The UFC heads to Long Island for the first time this week as they get set for their Fox card on Saturday night. There are a number of interesting bouts on the card but we’ll hone in on the top three events of the evening.
Chris Weidman vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Weidman (13-3), the former middleweight champion who grew up 15 minutes from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, needs a win more than anyone on this card. He has lost three in a row, all by knockout, although this loss to Gegard Mousasi came with some controversy. Gastelum (13-2, 1 NC) also needs a win badly after a recent failed drug test following his TKO win over Vitor Belfort, and it feels like he is wasting his considerable potential. A win over the former champion, in Weidman’s hometown, would get Gastelum a look at 185 pounds. Both men are strong wrestlers with submission skills, and they have 11 combined knockout wins with six going to Weidman. This should be a very interesting matchup.
Patrick Cummins vs. Gian Villante
A place in the top 10 at 205 pounds could be at stake for this matchup between Cummins (9-4) and Villante (15-8), who is also from New York. This is probably the match that is most likely to end by knockout as Cummins has four wins by TKO/KO, but he has also been knocked out four times. Villante has 10 wins by TKO/KO, and has been also knocked out four times. Cummins is a wrestler that will want to turn this match into a grinding bout, while Villante is explosive and while that gets him in trouble sometimes, he can also end things very quickly. The light-heavyweight division isn’t very deep right now outside of the upcoming bout between champion Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones, and then you have Alexander Gustafsson and a couple others. A win or two may be all it takes to get you into title-shot territory, and these two would like to start on that road on Saturday night.
Jimmie Rivera vs. Thomas Almeida
This bantamweight matchup could be the best of the night as Rivera (20-1) and Almeida (21-1) are both top-10 fighters in a division that is stacked. Both have one loss under their belt as Rivera’s came in second pro fight way back in November 2008 (although he was knocked out by Dennis Bermudez on The Ultimate Fighter in 2011). Almeida’s loss came to current champion Cody Garbrandt last May, but he bounced back nicely with a TKO win over Albert Morales in November. Rivera is a little more well-rounded than Almeida, who is one of the most dangerous pound-for-pound strikers in the UFC. He is also known for a devastating liver punch that Rivera will have to watch out for. This should be a fast-paced match that gets the main card started off with a bang, and the winner might find themselves in the mix for a title eliminator at the very least by the end of the night.
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