At MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night, all eyes will be focused on the top two fights on the card.
But they really shouldn’t be.
Former ASU wrestler Cain Velasquez fights Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the main event for the UFC heavyweight strap. Before them, Junior Dos Santos faces former kickboxing superstar Mark Hunt with the winner likely facing the victor of Velasquez vs. Silva for the heavyweight title.
While those two bouts will earn the top billing, they probably won’t be the most entertaining fights on the card.
The two fights that are really going to be worth the $54.95 pay-per-view price are between light heavyweights Glover Teixeira and James Te Huna, and lightweights K.J. Noons vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, the two beginning bouts of the main card.
The thing is, honestly, the two premiere fights of UFC 160 aren’t overly exciting.
Everyone wants to see Velasquez take care of Silva and dos Santos beat Hunt. That sets up the big-money rubber match between two the UFC’s brightest stars, but their opponents on Saturday don’t make you jump out of your seat.
Dos Santos is more athletic and a much better all-around mixed martial arts fighter than Hunt by a mile. There’s no reason Dos Santos shouldn’t dispatch the heavy-handed Samoan without too much difficulty if he fights smart.
The main event isn’t too much better.
Silva has looked much improved especially after the knockout victory over Alistair Overeem in February.
That said, however, Velasquez should still beat Silva decisively.
Velasquez is the better striker. His wrestling is out-of-this-world, and Velasquez fights at a breakneck pace that Silva can’t maintain.
Oh, and Velasquez already turned Silva into a bloody mess once before in UFC 146, taking less than four minutes.
Why shell out the equivalent of five Bud Light 12-packs for two main fights that aren’t even worth a six-pack of Natty Light?
Don’t worry, Teixeira vs. Te Huna and Noons vs. “Cowboy” are going to bring the party.
Teixeira (20-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC), the No. 4-ranked light heavyweight in the UFC, has big time knockout power. So does Te Huna (16-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC).
Teixeira holds 12 of his 20 career wins by TKO or knockout and Te Huna owns 10 of his 16 victories by the same method.
Teixeira has won 18-straight fights, but Te Huna also holds an impressive record.
The Australian striker has won 10 of his last 11 fights, and the lone loss came to Alexander Gustafsson, a top-10 light heavyweight who could be a very real threat to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Both fighters are physically imposing, aggressive and like to separate people from their consciousness.
But before Te Huna and Teixeira try to knock each others blocks off, lightweights Noons and “Cowboy” Cerrone could steal the show.
Their fight is almost the same as Te Huna and Teixeira, except Noons (11-6 MMA) and Cerrone (19-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) are coming off losses, adding an element of desperation to their matchup.
Noons has dropped four of his last five fights and a loss could put his UFC future in serious jeopardy. That means Noons won’t just be fighting for a win but more so to keep his job.
Although not likely fighting for his job, Cerrone is fighting to get back to the top of the lightweight ladder.
“Cowboy” won his first four UFC fights and was considered a legitimate contender at lightweight until a loss to Nate Diaz in December 2011 derailed his title hopes.
Cerrone then rattled off two more wins, was on the cusp of a title shot again, but a loss to Anthony Pettis made him take a step back, again.
On top of all of that, Cerrone in particular has a knack for putting on exciting fights. “Cowboy” has won post-fight bonuses six times in his eight UFC appearances.
Both Cerrone and Noons are aching for a win. Both like to trade strikes and Cerrone has a penchant for putting on thrilling performances.
Now, which would you prefer to watch? Heavyweights fighting opponents that they are decidedly better than, or a pair of lightweight and light heavyweight sluggers in matchups that, stylistically, make for great fights?
Thought so.
Reach the reporter at ejsmith7@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @EricSmith_SP
