UFC on Versus 4: Five Burning Questions That Will Be Answered June 26

UFC on Versus 4—or as it is officially known, UFC Live: Marquardt vs. Story—is set to take place June 26 in the Steel City.

For a free event, this card is stacked both with matchups and intrigue. The main-event collision between Nate Marquardt and Rick Story is, of course, the best fight on paper and carries the most import for the larger championship conversation.

But plenty of other fighters have a lot on the line in this one, and as such the event could help separate the wheat from the chaff in several UFC divisions.

Here are five of the most pressing questions heading into the event.

5. Will the Axe Fall?

By my estimation, there are three fighters on the card—Matt Brown, Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson—who may be fighting for their UFC lives.

Each one is on a three-fight losing streak, and Griffin and Stevenson are each trying their luck at featherweight after dropping down from lightweight.

Meanwhile, John Howard is on a two-fight losing streak , Joe Lauzon has dropped two of three and Curt Warburton (Lauzon’s opponent) is 1-1 in his UFC career. This is probably not quite so dire a situation for these three as for the other three, but a victory for any would be a needed life preserver in the shark-infested waters of the UFC.

4. Who is the REAL gatekeeper of the heavyweight division?

Time to settle this once and for all.

Will Kongo keep his crown, or will Barry reveal him as a pretender to the gatekeeping throne, which is probably just a chair in one of those tiny houses that gatekeepers sit in to stay out of the elements?

TUNE IN TO FIND OUT!

I kid, but these are both very strong fighters, and if this fight would help identify a clear-cut gatekeeper, that could mean something in the top-heavy and bottom-thin heavyweight division.

It seems Kongo has been holding down this post for a while now, but after going winless in three of his last four, that tiny front door might be open for a talented, if inconsistent, fighter like Barry.

3. Will Matt Mitrione ever get a decent opponent?

Mitrione is 4-0 in the Octagon. Too bad his most impressive opponent to date has been Joey Beltran. And I include Christian Morecraft, Mitrione’s June 26 opponent, in that assessment.

Morecraft is a serviceable fighter, but perhaps not a first choice for someone who has been as impressive as Mitrione thus far in his young UFC career.

If Mitrione can avoid the upset against Morecraft, I’d expect him to take a leap or three up the heavyweight ladder.

2. Is Rick Story for real?

Plenty of cyber-ink has been spilled over Story in recent weeks. And deservedly so; a six-fight win streak will do that.

Story capitalized on the higher platform he got after beating Thiago Alves by taking this fight with Marquardt on short notice, after Anthony Johnson backed out with an injury.

Story is an exciting fighter, and at only 26 years old could have a promising career ahead of him. But a fight with Marquardt will be his toughest test. Something tells me he won’t be able to control Marquardt with wrestling the way he did Alves. How he responds will answer a lot of questions about this potential—note the word “potential”—contender at 170.

1. Can Nate Marquardt make a run at welterweight?

Amid all the Rick Story hype, someone seems to have forgotten that Nate Marquardt is a pretty darn accomplished fighter, and that if the cut down to 170 agrees with him, he could make a real difference in this division.

The moment his weight drop became official, Marquardt also became one of the better submission grapplers in the division.

If he can either force a tap on a strong wrestler in Story, or keep the fight standing to score with strikes, fans will know that Marquardt is poised to be a long-term fixture at welterweight.