Jones vs. Cormier: 1 Thing Each Main Card Fighter Must Do to Win
Like a fireball bellowing deep inside of a dragon's belly, UFC 182 will spark what many consider to be the most prolific one-year schedule of all time.
Driven by world-class combatants like Jon Jones, Donald Cerrone, Daniel Cormier and Hector Lombard, Saturday's main card could set the cage ablaze.
From knockout specialists to athletic youngsters and submission gurus to wrestling juggernauts, Octagon variety is something to bank on come Fight Night.
But with such diversity and excellence looming in the distance, each and every fighter must fortify his efforts to conquer the challenge at hand.
Here is one thing each main card participant must do to not only win but start 2015 off with an exclamation mark.
Louis Gaudinot
1 of 10
Fight smart
Gaudinot is not the quintessential wrestling-based fighter we usually see at the lower weight classes, so he utilizes bursts of wild strikes to compensate.
But his opponent is Kyoji Horiguchi, who is one of the better power punchers in the flyweight division. Not to mention he has a pretty slick ground-and-pound attack to boot.
If Goodnight wants to cash in on something green besides his hair, then he'll need to lay off the throttle, wait for opportunistic gaps and attempt to tire Horiguchi.
Kyoji Horiguchi
2 of 10
Engage early and often
As an underrated flyweight contender currently sporting a 14-1 professional record, Horiguchi has made a name for himself by punishing opponents with his fists.
It has allowed the 24-year-old to prolong his in-cage success by pushing the pace, overwhelming his opponents and relying on his natural gifts.
Horiguchi has been so good at doing this that it would be crazy of him to rely on any other mode of attack when he takes on the brawl-friendly Gaudinot this Saturday.
He'll just have to engage early and often to dismiss Gaudinot's tendency of getting better as a fight goes on.
Nate Marquardt
3 of 10
Stick like glue
Despite possessing solid power in whichever division he calls home, Nate Marquardt has the best chance to win when he's nose-to-nose with his opponent.
Whether that's in the clinch or on the ground is up to him.
His ability to stick to an opponent and work for a submission or score points in top position has enabled him to compete for more than 15 years.
Not to mention, his chin has become borderline suspect over the past few years, so eliminating distance and his opponent's power isn't a bad idea.
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Brad Tavares
4 of 10
Let his hands go
Tim Boetsch dismantled Tavares at UFC Fight Night 47, so the Hawaiian is in desperate need of a victory to start his 2015 campaign.
Once considered the next young up-and-comer at 185 pounds, the now 27-year-old will be looking to impress this weekend at UFC 182.
His best chance to do so would be on the feet, where Tavares packs devastating power and the chin to absorb damage.
If he can maintain his distance from Marquardt and let his hands go early, then he could come away with a knockout.
Josh Burkman
5 of 10
Utilize his wrestling
The key to beating Hector Lombard is to take him down and sap his energy.
Then and only then will a loss of fuel affect his overpowering striking.
While Burkman doesn't have the greatest wrestling pedigree this side of the sun, he is athletic and strong enough to secure a takedown when necessary.
But he must be extra careful when he draws near—with heavyweight power and judo throws that would make Ronda Rousey smile, Lombard is exceedingly dangerous in close quarters.
Hector Lombard
6 of 10
Keep his distance and stay patient
Arguably the strongest pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC, Lombard is rarely overwhelmed inside the cage.
If he happens to get in trouble, then he'll let his atomic hands fly or sneak behind his opponent's leg and judo throw him into oblivion.
But with such explosion and bad intentions in his offense, the Cuban welterweight tends to discharge too much energy.
Against a tenured, well-rounded competitor like Burkman, that may not suffice.
Look for Lombard to maintain his composure and distance to give him the opportunity to stay patient with his strikes.
Myles Jury
7 of 10
Win the first two
Donald Cerrone is notoriously a slow starter.
It has hurt him in the past but has also fueled his late-fight aggression and near-perfect attacks.
But that inability to tap into his entire skill set early in a fight leaves windows open for an athletic, creative and forward-moving youngster like Jury.
If Fury can pressure early and do enough to throw off Cowboy's natural round-by-round search for comfort, then he may be able to win the first two rounds.
After that, he would just have to dodge a barbed-wire missile for the remaining five minutes before taking a decision away from arguably the hottest name in the game right now.
Donald Cerrone
8 of 10
Open up early
While Cerrone is leaps and bounds the toughest fight to date for Jury, the 26-year-old is not even in the top five toughest for Cowboy.
Cerrone has simply been around much longer and has accomplished more feats along the way, beating to his own drum the entire time.
However, this should be a competitive fight, and the veteran adrenaline junkie may have to open up a little earlier than he normally does to make an impact before the final frame of this three-round bout.
Jury is capable of setting the pace and maintaining it, so Cerrone needs to disrupt that rhythm early on in what will be the young kid's greatest spotlight of his career.
If he can do that, then the finish will create itself.
Daniel Cormier
9 of 10
Make this a wrestling match
It's not the most attractive means of capturing a victory over the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, but it's the most logical one.
Turning the bout into a wrestling match will not only serve as a means of physically imposing his will but also to demonstrate his mental fortitude.
Jon Jones has remarked that Cormier is coming into Saturday's title fight under the impression that it will be a wrestling match. Now while Cormier seems intelligent enough to appreciate MMA's vast pallet of skill sets, he should still aim to utilize his wrestling to show Jones that he can win by doing just that.
Because at the end of the day, even the best technical striker in the division—Alexander Gustafsson—couldn't get past the dexterity and fluidity of the champ.
Jon Jones
10 of 10
Stay off his back
This is practically common sense considering Cormier is one of the best wrestlers to ever compete inside of a cage, but let's assume Jones has a different plan to win.
If he does, then shame on him. He is not the same caliber of wrestler as DC and would be ill-advised to fight a five-round title fight under the assumption that he is.
So for the sake of retaining his title and escaping a potential beatdown Saturday night, Jones needs to defend the takedown by utilizing his long frame and making Cormier pay whenever he comes inside.
Launching some timely flying knees or short elbows in the clinch should be enough to make the challenger question his bread and butter.
And when you question your bread and butter, someone doesn't eat.
For more UFC news and coverage, Follow @DHiergesell
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