The UFC rolls into New Orleans, Louisiana tonight for the latest UFC Fight Night card, and Leigh Copson has gone over the night’s card to pick out his three best bets for UFC Fight Night 68…
Tonight’s event is headlined by a middleweight fight that will have major implications for the two men involved. For Tim Boetsch this is an opportunity to claim a legendary scalp and move up the 185lb ladder, while Dan Henderson is fighting for his UFC career because five defeats in his last six fights have left the MMA icon drinking in the ‘Last Chance Saloon’.
So can Boetsch beat Henderson into retirement or will the 44-year-old show there is still some life in the old dog? Who will climb the heavyweight rankings when Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione collide? And can Dustin Poirier make it back-to-back wins as he looks to once again climb the 155lb ladder? Crunchsports.com answers those questions with our three best bets for UFC Fight Night 68…
Dan Henderson has enjoyed a glittering MMA career that has seen him win a whole host of titles – the PRIDE middleweight and welterweight titles, the PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix and the Strikeforce light-heavyweight title – but his days at the top of the sport are seemingly long gone following a run of five defeats in six fights. Even the sole win in that run was rather fortunate as he managed to catch ‘Shogun’ Rua in a fight he was losing… badly.
Who will win the battle of the heavyweights?Hendo knows a defeat will probably bring an end to his UFC career and I just cannot see him turning things around. Well into his 40s and without the aid of TRT, this could be an ugly ending for the American. Tim Boetsch is not the greatest of fighters in this division, but his sheer size and power will make life difficult for Henderson. Hendo’s best chance is to load up the ‘H-Bomb’ and try to finish it early, but that will not happen. He will run out of steam and Boetsch will punish him, bringing the fight – and Henderson’s career – to a close.
Matt Mitrione goes into this fight on a three-fight winning run and the bookmakers have made him the favourite. However, wins over the likes of Shawn Jordan, Derrick Lewis and an over-the-hill Gabriel Gonzaga have not particularly impressed me, and having seen Ben Rothwell blitz though Alistair Overeem in under two-and-half minutes last time out, I fancy him to score an upset win.
Dustin Poirier bounced back from his defeat to Conor McGregor by stopping Carlos Diego Ferreira back in April, and ‘The Diamond’ will be determined to make it back-to-back victories having moved back up to the lightweight division since that loss to the Irishman. The bookmakers like his chances and so do I. Yancy Medeiros has won his last two fights but Poirier is a serious step up in quality and the last time he faced notable opposition, in Jim Miller, the Brazilian was beaten inside a round. Poirier should have his hand raised on Saturday.
