The UFC heavyweight title picture will develop before our very eyes at UFC 160 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his title in a rematch with Antonio “Big Foot” Silva. Just a year ago, Velasquez destroyed Silva in 3:36 at UFC 146. Since then, Velasquez has regained the title he lost to Junior dos Santos, and Silva humbled an over-confident Alistair Overeem.
Thus, we have the second meeting of two very big men in the small world of UFC heavyweights.
Speaking of dos Santos, the man they call “Cigano” will take on Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt in the co-main event at UFC 160.
Cigano is looking for redemption after losing his title to Velasquez at UFC 155. He knows he must go through the hard-punching and resilient Hunt to turn his rivalry with Velasquez into a trilogy.
The top portion of the card should be heavy-hitting, but the rest of the bouts scheduled aren’t exactly snoozers.
Check out the full card, times, networks, my predictions for each bout and fight night bonuses.
Facebook Preliminaries
Starts at 6:35 p.m ET
| Fighters | Weight | My Pick | Bonus Prediction |
| Jeremy Stephens vs. Estevan Payan | 155 lbs | Stephens by KO | |
| Brian Bowles vs. George Roop | 135 | Bowles by Sub. | |
| Stephen Thompson vs. Nah-Shon Burrell | 170 | Burrell by KO |
FX Preliminaries
Starts at 8 p.m. ET
| Fighters | Weight | My Pick | Bonus Prediction |
| Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo | 155 | Nurmagomedov by Sub. | Sub. of the Night |
| Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker | 170 | Whittaker by Dec. | |
| Dennis Bermudez vs. Max Holloway | 145 | Holloway by Dec. | |
| Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story | 170 | Story by KO |
Main Card
Only on PPV, starts at 10 p.m. ET
| Fighters | Weight | My Pick | Bonus Prediction |
| Donald Cerrone vs. KJ Noons | 155 | Cerrone by Dec. | |
| T.J. Grant vs. Gray Maynard | 155 | Grant by Dec. | Fight of the Night |
| Glover Teixeira vs. James Te Huna | 205 | Teixeira by Dec. | |
| Mark Hunt vs. Junior dos Santos | 265 | dos Santos by Dec. | |
|
UFC Heavyweight Title (c) Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva |
265 | Velasquez by KO | KO of the Night |
Facebook Fights With Appeal
You know a card is pretty solid when the Facebook preliminary bouts feature fighters like Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens and Brian Bowles. Both men have spent their share of time in the title picture in their respective weight classes.
Back From a Hiatus
Bowles is a former WEC bantamweight champion who hasn’t fought since 2011.
In his last bout, he was submitted by Urijah Faber, but he is making his return to the Octagon. At 32 years old and armed with excellent submission skills, Bowles could still make some noise in the bantamweight division. The road back to title contention starts on Saturday against George Roop.
Desperate Measures
Stephens has hit a tough road in his career, having lost his last three bouts. The opponents he has lost to are all tough and well respected (Donald Cerrone, Yves Edwards and Anthony Pettis), but three straight losses is still three straight losses.
Expect to see Stephens fight with urgency. What is more dangerous than a desperate Lil Heathen?
Undefeated Eagle and a Developing Story
Say My Name?
When it comes to Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov, I’ve never been more pleased that a fighter had a nickname. I would feel like an idiot every time I miserably tried to properly pronounce his last name.
Trust me, I know what its like to have a last name people regularly mispronounce.
With a perfect 19-0 record, MMA fans will soon have no other choice but to learn of The Eagle. Imagine if Nurmagomedov was pummeling an opponent while trash-talking: “What’s my name?”
Even if the poor guy wanted to respond, he may not be able to. That is a sadistic form of MMA torture.
All jokes aside, the 24-year-old Russian is quickly becoming a serious title contender at 155 pounds. MMA Weekly doesn’t currently have him listed in their top 10, but a win over Abel Trujillo could change that.
Nurmagomedov has already dispatched Gleison Tibau and Thiago Alves with relative ease. With every win, he garners more respect. At UFC 160, he will try to keep his streak alive.
Rick “The Horror” Story Means Excitement
It seems like every time Story gets some momentum, he gets tripped up. His TKO over Quinn Mulhern at UFC 158 has given him a new buzz at welterweight. He must take out Mike “Quicksand” Pyle to move to the next level.
Story’s fights are almost always action packed. Everything he does in the Octagon is performed with ruthless aggression. That aggression can sometimes work to his detriment, though.
The double-edged sword has led him to exciting stoppages, and also made him vulnerable to submissions. The last time he faced a submissions artist, he fell victim to a neck crank from Demian Maia at UFC 153.
Pyle isn’t exactly on Maia’s level in the art of submissions, but they don’t call him Quicksand for nothing. Of his 24 victories, 16 have come by way of submission.
Will Story be able to blast through Pyle, or will he be derailed on his way up the ladder again?
T.J Grant and Gray Maynard Will Probably Get Bloodied
Blood is almost a given for this 155-pound bout. Both of these men are hard-nosed, tough fighters with good striking on their feet and on the ground.
Grant’s win over Matt Wiman at UFC on Fox 6 was full of the red stuff. He pounded Wiman out for his fourth straight win and solidified himself as a real force in the crowded 155-pound division.
Maynard isn’t likely to be intimidated. He fought two epic wars with Frankie Edgar and defeated Clay Guida by split decision at UFC on FX 4 in June 2012.
These guys come to bang, and it should be an excellent fight.
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