UFC Fight Night 30 Preview
The UFC will travel back across the pond to London for another Fight Night with a bit of a change. With the UFC going to Manchester the fans were excited to see their hometown hero in Michael Bisping. The Count was set to take on Mark Munoz in a homecoming that has been long in the making. It was not to be though as Bisping would be forced to drop out of the fight after a training session left him with a detached retina. Bisping would not be devastated by not being able to fight close to home and the fans would be equally as disappointed. Although they won’t be able to see Bisping in the octagon at UFC Fight Night 30 the Manchester fans will get to see another chapter in a great comeback in the UFC. He might not be the hometown hero but Mark Munoz will look take another step towards getting back to his winning ways when he would climb up the middleweight rankings and look to be the future champion. Through most of 2011 Munoz would be on a tear though the division beating some of the best fighters to make his way closer to a title shot. Then a loss to Chris Weidman and an injury in 2012 would keep Munoz sidelined and out of the picture for almost an entire year. His return would be a good one though as he would enter the octagon for the first time in a year at UFC 162 and would earn a unanimous decision victory over Tim Boetsch. Now Munoz will take another step towards the title shot that he was so close to in 2011. Ranked as the #5 Middleweight in the UFC Munoz is on his way and a win over Bisping’s replacement, Lyoto Machida will go towards stepping up in the rankings. Although Machida is no longer ranked among the top middleweights he is still one of the veterans of the UFC. There is no fight that the former champion cannot win as he has faced every type of fighter and has been every situation that a fighter can be in. There is nothing that he hasn’t seen and that means he will give any fighter a run for their money. Dana White and Joe Silva know this and so despite Machida being unranked a win against him would still mean big things for Munoz. Munoz will look to do this with the style that he has perfected better than any other middleweight. Munoz is a D-I NCAA wrestling National Champion and he shows it in his fights. Munoz loves to take the fight to the ground and unleash his patented “Donkey Kong” punches, otherwise known as hammerfists. This is what Munoz looks to do in most of his fights and it has provided plenty of success. He is a world-class wrestler and has little trouble taking anyone down and controlling them on the mat. Like the majority of wrestlers he looks to punish fighters on the ground and rather than trying to submit them looks to earn the TKO with big punches from the top. His biggest challenge though will be getting his hands on Machida who is known for his elusiveness. Machida is a Shotokan Karate black belt and has grown up in the discipline that has shaped the way he fights. Machida stays out of trouble at all costs sticking to the outside of range in fights while he looks to counter with a KO strike. This has provided plenty of success as he frustrates fighters and forces them into mistakes while taking very little damage in his fights. He will look to do the same and stay out of the grasp of Munoz to keep the fight standing where he is much more comfortable. With Munoz looking to get back in the title conversation and Machida looking to get back to the Top 10 both fighters are looking to UFC Fight Night 30 as an important step. Although both have what it takes to win it will be the veteran that will come out on top as Machida will take a unanimous decision win and earn his return to the top 10 in the middleweight division.
The Manchester fans will get a good main event but in the rest of the card they might be slightly louder with a number of homegrown fighters in the octagon for Fight Night 30. As with anytime the UFC travels outside of the USA there will be plenty of British representation in the card with some very good prospects getting their shots to impress. Fighters like Jimi Manuwa, Norman Parke, and Phil Harris all slated to fight on the main card in Manchester. Another promising English fighter will take the octagon as he looks to come into his own in his home country. Ross Pearson won the Ultimate Fighter in 2009 and since them has become a veteran in the lightweight division. He seems to just be coming into his own as well with two straight KO wins as he looks to be becoming a contender with every fight. His next attempt to crack the top 10 in the division will be against another fighter looking to make his own mark and begin to find his stride in the lightweight division. The matchup is one that is not only important for two fighters that could be on the edge of becoming contenders but it is also a matchup that nobody should miss because of how both men fight. Pearson is much like a traditional British fighter as he has great technical boxing but has added the ground and pound aspect to his game. With Knockout power and the ability to fight on the mat Pearson is becoming a more well-rounded fighter and that is showing with his last two wins. Guillard is much the same as he is a great boxer with power and athleticism to give fighters problems. He also has a wrestling background making him comfortable on the ground and leaving a well-rounded fighter. If all goes as planned both men will stay standing and slug it out in the middle of the octagon with only one coming out as the winner. It could be the fight of the night for Fight Night 30 and the fans will clearly be on the side of their countryman who will lead the British contingent into Manchester, England this Saturday.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida vs. Mark “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” Munoz (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Main Card:
Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa vs. Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
“Stormin” Norman Parke vs. Jon “The Super Saiyan” Tuck (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara vs. Nicholas “Nico” Musoke (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Phil “Billy” Harris vs. John “Hands of Stone” Lineker (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Undercard:
Al “Raging” Iaquinta vs. Piotr Hallmann (Facebook)
Luke “The Bigslow” Barnatt vs. Andrew “Highlight” Craig (Facebook)
Rosi “The Surgeon” Sexton vs. Jessica “Bate Estaca” Andrade (Facebook)
Andy “The Little Axe” Ogle vs. Cole “Magrinho” Miller (Facebook)
Jimy “The Kid” Hettes vs. Rob Whiteford (Facebook)
Bradley “Bear” Scott vs. Michael Kuiper (Facebook)
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