When feared German striking and submission specialist Daniel Weichel enters the ring intent to confirm his #1 contender status against former NCAA Division I collegiate wrestler Beau ‘Blackjack’ Baker, a hefty vault of experience will be in the European’s corner. Having sharpened his teeth through international passages with organizations including Shooto, King of the Cage, Cage Warriors and the UFC and having fought some of the sport’s recognized names including Thiago Tavares, Dan Hardy and Paul Daley, it’s easy to see why Weichel will roll into California with a 26-7 record marking him as the heavy favorite; but there is no such thing as a guaranteed victory and Weichel needs to issue a statement-making performance from The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. Fans can capture all the M-1 Challenge: Bennett vs. Garner action LIVE on SHOWTIME on Friday, July 8 at 11 p.m. ET/PT (Delayed on the West Coast).
As a true lightweight by North American standards, Weichel fluctuated between weight classes early on in his career which put him in unfavourable positions fighting significantly larger opponents. Since being dedicated to the lightweight class, Weichel has achieved considerable success having won eight of his last nine matches, which include a rear-naked-choke submission victory over M-1 Selection Tournament lightweight finalist, Victor Kuku and an epic striker’s war TKO over Yuri Ivlev.
Baker is also a well-sized lightweight standing 5’9″ and has had good success fighting up a division but prefers to leverage his natural advantages as a 155’er. A former NCAA Division I collegiate wrestler from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Baker sports phenomenal grappling and made his successful professional MMA debut in 2007, quickly going on a tear to win four in a row, three by way of crafty submissions; favoring to venture to the mat versus standing up, the 31 year old freestyle fighter still boasts a respectful 8-4 record as a pro with notable wins over Ran Weathers and Ron Foster.
Weichel has proven he prefers to avoid the judges’ scorecards in favor of finishing fights in exciting fashion and this fight against Baker shouldn’t affect his style in the least; he possesses an innate ability to score takedowns as a precursor to locking in a submission or unleashing a devastating ground and pound. From full mount or side control, he throws contusion-creating knees to the body which will quickly wear Baker out. Standing up, Weichel’s striking is superior; whether thrusting skull-cracking knees or throwing furious, rapid-fire combinations, he can land from every angle
Baker is known for his lethal grappling ability, fast hands and iron chin. He’s faced high caliber competition throughout his career and his last outing was a valiant effort that ended with a second round submission loss to undefeated, top-ranked European prospect Alexander ‘The Tiger’ Sarnavskiy.
Respecting Weichel’s striking and ground game, Baker’s methodical and tactically aggressive fighting style needs to be leveraged throughout this tough fight. Baker’s wrestling and scrambling ability could prove to be a big asset if he uses this to take Weichel down, posture up and rain down his relentless ground and pound. Baker may be evenly matched in power but the true key to his victory will come from being patient in his well-timed offensives.
If Baker can impose his game plan and not get caught up in a striker’s battle, he could steal the spotlight with an incredible upset. But with Weichel having the advantage in experience, striking and submissions, a Baker win seems unimaginable.
This is purely a fight that Weichel is expected to win and the only thing to possibly derail the natural course of action is Baker’s incredible physical and mental toughness. This very well could be one of the card’s best fights.
