UFC 76: Matt Wiman vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Matt Wiman, who was a contestant on the recently completed fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, will face Michihiro Omigawa at UFC 76 on September 22nd in Anaheim.
Wiman started his career with five consecutive MMA wins nearly entirely in the Extreme Fighting League. He was handed his first loss by current UFC fighter Roger Huerta in 2005 but won his next fight over Thomas Grissom. In his next fight Wiman was handed another loss by Nick Agallar but would still be given a chance in the UFC. He made his UFC debut against Spencer Fisher at UFC 60 and was defeated by a KO due to a flying knee in the second round. He next appeared on The Ultimate Fighter winning his opening fight against Marlon Sims before dropping his second contest to runner-up Manny Gamburyan. In his last fight Wiman defeated Brian Geraghty on the season finale by TKO in the first round.
Omigawa lost 3 of his first 4 professional MMA fights with the lone win coming by split decision over Jason Chambers in early 2006. Despite the early struggles Omigawa has turned his early career around defeating Takaaki Aoki, Won Jin Eoh, and Naoki Matsushita in a five month span to push his overall record to 4-3. Although he has not fought since April the win streak apparently earned Omigawa a chance to fight in the UFC.
The crowd will surely be rooting for Wiman due to his national exposure on The Ultimate Fighter and the unfamiliarity most fans will have with Omigawa presenting the UFC newcomer a tough environment for his UFC debut.
For more on UFC 76 check out the MMAFrenzy.com UFC rumors section.
Tags: Matt Wiman, Michihiro Omigawa
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I grew to dislike Wiman towards the end of the show. He was a little too arrogant to my liking. Who calls themselves "handsome"?
He was dismissive of Manny skills even after Manny dominated him.
Wiman was listed by BJ Penn as one of the fighters who didn't listen and did their own thing.
I think, even if he lost some fans due to his attitude, he will still win over the crowd. The fans cheer for the people they know even if they aren't fond of his personality and I think as soon as people know he was on The Ultimate Fighter they are likely to be behind him. Had he faced a known fighter it would have been likely to be much closer as far as crowd support goes but against an unknown fighter Wiman should get the support and, I think, the win as well.
I like Wiman,but he brags on himself a little too much.Like BJ said,if you're worried about how your face looks,you shouldn't be in the UFC.Wiman is a good fighter though,and I look to see him again soon.
I agree, his personality may not be the best but I look forward to seeing him fight again.