The main card at UFC 168 is certainly stacked. Two epic rematches will take place with two championships at stake in the feature bouts.
Anderson Silva will try to regain his middleweight crown from Chris Weidman. Miesha Tate will look to even the score with UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey. Before the main card begins, there are a handful of interesting fights on tap for the Fox Sports 1 preliminary broadcast.
The action should be consistent all Saturday night, but here’s a few things to look forward to during the Fox Sports 1 portion of the event.
A Crushing KO Win by Uriah Hall
Chris Leben is made to order for Uriah Hall. He eats an average of 2.83 significant strikes per minute in his bouts, and that’s way too high. All Hall needs is one and Leben could be in deep trouble.
Leben has a legendary chin and amazing heart, but he doesn’t have the speed or defense to stay awake for the end of this one. Hall is going to win big in what I predict will be the KO of the Night.
A Dominant Display of Grappling from Gleison Tibau
Against Michael “The Menace” Johnson, Gleison Tibau will likely be at a speed and length disadvantage. No matter. Tibau has always pursued the takedown aggressively. Against a fighter like Johnson—who has been rendered a punching bag on his back lately—Tibau will be even more dogged in his pursuit of the takedown.
Reza Madadi and Myles Jury dominated Johnson on the ground before The Menace scored a win over Joe Lauzon in August.
The difference between Lauzon and Tibau is physical strength.
Lauzon is long on technique and heart, but he isn’t the strongest fighter. That isn’t an issue for Tibau. He is built like a fire hydrant. On Saturday night, he’s going to put Johnson’s fire out.
Dennis Siver‘s Spinning Back Kick
The man who is a dead ringer for Daniel Craig of 007 fame might just pull off a Casino Royale-like move in Vegas. Siver is known for his short and powerful spin kicks. The move can do major damage to an opponent’s midsection.
If the UFC nation is lucky, it may get an opportunity to see it when Siver faces Manvel Gamburyan. After being stopped by Cub Swanson in his last fight, Siver needs a bounce-back performance.
Perhaps his signature maneuver can do the trick.
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