It is an underwhelming card, but UFC 186 will still showcase a championship bout between 125-pound titleholder Demetrious Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi.
With seven wins in a row, Mighty Mouse has become recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound competitors in MMA. Having defended his belt five times, Johnson has already matched the historic UFC title runs by Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes, and the flyweight champion will look to surpass those this weekend with a win over Horiguchi.
Since joining the UFC roster in October 2013, Horiguchi has posted a 4-0 record. Most recently beating Louis Gaudinot, Horiguchi quickly rose to contender status. He’s still a bit raw, but the UFC awarded Horiguchi a title shot in the somewhat shallow 125-pound division anyway. At this point in the Japanese fighter’s career, a win over Johnson would be a monumental upset.
Although UFC 186 isn’t stacked with huge names, it’s also not loaded with competitors in horrible situations. Many fighters are coming off of losses, but only a couple are in immediate danger of losing their spots on the UFC roster.
Here are the individuals sitting on the hot seat heading into UFC 186, which will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Steve Bosse
Scheduled to make his UFC debut last April against Ryan Jimmo, Steve Bosse suffered a shoulder injury and decided to retire from MMA.
However, when UFC brass pulled Quinton Jackson from his UFC 186 bout with Fabio Maldonado, it went on a manhunt for a replacement. Evidently, it was able to talk Bosse into coming back to competition for a main card bout with Maldonado.
A former professional hockey player, Bosse has the physical talent needed to be successful in the UFC light heavyweight division. He also has a track record of success in MMA, with wins over Houston Alexander, Marvin Eastman and Wes Sims. However, Bosse‘s body has taken a lot of punishment over the years, a primary reason for his temporary retirement no doubt, and it may be starting to wear down.
If he wants, Bosse would likely be given multiple opportunities to compete inside the Octagon. However, a bad loss to Maldonado could convince him that he should call it quits for good.
At worst, Bosse needs a competitive bout with Maldonado to prove to himself that putting his health at risk in another UFC bout would be worth it.
Joe Riggs
He’s somehow still only 32 years old, but Joe Riggs has been around for a long time and has 55 pro MMA bouts on his record.
After leaving Bellator MMA to make his UFC comeback, Riggs shot himself in the hand and was pulled from his scheduled return bout with Paulo Thiago. Then, when Riggs eventually did make his return to the Octagon, he injured his neck whilst attempting to complete a takedown against Ben Saunders.
From those freak incidents to getting into it with Nick Diaz at a hotel after an event, Riggs has certainly had a unique career. Luckily, Riggs’ neck injury didn’t prove to be too serious, as he’ll return to competition this weekend after four months away from the Octagon.
That said, Riggs may need to perform well at UFC 186 in order to keep his UFC career going. Diesel has already caused the UFC some headaches, so an 0-2 start in his return might cause the promotion to decide he’s not worth the hassle to keep around.
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