UFC 128 Shogun vs Jones Preview

On March 19, 2011, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will make their first trip to the state of New Jersey of the year with what is potentially one of the most anticipated main events of the year. UFC 128: Shogun vs Jones will also serve as one of the most extended events the UFC has put on in its history as the promotion has realized that not only can they give the fans around two free televised bouts on their home channel on SpikeTV & new addition IonTV, but they have realized that the top social networking site Facebook is the perfect tool to reach out to fans worldwide. Though this is a big event, the main card required two replacement fighters, with one having to be a somewhat late replacement for the main event. With a free two fight Facebook presented preliminary card, a free two fight SpikeTV presented preliminary card, & a five bout PPV main card, this event will be one of the most fan friendly events in the promotions history.

Main Card bouts:
(C)Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (19-4-0) vs Jon "Bones" Jones (12-1-0)

Urijah "The California Kid" Faber (24-4-0) vs Eddie Wineland (18-6-1)

Jim Miller (19-2-0) vs Kamal "The Prince of Persia" Shalorus (7-0-2)

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (27-8-2(1)) vs Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub (7-1-0)

Nate "The Great" Marquardt (30-10-2) vs Dan Miller (13-4-0(1))

SpikeTV Prelim Card:
Luiz "Banha" Cane (10-3-0(1)) vs Eliot "The Fire" Marshall (10-2-0)

Edson Barboza (7-0-0) vs Anthony Njokuani (13-4-0(1))

Facebook Prelim Card:
Ricardo "Big Dog" Almeida (13-4-0) vs Mike "Quicksand" Pyle (20-7-1)

Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino (16-5-0) vs Gleison Tibau (21-7-0)




The main event of the night alone has become one of the most anticipated bouts ever in the UFC. Originally, reigning champion Shogun Rua was scheduled to face #1 contender Rashad Evans after recovering from a much needed knee surgery with time off, but Evans received a knee injury of his own just six weeks' away from the bout that forced him off the card, which brings in Jon Jones. Evans had been offered a bout in the meantime, though chose to just wait for however long it took instead of earning more money with another fight to see if he really deserved the shot. Jones being a training partner of the contender knew that he had been hurt prior to his own bout, while he himself prepared to face then undefeated Ryan Bader. Jones defeated Bader without receiving any damage & with relative ease, which convinced UFC President Dana White that this rising young star is arguably ready for the big times, as immediately after being declared the victor, Joe Rogan became the first to announce that Evans was even injured & shocked the MMA world asking Jones if he would accept his teammate's place on six weeks' notice. Jones accepted & became the new #1 contender.
Shogun vs Jones
Shogun will be coming into this title bout technically defending his title as the Light Heavyweight champion for the first time since defeating former champ Lyoto Machida via Rnd1 KO in an automatic rematch at UFC 113: Machida vs Shogun 2. After winning the title, Shogun finally took much needed time away from the sport to get surgery that he had needed on his left knee for years. Jones will be coming into this title bout on what is considered an undefeated streak, which is blemished by a single loss due to disqualification when using illegal elbow strikes. Since that DQ loss Jones has racked up three straight stoppage wins over former star Brandon Vera, veteran Vladimir Matyushenko, & then undefeated Ryan Bader via Rnd2 Submission at UFC 126: Silva vs Belfort. The switch of opponent for Shogun does pose a totally different threat, but does not change the goal which is to finish his opponent. Shogun has always been one of the most offensive fighters in the striking whelm as his fast paced Muay Thai has earned him sixteen wins by way of knockout, while also having a strong BJJ base that shows with his black belt ranking. Jones will come in with less overall fight experience, but all the hype. Beginning with a strong collegiate greco-roman wrestling background, Jones used his lengthy limbs to develop a dangerous striking game. With the strength to toss pretty much any 205er with his wresting experience, & unorthodox striking skill training in Muay Thai, Jones is one of the most dangerous fighters at 205lbs at just 23 years old. Shogun will look to close the distance to get past Jones' reach to land his  powerful precision strikes directly to the jaw & have his BJJ black belt ready to look for submissions as ending up on his back is a big possibility. Jones will look to use his unorthodox striking to play with Shogun's head as he will keep him at bay with his reach alone & close the distance to force him to the ground where he can land his signature elbow strikes which have been his main weapon when in top position. With all the pressure on Jones to live up to the hype in such a short time in his career, Shogun will have the advantage knowing that his experience can be a deciding factor in his favor.

Faber vs Wineland
While it will not be the first presentation of the newly added WEC weight classes on a UFC main card, the co-main event will be the first to help headline this jam-packed card as former WEC 145lb champ Urijah Faber meets former WEC 135lb champ Eddie Wineland in the bantamweight division. This bout will be the promotional debut of both fighters as the victor moves in range for a shot at current UFC 135lb champ Dominick Cruz. Faber will be coming in off his first victory officially at 135lbs against Takeya Mizugaki with a Rnd1 Submission win at WEC 52: Faber vs Mizugaki, while Wineland is coming off a four fight win streak with a Rnd1 KO slam win as part of the final card at WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis. As styles make fights, the styles of each fighter will prove to make this an interesting contest. Faber has a wrestling background as a NCAA1 collegiate wrestler that quickly developed a strong striking game with heavy hands & a quick pace that has overwhelmed plenty of opponents. While not being a BJJ black belt, Faber has used his strong wrestling game to get the fight to the ground where he has earned over half of his wins by submission. Wineland on the other hand has a way better striking game over his decent ground skills. Wineland's strategy has always been to be entertaining keeping the fight standing where his striking will either pick his opponent apart, or go out giving a show. Going into this bout, Faber's best chances are to get the fight to the ground like he usually does & get the submission win when he can, while avoiding the reach & striking power of Wineland. While Wineland is no easy picking on the ground, his goal will be to keep the bout standing to pick apart Faber while avoiding the ground. No matter who comes out on top, all can expect a fast paced fight whenever the lighter class fighters meet in the octagon.

Miller vs Shalorus
(Due to occasional line up switching, it is unknown what slot this & other main card bouts prior to the co-main event will be presented in.)
The midway bout on the main card will feature a lightweight battle that will put UFC veteran & longtime overlooked contender Jim Miller against new addition from the WEC & undefeated Kamal Shalorus who makes his promotional debut. Miller has been quoted as referring to lightweights from the WEC roster as lesser competition & has been calling for contendership status seeing as his only two losses have been to the current UFC champ Frankie Edgar & #1 contender Gray Maynard. Miller will be coming in on a six fight win streak with a recent Rnd1 Submission win over then undefeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck 2, while Shalorus will be coming in off a technically undefeated streak with a recent Split Decision win over Bart Palaszewski at WEC 53: Henderson vs Pettis. Miller comes in with a wealth of experience as a former NCAA1 collegiate wrestler turned BJJ black belt, while also having a decent striking game. Shalorus comes in with a strong wrestling game having almost qualified to represent Great Britain in the Olympics, while also having heavy hands & decent boxing. Shalorus differs from many wrestlers in MMA who choose to simply wrestle an opponent, where as he goes out to strike looking for the KO standing & only going to his wrestling in takedown defense or when he is forced to play defense. Miller will look to take this fight to the ground where his submission game can overwhelm Shalorus, though he must be sure to stay atop to not be on the receiving end of his heavy hands. Shalorus will come in wanting to make a statement as he will prefer to use his heavy hands as usual to finish strong as many WEC fighters do, and use his strong wrestling to defend takedowns while maybe switching things up by dealing a takedown of his own to land some ground-&-pound. This will be one of few made UFC vs WEC matchups so far that may prove to be an exciting bout.

Marquardt vs Miller
This middleweight bout saw two changes of participants. Originally the planned bout was to be between former title challenger Chael Sonnen & Japanese MMA star Yoshihiro Akiyama. Sonnen was immediately pulled from the card after being charged with money laundering stemming back when he was a realtor. Marquardt was then assigned to replace him, though a second unforeseen occurrence came as the nation of Japan was rocked with both an 8.9 earthquake & a massive tsunami made Akiyama to then withdraw from the bout a week from the event. Serving as the final replacement, Dan Miller volunteered to fill in as he was training for a fight on the preliminary card for the same event.
Marquardt will be coming into this bout off a loss that could have earned him a second #1 contender slot for the 185lb title which he suffered at the hands of Yushin Okami by Unanimous Decision at UFC 122: Marquardt vs Okami. Miller will be coming in on a two fight win streak having saved himself from being cut by the promotion which includes a recent Split Decision win over Joe Doerksen at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck 2. Marquardt will look to bounce back from his loss, especially after receiving criticism from UFC President Dana White himself for "choking" when it was an important bout, which also prompted White to criticize his coaches for wrongfully telling him he was winning the fight when everybody saw him losing coming into the last round. Miller will look to bounce back up in competition hoping to earn a win over a top ten competitor. While having strong striking power, Marquardt's best assets are his BJJ skills having earned half of his wins by submission, which coincidently is Miller's strongest area. With some decent kickboxing, Miller is a skilled BJJ fighter straight forward, who always looks for a good position to find an opening for a submission attempt. In the striking whelm, Marquardt will have the advantage, while possibly being the better grappler. While probably being outclassed, Miller has heart that can take him to a decision & won't let him quit even when rocked. Being the underdog in this fight, it is possible that Miller may have the advantage possibly being taken less seriously by Marquardt than many fans would in this bout. This could potentially leave Marquardt open to whatever Miller can land or pull off against him.

Cro Cop vs Schaub
The lone Heavyweight bout of the night puts one of the most experienced & recognized names in MMA against a rising prospect, as former PrideFC & K-1 star Mirko "Cro Cop" faces TUF10 runner-up Brendan Schaub. Cro Cop will look to revitalize his career, while Schaub will look to add another big name to his list of victories. Cro Cop will be coming into the bout off a Rnd3 KO loss to Frank Mir while serving as a replacement for Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop; though the entire fight was lack luster as the only significant strike was the knee that KOd Cro Cop. Schaub will be coming in on a three fight win streak since losing TUF10, as he comes off his first performance to go past the first round with a dominant Unanimous Decision over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 121: Lesnar vs Velasquez. Cro Cop comes in as the experienced veteran with arguably the most dangerous kickboxing in MMA with twenty of his wins being by way of KO. Schaub, while less experienced, comes in with a strong stand up game with good boxing, & some decent grappling. With experience, Cro Cop may be the favorite in this one as he will obviously look to keep the bout standing dishing out his famous kicks unless he wants to dish out a takedown of his own as he will want to reclaim his former glory feeling revamped. Schaub may be seen as the favorite by some, as there are many to write off Cro Cop believing he has lost his edge & is easier to predict in today's MMA scene. Schaub says he wants to fight Cro Cop head on while standing, but his coaches will tell him to take the fight to the ground where they will feel safer. The excitement & pace of this bout can only be decided by who really shows up. Will we see the Cro Cop of old who dished out high flying head kicks deemed "hospital" & "cemetery," or an overly cautious Cro Cop that seemingly waits for the strikes to find his chin? Will we see the hungry fast paced offensive striker in Schaub that we have come to admire, or will we see the stereotypical Greg Jackson fighter that looks to play safe & hold back on so much potential to finish like Rashad Evans & Nate Marquardt?

All of the bouts on the main card, including even all on the three preliminary cards, have great potential to satisfy fans with plenty of action. Odds makers have a tough task at hand setting the odds as you have veterans taking on rising stars, fighters who need a win to bounce back, fighters who each got something to prove, & fighters who just want to put on a show while still looking for the win. There are plenty of outcomes, but little is certain. Altogether, fans looking at this jam packed card must remember, it is only March & there are still nine more months left in the year as the UFC is proving to pack cards with bouts that each alone can be main events for separate cards. Here is hoping that this event delivers the excitement that radiates just from looking at the scheduled roster.