UFC Event

UFC 152 Fight Card Primer: Simeon Thoresen Vs. Seth Baczynski

By Mookie Alexander@mookiealexander Sep 22, 2012, 1:00pm EDT

Seth Baczynski and Simeon Thoresen square off during the UFC 152 weigh-ins at the Mattamy Athletic Centre at The Gardens on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012 in Toronto. Esther Lin, MMA Fighting

UFC 152 has three welterweight fights on the preliminary card, and one of them is a matchup between Norway's Simeon Thoresen (17-2-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and TUF alum Seth Baczynski (16-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC). These guys are pretty low on the totem pole of 170 lbs, and their current status as unranked in the SB Nation MMA Consensus Rankings isn't going to change any time soon.

Neither guy is known for their stand-up, so expect plenty of groundwork in this one. They're both on three-fight win streaks and largely via submission. The Facebook portion of the preliminary card begins at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT before FX takes over the rest of the prelims at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT.

How did these two get here?

Thoresen is a protege of former top lightweight and fellow countryman Joachim Hansen. His only notable win on the regional circuit was a decision win over current UFC welterweight John Maguire. He signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC just before the end of 2011, and debuted in Sweden where he submitted Besam Yousef in the 2nd round. Thoresen's style is tailored towards grappling, and he's taken a liking to the rear-naked choke, with his last 6 submission wins all by that method.

Baczynski was a quarterfinalist as a middleweight on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. He was DQed after illegally soccer kicking Brad Tavares, and in the rematch on the show's finale he lost by decision and was released by the UFC. He won his next two fights on the regional circuit and was brought back to fight Clay Harvison, submitting him in September 2011. Two months later he choked out Matt Brown at UFC 139 and this year took a close decision against Lance Benoist, who is on tonight's card.

Why should you care?

It should be a good grappling battle. That's pretty much it, really, as welterweight is far too crowded for this fight to have any meaningful impact on the division.

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