Barboza VS Lee: UFC Fight Night, Sat. April 21
After a significant loss to Tony Ferguson, Kevin Lee plans on keeping himself as a top five contender in the UFC lightweight division by facing Edson Barboza this Saturday, April 21. Lee has been an outspoken threat for quite some time now. His victory over Michael Chiesa gave him considerable attention, however, he may be slowly falling off the ladder especially if he cannot bring home a win Saturday night.
As for Edson Barboza, he just recently lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov (the current lightweight champion). Barboza was on a three fight win streak before facing Khabib, though none of his opponents were ranked in the top 10. Similar to Lee, Barboza also has a loss against Tony Ferguson, although that fight was in 2015. Overall, Lee and Barboza have their careers on the line. A loss for Lee may not do “significant” damage considering he is only 25 years old. Even though Barboza is still widely considered 32 years young, he has yet to beat a top 5 “big name” opponent. Although his last fight was disappointing, over the years Barboza’s fighting style has improved tremendously and has been nothing but entertaining, so expect a great fight.
Fedor VS Mir: Bellator 198, Sat. April 28
Bellator’s Heavy Weight Grand Prix Tournament is currently undergo. Recent viewers have criticized Bellator’s exciting idea as being a flop due to the previous fights being “uninteresting.” Last month, Chael Sonnen accomplished a victory with a smart game plan against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. He was able to advance to the semifinals of the Grand-Prix, however, his game plan was too much on the “safe side” in order to be considered exciting. Matt Mitrione also won by majority-decision against Roy Nelson at Bellator 194, although his fight was also disparaged by many.
(Perspective) Most Fans of MMA expect heavy weights to be more entertaining than the smaller weight classes. That being said, on April 28 I don’t think Bellator or the fans will be let down. Frank Mir and Fedor Emelianenko are two MMA veterans who take a very calm approach to fighting. They are not interested in reviving their careers, therefore I think it’s safe to assume this will be the type of fight that Bellator intended on creating, and that fans intended on seeing.