ONE OF THE BEST things about being a fan of MMA is that there is always something happening and for the third time in as many weeks there is another action packed event taking place.
The monthly pay-per-view shows are still seen as the pinnacle events. However, with the gradual growth of the UFC brand it is now able to put on more shows and while they may not have top-billing, they are still exciting nevertheless. UFC on Versus 4 is one such event.
Boasting a well-stacked card from top to bottom, there’s plenty of matchups that catch the eye, not just on the main card.
Pre-lims just as exciting as the main card
Tyson Griffin is the recipient of no less than five fight of the night bonus cheques and his bout with Clay Guida in Belfast in 2007 won the fight of the year award. He takes on Manvel Gamburyan as he looks to cling on to his UFC contract off the back of three straight defeats.
It’s strange that this is on the pre-lim line up rather than the main card as all the ingredients for an explosive fight are in place and Griffin is effectively fighting for his career. He has to be at his best against a man who fought Jose Aldo last time out for the WEC featherweight championship.
Another man who is looking to overturn a three-fight losing streak is Joe Stevenson as he takes “Showtime” Javier Vazquez. You would have to think Stevenson has a better chance than Griffin of getting his career back on track against a wrestler with an MMA record of 15-5, making his debut in the UFC.
All the pre-lim fights are streamed live on facebook for people who “like” the UFC fan page.
Solid fights on the main card
Nate Marquardt drops down to welterweight for the first time in his career as he takes on Rick Story in the main event of the evening. Both men are coming in off the back of impressive victories over Dan Miller and Thiago Alves respectively and this is an interesting match-up.
Story showed his resilience and impressive striking against a one-time top contender in Alves when everyone expected him to play to his strength, wrestling. Marquardt has real knockout power and having dropped down in weight he will be the bigger fighter. If Story is caught as many times as he was in his previous fight, it could be lights out for him.
Unbeaten TUF season 10 contestant Matt Mitrione takes on Christian Morecraft in the first heavyweight bout of the night. Mitrione is gradually edging his way towards being a top 10 prospect and will look to his ever improving stand-up to try and knock Morecraft out.
Morecraft will be looking to take this fight to the ground and if he displays the aggression he showed by taking Sean McCorkle out last time out, he will be hard to stop.
Pat Barry takes on the formidable Cheick Kongo in second heavyweight bout of the night with both fighters looking to win to take them to the upper echelons of the division.
Kongo is an intelligent fighter and will look to exploit the hole in Barry’s game which is grappling. I’m sure he will look to take him down as soon as possible in order to avoid the experienced kick boxer’s explosive leg kicks and sheer brute force.
