I train at Ray Longo's gym with Costa and Weidman.
If you look at my other posts, you see i give Weidman all the props in the world, and have never picked against him.
The difference here is vast. Some things i can talk about, others i cannot (obviously).
Costa is a tough durable dude, until he is met with some resistance. I dont want to say he folds or buckles, but when someone gets in his face and is willing to walk him down, he tires at a rate which is unreal. Fukuda is a tough dude who is much bigger than Costa (Costa only cuts roughly 8-10 lbs). Fukuda isnt well known over here in the states, but if you got to see his last fight, he DESTROYED a very tough Steve Cantwell. His first fight in the UFC was against Nick Ring in what was thought by many to be one of the biggest robberies of the year. I took Fukuda in this fight because i genuinely believe he will win, and because of the odds. This fight is one which should be even, if not a slight lean toward Fukuda.
One issue with Longo's camps are the lack of sparring partners they bring in for their fighters. You look at a guy like Fukuda who trains at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand, sparring with the very best kickboxers in the world, and training with guys like Brian Ebersole, and Ray Elbe. He then comes to the US and trains at AKA with the likes of Cain, Daniel Cormier, Swick, Rockhold, Le, Lawal, Kingberry, etc.
The difference in this fight is that if Fukuda gets rocked by a Costa punch, he can take Costa down. Fukuda is a Japanese national champion wrestler, who prefers to take his opponent down and g&p.
All in all, Fukuda gets the job done. TKO in the 3rd, or Decision.
As far as the Munoz/Weidman fight, the difference here is power. Weidman no doubt is a special wrestler. He is a great guy both in and out of the gym. Weidman has a history of injuries. Lets start out with that, and leave it at that.
Secondly, Weidmans obvious strength is his wrestling. He is the best pure folk wrestler in the UFC hands down. The kid throws people around in practice like theyre nothing!!! You literally feel as though your the ball, and Weidman is the seal. That being said, amateur wrestling is much different than wrestling in MMA. Munoz uses much more Greco in his approach, but can hit a single, and defend a single like its second nature. Weidman leaves a lot of openings when he shoots for his doubles, and Munoz can counter, hit a switch, or time a kick. Should that happen, and Weidman survives, he'll be thinking twice about shooting in on Munoz again.
Third, Munoz power, particularly in his hands, are out of this world. His ground and pound is the best in the UFC, as attested to by Rashad Evans on the last post fight show on fuel, and standing he hits like a ton of bricks.
Weidman has the more upside long term, but Munoz time is now. Dont forget, most were picking Munoz to beat Chael (i do believe he was the fave) before he got hurt. Nobody would pick Weidman to be Chael.
Lastly, again guys look at their camps. Munoz trains both at his own gym (Reign) with the likes of Ryan Parsons, Mayhem, Krystof, Ishii etc. and at Black House with Anderson Silva, Rafael Cordiero, Rafael Fajao, and all of those monsters. Weidman trains in Long Island with Costa, Pete Sell, Ray Longo, Luke Cummo, and trains jits with Matt Serra (who has been on the road filming with the UFC). Which camp would you prefer?
Hope this helps!
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