On August 14, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will make their debut in the state of Wisconsin when they showcase UFC Live on Versus 5: Hardy vs Lytle. The main event will pit two entertaining Welterweights in a bout where the winner may save their career and relevancy among fans, and the one on the losing end may be faced with termination from the promotion. The co-main event will pit two of the most entertaining Lightweights in a bout with possible title implications with one fighter riding a win streak many feel should have earned him a title shot long before this, and the other a former WEC champion looking to claim a bigger title. The midway bout will also pit two entertaining Lightweights with egos to match their skill levels in a bout where both came in as substitutes for injured fighters and ended up against each other.
(We will only be previewing the Main Card bouts with Hardy/Lytle, Miller/Henderson, & Oliveira/Cerrone)
Main Card Bouts:
Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (23-9-0(1)) vs Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (30-18-5)
Jim Miller (20-1-0) vs Ben "Smooth" Henderson (13-2-0)
Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira (14-1-0(1)) vs Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone (15-3-0(1))
Hardy vs Lytle
The main event will pit two entertaining Welterweights in a bout where their careers may be on the line. The bout will pit hard hitting British striker and former #1 contender Dan Hardy against TUF4 runner up Chris Lytle. Hardy will come into the bout on a three fight losing streak that includes losing a Unanimous Decision to champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111: St. Pierre vs Hardy, a Rnd1 KO loss to final WEC Welterweight champ Carlos Condit in an upset at UFC 120: Bisping vs Akiyama, and a Unanimous Decision loss to Anthony Johnson at UFC Fight Night 24: Nogueira vs Davis. Lytle comes in off an upset loss by Unanimous Decision against late replacement Brian Ebersole at UFC 127: Penn vs Fitch that snapped a four fight win streak. Hardy will be one of few fighters to be given a chance to save his career after riding a three fight losing streak that is usually followed by being inevitably released by the promotion, while Lytle will look to bounce back and possibly make one last run for the title before retirement. In the stand up, Hardy will be seen as the favorite by many with an aggressive striking game and knockout power with the classic boxing game that many British fighters possess. Lytle is no slouch in the stand up himself with a technical boxing game that was put on display in his rematch with Matt Serra at UFC 119: Mir vs Cro Cop where he dominated en route to a Unanimous Decision. The advantage in the ground game will go the way of Lytle without a doubt with a 2nd degree black belt in BJJ and twenty-one submission wins to show for it. After being dominated by strong wrestlers like St. Pierre and Johnson, Hardy has realized that he must develop a decent ground game and has been working on his BJJ game having earned a brown belt. The game plan for Hardy will be of course to keep the fight standing where he will look to prove that his striking is still dangerous not being able to showcase it in his last three matches, though he has been hinting that he may want to showcase some of his refined BJJ skills. Lytle is never one to avoid any area when fighting having proven to be one of the most entertaining Welterweights in the sport tying with Anderson Silva for most Fight Night awards. The smart strategy for Lytle would be to get the fight to the ground where his superior BJJ skills can overwhelm him, though he has the stand up game to take on almost any striker in the division. The favorite in this fight may be Lytle with the chance that he will take a safe approach and exploit the less experienced Hardy on the ground.
Miller vs Henderson
The com-main event will pit two entertaining Lightweights in a bout with possible title implications for one winner, and a chance to move up the ranks for the other. This bout will pit UFC veteran Jim Miller against former WEC Light weight champion Ben Henderson. Miller will come into this bout on a seven fight win streak with the last two including a Rnd1 Submission upset over the young Charles Oliveira at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck and a Rnd3 TKO over WEC import Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128: Shogun vs Jones. Henderson will come into this bout after his first win since losing the WEC title with a Unanimous Decision over top Canadian grappler Mark Bocek at UFC 129: St. Pierre vs Shields. Miller comes in with many already making the argument that he already deserves a shot at the title with one of the longest winning streaks in the division, though nobody really understands why has been continually looked over other than the fact that he is not a popular name fighter. This will be one of the more even match ups that will be put on this year with both fighters possessing strong skill sets in both fields, so much in fact that some analysts would consider this bout a Draw already. In the stand up, Miller has strong hands and showcased his power when he wrecked Shalorus in Rnd3. Henderson possesses a more diverse striking game with a background in Taekwondo and a strong Muay Thai game. The advantage may go the way to Henderson because of his more diverse game. In the ground game, Miller has a black belt in BJJ that works well with his collegiate wrestling base that has helped earn him eleven wins by way of submission. Henderson has a brown belt in BJJ that works well with his 2x NAIA collegiate All-American background that has earned eight of his wins by way of submission. When caught in submission attempts and compromising positions, neither fighter will go down without a fight. For Miller, the best example is when he fought Mark Bocek and defend a Rear Naked Choke with one arm while the other arm was pinned with the body-triangle Bocek had locked on. Examples for Henderson include escaping multiple attempts from Donald Cerrone in their first meeting and defending the Rear Naked Choke from Anthony Pettis when he rode his back for most of a round. To some, Henderson may get the advantage on the ground with great durability. With great skill sets proven by both fighters, picking a favorite is difficult and that proves why this bout a picked by many analysts and die hard fans to be a contender for Fight of the Night.
Oliveira vs Cerrone
The midway bout will also pit two entertaining Lightweights in the cage when young potential contenders take each other on. The bout will pit the young and aggressive Charles Oliveira against former the well rounded former WEC contender Donald Cerrone. Oliveira will come into this bout going 0-1-0(1) in his last two bouts with a Rnd1 submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck II that he didn't defend and a No Contest against Nik Lentz where the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission overturned the Rnd2 submission win for Oliveira after commissioners clearly saw an illegal knee land to the head of Lentz that the referee did not pay attention to. Cerrone will come into this bout on a four fight win streak that includes a Rnd2 submission win over Paul Kelly at UFC 126: Silva vs Belfort and a dominant Unanimous Decision win over Vagner Rocha at UFC 131: Dos Santos vs Carwin where he continually picked apart Rocha's legs. Both fighters are originally coming in as late replacements with Cerrone coming in to sub for an injured fighter, and Oliveira stepping in to replace the other fighter who was also injured. In this bout, both fighters are considered even in every area. In the stand up, both have dangerous and technical Muay Thai skills that can pick apart opponents. Oliveira has a relentless pace that can overwhelm his opponents with nonstop aggression and powerful strikes, while Cerrone stalks his opponents and showed in his last fight how well he mixes in nasty leg kicks with his combinations. On the ground, both fighters have aggressive submission skills. Oliveira has an aggressive ground game that he showcased when he locked on a tight Rear Naked Choke on Efrain Escudero, though his overconfidence proved to work against him against Miller when he ignored his attempt for a kneebar and was surprised when he forced it so fast. For Cerrone, his submission game is fast paced always attempting submissions or using the rubber-guard to keep his opponents from posturing or moving at all. With so much fast paced action from both fighters almost guaranteed, this is another one of the more even match ups the UFC will put on this year, and this is another candidate for Fight of the Night. With such an even match up, picking a victor is very difficult.
With these bouts, this card should prove entertaining. In terms of careers for the mentioned fighters, these bouts will be important for every individual competitor in every way. A win for Hardy will undoubtedly save his career in the UFC riding a three fight losing streak that usually follows with immediate dismissal. While Lytle is not considered in the same position in his own must win situation, a win may be needed to keep him in the sport. Lytle has already voiced his interest in stepping into the ring of politics & a second loss in a row will almost assuredly eliminate any chance he could get another shot at the title. In the co-main event where title implications could be on the line for both fighters, neither fighter would really be in the same position with a win. For Miller already being considered a contender that the UFC has ignored for too long and fans finally paying attention to him enough to hound UFC President Dana White asking why he was looked over, a win for him will either finally giving him the #1 contendership status so many feel he already deserves or will put him in a promoted #1 contender bout. For Henderson, a win will most likely not put him within exact reach of a title shot, but would assuredly bring him up to the top 10 ranks of trailing.For the midway bout a win for Oliveira is more needed than it is for Cerrone. After making the ridiculous error of ignoring Miller's attempt at a kneebar Oliveira was criticized for being overconfident in his skills, and the landing of a clearly illegal knee that lead that contributed to Lentz not being able to defend the following submission has hurt his stock in the eyes of some fans and analysts. For Oliveira to revamp his stock in the promotion, he will need to come out and win, or possibly see his career on the line. For Cerrone, a win would boost his stalk to UFC fans who never paid attention to the WEC. A win for Cerrone could also earn him possible recognition as a rising contender riding a four fight win streak and whose devout fan base has been growing. With major implications that include possible title contention or saving their careers, these bout should bring out some of the best out of each competitor. Though this event is not one of the more anticipated free cards of the year so far, with so many Fight of the Night candidates lined up, this event should actually prove to be more entertaining than casual fans might think.
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