Saturday night, the UFC continues its global domination when it returns to the land down under, Sydney Australia. Australia is quickly becoming a hotbed for mixed martial arts, and this event became the fastest-selling show in UFC history, selling out moments after tickets went on sale. As with all UFC events, the card is stacked with some big time players in the game including BJ Penn, Jon Fitch, and Michael Bisping as well as some hungry up and comers.
The main event of this event titled UFC 127 pits former lightweight and welterweight champion BJ Penn against the tough perennial contender Jon Fitch in a welterweight contest. This is an exciting matchup between two of the sports pound for pound best fighters, but I fear it is going to be a completely one sided affair.
While it is widely known that BJ Penn is one of the most talented individuals in mixed martial arts, his toughness and will has always been a question mark. When Penn is placed in rough waters, he tends to lose hope and give up under the pressure. Unfortunately for the Hawaiian native, his one weakness is also his opponent’s greatest strength.
Jon Fitch is 13-1 in the UFC, with his only loss at the hands of current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre in an exciting title fight in August of 2008. While Fitch is a top welterweight, he has a bad reputation of not being able to finish fights, in fact the last time Fitch has been in a fight that did not go to the judge’s scorecard was all the way back in 2007. Because of this, Fitch has been labeled a boring fighter since he tends to play it safe by relying on his wrestling to grind his opponents out.
In preparation for this fight, both competitors have grown to become better overall mixed martial artists. BJ brought in the man he just defeated, Matt Hughes to Hawaii to train with him and get a feel for the wrestling strength that Jon Fitch possesses. This could have a substantial impact on the fight since BJ’s one technical weakness is his wrestling. He had a hard time defending Frankie Edgar’s takedowns at lightweight and Fitch is a much stronger wrestler than the 155lbs. champ.
Fitch on the other hand, desperately wants another chance at the title and he believes this could be the fight that earns him that opportunity. President Dana White has guaranteed the winner of this fight will earn a title opportunity against the winner of the St. Pierre Shields fight in April. However, Fitch has heard these “guarantees” before and has failed in his quest for a second chance at the championship. He knows he has to have a strong performance inside the octagon and finishing an opponent the caliber of Penn will boost the confidence of the UFC to give him the fortune to try and become world champion again.
This has the potential to be a very dangerous fight for both fighters. Before his 21 second victory over Hughes in November, many people were questioning if Penn had lost a step or two after being completely dominated by Frankie Edgar for two consecutive fights. While that victory silenced the critics for a short while, they will return if a remake of the second St. Pierre vs. Penn fight takes place, which very likely could be the case in this fight.
Jon Fitch on the other hand, may be out not only be fighting Penn but also the fans, his place within the company and for respect. Not being completely focused on someone has dangerous as Penn could place Fitch out of his element and could potentially cause him to make a drastic mistake, which costs him the fight.
However, I have a feeling, that Saturday night, Fitch and Penn will be up to their same old tricks. While Penn may have been training wrestling with Hughes I believe Fitch is too good a fighter and will eventually drag Penn down to the mat and grind out yet another decision victory.
The co-main event highlights current British UFC poster boy Michael Bisping against hard hitting journeyman Jorge Rivera, in a middleweight contest. This fight has been getting a lot of hype due to the numerous onslaught of trash talk videos that Rivera has been posting, poking fun at the man from the U.K.
Normally, pompous and opinionated Michael Bisping has been relatively quiet, letting Rivera handle the promotional aspect leading up to the fight. Bisping says he has been focusing on his training but this is the first fight where it seems he has an opponent he genuinely dislikes and wants to beat. Bisping believes that Rivera is not at his level and not worthy of fighting him but the videos have gotten under his skin enough that he wants to make a statement with this fight.
Bisping has to be careful not to let his emotions take a toll on him, since even though Rivera is not a “name” opponent he is still extremely dangerous. Rivera poses one punch knockout power and Bisping has shown that he does not have the strongest chin in the sport. Bisping has to stick to his game plan of punching and moving in order to avoid and frustrate the powerful Puerto Rican with hopes of tiring him out, until he can go in for the kill. If Bisping is able to execute his game plan, I see this being a relatively easy fight for the Brit and should advance him further up the ladder and a fight or two away from challenging the king Anderson Silva.
While I believe, Bisping will win pretty easily this is still mixed martial arts and anything can happen. Rivera has the one tool which every fighter wishes they possessed and that is one punch knockout power. If Rivera is able to land one of his punches, it could be goodnight for The Count and would instantly give the 38 year old Rivera credibility and a victory over a named opponent. While Rivera is currently riding a nice three fight winning streak, this is his toughest opponent to date within the UFC. Rivera is going to have to dig deep to pull out the victory and continue his late career resurgence.
This fight has the potential to be very exciting with these two styles clashing inside the octagon. Bisping wants to fight for a title and prove he is worthy of higher caliber opponents, while Rivera wants to continue the late push his career is receiving. A victory for both is vital but in my heart I believe Rivera’s time is done and Bisping will have his hand raised at the end of the night by either submission or decision.
Due to the extensive and expanding roster the UFC currently possesses, they are able to market key fighters from all over the world. In Australia, that flag is currently waved by lightweight sensation George Sotiropoulos. Currently riding an eight fight winning streak, Sotiropoulos is being prepped for an eventual title shot in the upcoming future. He is skilled in all areas but his jiu-jitsu is what sets him apart from most competitors in the lightweight division. However, he will have his hands full when he takes on the strong German kick boxer Dennis Siver.
Siver is currently being marketed as the best kick boxer in the division but his record proves otherwise. While he may indeed have a strong standup game, a majority of his wins have come via submission. The submission game is not something I would advise Siver to play against Sotiropoulos because the end result will not be good for the German fighter. Siver does exhibit powerful strikes and I would recommend he keeps the fight standing at all cost because if the fight does hit the mat, Gute Nacht! Siver.
The other main bout on the card features the tough as nails Chris “Lights Out” Lytle taking on the 62 fight veteran making his UFC debut Brian Ebersole. Originally, the fight was supposed to feature Carlos Condit against Lytle in a fight that had Fight of the Night written all over it, but two weeks ago Condit had to pull out due to a knee injury suffered in training.
This highly unfortunate event forced the UFC to find a last minute replacement and they found one in Ebersole. While I know next to nothing about Ebersole, I do commend him for taking the fight on such short notice against an opponent as serious as Lytle. Not many people would take a fight against Lytle with a full training camp, let alone two weeks.
I also have to tip my hat to Chris Lytle for accepting the fight against the newcomer. Lytle is coming off four straight victories over tough competition and was in line for another “name” opponent. A matchup against Condit not only would have delivered fireworks but also would have given either fighter a chance to compete next for a title shot. Lytle did not have to accept the fight against Ebersole, and could have simply waited for an opponent to become available in the future. But as always, Lytle showed his warriors spirit and took a fight against an unknown fighter in a pivotal stage in his career.
UFC 127 is sure to deliver the goods come Saturday night and I am looking forward to watching the fights and how each fighter performs. Australians are known for being crazy and hotheaded and if the ticket sales have any indication, they are sure to be wild and loud for the UFC’s second trip to the land down under.
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