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A rare Sunday card is taking place this weekend for UFC fans as UFC Fight Night 61 is upon us from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The main event is one to watch as a pair of longtime heavyweight contenders clash as Frank Mir faces Antonio Silva. Also, there are a pair of big lightweight division bouts as Michael Johnson faces Edson Barboza and Rustam Khabilov faces Adriano Martins.
Main Card
Main Event
UFC Heavyweight Division Fight
Frank Mir (16-9-0) vs. Antonio “Bigfoot†Silva (18-6-1)
Mir will enter the fight riding a four fight losing streak and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion has not won a bout in nearly four years. Silva has not fared well during his stint in the UFC, having only won just two of six fights in the promotion. Despite not winning a bout in nearly four years, all of Mir’s losses came to either former UFC and/or Strikeforce Heavyweight Champions. Silva, despite having a home country advantage in this fight, has yet to win a fight in his native Brazil since joining the UFC in 2012. This fight is between two heavyweights who are way past their primes as top level MMA fighters, but it will be Silva using his superior striking to knockout Mir in the first.
Co-Main Event
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Edson Barboza (15-2-0) vs. Michael “The Menace†Johnson (15-8-0)
Barboza has won five of his last six fights under the UFC banner and he holds the UFC record for most finishes via leg kicks. Johnson will be returning to action after taking a year away from the sport after a domestic violence issue arose. Barboza has only suffered two defeats in his career, to former WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner and to lightweight title contender Donald Cerrone. Johnson will enter the fight riding a three fight winning streak, with two of those wins coming against fellow TUF alumni Joe Lauzon and Melvin Guillard. Barboza has some of the most brutal leg kicks in all of the UFC and he will use those leg kicks to finish Johnson in the second.
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
“Smilin’†Sam Alvey (24-6-0-1NC) vs. Cezar “Mutante†Ferreira (8-3-0)
Alvey has won just one of two fights under the UFC banner and he is a former Maximum Fighting Championships Middleweight Champion. Ferreira has won four of five fights during his UFC run and he was the winner of the UFC Ultimate Fighter Brazil I. Ferreira relies strictly on his ground game to grind out his wins and he will hold Alvey on the ground to get the decision.
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Rustam “Tiger†Khabilov (17-2-0) vs. Adriano Martins (26-7-0)
Khabilov has won four of five fights during his UFC campaign, with that lone loss coming to former UFC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson. Martins will be competing in his home country of Brazil for the first time in four years, but he has won two of three in the UFC. Khabilov is a future top contender in the lightweight division and his smothering ground game will secure him a decision over Martins.
UFC Bantamweight Division Fight
Iuri “Marajao†Alcantara (31-5-0-1NC) vs. Frankie Saenz (9-2-0)
Alcantara will be entering the fight on a three fight winning streak, which includes a win over former Resurrection Fighting Alliance Bantamweight Champion Russell Doane. Saenz is currently undefeated under the UFC banner, having defeated Nolan Ticman at UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. St. Preux. Alcantara is quickly becoming the most feared striker in the bantamweight division and he will knockout Saenz quickly in the first.
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Santiago “El Rasta†Ponzinibbio (19-2-0) vs. Sean “Tarzan†Strickland (15-0-0)
Ponzinibbio will be looking to build on the momentum of his first UFC win, which came over Wendell Oliveira at UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski II. Strickland has already pulled two upsets in the UFC, defeating the more favored Bubba McDaniel and Luke Barnatt in his past UFC bouts. Strickland has overcome tremendous odds in his first two UFC bouts and he will catch Ponzinibbio with a second round submission to win his third straight.
Preliminary Card
Jessica Andrade over Marion Reneau
William Macario over Matt Dwyer
Mike De La Torre over Tiago Trator
Cody Gibson over Douglas Silva
Josh Shockley over Ivan Jorge
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