Breakdown: UFC: Moraes vs Sandhagen

 Breakdown: UFC: Moraes vs Sandhagen

Moraes vs Sandhagen: 135lbs

Moraes(+120), MMA Record: 23-6-1, UFC Record: 5-2, Age: 32, Current Streak: One Win: Marlon is one of the most complete and entertaining fighters of the smaller weight classes. He has crisp and clean striking that can put his opponents out in a split second. His grappling is good too and he can end the fight with one of his sneaky submissions. He is seventh at 135lbs in knockdown average per fifteen minutes with 0.93 knockdowns. His gas tank has been a small issue in the past and if this fight goes long, I will be interested to see how much he slows down. Even though I thought he lost his last fight against Aldo, Marlon is in the prime of his fighting career and is still very much in the title picture. A win here would put him in a position to get the winner of the Yan/Sterling fight. Grades: Striking=9/10, Grappling=8.5/10

*IMPORTANT STATS: 3.53 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 39% Striking Accuracy, 3.69 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute, 58% Striking Defense

NOTABLE WINS: Aldo(SD), Assuncao(SUB), Rivera(TKO), Sterling(KO), Dodson(SD), Torres(SD), Hill(TKO)

Sandhagen(-145), MMA Record: 12-2, UFC Record: 5-1, Age: 28, Current Streak: One Loss: Cory is coming off the first lose of his UFC career where he lost early in the first round by submission to Sterling. Cory looked like a world beater until that fight. He is very long and tall for the division, with a 70 inch reach and he uses it to his advantage very well. Training with Team Elevation means that his cardio will be on point and I would look for that to be an X factor if this fight goes long. His output is one of the highest in the division. Cory is first at 135lbs and sixth in all weight classes in strikes landed per minute with 6.49 strikes. Cory could also take this fight to the ground and use his Jiu Jitsu to get a finish where he is very good. Much like his opponent, a win here would put him right in line for the next title shot at Bantamweight. This is truly a number one contender fight.  Grades: Striking=8.5/10, Grappling=9/10 

IMPORTANT STATS: 6.95 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 48% Striking Accuracy, 4.08 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute, 1.20 Takedowns Landed per 15 Minutes

NOTABLE WINS: Assuncao(UD), Lineker(UD), Bautista(SUB), Alcantara(TKO)

Barboza vs Amirkhani: 145lbs

Barboza(-255), MMA Record: 20-9, UFC Record: 14-9, Age: 34, Current Streak: Three Losses: Early in his UFC career, Edson looked like a lock to be the next champ at Lightweight. While still being a great fighter at that weight, he was never able to break through the toughest division in the UFC and get a title shot. His move down to featherweight was well timed and at 34 years old, he is at the the tail end of his prime and can still compete with the best. His striking will always be nasty and his kicks are some of the best in MMA. He now has a size and power advantage over many of his opponents at 145lbs. He needs a win here to break his three fight losing streak and get back on track to get that elusive title shot. Grades: Striking=9.25/10, Grappling=8.25/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 80% Takedown Defense, 4.08 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 43% Striking Accuracy, 59% Striking Defense

NOTABLE WINS: Hooker(TKO), Dariush(KO), Melendez(UD), Pettis(UD), Felder(UD), B. Green(UD), Dunham(TKO), Castillo(MD), R Oliveira(TKO), Etim(KO), Pearson(SD), Njokuani(UD)

Amirkhani(+210), MMA Record: 16-4, UFC Record: 6-2, Age: 31, Current Streak: One Win: This is easily the biggest fight of Makwan's career so far. "Mr. Finland" has some of the nastiest grappling/jiu jitsu in the division and he will need to use it if he wants to get the win on Saturday. He is tied for third at 145lbs for most submission wins with 3. He was spent 29.1% of his total fight time in top position which is sixth best in the division. He is also sixth in the division at submission average per fifteen minutes at 1.62 submissions. A win would propel Makwan into the top 15 rankings at Featherweight. Grades: Striking: 8.25/10, Grappling: 9.25/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 1.55 Sig Strikes Landed per Minute, 3.45 Takedown Landed per 15 Minutes, 1.6 Submission Attempts per 15 Minutes, 2.73 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: Henry(SUB), Fishgold(SUB), Knight(SD), Duquesnoy(SUB)

Perez vs Du Plessis:185lbs 

Perez(+125), MMA Record: 12-3, UFC Record: 2-3, Age: 30, Current Streak: One Loss: Markus is one of the more entertaining fighters at 185lbs. The Brazilian has a well rounded game where I would say he is good at everything but also not elite at anything either. His striking does tend to get a little sloppy during fights especially later on in the fight. He was had trouble stringing together a win steak in the UFC with him going win loss win loss in his career. He lost his last fight so if you like patterns, Markus should win this fight on Saturday based on that. Grades: Striking=8.25/10, Grappling=8.5/10

IMPORTANT STATS: 2.75 Sig. Strikes Landed per Minute, 48% Striking Accuracy, 80% Takedown Defense, 3.96 Sig. Strikes Absorbed per Minute

NOTABLE WINS: A. Hernandez(SUB), Bochnovic(SUB), Heinisch(SUB)

Du Plessis(-145), MMA Record: 14-2, UFC Record: 0-0, Age: 26, Current Streak: Two Wins: Dricus was one of my favorite fighters outside the UFC and I'm pumped that he is making his debut this weekend. He was the welterweight champ in European promotion KSW and had some epic fights with another one of my favorite fighters outside the UFC in Roberto Soldic. He is fighting at his natural weight class now which I think is a great decision. He has a very complete game. I would say his ground game is a little better than his striking but both are very good. He was a 76 inch reach and he uses it well. His ground game is suffocating with nine of his win coming by way of submission. He was never been to a decision in his career and would expect his UFC career to be the same. Grades: Striking=8.5/10, Grappling=8.75/10

IMPORTANT STATS: None available

NOTABLE WINS: Lesar(SUB), Santos(TKO), Soldic(TKO)

Under The Radar Bouts: Aspinall(-360) vs Baudot(+285): Heavyweight | Zalal(-170) vs Topuria(+150): Featherweight | Nascimento(-290) vs Daukaus(+235): Heavyweight | Kasanganay(-255) vs Buckley(+210): Middleweight | Chikadze(+135) vs Morales(-165): Featherweight |    

*All stats are from http://ufcstats.com/event-details/fd4578cac86d75ca