UFC Vegas 56 goes down at the Apex this Saturday, headlined between Alexander Volkov and Jairzinho Rozenstruik in a heavyweight bout. The majority of this card is the UFC’s up-and-comers with a few vets sprinkled in. Damon Jackson was supposed to fight Darrick Minner but Minner had to pull out. Now LFA bantamweight champ Dan Argueta will step in and fight Jackson on short notice.
Dan “The Determined” Argueta
Standing at 5’7″
Fighting at 135 lbs (bantamweight)
28-years-old
Fighting out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
Training out of Jackson Wink MMA
A pro record of 8-0
2 KO/TKOs, 4 Submissions
How will Argueta do in the UFC:
Argueta is a stud and very much deserving of this opportunity. With that said, having to make his debut on short notice and up a weight class is a shame. Argueta has really good experience even with just eight pro fights. Early as a pro, he fought in Combate`, then on TUF 29, and then won an LFA title.
After wrestling in high school Argueta went on to wrestle Division II for the University of Wisconsin. Since his days as an amateur, Argueta has been training with Jackson-Wink MMA, and UFC featherweight Cub Swanson has been the main training partner for “The Determined.” Argueta’s constant forward pressure, his wrestling, and jiu-jitsu is going to give a lot of guys problems. When he gets it to the mat Argueta is a serious issue. His jiu-jitsu is very good and he’ll smash away with ground and pound relentlessly. It’s all the work ethic Argueta brings that set him above the rest.
However, if Argueta cannot impose his wrestling/grappling he may have problems against a good striker. His head movement isn’t great and as the fight goes on he’s easier to hit. Yet even though he does tire as the fight goes, Argueta never stops coming forward to make it an ugly fight at the very least. He’s really tough and hard to shake.
How he matches up with Jackson:
The good thing for Argueta is Jackson is down to grapple but the issue is Jackson is the bigger guy. Jackson, who has fought at 155 before, is both bigger and longer compared to Argueta. Where Argueta wants to take the fight being on the mat, but it will be tough to put Jackson on his back. Jackson has the better ground game overall and has a better gas tank while being much stronger. The best path to victory for Argueta is volume, forward pressure, and controlling along the cage. Argueta is at too much of a physical disadvantage and too defensively challenged though; this is a tough fight too soon.
