Fight fans looking for their free UFC fix on SpikeTV have had to wait almost half a year since the last UFC Fight Night. That’s quite a while -- unless you consider fans in Oklahoma who have waited almost 15 years for the UFC’s return to the Sooner State.
On Wednesday, Oklahoma City hosts a Fight Night card featuring
Nate Diaz,
Gray Maynard and
Roger Huerta. As always, the prelims are worth watching as well. Read on for Sherdog.com’s comprehensive breakdown of the six dark matches.
Two former WEC light heavyweight champions will meet for the third time overall but for the first time in the UFC when
Steve Cantwell takes on
Brian Stann. The fighters split their previous encounters, with one stoppage each. Both are coming into this rematch on the back of April defeats, as Cantwell dropped a decision to
Luis Arthur Cane, and Stann was subbed by
Krzysztof Soszynski.
Despite losing the first bout against Stann in decisive fashion, Cantwell is coming into this third clash as a solid bookmaker favorite at around -300. This can most likely be attributed to the fact that even in defeat, Cantwell proved to be very durable against Brazilian slugger Cane at UFC 97. Stann, meanwhile, was tapped out by Soszynski and now has his back against the wall following two consecutive defeats.
In their last encounter (August 2008), Cantwell looked much better with his movement standing up. He linked kickboxing with some brief work in the Thai clinch and also pushed his opponent against the cage. Stann, on the other hand, appeared to be a bit stiff with his upper body movement. Cantwell did have to survive a 30-second scare when Stann punished him with some solid ground-and-pound, though. The fight ended when Cantwell overwhelmed Stann with a flurry of strikes on the cage.
Cantwell has youth, reach advantage and momentum going for him. Although Stann certainly possesses more than a puncher’s chance, I see Cantwell winning their miniseries with another technical knockout and sending Stann out of the UFC.
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