There are numerous reasons to be intrigued about all 11 bouts on the card of UFC Fight Night 33 in Brisbane, Australia, Friday night. But the top four have various implications for the winners, and perhaps serious complications for the losers.
Headhunting headliners
With 19 knockouts between them, it seems safe to say that someone is going to sleep when heavyweight’s Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt (9-8) and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (18-5) meet in the evening’s main event.
But that’s only what appears on paper, and as we’ve all learned far too many times in the past, paper doesn’t dictate the outcome of a fight.
Watch the entire UFC Fight Night 33 card live from Brisbane, Australia on Sportsnet ONE starting at 7 p.m. EST / 4 p.m. PST and catch a bonus prelim on sportsnet.ca starting at approximately 6:30 p.m. EST / 3:30 p.m. PST
The public has Silva as the favourite for a reason, and part of me thinks it’s because he will use his grappling game to defeat his opponent — standing and trading with Hunt does not seem like a good idea. Then again, doing so against Alistair Overeem would be considered a bad idea as well, but the Brazilian proved otherwise at UFC 156.
With that being said, he does have the power to knock out any man, even Hunt, but I’m wondering if he will choose to put his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt — and vicious ground and pound — to work instead. Hunt can end this fight at any time if he lands just one punch, but I doubt he could do so while lying on his back.
Is this the end for Shogun?
At the beginning of 2013, I was asked by my producers at UFC Central to try and predict who would retire by the end of the year. One of my selections was Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (21-8), who is set to take on James Te Huna (16-6) in the co-main event in Brisbane.
Shogun has reached a crossroads in his career, and it’s not the first time for the once unbeatable light heavyweight. He once ruled the 205-pound division, both in Pride FC and in the UFC, but his slide down the rankings has been difficult to watch. He’s only 32 years old, but if they could measure the body’s age and not the calendar age, I’d bet Rua would be considered much older than that.
He made his pro MMA debut when he was 20 years old, but he’d been fighting long before that, especially in Muay Thai. Add to the fact his years training with the infamous Chute Boxe squad, where beatdowns and knockdowns were an every day thing, and you can see where I’m going with this.
While he is not the same fighter he was at his peak about five years ago, he is still a destroyer in the Octagon. But it feels like he’s been turned into a gatekeeper taking on Te Huna, who is hungry and looking to use Shogun as a stepping stone into the light heavyweight’s top 10.
If Shogun loses to Te Huna, I do not believe Shogun should follow the rumours and drop down to middleweight. His time as an elite mixed martial artist will have officially subsided; he should save his health and walk away from the sport. But, if he destroys Te Huna in a manner that sends fear up and down the spines of everyone in the division, I will be the first one to open the virtual door for him to continue taking on upper level competition.
Perhaps this is a two-sided fight for Rua. On one hand, it’s his final test. On the other, it’s simply a bout to bring back his confidence. It’s an old-school, prize-fighting tactic that has been used for years — just don’t tell Te Huna that.
Pressure for the two Bs
Remember in 2011, when the undefeated Ryan Bader was considered one of the marquee prospects in the 205-pound division? Then, he met Jon Jones at UFC 126.
Bader lost that bout and over the next six fights he went from 12-0, to 15-4. That’s three wins and four losses in seven bouts. Now, two of those losses were also against Lyoto Machida (former champ) and Glover Teixeira (next in line for a title shot). The third was against Tito Ortiz, which was considered a shocker at the time.
Bader, a heavy favourite, will be taking on Australian MMA pioneer Anthony Perosh (14 -7) at The Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Similar to Shogun Bader is expected to win his bout, but if he cannot, where does he go from here? Bader is sitting just outside of the top 10, while Perosh is simply nowhere near it yet. “Darth” better tap into his dark side once he steps into the Octagon.
You could technically say the same thing about heavyweight Pat “HD” Barry (8-6), who is taking on Australian Soa “The Hulk” Palelei (15-3). The American just can’t seem to string together two straight wins. He’s got the skills, the power and definitely the charisma to be a draw for the UFC, but since joining the organization as an undefeated fighter, he’s gone 5-6. If he loses his seventh, it would be his second straight defeat.
He’s the type of fighter and guy I want to see stick around the UFC forever. The UFC is all about fights, winners and entertainment. If he can’t win, he will be pushed away in favour of giving an opportunity to others.
Due to the lack of depth in the heavyweight division, I’m not sure if Barry is in a must-win situation, but losing to Palelei would not be ideal for his career. For “The Hulk” though, a win would be a smashing affair, especially in front of the rabid faithful who adore him as their representation above 205 pounds.