UFC 133 Preview
UFC 133 takes place Saturday night and features several interesting story lines on the main card.
In the night’s main event, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans aims at proving why he is the top contender at 205lbs. Evans has been inactive since May of last year when he defeated “Rampage” Jackson to earn a shot at then champion, Shogun Rua, who was healing up from an injury.
From there it all went downhill for Evans, who suffered a knee injury while waiting for Rua to heal and was forced to pull out of his title bout. Evans then watched as Jon Jones defeated Rua for the title and Jackson was given the first crack at the young champion. Now, after more than a year-long layoff, Evans cannot wait to step back in the Octagon.
“I want to fight. I don’t care who it is,” said Evans. “I’m the top contender in the division and I’ll show everyone why.”
Ortiz on the other hand has defied all odds since returning at UFC 132. In a bout many gave Ortiz no chance at winning, “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” dropped and submitted Ryan Bader in just under two minutes. In one month, Ortiz has the potential to go from a washed up former champion to solidified top five light heavyweight.
“When (UFC President) Dana White called me I was in bed, drinking a beverage, watching a movie and wasn’t in the mindset to take a fight at three weeks’ notice. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the opportunity all night, I literally dreamed about it, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it all the next morning,” said Ortiz. “So I called Dana back and accepted the fight. All the pressure is on Rashad and I am not sure he’s strong enough to deal with that.”
In the co-main event, national icons collide as Vitor Belfort takes on Yoshihiro Akiyama. In their native Brazil and Japan, respectively, both men are national icons. They are both married to famous models and each enjoys a celebrity lifestyle outside of their fighting career. Belfort is one of the most famous fighters in Brazil thanks to a stint on the “Big Brother” reality TV show. Akiyama has risen to stardom serving as a spokesmodel for such brands as Nike. While both men are looking to bounce back from losses, Akiyama will likely face unemployment with another consecutive loss.
Next on the card is a battle of veterans as Brian Ebersole faces Dennis Hallman. With a combined total of over 120 fights, these two have been around the block a few times when it comes to fighting. Hallman is coming off back to back wins over Ben Saunders and Karo Parisyan, while Ebersole is on an eight-fight win streak, having most recently defeated UFC vet Chris Lytle. The bout looks to be a win:win for both the fighters and fans. Both men are not ones to make boring fights and win or lose, they aren’t likely to face the chopping block after this one.
Also on the card, Jorge Rivera returns to take on newcomer Constantinos Philippou. Rivera steps back into the cage after a heated rivalry with Michael Bisping. The two traded verbal blows leading up the fight with Rivera getting the better of the two. However, when it came time to walking the walking, “El Conquistador” fell short as Bisping won via TKO.
A former contestant on season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter, Philippou made his debut at UFC 128 in March, earning a unanimous decision over Nick Catone. A win over Rivera would be big for Philippou, but for Rivera, no one is stopping him from getting back on track with a win.
The final bout on the main card is one between Mike Pyle, a seasoned veteran of the UFC and Rory MacDonald, a much-hyped 22-year-old aiming to continue his ascent up the welterweight ladder. Pyle, 35, feels he’s performing at his best inside the Octagon and sees the matchup with MacDonald as another chance to underline his welterweight contender status.
“I'm not letting a kid who still gets ID’d in bars stand in my way of getting a welterweight title shot,” Pyle said. “He’s getting a lot of hype based on what he could do in the future, not on anything he’s done. Potential doesn’t mean anything in the Octagon. He’s this year’s John Hathaway, and look what I did to John Hathaway.”
While Pyle disregards the hype surrounding the young Canadian, MacDonald embraces it. However he’s not listening to the hype that he’s Canada’s “next GSP”, rather he listens to the man himself everyday in the gym.
“Georges has been great to me, I’m learning so much from him in the gym. He’s gone out of his way to help me, even picking me up and driving me to the gym,” said MacDonald. “I’m trying to absorb all I can from him.”
UFC 133 takes place Saturday night inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.
