[rocky mattioli]

and after reading so many good things about the guy,i came away feeling he was a tad overrated(as so many guys that have fought many of their fights in japan seem to be).....of course hioki is coming to the ufc and i`ve seen him several times...i expect him to do well...

but sandro?....he looked a little stiff and his striking looked raw...lots of lunging....not much defense...not particularly quick...

maybe it was a bad outing,but i was more impressed with the other 3 winners...particularly curran,who looks very formidable at 145...he`s already an excellent boxer and wrestler....that choke he threw on palomino(who isn`t a joke,btw...he had a recent win over masvidal).....that was high level stuff...particularly over a veteran with some solid wins..

maybe i`m being overly critical...but sandro looked a bit stiff and crude...

[bjpenn85]

I dont think youre overly critical. I dont see sandro as a favourite in this tournament. I favor Pat curran.

[Poppa Catfish]

Stiff and crude sounds about right imo

[sirchadwick1]

I agree with you and also think Curran wins this one. He is a solid fighter and still a bit underrated if anything.

[Hannibal]

You are absolutely right.
Sandro has always been overrated. I have no idea why there were comparisons to Aldo. They are from the same team, and they get KO's, but not nearly in the same manner. People overrate Sandro's striking because he knocked out a few bums in Japan. His striking consists of a big overhand and a big uppercut, which he manages to time well against lesser opponents.

Also, he is highly touted for his grappling, but i haven't seen anything impressive in that aspect either.