Sean Sherk (32-4-1) vs. Evan Dunham (11-0-0)
Former lightweight champion Sherk returns to the cage for the first time in a year. Last time we saw him in action, “The Muscle Shark” was on the wrong side of a unanimous decision loss to Frankie Edgar.
Edgar has since gone on to claim the lightweight title, while Sherk has done nothing but battle injuries. Three different bouts have been altered after Sherk was banged up in training – UFC 104 against Gleison Tibau, UFC 108 against Jim Miller and the Versus debut against Clay Guida – which leaves the one-time champion in dire need of a big performance to prove he still has something to offer in the loaded lightweight division.
Conversely, all Evan Dunham has done in the last year is earn three quality wins and keep his unbeaten streak intact. While it says Dunham’s win over Tyson Griffin at UFC 115 was a split decision, there was nothing split about the performance the Oregon native put on that night in Vancouver. Dunham dominated every minute of the bout, handing Griffin his first of two successive losses, propelling himself into the title picture and setting up the biggest fight of his young career.
These two met in the finals of the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter with a shot at the welterweight title on the line. Serra won and the rest is history.
It’s interesting to note that since their first encounter, Serra has competed just four times – twice against GSP, followed by bouts with Matt Hughes and Frank Trigg – while Lytle has taken to the cage 11 times. He’s 7-4 in that span and enters riding a three-fight winning streak. Despite being the former champion, Serra could easily be considered the underdog here.
While Lytle has been extremely active and winning in impressive fashion as of late, Serra has been sidelined by injuries and perhaps feeling the wrath of Father Time over the last three years. Though he’s a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, we rarely see Serra rely on his ground game to win fights. More often than not, it’s his heavy hands that lead the way to victory, as they did against Frank Trigg in February.
Neither man harbours illusions of a title run in the future; this is simply a timely bout – in Lytle’s hometown – that makes sense and has a little extra seasoning to it thanks to their time on TUF together.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-3-0) vs. Ryan Bader (11-0-0)
While this bout is certainly a take on the classic “experienced veteran vs. emerging youngster” angle played out time and again in many sports, the pairing is far more than a torch-passing ceremony from a solid, but over-the-hill elder to the new generation.
Rogerio Nogueira is still very much in the thick of the title race in the light heavyweight division. Though the results of his battle with Jason Brilz at UFC 114 may have made you mad, there is no denying that Nogueira is a serious threat who can beat you with his outstanding boxing or his smooth ground game.
That combination and his extreme edge in experience is what makes him the perfect dance partner for Bader, the TUF Season 8 winner who may be the last hope the show has for producing a potential champion. A standout wrestler at Arizona State, Bader has the strength and pedigree to hang with just about anyone in the division on the ground, and his third round onslaught against Keith Jardine in February showed that his striking is continuing to improve.
Jon Jones may get all the attention at 205, but Bader has earned his place in the Top 10 and will climb higher with a win here, perhaps even passing Jones in the process. For Nogueira, a win could put him in position to challenge the winner of the eventual Rua – Evans title bout.
Frank Mir (13-5-0) vs. Mirko Cro Cop (27-7-2)
Cro Cop had some sort of career and personality epiphany in Vancouver this summer, coming out of his hardened, Croatian shell to become a gregarious – okay, maybe not gregarious – amusing real live human being, and scored a surprising submission victory in the process. He looked better than he had in years during his bout with Pat Barry, so perhaps stories of his demise had been a little premature.
Last time we saw Frank Mir, he was laid out on the mat taking two or three extra shots from Shane Carwin in March. He wondered aloud whether he should drop to light heavyweight, then accepted this bout, initially as a rematch against UFC 92 opponent Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Mir has been in fine Mir form in the build-up to this fight; he embraces and seems to relish the smarmy, arrogant villain who isn’t pure evil role and plays it very well. He’ll need to play the role of Frank Mir from his bout against Cheick Kongo or “Minotauro” Nogueira if he hopes to make the climb back up the ladder to contention.
A win for Cro Cop could put him into the discussion at the top of the division, while it would get Mir started on what should be a longer climb than normal back to the top. Having been there twice in the last 16 months and come away empty handed, the two-time former champ will have to win an extra fight or two if he wants another crack at becoming a three-time title holder.
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