UFC Fight Night 57 Preview
The UFC is built on a system that has taken a lot of fire over recent years but one that rewards hard work above everything else. Winning is key in the UFC as it is the only way to become something in the promotion. Not only that but it is the only way to earn any money in the UFC as the low ranking fighters rarely clear enough to make a living. To earn the type of money that can make them a truly professional fighter they have to win and move their way up the rankings to earn fights on the main card and in the main event. It is a system that is not an easy one to break through and become a professional but it is designed that way. Although many believe it is not fair to pay the preliminary fighters as little as the UFC does the system is designed to weed out those who can’t do it. The fighters that can’t win and improve their standing in the division rankings are the ones who will not make it in the UFC. The fighters who can win and continue to win are the fighters that the UFC wants and the fighters that the UFC rewards. There is another way to earn a living in the UFC though as winning is good but winning in exciting fashion is better. Even losing in exciting fashion can be better than winning a boring fight in the UFC. At the end of the day the UFC is all about selling tickets and pay-per-view orders and that lends itself to having fights that can be sold. If a fighter continues to win but is boring he is not as big of a sell as someone who has lost his last few fights but has been part of exciting fights. To move up the rankings as fast as possible the key is to find that streak that combines both winning and doing it in exciting fashion. It is the easiest way to get noticed and move into a position to fight for a title. In the Featherweight division one fighter has figured that out fairly quickly. That fighter is Conor McGregor who has launched himself up the rankings in only four fights in the UFC. Despite his #5 ranking it seems fairly close that McGregor will get the title shot. If he doesn’t get the next fight against Jose Aldo he is only one win away. He has done this by only going to decision once in his four fights but he is still #5 with four more fighters ahead of him that could take the title shot before him. Two of those fighters face-off at UFC Fight Night 57 and will look to prove that they belong in the title fight before McGregor gets his shot. Frankie Edgar, #3, and Cub Swanson, #2, have not fought their way to the top and did not necessarily do it the most efficient way. Both have fought through multiple years before they found their groove. For Edgar that groove came in 2008 when he started to climb up the lightweight division rankings and eventually won the title. His transition to featherweight has not been as successful as he has not been able to win the title despite remaining one of the best fighters in the division. Meanwhile Swanson’s groove is happening right now. In the midst of a 6-fight win streak, Swanson is in a groove right now and is trying to take that momentum into a title shot. With McGregor on the rise and looking at the title both Swanson and Edgar are trying to get there before him. It will take more than just a win to get there though as whoever wins has to do it in exciting fashion. For Swanson that is what he does best with 8 knockouts and 7 submissions in his career. He is a well-rounded fighter with a jiu jitsu base but has recently shown plenty of power. Edgar is a little different though as he has the ability to finish fights but has finished by decision more often than by ending it. He is an extremely technical boxer with a wrestling base that has power and submission ability if his opponent makes a mistake. That is what Swanson has avoided for so long though as his 6-fight win streak has not come from making mistakes in the octagon. He will once again avoid these mistakes and make it a tough night for Edgar. With an exciting win likely putting him in line for the title Swanson will go out trying to earn a quick end to the night by any means possible. He will get it but he won’t get it easily as Edgar will put up a great fight until the fourth round were Swanson will get the knockout to put him in serious contention for the title.
Swanson and Edgar are not the only fighters looking to make an impression on the night though as one fighters that has shot through the rankings. With four fights in the UFC Bobby Green has moved into the top ten in the lightweight division. That is no easy task in the division widely considered the most talented in the UFC. A string of cancelled fights have kept Green out of action for the majority of the year though. At first it was two injuries early in the year that were then followed by a number of cancelled and changed fights. Now he gets his first action since June in only his second fight of the year. That inactivity did not hurt his rise though as he sits at #7 with a chance to move closer to the belt at UFC Fight Night 57. To keep his rise going he will have to take on a fighter that knows how to push every opponent as far as he can. Edson Barboza is one of the most exciting fighters in the lightweight division as he loves to finish fights early. That attitude has led him to some bad losses and in the lightweight division any loss is a bad one. He will try to fix that by moving forward with a win against one of the fastest rising fighters in the division. Green will look to use his well-balanced abilities to end the fight early against Barboza and the aggressive style of his opponent may work in his favour. He will have to be careful not to get caught by the creative striking of Barboza though, and will need to stay in control to pick his spot. If he can get the win he will continue his rise through a very tough division while if Barboza wins he takes out one of the most promising fighters in the division and proves he still belongs among the top lightweights in the UFC.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar vs. Cub Swanson (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Main Card:
Bobby “King” Green vs. Edson “Junior” Barboza (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Brad “One Punch” Picket vs. Chico “The King” Camus (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Oleksiy “The Boa Constrictor” Oliynyk vs. Jared “The Big Show” Rosholt (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Joseph “The Beefcake” Benavidez vs. Dustin Ortiz (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
“Handsome” Matt Wiman vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Undercard:
Ruslan “Leopard” Magomedov vs. Joshua “Cuddly Bear” Copeland (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Luke “The Big Slow” Barnatt vs. Roger “The Silverback” Narvaez (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
James “The Texecutioner” Vick vs. Nick “Sergeant” Hein (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
Yves “Thugjistu Master” Edwards vs. Akbarh “El Caballero” Arreola (Sportsnet 360/FOX Sports 1)
“12 Guage” Paige VanZant vs. Kailin Curran (UFC Fight Pass)
Doo Ho Choi vs. Juan Manuel “Fenix” Puig (UFC Fight Pass)
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