A riveting UFC 180 fight card is set to take place Saturday night in Mexico City, and Fabricio Werdum‘s interim heavyweight title bout with Mark Hunt is only one of many enticing bouts.
In total, Werdum vs. Hunt is one of five main-card fights on tap for UFC 180. It will be the only one to decide a title, but each of the other four fights features up-and-comers and some of the UFC’s most impressive fighters.
Cain Velasquez won’t be in the mix after his heavyweight title defense was derailed following a knee injury, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be at a shortage of quality action.
Let’s take a look at the viewing information, the full main fight card and predictions.
When: Saturday, November 15, 2014
Where: Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City
Start: 10 p.m. ET
Watch: UFC.tv pay-per-view
UFC 180 Main Card
Note: Matchups and player statistics courtesy of UFC.com unless otherwise noted.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt
From the outside perspective, Hunt could be called a lucky man for his place in UFC 180.
The 40-year-old has never earned himself a heavyweight title shot in the UFC, despite a long career in the promotion. But when Velasquez got injured and the UFC desperately needed a late plug to avoid canceling the main event altogether, Hunt was ready.
It’s hard to say, despite his luck, that he’s not deserving. He may be just 10-8-1 in the UFC, but he has demolished some of the top heavyweights—Roy Nelson, Stefan Struve, Cheick Kongo and a tough draw with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva—since 2012 and is fighting at the peak of his career.
But not only did Hunt have only three weeks to prepare for the fight—he also had to cut more than 30 pounds in the span. Understandably, he was starving after making weight on Friday, per Shaheen Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com:
He made the weight, but it’s not surprising to hear a hint of reality in his hopefulness for Saturday’s fight, per Fox Sports’ Marc Raimondi:
Regardless of the outcome next weekend, I’ve won just by being here. I don’t care what you say. You have no clue what I do. I’m here to win that No. 1 spot. I’m gonna knock Fabricio out. This is my chance here. This is my opportunity. If I didn’t take this, I wouldn’t have been happy with myself as a fighter.
Hunt has always been a fighter that seizes opportunities and scoffs at an underdog role, but he’s facing quite the uphill battle to contend on Saturday night.
Werdum hasn’t been preparing for Hunt; he’s been preparing for a multiple-time heavyweight champion in Velasquez. He has been in Mexico for two months adjusting to the altitude and training, per Raimondi. Hunt has been there all of two weeks.
The 40-year-old Hunt has a lot of things going against him, but undeniably, the most important one is Werdum’s sheer skill and ability. Previously heralded for his jiu-jitsu dominance and a suffocating ground game, Werdum has adapted his skills to excel standing and striking, as he showed against Travis Browne.
Werdum is destined for an early-round knockout, but that will be easier said than done against Hunt, who’s one of the biggest and most determined fighters in the heavyweight class. Getting him to go down—and stay down—is one of the hardest things to do in the UFC.
But he will in fact go down—and often enough for Werdum to stake his claim as the undoubted interim title winner.
Prediction: Werdum via unanimous decision.
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