On October 1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will showcase their final card on Versus/NBC Sports when they bring their first card to Washington D.C. with UFC Live 6: Cruz vs Johnson. This card will be only the second time that the lighter classes have headlined a UFC card. The main event will be a well anticipated Bantamweight title bout when the elusive reigning champion Dominick Cruz takes on a fast paced wrestler in Demetrious Johnson. The co-main event will be a Heavyweight bout when fan favorite Pat Barry takes on the tallest fighter in UFC history meeting Stefan Struve. The second bout on the card will be a match up of wrestlers when the powerful Anthony Johnson takes on a new star in Charlie Brenneman. And for die hard fans, the first bout on the card will be a rematch that so many feel needed to happen when Matt Wiman takes on Mac Danzig. While this event may be overshadowed by UFC 136: Edgar vs Maynard III following the next weekend, die hard MMA fans will be looking forward to this event with interest, especially the loyal fans of these fighters. Coming off the recent victory over fan favorite Urijah Faber, Cruz is looked at by some fans as the champion they wouldn't mind seeing lose the title. While Demetrious Johnson is not a common name for regular fans, his fast paced wrestling, fan friendly personality, and relentless style has garnered many fans since fighting on the first Facebook streamed bout in UFC history and then fighting on a SpikeTV televised preliminary card in one of the most entertaining grappling exchanges ever seen. Barry has been a fan favorite with his eccentric and fan friendly personality and has maintained fan loyalty even after his losses. Struve is also a fan favorite with his own young personality and his amazing height that attracts the attention of all fans. Anthony Johnson has attracted different attention coming off his recent win when he promised to keep the fight standing, then decided to wrestle his opponent for most of the fight. Brenneman gained great attention when he took a fight on just a days notice to fight on the previous Versus card when he pulled an upset against an opponent who had been training with a full camp leading up to that night. While neither Wiman or Danzig are major names in the Lightweight division, the demand for a rematch was high among fans after Wiman won in their first meeting catching a Guillotine choke and telling the referee that Danzig was unconscious, when in fact Danzig was still conscious and was still able to fight. This event is expected to produce some entertainment for die hard fans, and could also do well to open the eyes of new fans to the sport.
Main Card Bouts:
(C)Dominick "The Dominator" Cruz (18-1-0) vs Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson (9-1-0)
Pat "HD/Hype or Die" Barry (6-3-0) vs Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve (21-5-0)
Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (9-3-0) vs Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman (14-2-0)
"Handsome" Matt Wiman (13-6-0) vs Mac Danzig (20-8-1)
Wiman vs Danzig II (LW)
The opening bout on the card will be a Lightweight rematch when three time Fight of the Night winner Matt Wiman takes on TUF6 winner Mac Danzig. Wiman comes into this bout following a controversial Unanimous Decision loss to German kickboxer Denis Siver at UFC 132: Cruz vs Faber 2. Danzig comes into this bout into this bout following an upset Rnd1 KO upset over TUF2 winner Joe Stevenson at UFC 124: St. Pierre vs Koscheck 2 that earned him the KO of the Night. The original bout between these two fighters ended via controversial Rnd1 Technical Submission win for Wiman. After catching a mounted Guillotine, Wiman maintained top position while Danzig kept calm resisting the choke and not moving. At that point Wiman told referee Yves Lavigne that Danzig had gone unconscious, and after immediately stopping the fight upon hearing that claim, Danzig immediately protested the stoppage nowhere near going unconscious. Now set for a rematch, Danzig wants to prove that the result of the original meeting was nothing but a false claim by Wiman and referee error. Similar to the previous bout, both fighters are considered even in both the stand up and on the ground. In the stand up, Danzig may be given the advantage with a more visible striking game and the one punch knockout that sent Stevenson down to fight at 145lbs. For the grappling advantage, while Wiman has good wrestling that can take control of the fight, Danzig has more than twice as many submission wins and is considered the favorite on the ground. For how this bout will play out, Danzig may look to keep this bout standing. Wiman on the other hand may look to control the fight with his wrestling. With both fighters considered evenly matched in some ways, this is considered one of the casual fights with little importance in the division.
A. Johnson vs Brenneman (WW)
The second bout on the card will be contested at Welterweight when the powerful wrestler Anthony Johnson takes on new star Charlie Brenneman. Johnson comes into this bout off a fan disappointing Unanimous Decision over former contender Dan Hardy in a bout where he promised a full stand up striking exchange, and instead wrestled the less experienced grappler in Hardy for almost the entire fight. Brenneman comes into this bout on a two fight win streak that includes a Unanimous Decision over Amilcar Alves and a shocking upset Unanimous Decision over rising star Rick Story at UFC Live 4: Kongo vs Barry after accepting the fight after only one days notice following the removal of Story's original opponent who failed his medical exams before weigh ins. In the stand up, Johnson is the heavy favorite with an 8" reach advantage and a solid knockout power. With a dangerous kickboxing game and training with former Strikeforce Middleweight champion Cung Le, Johnson's striking game continues to improve. For the grappling advantage, while Johnson is seen to have the strength advantage and a wrestling background that can control the fight on the ground, Brenneman may be given the grappling advantage. While many analysts will be giving Johnson the advantage, Brenneman may have the better credentials also being a collegiate wrestler and competing at the NCAA1 level. When it comes to strategies, Johnson's strategy will likely be to look for the knockout as early as possible and hopefully do so in Rnd1. Seen to have some questionable cardio, Johnson is always looking for a finish fast and after the first round may look to use his wrestling at some point. For Brenneman, the strategy will likely be to weather the storm in Rnd1, look for takedowns in Rnd2, and hope that Johnson shows some gassing in Rnd3 to look for a submission or try to take two rounds for a decision. The overall favorite in this bout will be A. Johnson.
Barry vs Struve (HW)
The co-main event on this card will be a Heavyweight match up when fan favorite and dangerous kickboxer Pat Barry takes on the towering Dutch grappler Stefan Struve. Barry comes into this bout off a stunning Rnd1 KO loss to contender Cheick Kongo at UFC Live 4: Kongo vs Barry, where he began landing devastating strikes continually rocking Kongo until he got back up and landed two right-hooks that knocked Barry out cold. Struve comes into this bout off his own Rnd1 KO loss to Travis Browne at UFC 130: Rampage vs Hamill. Immediately when the fighters face off the discrepancy in height and reach will be apparent when all see that Struve stands a full foot taller and wields a 8.5" reach advantage over Barry. In the stand up a majority of analysts will give the advantage to Barry. With a strong kickboxing background and having competed professionally as a kickboxer, Barry is seen as one of the most dangerous strikers in the Heavyweight division with some of the most devastating leg kicks ever seen. While possessing the much longer reach, Struve has never shown that he knows how to utilize his range and is known to get into brawls. For the advantage on the ground, the overwhelming advantage will go to Struve with fourteen of his twenty-one wins coming by way of submission. While Barry has never shown to be comfortable at all on the ground, he has been training with team Death Clutch with elite wrestlers like reigning BellatorFC Heavyweight champion Cole Konrad and former UFC champion Brock Lesnar. Even with the time spent training with elite wrestlers, it is unlikely that Barry will look to take the fight to the ground unless he has knocked Struve senseless. For strategy, Barry's will be to keep the fight standing, possibly look to chop at the legs of Struve, and launch overhand punches aiming high for the jaw. For Struve, the strategy will vary on whether he finally decides to take advantage of his reach, stick to his superior grappling game, or decides to continue brawling. With Struve leaving himself open to a lot to punches in some of his fights, Barry will be the overall favorite, especially among fans.
(C)Cruz vs D. Johnson
The main event will serve as the final UFC bout to be shown on Versus when reigning UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz looks to defend his title for a second time, fourth including his WEC title defenses before the transition, against contender Demetrious Johnson. Cruz comes into this bout riding a nine fight win streak with the last four including winning the WEC title against Brian Bowles after he broke his hand ending the fight with a Rnd2 TKO, successfully defending his title against Joseph Benavidez with a Split Decision and against Scott Jorgensen with a Unanimous Decision, and successfully making his inaugural UFC title defense avenging his lone loss to former WEC Featherweight champion Urijah Faber with a Unanimous Decision at UFC 132: Cruz vs Faber 2. Johnson comes into this bout riding a four fight win streak that includes a Unanimous Decision over Nick Pace, a Rnd3 Submission over Damacio Page, making his successful UFC debut earning a Unanimous Decision over Japanese star Norifumi Yamamoto, and besting former WEC Bantamweight champion Miguel Torres with a Unanimous Decision at UFC 130:Rampage vs Hamill even after breaking his leg in Rnd1. Looking at this match up, many analysts and fans see Johnson to be one of the few fighters that can not only match the speed and pace of Cruz, but possibly have the advantage in that area. For the striking advantage, Cruz will be the favorite with one of the most elusive striking styles that allows him to get in quick to land strikes and pull away to stay outside of his opponent's range. While Cruz may have the more crisp striking technique, Johnson's size can actually help him to avoid Cruz's striking combined with his own speed. For the grappling advantage, that could be a stalemate in some ways. Comparing the two, both fighters have wrestling backgrounds. For Cruz, his style mixes in BJJ at times, while Johnson's is combined with the art of Pankration which is keen on submissions. With Johnson having a driving takedown and knowing how to take advantage of his size shooting in low, he may have the advantage in the grappling aspect. Looking at strategies, Cruz's will most likely be to stick to the usual game plan utilizing his unique striking style and pace to both land and avoid strikes, as well as shoot in for the occasional takedown. For Johnson, he may look to utilize a similar strategy closing the distance fast to strike and work more for takedowns to control the fight. With both fighters having such a fast pace, this is expected to be one of the more entertaining title fights of the year, even if it is expected to go to decision. Overall the favorite to win will be Cruz to successfully defend his title, though Johnson will be a big fan favorite with a loyal fan base and a friendly personality.
With this event set to be the final card featured on Versus, it is expected to deliver on excitement. Even with that factor, each of these bouts all hold some personal importance to the careers of each fighter. For Wiman, he will look to rebound from a controversial Decision loss and set right the controversial win that many feel was because of his false claim that Danzig was unconscious. For Danzig, the goal is direct and simple in wanting to avenge a controversial loss that was the fault the referee and Wiman. For Anthony Johnson, looking for a finish may be crucial to get fans back on his side after his performance against Hardy, and a win could move him back in the hunt for the title with many analysts believing he may have what it takes to defeat reigning division champion Georges St. Pierre. For Brenneman, a win continues the publicity he has gotten since defeating Rick Story on just one days notice and a victory over an opponent like Johnson would surely raise his stock in the division. In the co-main event, both fighters need a win to rebound from tough knockout losses. For Barry, after being criticized for "not having the killer instinct" to finish the fight and then told that he neglected the opportunity for a possible submission, he will need to put on an impressive performance to silence all critics. For Struve, a win over a fan favorite like Barry earns him more attention and saves his UFC career from possibly being in jeopardy. For both competitors in the main event, the title will be the ultimate prize and victory will mean different things for either winner. For Cruz, a win further extends his win streak and helps solidify him as the top Bantamweight in the world with a possible rematch with either Urijah Faber or Brian Bowles awaiting him should he be victorious. For Johnson, this would finally earn him the title and a win over an opponent who so many analysts see as an all around superior fighter in every way. A win for Johnson also garners him the recognition as a top fighter, and proves that even when he is considered undersized and outmatched, he is still a dangerous opponent for anybody in the division. UFC Live 6: Cruz vs Johnson should very well prove to be one of the best cards of the year, and could finish off the streak on Versus with the previous three delivering high caliber action of their own like Sanchez vs Kampmann, Kongo vs Barry, and Hardy vs Lytle.
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