The UFC is off for Halloween weekend, but returns on Nov. 7 and 8 with two shows in their UFC Fight Night Series coming to us from Australia and Brazil, respectively. The Australian event will go down first, and features a Middleweight main event as Michael Bisping faces off against Luke Rockhold. In Brazil, light heavyweights Jimi Manuwa and Mauricio Rua square off.
Right now, Bisping is a huge favorite at (-485) over Bisping, who returns at (+350). Bisping is coming off a solid showing against the aging Cung Le, and he is looking to this fight with Rockhold to put him back in the title picture. Bisping is trying to win two fights in a row for the first time since 2011, so many feel he has bitten off more than he can shew in Rockhold, the former Strikeforce champion who has won two in a row via first round stoppage since dropping his UFC debut to Vitor Belfort.
In Brazil, hometown fighter Mauricio Rua sits at (-120) and Jimi Manuwa also returns (-120), indicating a very even fight. It is a sign of how far Rua’s stock has fallen, but with just one win in his last four UFC outings, many people have written off Rua as being long past his prime.
Manuwa is still considered a strong prospect. He is coming off a loss to Alexander Gustafsson, which was a big jump in competition, and Rua also represents tougher fair than he has seen to date. Manuwa really needs a win over an opponent with a name like Rua to raise his stock and he dearly needs to avoid two losses in a row, which would be total murder on his carer trajectory.
For Rockhold, he believes he is championship material in the Middleweight division. Champion Chris Weidman is injured, and when he returns is expected to face Vitor Belfort for his title defense. After that, Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza, who Rockhold has beaten while in Strikeforce, has likely worked his way into the next title shot, meaning Rockhold is in a long waiting line for a title shot. At the very least, a convincing win by Rockhold serves to put a final nail in the coffin of Bisping’s title hopes.
Check out the press conference in Australia where UFC Fight Night event was announced and featured both Bisping and Rockhold.
