Before each event, The Watch List identifies the intriguing prospects on the fight card and fills you in on some of the fighters flying under the radar you might want to keep an eye on.
Here are the fighters who will step into the cage from outside the spotlight at the Prudential Center Saturday night at UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen in Newark, N.J.
Watch UFC 159 preliminary fights Saturday on Sportsnet. First, three early online prelims will air on sportsnet.ca starting at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the four-fight main card on Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific at 8 p.m. ET.
FIGHTERS TO WATCH
Fighter: Pat Healy
Record: 29-16
Opponent: Jim Miller
After posting a 7-1 record in Strikeforce over the last three years, Healy is finally getting his chance to prove he belongs in the upper echelon of the lightweight division. He was supposed to get that opportunity in the now-defunct organization — twice actually — but injuries to Gilbert Melendez scuttled both title bouts.
“Bam Bam” is a big lightweight; he spent the first 36 fights of his career competing at welterweight, and holds wins over Dan Hardy, Paul Daley, and Carlos Condit. A resident of the Pacific Northwest, Healy brings the same kind of “grind’em out” wrestling mentality as the region’s most well-known fighter, Chael Patrick Sonnen, to the cage, and has the type of physical style that has proven problematic for Miller in the past.
While he’s put together a nice winning streak since losing to Josh Thomson in June 2010, he hasn’t faced the same level of competition that awaits him in the UFC. Additionally, four of the six men he beat during that time — Kurt Holobaugh, Mizuto Hirota, Maximo Blanco, and Eric Wisely — have all subsequently moved to featherweight, so it’s safe to say he still has something to prove here.
This is as good a shot as you can ask for though; Miller is a proven commodity and a perennial contender, and a win will cement Healy as a threat in the division. A loss, however, could see him take a serious tumble down the rankings. There is a ton at stake for the 29-year-old veteran in his UFC debut, which should bring out the best in “Bam Bam” on Saturday night.
Fighter: Rustam Khabilov
Record: 15-1
Opponent: Yancy Medeiros
Everyone’s favourite lightweight suplex machine returns to action this weekend, taking on Strikeforce arrival (and former middleweight) Medeiros, who is also an intriguing addition to the roster. He’s dropped two weight classes and hasn’t competed since June 2010; colour me curious.
Anyway, Khabilov is the focus here, and with very good reason. The 26-year-old opened all kinds of eyes in his UFC debut when he needed just 2:15 to finish TUF 15 cast member Vinc Pichel, connecting on three high-amplitude suplexes, knocking “From Hell” from consciousness with the third and final throw.
Now, one fight does not a champion make, and we have to dial back the expectations a little; after all, Stephen Thompson looked fantastic in his debut, but stumbled mightily when he faced a step up in competition. That said, Khabilov appears to be being brought along slowly, and you don’t earn 15 wins in your first 16 fights by accident.
He’s in a showcase position for this fight, as he and Medeiros will close out the preliminary portion of the card, so don’t be surprised if you see Khabilov getting a solid push if he’s able to collect another impressive win on Saturday night.
Fighter: Ovince St. Preux
Record: 12-5
Opponent: Gian Villante
One of the less heralded arrivals to the UFC roster following Strikeforce’s demise, St. Preux is an intriguing mix of raw talent and tremendous athleticism with the potential to develop into a contender under the right circumstances.
After beginning his career with a 3-4 mark, the former University of Tennessee defensive end and linebacker has posted a 9-1 record over the last three years, his lone setback being a unanimous decision loss to former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion and current UFC contender Gegard Mousasi.
To date, St. Preux has been the type of fighter who really gets by on his natural abilities; he has tremendous power and has been able to simply “out athlete” opponents many times. If he ever brings his skill and conditioning up to match his raw talent, the 30-year-old could blossom into someone to really watch in the 205-pound ranks.
As it stands now, St. Preux is a solid middle-of-the-pack addition to the roster, and someone who has routinely delivered entertaining performances. That should be no different this weekend when he squares off with Villante, a stalled prospect who could also potentially turn things around now that he’s fighting on the biggest stage in the sport.
Fighter: Sara McMann
Record: 6-0
Opponent: Sheila Gaff
When you’re putting together your list of fighters who could one day, maybe, perhaps challenge Ronda Rousey for the UFC women’s bantamweight title, McMann’s name should be near the top.
A silver medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Summer Olympics, she’s unbeaten since transitioning from the mats to the cage, and could be the only fighter in the division who could legitimately make a case for being able to battle Rousey on the canvas. I’m not saying she will, but McMann has the elite-athlete pedigree, and the 32-year-old is only going to continue getting better as she logs more time in the cage.
Gaff is a slugger, so we’re likely to find out a little bit about McMann’s chin and willingness to stand in the pocket in this one. She willingly traded with Raquel Pa’aluhi for two rounds in her fourth professional fight before finishing the bout with a kimura in the third, but Gaff is far more polished and explosive than the relatively inexperienced Hawaiian.
The women’s bantamweight ranks are relatively shallow, so with a couple strong performances — and continued success from Rousey — it might not be too long before we see Olympic medalist vs. Olympic medalist inside the Octagon.
Fighter: Steven Siler
Record: 21-10
Opponent: Kurt Holobaugh
Siler put together a nice little three-fight winning streak after emerging from Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, only to run into a surging Darren Elkins last November in Montreal.
The 26-year-old Pit Elevated product has an abundance of experience under his belt, and looked like a legitimate prospect in earning consecutive dominant victories over Cole Miller and Joey Gambino. Now the question is which of the two fighters is he: the aggressive and confident competitors who collected those wins or the overmatched athlete who had no answers whatsoever against Elkins?
While I don’t think he has top-of-the-division talent, I would lean more towards Siler being a contender, rather than labeling him a pretender.
Elkins is a stylistic nightmare for a lot of fighters, and everyone has a bad night every once in a while. This is a good bounce-back opportunity for Siler, and a chance to show he’s still worthy of consideration in the featherweight division.