by Dr. T
UFC 132 has lined up a great card that shouldn’t be missed, which includes a title fight. The UFC Bantamweight championship will be defended for the very first time since Dominick Cruz was awarded the belt after his win against Scott Jorgensen at the very last WEC event. On top of that, Cruz will be facing off against a familiar foe, and the last person to beat him in Urijah Faber, for his first UFC title defense.
The first time Cruz and Faber squared off was in the heavier Featherweight division where Faber easily dispatched of Cruz by submission in the 1st round to retain the Featherweight championship. Since that loss, the 17-1 Cruz dropped a weight class and has been undefeated ever since going 8-0 along with 2 WEC Bantamweight title defences. Faber, on the other hand, has been on a bit of a rollercoaster, going 4-3 since losing his WEC Featherweight title; however, he is also 2-0 in the Bantamweight division. This fight will be a huge test for both fighters, with both looking for a bit of redemption. It doesn’t hurt when both fighters completely dislike each other either. On that note, look for Cruz to control this one from start to finish for the decision win.
Also on the card is a hungry Chris Leben up against MMA veteran Wanderlei Silva in what is sure to be a strong candidate for fight of the night and knockout of the night. These two fighters are natural born strikers that absolutely love to put on a show. This can only mean one thing: this fight will almost certainly not go to the ground and one of these two guys will get KO’d. Predicting a winner for this fight is a toss-up, but this coin is leaning more towards a healthier Leben that does not want to drop to 0-2.
Tito Ortiz also makes a return to the Octagon after injuries sidelined him for a fight against Antônio Rogério Nogueira. After going winless in his last 5 fights, Ortiz is in do or die situation — he wins, he lives to fight another day, he loses, his career in the UFC is over. Ortiz doesn’t have a walk in the park either, going up against top 10 light heavyweight fighter and elite wrestler, Ryan Bader. Bader is coming off a submission loss to UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and prior to that loss Bader was 11-0 with notable wins over Antônio Rogério Nogueira and Keith Jardine. Ortiz is a veteran of MMA and one of the icons and poster boys of the UFC, but he will have his hands full with Bader, and his lack of evolution as a fighter is going to ensure he walks away from this one as the loser.
A welterweight bout between Carlos Condit and Dong Hyun Kim pits two emerging welterweight contenders against each other to bring one of these prospects one step closer to a title shot. Condit is on a three fight win streak that saw him dispatch of the former number one contender Dan Hardy in incredible fashion. While Kim grinded out his 3 fight win streak, he is still a welterweight contender that is quickly climbing up the ranks. This fight has a lot on the line for both fighters, but look for Kim to grind out another decision victory.
A lightweight bout between Dennis Siver and Matt Wiman rounds out the main card. Siver is coming off a huge win over George Sotiropolis and has all the confidence in the world while riding a 3 fight win streak. Wiman is also on a 3 fight win streak and has an advantage over Siver when it comes to the ground. However, Siver will continue his win streak against Wiman and will most definitely jump into the mix of top contenders for the UFC’s lightweight title.
Do you agree with our picks or do you think the fights will go in a different direction? Let us know in the comments, either way UFC 132 is going to be one exciting card.
Source: TheCageDoctor.com
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvFQjLTPkGU
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