UFC 128 undercard preview
by Tim Groves on March 17, 2011

The fights currently scheduled for the undercard of UFC 128 could easily hold up as a Fight Night event on Spike TV. To put everything is perspective, Joseph Benavidez, a top five bantamweight, currently has his fight scheduled to not be shown at all. You won't see Benavidez on the pay-per-view broadcast, on Spike or even on Facebook unless other fights end quickly.

If that doesn't properly illustrate how stacked this undercard is, I don't know what will. So let's take a closer look at the seven fights.

Nick Catone (8-2) vs. Constantinos Philippou (7-1)- Un-aired

The fight will be contested at a catchweight of 195 pounds after Philippou stepped in on short notice to replace Dan Miller. Miller had stepped up to fight Nate Marquardt on the main card after Yoshihiro Akiyama pulled out due to the earthquake in Japan.

Catone was 6-0 in his mixed martial arts career before being brought into the UFC. Since then he has gone 2-2 with wins over Jesse Forbes and Derek Downey. Catone is an above average wrestler with improving Jiu-Jitsu, as he trains with Ricardo Almeida, one of the best Jiu-Jitsu practitioners in the UFC. His stand-up is pretty basic as he throws big power shots with not a lot of technique.

Philippou is coming into the fight on short notice. He has not lost since his MMA debut back in 2008. He was eliminated during the entry fight onto The Ultimate Fighter Season 11 when Joe Henle caught him in an arm bar during the second round. Prior to that, Philippou showed good trip takedowns against the cage with a pretty active ground game. His striking was fluid but he seemed reluctant to actually throw anything significant. His Jiu-Jitsu should be up to par, as he trains out of the Serra-Longo Fight Team.

Raphael Assuncao (15-3) vs. Erik Koch (11-1)- Un-aired

Assuncao was 3-2 during his WEC career with tough losses to division standouts Urijah Faber and Diego Nunes. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Assuncao has won 8 out of his 15 bouts via submission but he was never able to finish an opponent inside the WEC. While he is a gifted grappler, Faber was able to choke out Assuncao when they met. His muay thai is good for such a talented grappler and he possess trip takedowns to get the fight to the ground.

Erik Koch is coming off of a huge head kick knock out over Francisco Rivera at WEC 52. The featherweight controlled the distance well in that fight and eventually landed a perfect kick that knocked out Rivera. Koch's only loss in MMA came via decision to current title contender Chad Mendes is his second WEC fight. Koch trains with WEC lightweight title holder Anthony Pettis at Roufusport in Minnesota. His Jiu-Jitsu has looked sharp in all of his fights as he has seven of his eleven wins by submission.

Joseph Benavidez (12-2) vs. Ian Loveland (14-7)- Un-aired

Team Alpha Male product Joseph Benavidez is arguably the second best bantamweight fighter in the world as his two losses have come to current champion Dominick Cruz. Benavidez was a stand-out wrestler to begin his career and has transformed into a complete mixed martial artist. His cardio is great as he keeps up a frantic pace for the entirety of fights. His submission skills are becoming his second best skill as he submitted black belts

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Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 128 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!

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HOW WILL THE THIAGO ALVES VS. MARTIN KAMPMANN FIGHT END AT UFC ON FX 2?
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TAKE ANOTHER POLL!