UFC 160 features the fighters who possess the most powerful punches in MMA today.
Some of the more prominent fighters on the card, Cain Velasquez, Antonio Silva, Junior dos Santos, Mark Hunt, Glover Teixeira and Mark Hunt, combine for a total of 62 knockouts.
Whenever we ask the question of who has the most to lose or the most to gain comes up before a fight, many would believe it’s the Champion or the one gunning for the belt. More often than not, that’s not the case.
Take, for example, UFC 160. Although there is a title on the line, Velasquez does not have the most to lose. Should Velasquez lose the fight and his belt to Silva, he’d more than likely get another shot at it within the next calendar year to finish the trilogy with “Bigfoot”. Instead of looking at who has a belt to lose, it’s important to look at who would go tumbling down the rankings with a loss.
UFC 160 features a few fighters on the cusp of being in a title fight, but there’s also some guys who are fighting for their spot on the UFC roster. An argument as to which fighter has the most to lose can be made for just about everyone on the card.
My opinion is that Glover Teixeira has the most to lose.
Teixeira has rattled off 18 consecutive wins, with three of those coming in the UFC. Working his way up to fighting “Rampage” Jackson and following it up with a fight against James Te-Huna doesn’t seem like a step up, but Te-Huna has been on a nice streak of his own by winning 10 of his last 11.
Teixeira doesn’t have the fan following or buzz that somebody such as a Mark Hunt has. Teixeira needs to keep winning to inch closer to a title shot. He’s not a vocal guy and won’t talk his way into a fight. He more or less just accepts what the UFC throws at him.
Should Teixeira lose, it would halt his momentum. Who would he fight after coming off a loss if Te-Huna is who the UFC set him up with after winning 18 in a row? Granted, Ryan Bader was Teixeira’s original opponent but had to withdraw due to an injury.
There is quite a bit of steam behind Teixeira as he heads into Saturday night’s UFC 160 card in Las Vegas, Nevada. As it stands now, if he beats Te-Huna, he will most likely be propelled into a light-heavyweight title eliminator bout. Should he lose, however, he’ll fall faster than [insert whatever witty analogy you have here].
As for the guys fighting above Teixeira on the card, they’ll be fine. Velasquez, Silva, Dos Santos and Hunt will all be right in the mix of things, even if they lose. For more analysis as to who is on the hot seat at UFC 160, be sure to check out Trent Reinsmith’s article.
Nobody has more to lose at UFC 160 than Glover Teixeira.
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