UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story’s preliminary card will be streamed live via Facebook as has become the organization’s habit. What’s not quite so habitual is the caliber of the prelims.
There aren’t any fading-but-still-large names as you might might find on the appetizers for the bigger events, but there are some excellent clashes plus a couple up-and-comers:
—Daniel “Ninja” Roberts gets a stiff challenge from TUF alumnus Rich “Raging Bull” Attonito as he tries to get back on the winning track.
—Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon looks to bounce back from his loss to George Sotiropoulos in the Fight of the Night at UFC 123 against the Brit, Curt Warburton, who hopes to add to his momentum.
—Tyson Griffin returns to featherweight, which seem to be a better fit for the undersized dynamo, and he attempts to prove it against Manvel “The Anvil” Gamburyan. The Anvil was last seen napping in the middle of the cage with UFC Featherweight Champion Jose “Junior” Aldo celebrating in the background.
Of course, the most intriguing tussle might just be the one between lightweight shooting stars Nik “The Carny” Lentz and Charles “do Bronx” Oliveira.
The Brazilian Oliveira is the sexy pick here; he’s coming off his only loss in 15 career fights (suffered to Jim Miller) and he’s only 21 with a vicious all-around attack. On the other hand, the Carny has proven to be tough as nails and not one to back off a challenge. He’s one of those competitors who seems to be most dangerous when he’s discounted.
Add it all up and you have the recipe for what could be one of the entire card’s best bouts.