UFC 145 Fight Card Primer: Maximo Blanco Vs. Marcus Brimage

Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

On one side of the cage, you have a guy that earned a rep as a ferocious finisher in Japan. On the other side, you have a TUF 14 vet looking for his second win in the UFC. Venezuelan Maximo Blanco (8-3-1, 1 NC, 0-0 UFC) meets Marcus Brimage (4-1, 1-0 UFC).

Neither fighter is currently ranked at featherweight in the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings, and neither is likely to even be considered with a win in this bout. This featherweight UFC 145 bout is the first fight on the preliminary card, and will be streamed live on Facebook. The Facebook stream begins at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

How do these two stack up?

Blanco: 28 years old | 5'7" | 70" reach
Brimage: 27 years old | 5'4" | 71" reach

What have these two done recently?

Blanco: L - Pat Healy (SUB) | W - Won Sik Park (UD) | W - Kiuma Kunioku (KO)
Brimage: W - Stephen Bass (UD) | W - Kyle Bradley (TKO) | L - Joey Camacho (SUB)

How did these two get here?

Maximo "Maxi" Blanco is a former lightweight King of Pancrase that earned a lot of attention when he was fighting for the Sengoku organization. He reeled off six straight wins in Japan (5 by KO/TKO) and eventually signed with Strikeforce when Sengoku (who was actually sponsoring him) went out of business. He made his North American debut against the rugged Pat Healy, who bullied him around the cage and eventually submitted him in the second round. Immediately after the fight, his manager announced Blanco's intentions to drop 145 and move to the UFC. He did just that, and will make his debut in the opening bout tonight.

Marcus Brimage started out on the southern regional circuit and was a competitor on BET's Iron Ring. The ATT member was then selected to be on TUF 14 (he was picked for TUF 8 as well, but couldn't compete due to injuries). He won his bout to get into the house, but was submitted by Bryan Caraway in the quarter-finals. He rebounded at the TUF 14 Finale with a decision win over Stephen Bass, and will look to go 2-0 in the UFC with a win over Blanco.

Why should you care?

This is going to be a firefight to kick off the night. Blanco is violence personified, and it's gonna be good.

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