Five fighters with something to prove
Atlantic City card packed with exciting bouts that feature hot prospects and proven veterans
You never hear a serious NBA fan complain there are too many basketball games on each week during the regular season.
The same goes for hockey diehards, or those crazy people who will try to watch all of the 1,458 innings their favourite baseball team will play from late March until the end of September.
Within the MMA community, however, a third consecutive weekend with a UFC event is often met with a cringe and frustrations about how the organization has failed to promote the impending card, as if it’s a daunting task to watch some of the best fighters in the world compete for a third consecutive Saturday.
The critics also wonder if the amount of time the UFC has sunk into getting you hyped for this show will actually have an impact on how things play out in the Octagon this weekend in Atlantic City.
Don’t let the malaise of those who are seemingly worn down by the rigours of watching fights every Saturday night fool you into thinking there is little real interest transpiring at Boardwalk Hall this weekend.
There are outstanding fights on deck and terrific prospects returning to action who you should really check out. Here are five in particular to pay attention to Saturday:
Aspen Ladd
The 23-year-old Californian might be the best female prospect on the UFC roster right now. At the very least she’s in the Top 5, and with a win over veteran Leslie Smith in Atlantic City, the undefeated Ladd will make a further push toward contention in the women’s bantamweight division.
Ladd is far more accomplished and polished in the cage than current “It Girl” Mackenzie Dern, and should be receiving far greater attention and a much bigger promotional push than the Brazilian jiu-jitsu standout is at the moment. Instead, this fight has been inexplicably stationed on Fight Pass.
Don’t let that sway you. Ladd is an outstanding up-and-coming fight- er and this bout with Smith should be a litmus test. It promises to be an exciting scrap you won’t want to miss.
Brett Johns
If you’re not excited about the prospects of an undefeated 26-yearold coming off a 30-second submission win to step in against an established Top 10 talent, I don’t know what to tell you.
Last time out, Johns caught Joe Soto in just the second calf slicer in UFC history and now he’s jumping in with Aljamain Sterling in a bout that’s crucial for both men.
The Welshman i s3-0 in the UFC, 15-0 overall, and standing on the fringes of contention in a loaded division that should get plenty of attention and produce many exciting fights over the next four or five months.
If he gets by Sterling, Johns will be in the mix for a marquee fight next time out.
Consider this your chance to familiarize yourself with a fighter destined for bigger and better things in the second half of the year.
Thiago Santos
Santos has four straight stoppage wins and is one of the most consistently entertaining fighters in the middleweight division.
He’s built like a truck, has a giant tattoo of Thor’s hammer in the middle of his chiselled chest, and the way he’s been settling people of late, you would think he was hitting them with said mythic hammer.
The former Brazilian paratrooper is 8-2 over his last 10 bouts and has looked like a potential title contender since his two-fight hiccup in the second half of 2016 when he lost a short-notice fight against Gegard Mousasi and then rushed back into action and got tapped by Eric Spicely.
The middleweight division is in a state of flux right now and Santos can benefit from that if he can get through David Branch on Saturday. Given how dominant and devastating he’s been over his last four outings, it’s worth tuning in to see him try.
Frankie Edgar
While I don’t like that the perennial contender is hustling back into the Octagon just a few weeks after being stopped by Brian Ortega, Edgar has made a career of bouncing back from adversity and re-asserting himself as a force.
Fighting down the coast from his home in Toms River, “The Answer” gets a chance to prove he’s still got something left in the tank and shouldn’t be counted out in the featherweight division when he squares off with Cub Swanson in Saturday’s co-main event.
These two fought a couple years ago in Austin, Texas. They’re both coming off losses to Ortega, which means this contest is crucial for each of them.
With the hometown crowd behind him and coming off his first non-title loss in nearly 10 years, you can be sure we’ll see the best Edgar has to offer Saturday.
Kevin Lee
It’s crazy to me how fighters can go from competing for a title against one of the top talents in their respective division to being kind of overlooked and under-appreciated in their next fight.
That’s the vibe I’m getting with Lee and it makes no sense.
While he lost to Tony Ferguson last time out, the ultra-confident “Motown Phenom” remains one of the top lightweights in the world. His main-event clash with Edson Barboza is a chance for him to prove it.
Beating Barboza is no easy task, but Lee has the talent to do it.
While the top of the division remains cloudy, this is his chance to make sure his name is in consideration for those marquee fights in the second half of the year.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the best version of Kevin Lee that we’ve seen to date in the Octagon on Saturday.
E. Spencer Kyte covers MMA for The Province. Please visit ProvinceSports.com/MMA for all your news, information and analysis and follow ESK on social media @spencerkyte.