UFC Fight Night 36 Preview
The UFC is full of great fighters and for many of them it is hard to find their way through the talent. It is an extremely tough thing to do in the promotion with the most talented fighters in the world. There are rarely any weak spots as every division is full of black belts, former champions, and even some Olympic medalists. Only a select few of these fighters will get their time to shine and even fewer will take full advantage of that chance. This type of pressure will make many people try everything they can to get that upper edge, even going into the illegal world to find that edge. For some it can be new ways of changing or a new diet and for others it can be simply switching a weight class to take advantage of their speed or their strength against new opponents. For heavier fighters dropping to a lower weight class can mean that they will have more power than other fighters. If they can drop in weight and have just enough speed to hang with lighter fighters they can become come of the most powerful fighters in the division. For smaller fighters moving up the heavier weight class can mean that they will become the fastest fighters in the division. They may not have the power and strength of other heavier fighters but they can move around and earn more shots against bigger and slower fighters. Of course all of this can only be achieved if a fighter can properly manage the weight cut or the weight gain to get to a new weight class. Without that management a fighter will be too sluggish to make any impact on the division as they will not be in fighting shape and will run out of steam too quickly. It is an art in mixed martial arts as the weight cut to become a true challenger in the division. A few fighters have done this successfully and made an impact in two different weight classes. This is exactly what Lyoto Machida is looking to do and so far has gone about it the right way as he continues his road to the middleweight title. Machida has gone to the top of the light heavyweight division as a one time champion in the division. He would not seem to get his footing back after losing the title and he would try to extend his long career by dropping down in weight. Machida would enter the middleweight division looking to achieve the same success that he had found in the light heavyweight division. So far the strategy would work as he would open his middleweight career with a KO over Mark Munoz. Now he continues his quest to earn a second belt in a different weight class when he takes on Gegard Mousasi who is looking to make his own impact on the middleweight division. Mousasi would enter the UFC in 2013 and would start his UFC career with a unanimous decision over Ilir Latifi. It was not an impactful win but the former DREAM champion would get his chance to make an impact in his next fight against Lyoto Machida. If Mousasi can beat Machida he will immediately move up the rankings and become a contender in the division. Both fighters are known for their counter punching and their ability to fight anywhere. They are well-rounded fighters that are comfortable on the ground and on the feet but both also wait for the first move. They are calculated fighters that wait for openings to take advantage and win the fight. As both enter the octagon looking to make an impact in the middleweight division it will be a tight fight where the first one to make a mistake will pay. It will be the experience of Machida in big fights that will turn out to be the biggest difference in this fight as he is a lot less likely to make that mistake. As a result he will take the win with a KO in the 3rd round of the fight. It will be his second win as a middleweight and will send him into the title conversation earning him a potential title shot while Mousasi will look to make an impact on another day to earn his own shot.
AS two of the top middleweights face off in the main event they will be preceded by two up and coming middleweights. The main event may go a long way to determining the next title contender in a weight class in flux. This fight will determine who the next middleweight to watch will be as Francis Carmont and Ronaldo Souza face off for the chance to enter the title conversation. If Machida wins his fight he may get the shot at the title but if he does lose that fight Carmont or Souza could get that shot. Neither have the experience that Machida has but they do have the youth and athleticism to be the nest ones in the middleweight division. They are both young fighters but both have impressed the fans and the UFC and for that have been ranked in the top 10 of the division. Souza will be fighting at home in this matchup and will be putting his 5 fight win streak on the line. Throughout these last five fights Souza has proven to be one of the most dangerous fighters in the division. Every one of the fights has ended early with Souza putting together three submissions and two knockouts. He has been one of the fastest risers in the division with only two UFC fights helping him to the #3 ranking in the middleweight division, one above Lyoto Machida. Now he looks at Francis Carmont as his next target and his next chance to continue his winning streak and earn his spot among the top contenders in the division. Carmont would not impress in his last fight winning a decision against Costas Philippou that did not show the best of his abilities. Still Carmont carries a five fight win streak into this fight with a lot less experience than Souza but with the talent to finish a fight. Carmont has two submissions in his five fight win streak and has yet to lose in his UFC career. The product of Tri-Star gym in Montreal will look to spoil the home-coming for Souza and take the win to move up from his #8 ranking in the middleweight division. It will be another big matchup in the middleweight division as UFC Fight Night 36 will go a long way to figuring out the division in flux as the winners of these fights will be waiting for Chris Weidman or Vitor Belfort for their chance at the title.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida vs. Gegard Mousasi (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Main Card:
Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Francis “Limitless” Carmont (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Erick Silva vs. Takenori Sato (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Viscardi Andrade vs. Nicholas “Nico” Musoke (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Charles “Do Bronx” Oliveira vs. Andy “The Little Axe” Ogle (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Undercard:
Cristiano Marcello vs. Joe Proctor (UFC Fight Pass)
Rodrigo Damm vs. Ivan Jorge (UFC Fight Pass)
Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo vs. Jesse “The Body Snatcher” Ronson (UFC Fight Pass)
Iuri “Marajo” Alcantara vs. Wilson Reis (UFC Fight Pass)
Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes vs. Maximo “Maxi” Blanco (UFC Fight Pass)
Ildemar “Marajo” Alcantara vs. Albert “Einstein” Tumenov (UFC Fight Pass)
Douglas “D Silva” Silva De Andrade vs. Zubaira “Warrior” Tukhugov (UFC Fight Pass)
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