UFC Fight Night 44 Fight Card, Preview & Predictions: Cub Swanson vs Jeremy Stephens
A bout between the best featherweights on the planet will cap off what should be an explosive day for brawl thirsty fans of the Octagon. Saturday will be a riot, care of Cub Swanson (20-5 MMA, 5-1 UFC) and Jeremy Stephens's (23-9 MMA, 10-8 UFC) clash at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The faceoff is a high-stakes bout, MMA Junkie reported, with the winner most likely to receive a title shot at 145 pounds. Each needs just one more victory to achieve that UFC gold, it added. That there's only one ticket there makes the suspense even greater.
With the UFC now making it a norm to schedule two events in a day, whatever shortcomings UFC Fight Night 43 will have, if any, will be compensated by the UFC Fight Night 44, with the first in the morning in New Zealand and the latter, starring the much awaited event, hours later.
Swanson has an impressive portfolio to take to the ring. It will be the 14th bout in Swanson's UFC/WEC featherweight career, taking with him the momentum of a five-fight winning streak, the report added. His nine victories in the division come third to Jose Aldo (14) and Chad Mendes (11).
Swanson also has six knockout or submission victories under his belt, MMA Junkie noted. He takes with him a 57.1-percent takedown accuracy, ranking behind only Mendes' 59.7 among fighters with at least five bouts and 20 takedown attempts.
Since dropping to the division, Stephens has been undefeated in three fights. To boot, Stephens's head-kick knockout victory against Rony Jason at UFC Fight Night 32 is the only finish of its kind in UFC featherweight history. It's also the fifth fastest knockout in the championship's featherweight history, delivered in only 40 seconds.
Fans can be sure, therefore, that the warriors are well-oiled fighting machines, with only each other in the way as they shoot for the crack at the featherweight title. It's almost a done-deal with UFC president, Dana White, saying on numerous occassions, that the battle is an eliminator for the featherweight title later this year—against either Aldo or Mendes.
UFC analyst Jon Anik told Fox Sports this week that "the winner of this fight between Swanson and Stephens will fight for the featherweight title before we close the book on 2014." But who has the upper hand? Swanson might already be the best featherweight in the world not currently holding the title, Anik said, adding, Swanson might even have an edge against Mendes.
The Bleacher Report is on the other side, though. The two men own 23 knockout wins between them, it said, but the deal-breaker could be the opponent's response to Swanson's submission and control tools. While standing, both men may be bombers but, when on the ground, the mechanics could change.
Fans should hang on to Stephens's display of takedown defense in January, when he turned back all of nine attempts by Darren Elkins, the report said. Stephens may just have the edge as sharper combos and the lethal right.
Swanson is extremely tough, the prediction said, but he may very well be worse for the wear after these rounds. If he stands up to the Swanson threat, Stephens could win via unanimous decision
See which prediction is right on Fox Sports 1, at 10 p.m. ET.