UFC 160 Preview Velasquez vs. Bigfoot
By Daniel Kendrick
Facebook Prelims
Featherweight
Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens (20-9-0) vs. “El Terrible” Estevan Payan (14-3-0, 1NC)
There’s no “feeling out” period with the action as it jump starts with lightning speed in the furiously paced featherweight division. Jeremy Stephens collides head on with Estevan Payan. Coming in on a 3 fight skid,
Stephens is likely fighting for his very survival in the UFC so look for him to probably come out, guns blazing. Payan, being a fighter with little notoriety, also should be fighting with a sense of urgency to keep his name relevant among Joe Silva’s matchmaking options. On paper, the fight looks to be pretty evenly matched so this should lock in your interest and keep you wanting more.
Prediction: Stephens by 3rd round KO/TKO
Bantamweight
Brian Bowles (10-2-0) vs. George Roop (13-10-1)
Former WEC Bantamweight champ, Brian Bowles seeks redemption having dropped his last outing to another former WEC champion, Urijah Faber. This time he takes on the seasoned, gritty scrapper, George Roop. Being the more technically sound of the two and with the more impressive resume, Bowles will have the edge in saavy and composure. Roop will be looking to make a statement against an opponent who’s been up against some of the most notable fighters in and around the weight class which makes him a dangerous prospect, indeed. Still, he’ll need more than just heart and grit to overcome the package he faces this Saturday night.
Prediction: Bowles by 2nd round submission
Welterweight
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (6-1-0) vs. Nah-Shon “The Rock-N-Rolla” Burrell (9-2-0)
Rounding out the Facebook prelims is a classic striker vs. grappler matchup. Stephen Thompson brings his very hard to immolate blend of high level striking and Japanese jiu jitsu black belt package against Strikeforce product, Nah-Shon Burrell. Each man has a very impressive track record, most especially World Combat League’s Thompson, with his extraordinarily deep striking pedigree and being the brother-in-law to BJJ aficionado, Carlos Machado. Burrell has his fair share of KO’s in his young MMA career, but the safe bet is that he’ll revert to his wrestling base once he gets a taste of the different level of striking that his opponent is on.
Prediction: Thompson by 3rd round KO/TKO
FX Prelims
Lightweight
Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov (19-0-0) vs. Abel “Killa” Trujillo (10-4-0)
The freebees continue from Facebook to FX in the lightweight division. High level sambo vs. high level collegiate wrestling is the basic theme of the next matchup. Multiple time sambo champion Khabib Nurmagomedov throws down against four time NAIA All American, Abel Trujillo. Though being on a high level of American college wrestling, Trujillo would be nothing shy of a glutton for punishment by attempting to out grapple a recognized sambo master like Nurmagomedov. Abel should establish distance with his footwork and crisp boxing so as not to get tangled in the web of submissions that high level sambo practitioners tend to weave. However, establishing a striking strategy won’t be an easy task either as Numagomedov has 7 victims via KO and afterall, the guy is still unbeaten after 19 bouts.
Prediction: Nurmagomedov by 1st round submission
Welterweight
Colton Smith (6-1-0) vs. Robert Whitaker (11-2-0)
Ultimate Fighter Season 16 winner, Colton Smith, continues his ascent to bigger and better competition up the welterweight ladder. The test in front of him is a stern one at worst and at best, one he may not pass. TUF Smashes champion, Robert
Whitaker matches his striking pedigree against the Army will and wrestling with the Season 16 champ in a battle of very promising up and comers. Grappling is indefinitely in favor of the devoted Army vet while the striking end leans rather heavily on the side of Whitaker and even more so given that Smith only has 1 KO to his credit.
Prediction: Whitaker by 3rd round KO/TKO
Featherweight
Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez (11-3-0) vs. Mas “Blessed” Holloway (7-1-0)
Nearing the end of the preliminary fist-a-cuffs, some furious featherweights turn up the heat in the next installment. TUF Season 14 finalist, Dennis Bermudez goes heads up with the UFC’s youngest combatant, Max Holloway. Though on a 3 fight winning streak, Holloway’s overall package coincides with his (not even alcohol consumption legal) age. He’s wiry, scrappy, and willing, but heart will only take you so far before skill and drive take control which is a highly probable scenario when faced with a hungry, well rounded warrior such as Bermudez is.
Prediction: Bermudez by 2nd round submission
Welterweight
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle (24-8-1) vs. Rick “The Horror” Story (15-6-0)
Capping off the preliminaries en route to the main soiree, seasoned, battle hardened vets leave you salivating for more. Mike Pyle locks horns with the ever game, Rick Story. On paper, it’s pretty much a “you pick ’em” showdown. Both men always come with their
‘A’ games, each have faced a “who’s who” of MMA and even won their fair share of those meetings, and both are very well versed in basically every facet of the sport. Both men do have their origins in extensive grappling and as is the usual routine in such case, look for each to go to where their main comfort zone is to try to settle the matters at hand.
Prediction: Story by split decision
Main Card
Lightweight
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (19-5-0, 1NC) vs. KJ Noons (10-5-0)
Kicking off (no pun intended) the main card are 2 fire forged warriors. Uber popular, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone welcomes top Strikeforce prospect, KJ Noons to his inaugural UFC showdown. Though both are far from strangers to the ground game, there’s no secret that each man loves to render verdicts by smacking the fire out of their adversaries. Noons will have the slight edge in the standing department, given his background, but though it won’t be much of an edge and not nearly as great of an edge that his foe will have should the fight make it’s way to the mat. Noons isn’t without teeth in his ground arsenal, but Cerrone’s composure, leverage, and statistics of submission victims speak for a distinct advantage if a ground battle ensues. Both men are used to a high level of success and are coming in off of losses so there should also be a sense of urgency to add a bit more excitement to this treat for we, the fans.
Lightweight
Gray “The Bully” Maynard (12-1-1, 1NC) vs. TJ Grant (20-5-0)
Speaking of a sense of urgency, the winner of the next bout is rumored to be the next #1 contender for the lightweight title. 2x title challenger,
Gray Maynard vies for his third shot at lightweight gold by trying to take out the super lethal, TJ Grant. Since coming down to lightweight, Grant has been perfect, but of course, he hasn’t quite faced the likes of what he’s up against this weekend. He’ll have to most likely have to welcome a ground attack to bring the fight into his stronger suit in the submission grappling department as trying to stand with a fighter with the level of boxing that Maynard possesses could end up in disaster. Maynard, on the other hand and as aforementioned, carries a rather strong boxing skillset that will come in handy against a fighter who is much more comfortable waging war by stretching limbs.
Prediction: Maynard by UD
Light Heavyweight
Glover Teixeira (20-2-0) vs. James Te Huna (18-5-0)
If anything in this card’s been missing, it’s been that no big boys have been a party to it thus far. Well, ask and ye shall receive. Heavily feared, Glover Teixeira, brings a stout package and nasty reputation up against the heavy hands and “never say die” will of James Te Huna.
One of the likely next frontrunners for Jon Jones’ division strap, Teixeira looks to add Te Huna’s head to his wall to make his case stronger for a well deserved shot at UFC gold. With a lot of hype that he’s delivered on so far, Teixeira will probably be one of the top 2 top division contenders should he dispatch Te Huna. However, with the heart of a lion and ever increasing skillset, Te Huna is looking to spoil yet another coming up party of a promising prospect and state his own case for division legitimacy. To do so, Te Huna will need to keep some range instead of letting a BJJ black belt close the distance and work the fight to the ground should he not be feeling confident on how the stand up battle is shaping up.
Prediction: Teixeira by 2nd round submission
Heavyweight
Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos (15-2-0) vs. Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt (9-7-0)
Well, the big boys have now firmly taken over and the next 2 are quite possibly the biggest punchers in all of the heavyweight class. Former UFC HW champion, Junior Dos Santos attempts to reverse the bad fortune that saw him forego his belt in his last outing by taking out super internationally experienced and former K-1 HW Grand Prix champ, Mark Hunt. Not one who’s cardio has ever been what you’d characterize as “peak,” Dos Santos might be more mindful to try to test Hunt’s gas tank instead of attempting to put him away, especially in the early going. Conversely, Hunt would be well advised to tighten his striking up to stave off a swarming attack that will tax his wind and cause him to attack sloppily out of desperation. Dos Santos is no Stefan Struve and having stated such, his striking defense will be much sharper, especially since everyone knows what happened last time an opponent’s defense got lax against Mark Hunt.
Prediction: Dos Santos by 3rd round KO/TKO
Main Event
UFC Heavyweight Championship
HW Champion Cain Velasquez (11-1-0) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-4-0)
The main event is finally here and appears to be a sure bet for a fan treat in one way or another. Cain Velasquez defends his recently recaptured title in a rematch with a man he dispatched not all that long ago in “Bigfoot” Silva. Having spoiled what most of us took for granted in
Alistair Overeem’s shoo-in for his shot at the HW strap, “Bigfoot” earned his way at a reckoning with a man who basically abused him once before.
Being a cardio, wrestling, and boxing monster package, Velasquez really does not have much to change from his first meeting against “Bigfoot.”
The fight was fairly recent so not much has really changed and let’s call a spade a spade: Overeem got overly confident and his arrogance got him laid flat and not so much a perfectly implemented strategy carried out by Silva. If Velasquez does basically what he did the first time he faced the towering Brazilian, he should be able to replicate the same basic outcome.
On the flipside, Bigfoot will need to keep Velasquez from getting on the inside to take the fight to the ground where his BJJ black belt did little to protect him the last time. Instead, short punches and a mixture of front and leg kicks are going to be needed to disrupt the timing of the menacing champion. Establishing and maintaining range is going to be paramount if Silva wants to prevent another brutal thrashing that he endured the last time he faced the champion. Velasquez can be hurt, though, and “Bigfoot” certainly has the power to make that happen, but his boxing will need to remain disciplined with short, accurate punching to land a shot that will put the champion on shaky ground. If he can, once again, pull off the improbable as he did against Overeem and Fedor, Silva may very well end being the next Kazushi Sakuraba, though the chances of it are difficult to imagine.
Prediction: Velasquez by 1st round KO/TKO
UFC 160 can be viewed through your local internet, cable, or satellite provider. Facebook prelims can be viewed via your local internet provider beginning at 3:35PM/6:35PM PTET. FX prelims continue via your local cable or satellite provider beginning at 5PM/8PM PTET; also available on FOX Deportes at the same times. UFC 160 can be viewed via UFC.TV or through your local cable/satellite provider on Pay Per View beginning at 8PM/10PM PTET.
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