There’s a whole lot to love about UFC 181.
High stakes? Check.
There will be not one, but two championship belts on the line.
Exciting fights? Check.
The four combatants in the co-main and main events have a combined 13 career performance bonuses alone.
Heavy hitters? Check.
If you’re into heavyweight action, there’s plenty of that, too.
Before the belts are fought for, back-to-back heavyweight fights involving Travis Browne and Todd Duffee are sure to bring the violence throughout the card.
Here’s a look at how to catch all the action, along with predictions for every fight.
Predicting the Night’s Biggest Stars
Travis Browne
It wasn’t so long ago that Browne was considered one of the few legitimate threats to Cain Velasquez in the heavyweight division. Then his loss to Fabricio Werdum happened.
The 6’7″ Browne was dominated by Vai Cavalo for the duration of the five-round fight. According to FightMetric, he was outstruck in every round.
However, a lopsided loss to Werdum doesn’t look as bad in retrospect. The 37-year-old Brazilian is now the interim champion and has proven his worth as one of the best heavyweights in the sport not named Cain Velasquez.
On Saturday night, Browne has the opportunity to get his name right back in the conversation. In the land of the giants, it isn’t hard to recover from a loss in terms of the rankings—especially with wins over Josh Barnett, Alistair Overeem and Gabriel Gonzaga to your name.
Fresh off a split decision loss to Andrei Arlovski, Brendan Schaub is just 2-3 in his last five fights. Browne should be able to showcase the power that made him an exciting contender.
With a statement finish added to his resume, Browne will be right back in line for a big name in his next bout.
Anthony Pettis
In combat sports, it’s a general rule of thumb that a champion isn’t really a champion until he defends his belt. Anthony Pettis is acutely aware of this.
“I won the belt, but then I was off for a year,” Pettis told Greg Beacham of the Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle. “I can’t consider myself the best of the best until I prove it for about a year. That’s what I want to start this Saturday night.”
This might be considered your typical pre-fight talk from a new champion, but Pettis has the goods to back up his lofty goal. Even if the armbar that earned him the belt he now wears around his waist felt flukish, his body of work speaks for itself.
The 27-year-old hasn’t lost since 2011. In a division that was run by Benson Henderson for over a year, Pettis is the only fighter who can claim two victories over the now former champion.
Pettis might not be able to get the finish in Vegas. His opponent, Gilbert Melendez, has never been finished. However, Pettis‘ dynamic striking should deliver plenty of excitement as he outpoints the challenger through five rounds.
Johny Hendricks
The man they call Bigg Rigg should be able to identify with Pettis. He, too, will be looking to prove himself with his first title defense since becoming champ.
The only difference for Hendricks is that he’s running into an opponent he should be familiar with. After putting on one of the best fights of 2014 with Robbie Lawler, the new champion has been tasked with proving his mettle as champion by besting Lawler again.
With Ruthless’ ability to put opponents to sleep with a variety of strikes, that’s a tall order.
The champion was able to stand toe-to-toe with Lawler in their first bout. The two landed a combined 308 significant strikes, according to FightMetric‘s numbers.
However, those same numbers reveal that Hendricks was savvy enough to go to his wrestling as the fight progressed. He landed a takedown in each of the last two rounds, as he eked out the decision win.
This time around, the champion should use a more balanced approach and build a more comfortable lead on the scorecards.
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