In a card absolutely stacked with talent and diverse in its place in the current MMA narrative, UFC 118 has something for everyone. If you are a fan of the Lightweight division this I likely the most important card of the year, sporting a huge rematch for the LW title between Frankie Edger and BJ Penn as well as a number one contender fight between Kenny Florian and Gray Maynard. Perhaps the little guys don’t do it for ya? You need big names and big personalities? It doesn’t get bigger than Randy Couture vs James Toney. Legends in their sports and infamous for their diametrically opposed personalities outside the cage, boxing and MMA will have a go at each other on Saturday Aug. 28th. Lets not forget about Demian Maia, Nate Diaz, and Marcus Davis, all names that are firmly embedded in the MMA fan’s consciousness. There is a lot on the line in every fight at UFC 118.
Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz
Nate Diaz is going to step up to Welterweight, following his brother’s tendency to jump weight-classes. Making a good impression at your new weightclass is always important but Diaz is entering a stacked division and moving up in weight is going to make it more difficult to gain momentum towards a title fight. The welcoming committee is non-too-welcoming though. Marcus Davis has been hot and cold since he went on a tear in 2007/2008 and he needs to get back on track if he wants to avoid being a lifetime gatekeeper in the middle of the division. Both fighters will be trying to secure a win so as to avoid slipping further down the card. Diaz will likely find success with his range and versatile striking, knowing that Davis will want to avoid the ground. Davis must keep the stand-up battle crisp and close if he wants to exploit his strengths. That task is easier said than done against a Diaz.
Demian Maia v Mario Miranda
Maia gained a lot of fans in his loss to Anderson Silva and now he must rebound professionally against a very promising fighter in Mario Miranda. Miranda has demonstrated an ability to finish fights with strikes or submissions but he would be foolish to take the fight to the ground with a submission ace like Maia. Maia will need to further demonstrate his improved boxing and always-versatile takedowns to put this fight in his back yard. A return win is paramount for Maia while Miranda finds himself in a wonderful position to establish himself a division that all the sudden seems to be full of parody.
Kenny Florian vs Gray Maynard
In a steep, highly competitive division these two fighters have been steamrolling virtually everyone in their paths. Maynard lives up to his nickname, The Bully by pushing people around and controlling the pace of almost every fight he has been in. Florian has developed into a world-class fighter in front of our eyes, only slowing for the living legend BJ Penn. The biggest question surrounding this fight revolves around skill set vs skill set. Maynard has demonstrated improved boxing skills while Florian is known for sharp Mui Tai. One would tend to think Florian will have an advantage on the feet but the question is weather or not Maynard can use his stand-up to set up the take down. On the ground one would presume that Maynard might be able to use his wrestling and his power to control the fight. He must however deal with a strong BJJ based ground game from Florian, squandering sweeps and defending submissions while continuing to do damage. The fight could end up a war of attrition, each with enough skill to damage the other and avoid being finished. With a title shot on the line, the threat of each fighter being overly caution always looms over the fight, but the match-up is too interesting and too important to not get any MMA fan pumped.
Randy Couture vs James Toney
What can you say about this fight that hasn’t been said 100 times or isn’t painfully obvious to the world. Incase you have been living under a rock or literally have no idea what MMA is and subsequently what you have read to this point, James Toney is going to try to knock Randy out and Randy I going to try to take Toney down. It is that simple. If Randy can get in and take Toney down he is going to likely submit him or pound on him until Toney or the referee decides that the fight is over. However if Toney can force a stand-up battle or catch Couture coming in, it could be “Lights Out” for the MMA legend. Toney is the great unknown. We know he is not going to have world class grappling skills of any kind but we don’t know what he has learned. At the end of the day this is not one you can be on the fence about. As a loyal MMA fan and long time fan of Randy Couture I stand firmly behind him in the fight. My faith in his ability to return to championship glory has diminished but my faith in him dropping James Toney on his head has not.
BJ Penn vs Frankie Edger
The greatest Lightweight in the history of the sport will get a chance to prove the torch has not be wrestled away from him just yet. The first meeting between these two ended in a razor close decision, so close that few seemed upset about the title change but everyone understood running it back one more time was neccessary. BJ Penn will try to fight a different fight all together in this one. Being drawn into Edger’s wheelhouse led him to being about a half a step behind in the striking game for 25 minutes. The good news for Penn was that his cardio seemed relatively sound despite his rocky history with conditioning and his alleged sickness. What was a competitive title fight has now turned into a riddle to figure out. If Penn can change the style of fight he should be able to give Edger more than he can handle. A win for Penn would most certainly set up a rubber match and a win for Edger would open up new doors for challengers such as Florian and Sanchez (if he ever gets his head strait and return to LW). The main event may be overshadowed by James Toney’s mouth in the hype column but there is not a more important fight on this card by miles. Edger and Penn might be battling at the crossroads of a division to determine its future and just how big Penn’s legacy can grow.
