There are a number of great fights that will occur at the UFC on Fox card tonight in Los Angeles, making it a must-see event. Among the strikers, submission fighters and former champions are a number of finishers who plan on making the event memorable to fans.
Here are three fights that you don’t want to miss tonight, as they will be superb and entertaining.
Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie Varner
On the main card, lightweights Joe Lauzon and Jamie Varner are set to meet in an important 155-pound affair.
Both men are exciting fighters, and they match up interestingly. While both are similar in the striking department, Varner is a wrestler and Lauzon is a jiu-jitsu specialist.
Varner will be able to take Lauzon down to the ground, but in reality, will he actually want to? Lauzon is extremely active off his back and attempts a large number of submissions when on the ground.
Assuming the fight remains on the feet, it will be interesting to see who gains the upper hand. Lauzon has proven to be underrated with his boxing. He showcased this in his quick win over Melvin Guillard, smoking “The Young Assassin” with a beauty of a punch and finishing him with a choke.
Varner has shown he can hang with good strikers. In fact, his last three wins have come courtesy of his hands. He has knocked out Nate Jolly and Edson Barboza, and he made Drew Fickett tap out due to strikes.
This may well be the fight of the night. I wouldn’t miss it if I were you.
Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan
The featured bout on the undercard is a featherweight bout between two men who may be fighting for their jobs. Both Cole Miller and Nam Phan have more losses than wins in their last few fights.
In looking at the matchup, the big advantage may go to Miller, who is much taller and longer than Phan. But if there is one thing we have found out, it’s that Phan is very tough and will push forward regardless.
Phan is a very good boxer, using body shots and solid combinations to control his opponent. Miller will be the better grappler, in my opinion, as he is an aggressive submission fighter.
In his last three fights, Miller has gone 1-2. He has lost decisions to Matt Wiman and Steven Siler (his featherweight debut) and beat TJ O’Brien in the middle of the two losses. He will definitely want to erase the memory of his featherweight debut, where he was dominated by the surging Siler.
Phan has had a controversial start to his UFC career, losing a decision to Leonard Garcia (most thought Phan won). He made up for that loss by winning the rematch in convincing fashion.
Unfortunately, that was his only win, as his other two fights were losses to Mike Brown and Jim Hettes.
These two will bring their best to the cage and put on a great fight. If you have Fuel TV, this fight is a must-watch.
Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader
The co-main event is probably more must-see than the main event is, as it’s probably the closer fight in terms of a matchup.
Both men have very different styles. Machida is a karate expert with good jiu-jitsu and a sumo background (not kidding). Bader, meanwhile, is a wrestler with decent boxing ability, which perfectly highlights their contrasting styles.
Even though I think Machida will knock out Bader within 10 minutes, this fight has the potential to be an interesting chess match. Machida is going to try and avoid Bader’s takedowns while using his striking to open up opportunities to end the fight.
Bader is riding a two-fight win streak, while Machida is coming off a title challenge in which he lost. Momentum is certainly on Bader’s side, while experience favors the Brazilian.
The kicker is that if the winner of this fight is more impressive than the main event winner, he will get a shot at the winner of Jon Jones and Dan Henderson.
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