By Sheldan Keay
This Sunday night, UFC travels to Pennsylvania for another of their annual UFC on Versus events, in which the main event will be a welterweight battle featuring rising star Rick Story and former middleweight contender Nate Marquardt, who will be making his debut at 170 pounds. Many questions have been asked regarding this bout, perhaps the most frequent being how will Marquardt perform as a welterweight?
Many were shocked when following his March victory over Dan Miller, Nate Marquardt announced he was dropping from middleweight to welterweight. After competing at 185 pounds throughout his career, Marquardt announced that he decided to make the switch after a long discussion with fellow team mate and current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. A planned bout with Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson was scrapped after Johnson became injured in training, and Rick Story stepped in on just over two weeks notice.
Story is riding high following a unanimous decision victory over former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves at UFC 130, and many are backing Story to be the future of the welterweight division. Story’s strengths lie with his wrestling ability, and Marquardt has shown in the past to have difficulty in this area, most notably against Chael Sonnen at UFC 109. But Marquardt will have a height and reach advantage over Story, something he rarely had over his opponents at Middleweight, and this could help to give Marquardt the distance he requires to try and frustrate Story when he is expected to look for the takedown. The big factor in this fight is how Marquardt will cope with the weight cut, as previously mentioned, this is the first time Marquardt has competed outside of the 185 pound division, and if he is left drained from the cut, it could be an easy night for Story.
Also on the card, heavyweight’s Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo clash in the night’s co-main event. Barry is coming off the back of a win over Joey Beltran in January, and a win over Kongo would arguably be the biggest of his career, and may see him recognised as one of UFC’s top ten heavyweights. Kongo returns to the cage after a 8 month absence, following a lack lustre draw against Travis Browne at UFC 120. With both men’s specialities lying in Kickboxing, this fight has the ingredients to be a stand up war, but as we have recently seen in other high profile heavyweight bouts, (Junior dos Santos VS Shane Carwin and Alistair Overeem VS Fabricio Werdum) that isn’t always the case.
Albeit minor, Kongo does have a wrestling background and could look to take Barry down in this fight as that has been where Barry has looked most vulnerable in the past. However, Barry now trains at DeathClutch along with Brock Lesnar, and there is no doubt that Barry would have picked up some wrestling tips along the way. Perhaps the biggest factor in this fight will be Kongo’s height and reach advantage over Barry, With Kongo having a 5 inch height advantage, and close to a 8 inch reach advantage. If Kongo is able to stay on the back foot and utilise a jab to keep Barry at bay, this could be the best game plan that Kongo could strategise in order to earn him the victory, however Barry has shown in some of his previous UFC outings against Dan Eversen and Antoni Hardonk that he can use punishing leg kicks to cancel out any size advantage his opponent may have. Either way, this fight will be an interesting one.
Rounding up the main card is a welterweight battle between Matt Brown and John Howard. Brown was pulled from his planned under card bout with Rich Attonito and replaced Martin Kampmann following his withdrawal through injury. Both men are known for liking to stand and trade, and this bout shouldn’t be any different, it certainly shouldn’t disappoint.
The final bout featured on the main card is a Heavyweight clash between Matt Mitrione and Christian Morecraft. Mitrione is on a four fight win streak and has continued to impress since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter in 2009, and will look to continue his good run of form against the talented Morecraft. Morecraft is also coming off the back of a win, following his submission win over Sean McCorkle in April. Both men have shown that they have heavy hands, and this fight should be another that will provide fireworks.
Other notable fights that feature on the card include Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson making their featherweight debuts, against WEC veterans Manvel Gamburyan and Javier Vasquez respectfully. Lightweight Joe Lauzon returns to the cage for his first fight since his loss to George Sotiropoulos in November, and will face Englishman Curt Warburton. Highly touted prospect Charles Oliveira looks to bounce back to his December loss over top lightweight contender Jim Miller, as he faces off against NCAA Division 1 wrestling Nik Lentz, and lightweight Michael Johnson makes his UFC debut following his stint on The Ultimate Fighter in 2010, as he faces WEC veteran Edward Faaloloto who is also making his UFC debut. This card is stacked from top to bottom, and all in all should feature a good night of fights.
Follow Sheldan on Twitter: @SheldanKeay
Many were shocked when following his March victory over Dan Miller, Nate Marquardt announced he was dropping from middleweight to welterweight. After competing at 185 pounds throughout his career, Marquardt announced that he decided to make the switch after a long discussion with fellow team mate and current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. A planned bout with Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson was scrapped after Johnson became injured in training, and Rick Story stepped in on just over two weeks notice.
Story is riding high following a unanimous decision victory over former welterweight title challenger Thiago Alves at UFC 130, and many are backing Story to be the future of the welterweight division. Story’s strengths lie with his wrestling ability, and Marquardt has shown in the past to have difficulty in this area, most notably against Chael Sonnen at UFC 109. But Marquardt will have a height and reach advantage over Story, something he rarely had over his opponents at Middleweight, and this could help to give Marquardt the distance he requires to try and frustrate Story when he is expected to look for the takedown. The big factor in this fight is how Marquardt will cope with the weight cut, as previously mentioned, this is the first time Marquardt has competed outside of the 185 pound division, and if he is left drained from the cut, it could be an easy night for Story.
Also on the card, heavyweight’s Pat Barry and Cheick Kongo clash in the night’s co-main event. Barry is coming off the back of a win over Joey Beltran in January, and a win over Kongo would arguably be the biggest of his career, and may see him recognised as one of UFC’s top ten heavyweights. Kongo returns to the cage after a 8 month absence, following a lack lustre draw against Travis Browne at UFC 120. With both men’s specialities lying in Kickboxing, this fight has the ingredients to be a stand up war, but as we have recently seen in other high profile heavyweight bouts, (Junior dos Santos VS Shane Carwin and Alistair Overeem VS Fabricio Werdum) that isn’t always the case.
Albeit minor, Kongo does have a wrestling background and could look to take Barry down in this fight as that has been where Barry has looked most vulnerable in the past. However, Barry now trains at DeathClutch along with Brock Lesnar, and there is no doubt that Barry would have picked up some wrestling tips along the way. Perhaps the biggest factor in this fight will be Kongo’s height and reach advantage over Barry, With Kongo having a 5 inch height advantage, and close to a 8 inch reach advantage. If Kongo is able to stay on the back foot and utilise a jab to keep Barry at bay, this could be the best game plan that Kongo could strategise in order to earn him the victory, however Barry has shown in some of his previous UFC outings against Dan Eversen and Antoni Hardonk that he can use punishing leg kicks to cancel out any size advantage his opponent may have. Either way, this fight will be an interesting one.
Rounding up the main card is a welterweight battle between Matt Brown and John Howard. Brown was pulled from his planned under card bout with Rich Attonito and replaced Martin Kampmann following his withdrawal through injury. Both men are known for liking to stand and trade, and this bout shouldn’t be any different, it certainly shouldn’t disappoint.
The final bout featured on the main card is a Heavyweight clash between Matt Mitrione and Christian Morecraft. Mitrione is on a four fight win streak and has continued to impress since appearing on The Ultimate Fighter in 2009, and will look to continue his good run of form against the talented Morecraft. Morecraft is also coming off the back of a win, following his submission win over Sean McCorkle in April. Both men have shown that they have heavy hands, and this fight should be another that will provide fireworks.
Other notable fights that feature on the card include Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson making their featherweight debuts, against WEC veterans Manvel Gamburyan and Javier Vasquez respectfully. Lightweight Joe Lauzon returns to the cage for his first fight since his loss to George Sotiropoulos in November, and will face Englishman Curt Warburton. Highly touted prospect Charles Oliveira looks to bounce back to his December loss over top lightweight contender Jim Miller, as he faces off against NCAA Division 1 wrestling Nik Lentz, and lightweight Michael Johnson makes his UFC debut following his stint on The Ultimate Fighter in 2010, as he faces WEC veteran Edward Faaloloto who is also making his UFC debut. This card is stacked from top to bottom, and all in all should feature a good night of fights.
Follow Sheldan on Twitter: @SheldanKeay
