This past weekend was unprecedented with Zuffa’s purchase of its main stateside rival in Strikeforce. However, lost in all of that was the upcoming UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones event that will take place in Newark, New Jersey. It’s an event that should garner a huge amount of hype as we draw closer to Saturday. It’s also a very solid card even though it’s been marred with fighters replacing other fighters and taking fights on short notice. Let’s take a look at 5 things to be on the lookout for in Newark this Saturday night.
-The main event is huge as we’ll witness a phenom in Jon Jones as he takes on a former phenom in Shogun Rua. Both of these fighters have similar fight paths in that they blazed a trail to the top of their respective weight classes at a very young age. Jones just fought a little over a month ago as he dismantled Ryan Bader, and Shogun hasn’t fought since destroying former champion Lyoto Machida last May. It’ll be interesting to see how Shogun performs off the long layoff, because he’s had two lackluster performances in the octagon when being on the shelf for a while. However, we must remember that he was out of action for quite a while in-between the Machida fights, so maybe he’ll be unaffected by the time off? Another thing to take note of is that Jon Jones will be returning to action really quickly. Granted, he didn’t sustain any damage in his last fight, it is hard to peak twice for fights so close together. This fight had major implications for the UFC light heavyweight division. The winner of this fight could go on to reign for quite a long time.
-The debut of former WEC champion Urijah Faber as he’ll face the first WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland. This should be a major coming out party for Faber if he’s successful here, and could set up a re-match between he and current champion Dominick Cruz. Faber handed Cruz his lone defeat way back in 2007 while both fought as featherweights. It’ll be interesting to see the response that Faber receives as he makes his way to the octagon. He’s a west coast guy, but one of the few lightweight fighters that have a legitimate fan-base.
-How will Dan Miller fair against Nate Marquardt? Can Marquardt rebound from the loss to Yushin Okami? This will be the fourth time that Miller has faced a top UFC middleweight. He has been on the losing end the other three times. Marquardt has had his ups and downs as of late as well, as he has sandwiched a win over Rousimar Palhares between losses to Chael Sonnen and Okami. A loss to Miller wouldn’t certainly take him out of the upper tier of UFC middleweights.
-Can Mirko Cro Cop turn back the clock one more time and take out Brendan Schaub? Mirko is coming off a late TKO loss to Frank Mir last September. The feared striker is clearly a shell of what he once was, but could certainly find the mark with a straight left or head kick to put Schaub down. Schaub is coming off the biggest win of his career as he got past former #1 contender Gabriel Gonzaga last October. Both fighters like to stand and strike, so Schaub will look to get one step closer to contender status. This could be Mirko’s last hurrah. He’s a proud guy, and I wouldn’t expect him to be someone punching bag any longer if he’s taken out quickly in this one. However, Mirko’s shown that he’ll do what it takes to win a fight including taking a guy down. So maybe we’ll see Mirko try to exploit Schaub on the ground? Just another reason to tune in!
-Can Luiz Cane avoid losing three in a row? I’ve always been a Cane fan as he’s exciting to watch, but his desire to block punches with his face has cost him his last two fights. He has an iron chin, but one can only take but so much against top level strikers. Cane will face former TUF competitor Eliot Marshall who is taking this fight on short notice. Cane should have the edge standing in this one, but a loss here could send the former top ten light heavyweight packing.
Also, don’t forget that the UFC will be airing two fights on facebook, and two more fights on Spike TV prior to the PPV broadcast that will begin at 10pm ET. Stay tuned as I’ll be previewing the main card this week, and I’ll tell you who you can put your money on!