In the third fight on the UFC 104 main card, Lightweights Josh Neer (25-8-1, 4-5 UFC) and Gleison Tibau (19-6, 5-4 UFC) will look to rebound from recent losses and gain ground on their way back into the UFC lightweight division's mid-echelon of talent. Neer lost to Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 101 via decision in a fight that he found himself on his back trying to defend attacks while Tibau found himself on the short end of a split decision to the heavy-handed Melvin Guillard at The Ultimate Fighter Season 9 Finale.

The bout was originally supposed to feature former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk against Gleison Tibau, a match-up that was easily in favor of having Sherk blanket Tibau and give him some exposure as a top lightweight talent. Sherk dropped out due to an injury, and Neer jumped at the opportunity to get right back in the Octagon following his loss. I would say that it makes for a somewhat better fight, but Neer's wrestling deficiencies could make this a mirror image of the Kurt Pellegrino fight.

Tibau's wrestling skills coupled with his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt make him quite a dangerous fighter on the floor. He can actually shoot for takedowns without using the horribly uninventive "lurk into a clinch" style of takedowns that some highly-credentialed BJJ black belts try to use in the cage against powerful wrestlers, but he still isn't explosive enough to take down everyone. As evident by his record of losses, he has trouble against other wrestlers who have the ability to scramble out of his submission attempts or sprawl and brawl.

Neer would fit the bill as a sprawl and brawler in this match-up, but his takedown defense is horribly lacking. Pellegrino exploited Neer's defense extensively in their three round battle at UFC 101, and Tibau may be able to do the same thing in this match-up. I'm a bit hesitant to believe he can do it as effectively as Pellegrino, but Tibau did manage to defeat Jeremy Stephens, a power puncher with lacking takedown defense, at UFN 18.

It isn't inconceivable to see Neer putting some leather on Gleison from a distance and peppering him while simultaneously taunting him to throw some leather back at him, something we've seen in past fights from Neer. In fact, I'm a bit hesitant in picking Tibau due to his performance against Guillard.