It’s hard to talk about UFC 182 without thinking of the epic main event. If there’s ever been a UFC pay-per-view worth purchasing on the strength of the feature bout alone, it’s UFC 182.
Jon “Bones” Jones and Daniel Cormier not only hate each other, but they also are the two best fighters in the division. The fight has everything an MMA fan could dream of.
Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter talks about the fascinating confrontation:
That said, there are two other fights with the potential to be explosive.
I’m not referring to Donald Cerrone’s clash with Myles Jury, Hector Lombard’s bout with Josh Burkman or any other main card bout. We have to go to the Fox Sports 1 preliminaries to find the fights I’m referring to.
Danny “Last Call” Castillo vs. Paul “The Irish Dragon” Felder
Castillo is 35, and soon he won’t have realistic hopes of becoming a lightweight contender. He’s an underrated wrestler, but he also packs quite a punch, as Charlie Brenneman found out at UFC 172. Castillo lost his last fight by split decision to the fast-rising Tony Ferguson.
Last Call needs an impressive performance to grab the attention of UFC fans and matchmakers.
Felder is an undefeated prospect who made his victorious UFC debut at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine in October. Six of his nine wins have come by KO, and the 30-year-old would like nothing more than to make Castillo his next victim.
Castillo’s opponent was supposed to be Rustam Khabilov, but visa issues forced him out of the fight. Khabilov is ranked in the top 15, so a win over him would have been big for Castillo. Khabilov‘s absence puts more pressure on Castillo to be impressive against a lesser-known opponent.
Desperation and obscurity often create great fights.
The time has to be now for Castillo, and Felder no longer wants to be an unknown. Both have good striking power, and KO finishes are the quickest way to get noticed. As little fish on an ocean-like card, Castillo and Felder will press to be seen.
Capturing Fight of the Night or Performance of the Night could change their careers.
Shawn “The Savage” Jordan vs. Jared “The Killa Gorilla” Cannonier
When heavyweights known as The Savage and The Killa Gorilla collide, a knockout finish is expected.
Jordan is a longtime UFC veteran who has seen six of his last seven fights end by KO. He has won three of those fights. Most times, it’s stop or be stopped for The Savage.
There’s no reason to believe Saturday night’s fight with Cannonier will be any different. Cannonier is an undefeated Canadian who is making his UFC debut. His full-time job is as a repairman for the Federal Aviation Administration, per Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press.
Cannonier took two months off to train for the fight with Jordan. Short on cash, Cannonier had to take donations from fans and supporters to get through the camp.
He raised more than $6,000 to prepare for the fight. Cannonier is hoping this blossoms into more than a hobby or a side job.
Per Davidson, he said, “I appreciate my job. I’m blessed to have the job I have but it’s not what I love to do. Training and fighting and overcoming those obstacles in the cage and on the mats, that’s more of a challenge for me, which is what I liked to do. I like to be challenged.”
When asked if Saturday’s fight could be life-changing, Cannonier said, “It could. Exactly. I’m going full steam ahead.”
If you mix that approach with what we know we’ll get from Jordan, it’ll be a shock if this one lasts more than 90 seconds.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com