At UFC 188, Cain Velasquez will return to action against interim heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum.
Since beating Junior dos Santos for a second consecutive title defense in October 2013, Velasquez has not been able to compete due to injury. Velasquez has the talent to become the best heavyweight ever, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy and is now 32 years old.
If Velasquez is going to surpass Fedor Emelianenko as the best heavyweight in MMA history, he’ll need to beat Werdum this weekend and put together a couple more wins without another extended hiatus.
Since returning to the UFC roster, Werdum has won five in a row and emerged as the second-best heavyweight in the world with a knockout win over Mark Hunt. On Saturday, Werdum will attempt to complete his rise to the top by becoming undisputed champion.
This weekend’s UFC event will also feature a highly anticipated bout between top lightweights Gilbert Melendez and Eddie Alvarez.
Both 155-pounders have had their setbacks since joining the UFC roster, but Melendez and Alvarez remain among the best in the lightweight class. Formerly the Strikeforce and Bellator MMA champions, respectively, Melendez and Alvarez could previously only be matched up in MMA fantasies.
However, the pair is now set to clash in reality, and the winner will emerge as one of the top contenders in the lightweight division.
While the aforementioned competitors have secured long UFC futures, some UFC 188 combatants are feeling the pressure heading into the weekend. Here are the individuals sitting on the hot seat prior to Saturday’s fight card.
Kelvin Gastelum
Although Kelvin Gastelum has an excellent 5-1 UFC record, he has not been earning the favor of the UFC brass in his recent appearances.
Before his UFC Fight Night 44 win over Nico Musoke, Gastelum missed weight by more than a pound. Since it was his first time missing weight under the UFC banner, many chalked it up as a fluke that wouldn’t happen again.
However, two outings later, Gastelum missed weight again. This time, he was nine pounds overweight and went on to lose against Tyron Woodley.
With that slip-up, Gastelum was forced to move up to the middleweight division. He’ll meet former UFC title challenger Nate Marquardt in his return to 185 pounds on Saturday.
A loss at UFC 188 would be damaging to Gastelum‘s title hopes, but that alone wouldn’t be enough for him to lose his UFC roster spot. Gastelum needs to make sure he doesn’t pull an Anthony Johnson by moving up in weight and still screwing up on the scale this Friday.
It’s unlikely he’ll run into any problems with 15 more pounds to spare, but Gastelum cannot afford to miss weight again anytime soon.
Patrick Williams
More than 13 months ago, Patrick Williams made his UFC debut against Chris Beal. The result was a brutal knockout loss for Williams.
Unable to compete again since then, Williams has to know his UFC career is on the line heading into the weekend. A loss to The Ultimate Fighter winner Alejandro Perez would leave Williams with an 0-2 record, which almost always results in fighters being cut by the world’s top MMA promotion.
At 33 years old, Williams wouldn’t have much time to earn his way back into the Octagon. So if he wants to get more accomplished at the UFC level, Williams must beat Perez, who has not competed since November, on Saturday.
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