quinn by rear-naked choke to win the Cage Warriors welterweight championship in May.
Who he is: Krauss, whose nickname, "Panzer" translates to "tank," is one of the top European welterweight prospects. He earned the Cage Warriors welterweight title that was vacated by Dan Hardy when Hardy signed with the UFC. A former German junior boxing champion, Krauss has also spent time in Brazil and the United States, training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Roberto Correa, Renzo Gracie and Cesar Gracie.



Name: Mark Scanlon
Weight class: Welterweight
Fighting: Pascal Krauss
Record: 7-0 (2 (T)KO, 5 submissions) for various promotions in England and Wales
Recent body of work: Knocked out Michael Reid with a head kick in 10 seconds at "OMMAC 7 - Vengeance" in October.
Who he is: A Luta Livre practitioner, Scanlon began his MMA career in 2006, racking of four straight wins from '06 - 2008. Injuries sidelined him for 18 months, but Scanlon has bounced back nicely with three first-round victories in 2010 -- two of which came in under a minute.



Name: Alexandre Ferreira
Weight class: Light heavyweight
Fighting: Vladimir Matyushenko
Record: 18-6 (17 submissions) for various promotions all over the world
Recent body of work: Submitted Walter Mazurkievicz by first-round kimura at "Jungle Fight 15" in October 2009.
Who he is: A veteran whose career started in 1998, Ferreira steps in to replace an injured Jason Brilz on the UFC 122 undercard. Ferreira has finished 17 of his 18 wins by submission -- an impressive feat -- and has won his last seven fights dating back to 2007, all by first-round submission.

Video: Robert Drysdale vs. Clay Davidson at AFC 4

In case you missed it over the weekend, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Robert Drysdale improved his professional MMA record to 2-0 on Saturday, defeating Clay Davidson by first-round armbar at AFC 4. Drysdale's two pro fights have lasted a combined 4:06.

Check out the video of the submission victory below and make sure you check out TapouTVTC.com to get Drysdale's exclusive pro training modules.