Much has been made of the UFC adopting five-round non-title fights, which will begin with the main event of UFC 138, a middleweight bout between Mark Munoz and Chris Leben.
However, there is a strong possibility that this matchup produces a finish before the end of the third round.
In 18 fights inside the Octagon, Chris Leben has only seen five fights go to decision. Of all the fighters in the UFC, Leben is one of the last you’d expect to see in a 25-minute fight.
Munoz has had a higher percentage of his fights go to decision. However, Leben has a way of luring the most conservative of fighters into brawls. This fight should be no different.
Eventually, one of these power-punching middleweights will connect with the china of the other. Although both fights have solid chins, they will only be able to take so much punishment through 15 minutes.
For that reason, there is a strong possibility that this fight turns out no differently than any other three-round non-title fight. Eventually we’ll see a non-title fight reach the fourth and fifth rounds, but it won’t happen at UFC 138.
Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. Sean has also had his work featured on UFC.com, LowKick.com and TheMMACorner.com. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.
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