Jackson’s MMA Series – Hunter Tucker vs Nate Patterson (Pre-fight Breakdown)

On September 8th, New Mexico fight fans will be in for a treat as the Jackson’s MMA Series will be in a new venue, Albuquerque’s Tingley Coliseum for the 9th installment of the popular mixed martial arts promotion. The card features several local fighters, most of which coming out of the famed Jackson-Winklejohn gym which is home to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Champions Carlos Condit and Jon Jones.

The event will be headlined by two Albuquerque’s fighters, former WEC top contender Frank Gomez and fan favorite Mikey “the Burque Bulldog” Lovato. Before the main event kicks off, there will be a very interesting co-main event featured bout in the featherweight division that may bring some fireworks into Tingley Coliseum.

Representing the Jackson-Winklejohn camp, Hunter Tucker will bring his unblemished record (3-0 pro, 4-0 amateur) into the cage to battle as he matches up with Nate Patterson (2-1 pro, 1-0 amateur) in what should be a very interesting bout that will be a good gauge as to where each fighter stands in their early mixed martial arts career.

Tucker has shown that he is a very well rounded mixed martial artist, using a mixture of kickboxing and good ground skills to win fights. He has shown very good striking that dictates the pace of fights as well as his ability to get the fight to the ground, where he has finished all three pro-fights; one coming by way of technical knockout and the other two via submission. Tucker will also hold a very unique advantage in his bout with Nate Patterson.

“Nasty” Nate Patterson has previously fought three fighters under the Jackson-Winklejohn banner. He holds wins over Conrad Padilla in an amateur bout and against Rich Chavez and Ryan Webb in professional bouts. Needless to say, Tucker’s team will be very comfortable preparing him for a familiar foe and this should prove to be a stiff test for the undefeated Tucker.

Training out of the Three Crosses Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym in Las Cruces, Patterson has shown his skill set is more then his gym name would imply. In his last outing he showed a dangerous combination of patience, aggression and persistence as he chopped down his opponent’s legs on his way to clear unanimous decision victory. He mixed up the attack with short combinations and plenty of kicks taking away the ability of his opponent to drag the fight to the mats which is where Patterson did not want to end up.

I believe this fight will have two great aspects to be mindful of, the first of which is what game plan Tucker will choose to implement.

With the training, teammates and tutelage of great striking coaches, Tucker will be more then prepared for a stand up affair come fight time. However, digging deeper may be the “what to watch for” key to this fight.

In his previous fight with Rich Chavez, Patterson refused to ever stay on the mat even when his opponent was grounded by strikes. The hesitation may have been looked at as intelligent; to stay away from an opponent’s strength but late in a fight where an opponent was rendered basically unable to mount offense it may mean he lacked confidence in his own ground game.

On the flip side, Tucker has finished all three professional fights in ground positions. Patterson’s only loss came by way of submission and this may be an area of the fight exploited by the Albuquerque fighter. The dangerous part of Tucker’s game is that he is well rounded enough to threaten on the feet and on the ground.

The other interesting aspect to this fight is that it seems that Patterson enjoys playing spoiler, as he attributes all three victories to be over Albuquerque fighters all taking place in Albuquerque. The Jackson’s MMA Series has seen a very game Patterson triumph twice now and he will undoubtedly want to keep his record in the show perfect. Clearly, Patterson will bring his hunger for playing spoiler into the mix as he and Hunter Tucker will put on a show for the Albuquerque crowd.This match up as well as the other match-ups should make for a fun night at Tingley Coliseum for fight fans.

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