UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez – First Thoughts
Will we seen some more Nogueira magic? Before he evened arrived in the UFC in July 2007, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira was already a legend. He was known as the crafty Brazilian that could take massive amounts of punishment but still manage to come out on top. If there was a statistic in MMA for most comeback wins, Nogueira would have a strangle hold on that record. Seeing him comeback again and again from the brink of disaster is a thing of beauty. Chances are Nogueria is going to need to summon some of that magic again against Cain Velasquez’s grind it out style.
No disrespect to Rothwell and Kongo, but this Velasquez’s first big test: When Cain Velasquez enters the Octagon at UFC 110, he will be facing the toughest opponent of his career. Like we mention above, you let down your guard for a minute against Nogueira or you most likely will be tapping out. Velasquez is going to need to put on a near perfect performance if he wants to leave Australia as the number one contender in the UFC Heavyweight division.
Unbridled aggression or premeditated tactics? Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva is going to be your classic clash of styles. It should be interesting to see if Bisping’s gameplan of stick and move is going to be able to counter Wanderlei’s in your face striking. There is no doubt that Wanderlei is going to try and lure Bisping into a brawl. If I was a betting man, I would definitely say that this bout is going to feature “Knockout of the Night”.
Will Joe Stevenson 2.0 continue his resurgence? After back to back loses to Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, Stevenson decided to ditch trying to be a striker and went back to what he does best, wrestling. Since going back to his roots, Stevenson is 2-0 with a decision win over Nate Diaz and an impressive win over Spencer Fisher. Against George Sotiropoulos, one to wonder if Stevenson is going to continue utilizing his wrestling against someone who has an excellent submissions game.
Time to see if Ryan Bader can live up to the hype: I am on the Bader-bandwagon. Along with Phil Davis, I believe we are going to be talking about Bader as a contender in the Light Heavyweight division sometime in 2011, but first he has to get by the king of the doorkeepers, Keith Jardine. “The Dean of Mean” may not be a contender anymore, but he still is a very dangerous opponent for Bader. This will be a good test for the young up and comer to prove that the hype is justified. (Prediction: If Jardine loses, he is going to move up to heavyweight)
Clueless on Cro Cop: At this point of Mirko Cro Cop’s career, I am not sure what we should expect from the Croatian. Will this be the fight be regains his form from his days in Pride or will we see another timid showing. At least he has changed things up this time to get ready for his fight with Ben Rothwell by switching trainers in an attempt to get his killer instinct back. If he can’t find away to pull the trigger against Rothwell, then the old Cro Cop is gone for good.
If you are an Aussie, keep reading: Here’s a chance to prove yourself as some of the best MMA fans in the world Australia. You have already impressed everyone by selling out the Acer Arena in one day, now let’s see if that enthusiasm translates into a ruckus-filled live event. Somebody better be heading butting some motherf*cking kangaroos.
