Author: Brian Mazique

The main event and co-main event for UFC 161 will feature combatants with different styles. In the co-main event, bruising heavyweights Stipe Miocic and Roy “Big Country” Nelson will battle to take the next step towards a title shot.

That bout will be followed by the main event: a light heavyweight clash between Rashad “Suga” Evans and Dan “Hendo” Henderson. Evans or Henderson could also put themselves in line for a run at the gold with a win

Though both fights could end explosively, there will be a good measure of strategy employed by each fighter. Here are all four men’s keys to victory and a preview of both fights from UFC’s YouTube Channel.

 

Suga vs. Hendo

 

What Suga Must Do to Win

Evans has proven throughout his career that he has excellent power as a striker. His KO wins over legends like Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Tito Ortiz are what put him on the MMA map. However, Evans has also had his worst moments in the stand-up game.

Jon Jones and Lyoto Machida both embarrassed Evans in lopsided losses because of their superior striking.

The one thing that no opponent has ever been able to do to Evans is out-wrestle him. If he employs that tactic against Henderson, he’ll be giving himself the best chance to win the fight. Evans’ speed and explosiveness aren’t what they used to be, and Hendo is still a dangerous man with heavy hands.

If Evans takes this fight to the mat, he will beat Henderson easily.

What Hendo Must Do to Win

Dragging Evans into a brawl is Henderson’s best chance. He is no match for Suga on the ground, and as a 42-year-old veteran of 38 professional fights, Hendo knows this.

He needs Evans to stand and trade with him to have a shot at winning.

Hendo‘s punching power is still exceptional, and his chin is legendary. He’s still yet to lose a fight by KO and we’ve rarely—if ever—seen him stunned. If this turns into a stand-up battle, Hendo will KO Evans in spectacular fashion.

If it goes to the ground, it’ll be another one-sided decision loss for Hendo, ala his last fight with Machida.

 

Miocic vs. Big Country

 

What Big Country Must Do To Win

Everyone knows Big Country has mammoth punching power, but some may have forgotten how good of a submission artist he is. Nelson has finished 12 of his 19 wins via KO, but his five submission wins are more than respectable.

Usually, Big Country doesn’t have to employ his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu background or takedown defense to smash opponents, but he may need both against Miocic.

The latter has an impressive background in collegiate wrestling at Cleveland State. He is very strong with has takedowns, and this should be Nelson’s primary concern. Big Country must exhibit strong takedown defense to establish control of the fight.

Snuffing Miocic‘s attempts will prolong the striking segments of the fight and allow Nelson to test his opponent’s chin.

If he does get taken to the mat, he needs to work almost immediately to avoid giving up the dominant position to Miocic. While Nelson is a strong submissions artist, he does his best work from top position.

If Miocic is able to establish top position, it could be a long night for Big Country.

 

What Miocic Must Do to Win

The 30-year-old from Independence, Ohio is not just a wrestler. He has stopped seven of the 10 opponents he’s faced professionally.

Because of his prowess as a striker, he may be inclined to try to out-box Big Country. This could be good or bad for Miocic because both men are big and powerful strikers. The first one to land a huge blow will have a major advantage and may even end the fight.

Because of the variable in this strategy, this approach doesn’t give Miocic the best chance to win.

While Big Country doesn’t have a plethora of weaknesses, a fighter with Miocic‘s wrestling background would be better off taking the fight to the mat.

If Miocic does that, he has a decent chance to win. If he stands and strikes, he’ll likely become Nelson’s 13th KO victim.

 

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Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt is a very exciting fighter to watch, but he can’t be considered a serious threat to UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez or No. 1 contender, Junior “Cigano” dos Santos.

Hunt’s inability to compete with the latter was brutally proven on Saturday at UFC 160.

He is a one-trick pony with his heavy hands and solid chin. Cigano could have made Saturday night’s bout easier and more boring by taking Hunt to the mat and controlling him there.

Instead, he beat Hunt at his own game.

Hunt was up to the challenge, but clearly overmatched. Cigano knocked him down with a spinning heel kick and finished the job with a punishing lunge punch once his opponent hit the mat.

Couple this impressive and vicious finish with Velasquez’s dominant win in the main event and there is no doubt who the two best heavyweights in the world are.

If Hunt faced Velasquez, he would have a better chance in the stand up, but Velasquez would be insane not to take him to the mat and pound him out. The champion’s ground game is perhaps the best in the sport.

The only way Hunt would have a chance is if he could get Velasquez to fight his fight—that’s not a very good plan.

I believed Hunt was going to be outclassed by dos Santos all along, but now that the world has seen it, where does that leave Hunt?

On the outside looking in; and at 39 years old, that’s not a good place to be.

Hunt is short on time and he has no chance to beat either of the elite fighters in his weight class. Chances are, this was his last run as a serious contender for the title.

The Super Samoan is not alone. A few other losers from UFC 160 are in tough situations after failing to get it done on Saturday night.

 

Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva

The big man from Brazil is in a position very similar to Hunt’s—only a little worse. Silva is only 33 years old, but he’s limited athletically and let’s be honest; he’ll never be better than he is right now.

Velasquez has made it painfully obvious, Silva’s best isn’t good enough.

After two straight beatings from Velasquez, who would buy Bigfoot in another title fight with with the champion. At least Hunt can say he was competitive; Silva looked like he should have been fighting in a Facebook preliminary match.

Could he have more luck against dos Santos? It is possible, but I doubt it.

Bigfoot is stuck in a role as a secondary fighter in the heavyweight division. Unfortunately for him, there is nothing he can do about it.

 

Gray “The Bully” Maynard

Maynard found the perfect opponent to make him look good in Frankie Edgar. Edgar and Maynard’s style combination made for a great two-fight rivalry.

However, the KO loss in the second fight with Edgar seemed to break the Bully. It was his first loss and obviously the first time he’d been knocked out—unless you count the time he DDT’d himself against Rob Emerson in 2007.

Maynard defeated Clay Guida by controversial split decision in June 2012, but he didn’t look the same as he did before the wars with Edgar.

Losing to TJ Grant is nothing to be embarrassed about. He is one of the fastest-rising fighters in the world. But the way he disposed of Maynard proved the Bully’s days as a player in the lightweight division are over.

Maynard seemed to get the stand-up battle he wanted against a fighter whose specialty is submissions. Yet, within 2:07, Maynard was stopped for the second time in his career.

At 34 years old, there is no realistic scenario where Maynard could compete with the likes of Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis.

 

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While most will justifiably be more interested in the fights from the main card at UFC 160, there were a few performances of note in the preliminaries. 

Many times, the prelims are a sneak peek at the stars of the future, or the last chance to see fighters nearing the cut line. In either case, the early bouts are usually charged with a healthy amount of desperation.

These winners will likely see their next fights take place a little higher on the card. 

 

George Roop Stops Brian Bowles

Standing 6’1″ tall, Roop took full advantage of his reach over the 5’7″ Bowles. Roop‘s length will be a problem for most bantamweights, and this win could launch him into the top 10 in the division.

He showed good power dropping Bowles with a stiff jab. Once he had his opponent dazed, Roop pounced on Bowles calmly, but viciously.

Roop pounded him out and Bowles offered no argument with Herb Dean’s decision to stop the fight.

 

Khabib Nurmagomedov Dominates Abel Trujillo

Nurmagomedov showed up to the weigh in a little too amped, overweight and wearing a lame wig. Despite not representing himself well at the pre-fight event, he was nearly flawless in the Octagon.

He set a UFC record with 21 takedowns of Trujillo, per UFC’s official Twitter account.

While Trujillo may need to work on his takedown defense, Nurmagomedov deserves a ton of credit. He ran his record to 20-0 and continues to show his diverse fighting skills.

 

Robert Whittaker Batters Colton Smith

The third-round stoppage from Whittaker proved he can be very dangerous in the stand-up. Smith has shown vulnerability to fighters who can stand and bang with quickness.

Whittaker still has to prove he can be effective against another solid striker, but he simply picked Smith apart until referee Chris Tognoni saved him from more damage.

 

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