UFC on Fox 9 Preview
The UFC is continuing to add divisions with the newest announcement of the Women’s Strawweight division. The Ultimate Fighter 20 will feature a new division in the UFC with 115 lbs women taking the main stage of the show. The strawweight division will be the lightest division in the UFC and will be much like the Men’s Flyweight Division. Much like the Flyweight division the strawweights will see a tournament will determine the next champion of the UFC. The Ultimate Fighter 20 will be the tournament that one woman will need to win in order to become the Strawweight Champion. It will be the second tournament in the last few years for the UFC and this time will be played out on television. The first such tournament was to determine another very light division when the UFC established the Flyweight division in 2012. The Flyweight division would come into the UFC with plenty of controversy as the fans who love the Knockouts knew that a lighter division would not provide the fireworks they loved. The Flyweights are not known for their knockouts as few are truly knockout artists. What they lack in size and strength the flyweights make up for in quickness and speed. They are by far the fastest division in the UFC and they have put on some great fights in the last few years. The division would all begin in 2012 when the UFC would put on the Flyweight tournament and would invite the top flyweight fighters in the world. The tournament would see fighters invited from outside of the UFC but in the end it was two UFC bantamweights that would make the transition to the Flyweight division that would fight for the title. Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious Johnson would be the final two fighters standings in the Flyweight tournament and they would face off for the chance to be the first ever UFC Flyweight Title. The fight would be extremely close as both fighters would get their shots in and would control the fight at different times. In the end it was Demetrious Johnson who would come out on top to win the Flyweight belt and becoming the first flyweight champion. The division is a young one and the top fighters are still beginning to be figured out but there have been challengers to the belt. After taking the belt against Benavidez, Johnson would defend his belt two more times against John Dodson and John Moraga. As Johnson went about defending the title Joseph Benavidez has gone about changing his career. Benavidez was always a great fighter but he had never been able to reach the top of any division he has been in. He would get the chance in the flyweight division but would come up short once again. After the title loss Benavidez would become a new fighter and would establish himself as one of the true contenders in the division. Rattling off three wins including two KOs would get Benavidez back at the top of the flyweight division. Now he is back with another chance at winning the flyweight belt and making up for the split decision loss in his first chance. Both fighters are known for their speed and conditioning in the octagon as they know how to use the ring for all five rounds. They are both very skilled at avoiding damage while inflicting some of their own. The difference is in the amount of damage that both of them can inflict upon their opponents. Johnson is a good technical boxer but he has the power that many flyweights have and that power is rarely enough to earn a knockout. Benavidez is much the opposite as his technicality has never been the best but his power has always been there. Then the Team Alpha Male would add Duane Ludwig to the coaching staff and Benavidez would gain a new level of technicality to his stand up. This has made Benavidez a legitimate threat on the feet with knockout power and the ability to land big punches that have ended his last two fights. He will take this newfound ability into the title fight and will attempt to finally bring home a belt. The fight will be another very close one as they will once again fight it out for five rounds until a winner is decided. This time though it will be the improved ability of Benavidez that will give him the advantage on the feet and will give him a belt.
Team Alpha Male will cheer on their potential title holder at UFC on Fox but almost the entire team will do it from the locker rooms. The team is a group of fighters that has become the premier fight team for the lighter weight classes in the UFC. They have continued to be ranked among the top fighters in their respective divisions but they have yet to bring a championship belt to the team headquarters in Sacramento. At UFC on Fox 9 Team Alpha Male will get the chance to bring home their first belt but many members of the team will get the chance to start their own title run. The team is led by MMA veteran Urijah Faber who has become one of the most recognizable fighters in the MMA world. He is constantly among the favorites in the Bantamweight division and is currently ranked #2. He will take on the #3 fighter in the division in Michael McDonald in an attempt to remain at the top of the rankings when Renan Barao and Dominick Cruz face off this year. Faber will be joined by Chad Mendes and Danny Castillo in their hometown as the team looks for a clean sweep on the night. The team has been on a role lately as they have been one of the best group of fighters over the last year. The change from top fighters to true contenders was all in the addition of Duane Ludwig who has been able to bring a new stand-up fighting style to the team. It has made all of the difference as the teams has been on a different level and is close to becoming one of the most dominant group of fighters if they can add more titles to their repertoire. The night will feature plenty of great fighters from right down the road as the home team will be Team Alpha Male and the hometown favorites will be the best fighters in the team as they look to have another successful night.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson vs. Joseph Benavidez (Sportsnet 360/Fox)
Main Card:
Urijah “The California Kid” Faber vs. Michael “Mayday” McDonald (Sportsnet 360/Fox)
Chad “Money” Mendes vs. Nik “The Carny” Lentz (Sportsnet 360/Fox)
Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon vs. Mac Danzig (Sportsnet 360/Fox)
Undercard:
Court “The Crusher” McGee vs. Ryan LaFlare (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Danny “Last Call” Castillo vs. Edson “Junior” Barboza (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Bobby “King” Green vs. Pat “Bam Bam” Healy (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen vs. Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout vs. Cody McKenzie (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Abel “Killa” Trujillo vs. Roger “Relentless” Bowling (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Darren “BC” Uyenoyama vs. Alptekin “The Turkish Delight” Ozkilic (Facebook)
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