UFC Fight Night 57 takes place this Saturday, Nov. 22, live from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX. The event is headlined by a 5-round fight between two of the best featherweights on the planet today, Frankie Edgar and Cub Swanson. The winner of the fight will potentially be the next opponent for UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Also on the card, in the co-main event Bobby Green takes on one of the deadliest striker at 155 pounds, Edson Barboza. Flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Brad Pickett take on Dustin Ortiz and Chico Camus, respectively, and Jared Rosholt takes on Oleksiy Oliynyk in a heavyweight clash. As always, there are always some things to expect from a UFC fight card, and here are three things you should expect from UFC Fight Night 57.
What to expect: UFC Fight Night 57 edition
A close fight between top featherweights Edgar and Swanson
Edgar may have beaten up Swanson pretty badly in a CPU vs. CPU fight in EA Sports UFC, but I don’t think that’ll happen in real life. Video games may mean a little when it comes to MMA, but not everything. Like lots of people, I believe Edgar vs. Swanson will be a very close fight. I think Edgar’s wrestling may be too much for Swanson, and could even determine the winner. I don’t think that will end up making a huge effect though, and I think the fight will mostly remain standing, and be a pretty great fight. Who doesn’t like top fighters who are both pretty entertaining getting at it?
Expect a striking war between Green and Barboza
Barboza owns some of the deadliest strikes in the 155lb division, and he can knockout anyone at anytime. Anyone fighting Barboza can’t be waiting too long before doing anything, or they’ll find themselves waking up in the locker room 15 minutes later. On the other hand, Green is at his best right now, despite recording almost 30 fights on his MMA record. He’s coming off the biggest win of his career against Josh Thomson. I think we could see a very close and high paced fight here, so it’s a fight between two great lightweights you cannot miss.
Joseph Benavidez will likely come back strong against Ortiz, take him out in the first round
Dustin Ortiz is a great rising fighter, no doubt about it. He’s making a big jump against the No. 2 flyweight Joseph Benavidez, and I think ‘The Beefcake’ will be too much for him. Benavidez has been a top flyweight for ages, now in his mid-thirties. He looked great against Tim Elliot, submitting him, and I think the same thing will happen. Benavidez is hungry to get back to the title, which will take a lot because he’s lost to the champ Demetrious Johnson twice, but I really only consider this a warm-up fight for the Alpha Male. I don’t think Ortiz has anything for the UFC veteran, and I’m going Benavidez by quick stoppage.
