UFC 148 Fight Card Primer: John Alessio Vs. Shane Roller

John Alessio and Shane Roller face off during the UFC 148 weigh-ins at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Friday, July, 6, 2012. (Image via Esther Lin of MMA Fighting)

Another lightweight fight, another loser-leaves-town situation. One guy has been in and out of the UFC since it wasn't even under Zuffa control. The other is an elite wrestler that's still trying to find his niche in the big leagues. John Alessio (34-15, 0-4 UFC) meets Shane Roller (10-6, 1-3 UFC)

Neither man is ranked at lightweight in the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings, and that's not going to change here. Alessio has looked much better at lightweight thus far though, and doesn't have a lot of wear and tear on him considering this is his 50th career fight. He could possibly grace the list someday still. This lightweight UFC 148 bout is the second fight on the card, and the first that will air on FX. The FX broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

How do these two stack up?

Alessio: 33 years old | 5'9" | 75" reach
Roller: 32 years old | 5'10" | 72" reach

What have these two done recently?

Alessio: L - Mark Bocek (UD) | W - Ryan Healy (UD) | W - Luiz Firmino (UD)
Roller: L - Michael Johnson (UD) | L - T.J. Grant (SUB) | L - Melvin Guillard (KO)

How did these two get here?

John Alessio has been around forever. How many guys in the UFC can claim that they fought in the organization before Dana and Co. owned it? Not many. He plugged along as a welterweight for most of his career, but finally decided to drop to lightweight late last year. After two straight wins, he was brought in again as a late replacement to take on Mark Bocek on the main card at UFC 145. He dropped a decision, but put up a good fight against the underrated Bocek and earned another shot, this time against Roller.

Shane Roller was a very successful college wrestler and a member of the vaunted Team Takedown when he entered the WEC after just four pro fights. He went 6-2 there but fell just a big short of earning a title fight. He hasn't found the same success so far though in the UFC, going just 1-3. After a knockout win over Thiago Tavares, he dropped three in a row and is in dire need of a win here against the veteran Alessio.

Why should you care?

Another one of those do-or-die fights. That, and Alessio is pretty good foil for the wrestler with heavy hands. It should be interesting at least.

You can catch more UFC 148 preview content from Bloody Elbow after the jump.

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