UFC Fight Night 63 Preview
The UFC will travel to Virginia this weekend as the lighter weight classes once again take over but the bigger story may be buried in the main card.
The UFC women’s bantamweight division has grown to be one of the more exciting in the promotion and although the champion is one of the most dominant there are still challengers trying to make their way through.
One of those challengers came through The Ultimate Fighter, when the UFC decided to improve the women’s roster by hosting the first ever all-female Ultimate Fighter.
Julianna Peña took home the title of The Ultimate Fighter in that season but she had been one of the youngest and most inexperienced fighters in the house.
Still she had moved through the entire tournament and taken a UFC contract with plenty of road ahead to make an impact in the division.
She was set to officially begin her UFC career a few months after winning the show against a top contender in the bantamweight division, Jéssica Andrade.
Then the roller coaster ride came to a halt before it could truly begin. Just as many believed that they had found a potential title contender in the near future, Peña went down with a significant knee injury.
The worst part about the injury was the fact that it happened while she was training in a training accident that happens all too often.
While rolling with a training partner on the mat at her gym, Peña was rolled up on tearing her ACL, MCL, and LCL.
It was a devastating injury for the young fighter and one that could have been avoided as she was training on a crowded mat.
Many of the professional fighters that train in major gyms often get a chance to train by themselves or with smaller groups but Peña was training with a much larger group and ended up getting hurt.
After a long recovery time she will finally return to the octagon and begin the path that many though she would be far along by now.
She returns as a main card fighter but there has not been a lot about her return as they remain quite with Peña coming back after a long layoff.
She will take on another relative newcomer Milana Dudieva who will enter her second fight in the UFC.
It will finally be time to see the potential that Peña had in the UFC as she takes another step towards that title that many believed she was heading towards while Dudieva looks to end the hype.
As for the rest of the card it seems to be the invasion of the lighter weight classes as the lighter weight fighters will be featured throughout the card.
These weight classes have taken over the UFC lately with the higher weight classes not provided as much excitement as consistently as these fighters.
It has been said many times before that the lightweight division is the best in the UFC and it remains the best but the weight classes around them are catching up.
That includes the Featherweight division where one of the most hyped fights is set to take place in a few months when Conor McGregor takes on Jose Aldo for the featherweight title.
As the dominant champion and one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC prepare for the matchup two fighters are trying to step in as the next challenger.
Chad Mendes has already been there in his last fight as he lost to the dominant champion in a great fight that won fight of the Night at UFC 179.
Ricardo Lamas has also been there before and, like Mendes, took a loss to the dominant Aldo, after a unanimous decision loss.
Both men are now set to face off at UFC Fight Night 63 and the winner is likely in line to take another shot at the title.
With Mendes ranked #1 and Lamas ranked #4 in the division the winner of this main event could find themselves in serious contention for another shot.
The question will be whether or not they get a rematch against Aldo for the title or they get a shot against McGregor.
Aside from what could be on the line in this main event fight the matchup itself is an interesting one between two fighters that show how good light weight fighters can be.
Lamas and Mendes are fast, as are most lighter weight fighters, but what separates them from most featherweights is that they have some great power for their weight class.
Both have finished plenty of fights but they are seen as strikers above all in the featherweight division.
Lamas has four wins by KO, along with four by submission, while Mendes has six KO wins and two by submission.
These two fighters know how to win fights and they will go toe-to-toe in the main event trying to find their way back to the title.
It is not going to be an easy fight for either fighter as both will find it tough to finish each other and neither will as this main event will go the distance with Mendes getting a slight edge and potentially another title fight.
It is just the end of a fight card that features a total of four lightweight fights, two featherweight bouts, and two women’s bantamweight fights.
The light weight classes continue to stay a focus in the UFC and at UFC Fight Night 63 some of that great talent will be showcased in Fairfax.
The Sport Addiction 