UFC 145 Fight Card Primer: Mac Danzig Vs. Efrain Escudero

Photo by Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

Ultimate Fighter winners have competed against each other before, but generally not with their jobs on the line. Both of these guys are 1-2 in their last 3 and could be fighting for their UFC careers in the first FX bout at UFC 145. TUF 6 winner Mac Danzig (20-9-1, 4-5 UFC) meets TUF 8 winner Efrain Escudero (18-4, 3-3 UFC).

Neither fighter is currently ranked in the top 25 at lightweight in the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings, though Mac does get some votes and sits in the # 32 position this month. This lightweight UFC 145 bout is the third fight on the preliminary card and first of the televised portion of the vent, and will air live on FX. The FX broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

How do these two stack up?

Danzig: 32 years old | 5'8" | 70" reach
Escudero: 26 years old | 5'9" | 71" reach

What have these two done recently?

Danzig: L - Matt Wiman (UD) | W - Joe Stevenson (KO) | L - Matt Wiman (SUB)
Escudero: L - Jacob Volkmann (UD) | W - Cesar Avila (SUB) | L - Mike Rio (UD)

How did these two get here?

Mac Danzig has been a pro fighter for 11 years, but first rose to fame as a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter 6. He cruised through the show and defeated Tommy Speer in the finals, then submitted fellow UFC 145 fighter Mark Bocek in his next bout. He fell on some hard times after that though, going just 2-5 in his next seven bouts. His lone bright spot in the past two years was a brutal knockout of Joe Stevenson at UFC 124. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Matt Wiman at UFC on Versus 6.

Efrain "Hecho En Mexico" Escudero defeated Philippe Nover to win the Ultimate Fighter 8, but he was been pretty uneven since taking home the UFC contract. He went 2-2 in his next four bouts and missed weight for a bout with Charles Oliveira. He was submitted by Oliveira and released from the promotion. Escudero managed to go 5-1 outside the organization and was brought back as a late replacement against Jacob Volkmann at UFC 141, but dropped a unanimous decision. He desperately needs a win to keep plying his trade in the octagon.

Why should you care?

Both guys are skilled fighters and it should be a good tactical battle.

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