“January Fight Night Preview”
This Thursday, live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida, the UFC will be presenting what may be the company’s best Fight Night card of all time. Though only a few of the names are known to casual fans, longtime followers will instantly recognize a few familiar faces. With fighters such as Rashad Evans, Heath Herring, Spencer Fisher, Din Thomas, Clay Guida, Ed Herman, Dean Lister, and Nathan Marquardt, the event is quite deep – even more so for a free TV special.
Rashad Evans will headline the card as he takes on UFC debutante, Sean Salmon. After winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 heavyweight contract, Evans dropped down to light heavyweight and has seen his career flourish. After a shaky win over Sam Hoger, Evans stepped up in class and soundly defeated Stephan Bonnar. However, it was his last fight, against Jason Lambert, that got people talking. Where he was unable to finish Bonnar, his 2nd round TKO of the 5-year veteran fighter thrust Evans into the spotlight. He went from “good long-term prospect” to “knocking on light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell’s door.”
Evans’ recent comments indicate that he knows the pressure to perform is heavier upon his shoulders than his opponent’s.
“He’s an up and coming opponent making his debut in the UFC and he really doesn’t have a lot to lose, so he’s very dangerous,” he told ufc.tv.
The former Michigan State wrestler hopes his experience will be a useful advantage.
“Because it is his debut in the UFC, he will have the first time jitters and be a little bit nervous. Since I’ve been there and it’s my house, hopefully I can go out there and capitalize on that.”
Like Evans, Sean Salmon is another wrestler, and with a 9-1 record against largely unheralded competition (of his 9 wins, only two have come against opponents with winning records), he’s well aware that this is the big time and his big break. It’s rough for a fighter to make his debut against a fighter the caliber of Evans, it’s rougher to do it in the main event of a Fight Night.
He told ufc.tv: “He’s a tough opponent to prepare for, but an exciting challenge for my first fight in the UFC.”
Evans is a star on the rise, with many pegging him as a future light heavyweight title contender. A win here seems like a foregone conclusion, what he really needs is an impressive victory. Evans is at the stage of his career where people not only expect him to win; they expect him to look good doing it.
Heath Herring’s addition to the UFC has largely been overshadowed by the signings of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Mirko “CroCop” Filipovic. While those two have garnered all the attention, Herring’s octagon debut marks the arrival of a man who was once considered among the elite in the heavyweight division. His heavyweight title fight at PRIDE 17, against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, was an instant classic and arguably represents the high point of Herring’s career. Nogueira would win that night, and in the process became the first man to ever hold the PRIDE heavyweight title. Since that November 2001 fight, Herring has seen his share of ups and downs. He lost a rematch to Nogueira and was disposed of with ease by both CroCop and current PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. However, those have been his only real loses (he technically lost to Sam Greco, when Herring suffered a severe knee injury). He’s still the man that beat Mark Kerr, Tom Erikson, Igor Vovchanchyn, Hirotaka Yokoi and, most recently, Gary Goodridge. Unfortunately for Herring, all of those names are representatives of the last generation of fighters. He’s yet to find success at the elite level for which he once seemed destined. To many fans though, Herring is washed up, a label that is hardly fare given that it has only been the crème de la crème that have bested him.
Herring’s opponent, Jake O’Brien is another man typical of the UFC heavyweights – he could be, might be, but hasn’t yet become. He’s largely unproven and has acknowledged that facing Herring is a step up in class.
“It’s a tough fight but I’m real excited about it,” O’Brien told ufc.tv. “He’s definitely a step up and a win over him would really help me out and get everybody’s attention. I’m ready for a three round fight and I know I’m gonna have to go through hell to beat him.”
A training partner of Chris Lytle, O’Brien is undefeated, posting a record of 9-0 in his short career. Having only been professionally fighting since May 2005, O’Brien still relies a great deal on his strong wrestling base. A former member of the Purdue wrestling team, “Irish” is a younger version of Herring’s two most famous wins: Tom Erikson and Mark Kerr. Herring caught both Kerr and Erikson off guard with his aggressive, though somewhat wild and unrefined, striking, and will look to do the same on January 25th.
“We haven’t had a lot of time to review the tape yet because everything has recently happened, but he’s undefeated, and he’s a fairly big opponent, size wise, so it’s gonna be a good first fight for me,” Herring said in an interview with ufc.tv.
Having fought on the biggest stage possible, against men universally regarded as the best, it’s possible that Herring may not respect the competition he will immediately be facing in the UFC. Lucky for Heath, the UFC’s heavyweight division, even with the injection of excitement known as Randy Couture and Mirko CroCop, is still a desert. Most of the fighters, like Cheick Kongo, are mirages: promising salvation but failing to deliver. Still, Herring must win on Thursday if he wants to remain relevant in this sport.
***
Ultimately, Hermes Franca – Spender Fisher could prove to be one of 2007’s best fights. It’s a welcomed position for Franca, who saw his career fading in 2005. During that year, Franca fought three times and lost three times. For a man once seen as an upper echelon, if not elite, lightweight, this was about as bad as it gets. He’d gone from someone that was regularly featured in the UFC to almost irrelevant.
“I lost three times in a row and a lot of people said Hermes Franca is dead, he’s over, and he’s not gonna fight anymore,” Franca told ufc.tv. “So what I had to do was first prove to myself that Hermes Franca’s back. And every time I looked in the mirror, I said, ‘Hermes, you’re the best. Prove to everybody how good you are.’ And I came back.”
Franca somewhat understates his 2006. Beginning with his March knockout of Gabe Ruediger, Franca would notch 7 straight victories. He finished every opponent, including tapping out his last 5 (4 by armbar), and eventually made his way back into the UFC. Unlike his previous stint with the promotion, where he put together a record of 2-2 and seemed to cave when the pressure was greatest, Franca made the most of his new opportunities, tapping out both Joe Jordan and Jamie Varner. In an odd twist, three of Franca’s other 2006 wins took place while fighting for the WEC – now owned by the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa Inc.
Across the cage from France will stand one of the lightweight division’s most exciting fighters: Spencer Fisher. With a 19-2 record (5-1 in the UFC), the Pat Miletich fighter obviously knows how to win. What he doesn’t know how to do is win by decision. Of his 19 wins, only one has been by decision, and that was a 2004 victory over welterweight Josh Neer. Both of his losses have been by decision, with his last, a split-decision against the talented Canadian striker, Sam Stout, a fight Fisher took on very short notice and which saw him cut a rumored 20 lbs of weight in a week. Having boxed since 1992, the 30-year-old from North Carolina loves nothing more than throwing bombs with anyone who dares stand and trade. His flying knee knockout of Matt Wiman at UFC 60 was one of 2006’s highlights. He’s an extremely aggressive fighter, and every opponent knows that a fight with Fisher is anything but easy.
“Spencer is a very tough, experienced fighter,” said Franca. “He is one of the lightweight division’s best strikers as well. I expect Spencer to come into this fight in great shape and ready for a war. We both know that this is an opportunity for a title shot so I think the fans can expect a great fight from two very hungry fighters.”
Fisher has equal respect for Franca.
“Hermes is one of the top guys in the lightweight division, so this will be my toughest fight in the UFC to date. But I’m fully expecting to win this fight.”
***
Though his eyes will rightfully be turned to Travis Lutter, the man who will try to take his middleweight title on Saturday, February 3rd, Anderson Silva will likely be paying close attention to the bout between Dean Lister and Nathan Marquardt.
One of the best submission grapplers on earth, Dean Lister is probably best known for his appearances on The Ultimate Fighter 3 as one of Tito Ortiz’s “Team Punishment” coaches. Though his life traveled a different path than many, his motivation for getting in martial arts was similar to many. As a child living in South America, including Venezuela and Panama, Lister tells ufc.tv that his getting into fights caused him to turn towards Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
“The need to protect myself was rooted inside me at a young age and this is the reason I began martial arts and wrestling,” says the former ADCC Absolute Champion and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. “I stayed with this sport after a few years because I found that it was developing myself and influencing the way I live.”
Fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and almost French, Lister is looking for that one big victory that has so far eluded him throughout his career. Previous fights against the sports best have seen Lister fall flat. On December 12, 2003, he lost a majority decision to Jeremy Horn. After that, Lister traveled overseas where he fought for PRIDE. His time in the Land of the Rising Sun was anything but successful for the San Diego State graduate, losing two of his three fights (to Amar Suloev and Ricardo Arona respectively). Since returning to the States, Lister has found a new home in the UFC, but questions still surround his shaky performances. He looked impressive in tapping out light heavyweight Alessio Sakara at UFC 60, but his drop down to middleweight against Yuki Sasaki saw Lister badly tire in the latter rounds. Though he beat the Japanese fighter, Lister didn’t look good doing so. However, he is still one of the top middleweight fighters today and a victory of Marquardt will instantly propel him into contender status. He will do so attempt to do so with the utmost respect.
“I usually don’t have anything bad to say about an opponent, and that’s the case right here. Nate is a real cool guy and the type of tough guy I’d want to train with one day. He has a real cool camp, has good coaches, and he’s someone I would always be rooting for in a fight. He’s a very good fighter - well rounded, a good grappler and striker, and is always in awesome shape. I have nothing but good things to say about him.”
The former middleweight King of Pancrase, Nathan Marquardt’s August 2005 entrance into the UFC was about as horrible as it gets. His unanimous decision victory over Ivan Salaverry was bad to a legendary degree. Both men refused to engage, forcing the judges to pick a winner based on almost nothing. In fact, the fight was so atrocious that subsequent airings of that night edited out the fight – and it was the main event! What’s more, Salaverry was actually fired because of the contest. To make matters even worse, Marquardt tested positive for steroids after the bout and was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. It was not a good night.
Marquardt’s fortunes would soon turn. His suspension was lifted following a subsequent drug test that validated Marquardt’s claim that he never took steroids. He then had two quality wins, a decision over Joe Doerksen and a 2nd round tapping out of Crafton Wallace. It must have been a relief to the man for whom making a mark in the UFC is about as important as anything can be.
“I was smaller in high school and didn’t grow until later, so when I saw the early UFCs with Royce Gracie I wanted to train in BJJ and MMA,” he told ufc.tv. “[Fighting in the UFC] is something I have looked forward to since I was a 100 lb 15 year old.”
Marquardt is a veteran of MMA, having fought since 1999. He was a student in college when he gave up everything to travel to Japan and train full time. It was a risk that not many would have taken, but it paid off. Marquardt would become Pancrase’s first-ever middleweight champion, and with the exception of a fight against Ricardo Almeida, hasn’t lost since July of 2003.
Formerly fighting out of Colorado, he’s since relocated to New Mexico to join Greg Jackson’s camp. A group of guys that includes UFC veteran’s Keith Jardine and Diego Sanchez, when speaking to the Albuquerque Tribune, Jackson summed up the training in a rather unique way:
"It's definitely war training camp.”
Very well-rounded, Marquardt likely has the standup advantage over Lister. It’s one he’ll want to try and use, but not out of malice. Marquardt shares Lister’s feelings that this is a bout between two quality people:
“[Lister] is a great grappler and a very good guy. He always shows respect to his opponents even when he submits them, and I respect that.”
Elsewhere on the card, in what should be an outstanding lightweight fight, one of the UFC’s top lightweight prospects, Clay Guida, squares off with TUF 4 competitor Din Thomas. Rich Clementi and Britain’s Ross Pointon do battle. TUF 3 middleweight runner-up, Ed Herman, fights Chris Price, who lost to TUF 3 winner, Kendall Grove in his last fight. And Josh Burkman and Chad Reiner round out the night.
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