Like most free cards, UFC Fight Night 36 isn’t stacked with marquee fighters and title shots. Plenty of the participants could suffer more damage than a cracked orbital socket, however.
In particular, two fighters need to perform well to preserve…
Like most free cards, UFC Fight Night 36 isn’t stacked with marquee fighters and title shots. Plenty of the participants could suffer more damage than a cracked orbital socket, however.
In particular, two fighters need to perform well to preserve their reputations and championship chases, while two others need to perform well to stay in the game at all.
LyotoMachida has a chance to clean up a sticky career at UFC Fight Night 36. He dropped from light heavyweight to middleweight with an authoritative head-kick knockout of Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 30. This will be far from his last chance to re-energize his career, but losing now would destroy good momentum and an exploitable power vacuum.
Machida‘s career has a long string of almosts and not quites due in part to his sometimes-exciting, sometimes-boring counter-offensive style. UFC president Dana White denied the Brazilian a rematch against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who won a controversial split decision against “The Dragon” at UFC 123. White also skipped over Machida as a title contender after his impressive KO of Randy Couture at UFC 129.
He dropped out of a potential UFC 151 rematch against Jon Jones after Dan Henderson got injured, which resulted in one more title-shot denial. A matchup against Phil Davis at UFC 163 gave Machida another hotly contested decision loss.
Now a middleweight, he has busted out of a tough 205-pound division into one that is littered with opportunity. Machida has enough clout, history, style and personality to make a powerful champion; now he can make a title run without the history of awkward decisions and unexciting performances. We can see him as the precision knockout artist—the Bruce Lee-esque assassin we thought he was in 2009.
Or he can lose and fall into the same cycle of inconsistency and boredom—but in a lighter class.
After Georges St-Pierre’s departure, it’s doubtful UFC fans will flock to a cautious fighter. Francis Carmont, a Tristar Gym pupil, exemplifies that style in the middleweight division and faces a borderline lose-lose situation.
To beat Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, a fearsome striker and Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist, Carmont needs to fight carefully. The Frenchman has yet to demonstrate the kind of power or resilience that would carry him through a UFC-level brawl.
If he fails, he will lose to a more exciting fighter in a stacked division, hurting his chances at succession as well as damaging his skillful reputation. If he wins, he’ll probably do it with another boring wrestling show or split decision, taking casual fans back to St-Pierre’s biannual insults.
Before losses to Jon Fitch and Dong Hyun Kim, Erick Silva gave us plenty to chat about in the welterweight division. Now he’s 3-3 in the UFC.
The UFC is bringing in King of Pancrase welterweight champion TakenoriSato to replace an injured, recently re-signed Nate Loughran. Housekeeping matches bode ill for at least one of the fighters involved—in this case Silva.
The UFC isn’t bringing in the Japanese welterweight to make a debut loss to a former prospect; he’s here to shake up the leaderless welterweight division. If Silva can beat Sato, he’ll prove he still belongs in the division. If not, he’ll end up with a losing record and probably a pink slip.
Similarly, Charles Oliveira‘s 4-4 UFC record puts him one loss away from being a bad investment. Like Silva, Oliveira is coming off two consecutive losses—a KO from Cub Swanson and a unanimous decision to Frankie Edgar.
He looked sharp against Edgar, but his losses to contenders Jim Miller and Donald Cerrone say a lot about UFC Fight Night 36. He’s fighting Andy Ogle for the right to stick around and ascend to the inner circle of the featherweight division. Only a decisive win will convince the promotion that he’s worth keeping around.
We might not get to see the next king being crowned on Saturday, but we might see some careers fizzle out. The flip side of the fight coin is important too.
(Uh-oh. Grizzled, unkempt Machida is easily the most dangerous of all Machidas. Photo via Getty.)
Lyoto Machida, Gegard Mousasi, and all 24 fighters competing on tomorrow’s ‘Fight Night 36’ card are set to hit the scales from the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil starting at 1 p.m. EST. Although Fight Night 36 is eerily similar in quality to next weekend’s UFC 170 pay-per-view, it features neither Ronda Rousey nor the year’s biggest squash match and therefore will be free. No, I do not understand it either.
Join us after the jump for a live feed of the weigh-ins, which are sure to feature no shortage of graceful bows and vacant, serial killer-esque stares into the distance. Should be a good one.
(Uh-oh. Grizzled, unkempt Machida is easily the most dangerous of all Machidas. Photo via Getty.)
Lyoto Machida, Gegard Mousasi, and all 24 fighters competing on tomorrow’s ‘Fight Night 36′ card are set to hit the scales from the Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil starting at 1 p.m. EST. Although Fight Night 36 is eerily similar in quality to next weekend’s UFC 170 pay-per-view, it features neither Ronda Rousey nor the year’s biggest squash match and therefore will be free. No, I do not understand it either.
Join us after the jump for a live feed of the weigh-ins, which are sure to feature no shortage of graceful bows and vacant, serial killer-esque stares into the distance. Should be a good one.
Main Card (10:30 p.m. EST, Fox Sports 1)
Lyoto Machida (185) vs. Gegard Mousasi (186)
Francis Carmont (185) vs. Ronaldo Souza (185)
Takenori Sato (170) vs. Erick Silva (170)
Viscardi Andrade (170) vs. Nicholas Musoke (170)
Andy Ogle (146) vs. Charles Oliveira (143)
Preliminary Card (7:30 p.m EST, UFC Fight Pass)
Cristiano Marcello (156) vs. Joe Proctor (155)
Rodrigo Damm (156) vs. Ivan Jorge (156)
Jesse Ronson (156) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (155)
Yuri Alcantara (136) vs. Wilson Reis (135)
Felipe Arantes (146) vs. Maximo Blanco (147.9*)
Ildemar Alcantara (171) vs. Albert Tumenov (170)
Douglas de Andrade (145) vs. Zubair Tuhugov (146)
The team of analysts for the UFC on Fox Sports 1 and Fox broadcasts has been providing the most in-depth coverage that mixed martial arts has seen in its 20 years of existence.
With a collection of seasoned fight veterans and a handful of well-versed h…
The team of analysts for the UFC on Fox Sports 1 and Fox broadcasts has been providing the most in-depth coverage that mixed martial arts has seen in its 20 years of existence.
With a collection of seasoned fight veterans and a handful of well-versed hosts at the helm, the people working the pre– and post-fight shows for the UFC have consistently raised the bar.
It’s getting to the point where there appears to be very little Brian Stann can’t do.
The former WEC light heavyweight champion went from throwing leather with some of the best in the world to working analysis duty for ACC football and then to finessing the booth for UFC on Fox Sports 1 and Fox events. Not to mention he serves his full-time duties for his company Hire Heroes, which works to find employment for military veterans.
That said, the man has a busy schedule yet decided to once again drop into the Bleacher Report fold and work our latest installment “Dropping Knowledge.” It can’t be an easy job working alongside Kenny Florian’s legendary coif, but much like everything else, “The All-American” makes things look easy.
This is what he had to say about the upcoming card for UFC Fight Night 36 on Saturday.
While we always kick things off with the main event, this time around it’s going to be different. This matchup between Lyoto Machida and Gegard Mousasi is a check on my personal bucket list, and I still can’t believe this fight is about to go down. How crazy is this fight, and what are the keys for both men to secure victory?
This is a very intriguing fight and a dream matchup, but I’m concerned about the 10-month layoff of Mousasi. When you are fighting a guy like Machida, you have to be as sharp as possible in every aspect of your game. Ring rust can be a very real thing.
Now, Mousasi did bring in some guys for this camp who have defeated Machida in some karate matches in the past, and it could get very interesting, but we don’t know what kind of Machida we are going to get. He was really fed up after the Phil Davis fight because he kept ending up at these controversial decisions. Whether he won or lost, there was always controversy, and a lot of it had to do with his style. He was doing just enough to win a round, and sometimes that went against him.
He obviously came out more aggressive in his last fight against Munoz, and I think his level of aggression and offense will be the biggest factor in this fight. It will also depend on how Mousasi responds to it. He could come out prepared for a more aggressive Machida, or he could come out prepared for more of that counter-fighting style.
If it is a counter-fighting style, then Mousasi has to put a lot of volume on Machida and use movement and feints to disrupt the rhythm of Machida. Lyoto moves and moves until he sees the opening and then he strikes. A lot of movement and feints will disrupt that style, and a lot of volume will deceive the judges. Maybe Machida will land the more significant strikes in the round, but Mousasi could throw so much more that he’ll win the round.
Another thing people really aren’t talking about in this fight is Machida’s sumo background. He is a master of range and can close distance quickly, but his sumo background will allow him to get inside and use those body locks and trip takedowns. He’s done that many times before where he will get his opponents on their back and has really done a nice job of controlling them on the ground. We may see Machida go for some takedowns in this fight to solidify winning the round because he learned a few things from that Phil Davis fight. We may see him use a similar strategy on Saturday night.
Mousasi has been a fascinating fighter ever since he put himself on the map several years back. One thing I’ve definitely picked up on, though, is his willingness to fight up to his competition. It’s like a distance runner who is a level above everyone he’s competing with, but willing to run with the pack until the final stretch of the last lap until he outkicks everyone to the finish. Machida is a different type of animal, and do you think Mousasi’s straightforward approach could put him in jeopardy in this fight?
It really can because a straightforward approach is what Machida thrives off of. Mousasi has to switch things up and disrupt Machida in this fight.
A great example is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. He doesn’t have a whole lot that he throws at you, but his pace is unpredictable. Out of nowhere, Rampage will explode on you, go a little wild and get really physical. That threw Machida off in their fight, and Mousasi is going to have to mix things up like that to win this fight.
But he can’t be overaggressive because the minute you get overaggressive and come straight at Machida; that is when he lays you out. You have to work a lot of movement and feints and get Machida to twitch a little bit, and that is when you can land strikes.
I think leg kicks are very important in this fight. Machida has a tendency to lean back to slip getting hit, but when he does that, he leaves his legs wide open. Mousasi can rack up some points like Shogun did and wear Machida’s legs down over time. I think it would be important for Mousasi to do that and at the end of his striking combinations, finish with a leg kick.
Before we move onto the co-main event, I want to ask an important question regarding Machida vs. Mousasi. While both men have been champions before, neither has been much of a spark plug when it comes to interaction with the fanbase. Machida showed some emotion after winning the light heavyweight title, but Mousasi typically looks like they rolled him out of bed 15 minutes before the fight. Who wins the enthusiasm award in this pairing?
It’s definitely Machida. When you look at his speech after he won the title, you’ll see all the evidence you need. Kenny Florian and I were having a lot of laughs about it this week in the studio. I know English is his second language—and I know what he meant—but if you listen to what he says it sounds like, “If you have a dream. Go ahead. It’s impossible!” His adrenaline was obviously sky high, and that was just the result of his accent coming through. He was pretty motivated in that moment, and you have to give the enthusiasm crown to him.
As an analyst, I’m sure researching the fighter’s names on Brazilian cards is something you invest a fair amount of time in. That said, how much fun is it to say “Jacare” over and over?
Oh man, it’s great name, especially when he starts throwing the alligator chomp and starts jogging in place. It’s great.
Let’s not forget his post-fight victory celebration where he alligator crawls across the mat. Do you think people realize the type of upper body and core strength that requires?
Look…this guy is the scariest thing in the middleweight division right now. You can look around at 185 pounds, and the one guy people don’t want to get a call from Joe Silva asking them to fight is Jacare Souza. Nobody wants to fight him right now. This guy is so dangerous and everything is coming together for him. He’s ultra-aggressive and on fire right now. But he’s also one of the least appreciated fighters in the division as well. A lot of people are talking about Machida getting a title shot with a win, but I personally think if he can get an impressive win here, it’s honestly Jacare who deserves the shot the most.
There is a lot of talk right now about the improvements Souza has made to his striking game. You spoke on this topic during UFC Tonight on Wednesday, pointing out how no one has ever been able to do what the Brazilian powerhouse did to Yushin Okami when they fought. How crazy is Souza’s power game at this moment?
I’ve trained with Yushin before, and nobody does that to him. Absolutely nobody. Jacare is one of the scariest guys in the world when the fight hits the mat. Out of nowhere he’s also become one of the scariest guys in the division when it comes to striking as well. He knocks you out cold on your feet, then rips your arm off when the fight hits the ground.
His opponent Francis Carmont has been effective in the UFC and has a solid winning streak going. That said, the knock on the Tristar fighter is that his performances haven’t been of the crowd-wowing variety. While that may be the case, could he actually have the perfect style to give Souza problems?
He absolutely does, and this fight is going to be a little bit closer than people realize. Carmont is a physically huge middleweight, and he is going to have distance and range with his reach. He is a very large individual, and his style could present problems for Jacare. Carmont can defend the takedown very well, and he fights very long.
It’s not going to be easy for Jacare to close the distance against him, and it’s not going to be easy for Jacare to take him down. If Carmont cannot get knocked out by one shot, he may surprise a lot of people. I’m picking Jacare to win this fight, but in all honesty, Carmont has a bigger shot than the oddsmakers say.
We could also find out that Jacare gets a little tired. If he comes out at the same pace he fought Yushin Okami, and he can’t finish him or keep up that pace for three rounds, we could very well see Carmont come alive in the second and third round. If that happens, he could very well pull off the big upset here.
I’ve fought on the same card as Carmont, and he’s as big of a middleweight as I was. He cuts a lot of weight to get down, and when he steps into the Octagon on Saturday night, he’ll be around 208-210 pounds. He’s a very big guy, and he’s a well-trained wrestler. He’s also a very long fighter like I mentioned.
The hardest thing to overcome in my career when it came to striking was fighting length. If the guy I was fighting had a reach advantage against me, it nullified a lot of what I liked to do. I ended up getting hit and losing points as I tried to close the distance. It will be really interesting to see how Jacare responds to that. Ultimately, I don’t think it is going to matter and Jacare still wins this fight, but if he throws too much too soon into that first round, it could be a much closer fight than people realize.
Let’s finish things up on a two-for-one here at the end. Erick Silva and Charles Oliveira are both on this card and have been touted as possible future stars. Yet, both have had some huge setbacks in crucial fights that could have put them over the hump and have stumbled back down the ladder. How much of a must-win situation are these guys facing at UFC Fight Night 36?
I don’t think it’s just “must win,” here. I think it’s “must impress.” When you get matchups like these in the UFC, you’re not expected to just win them. You are expected to win them impressively, finish the guy and look good doing it. That’s what gets people hyped up, and that is what gets a fighter back into the big-fight scenario.
Both of these guys have been there. They drew top contenders in previous fights and lost those fights. If they are trying to get back into that area where everyone is talking about them, a three-round decision just isn’t going to do it. A close fight isn’t going to do it. You have to go out there and dominate. You have to get people excited about seeing you fight.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
I’ve written plenty about Lyoto Machida’s karate over the past two years, but I thought we would try something different.
I usually speak at length about Machida’s striking style, which is very much influenced by tournament karate and indeed Japanese k…
I’ve written plenty about LyotoMachida‘s karate over the past two years, but I thought we would try something different.
I usually speak at length about Machida‘s striking style, which is very much influenced by tournament karate and indeed Japanese karate. Shotokan is, after all, considered a Japanese style of karate rather than an Okinawan one.
The differences are many, but among the most obvious are that Japanese styles (Wado-Ryu, Shotokan, Kyokushin and its variants) tend to focus more on repping out basic techniques and practising kata (forms) into infinity.
They use longer stances and tend to be more about pure striking than self-defence. This is for the simple reason that when GichinFunakoshi (the founder of Shotokan) went to mainland Japan from Okinawa, he found himself teaching high-ranking judoka at the request of Jigoro Kano (the founder of judo).
Not wanting to teach simple throws and grapples to guys who had spent years turning that into an art form and having to teach in the regimented environment that the Japanese love, Funakoshi‘s karate became less Okinawan and more like it is today. Looking at Shotokan next to more traditional Okinawan styles such as Goju-ryu and Uechi-Ryu, they are starkly contrasted.
The truth of it is that real karate, as in the original applications (or bunkai) of the forms, is not going to win you many tournaments. Karate developed from the citizens of a disarmed Japanese colony’s need to defend themselves from attackers in self-defence scenarios, not the need to fight off samurai or other trained martial artists.
Old-school karate, the kind found in decent applications of kata, is pretty much all about grabbing at the crotch, headbutting and breaking free of grabs or defending basic street-attacker-style swings.
That said, Machida himself has shown some slick little techniques that hark right back to the old days of rough and tumble karate.
I am a firm believer that many (though not all) old, traditional techniques that look ridiculous can be reconfigured and given an appropriate setup to make them effective. Hell, Anthony Pettis‘ Showtime kick should have made us all a little more open-minded—that was straight out of a kungfu movie.
Today we’ll look at one ugly, simple, wooden old-school karate technique that Machida has demonstrated successfully in the Octagon.
The Wedge Throw
This technique is sometimes referred to as sukui-nage, which means scooping throw, but there are already two throws in judo which are known as sukui-nage…so let’s not confuse things further. For now I’m just going to call it the wedge throw.
Before we go on, I know some of you are curious so here are the two sukuinage from judo.
The first is the traditional version.
The second is the one that proved more practical.
Now onto the throw that I’m talking about. It’s different from those two, but more akin to the first.
The idea of stepping behind the opponent’s lead leg so that the inner thigh is high on his outside thigh, then dumping him over that leg, is an incredibly old-school move. Pretty much any time you see a downward block (gedan-barai/gedanuke) in a karate kata, it can be applied as scooping the opponent over that lead leg. Indeed this is much of what GichinFunakoshi taught himself.
Here it is demonstrated in the eccentric ShigeruEgami‘s book, The Heart of Karate Do, as an application of a basic downward block. Egami was one of Funakoshi‘s original students, but became gradually more eccentric after Funakoshi‘s passing.
Now of course, in a fist fight in the pub or a dark alley, the opportunities to dump someone over your lead leg are going to be more forthcoming than against a professional fighter in his well-practised stance. Heck, plenty of altercations at a bar see one or both men trip over themselves while throwing punches anyway.
So here is how the Japan Karate Association thought this technique could be best applied against an opponent in a stance during a kumite match.
Yep, that is the legendary KeinosukeEnoeda, and no there isn’t much tact to it. You dive in deep, and they fall over or they don’t. Most of the time they didn’t. Watching back any old kumite match, it’s the usual skittish trading of reverse punches and running. Not much of this being applied at all.
Here’s SeijiNishimura, a living karate manual and coach of the Japanese team, demonstrating a much more sensible application of the same technique, in counterto an opponent’s attack. And not some BS stepping punch either—the kind of jab you might see in competition or in any combat sport. Even then, however, you would be hard-pressed to find examples of it in high-level karate competition.
Even Mas Oyama, known for founding a style of karate that was all about striking and not so much about old-school self-defence techniques, became enamoured with techniques like this in his later life. In Advanced Karate (an incredibly hard book to find in English and one which I am very luck to own), Oyama demonstrates dozens of variations of this simple step behind and bail them over-type throw.
Here’s one over the arm, as in traditional applications.
And here’s one under the arm, as has proven to be more applicable against decent strikers. Notice Oyama takes the leg as well in this variation. Advanced Karate contains hundreds of pages of this sort of stuff, the stuff which Oyama really isn’t associated with.
Now here’s LyotoMachida, showing a beautifulapplication of it. His opponent kicks, Machida parries it across the body (always the smartest option in any martial art) and steps in behind it, already in position to dump his opponent over the lead leg. I’m getting excited just watching it.
Still, that’s a karateka at a local competition. They don’t have great throws. What about against KazuhiroNakamura? That guy was a student of Olympic gold-medal-winning judoka, HidehikoYoshida.
So what made the difference? How did this old-school technique designed to unbalance attackers in self-defence situations become an effective takedown in MMA? The clue is in the name I gave it at the start of the article: the wedge.
The problem with old martial arts techniques is the same as any technique: How are you going to get into position to do it?
Nobody is going to attack you with a stepping punch and allow you to use an upper rising block to smack it upward, thenlet you start your technique as Oyama did above. But change that stepping punch to the more popular jab or right straight, and the block to a driving arm or elbow used to parry the blow and enter in behind, and you’re on to something.
Throughout the fight Nakamura kept throwing his powerful right hand and looking to step into the clinch. By both committing to a swing andbringing his feet close together in order to enter a clinch, Nakamura gave Machida the perfect opportunity to drive in behind his elbow and hit the wedge throw.
Now this trip is, in traditional karate, considered an application of downward blocks, but also just about any time a chest level “hammer-fist” is thrown out in a karate kata, it’s safe to assume that there is more going on there.
Gojushiho/Useishi/Hotaku is a kata that appears in many styles of karate and features a similar throw as well as headbutts and all sorts of other slick nastiness. If you’re a karateka and all you’re doing is repping out the moves in the air, go have a think about some of the cooler stuff you can do with the motions you’re practising instead of just assaulting your own personal space.
Now is the lesson here that traditional karateka are awesome fighters and can easily throw judoka? God, no.
Karate, like all traditional martial arts, has a lot of catching up to do. The lesson is simply that it is alwaysworth looking into the techniques of various traditional martial arts. Funakoshi himself said, “Look to the old to understand the new.”
For a long time simple high kicks were thought too risky to attempt in MMA. Wrist locks were scoffed at in Brazilian jiu-jitsu as aikido nonsense for a while, then as cheesy one-off tactics for a while.
Now Claudio Calasans is snapping the wrist joints of people who fail to respect the threat. Marcelo Garcia even sets up the previously unappreciated north-south choke offof the threat of a wrist lock. And how many of us would have thought that the big problem against Jon Jones, an excellent wrestler, would be getting past the Bruce Lee side kick to the knee?
Old techniques will keep coming back in new formats, because there’s nothing new under the sun. The trick is getting them to work against what is the combat sports norm.
Pick up Jack’s eBooksAdvanced Striking and Elementary Striking from his blog, Fights Gone By. Jack can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Lyoto Machida will try to take another big step toward a middleweight title shot on Saturday, when he’ll meet former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi.
At UFC Fight Night 30, “The Dragon” stopped Mark Munoz in his initial appearance at 185 pounds. Th…
Lyoto Machida will try to take another big step toward a middleweight title shot on Saturday, when he’ll meet former Strikeforce champion Gegard Mousasi.
At UFC Fight Night 30, “The Dragon” stopped Mark Munoz in his initial appearance at 185 pounds. That victory elevated the Brazilian to contender status immediately, and now he could have a chance to compete for UFC gold by winning in the UFC Fight Night 36 headliner.
While he only has one UFC win under his belt, Mousasi could quickly take the lead in the race for a middleweight title shot this weekend. After beating Ilir Latifi easily in his first Octagon showing at light heavyweight, Mousasi has opted to return to 185 pounds, where many feel he is better suited.
Bleacher Report MMA‘s own Riley Kontek, James MacDonald, Craig Amos and Sean Smith have joined to provide their predictions for Machida vs. Mousasi and the entire UFC Fight Night 36 main card.
The winner of the Gegard Mousasi vs. Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida bout at UFC Fight Night 36 in Brazil doesn’t deserve a shot at the middleweight crown yet, but he should be one step closer.
The co-feature is actually even more intriguing than the fight …
The winner of the GegardMousasi vs. Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida bout at UFC Fight Night 36 in Brazil doesn’t deserve a shot at the middleweight crown yet, but he should be one step closer.
The co-feature is actually even more intriguing than the fight receiving top billing. Brazil’s Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza will face Francis “Limitless” Carmont.
Saturday’s main card is very important to the immediate future of the 185-pound division. Four of the best will do battle, and it seems only right that the two men who emerge victorious from the featured bouts should tangle some time soon.
Mousasi clearly has his sights set on UFC gold. He dropped from 205 pounds to 185 because he felt the route to a title shot was easier. In an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Mousasi said:
There are a lot of popular names in the light heavyweight division. At middleweight there isn’t a No. 1 contender. You have VitorBelfort next and then no one is really in line. At 205, the next guy is Glover Teixeira, then you have Alexander Gustafsson and then Daniel Cormier or Rashad Evans. You have three guys in front of you at that weight. At middleweight, you only have Belfort.
It’s clear Mousasi wants respect and notoriety. He’s even taken to Twitter to boost his name recognition.
Unofficial social media campaigns are understandable, but beating The Dragon on Saturday will go the furthest in efforts to build his brand.
This card will be the first to feature the revamped fight night bonus structure. Dana White tweeted this just days prior to UFC Fight Night 36.
The bottom line is that the Fight of the Night bonus will remain, but instead of KO and Submission of the Night, those bonuses will be replaced by two Performance of the Night awards.
The $50,000 prize amount will remain the same.
Here’s a look at the card, viewing information and predictions. Just below the table is a closer look at the fights and fighters that could win bonuses.
Fight of the Night: Cristiano Marcello vs. Joe Proctor
This fight is shaping up to be one of those bouts between a talented submission artist in Marcello and a man who prefers to handle business with his striking like Proctor.
Marcello will have the home-field advantage in his native Brazil, but Proctor will enjoy the edge in stand-up encounters.
Whose style wins out? It’s tough to say definitively. Proctor hasn’t fought since Dec. 2012, and the cage rust could be a major factor.
Considering the fact that Marcello will be charged to produce a solid showing for his countrymen, he’s my pick to win.
Because both men have something to prove, the sense of urgency and contrasting styles should make this one of the best—if not the best—fight of the night.
Performance of the Night 1: Charles Oliveira
Despite the fact that Oliveira has lost two fights in a row, he’s still one of the best young fighters in the UFC. If you look at the four losses on his record, not one of them is embarrassing.
There’s no shame in losing to Jim Miller, Cub Swanson, Frankie Edgar or Donald Cerrone. Oliveira is still only 24 years old.
An immensely talented youngster with a carefree style, Oliveira throws freely on the feet with rangy kicks and punches and shows little regard for getting taken down. That is little surprise as he also sports one of the more dangerous submission games in the lightweight division. As Oliveira seasons he has already been pegged as a possible title contender in the coming years.
Oliveira was just 21 when he lost to Miller and Cerrone. His upside is exciting, and we’re going to see some of it on Saturday against Andy Ogle.
Don’t take this praise to mean that Ogle isn‘t a good fighter. He is, but he’s not on Oliveira‘s level. Look for Oliveira to win submission—err—Performance of the Night by making Ogle tap out.
Performance of the Night 2: Francis Carmont
I’ve got mounds of respect for Souza, but Carmont has been one of the most impressive fighters in the UFC over his last two fights. He completely dominated Lorenz Larkin and CostasPhilippou.
The latter may never look the same again as it appeared Carmont completely ruined his confidence.
Both Souza and Carmont are excellent grapplers, but Carmont is the bigger, stronger and more fluid athlete. I can see him catching Souza with one of those vicious knees and then pounding him out for the TKO victory.
Machida Will Win The Main Event
The Dragon has become like Benson Henderson in that he can consistently win because of his technical skill and defense. But he’s not doing a great deal of damage to his opponents and thus not wowing the crowd.
It feels like we’re in for another one of those performances from Machida. He’s longer and comfortable standing or grappling.
He’ll outwork Mousasi and keep him at bay with leg kicks and such. It’ll be enough to win the bout but not a lot of new fans.
The team of analysts for the UFC on Fox Sports 1 and Fox broadcasts has been providing the most in-depth coverage that mixed martial arts has seen in its 20 years of existence.
