Joey Beltran vs. Fabio Maldonado Could Be Fight of The Year

By Adam Martin

When the UFC announced that hard-headed and heavy-handed brawlers Joey Beltran and Fabio Maldonado would be squaring off at UFC Fight Night 29, I immediately took to Twitter to proclaim it a possible Fight of the Year contender. The fact of the matter is fans love nothing more than two guys who will stand in the center of the Octagon and exchange leather for 15 minutes or less, and as Beltran and Maldonado have shown through their UFC careers thus far, this is exactly what they both like to do.

With Maldonado, you have one of my absolute favorite fighters in the UFC to watch. This dude is tough as hell, and we all saw his big heart on display when took one of the worst beatings of all time from Glover Teixeira at UFC 153 and still never quit. But besides his iron chin he’s also an excellent boxer, and he’s used his punching ability to defeat James McSweeney and Roger Hollett in the Octagon – and he would have wins over Kyle Kingsbury and Igor Pokrajac if it weren’t for the judges.

Even though he is only 2-3 in the UFC, Maldonado has never been involved in a boring fight, and neither has his opponent Beltran, who is coming off a nine-month drug suspension for steroids that left his future with the organization – not to mention his prior accomplishments – in doubt, even if Beltran swears he didn’t know he took them. Although Beltran had a decent run as a heavyweight known for putting on exciting fights, (OK, he was more known for his ability to take a beating and keep ticking, but still) after suffering the first KO loss of his career against Lavar Johnson at UFC on FOX 2, he decided to drop down to 205 and reinvent himself as a light heavyweight.

Thus far, the reviews have been mixed.

In his UFC light heavyweight debut, he got the tar beat out of him by James Te Huna at UFC on Fuel TV 4, but he won a share of “Fight of the Night” for that one, and he rebounded nicely with a decision win over Igor Pokrajac at UFC on FX 6 that showed an evolution in his game, as he didn’t just stand and brawl, he worked his wrestling game too.

With Maldonado showing holes in his takedown defence in his losses, and with Beltran training his wrestling with Phil Davis, I have a feeling Beltran to going to try and go for the takedowns and steal a decision win in Brazil. And that’s why I’m worried this match might turn out to be a stinker.

Obviously, shooting for takedowns is not an exciting game plan, and though Beltran has promised the fans he will bring “national geographic violence” to their television screens, I have developed a feeling in these last few days before the fight that Maldonado vs. Beltran isn’t going to be what I originally expected. I have a feeling it’s going to be a letdown.

Obviously I hope I’m wrong, and I really hope these two do end up standing and banging and putting on the Fight of the Year we know they’re capable of, but after hearing Beltran recently say he is wondering what his brawling style has done to his brain, I’m not so sure anymore. That means wrestling, and that means a lot of work up against the fence.

So this is a fight that can either win both guys a $50,000 bonus cheque, or a fight that could be a 15-minute snoozer, kind of a rarity when breaking down matchups. It really all depends on how Beltran fights, because the brick-headed Maldonado only stands and throw hands in his fights – nothing else.

Hopefully, for the fans’ sake, Beltran gives everyone what they want – violence. But for his brain’s sake, let’s hope he fights smarter. A true catch 22.