Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera
Odds: ( Quarry / Rivera )
In the evening’s second bout, Ultimate Fighter Season 1 alum Nate “The Rock” Quarry will test his mettle against a tough veteran in Jorge Rivera. Both Quarry and Rivera are very capable, especially in the standup, so this should be a competitive and exciting fight. Rivera’s mixed results in UFC give this fight a “do or die” tone for him, which makes it even more compelling.
Nate “The Rock” Quarry was one of the favorites to win the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, but an injury suffered in training forced him off the show. He impressed the UFC brass enough to earn a shot anyway, though, and has done a nice job carving out a niche for himself with his solid submission defense, great chin, and heavy-handed boxing. He is not the most mobile fighter, and has been hampered by severe back injuries, but he has very heavy hands and he throws hard and accurately. He is also notoriously difficult to finish, having been stopped on strikes only by Rich Franklin, and submitted only by top grappler Demian Maia. Considering some of the tough guys he has fought, that is a very impressive track record.
Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera is a very tough competitor who has been unable to string together wins consistently despite his well-rounded skill set and punishing boxing. Against low and mid-level competition, Rivera usually gets the job done, but every time he has tried to take a step up in competition it has ended badly. One thing that has held him back is his submission defense, but against Quarry that is likely not to matter at all. What is going to matter is that Rivera is also prone to getting knocked out by powerful strikers, something Quarry definitely is.
I think Quarry is just too much for Rivera in this one. This will almost certainly be a standup fight, since Rivera has neither the inclination nor the ability to take Quarry down. In a straight boxing match, Quarry wins easily, because he has more power, crisper punching, and, most importantly, a superior chin. Expect Rivera to get the worst of the striking exchanges and eventually get dropped and finished.
Prediction: Nate “Rock” Quarry via third round T/KO.
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