The UFC’s next outing on network television goes down Saturday night in Phoenix and is headlined by Junior dos Santos returning to action after a yearlong layoff against Stipe Miocic.
The five-round heavyweight tilt anchors what is one of the best fight cards of the year.
The main card is a veritable heavyweight showcase, as three of the four main card fights feature the big boys. The show is very well-balanced with a mix of important fights between top-ranked fighters, a few fun fights between fan favorites and even features an Olympic gold medalist on the Fight Pass preliminary bouts.
Henry Cejudo will once again attempt to make his UFC debut, this time at bantamweight. He couldn’t get to the 125-pound flyweight limit for his original debut at UFC 177 back in August and was deemed medically ineligible to continue cutting weight the day before he was supposed to face Scott Jorgensen.
This time around, he draws Dustin Kimura, who is no slouch at 11-2.
All eyes will be on the 2008 Olympic gold medalist, as MMA Junkie notes he is only the third fighter ever to compete in the Octagon with that distinction, and he absolutely needs to come in on weight if he wants to compete in the UFC.
The television prelims for UFC on Fox 13 are full of entertaining fights.
“Killa B” Ben Saunders is fresh off his first-of-its-kind omoplata submission victory over Chris Heatherly in August, and takes on Joe Riggs.
Saunders has been a fan favorite for years, and Riggs is making his return to the UFC after eight years of fighting outside the Octagon. Last year, he won the only season of Fight Master: Bellator MMA and also recently shot himself in the leg.
A strawweight fight that will likely determine the new division’s No. 1 contender headlines the prelims, as Claudia Gadelha faces off against Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Both women are undefeated and in search of their second win in the UFC strawweight division.
Whoever emerges with the 115-pound title on Friday should pay close attention to this fight, as it may produce their next opponent.
If there is a prop bet somewhere that says no main card fights will go the distance on Saturday, you might want to consider how much you really need to mail in that mortgage payment. There are some hard-hitting gentlemen competing on the main card of UFC on Fox 13.
Matt Mitrione is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts and takes on his toughest opponent yet in Gabriel Gonzaga.
Gonzaga would be smart to employ his world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu but has nearly as many knockouts to his credit as he does submissions, so this fight may be contested in the striking department.
Both men fight to finish their opponent, and on a card filled with heavyweights, they’ll need to find away to stand out from the rest of the pack.
The Return of Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz has been out of action for over a year.
His first-round TKO victory over Gray Maynard at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 18 in November 2013 was one of the most impressive wins of the younger Diaz brother’s career. The win ended a two-fight slump and prompted Diaz to try and renegotiate a new contract with the UFC.
The talks didn’t lead to anything productive, as six months after the win, Diaz was removed from the UFC’s official rankings. UFC President Dana White told UFC Tonight (h/t MMA Weekly) it was due to Diaz “turning down fights” and being inactive.
He’s back now and has a stiff test in the No. 3-ranked Rafael dos Anjos in the night’s co-main event.
Maybe he’ll be in a better position to actually earn more from fighting if he dominates Dos Anjos, or maybe he’ll lose all negotiating power if he goes down like Benson Henderson did against the hard-hitting Brazilian.
Do or Die for Struve and Overeem
Despite the fact that he holds a TKO victory over Miocic, Stefan Struve is in a position where he needs to perform on Saturday night. He was set to return from a nearly career-ending heart condition at UFC 175, but blacked out in the locker room. His fight with Mitrione was scrapped at the last minute.
His rough night was captured on Dana White‘s video blog, and he will undoubtedly be looking to have a better night on Saturday.
For Struve to continue fighting, he really just needs to get in the cage and fight.
For Overeem, he absolutely needs a victory to justify his roster spot.
“The Demolition Man” is a paltry 2-3 inside the Octagon and had his most disappointing showing to date at Foxwoods in September when he got danced on by Ben Rothwell.
Heavyweight Top Contenders
Over the past three years, Miocic has gone from prospect to contender, and he may finally get his chance to fight for the heavyweight title with a win on Saturday.
His opponent, Junior dos Santos, hasn’t fought since his UFC 166 trilogy fight with Cain Velasquez last year.
The former champ has had a year to mend from the drubbing he took and get his head back on straight. This a fight between two of the best technical boxers in the heavyweight division. It’s a great fight to headline on free television and sits atop one of the most intriguing cards the UFC has put on in 2014.
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