The word “stacked” gets thrown around all too often in describing MMA cards, but UFC 189‘s slate of fights lives up to the adjective.
Not one but two championship belts will be on the line. Robbie Lawler makes his first title defense against Rory MacDonald in a rematch between the two welterweights from 2013. Then the main event features rising star Conor McGregor against perennial contender Chad Mendes for the interim featherweight title.
The title fights aren’t the only reason to tune in, though. The card is littered with interesting matchups and fighters who are well worth keeping an eye on. Here’s a look at the entire card and a few fighters to watch for in the buildup to the main event.
When: Saturday, July 11
Start Time: Fight Pass prelims at 7 p.m. ET (subscription required); Fox Sports 1 prelims at 8 p.m. ET; main card pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
Live Stream: UFC.tv
Tickets: ScoreBig.com
Cody Garbrandt
Fans who are looking to tune in to see a young fighter with a knack for delivering highlight-reel knockouts don’t have to wait for the main event. Cody “No Love” Garbrandt will bring similar traits to the table as the Notorious One when he kicks off the Fox Sports 1 prelims against Henry Briones.
No Love and Briones both made successful UFC debuts in their last fights. Garbrandt scored a third-round TKO win over Marcus Brimage, while Briones defeated Guido Cannetti via submission in the second round. However, the takeaways from the two bouts couldn’t be more different.
On one hand, Briones picked up the submission victory after getting outstruck in the first round 30-17, according to FightMetric. On the other hand, Garbrandt took on a UFC veteran in Brimage and put on a striking clinic for three rounds before ending the fight.
Most prospects with the pure power of Garbrandt are prone to rush things in the cage. It leads to mistakes and setbacks for a prospect on the rise. That doesn’t seem to be the case with Garbrandt. He’s technically sound in his striking and shows the poise to know when to go in for the kill and when to keep chipping away.
He’s one of the biggest locks on the card to finish his opponent. It shouldn’t take long for him to catch a brawler like Briones.
Alex Garcia
He didn’t look like it in his last fight, but Alex Garcia is a legitimate riser in the welterweight division. The 27-year-old picked up his first UFC loss in his last bout against Neil Magny, but he had a good reason to not look like himself.
“The fight against Neil Magny, no disrespect to him, but I feel like I won that fight,” Garcia told Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie. “I tore my ACL in the first round, but I believe I did enough to win the fight by decision. They gave it to him, and there’s no excuse. I don’t look forward to leaving any fight in the judges’ hands.”
The knee injury that took place in the first round is a testament to Garcia’s phenomenal skills that he even survived three rounds with Magny. He even managed to score three takedowns over the course of the last two rounds, according to FightMetric.
Garcia isn’t just a grappler, though. As Patrick Wyman of Sherdog notes, he is a well-rounded fighter who is still an exciting prospect:
The Tristar product has an interesting challenge ahead of him. Mike Swick will return to the Octagon for the first time since December 2012. The 36-year-old has gone 1-3 in his last four fights, but it’s hard to gauge just where he’ll be after such an extensive layoff.
Coming back after two years in good enough form to beat a fighter of Garcia’s caliber seems like a long shot. This should be the Dominican’s opportunity to add a recognizable name to his resume.
Thomas Almeida
With Garbrandt kicking off the televised prelims and Almeida kicking off the pay-per-view card, the future of the bantamweight division will be on display at UFC 189. Both are young (Garbrandt recently turned 24, while Almeida is 23), and much like Garbrandt (6-0), Almeida is undefeated at 19-0.
Even UFC President Dana White has pegged Almeida as the guy to watch, per Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting:
Whereas Garbrandt is a calculating technician, Almeida’s approach is a bit more aggressive. Dan Shapiro of Fightland contrasted the styles of the two knockout artists:
Garbrandt possesses a similar fleet-footed style as teammate Dillashaw and Cruz, bouncing around the cage on the balls of his feet, dancing in and out of the pocket while attempting to land heavy strikes.
Almeida, on the other hand, pressures forward constantly, stalking forward, cutting off angles. Hailing from Brazil’s Chute Boxe academy and the Macaco Gold Team, home of top-10 featherweight Charles Oliveira, Almeida is equally skilled in the standup game, although where Garbrandt excels in the wrestling department, he attributes his ground expertise to a brown belt in BJJ.
Almeida’s task is different than Garbrandt’s on Saturday night. He’ll take on a veteran in Brad Pickett who has nine UFC fights to his name. Granted, he’s only 4-5 in those fights, but he’s fought elite opposition since coming over from WEC.
In 34 fights, he’s only been finished by (T)KO just once. If Almeida can finish him, it’ll be a big boon for his stock.
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