UFC 129: Aldo vs. Hominick and the 10 Best Upcoming Striker vs. Striker Matchups
Everyone loves a good knockout, and each of these fights guarantees one or at the very least a "Fight of the Night" candidate.
When UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and top contender Mark Hominick meet inside the Octagon April 30 at UFC 129, there will be fireworks. They are two of the very best strikers in the sport and have an entire arsenal of attacks.To add to the drama, it will be for the featherweight belt making it that much more exciting.
With kicks, knees, punches and elbows, get ready to see some can't-miss action with these 20 fighters.
No. 10: Jorge Rivera vs. Alessio Sakara, UFC 133
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Jorge Rivera is 19-8 with 13 knockouts. He is coming off a recent defeat to Michael Bisping at UFC 120 in a highly anticipated fight to prove if he could back up his nonstop trash-talk. He couldn't and was finished in the second round by the much more superior British fighter.
His opponent is Alessio Sakara (15-8, 9 KO), a fighter who was supposed to fight him at UFC 122, but the fight was canceled after Sakara vomited backstage before the bout.
Both of these fighters possess knockout power and love to stand up. Sakara also has a 9-1 boxing record and is one of the more technical boxers in MMA.
Knockout guarantee: 90%.
No. 9: Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards, UFC 131
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Canadian mixed martial artist Sam Stout has his first fight since defeating Paul Taylor in an exciting bout last October. He will be taking on Yves Edwards on the Spike TV portion of UFC 131 featuring a heavyweight bout between Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos.
There is a good reason this fight is on the free portion of the card. It promises fireworks and nonstop action for three rounds, and there's no better way to kick off the pay-per-view than with a fight like that.
Knockout guarantee: 40%
No. 8: Andre Winner vs. Anthony Njokuani, UFC 132
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English fighter Andre Winner has some of the fastest hands in the lightweight division. Despite only having two knockouts in 17 bouts, he has very good hands and decent power. Look at his knockout over Rolando Delgado if you are still questioning it.
His opponent is Anthony Njokuani, who put on one heck of a fight with lightweight prospect Edson Barboza at UFC 128. It won "Fight of the Night" and was a close, competitive fight throughout with both fighters landing an assortment of strikes.
Both are coming off a loss so expect them to come out looking for the definitive finish.
Knockout guarantee: 50%
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No. 7: Martin Kampmann vs. John Howard, UFC Live
4 of 10
Martin "Hitman" Kampmann is coming off a controversial split-decision loss to Diego Sanchez. If Sanchez' face wasn't enough to show the type of striking this Danish fighter has, than I don't know what will. He did most of the damage in the first round with superior boxing and technical skills.
John Howard is 14-6 in MMA and 4-2 inside the Octagon. His most notable victory was a blistering first-round KO over Daniel Roberts. He also had a come from behind KO victory over Dennis Hallman with five seconds left in the bout.
Both fighters are coming off of two back-to-back losses so expect excitement.
Knockout guarantee: 35%
No. 6: Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman, UFC 132
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Dennis Siver is coming off the biggest victory of his career after defeating top lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos at UFC 127. He outboxed the Australian fighter for three rounds before winning a unanimous decision. He also dropped Sotiropoulos twice.
Wiman has shown decent stand up in his past fights, but is mainly a wrestler. He will definitely showcase his striking in this fight if Siver's takedown defense is as good as it was against Sotiropoulos.
Knockout guarantee: 35%
No. 6: Brian Stann vs. Jorge Santiago, 130
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Brazilian fighter Jorge Santiago finally makes his UFC return after four years fighting in other organizations and putting on some of the best fights you will ever see.
Santiago's last fight versus Kazuo Misaki was considered the fight of the year by many and the best fight of all time by some.
Brian Stann will be there to trade punches with him, which have led to seven of his 10 victories coming by way of knockout including his best performance to date against Chris Leben. He stopped the iron-chinned middleweight in the very first round.
Knockout guarantee: 55%
No. 4: Joey Beltran vs. Dave Herman, UFC 131
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With 32 combined victories between these two big heavyweights, only two of them have gone the distance! Herman has finished 19 of his 22 opponents and is making his much-anticipated UFC debut against Joey Beltran.
Beltran is one of the toughest fighters to finish and has never been knocked out. He showed his heart in his two losses to Pat Barry and Matt Mitrione, which were two close and competitive bouts.
If this fight doesn't end by knockout, it's going to be a candidate for the undercard "Fight of the Year."
Knockout guarantee: 75%
No. 3: Pat Barry vs. Cheick Kongo, UFC Live
8 of 10
This bout will take place on June 26 at UFC on Versus 4.
It's rare you get two professional kickboxers inside the same cage for an Mixed Martial Arts bout, but Barry is one of those fighters that makes a striker vs. striker match exciting because he is so good.
Barry is coming off a competitive decision win over the tough Mexican fighter Joey Beltran. Kongo could only manage to get a draw in his last fight versus Travis Browne.
Barry looked possessed in his last fight. He was not his jovial self at the weigh-ins or during the fight. Kongo hasn't looked too good since 2009 when he beat Barry's training partner Antoni Hardonk.
Both fighters' desires to stand and trade should make this an exciting stand-up war.
Knockout guarantee: 65%
No. 2: Wanderlei Silva vs. Chris Leben, UFC 132
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This has "Fight of the Year" written all over it if either fighters' chin can withstand the brutal strength they both possess.
Both of their chins were unable to hold up against recent opponents, but that doesn't matter for Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva. They are there to give the fans what they want to see and that's a fight.
Knockout guarantee: 99.9%
No. 1: Jose Aldo vs. Mark Hominick, UFC 129
10 of 10
This is the most significant striker vs. striker matchup of any upcoming MMA card, and many have been calling it the "real" main-event of UFC 129; a card that features top pound-for-pound fighters Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields.
Both Aldo and Hominick possess the type of technical striking fans like to see, and it's one that proves that striking in MMA is evolving at a considerably high rate. Both of them have knockout power and pinpoint accuracy.
Knockout guarantee: 65%
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