Ivan Menjivar vs. John Albert
Jordy McElroy: John Albert faces a major step up in competition against veteran
MMA star Ivan Menjivar, who has competed against the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Matt Serra and Urijah Faber.
This should be an entertaining bantamweight scrap, seeing as Albert and Menjivar both have a tendency to be aggressive on the feet.
Albert was featured on Season 14 of
The Ultimate Fighter, where he was eliminated by season winner John Dodson.
The potential is definitely there for the 25-year-old Nevada native, but it’s tough to imagine him toppling Menjivar this early in his UFC career. Menjivar is virtually superior in every aspect of fighting. Albert could change the course of the bout if he’s able to grab hold of Menjivar and rough him up in the clinch, but this journalist is banking on a second-round submission win for the veteran.
(Ivan Menjivar by Round 2 Submission – Rear Naked Choke)
John Heinis: Can you believe "The Pride of El Salvador" Ivan Menjivar used to fight as heavy as welterweight? Menjivar has went 2-0 in the UFC at bantamweight after losing his one and only WEC appearance against Brad Pickett, which served as his 135-pound debut.
Menjivar is pretty well-rounded: He has won nine fights by knockout, eight by submission and six by decision. With that being said, the weakest point of his game is his wrestling.
John "Prince" Albert (don't pretend you're surprised that's his nickname) has a solid submission game and some heavy ground and pound, finishing each of the seven opponents he holds wins over. Still, this fight is tough to call since Albert's wrestling is not elite by any stretch and Menjivar has rarely lost to someone who is not a household name.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the former Team Bisping
Ultimate Fighter contestant will be able to get the fight to the mat and end this one in the early going.
(John Albert via first-round submission – Armbar)
Dale De Souza: Ivan Menjivar has gone from facing Georges St-Pierre at welterweight to going 2-1 as a bantamweight, including his recent wins over Charlie Valencia and Nick Pace. But, he's going against a less experienced, albeit still young and still game bantamweight prospect in John "Prince" Albert.
Albert has shown in the past that he can knock down and finish his opponents on the ground, but it's not the only thing he knows how to do to get a finish. He's also shown a good submission game of his own in racking up three of his professional career wins.
Menjivar knows the submission game all too well—he's been submitted only once, but he's also won eight career fights by submission, including a 2005 bout against Joe Lauzon that came via calf-slicer.
The fact is that both men are solid in areas of the game, but there's no substitution for experience, and while Albert has potential, it'll take a little bit more than potential to beat Menjivar.
Expect Albert to try and stand with Menjivar out of respect for his submission game, but if he gets a bit too close, Menjivar will drop him, and from there, "The Pride of El Salvador" will earn himself the honor of being 3-0 inside the Octagon.
(Menjivar by Round 1 TKO – Elbows and Punches)