This Saturday, the UFC treats us fans with (yet another) stacked card including two title fights, both attached with personal edges. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the must see bouts from this weekend in our GetMoreSports UFC 199 Preview.
At the top of the card, Luke Rockhold defends his Middleweight belt against Michael Bisping. Originally scheduled to be a rematch against former champion Chris Weidman, the bout was changed just over a week ago, as Weidman withdrew from the bout after learning he required neck surgery.
Defeating Anderson Silva in February of this year, Bisping had finally attained a victory over a world class opponent. Combining that with a sense that he should be rewarded for being a loyal servant to the UFC, Bisping got given the shot.
The two actually fought back in 2014, where Rockhold handily beat the Brit, submitting him with a one armed guillotine in the second round. Since then, both have gone on to probably the most impressive periods of their careers.
Bisping, who made his UFC debut 10 years ago this month, is the underdog by a considerable margin. Should he get the victory of the younger, stronger and faster Rockhold, it would be up there with one of the sports more shocking upsets.
In the co-main event, we have an even more heated fight for the 135lb championship between Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.
With Cruz and Faber, it’s a rivalry going back nearly ten years stemming from their first bout in 2007, and as evident by the recent press conferences and media appearances, the two’s mutual disdain for each other hasn’t faded much.
The two have exchanged victories over the other, and Cruz’s loss to Faber remains the sole blemish on his professional record. With one win apiece, the rubber match has been one long in the making.
The bout was originally scheduled to take place in July of 2012, following the duo’s coaching stretch on The Ultimate Fighter. That fight was of course cancelled after Cruz suffered one of his infamous ACL injuries occurred.
Cruz eventually made his return against then-champion (and then-friend of Faber) TJ Dillashaw, and in victory showed that his injuries had affected his ability not a jot. Winning back the Bantamweight title that he’d never lost, Cruz’s return finally means that fight will take place.
If we see the Cruz who defeated Dillashaw fight Saturday, then it’s quite likely that we’ll be seeing something very similar to the two’s second bout at UFC 132. A very close, fast paced and exciting back and forth but with the champion taking the victory via judges decision.
Taking place before the two title fights is a Featherweight fight between Max Holloway vs. Ricardo Lamas.
Max Holloway has been on a tear as of late, recently becoming the only man in UFC history to win eight fights in a row and not be awarded with a title shot. Should he beat Lamas, it’d be hard to deny him a real claim at fighting for the featherweight belt. Not that it’s an easy task.
Lamas, a decent wrestler, has the style to defeat Holloway. Holloway’s flashy and violent striking abilities would be denied should he be repeatedly taken to the floor canvas and forced to grapple.
Not that it’s only Holloway who’s got something to lose here.
At one point, Lamas was just a fight or two from a title shot of his own, until his momentum was well and truly starched by Chad Mendes in April of last year. That loss put him down the rankings at 145lbs. Should he take another loss against a highly ranked opponent would likely send Lamas into the role of gatekeeper.
Elsewhere on the card, we’ll see Dan Henderson fight in the last bout of his UFC contract, and therefore potentially his MMA career.
Facing off against former training partner Hector Lombard, it’s a battle of heavy hands, and one likely to not see any need of judges. Henderson, 45, is up against it here and essentially fighting a younger version of himself.
The odds for UFC 199 are as follows:
Luke Rockhold (-900) vs. Michael Bisping (+600)
Dominick Cruz (-550) vs. Urijah Faber (+425)
Max Holloway (-320) vs. Ricardo Lamas (+260)
Hector Lombard (-360) vs. Dan Henderson (+300)
Dustin Poirier (-220) vs. Bobby Green (+180)
