UFC 95 Preview
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to London, England’s 02 Arena this Saturday with UFC 95. Headlining the bout will be lightweight contender Joe ‘Daddy’ Stevenson as he welcomes Diego ‘Nightmare’ Sanchez to the lightweight division.
The night’s main card will be airing on SpikeTV via tape delay and will feature a middleweight clash between former number one contender Nate ‘The Great’ Marquardt and Wilson Gouveia.
England’s own Dan Hardy will be in action against Rory Markham. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ace Demian Maia will look to remain unbeaten as he faces Chael Sonnen. There will be a Josh Koscheck sighting as he welcomes the undefeated Paulo Thiago to the UFC.
With back to back losses to Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, Diego Sanchez’s dream of becoming the UFC welterweight champion was quickly turning into a nightmare. He was no longer the bigger stronger fighter within the division who imposed his will. A change was needed and he has dropped fifteen pounds to the lightweight division where he will be welcomed by perennial contender Joe Stevenson.
Fellow TUF winner Joe Stevenson (29-9) also finds himself at a career crossroads after suffering back to back losses to BJ Penn and Kenny Florian. To remain in the upper echelon of the lightweight division only a victory will suffice.
Both fighters are relentless on the ground with a strong BJJ base and savagely brutal ground and pound. Stevenson has superior wrestling which has given Sanchez (19-2) fits in the past. Stevenson also has a very stiff jab as his standup continues to evolve. Stevenson hasn’t looked stellar under the spotlight of past main events and it’ll be interesting to see if this coincidental or a mental hurdle for him.
‘The Nightmare’ is just that, he’s very aggressive and well rounded fighter and will have the pleasure of a strength and size advantage over Stevenson. Sanchez has been known for his cardio, but it remains to be seen how he’ll adapt to the weight cut.
Can Diego Sanchez adapt to his new home within the lightweight division or will he have a rude awakening from his UFC title dreams? Only time will tell. I like Diego Sanchez in an exciting three round bout.
Seven-time King of Pancrase Nate Marquardt (27-8-2) wants nothing more than another title shot against middleweight champion Anderson Silva. His journey continues Saturday night against American Top Team standout Wilson Gouveia.
Since dropping from 205 to 185, Wilson Gouveia (12-5) has looked outstanding with impressive victories over Ryan Jensen and Jason MacDonald. Gouveia is sick on the ground as a BJJ world champion and is proving to have knockout power in his hands in feet. His cardio has been questioned in the past with his last two defeats coming in the later rounds. He needs to bring fifteen minutes of pain Saturday night to outpoint Marquardt.
Arguably the second best middleweight in the UFC, Nate Marquardt looked dynamite in his last fight against Martin Kampmann. He used his strength and size advantage over Kampmann and brutally knocked him out in round one, sending a message to all UFC middleweights.
Nate ‘The Great’ is a strong wrestler with a tough “in yo face” fighting style. His clinch game and dirty boxing ranks up there with Dan Henderson and Randy Couture’s. He’ll need to impose his game plan and stay out of the reach of Gouveia to be victorious. Marquardt should have the edge cardio wise and if he can stay away from Gouveia’s submissions; he should have his hand raised in a tough three round fight.
With a nation of drunken Brits backing him up, Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy will look to continue his recent success within the octagon as he faces IFL veteran Rory Markham.
Markham (16-4) last saw action against Brodie Farber where he posterized him with a memory erasing head kick. This brawler from Bettendorf Iowa will have his hands full with Hardy as he has a decisive reach disadvantage.
Hardy (20–6) earned a razor thin split decision over Akihiro Gono at UFC 89 and looks to build off that success against Markham. Hardy has the superior striking and should utilize his reach to his advantage. If he can stay out of the pocket of Markham and stay clear of a haymaker, he should earn a victory via KO somewhere late in round two. Either way this fight should be one helluva slobber knocker.
Former WEC middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen returns to the UFC Saturday night as he faces undefeated BJJ wizard Demian Maia.
Sonnen last fought against Paulo Filho while in the Zuffa owned WEC for Filho’s WEC middleweight title. Sonnen earned a unanimous decision victory, however the fight was relegated to a non-title bout due to Filho not making weight. The middleweight division was abolished from the WEC and Sonnen finds himself back in the UFC.
As a member of Team Quest, Sonnen (21-9-1) possesses a strong wrestling background with a good dirty boxing game. He’ll need to establish his standup against Maia, testing his chin. He might want to throw his wrestling takedowns out the window as the mat might not be the place to take this fight.
BJJ World Champion Demian Maia (9-0) is no joke on the ground. Nearly eighty percent of his professional victories have come way of submission and all four of his UFC victories have been by submission. Maia is down right nasty on the ground and he knows his own strength. He doesn’t attempt to knock you out; he wants to tap you out.
I quit betting against Maia two fights ago and I don’t see a reason to start back up. Sonnen has shown weakness defending submissions in the past. He’s suffered submission losses to Filho, Jeremy Horn and ‘Babalu’ Sobral. None of these fighters could hold a candle to Maia’s BJJ.
Not only will Maia leave England with a victory, but might keep Sonnen’s arm as a souvenir too.
Josh ‘Kos’ Koscheck looked mean and lean knocking out Yoshiyuki Yoshida back in December. He will be welcoming undefeated Brazilian Paulo Thiago.
Thiago (10-0) comes to the UFC with a perfect record and he possesses a strong background in BJJ. Seventy percent of his victories have come by submission. Not much is known about Thiago and I don’t think Koscheck cares.
Since his tough loss to Thiago Alves, Josh Koscheck (12-3) needs to rack up a few wins to get back in the title picture. ‘Kos’ is an aggressive Div. 1 wrestling standout with one hell of a mean streak. His standup improves from fight to fight and should be able to earn a second round victory over Thiago.
Under card (May not be broadcast):
155 lbs.: Brian Cobb (15-4) vs. Terry Etim (11-2)
265 lbs.: Junior dos Santos (7-1) vs. Stefan Struve (16-2)
265 lbs.: Neil Grove (7-1) vs. Mike Ciesnolevicz (16-3)
155 lbs.: Per Eklund (14-3-1) vs. Evan Dunham (7-0)
170 lbs.: Paul Kelly (7-1) vs. Troy “Rude Boy” Mandaloniz (3-1
