Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-6-0) vs. Brandon “The Truth” Vera (12-5-0)
The headlining fight for the night will be a quick contest. Shogun is clearly the better
fighter of the two. Since coming over to the UFC Rua has a 4-4 record. He has lost some close fights and has had victories over a few fighters on the downside of their career
(Mark Coleman and Chuck Liddell). Vera on the other hand has a small height and reach advantage. He’s hungry and a win will get him back in the mix as a contender. If it’s
a standup contest, Vera might have a shot. Reality will set in though once the fight is on the ground. Shogun will destroy Vera. Remember the scene from Jurassic Park where the
cow is lowered into the Raptor pit? Shogun is the Raptor and Vera is the cow in this one. Here’s the truth, Shogun wins in the second setting himself up for the future.
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida (17-3-0) vs. Ryan “Darth” Bader (15-2-0)
The co-main event has “fight of the night” all over it and it has the potential to produce some amazing fireworks. Machida has an unorthodox karate background and is the better striker of the two. He’s baffled everyone including Jon Jones for the first round of that fight. His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills (grappling) will help him on the ground. The Dragon will need to get his confidence back since his record has been unimpressive as of late. Bader is riding high after his knock out of Jason Brilz and an impressive win over Rampage Jackson. Bader is a wrestling machine. He dominated foes while at Arizona State University where he was a two-time Division I All American and three time Pac-10 champion. The man possesses fight stopping power in his fists. The ground game could go either way as they grind it out. I expect Machida though to win via decision.
Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon (20-7-0) vs. Jamie Varner (20-6-1)
Lauzon is known for his aggressive Jiu-Jitsu game and his “get a finish or get finished” attitude. This has earned him some respect in many MMA circles. He also possesses some underrated knockout power. He is a takedown specialist that will use his grappling skills to finish off his opponents. Varner on the other hand is looking to make a comeback of sorts. He flirted with the idea of retiring after his loss to Dakota Cochrane. Varner is 4-1 in his last five fights. Varner is a well rounded fighter with an iron chin. He can stand and bang with the best of them. He possesses good takedown defense but that will only last so long. Expect to see J-Lau exploit Varner on the ground and win via tap out in the first round. Later that night Lauzon will be seen at the after party living large.
By Frank LaCosta – [email protected]