I’m a big fan of undercard fights, because unlike the main event, the fighters always have something to prove, and they always want the airtime. On the next few UFC cards, there are a few matchups that you won’t hear the UFC talk about, but they’re definitely important. Here are some of my favorite upcoming matches and some of the most interesting matchups that no one will really be talking about, both on this UFC 82 card and in the near future:
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O’Brien
I’ll be honest, I’m really excited to see Jake O’Brien get punched in the face. It’d be an understatement to say that I don’t like his attitude, but it’s not going to far to say that I’d rather watch a Josh Koscheck marathon than watch O’Brien’s vicious laynpray. Andrei Arlovski has a very underrated ground game, which he’s pulled out of his world class sambo background, and he’s great a controlling distance. In all likelihood, this fight will end in O’Brien getting pounded or submitted, and O’Brien really has no outs in this fight, but Arlovski is going to be hungry and angry, given that he acknowledges that his last fight was a poor performance. Andrei has something to prove, and I certainly hope he brings it.
Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
It’s rare that we get a matchup between two guys who like to throw as hard as Sakara and Leben do. This fight could end like Cote vs. McFedries, with an exciting first round KO, or it could go longer and be far more brutal. Sakara is dropping down to 185 for this fight, so it will be interesting to see how he does and how well Leben handles a bigger opponent. Both are punch-based strikers, so I doubt we’ll see much technical kickboxing, but it will be interesting to see how the technical boxer Sakara deals with the hard headed brawler in Leben. Either way, I think somebody’s going to get knocked out.
Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter (UFC 83)
This is going to be an interesting fight, not because I think Rich Franklin is going to be dominant, but because I think that everybody underestimates the ferocity of Travis Lutter’s groundnpound. I rewatched the finale for TUF 4 recently, and it reminded me how solid a submission fighter and how great he is on the ground. I will not excuse his fight with Anderson Silva, but I think he did well in that fight especially when we take into account how stupidly he cut weight. If he cuts correctly for this fight, there’s no doubt in my mind that he will give Franklin some trouble. While many people think that Franklin is a forced to be reckoned with, and a dominant and powerful wrestler, Franklin has done little to prove that he has significantly recovered from his defeat against Anderson Silva, and I think being put on the bottom against a serious topside grappler will shake him up and cost him the match. Franklin could make this interesting, but I think that there’s a strong possibility of the former-UFC champ getting upset.
Samy Schiavo vs. Clay Guida (UFN 13)
Samy Schiavo is on fire, and that fire is to be respected. I’m the first to admit that there’s alot of hype surrounding Guida in this fight, but this is going to be a war, and I don’t think that (like with Lutter) people are giving Shiavo the respect he deserves. I had originally thought that Guida would take the no-name out in this fight and recover the way that I believe the UFC intends to, but I think that there’s alot to be said for the fact that Guida is only 1 of his last 4. When I looked at Schiavo’s record, I realized that this is the kind of guy who can present alot of problems for Guida. He’s won 6 in a row, he’s finished all of his opponents in the first round, and he’s done it with a combination of knock out power and solid submission skills. While Guida will continue to be a solid fighter in this division, I think that if Schiavo can overcome the octagon shock he’ll be a real force in this one, and not the underdog that most people see him as. Octagon shock is, as always, a factor, and it’s certainly possible for Guida to take this, but both are explosive enough to make this an exciting fight.
Those are just a few for now. I’ll continue to add more as fights grow near, because there are alot of undercards that look promising in the near future.
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I do still love MMA and have...
February 12th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Josh,
Don’t forget about Koscheck and Sanchez both being on undercard at 82!
Nice article.
February 12th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I will definitely be talking about the Sanchez matchup later (along with why I think people are drastically underestimating the damage Sanchez has suffered psychologically from has last two defeats and how much they are underestimating his opponent).
I’d be lying if I said I was juiced about the Koscheck fight, I just don’t find him that exciting a fighter. He has short explosions, but I don’t find them particularly interesting.
Still, I’ll definitely talk about those.