UFC 134 Fight Card: Will Brendan Schaub Live Up to All the Hype?

On the main card at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, two heavyweights will meet at the intersection of
two very different career trajectories.

In one corner is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, an old MMA lion whose hunting days may be numbered. In the other corner, you’ve got rising star Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub, a former college football player who seems to have plenty going for him. He’s got new-generation skills, new-generation moxie and a new-generation nickname, not to mention a four-fight winning streak in the UFC.

After knocking out another fading legend—Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic—in his previous fight, Schaub is poised with a win over Big Nog to make a fast climb up the rung-challenged heavyweight ladder. He has suggested the win would put him in line for a title shot, or a main-event-type matchup with a big name like Brock Lesnar.

The question is whether Schaub can live up to all this hype. Being a legitimate title challenger and being a process-of-elimination default are two very different things.

Unfortunately, it's a question Schaub can’t resolve at UFC 134. Why?

Quality of opponent.

When he steps in the cage this Saturday, the well-traveled Nogueira will be 35 going on about 43. Cro Cop was 36 when he fought The Hybrid in March. Before that, Schaub decisioned a 31-year-old Gabriel Gonzaga. Maybe they’re not yet ready for Medicare, but they also aren't spring chickens, especially in the world of MMA.

It’s not that I begrudge the matchups, though. After all, Schaub doesn’t make them. Credit to him for giving the respect he does to the all-timers he faces. The fact that he grew up watching these guys is part of what makes him a dangerous member of the new generation. A true mixed martial artist, Schaub may does everything well (even if he doesn’t do any one thing stupendously). Against Big Nog, as against Cro Cop, Schaub may be able to simply employ his athleticism to dictate the terms of the fight, power through punishment and take full, brutal advantage of his opponent’s deficiencies.

Nogueira was knocked out against Frank Mir and again against Cain Velasquez. Schaub has knocked out three of his last four opponents. You do the math.

Win or lose in Rio, if the 28-year-old Schaub wants to be taken seriously as a heavyweight challenger, he may want to start hunting heads that aren’t speckled with gray. The loser (not the winner) of Velasquez-dos Santos would be a big step in that direction. So would Frank Mir. Or how about a rematch with Roy Nelson, who, let’s not forget, knocked the living Shania Twain out of Schaub less than two years back.

Schaub seems like a good guy and very good fighter who is comfortable in his own skin. Can he live up to the hype and become a star in the UFC?  Sure. But if that is going to happen, school has to let out at some point. You can pass all the tests and rack up degrees at the feet of the masters, but sooner or later you have to jump into the shark tank.

Until the real work starts, his fitness for the task will remain an open question.