UFC 104 Preview: Josh Neer vs. Gleison Tibau

Every fight card should showcase a fighter like Josh Neer. "The Dentist" brings an exciting style to the cage and rarely seems to be in dull fights. Josh paid his dues for many years on the Midwest regional circuit, gaining a reputation as a game fighter with serious potential. Neer finally got his big break in the UFC and has made the most of it. He defeated TUF season 6 winner Mac Danzig by submission but most recently lost a decision to Kurt Pellegrino in August. Still only 26-years-old, Josh now returns to the Octagon with a chance to get his name back in the mix in the UFC's 155 pound division. Neer has a professional record of 25-8-1 with ten wins coming by way of knockout and eleven wins coming by way of submission. The combined career winning percentage of the opponents that he has faced so far in his career is 64.2%.

Gleison Tibau is one of the largest lightweight fighters in the game today. Being one of the MMA fighters that truly appears to have weight cutting down to a science, Tibau is a powerful 155 pounder that also possesses some slick submission skills. Gleison, 26-years-old, is coming off of a very close decision loss to Melvin Guillard in his last outing, so this fight is a big opportunity for him to get back into the win column on a very big stage. Tibau has a professional record of 19-6 with two wins coming by way of knockout and nine wins coming by way of submission. The combined career winning percentage of the opponents that he has faced so far in his career is 66.4%.

Tibau is a very skilled fighter and is a tough matchup for most any lightweight, but I'm thinking that Josh Neer gets the win here. A lot of fans think of Neer as being a guy that primarily likes to brawl, but Josh has underrated submission skill and submission defense. I'm thinking that he'll be able to ward off Tibau's sub attempts long enough to score the victory. My prediction: Josh Neer by TKO in the 3^rd.