UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has run through his division about as efficiently as any other titleholder this side of Ronda Rousey and Jon “Bones” Jones. With a relative shortage of formidable opponents for Johnson at flyweight, he’s had to squash a few foes twice just to keep active.
On Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Johnson will get a fresh face opposing him across the Octagon in No. 7-ranked Kyoji Horiguchi. The Japanese challenger is just 24 years old, but he’s already 15-1, and that record includes a current nine-fight win streak and a 4-0 run in the UFC.
He’s undoubtedly earned his opportunity.
In the co-feature, the in-out-and-back-in-again Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will take on Fabio Maldonado in a fight that has all the makings of a slugfest. Jackson’s inclusion in the card was in danger as a lawsuit was filed by his most recent employer, Bellator FC, blocking the 36-year-old’s participation in the card.
On April 21, the injunction was dropped, and Rampage was cleared to face Maldonado, per Ryan McKinnell of Yahoo Sports. The card had already lost its original headline bout when UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw was forced out of his rematch with Renan Barao because of an injury.
With the main event and the co-feature set, UFC 186 is set to take Montreal by storm. Here’s the complete card, the viewing information and the predictions. Just below the table is a closer look at the top three fights on the card.
Dollaway Will Take Down Bisping
It’s hard to put any faith in No. 10-ranked middleweight Michael Bisping. He has routinely failed to win the biggest fights of his career. Losses to Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and, most recently, Luke Rockhold have kept Bisping from taking his career to the next level.
At 36 years old, the arrow will likely be trending downward soon.
On Saturday, No. 11-ranked CB “The Doberman” Dollaway will aid in Bisping‘s descent. Stylistically, this isn’t a great matchup for Bisping. Dollaway is a former All-American wrestler at Arizona State University. Bisping is a pure striker who has at times exhibited good takedown defense—62 percent TD, per Fight Metric—but he struggles to do anything more than survive while he’s on the ground.
That’s especially the case when he’s on the bottom. Bisping has never won a fight by submission in the UFC. Can Bisping stop Dollaway from taking him down?
The answer to that question is no.
Against Tim Kennedy, back at UFC Fight Night Quebec in April 2014, Bisping was taken down five times on 11 attempts, per Fight Metric. Kennedy is a decent wrestler, but he is nowhere near the caliber of Dollaway.
The Doberman will look to gain some respect in stand-up exchanges, but he won’t waste a lot of time before he looks to take down Bisping. Once he gets him there, it’ll be all downhill as Dollaway secures a unanimous-decision victory on the strength of top control and ground-and-pound strikes.
Andrew Richardson of MMA Mania believes Bisping will be able to hearken back to his earlier days and snuff out Dollaway‘s takedown attempts:
Before his loss to Tim Kennedy, Bisping had never been consistently controlled on the mat. Then, Kennedy simply dominated him in largely unexpected fashion. If Bisping is out-wrestled similarly here, it’s a clear signal that the Englishman is no longer at the top of his game. Dollaway is a talented fighter, but he’s not a bigger takedown threat than Chael Sonnen, and Bisping repelled the vast majority of his attempts to wrestle back in 2012.
There’s also the question of hunger here. Bisping has a job secured with Fox Sports as an analyst. At his age, he has to know his chances of ever ascending to the top of the 185-pound division and challenging for a title are done.
Does he want it as bad as Dollaway? It’s hard to imagine how he could.
Rampage Will Outslug Maldonado
Let’s be honest, the UFC probably wouldn’t have set up Rampage with an opponent who was going to take him too far out of his comfort zone in the legend’s return to the promotion. Rampage doesn’t like positional grappling, probably because that’s the best way to defeat him.
He has a chin made of adamantium and massive power in his hands. Thus, standing and slugging with him is usually a bad idea.
Maldonado is a slight step up in competition from the likes of Christian M’Pumbu and Joey Beltran, whom Rampage beat in Bellator before winning a controversial decision over Muhammed Lawal in his last fight with the organization.
While Maldonado is a tougher challenge than Jackson’s recent foes, the former still won’t have the beard to bang with Rampage. In an explosive and likely short bout, Jackson will stop Maldonado late in the first round with a hard right hand and a flurry of punches.
Mighty Mouse Is Too Fast, Too Good
Horiguchi is a worthy challenger, but like most of Mighty Mouse’s opponents, his attempt to win the flyweight title will be thwarted by the champion’s immense toolbox of skills and physical gifts.
Johnson’s speed is second to none and perhaps only rivaled by that of flyweight contender John Dodson. Horiguchi is no slow poke, but expect him to be a step or two slower than the champion. That advantage could be deadly in stand-up exchanges.
As Johnson proved in his stunning KO win over Joseph Benavidez at UFC on Fox 9 in December 2013, the punishment for being beaten to the punch by Mighty Mouse can be unconsciousness.
Even if Johnson doesn’t catch Horiguchi with a mammoth right-hand counter, he could take the fight to the ground for what would likely be the easiest route to victory. Johnson’s wrestling prowess is easily the best in the flyweight division. When you group that with his lightning quickness and top-notch submission game, you have one of the best fighters in the world.
Horiguchi is good, but Johnson is great. The champion will win this one via second-round submission.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com