UFC Fight Night Storylines

UFC Fight Night events may not bring the star power of most PPV events, but they still are often filled with future contenders and interesting matchups.

UFC matchmaker Joe Silva usually tends to pick these Fight Night matchups for their entertainment value, so you can usually expect a lot of excitement.

If, however, you're looking for some additional things to watch for to make things a little more entertaining, here are some story lines that you can follow.

1. Can Gray Maynard Do Anything To Beat BJ Penn?

Most people are highly skeptical about anybody's chances of beating BJ Penn, but since Gray Maynard is getting very close to a title shot, it will be interesting to see if he can show some skills that might cause trouble for Penn.

Diaz doesn't really have great takedown defense, so watching for takedowns isn't really going to be too indicative of how well Maynard would do against a guy with great takedown defense like Penn.

Diaz does have some good BJJ though, so it should be interesting to see how well Maynard handles Diaz on the ground.

I remember that when Maynard fought Rich Clementi, he had a fair amount of problems dealing with Clementi's BJJ skills, but he's looked better on the ground against Miller and Huerta. If he's going to beat BJ though, he's really going to need to exercise some stifling top-position control, and not come close to either being swept or submitted.

2. Can Diaz Beat Maynard Again?

Diaz has already beaten Maynard on The Ultimate Fighter reality series, but since that time, Maynard has been working on his BJJ skills to prevent a submission. Maynard is expected to win the rematch, but if Diaz can beat Maynard, it will be deflating for Maynard, and Diaz will prove that he has Maynard's number.

3. Undefeated Prospects

Efrain Escudero and Evan Dunham are both undefeated prospects.

At 23 years old, Efrain Escudero seems to have the potential to really do well in the UFC. He started with a good wrestling base, but has shown a good inclination towards the BJJ game, and has improved his striking to a good level.

Dunham impressed a lot of people with his victory over Marcus Aurelio, where he showed off some crisp striking to go along with his wrestling and submission skills.

He's older, so he may not be seen as a prospect like Escudero, but he's still young in the sport, having made his MMA debut in 2007.

The winner of this fight must be seen as one of the brightest prospects in the UFC lightweight division.

4. The Oldest MMA Prospect

Aaron Simpson is 35 years old, but just started fighting in late 2007, and has shown some very promising talent. It has been a long time since someone has entered MMA so late in the game and gone on to have a lot of success.

Can Simpson continue his late rise to stardom against Tom Lawler?

5. The Comeback Kids

Amir Sadollah has built a reputation for getting beaten up before he comes back to win his fights in dramatic fashion.

Brad Blackburn is known not so much for his comebacks in his fight, but more for a career comeback. At one point, he was 8-7-1 and on a four-fight losing streak. He's now on a six-fight undefeated streak, and has added quality wins over Ryo Chonan, Jay Hieron, and Delson Heleno.

Will Sadollah make another big comeback, or will Blackburn's comeback continue?

6. The Next GSP?

OK, so Rory MacDonald probably isn't going to be the next GSP, but he is still perhaps the brightest prospect in Canadian MMA. At 20 years old, he's put together a tidy 9-0 record, but he takes a big step up in competition against Mike Guymon, a 35-year-old veteran.

7. Elimination Match

Kyle Bradley and Rafael Dos Anjos are both on the verge of being cut from the UFC, as they both hold 1-2 records in the promotion.

In all likelihood, the loser of this fight gets cut from the UFC, so much is at stake.

8. TUF Reject

Gerald Harris was cut from the UFC after losing his fight on The Ultimate Fighter against the aforementioned Amir Sadollah. Since that time, he's gone on a tear in smaller organizations, but makes his return to the UFC tonight.

He's got a long way to go, but he may just end up being the best fighter to come out of that season of TUF.

9. Will the UFC Ever Cut Chris Leben?

In my opinion, Chris Leben should have been cut by the UFC a long time ago. He's still hanging around, and in all likelihood, he's going to win his fight against Jay Silva.

If he does lose though, will the UFC finally take out the garbage?