The UFC train keeps on rolling, as the third UFC event in a seven-day period comes to you live from Brazil. Headlined by Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader, UFC Fight Night 28 promises to be an exciting card filled with top stars and up-and-coming talents….
The UFC train keeps on rolling, as the third UFC event in a seven-day period comes to you live from Brazil. Headlined by Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader, UFC Fight Night 28 promises to be an exciting card filled with top stars and up-and-coming talents.
The undercard has been plagued with crazy amounts of injuries. The most recent one saw a bout between Hugo Viana and Wilson Reis deteriorate and get completely pulled off the card.
With that, let’s take a look at the prelims and make some predictions. Most of the fights have late replacements, which should be interesting.
On Wednesday September 4, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 28, light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira will face a game opponent in Ryan Bader.
Since his UFC debut, Teixeira has been highly touted and a force to be reckoned with. He is on a 19-fight winnin…
On Wednesday September 4, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 28, light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira will face a game opponent in Ryan Bader.
Since his UFC debut, Teixeira has been highly touted and a force to be reckoned with. He is on a 19-fight winning streak. Therefore, despite having barely fought any name opponents, many, including Teixeira, believe that he is more than prepared to take on the current light heavyweight phenom and champion Jon Jones.
Irrespective of the Brazilian’s astonishing win streak, Teixeira has only fought one opponent of some significance in Quinton Jackson. The Memphis native, who barely made the UFC’s top-10 list at the time, lost to Teixeira via decision in a slow, lackluster bout that was far from entertaining at UFC on Fox 6.
Since his matchup against Jackson, Teixeira has not fought one top-10 opponent. However, he is currently ranked No. 3 by the UFC and has adamantly voiced his desire to challenge the light heavyweight champion for the title. In an interview with Ariel Helwani in 2012, Teixeira stated:
Listen man, I train so hard and I have to believe in myself right? People [are] already saying I [can] challenge Jon Jones…
…Many people that fight in the UFC want to challenge the champion…
…If they put me in a fight with Jon Jones right now, I’ll get the title.
Since that interview, Teixeira has gained an incredible amount of momentum. Provided he puts on a grand performance against Bader at UFC Fight Night 28, a fight between the Brazilian and Jones may be on the horizon.
In fact, the UFC managing director of international development, Marshall Zelaznik, proclaimed as much during the UFC 163 post-fight press conference. He stated: “Dana [White] and Joe [Silva] have confirmed that with a strong victory by Glover, he probably gets the winner of the Jon Jones fight. So, Glover’s got an opportunity to go for that belt with a big win.”
On September 4, Teixeira will be facing a former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler who is coming off a respectable win over another MMA veteran in Vladimir Matyushenko. Bader is not currently ranked by the UFC, and a win over his Brazilian counterpart would be of great significance. A devastating loss on his part would more than likely push Bader farther away from the UFC’s top-10, and have Teixeira face Jones for the title.
In the end, however, Teixeira became the No. 3 ranked light heavyweight in the world by defeating no one of significance—except for an unmotivated “Rampage” Jackson, who was on his way out of the UFC at the time of their meeting.
The Brazilian’s questionable ranking, accompanied by his projected win over yet another non-ranked contender in Bader, does not legitimize a title shot and weakens the credibility of the greatest mixed martial arts organization in the world.
In only a matter of days, the UFC will cap off one of the busiest two weeks of the year.
From their initial debut on Fox Sports 1 to UFC 164, all of it culminates this Wednesday as the Fox network hosts its second installment.
Headlining the main card …
In only a matter of days, the UFC will cap off one of the busiest two weeks of the year.
From their initial debut on Fox Sports 1 to UFC 164, all of it culminates this Wednesday as the Fox network hosts its second installment.
Headlining the main card in Brazil is none other than light heavyweight contenders Glover Teixeira and Ryan Bader.
Both fighters are coming off impressive first-round submission victories in which they showed their promise as future top billings.
Here’s how their matchup stacks up in the always entertaining UFC Fight Night head-to-toe breakdown.
Joseph Benavidez may be the second best fighter in the world at 125 pounds behind champion Demetrious Johnson, but he’s not stressing much right now when it comes to title shots.
Benavidez lost a close decision to Johnson in 2012 to crown the first eve…
Joseph Benavidez may be the second best fighter in the world at 125 pounds behind champion Demetrious Johnson, but he’s not stressing much right now when it comes to title shots.
Benavidez lost a close decision to Johnson in 2012 to crown the first ever UFC flyweight champion, and while he definitely wants to get back there for another shot, he wants to make sure that when it happens there will be no doubts that he’s going to win.
When he was fighting at bantamweight, Benavidez ended up fighting champion Dominick Cruz twice in a short period of time, and while he hung tight on both occasions, he lost close decisions each time.
At that point, Benavidez was stuck as a contender in the division so long as Cruz remained the champion.
Now with his next fight at UFC Fight Night 28 coming up in Brazil against former top-ranked flyweight Jussier “Formiga” Da Silva, Benavidez is focused on getting better with each fight. When he gets another crack at Johnson, he wants to be sure that he’s walking out with the belt that night.
“If you look at the division and how small it is, I’m right there at the top,” Benavidez said. “I think I could have asked for a title shot after I beat Ian McCall. For me, like I said, I just want to get better. I made the same mistake at 135 fighting (Dominick) Cruz twice in the span of a year and no matter who I beat up, I could be ranked the second guy in the world, but I wasn’t going to get another title shot. I don’t really want that to happen again at (125).”
Benavidez may separate himself from the pack, however, if he can put Formiga away in his home country of Brazil marking his third win in a row since the loss to Johnson.
Check out the entire interview with Benavidez and listen to how he plans on bringing Rocky IV to Brazil next week as well.
On Wednesday September 4, 2013, at