If you’re looking for a fight that has the best Fight-of-the-Night potential on the UFC 185 card, it has to be the Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown match. Both of these guys are warriors with strong chins and heavy hands. They will likely steal the show on Saturday night in Dallas, Texas.
Both fighters have won Fight Night bonuses in each of their last four fights. Both have been a part of the Fight of the Night three times in that current streak. That’s an impressive pace to live up to, but these fighters have the motivation to produce another exciting bout.
UFC president Dana White is clearly fired up.
Both Brown and Hendricks were defeated by current UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler in their last bout. Hendricks lost the title to Lawler in what was the rematch in their two-fight rivalry.
The first step toward earning another shot at Lawler is to win on Saturday night. The more convincing the victory, the better. If this one is half as good as it could be, MMA fans are in for a treat.
Here are my picks for Performance of the Night.
Henry Cejudo
Because of the issues Henry Cejudo has had making 125 pounds in his career, he probably deserves a POTN award for simply making weight. Brett Okamoto of ESPN was shocked and proud of Cejudo‘s accomplishment.
As for the fight, Cejudo‘s best might be yet to come. It’s true, Chris Cariaso has more main event experience after losing in the feature bout against Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson at UFC 178, but Cejudo‘s wrestling and power make him the man to beat in this matchup.
With a low center of gravity, heavy hands and a world-class wrestling game, the Olympic gold medalist is going to make a serious statement in the flyweight division on Saturday.
Expect a dominant TKO victory via ground and pound for Cejudo. Mighty Mouse, the next real contender for your title has arrived.
Anthony Pettis
Rafael dos Anjos is a very good fighter, but UFC lightweight champion Anthony “Showtime” Pettis is on another level. Pettis is more dangerous in every facet of the game and he’s going to win impressively on Saturday.
The only logical game plan Dos Anjos can have is to pressure Pettis in an attempt to limit the champion’s speed advantage. Gilbert Melendez tried that at UFC 182 and ran into some nasty counter punches that led to a submission finish.
I see Dos Anjos meeting the same fate against a man who deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Jon Jones, Jose Aldo, Johnson and Ronda Rousey as the UFC’s best champions.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.
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