UFC 199 Preview

UFC 199 Preview
(Images courtesy Esther Lin MMAfighting.com)

We are on the eve of UFC 199; the last PPV event before the milestone 200th UFC event and not wanting to disappoint the UFC has given us two big fights. Although the main event was originally suppose to be Luke Rockhold defending his title in a rematch against Chris Weidman (Chris had to pull out due to a serious neck injury), we get another rematch as Michael Bisping tries to avenge his November 2014 submission loss to the current middleweight champion Rockhold. On only two weeks short notice, this championship fight has been a long time coming for Michael Bisping, who is currently on his 10th year in the promotion all without a title shot. Better late than never for Bisping who not only gets to avenge a loss, but is also in the process win the Middleweight Championship that he strived for his fighting career. It has been a long road for Bisping to get here but after his decision win over quite possibly the greatest MMA fighter of all time, you can say it’s finally deserved.

Bisping has remained relevant in the division for a long time and there are a few times you could say he deserved a title shot through out the years. It seems whenever he would get close to a title shot, he would fall within his reach. Now at the age of 37, his time has come (although you can say it’s not the way he wants it, as he won’t be coming in with a full training camp). Regardless, his actions have shown leading up to this fight it won’t mentally affect him and he’s ready to go. As a veteran in the sport, Bisping knows title shots are hard to come by, so you have to take it when it’s offered no matter how prepared you are. Especially when you have been close to a title fight and it slips past you like he has. Bisping knows he may never get this opportunity again so he has no choice but to take it. It can also work towards Michael’s advantage because it’s less pressure on him knowing it’s a short camp, most of the audience is expecting him to lose. Mentally, all Bisping has to do is show up and perform to the best of his ability. Who knows…stranger things have happened in this sport. All the pressure is on Rockhold to basically dominate a fighter he’s already beaten before and defend his title in impressive fashion with a full training camp.With all this said, I don’t expect a different result from the last fight in this fight. As much as I am complimentary of Bisping and what he has accomplished in his career, there really isn’t any area of MMA where he is better than Rockhold. Rockhold is the better, more technical striker. He’s better in jiu jitsu, a better wrestling, younger and stronger, a better athlete etc.

Bisping likes to say he lost the first fight because of an accidental headbutt but before that, Rockhold was dominating him. On top of that, Bisping isn’t really known for his “one punch knockout” power and usually relies on his technique and durability to beat fighters so it’s hard to imagine how he can defeated Rockhold.Not to be overshadow by what is possibly the most storied Bantamweight rivalry in MMA history, Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber, or as I like to call Dominick Cruz Vs. Team Alpha Male. This rivalry goes back to WEC days when Faber gave Cruz his first and only loss, early into his career. This has eaten Cruz inside for years, sparking a rivalry between him and the camp accumulating to Cruz’s two WEC Bantamweight title defenses against Urijah’s Team Alpha Male teammate and training partner Joseph Benavides. Cruz got the best of Benavidez twice in two very razor close fights. When The UFC decided to add lower divisions on WEC (Featherweight and Bantamweight) along with merging the Lightweight fighters of WEC with it’s Lightweight roster, Cruz was the inaugural UFC Bantamweight champion when he defended his WEC Championship against Scott Jorgensen in the last WEC event, thus disbanding the WEC title and becoming the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Faber decided to give a crack at the Bantamweight division and defeated Eddie WIneland to receive the first ever UFC Bantamweight title shot against Cruz at UFC 132. Cruz avenged the sole loss of his MMA career in a close decision win over Faber.

The two would eventually coach against each other on the 15th season of the Ultimate Fighter, setting up a rubber match with the two at UFC 148. A knee injury would force Cruz off that card and he wouldn’t return until two years later when he knocked out Takeya Mizugaki in 60 seconds. It would take him over a year for fight after that, this time against TJ Dillashaw for what was once his Bantamweight Championship. Not being able to defend his title during his hiatus, the UFC had no choice but to strip Cruz of his title making Renan Barao the champion. He originally won the interim title when he replaced Cruz back in 2012 against Faber in what was suppose to be their rubber match. TJ Dillashaw (who was once Faber’s prized pupil, before deflecting to a different training camp causing a rift between him and Faber) would eventually take the title from Barao in 2014. As Ric Flair said, “To be the man, you got to beat the man” and in many eyes since Cruz didn’t lose his title, he was still the man at Bantamweight.In what many consider the greatest comeback in MMA history, Cruz would reclaim his championship this past January in a very close split decision against the resilient Dillashaw. After what Cruz has been through in the past 4 years (the injuries and the new rise of what was once his division he ruled), it was a fitting chapter to his career to see him get his championship back. Now it will allow us to get that rubber match and finally a storybook ending to what has been 10 years and back and forth trash talking and memorable fights between Cruz and Faber.For Urijah, this might be the last chance he will get at a title shot.

This will be the 4th time he’s challenged for the UFC Bantamweight Championship, losing once to Cruz and twice to Barao. Urijah, who turned 37 this past month, is a grandpa in a youth shifting division of young rising stars. What better way to get the one thing that has allotted him his career than against his biggest rival in the sport. Young fighters like his Team Alpha Male stablemate Cody Garbrandt, Thomas Almeida, Aljamain Sterling, John Lineker, Michael McDonald are on the rise. The top ranked fighters including champion Cruz, Bryan Caraway Raphael Assuncao and Dillashaw all in their early 30’s are currently at their peaks. Faber, who is considered a trend setter of the division, finds himself being forced out and could be coaching full time at any moment. So if he’s going to get it done, it has to be this weekend.I see this fight playing out like the 2nd fight; Cruz using his overall skills to outpoint Faber with takedowns and high level strikes, making Faber miss and chase him the entire fight. Faber didn’t look particularly impressive his last fight against Frankie Sanez and while Cruz looked to fade late in the Dillashaw fight, it was his first 5 round fight in almost 5 years. I give him the benefit of the doubt since it is only his 2nd fight in that time span. Early in the fight he looked like the same Cruz did in 2010-2011 and didn’t miss a beat. Now with that fight out of the way and a short turn around, Cruz will show he is back to old form and ready to rule his division.

Also on the card, this could be his last fight of his career for future Hall of Famer Dan Henderson. He will take out fellow middleweight knock out artist Hector Lombard in what could be fireworks. Also, another intriguing fight on the card is a battle between Featherweight contenders Max Holloway and Richardo Lamas. A fast placed lightweight fight in what will move the winner up in the rankings will be between Bobby Green and Dustin Poirier. Although most people are excited for the milestone card next month, this PPV is nothing to sleep on and I recommend checking it out for yourselves.