In an time where there’s seemingly an MMA card from a top organization every week, this weekend’s offering of face-punching action has a different feel to it.
This week, thee apathy and snarky comments towards a Fight Pass card or a questionable Bellator tournament have been replaced with real enthusiasm and anticipation for UFC 171 and Bellator 112.
On Saturday, the picture that’s been left unclear in the welterweight division since George St. Pierre relinquished the championship late last year will receive some clarity as a champion will be crowned and five other ranked welterweights will compete to move up the ranks.
The day prior will feature a featherweight championship match that pits two top ten featherweights in Daniel Straus and Pat Curran against one another for the third time. Also, with the start of the season ten tournament, Bellator’s welterweight division will makes it’s first step since Ben Askren’s departure from the promotion, as a challenger will be found for the winner of the Douglas Lima/Rick Hawn fight.
There is no question that the main cards of both UFC 171 and Bellator 112 are stacked, but there are also a few intriguing story-lines that will play out on the preliminary portion of both cards.
Here’s a look at the three most interesting stories of preliminary card action this week.
A new contender rises
Just from a pure sport standpoint, no non-welterweight fight on UFC 171 has more divisional implications than the featherweight scrap between Dennis Bermudez (12-3) and Jim Hettes (11-1).
Bermudez, who is the 12th ranked UFC featherweight, has quietly compiled a streak of five UFC victories. By using his relentless pace of takedowns and grappling, Bermudez has outpointed Steven Siler, Max Holloway, and Matt Grice and submitted Tommy Hayden and Pablo Garza.
For a fighter that was on a stretch of three losses after his debut, Bermudez has impressed by righting the ship. He’s turned himself into a featherweight that is a win away from being considered one of the top ten fighters in the division.
Based on what we’ve seen out of Hettes in his three UFC wins over Robert Whiteford, Nam Phan, and Alex Caceres, he’s established himself as one of the premier grapplers at 145 pounds.
The issue with Hettes is what happens if he can’t take the fight to the ground. In his loss to Marcus Brimage, Jim Hettes struggled to score takedowns and was soundly out-struck in rounds one and three. If Hettes is able to improve his stand-up and wrestling then this is a fighter that could swiftly become a potential title challenger.
Both Bermudez and Hettes are in the same situation. They are both considered mid-tier featherweights on the verge of either breaking through into the upper echelon of the division or falling through the cracks and becoming a consistent attendee on the prelims. A win for either fighter would boost their stock tremendously and put them in a conversation with the sport’s best featherweights.
The dark horse
Just last week, the welterweight match-up between Nathan Coy (13-4) and Paul Bradley (21-5-1) was nothing more than a tournament reserve bout, but the fight’s status was upgraded to a tournament contest following the news that War Machine, Joe Riggs, and Mark Scanlon had pulled out of the bracket.
Neither Coy or Bradley should be sold short because they were just recently added to the tournament field. Both are veteran mixed martial artist that are just now hitting their groove.
Coy has won five in a row, while Paul Bradley has won three out of his last four, with his lone loss to Valdir Araujo being a controversial decision. Both welterweights have a strong wrestling game that is supplanted with a smart striking style. The lone difference between the two is that Coy is a tall southpaw striker who is a bit more aggressive, and Bradley is a short and stocky cautious stand-up fighter.
The undoubted favorite to win the eight-man tournament is Andrey Koreshkov. Koreshkov was a tournament champion in season seven and has the best striking out of the eight welterweights.
With that being said, the winner of the Coy/Bradley fight will be a dark horse that has a legitimate shot at winning the tournament. Both fighters are multi-dimensional and have the tools to exploit the weaknesses of their potential opponents.
The future at flyweight
It’s not to difficult to get excited about Justin Scoggins (8-0). He’s a 21-year-old flyweight that has finished all eight of his opponents and made an impressive UFC debut when he ran through Richie Vaculik at UFC Fight Night 33.
What makes Scoggins such an exciting prospect is that he is really talented at every aspect of the MMA game. He has a kickboxing and karate background, stout wrestling, and quick grappling.
Scoggins’ will continue to carry the prospect label until he starts consistently fighting a higher level of competition and is given the opportunity to showcase his dominance against a more notable array of fighters.
At UFC 171, Scoggins will face a step-up in competition when he fights a credible opponent in Will Campuzano. Campuzano is better than 1-5 combined UFC/WEC record suggests. He’s a well-rounded, scrappy fighter that is rarely dominated. Campuzano is a perfect litmus test for a prospect like Scoggins to validate the hype that he has produced thus far in his young MMA career.