UFC Goes Down Under

This coming weekend sees the UFC go down under with the next big event taking over the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.  It’s 110 next up for the UFC and, headlined by Minotauro Nogueira against Cain Velasquez with a world title shot up for grabs, there’s plenty of exciting and explosive fights on tap.

Perhaps with his last chance at making another impact in the UFC is Croatian veteran Mirko Cro Cop. At 35 years old and with three losses in his last five fights (including losses to the up and coming Junior Dos Santos and Cheick Kongo) the time really is now for Cro Cop. However, standing in his way is the big unit that is Ben Rothwell. Standing at 6’4 and weighing over 260lbs Rothwell (who lost his UFC debut to Cain Velasquez) has a significant size advantage over his older opponent. Both fighters have a lot to lose going into this fight as Rothwell may slip into irrelevance before he even ‘arrives’ on the scene if he starts his UFC career 0-2. With Cro Cop known for his fearsome striking and Rothwell for his power and size this fight may well not go the distance. It could be the most explosive fight on the card.

Another fighter in the last chance saloon is a man we discussed earlier this week and that’s Keith ‘The Dean of Mean’ Jardine. At 34 and like Cro Cop, Jardine has three losses in his past four and now faces the unbeaten (11-0) Ryan Bader. With the UFC making a lot of cuts to its rosters recently, it may well be a concern to the older veterans that keep on losing and Jardine will be conscious of his losing streak when he enters the octagon on Saturday. It will be a clash of styles when the two face off in Sydney as Bader has become renowned partly for his punching ability but mainly for his All-American standard of wrestling while Jardine is a kick boxer and his strength is definitely in his leg work.  Bader is aware of the challenge he faces in the experienced (and perhaps desperate) Jardine and admitted as much recently; “I’m stepping up here. This is my first genuine challenge at the top level and I’m in against a top-tier guy. This is a welcome move for me and I feel I’m ready for this next step.” This fight is a chance of a big scalp for Bader and a shot at redemption for Jardine. It should make for an exciting fight.

A fight of great interest to Britain’s UFC fans will be the middleweight clash between Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping and veteran Wanderlei Silva of Brazil who is making his debut at this weight. Manchester born Bisping has won four of his last five fights and will fancy his chances at extending his excellent 19-2 record against an opponent who will be desperate to turn his UFC career around after losing four of his last five. While Silva has gone in against high quality fighters in his last few fights, (losing to ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Rich Franklin and Chuck Liddell with his only victory in between being against Keith Jardine) he will be wary of another loss.  At 33 Silva may be yet another fighter with a lot riding on his fight this coming weekend.  Silva acknowledged the quality he faces in Bisping when he told reporters; “He’s a great opponent for my first fight at 185. He’s coming from a victory over Denis Kang, and I’d put him in the top five in the world at 185.” Whether Silva can handle the younger taller Bisping remains to be seen. Bisping seemed to be in confident mood recently and said of his chances; “I believe it’s a very winnable fight for me. I know Wanderlei’s a legend and has been around a long time, but I truly believe styles make fights and that I’ve got the perfect style to beat him.”  Bisping was impressive in his knockout victory over Denis Kang and a victory over Silva could propel the Englishman into title fight consideration. With the knock out power of Silva and Bispings’ well known ability to mix it up it promises to be a great fight. Bisping should be well supported in Australia with plenty of British fans expected.

The main event of the night could be one of the best match ups of recent times with legendary former champion, Brazilian Minotauro Nogueira looking for another title shot against the exciting up and coming superstar Cain Velasquez from San Jose, California. Velasquez has had a fantastic start to his time in the UFC and sports a perfect 7-0 record. With 4 of his last 5 fights ending in knock outs Velasquez has proven he can stop anyone on his day and his stoppage of big Ben Rothwell was very impressive. Veteran Nogueira will have to be very wary of Velasquez’s big striking ability.

Alternatively the young Velasquez will certainly respect the boxing skills and experience of his illustrious opponent, the man from Rio, Brazil. Nogueira was on top form in his last fight against Randy Couture and it was only Couture’s legendary resilience that stopped the Brazilian securing a win inside the distance. Couture took several big combinations off the 33 year old former PRIDE champion. With a recent loss to Frank Mir on his resume Nogueira will be keen not just to get the title shot which is up for grabs but to start a new win streak. What can’t be discounted however was that during that fight against Mir, Nogueira was severely weakened by an infection so with the veteran likely to be at full strength against Velasquez the fight promises to be very entertaining.

What also counts for the fight being exciting is the styles of the fighters. As well as having great striking skills Velasquez is known for being an aggressive fighter and pushes fights as much as possible whereas on the other side the wily Minotauro Nogueira is not one to be bullied inside the Octagon. Known for his ability to control fights as well as having great mat skills this fight could be decided on the floor, against the cage or at any moment within the blink of an eye. With so much up for grabs for both fighters expect fireworks.

We’ll check back with our take of the big event early next week so keep coming back to www.nasports.co.uk