THE UFC RETURNS to action this weekend with a card so stacked that three out of the four main fights could easily have been a headliner on another day.
Ben Henderson is looking to keep hold of his recently acquired lightweight belt as he takes on top contender Nate Diaz in the main event of the evening.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Alexander Gustafsson continues on his quest to become the first European UFC champion as he goes to war with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the light-heavyweight division.
The fact that the return of BJ Penn is only third on the billing is a testament to the strength of the whole event. In Rory MacDonald he faces a man who has been similarly labelled a “prodigy,” something Penn was called in his early career.
Is this Nate’s time?
Nate has the chance to become the first of the Diaz brothers to get his hands on a UFC belt as Nick still waits on the sidelines for his ban from the sport to end.
Since his return to lightweight, Diaz has impressively seen off Donald Cerrone, Takanori Gomi and Jim Miller on his way to a deserved shot at the title.
Henderson comes into this bout off the back of two close and gruelling victories against Frankie Edgar, both of which went the distance and realistically both decisions could have easily gone to Edgar.
Nevertheless, Henderson always looked calm and in control during those two fights and having won 15 of his last 16 fights, it’s not hard to see why he is favourite here again.
Diaz’s precision stand-up game could prove problematic for Henderson so “Smooth” could look to utilize his strong wrestling skills to take it to the ground, but he must also be wary of Diaz’s great submission attempts off his back.
While Nate does not think the fight will go the five rounds, he might have to be prepared for a full 25 minutes of action as Henderson is not known as a great finisher but more someone who grinds out victories.
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Return of the “Prodigy”
When he announced his retirement in the Octagon after taking a beating at the hands of Nick Diaz back at UFC 137, many thought the time was right for BJ Penn to hang up his gloves.
The former two-weight champion’s 20-second KO that effectively retired Matt Hughes proved to be a false dawn in Penn’s career as he drew with Jon Fitch before losing to Diaz and subsequently retiring.
Rory MacDonald, the acclaimed new “prodigy” in the welterweight division, called Penn out and that served as the motivation for the Hawaiian to resurrect his career once more.
BJ relied solely on his immense talent for most of his career and although he claims his work ethic and training has been vastly improved leading up to this fight, at 33-years-old, is it a case of too little too late?
A BJ Penn in his prime would have his hands full against the athletic and extremely well-rounded MacDonald, who will look to state his top contender claims with a dominant win, thus denying Penn his wish to be viewed as great once more.
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“Shogun” Rua needs to find the form that helped him beat the likes of Chuck Liddell and Lyoto Machida if he is to stand any chance against Alexander Gustafsson.
Even though he managed to see off Brandon Vera in his last fight, Rua absorbed a lot of punishment, something Gustafsson will look to exploit with his sharp boxing skills.
The Brazilian showed his incredible ability to continue fighting when he had nothing left in the tank against Dan Henderson, and “The Mauler” could take him deep into the later rounds as he will look to stick and move from the outside.
This tactic could lead to “Shogun” getting frustrated and looking for that one punch to KO the Swede but if Gustafsson can avoid that big shot, then he has a very good chance of winning the fight.
Mike Swick and Matt Brown complete the main card.
