Middleweight contenders Vitor Belfort and Luke Rockhold headline the UFC’s return to Brazil on Saturday, and the battle between these two potential title challengers is garnering the lion’s share of the attention.
With Belfort riding high off his knockout win over Michael Bisping at the start of the year, and Rockhold making his UFC debut after a solid reign as Strikeforce champion, the winner of this contest will certainly be near the top of the list of potential challengers for the middleweight title.
As much as the American Kickboxing Academy product and “The Phenom” are deserving of the attention they’ve received thus far, there are other competitors on this card who have the potential to move up the rankings in their respective divisions over the second half of 2013.
Here are the fighters that make up the latest edition of The Watch List.
Watch UFC on Sportsnet: Belfort vs. Rockhold Saturday starting with the preliminary card at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the main card at 9 p.m. ET, all on Sportsnet ONE. In addition, catch three bonus online prelims at 4:30 p.m. ET on sportsnet.ca.
FIGHTERS TO WATCH
Fighter: Ronaldo (Jacare) Souza
Record: 17-3
Opponent: Chris Camozzi
The former Strikeforce middleweight champion was supposed to debut against Costa Philippou, but the surging Serra-Longo Fight Team member was forced out with an injury. Camozzi moves up the card to fill the void, but the focus here remains on Souza.
A highly decorated grappler, “Jacare” has steadily developed his striking over the last few years and is a legitimate contender in the 185-pound weight class. He’s earned finishes in three straight fights, having stopped Ed Herman and Derek Brunson inside the first round in his last two outings.
Camozzi is on a nice little four-fight winning streak, but the 33-year-old Brazilian veteran should be able to get by the former Ultimate Fighter contestant here. This is a chance for Souza to make an immediate impact in the middleweight ranks and show that he’s capable of challenging the best the UFC has to offer going forward.
Fighter: Rafael dos Anjos
Record: 18-6
Opponent: Evan Dunham
Because a new fighter seems to step up and make an impact in the lightweight division at every event, it’s been difficult for dos Anjos to break into the upper echelon of the division, but it’s not for lack of effort or talent.
The 28-year-old is 7-2 over his last nine UFC appearances, and enters Saturday’s contest on a tidy three-fight winning streak, most recently earning a split-decision win over Mark Bocek at UFC 158 in early February.
Hard to put away and becoming more well-rounded with each appearance, this is dos Anjos’ opportunity to push into the next tier in the lightweight division. The top 10 is in a state of flux, and a solid performance against Dunham could set him up for a bigger fight in the second half of 2013.
Earning said victory won’t be easy – Dunham is a tough out with a comparable skill set to dos Anjos, making this bout an early Fight of the Night frontrunner. If he is able to emerge victorious, however, it will be hard to deny dos Anjos an opportunity against a top flight talent later this year.
Fighter: John Lineker
Record: 20-6
Opponent: Azimat Gashimov
Lineker entered the UFC on a 13-fight winning streak, and proceeded to earn Fight of the Night honours in a loss to Louis Gaudinot in his debut. After the event, we learned that the explosive, young Brazilian flyweight made the trip to New Jersey – his first trip out of Brazil – by himself, showing up without cornermen, and forced to navigate his weight cut on his own.
He rebounded from the defeat with a unanimous decision win over Yasuhiro Urushitani in his second appearance, this time traveling to Macau to compete. Saturday, he’s back home in his native Brazil, and the heavy-handed 125-pound slugger will surely be more comfortable than he’s been in each of his previous two UFC outings.
Lineker has the kind of blistering power to turn a fight on a dime, which could carry him up the flyweight rankings quickly if he’s able to string together a couple good wins. This will be Gashimov’s flyweight debut, so it will be interesting to see how the Dagestani Team Jackson-Winkeljohn representative handles the weight cut, and the inevitable pressure Lineker will be putting on him from the outset.
Fighter: Jussier (Formiga) da Silva
Record: 14-2
Opponent: Chris Cariaso
“Formiga” walked right into a title eliminator contest in his UFC debut, but came out on the wrong side of things against John Dodson. Inexplicably, he now finds himself buried at the start of this underwhelming fight card, battling Cariaso, who is coming off a loss to John Moraga, the man currently lined up to fight for the flyweight belt this summer in Seattle.
Prior to the UFC introducing the flyweight division, da Silva was widely considered a top-3 fighter in the 125-pound ranks. His only loss prior to his UFC debut came against Ian McCall, with the diminutive Brazilian boasting wins over Shinichi (BJ) Kojima, Alexandre Pantoja, and Mamoru Yamaguchi.
A skillful grappler, “Formiga” has seven submission wins to his credit, and has bolstered his striking in recent years, which helps keep opponents honest inside the cage. The fifth-ranked fighter in the flyweight division is only a couple wins away from being back in contention, and a victory over the seventh-ranked Cariaso would be a good start to a winning streak.
Fighter: Lucas Martins
Record: 12-1
Opponent: Jeremy Larsen
Martins drew in against Edson Barboza on short notice as part of the last UFC on FX card in Brazil, and ended up suffering the first loss of his career. It was a rather one-sided beating, but it’s hard to fault the 24-year-old UFC neophyte for his performance – he’d fought a month earlier, and Barboza is a legitimate top-20 lightweight.
Things should be better this time out, as Martins has had a full camp to prepare, and draws Larsen, who lost to Joe Proctor on the TUF 15 finale last June; he hasn’t competed since.
Martins is a finisher, with just one of his wins coming by decision, and he showed flashes of potential in his fight with Barboza back in January. This is an opportunity for the young Brazilian to collect his first UFC win and showcase his skills against an opponent more at his level. Don’t be surprised if a lot of people are talking about the effort put forth by the Macaco Gold Team product come Sunday morning.
