UFN 19 Undercard Preview: Brian Stann Seeks Redemption Against Steve Cantwell

In our second part of this two part series, we'll take a look at the top three undercard bouts taking place on Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 19. Brian Stann and Steve Cantwell will battle it out in a light heavyweight rubber match while Chris Wilson and Mike Pyle seek to continue cashing UFC paychecks with a win. Check out part one of the UFN 19 undercard preview here.

Headlining the preliminary card for UFC Fight Night 19 will be a rubber match between Steve Cantwell (7-2) and Brian Stann (6-2) in a light heavyweight tilt. Cantwell comes into the bout with a 1-1 record in the UFC with a submission of the night win over Razak Al-Hassan at UFC: Fight for the Troops and a loss to Luis Cane at UFC 97 via decision. Stann's debut was a loss to surging Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 97, and lost his WEC title at WEC 35 to Steve Cantwell. He's riding a two-fight losing streak currently, and hopes to turn it around with a redeeming win over Cantwell in the rubber match.

Cantwell is currently a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Sergio Penhas, but his bread and butter comes from his kickboxing background. Cantwell has shown a solid stand-up striking with heavy punches and kicks. He gave Luis Cane a run for his money in their UFC 97 clash, and he's looked less sloppy since his defeat at the hands of Brian Stann back at WEC 26. 

Stann has moved down to Greg Jackson's camp in New Mexico for this fight, and he's been a key in helping train some of the other athletes within the camp for their upcoming fights. That should reciprocate into those training partners gettting him into the best shape he can possibly be in. Cantwell still trains out of One Kicks Gym with Sergio Penhas, Nick Blomgren, and George Prince, but they've molded Cantwell into a solid combination-throwing striker with a decent ground game. This should be a real interesting rubber match with Stann moving to a much improved camp, but I'm leaning toward Cantwell in this one.

In welterweight action, Xtreme Couture's Mike Pyle (19-6-1) will take on Chris Wilson (14-5-0-1) in a fight that could potentially see the loser being cut from the promotion. Pyle is coming off a loss at UFC 98 to Brock Larson in which he was arm triangle'd at around the three minute mark of the first round. Wilson is currently 1-2 in the promotion with a recent split decision loss to John Howard at UFC 94. 

Wilson brings a very dynamic striking game to the Octagon. He likes to throw a lot of combinations from different angles, and he's also been known to mix in elbows, high and low kicks, and body punches. He'll be looking to sprawl and keep this fight standing as he holds an advantage if this fight remains on the feet. Wilson works out with Team Nogueira, so he does have a solid base in Brazilian jiu-jitsu along with training with fighters such as Vitor Belfort and Rodrigo and Rogerio Nogueira. 

Pyle will have other ideas than trying to stand with Wilson. He's mostly a wrestler/BJJ hybrid, and he'll likely be looking to try to put Wilson down for the submission. Wilson has only lost via submission once, to Nick Thompson back in '06, so it'll be a tough task for Pyle. Pyle trains out of Xtreme Couture, so he has all the advantages of training with the elite roster of fighters there in Las Vegas. I'm leaning toward Wilson in this battle because he has enough BJJ know-how to avoid being submitted while having a much better stand-up game than Pyle, but this should be a fairly close fight to call. Pick your horse.

Wrapping up our UFN 19 Undercard preview is a middleweight showdown between Ultimate Fighter season 7 runner-up C.B. Dolloway (9-2) and UFC newcomer Jay Silva (5-1). Dolloway comes in following a disappointing loss to Tom Lawlor at UFC 100 via a first round guillotine choke. He's currently 2-2 within the promotion, so he'll be looking to stave off doubts that he can hang with the UFC's elite.

Dolloway's opponent, Jay Silva, will make his debut on Wednesday night as a late replacement for Dan Miller, which was likely going to be a very tough fight for Dolloway. Dolloway gets a little bit easier match-up in Silva, but Silva has proven that he's a devastating knockout fighter with four of his five wins ending via knockout. Silva has been training under Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Cheick Kongo, two mentors that should bring out Jay Silva's A game. 

While Silva presents a challenge to Dolloway in the stand-up game via knees, kicks, and combinations, Dolloway will have a wrestling background that could put Silva into a lot of danger on the floor. At only 5-1, Silva doesn't have the experience that Dolloway has in fighting in the UFC. Dolloway training out of Arizona Combat Sports with guys like Carlos Condit, Ryan Bader, Jamie Varner, Joe Riggs, and Aaron Simpson will only help him more in preparation for this bout. I'll take Dolloway.