Amir Sadollah (5-2) vs. Duane Ludwig (20-11)
Don’t look now, but Sadollah is starting to show that there is more to him than a dry sense of humor, awesome hair and a love of walking out to electronic music.
He was far more aggressive in finishing DaMarques Johnson than he’s been in the past, and has quietly won four of his last five fights. Sadollah probably had too much pressure put on him early after winning Season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter; remember, he had zero pro fights coming into the show. Now that he’s getting some experience under his belt, he’s starting to show signs of improvement.
Ludwig is a tough veteran who has been limited by injuries in the last 18 months. He last fought at UFC 122 in November 2010, beating Nick Osipczak by split decision, but he’s just 2-4 dating back to the 2009.
Both these guys come from a Muay Thai base, which should make for some explosive striking exchanges. It could also yield a bout contested mainly in the clinch, so if you’re not a fan of guys struggling along the cage, looking for room to land knees and short elbows, you might not like this fight.
Charles Oliveira (14-1, 1 No Contest) vs. Donald Cerrone (15-3, 1 No Contest)
How’s this for a bout between two replacements?
Cerrone fills in for John Makdessi, while Oliveira takes the place of Paul Taylor, giving the fans an even better fight than was originally scheduled.
Oliveira is coming off a great performance marred by an illegal knee. He was dominating Nik Lentz on the last Versus show before catching “The Carny” in the face while he still had a knee on the ground. After a 14-fight winning streak to start his career, he’s now winless in his last two, but still shows all kinds of upside.
Jim Miller
A former title challenger in the WEC, Cerrone has looked very good since making the move to the big Octagon. He stopped Paul Kelly in his UFC debut, then brutalized Vagner Rocha with leg kicks at UFC 131 in Vancouver. In addition to having a strong kickboxing base, Cerrone has a slick submission game as well.
Both these guys have something to prove in this one and always deliver high-energy performances, which should mean a Fight of the Night caliber performance here.
Jim Miller (20-2) vs. Ben Henderson (13-2)
With seven straight wins, Miller is on the cusp of earning a shot at the lightweight title. All he has to do is get through Henderson, and that’s no easy task.
The lightweight half of The New Jersey Chapter of The Fighting Miller Brothers has upped the ante in each of his last two outings, stopping Oliveira and Kamal Shalorus successively. He’s a bulldog in the cage and good everywhere, easily the toughest test of Henderson’s career to this point.
After being on the wrong end of “The Showtime Kick,” Henderson proved he can hang with the ’55s in the UFC, earning a good win over Mark Bocek in his Octagon debut. His hands have steadily improved over the years and his cardio and submission defense are second-to-none. The superior athlete of the two, speed and wrestling will be Henderson’s keys to victory against the gritty Miller in this one.
Dan Hardy (23-9, 1 No Contest) vs. Chris Lytle (30-18-5)
They’ve promised it will be exciting and I’m inclined to believe them.
Hardy is backed into a corner here, coming in on a three-fight losing streak in desperate need of a win. After losing to Brian Ebersole in Australia, Lytle is looking to get back into the win column as well.
This looks like a bad match-up for Hardy to me.
Lytle has a cast-iron chin and very good boxing of his own, the lone place the Brit usually earns the advantage. Lytle has a much better ground game than Hardy, and the threat of a takedown will keep Hardy from being overly aggressive in the stand-up, where a pick-and-pop approach is his best bet. Then again, if they stand in the center of the cage and bang it out, Hardy is the quicker of the two and could out-land Lytle en route to a decision.
Regardless of how it plays out, you can be sure it’s going to be entertaining.