All eyes are on Nate Diaz as he battles "The Dentist" Josh Neer.
Taking A Look At Ultimate Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer
Wednesday on Sportsnet, the UFC will showcase yet another Ultimate Fight Night, live from the Omaha Civic Auditorim, in Omaha Nebraska. This card is chock full of fighters that deserve to be on a pay per view card, but lucky for us, we get to see them on free TV instead.
Let's take a look at some of the bouts, as well as some fighters who are in serious jeopardy of being cut from the organization, should they come out on the losing end of their battles.
Nate Diaz (9-2-0) Vs. Josh 'The Dentist' Neer (24-6-1)
This bout will headline as the main event for the show and looks to me like the UFC is banking on a Diaz victory. I tend to agree with their matchmaking as Neer (who has one of my favourite nicknames in MMA) will push Diaz to the brink with his aggressive style honed over the years with the Militech Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa.
This is the perfect fight for Diaz to shine as it will likely showcase him having to come back from serious damage inflicted by 'The Dentist' over a few rounds and somehow, someway, locking in one of those incredible submissions that are making the Stockton, California native a fan favourite.
Clay 'The Carpenter' Guida (23-6-0) Vs. Mac Danzig (19-4-1)
Anytime Guida fights, you can rest assured it will already be a serious contender for fight of the night honours. He pressures his opponents non-stop, in hopes to break their spirit, forcing the 'will to fight' out of their hearts and into an eventual loss on their record.
I personally cannot see Danzig losing the will to fight, but I cannot see how the Season 6 winner of The Ultimate Fighter can keep up with Guida's relentless pace and superior wrestling. While Danzig is training at Xtreme Couture in Vegas with guys like Gray Maynard and Tyson Griffen, it's a different story altogether, when you are facing the real thing in the Octagon.
I believe Guida will be too much for Danzig, but if Danzig can pull it off, he will skyrocket into some serious bouts in the lightweight class. A win over Guida is huge in the eyes of the UFC brass.
Ed 'Short Fuse' Herman (16-5-0) Vs. Alan 'The Talent' Belcher (11-4-0)
Herman is coming off a 'sucker' loss to Demian Maia at UFC 83 in April. When I say 'sucker', I don't mean Herman is a 'sucker' but that he was 'suckered' into Maia's ground game after dominating him in the stand realm. Herman should have won that fight and one simple error in judgement had him gasping for air and tapping out. This time, I cannot see him making that same mistake with Belcher.
Then again, if Herman decides to trade bombs with 'The Talent', he will lose this bout rather quickly. Belcher has some serious muay thai skills, and they only improved as he spent some serious time this past summer in Thailand, the birthplace of Muay Thai. What we saw in Belcher vs Jason Day at UFC 83 is pretty much an afterthought.
If Herman plays his game, takes Belcher down to the ground and works his ground'n'pound, he should be able to pull of a relatively easy victory, en route to climbing a notch or two up the middleweight rankings.
Houston 'The Nebraskan Assassin' Alexander (8-3-1) Vs. Eric 'Ravishing Red' Schafer (11-3-2)
All the pressure will be on Alexander in this fight. He is fighting at home, in front of family and friends and is coming off two terrible losses. The first was to Thiago Silva, which brought his ground game into question. The second was an eight second loss to James Irvin, which brought his chin into question. Add all of these elements together and what Alexander may see as motivation, may actually turn out to be a detriment to mounting pressure that comes with winning at home and winning to stay alive amongst the UFC's stacked Light Heavyweight Division.
Take nothing away from Schafer, a seasoned veteran whose been in there with the likes of Stephan Bonnar and Michael Bisping, but I believe the only way he wins this fight is if the pressure on Alexander's shoulders is just to much for him to bear. If Houston cracks under the immense mental fatique and comes out gun shy, Schafer will have his way with him. But if Alexander uses the stress as motivation, loads up and brings us back to his early days vs Keith Jardine and Alessio Sakara, Schafer is in for a short night with plenty of bruises to prove it.
Undercard Bouts
The rest of the card is stacked as well, but we may only get to see one, maybe two of these matches, should the main bouts end rather quickly. Big names like Joe Lauzon, Alessio Sakara, Drew McFedries and the middleweight debut of Wilson Gouviea are all hopefuls to make it onto the broadcast, but first they will have to get past their opponents, all of which have plenty of experience outside of the octagon.
Here's a look at each matchup:
Alessio 'Legionarius' Sakara (16-7-1) Vs. Joe Vedepo (7-1-0)
Wilson Gouveia (10-5-0) Vs. Ryan Jensen (13-4-0)
Joe 'J-Lau' Lauzon(15-4-0) Vs. Kyle Bradley (13-5-1)
Jason 'Hitman' Brilz (15-1-1) Vs. Brad Morris (10-3-0)
Drew 'The Massacre' McFedries (7-3-0) Vs. Mike Massenzio (10-2)
Dan Miller (8-1-1) Vs. Rob 'The Rosedale Reaper' Kimmons (21-3-0)
