The UFC has descended upon Houston for the second time in as many years. This visit promises to be another exciting one, with a 13-fight card stacked with some intriguing matchups.
Five of the fights stick out to me, and here are the reasons why I will be paying close attention to them.
Greatest trilogy of all-time?
The heavyweight championship title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos could be an epic one for a variety of reasons, mostly because of the unpredictability that hovers over this rubber match.
This may be an obvious, if not a cliché type of prediction but in their previous two bouts, the man who was able to land the first, big, right hand, eventually walked away with the title. On the surface, this appears to be a basic analogy, but this is exactly what happened.
UFC 166 trilogy bout breakdown: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
It will be a race to see who will be the first to land that monster cross upon his opponent’s chin. It’s an obvious game changer, but if it does not land, the winner will be the fighter who can impose not just his will, but have his opponent compete at his pace.
In essence, can dos Santos make Cain fight at the Brazilian’s pace, or will the relentless motor that is Velasquez’ signature be simply too much for dos Santos to handle?
Power vs. control
The battle between power and control is one way to look at the heavyweight co-main event between Daniel Cormier and Roy Nelson.
Big Country’s right hand and chin are legendary, while DC’s wrestling is second to none. Can Roy land that monstrous right hand that will shake Cormier’s game plan and put him on the defensive? Or will Daniel’s foot work, entries and positional dominance frustrate Nelson into making mistakes that will eventually cost him the fight?
The perfect lightweight storm
The lightweight battle between Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez has fight of the night written all over it.
The Dream is notorious for putting on some of the most exciting fights in UFC history. But he has only competed three times in three years, with his last tilt occurring over seven months ago. He will explode out of the starting blocks, but will he be able to sustain the energy for a full 15 minutes against a master tactician like El Nino?
This looks to be a back and forth battle for at least a round and a half, but may end up being a totally different scrap once the midway mark of the second round is met. Melendez is one of the top 155-pounders in the world and we will likely see why on Saturday night.
Relevancy vs. employment
No one from the UFC hierarchy has come out and said that either Nate Marquardt and/or Hector Lombard are in any danger of losing their jobs, but a loss in this welterweight tilt, which you can catch on Sportsnet 360, could put someone in a very dangerous position.
Lombard is making his 170 lbs debut in this bout, and may just see a career renaissance with a victory. But a defeat would apparently make him a very expensive fighter to keep on the UFC’s ever changing roster. Since joining the organization, he has gone 1-2, with UFC president Dana White reportedly not too impressed with the Cuban’s performances during those two losses. A third, unless Lombard does so in a dog fight, could spell the end of his stint with the UFC.
On the flip side, Marquardt is riding the first losing streak of his career. With back-to-back defeats, he’s on the edge of making it three in a row, so he will also be feeling a certain amount of pressure to keep his job.
I do not see this one being a boring fight, but don’t be surprised if one, if not both of these guys implement a safe game plan, avoiding any major risks that could cause them to lose the bout.
Drawing the line in the sand
Victoria, B.C. bantamweight Sarah Kaufman is finally making her octagon debut. It was supposed to happen two months ago, and she completed a full training camp to take on Sara McMann, but the latter withdrew for personal reasons. So a new camp ensued, and she’s in prime shape to take on Jessica “Evil” Eye.
Eye is a relentless fighter, similar to Kaufman, so this one promises to be a back and forth affair, with someone likely going to sleep, courtesy of ingesting more leather than her opponent.
Don’t take your eyes of the screen on this one — it’s also on Sportsnet 360 — and will give you a new (if not other) appreciation for women’s Mixed Martial Arts.