Joe “J-Lau” Lauzon vs Sam “Hands of Stone” Stout

This high-energy lightweight clash pits the well-rounded Lauzon (18-4-0) against talented kickboxer Stout (14-5-1) in a fight to determine which young gun takes a big step up the ladder of contenders in the stacked division. Lauzon has never gone the distance in his entire career and holds 14 wins by submission, while Stout has knocked out eight opponents to date.

Lauzon last competed nearly a year ago when he submitted Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens at UFC Fight Night 17 in February, while Stout eked out a close decision over “Handsome” Matt Wiman at UFC 97 in April in a fight that arguably should have gone Wiman’s way. While Lauzon has established himself as a proven finisher, Stout has struggled to end fights inside of the distance during his UFC career.

As in all of his fights, Stout will aim to keep this bout standing and Lauzon’s striking is competent enough that he will be able to survive – and maybe even thrive – on the feet. However, the minute that Lauzon decides to take the fight to the ground is the minute that the fight turns drastically in his favour. A rear naked choke or similar submission will be soon to follow and Lauzon will pick up an impressive win in the process.

Prediction:

Lauzon by Submission in round two.

Jim Miller vs Duane “Bang” Ludwig

Another striker versus grappler matchup highlights the main card as submission specialist Miller (15-2-0) meets knockout artist Ludwig (19-9-0), who returns to the UFC on short notice for this fight. Ludwig is undefeated in the UFC and holds the unofficial record for the fastest knockout in the promotion’s history (four seconds, but officially credited as 11 seconds due to a timing error), while Miller has lost just once in five appearances inside the Octagon.

Ludwig remains as one of the top strikers in the lightweight division, but he has been stopped eight times in his career and submission defence remains as one of his weakpoints. If he is able to keep the fight with Miller standing, Ludwig has a very good chance of remaining undefeated in the UFC, but Miller has a solid chin and excellent takedowns. Should the fight go to the mat, Ludwig is in serious trouble.

Known for his exciting fights, Ludwig should stick around for a while in the UFC due to stepping into this fight on short notice, but his sorely lacking ground game will be exploited here. Miller must do little more than weather an early storm before taking Ludwig down and picking up the quick submission.

Prediction:

Miller by Submission in round one.

Junior “Cigano” dos Santos vs Gilbert “The Hurricane” Yvel

All but guaranteed to end quickly and emphatically, this battle of heavyweight knockout artists will see dos Santos (9-1-0) look to pick up another win over an established star when he faces Yvel (36-13-1, 1 NC), who is making his long overdue debut in the UFC and has won an incredible 31 times by knockout.

The likelihood that this fight makes it out of the first round hovers somewhere between zero and still zero. Dos Santos has never gone the distance in his career and holds six wins by knockout, while Yvel has gone to a decision just five times in 51 bouts. Both possess huge punching power in their fists, but Yvel has also picked up knockout wins with knees and kicks. The first fighter to land a big strike is likely to be crowned the winner seconds later.

Yvel probably would have debuted for the UFC years ago, but he is one of the most controversial fighters in the sport and did not receive fighter licensing in the U.S. until Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” nearly one year ago. Known as much for his trio of disqualification losses – one for biting, one for eye gouging and one for knocking out the referee after an unfavourable ruling – as for his brutal KO wins, Yvel has a lot to prove in the UFC and a win over dos Santos would be huge.

Dos Santos is the favourite in this fight and deserves to be, but fans will be in for a shock when Yvel, still a relative unknown in North America, hands dos Santos a crushing defeat in devastating fashion. With his controversial past hopefully a distant memory, Yvel should emerge here as a serious threat to anyone in the UFC’s expanding heavyweight division.

Prediction:

Yvel by KO in round one.