Looking for a Fight @ UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi

Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza enters the Octagon to impress on Saturday Night. (yahoo.com)

Just because the fight card for Saturday night's UFC event in Brazil says Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza and Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida aren't fighting each other doesn't mean they aren't facing off. Yes, UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Mousasi might as well read as UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Jacare. The two Brazilians are the co-main and main event of the evening and while winning their fight is top priority, the biggest prize is the win their fight spectacularly on Saturday to get a shot at the middleweight title.

Both Machida and Souza are more than capable of the spectacular in the Octagon. Souza has finished his last five opponents with four of them coming in the 1st Round. Machida is no stranger to finishing fights, and his debut at 185 ended abruptly with a shin to Mark Munoz's head. As the lead in to this event, UFC President Dana White has said that Machida is the one who stands to get the next title shot after Vitor Belfort should Machida defeat Gegard Mousasi, however, as we all know White likes to see finishes.

It's the reason the UFC implemented the new bonus structure effective immediately changing the KO of the Night and Sub of the Night to two separate Fighter Performance of the Night bonuses. The company slant on this is that sometimes there isn't a KO or a sub so this bonus money goes wasted. Now, since it's more open to interpretation this $50K bonus can go to whomever the UFC wants to give it to. Yeah, right.

The UFC does whatever it wants within the confines of their company. If there isn't a KO or a sub, then I can guarantee they're giving out that money on top of the already infamous backdoor paychecks the UFC cuts for fighters who go above and beyond in the Octagon.

This move directly correlates to UFC 169, which set a record for fights going to the scorecard. White was not happy, so things needed to change. Overall, this isn't going to greatly impact the fights, but the message is clear: just because you happen to triangle choke some guy in a boring fight, you're not walking off with $50K. You have to put on an entertaining fight and you have to go for not just finishes but for 3 or 5 rounds of continual action.

So Machida can't just dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge his way to a decision. Nor can Jacare play it carefully (not that he usually does). This is a fight where not only are the bonuses up for grabs but the caliber in which each fighter is able to finish the fight will directly affect his ability to get a title shot. This is something that both fighters, fighting in front of their Brazilian brethren must be thinking about.

Both fighters are the favorites in their respective bouts, but while Jacare has the higher UFC rank at #3, the newly minted middleweight Machida is right behind him and #4 and taking on the arguable better opponent in Mousasi. While Mousasi hasn't been able to get his momentum going in the UFC, fighting only once in April against unfortunate last second replacement Ilir Latifi, he can't be overlooked as the Iranian has held belts at both DREAM and Strikeforce.

It remains unclear if Jacare and Machida would fight each other for a #1 contender spot, but at this moment that appears to be unnecessary. With Anderson Silva out of the picture for most of 2014 and either current champion Chris Weidman or Vitor Belfort holding the strap come May it'll be the fighter that puts on the best performance on Saturday night who will fight for the title before 2014 is over.

This new bonus structure might not move mountains, but the UFC certainly added an extra element to Saturday's card in Brazil.

BREAKDOWN

If the name of the game is finishing fights, then it's hard for me to think Jacare won't be fighting Weidman in the Fall. Jacare is a scary dude who can now impose his fists on top of his elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu. When we look at Machida though, what can we expect in his second bout at 185? His first ended so emphatically that if he can do something like that again then the title shot is all his.

The shame about Machida is that many probably don't appreciate how good he really is. The guy was almost untouchable at 205 until he ran into Shogun Rua, and then a Jon Jones choke later it was clear he was out of his element. A naturally slender person, Machida probably should have been at 185 all along, but his unwillingness to fight Anderson Silva and probably a heavy reliance on his karate to avoid the damage light heavyweights can inflict kept him up there too long. If 185 Machida is explosive and is more willing to let his fists fly, then we could be talking about a completely different fighter.

In order to make a prediction, I'm going to have to go with what I know. Although I think the upset is a bit more likely with Jacare than with Machida, I think Jacare will be able to finish Francis Carmont via submission and get the title shot.

Looking for a Fight: UFC 157

Ronda Rousey in the process of making Sarah Kauffman double-jointed. (fcfighting.com)

There's no denying it; Ronda Rousey is a star.

As soon as UFC President Dana White brought Rousey over from Strikeforce and started a women's division just for her, the swirl of media activity around her is only comparable to the swirl of one of her opponents in the midst of a Rousey judo toss.

One more Rousey simile.

To avoid the media crush (both in reference to the volume of Rousey coverage along with the attraction to her good looks) would be like trying to get out of one of her trademark armbars.

Rousey has been featured heavily through the UFC hype machine since this fight with Liz Carmouche was announced. There's been the standard conference calls, media days, open training sessions, and Countdown features. But there has also been a Primetime series - which is usually set aside for the UFC's biggest stars - along with ESPN coverage (including her pre-UFC-joining cover of the Body Issue), HBO Real Sports piece, a visit to Conan, and her constantly updating Twitter and Instagram pages.

Even the casual sports fan, let alone MMA fan would have a tough time not finding out something about Rousey's fight game, livelihood, or sex life.

No matter what critics thought about Rousey "just being handed" the UFC women's bantamweight belt, it's clear that the fans, media, and people simply cannot get enough of the golden-locked fighter.

She's every ounce promoter, personality, and entertainer as she is fighter.

The attention focused on her and Carmouche as the cage door locks Saturday night at UFC 157 for the first female fight ever in the UFC - it will be the culmination of everything Rousey has accomplished in and out of the fight game.

Her back story is compelling and intriguing. Any of the outlets I named above can fill you in if you're not aware, but there is a reason this woman above all others was able to catch the attention of the UFC.

Please don't change your hairstyle, Ronda.

Her presence is more professional wrestler than fighter. She's well spoken, entertaining, tough, and candid. She has her own walkout music (Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation") and bun hairstyle complete with finishing move (the armbar - which she's finished all of her professional fights with...in the 1st round). All of these things are why she's the champion and why she's fighting as the headliner on Saturday. She has worked extremely hard and overcome a lot to be the perfect set it and forget it star the UFC needed to even think about starting a women's division.

With all the hype leading up to Rousey's UFC debut there are two important things to focus on.

First, there has to be kudos sent out to Strikeforce. They first started showcasing women's fights on a big stage, and along with Rousey brought along other female stars like Gina Carano and Cris 'Cyborg' Santos. Without them taking a shot on women's fights, who knows how far behind things would be.

Second, and more importantly - the pressure Rousey must be facing is beyond intense. Not only is the expectation there to win, but the pressure of proving that this women's division in the UFC. Justifying the attention she's gotten. It is fair to say that this may be the most pressure any fighter has encountered going into any fight in UFC history. There might have been greater challenges, reasons to be more fearful of an opponent or less confident in oneself, but as far as outside factors completely crushing an individual - this has to be at or near the top of any list.

Of course, the reason the pressure is there is due to the fact that many expect Rousey to win and win in convincing fashion. As we all know, things don't always go according to plan in MMA. There have been numerous hyped debuts that fell flat on their faces. It's never been a death nail, but then again, these were men coming over to fight in the UFC. A whole division hasn't been reliant on them.

Ultimately, I don't expect any kind of shocking upset. Rousey can rumble, and she's fitting a formula that has made UFC potential superstars into superstars. She's young (as opposed to past one's prime), dedicated to the sport of MMA (as opposed to just picking it up because, well you look like this), and is dangerous from many different areas (not a one trick pony).

I expect Saturday night to be Rousey's rightful confirmation as a UFC fighter and a superstar. She's already done much more than anyone ever thought she could do. And from the hours of coverage I've seen about her - she's just getting started.

BREAKDOWN

No disrespect to Liz Carmouche, but for anyone to expect anything less than a Rousey finish early is stupid. I will say, I think this will be Rousey's longest fight of her career and she will not finish via her finishing move. Both for the same reason. She wants to show off her boxing skills. That's the one thing I've noticed a lot watching the gobs of media coverage is that you rarely see her working on the ground. It's a lot of striking and footwork. Unless Carmouche gets Rousey in trouble early, I'd expect 'Rowdy' Ronda to, not take Carmouche lightly, but want to put on a show and her stamp on the UFC. Rousey by 2nd Round TKO.

That's nothing too mind blowing, so a couple notes about those other fights on the card and Jon Fitch.

The co-main event has Dan Henderson going against Lyoto Machida. This is a hard fight to figure out. In a three round fight, Machida's elusiveness and point striking abilities seem to tick the arrow towards him as the favorite. Henderson has been out of action for some time, but that's never seemed to affect him in the past. He can certainly win this fight without landing the good ol' H-Bomb, but it will be difficult. Karmically, it'd be nice to see Hendo win so he can get that Jon Jones fight a knee injury took away from him, but it won't be easy against Machida. But I'm willing to bet Hendo can do it. I'll pick him in a decision.

Finally, the Jon Fitch era has temporarily come to an end in the UFC. The former #1 contender at welterweight was the most notable fighter of several cut yesterday by the UFC. Fitch appears to be a martyr for lay and prayers. A lot of people were shocked by Fitch being free to leave. His style has never won over a lot of fans, but he was still a high class fighter. Many see this as a way for Dana White to let his fighters know that you have to get out there and be exciting. Certainly, Fitch would most likely never contend for a title again, but in a world where there's a UFC event on seemingly every other week - a name like Fitch would be interesting enough to tune in to see; if only to complain about.

Typically fighters that leave the UFC can find their way back, and that might be the case for Fitch. Wherever he goes, I certainly wish him the best.