UFC Vancouver - Maia vs Condit: The success of UFC 202 causes a killer of a card to be overlooked.

With a potential card of the year, and fight of the year occurring last weekend at UFC 202, Fight Night Vancouver will be looking to step up to the mark with some fascinating match-ups being overshadowed by last week's hecticness.

Condit will be looking to set up a title shot when he takes
on Demian Maia this Saturday
Credit: MMAFighting

Demian Maia. Eight years, twenty-three fights, and the most elite ground game you see in all of UFC to date. Carlos Condit. Seven years, twelve fights, and some of the crispest knees and elbows you will see in the UFC to date. Although Maia respectively has almost double the amount of bouts in the UFC then Condit, these pair come together this weekend in what sets out to be a number one contender fight (after Wonderboy faces recently crowned champ, Tyron Woodley). 

A lot is on the line for these two UFC veteran's, who are still peaking late in their careers, but are currently on very different paths. Maia has been on tear in recent at 170, a five-fight winning streak dispatching prospects such as Gunnar Nelson, and Neil Magny in the process. His Brazilian jiu-jitsu needs little of mentioning, it overwhelms his opponents, making his victories look effortless. Ask anyone, and most will tell you Maia's is on a different level compared to those within the UFC (bar a couple, Fabricio Werdum and Jacare Souza being the two that come to mind).

For Condit, the path has been a little more wayward leading up to this main event in Vancouver. Two steps forward one step back describes Condit's most recent UFC bouts, with only two wins from his last six, his journey has been arduous to say the least. However, that doesn't mean Condit will be discouraged coming into this one. After a back and forth five round war with Lawler in January, in which many believed he should of became welterweight champ, Condit will be looking to prove a point to the rest of the division, that he is by no means down and out of this stacked 170 weight class.

Anticipation is not lost when looking at the co-main event either. Three to four years ago, a freight train hit the lightweight division. A plethora of kicks and twists in his arsenal, Anthony Pettis' elite taekwondo skills lead him to finishes over several UFC veterans such as Donald Cerrone, Benson Henderson and Joe Lauzon.

Above: Pettis after knocking out Donald Cerrone via body kick at UFC on Fox 6.
Credit: Bloody Elbow

The highs are high, and the lows are very low. For Pettis, this could nt be such a fitting statement. Coming off three consecutive losses, all being thoroughly outclassed, many have forgotten about the force in which he once was at lightweight. Making the decision to drop ten pounds could re-ignite a spark in Pettis career, but Charles Oliveria will be looking to spoil the party. With an aggressive submission game, it is clear Pettis owns the striking, whereas Oliveria will favor this fight on the ground.

In addition to the main and co-main event, the main card for UFC Vancouver has two other fun matchups. Jim Miller takes on Joe Lauzon in their re-match of what was an end-to-end, bloody brawl in which Miller came out the victor at UFC 155.

Also strawweights Bec Rawlings and Paige VanZant kick off the main card in a match-up that contains two bulldog-like women who will bite down on their mouthpiece until the final bell is sounded.

Will Ovince break bones? Or will Jon be crowned “And New.”

Freaked out, afraid. The three words Jon Jones used to describe the hit and run ordeal in which he was involved in last year. Interestingly enough, next Wednesday (April 27th) marks a year in which the "worst 16 seconds of my life" occurred for Jones. Nevertheless, the whole situation has felt like a "blessing" for Bones in which he described in detail to Ariel Helwani as they took a long walk through Albuquerque and discussed the accident last November.

However, the bad times are in the past for the pound-for-pound number one, and this Saturday at the MGM, he will be looking to flip the tables as he faces the explosive athlete in Ovince Saint Preux. Of course this was never the original plan heading to UFC 197's main event. As Daniel Cormier withdrew coincidentally on April 1st, to many fans disappointment that this wasn't an April Fools', citing a foot injury. With many 205-pounders already booked to fight in the near future, it was #6 ranked OSP who got the call to face Bones for the interim belt at 205.

P4P #1 Jones has kept in great shape
for this fight camp.

Jones, who has never looked in better shape for a fight, last fought all the way back at UFC 182 in which he handed his biggest adversary Cormier his first MMA loss of his career. With razor sharp Muay Thai, and gritty Greco-Roman wrestling, Bones will be looking to come out this fight clean as he has already mentioned he's "willing" to fight at UFC 200. Although, it is certainly no-easy task to say the least as he will have to get through a powerful stand up fighter with heavy hands in Saint-Preux. Funnily enough, the last time fight plans for UFC 200 were being made in the lead up to a fight did not end the way many expected. That was last month at UFC 196 in which Nate Diaz handed Conor McGregor his first loss in the UFC and proves once again the unpredictability of this great promotion.

You wouldn't think the top two pound-for-pound fighters were fighting this weekend would you? With all the controversy surrounding the recent statements made by the notorious one, it has overshadowed the thrilling card in which UFC 197 sets out to be on paper. That's because the co-main event of the evening features yet another title fight, this time in the flyweight division. Arguably the most dominant champion of UFC history, Demetrious Johnson, takes on Olympic gold medallist, Henry Cejudo, in what promises to be a compelling bout matchup between veteran and newcomer. Mighty Mouse has single-handedly cruised through every challenger that he has faced in the UFC, so enigmas have to be raised whether Cejudo will become the odd one out, or just another fallen victim to DJ's immense technique.

Both Segio & Anthony Pettis have trained
with Jones for this fight camp, all three
fight this Saturday at UFC 197.

Tomorrow's nights intriguing match-ups do not stop there. Prior to the co-main event, taekwondo specialists Anthony Pettis and Edson Barboza will face off in a bout the could go down one of two ways; an amazing fight, or an horrendous fight. Linking back to Pettis' latest defeat against Eddie Alvarez in which many fans were not impressed in the manor Alvarez won the fight as expectations were dampened on by reality. Two middleweights both on four-fight winning streaks will collide as Robert Whittaker looks to put on another impressive performance against BJJ black belt Rafael Natal. Finally, the on to watch is the lightweight bout that kicks starts the main card. Two unorthodox, diverse stand up artists in Yair Rodriquez and Andre Fili clash and look to both provide an impressive performance to set up a strong start to this highly anticipated card.