After a spate of big MMA events early this year, we’re well into that interim period before another big push in spring and summer. That means a few fight cards we’ll probably forget before the end of the year.
And while UFC Fight Night 61 is no tentpole event, those on its fight card get the chance to build highlight reels – or, in the case of the headliners, survive a career tempest.
Heavyweights Antonio Silva and Frank Mir, respectively, have brushed with greatness and achieved it, however temporary the stay. After several setbacks, they’re trying to find out if they’ve still got it.
Silva, co-headliners Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson and Iuri Alcantara are the only competitors ranked in USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s MMA rankings, so we should see a few incremental moves in the division after Sunday, when UFC Fight Night 61 kicks off at Gigantinho Gymnasium in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The event’s main card airs live on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Here are 10 reasons to watch UFC Fight Night 61:
1. Only one loser leaves town
Heavyweights Silva (18-6-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) and Mir (16-9 MMA, 14-9 UFC) are both coming off losses. But Mir has hit a slump of four straight setbacks that have prompted many MMA observers to ask why he’s still even fighting in the UFC. The answer is his history as ex-champ, his relationship to the promoter (he was one of the first heavyweights in which Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White invested), and a historically thin heavyweight division. This could be Mir’s last chance to turn it around, however.
2. Lingering in the title picture
Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson
Edson Barboza and Michael Johnson
Lightweights Barboza (15-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Johnson (15-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) have proven to be exceptional talents in their division. Barboza has won two straight, while Johnson rides a three-fight streak. And yet, they’ve also shown themselves to be fallible against top-tier competition, losing just when momentum is on their side. It’s time for one to emerge from the pack, and this matchup is as good as any to see who’s eventually going to fight for a title.
3. Reality bites
Middleweights Cezar Ferreira (8-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Sam Alvey (24-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC) met wildly different outcomes on “The Ultimate Fighter.†Ferreira ran the table to win the first edition of “TUF Brazilâ€; Alvey was a first-round flameout. It took Alvey two years to recover from his setback, while Ferreira was touted as the next Vitor Belfort. Neither have quite lived up to their promise, however. Alvey brings an everyman grit to the matchup, an interesting foil for the flashier Ferreira. It’s time to see who’s learned more since 2012.
4. Your return ramp
Rustam Khabilov
Rustam Khabilov
Lightweight Rustam Khabilov (17-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was looking like the next Dagestani terror inside the UFC’s octagon until he met ex-champ Benson Henderson. Not quite ready for that level of opponent, the promotion gives him a reset against Adriano Martins (26-7 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who’s a sharp striker and questionably ready for his opponent’s smothering pressure.
5. On a platter
You’ve got to hand it to bantamweight Frankie Saenz (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) for taking his second UFC fight against ranked opposition. Alcantara (31-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has won three straight and is on home turf. To boot, he’s no joke. Saenz, who beat the unheralded Nolan Ticman in his first time out, is going to wind up making a name for himself or proving that first impressions are true – that he’s the can to be kicked.
6. Force you to fight
Welterweight Sean Strickland (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) didn’t exactly wow the UFC brass with a tactical and plodding decision over Luke Barnatt this past May. In his next fight, he faces a less forgiving challenge, the aggressive Santiago Ponzinibbio (19-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC), a semifinalist on “TUF: Brazil 2.†Ponzinibbio will come after Strickland until one of them gets hurt. If you’re going to build a win streak, and Strickland has won 15 straight, this is the way to do it.
7. Little hammer
Jessica Andrade
Jessica Andrade
Women’s bantamweight Jessica Andrade (12-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) hasn’t lost in the UFC’s octagon since a debut setback against Liz Carmouche. In retrospect, it was too much, too soon for the Brazilian. Now, she’s won three straight and is going for No. 4 against Marion Reneau (5-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who beat the holy hell out of an outgunned Alexis Dufresne. That might have been too little, too soon for the 37-year-old American. We’ll see if this is the opposite.
8. Substance over flash
The always entertaining welterweight William Macario (7-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) has a little bit of work to do if he’s going to be more than a flashy interlude between contenders. After a bad setback against the rock-solid Neil Magny, the “TUF: Brazil 2″ finalist gets Matt Dwyer (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who by his short octagon history appears tailor-made to rebuild his confidence in highlight-reel fashion. Dwyer got kicked into tomorrow in 63 seconds by Albert Tumenov, and if not careful, he could be in for another headache.
9. Pick it up
Welterweight Wendell Oliveira (24-8 MMA, 0-1 UFC) looked awfully scary on paper before Santiago Ponzinibbio put him away in the first round of his debut. A follow-up against talented submission artist T.J. Waldburger (16-9 MMA, 4-4 UFC) is no favor, despite Waldburger’s two recent setbacks, but maybe the Brazilian will show more this time around.
10. A little payback
After stopping Johnny Bedford in 38 seconds, then getting choked by Manny Gamburyan and then socked by a stranger at a bar, it was hard what to make of bantamweight Cody Gibson (12-5 MMA, 1-2 UFC). Is he more than another short-timer in the octagon, or is he one to watch? You might ask the same of his opponent, Douglas Silva (22-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who won 22 straight outside of the UFC only to fellow newcomer Zubaira Tukhugov.
For more on UFC Fight Night 61, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
