Nate Diaz and Johny Hendricks have been given the opportunity of a lifetime. They are fighting in the top two matches on a UFC on FOX show and Dana White has said that if they win their respective fights against Jim Miller and Josh Koscheck that title shots await.
With all the pressure on their shoulders for this big primetime event, Diaz and Hendricks will fail in their quests for gold. It is through no fault of their own, they are just locked in bad matchups that don’t play well to their styles.
Miller was on his way to earning a shot at the lightweight championship last year. He was 20-2 with seven straight victories. His momentum got cut off last August against Benson Henderson, who went on to win the title from Frankie Edgar in February.
Diaz’s title shot is interesting, just because he is 5-4 in his last nine fights. He does have two straight wins to his credit—a submission win over Takanori Gomi and a unanimous decision win over Donald Cerrone that was one of the most exciting fights of the year—but he hasn’t beaten a lot of top guys.
The only reason Miller isn’t getting into title contention right now is because he isn’t a flashy, exciting fighter. He shows up, does his job and does it well, then goes home. But he is a better all-around fighter than Diaz and will prove that this Saturday.
As for Hendricks, he has more of a claim to a title shot at welterweight than Diaz does at lightweight. He has three straight wins on his resume, including a 12-second knockout of perennial contender Jon Fitch last December.
Koscheck’s stock might be down just a bit because his victory over Mike Pierce in February looked sloppy, but he is a better wrestler and striker than Hendricks. As long as he doesn’t let his surgically repaired eye get the best of him, which is what happened in the fight against Pierce, he is going to win this fight.
Hendricks does fight a similar style to Koscheck; both are former world class wrestlers who have turned into strong stand-up fighters.
Still, at this stage of the game, Koscheck is a better fighter and tough stylistic matchup for Hendricks.
With two title shots on the line Saturday night, neither one of the fighters vying for the opportunity are going to find the brass ring at the top of the mountain.
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