UFC on Versus 3 Sanchez Vs. Kampmann: 5 Reasons This Event Is a Must See
UFC returns Thursday night with an explosive card on the Versus network. The main event features welterweight fighters Diego "The Dream" Sanchez and Martin "Hitman" Kampmann. Both will be looking to launch themselves into the group of elite fighters of the division, and it will surely be entertaining.
The co-main event features middleweight contender Mark Munoz and Ultimate Fighter finalist C.B. Dollaway. Munoz has a record of 9-2 and Dollaway is on a three-fight win streak.
Other undercard fights include Alessio Sakara vs. Chris Weidman and Brian Bowles vs. Damacio Page.
No. 5 Facebook Fights
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Before the main card airs at 9 p.m. on Versus, two free fights will be streamed live on Facebook.com.
Joe Stevenson (31-12) vs. Danny Castillo (10-3) and Steve Cantwell (7-3) vs. Cyrille Diabaté (16-7) are two fights that you don't want to miss.
Cantwell vs. Diabaté is a bout in which both fighters are coming off losses and need to make a statement to keep their job in the UFC. All of Cantwell's win have come by knockout or submission. Diabaté has been fighting professionally since 1999 and is an excellent kick-boxer.
Joe Stevenson is in a similar position as Cantwell. Both have lost two fights in a row. Stevenson was knocked out in his last fight and is 2-4 in his last six. If either of them is defeated, they may find a pink slip in their mailbox very soon.
No. 4 Solid Undercard
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The undercard of Thursday's event features several fights with standout submission artists. Rousimar Palhares, Rob Kimmons, Thiago Tavares and Dave Branch all have black belts.
Palhares takes on the tough Dave Branch, who is on a two-fight win streak. Palhares is attempting to rebound from his loss to Nate Marquardt last September. Before that, he had won two consecutive fights by heel hook.
Rob Kimmons (23-6) fights Dong Yi Yang (9-1) in a middleweight bout. 14 of Kimmons' victories have come by submission. Yang is a judo fighter who is probably the most popular Korean fighter in the UFC behind Kim Dong-Hyun.
The most anticipated fight on the undercard is a lightweight bout between Shane Roller and Thiago Tavares. Roller is coming off a submission victory over former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner while Tavares is riding an extensive 5-3-1 record in the UFC.
No. 3 New Middleweight Contender
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The winner of the C.B. Dollaway and Mark Munoz middleweight scrap will be labeled as a new middleweight contender or as Dana White would describe as being "in the mix."
There aren't too many clear or intriguing contenders in the division, but nobody except Anderson Silva should be blamed for that. Fans want to see new faces opposite the dominant champion, and a wrestler like Munoz would present an interesting challenge.
Both Munoz and Dollaway are standout wrestlers. Munoz was the first Filipino-American to win a championship at the Division I level while attending Oklahoma State University.
Dollaway was an All-American wrestler at Arizona State University.
This fight could resemble Munoz's last fight against Aaron Simpson. When two wrestlers go up against each other, they are usually are forced to stand and trade. Munoz showed visible improvement in his standup, and he will have to if he wants people to believe he has a chance against Anderson Silva.
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No. 2 Bowles Looks to Reclaim His No. 2 Spot in the Bantamweight Division
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Three days short of a year absent from the sport, Former WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles returns to the cage; this time in the UFC.
Bowles won the title after he knocked out Miguel Torres in 2009. He defended it once and lost it to "Pound-for-Pound" ranked and current UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
Plagued by injuries since his loss on March 6, 2010, Bowles finally makes his return against Damacio Page. Page went 3-2 in the WEC and has an overall record of 12-5 in MMA.
Bowles should be looking to make a statement as the number one contender in the division, but he will have to get through the tough slugger in Page, who trains under Greg Jackson in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
No. 1 "Fight of the Year" Candidate
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It's hard to think this won't be the "Fight of the Night." The styles these two fighters possess makes for fireworks and intensity every time they go at it.
Sanchez is coming off an impressive win over Paulo Thiago. After a tough first round, he overwhelmed the Brazilian to earn a unanimous decision. Joe Rogan called it Sanchez's greatest performance to date.
Kampmann's last fight was a split-decision loss to Jake Shields. It was a fight he could have won, but he neglected to stand and instead took the fight to the ground where Shields was the more experienced fighter.
This fight will go everywhere. Both fighters are well-rounded enough that wherever it goes, it will be competitive. These guys are each hard to finish and can push themselves to the limits.
Neither fighter stops looking for the finish, and both possess two of the best chins in the welterweight division.
This fight may even go down as a candidate for "Fight of the Year." It's going to be one to remember.
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