10 Things I Like at UFC Vegas 53

From individual skills to intriguing matchups, Saturday's event at the UFC APEX offers plenty of reasons to be excited

Whenever people ask me if I really care about other sports or just MMA, my answer is always the same: I still love basketball (my first love) and enjoy the NFL, largely because I’m in 26 fantasy football leagues, but for the most part, stick-and-ball sports don’t do it for me any more because I can’t get pumped about Game 54 of an extremely long season. There isn’t as much at stake and there isn't as much information to be gleaned from that one game because there will be another one the following evening and the playoffs are when things really matter anyway, so I just can’t get up for it.

But MMA has always felt like the inverse to me.

Every fight carries a ton of weight, can answer so many questions, and because competitors aren’t stepping into the Octagon every weekend or even every month, each time they make the walk is so vital when it comes to learning more about them that I’m always drawn to my television and fascinated by the uncertainty of what is about to transpire.

Here’s what I like about Saturday’s fight card.

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Rob Font’s Boxing (Particularly His Jab)

As I typed that subhead, all I could hear was my pal Sean Sheehan offering his familiar “I love a good boxer” refrain where he sings the praises of fighters that rely on clean, crisp, polished hands and sound fundamentals. I smile every time I hear him say it because it’s honestly one of those simple, genuinely basic things that not enough people do well, so I completely agree with him.

Font is a tremendous example of something that keeps it simple and is exceptional with his boxing, especially his jab. He busted up Cody Garbrandt last year by just sticking his lead hand in his face over and over and over again, and Georges St-Pierre thrived in part because while you were worried about the myriad other things he could attack you with, he was popping you with the jab time and again.

It’s not quite fully correct to attribute Font’s growth and ascension in the bantamweight division exclusively to his boxing, but he does feel, to me, like someone who took a big step forward when he dialled everything back and started focusing on the few things that can set him apart. He sorted out that he has one of the best jabs in the sport (and terrific boxing overall) and committed to it being his lead weapon, understanding that everything works off the jab.

What happened when he couldn’t get it going last time out against Jose Aldo? Everything gets thrown off, he’s forced to start pressing and chasing and things go astray.

As Sean says, there is something beautiful about watching a clean technician do their thing, and I’m looking forward to one of the foremost boxers in the lighter weight classes do his thing on Saturday.

Marlon Vera’s Gameness

While I’ve never been fully convinced that Vera is a future contender (or current contender), the one thing I’ve always appreciated about the former Ultimate Fighter: Latin America contestant is that he’s game as shit.

It’s basically defined as not giving up, but in MMA, it has always felt like far more than that because we’ve all seen fighters give up without actually giving up. For me — and in particular with Vera — it’s the willingness to keep wading into the fire and not only get after it, but stay after it, even when things aren’t going your way. We saw a great deal of that early in his career, before his skills caught up with his toughness and drive, and we’ve seen it since in those close battles where Vera has found a way to finish late.

I honestly think his gameness is a big part of why a lot of people believe he can be a contender in this division — he wants it, expresses it, and you feel like he’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen — but what really intrigues me, especially about this fight on Saturday, is what happens when that gameness runs up against someone that is just a superior talent?

That gameness is a big part of what has gotten Vera this far; now it’s time to see if his skills can reach the same levels and carry him even further.

The Current Incarnation of Andrei Arlovski

You don’t see fighters that were contenders for long periods of time gracefully accept a reduced role or a position lower in the pecking order all that frequently in mixed martial arts. Honestly, you don’t see it from athletes in any sport all that often, which is how you get guys like Carmelo Anthony bitching about his role when he’s clearly not the same guy he was during his prime.

But the rarity of the move is why seeing fighters like Jim Miller and Andrei Arlovski move to these different phases of their careers, accept them, and continue to thrive is so heartening to me.

Arlovksi has settled in to being the gatekeeper to the Top 15 and needing to be a more tactical, more measured fighter. He’s relying on savvy and experience as much as anything else these days, like the old man with all the post moves giving younger cats work at the YMCA on Tuesday nights. He wrestles more, kicks more, and tucks his chin more. He doesn’t chase finishes and accepts that because he wants to continue competing, this is how he has to fight and these are the types of guys he’s going to be sharing the Octagon with every four to six months.

I know from talking to Arlovski dozens of times that he’d say he doesn’t care about who he fights — he just wants to fight — but I guarantee that the first couple times he was paired up with some newcomer or young emerging talent and not an established contender, it stung a little, because of course it did.

But he dealt with it and kept moving forward because competing is what matters most to him, and I respect the hell out of him for that.

Andre Fili’s Return

Ten months is too long for me to go without seeing Andre Fili fight.

I don’t know if he was injured, taking some time off for other projects and to refresh or what, but I’m pumped to see the Team Alpha Male staple back in the Octagon this weekend.

As I said on Monday, Fili is one of those guys that doesn’t get the respect he deserves for the slate he’s faced over the years, and win or lose, he’s out there to engage and try to make things interesting. He’s shown clear progression throughout his career, always has fire walkout songs, and way back in the day, got presented with his “piano key” belt in Joe Jitsu inside the Octagon, which still makes me smile to this day.

His fight with Joanderson Brito on Saturday should be interesting as the Brazilian is coming off a loss in his debut and surely doesn’t want to go 0-2 in his first six months on the UFC roster, so expect action from the outset, and know that I’m stoked to see my guy back in the cage this weekend.

Tough Test for Grant Dawson

I totally forgot (or maybe didn’t even know) that Dawson took this fight against Jared Gordon on Saturday as a replacement for Raphael Alves, which makes me even more intrigued by the pairing.

It was already one I had circled because I’m always down for seeing prospects like Dawson face game veterans like Gordon, especially at a time when it feels like they’ve maybe peaked, but then when you add in that Dawson raised his hand to replace Alves, it ratchets up the intrigue a little more, giving the fight a bit of a “be careful what you wish for” feel.

I also didn’t know that Dawson parted ways with James Krause and the crew at Glory MMA & Fitness and spent this camp at American Top Team. Again, it’s one of those things that I may have seen in passing, but it certainly wasn’t publicized nearly as much as some camp changes are publicized, and since I’m not constantly trolling Instagram and Twitter for news items, it just sailed passed me in the news cycle… but it’s certainly an interesting wrinkle to this fight.

I think ATT is one of the best gyms in the sport — the amount of talent in the room, both in terms of coaches and fighters, is second-to-none, and for someone like Dawson, going down there and working with a new group could be exactly what he needs to unlock some new elements, take that next step forward, or both.

Gordon is not an easy fight and he’s got a little different edge to him since being forced to permanently relocate to lightweight last year, and that adds a little more spice to this matchup on Saturday.

A Couple of Old Fashioned, Quality Fights

The final two main card bouts — a featherweight tilt between Darren Elkins and Tristan Connelly, and a middleweight contest between Krzysztof Jotko and Gerald Meerschaert — don’t carry a great deal of stakes and we pretty much know where the ceilings and floors of all four fighters reside, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not keen to see these two sets of veterans throw down on Saturday.

I think there are times where we, the fight lovin’ public, forget to just enjoy a couple of old fashioned, quality scraps like this from time-to-time because we’re so wrapped up in the “Ricky Bobby Mindset” and only truly care about a small collection of names.

What’s hilarious to me — and by “hilarious,” what I really mean is sad and frustrating — is that these two fights are the modern equivalent of the fights that filled main cards “back in the day,” and yet the folks that long for a return to those halcyon days largely couldn’t care less about how these two contests play out… at least not until they’re tremendously entertaining and competitive on Saturday night, and then they’ll be singing their praises.

But I’m singing about them now because as much as I love questions being answered and fights that move people forward, I also love pairings like this between veteran competitors that are just guaranteed to be a good time for as long as they last.

I Want to Know More About… Daniel Lacerda

Lacerda (pictured on the right) looked good to start his promotional debut opposite Jeff Molina back in October, coming out of the gates quickly and forcing the DWCS grad (Class of ‘20) to play defence initially before “El Jefe” started to find a rhythm late in the round and finished things off early in the second.

That was the first non-injury loss of his career, and now the 25-year-old is back for his second appearance in what feels like a far less dangerous and daunting matchup opposite Francisco Figueiredo, and I’m curious to see what he does now that he’s gotten that first walk to the Octagon out of the way.

I have to imagine there is a great deal of culture shock, for lack of a better term, going from competing on regional shows in Brazil to fighting at the UFC APEX, and it’s not like Lacerda had been super-active or facing elite competition in the few years leading up to his October debut, so getting that one in the books has to make this one feel far less daunting.

As such, I’m expecting an improved and more sustained effort this time around, and getting a better chance to make some real reads on what he brings to the table and what his future in the UFC could look like going forward.

Alexander Romanov is Fighting… We Think

I’m couching this one a little because I was pumped to see Romanov fight last week and then his fight with Chase Sherman was pulled at the 11th hour. It’s been shuffled back to Saturday and I’m hopeful that it holds up, but I’m a little guarded now because losing that fight last week after the broadcast began stung a little and I don't want to be hurt again.

Here’s what I said last week about why I was keen on this contest and what still intrigues me about it today:

Even though I think this is going to be a one-sided affair, it’s still a chance to make a couple more reads on the unbeaten Romanov — to see how he does against someone coming forward throwing hands and low kicks; what kind of takedowns he works for; how he chooses to finish. All of that stuff is critical for getting a better understanding of how he’ll match up with opponents further up the divisional ladder, and if he does maul Sherman as expected, that step up could come as soon as his next fight.

I always want to see more and make more reads. Hope that comes to pass this weekend. Please don’t hurt me again.

Two Intriguing Debuts

Yohan Lainesse and Tatsuro Taira each make their UFC debuts on Saturday; the former against Gabe Green, and the later opposite fellow newcomer Carlos Candelario.

Each was a champion in quality Triple A promotions prior to arriving in the UFC — Lainesse in CFFC, Taira in Shooto — and profile as freshman that could have an immediate impact in their respective divisions, and their maiden outings this weekend are all about figuring out just how big of a first-year impact they could make.

While I don’t think either is going to be a contender by this time next year, I believe Taira could make a quick climb up the flyweight ranks with the right matchups and results, while Lainesse will have a harder time of things simply because welterweight has far greater depth and more talent at each tier. These are the right type of initial assignments to make those first reads and get an early sense for where each of these newcomers fits in their respective divisions, and I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if one or both are among the biggest breakout performers on Saturday.

Candelario probably deserves some love too, as he was unbeaten before dropping a questionable split decision on DWCS last year, and a win of Taira would instantly increase his profile.

The Return of Natan Levy

Part of me is excited because I want to see if the logic behind the Natan Levy Number will be further validated.

Part of me is excited because I would love to see Levy come out, smash Mike Breeden and go on a terrific run that tears my postulation to shreds.

And part of me just wants to see if my overall read on Levy – theories aside — was correct, because I wasn’t sure about him going into DWCS and was less sure about him heading into his debut, and thus far, those hesitations have been validated. Maybe this is vain or narcissistic, but I’m keen to see Levy fight this weekend because I want a better sense of my own abilities as a judge of talent.

If that’s vain, so be it; I guess I’m vain.

But I think I’m pretty good when it comes to this stuff and the only way to know for sure is to see these competitors step into the Octagon and compete.