6 Must See Scraps: September 2012

It’s September, the summer is over and once again fans are in for a month loaded with MMA action. Three major events –UFC 152, UFC on FUEL TV 5 and Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Healy– fill the September MMA schedule with plenty of pivotal match-ups. There will be battles for respect, relevance, contendership and most important of all: championship glory.

September will undeniably have a number of memorable fights, however, only six can make the list. With that said, here are the fights you CANNOT miss this coming month.

(In Chronological Order)

The Who: Cub Swanson vs. Charles Oliveira (Featherweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, August 22nd – UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort
The Where: Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Goods: Two of the most exciting fighters in the featherweight division clash in a main card bout at UFC 152.

Swanson (17-5) has emerged as a potential future title challenger over the last year after back-to-back knockout wins against George Roop and Ross Pearson. The 28-year-old was pegged as an inconsistent fighter not long ago but his skills appear to be coming together at the right time. Of Swanson’s 17 professional wins, six are by knockout, seven are by submission and the remaining four are via decision.

Oliveira (16-2) is one of the youngest fighters on the UFC roster at 22, but already has an abundance of experience inside the Octagon, as UFC 152 will mark his eighth appearance in the UFC. The Brazilian has fought his last two bouts in the featherweight division and has finished both of his opponents with impressive submissions.

The Verdict: The styles of Swanson and Oliveira have the makings for a great fight. Both men rarely hold anything back and should be looking to finish the fight with every passing moment. The UFC matchmakers did a brilliant job putting this match up together because fireworks are guaranteed.

The Who: Michael Bisping vs. Brian Stann (Middleweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, August 22nd – UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort
The Where: Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Goods: Top middleweight contenders collide in one of the headline bouts at UFC 152 in Toronto as “The Ultimate Fighter” season 3 winner Michael “The Count” Bisping meets one of the hardest hitters in the UFC at 185-pounds in Brian “All American” Stann.

Bisping (22-4) lost his last fight to Chael Sonnen by razor-thin unanimous decision at UFC on Fox 2 in January. The loss brought an end to Bisping’s four-fight winning streak and forced the British fighter to restart his climb up the middleweight ranks. He was scheduled to fight Tim Boetsch at UFC 149 but pulled out of the bout to undergo minor knee surgery. Look for Bisping to try and make a statement against Stann to prove he is worthy of being a top contender.

Stann (12-4) rebounded from a difficult loss to Chael Sonnen with a hellacious beating of Alessio Sakara at UFC on FUEL TV 2 last April. The former WEC champion has won four of his last five contests and will attempt to continue his assent up the middleweight rankings with another win at UFC 152.

The Verdict: Bisping vs. Stann is an important fight for the future of the UFC middleweight division. “The Count” has stated on more than one occasion that an impressive win over Stann is going to earn him a title shot, which raises the stakes for not only him, but Stann as well. Bisping defeating Stann would show he can get by a hard hitter and in Stann’s case he would show he is capable of beating the very best in the world. There is no clear-cut number one contender at 185-pounds, a great showing for either man could slide them into that spot.

The Who: Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson (Flyweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, August 22nd – UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort
The Where: Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Goods: The first flyweight champion in UFC history is set to be determined in the co-main event of UFC 152 with Joseph Benavidez and Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson set to vie for the vacant 125-pound title.

Benavidez (16-2) knocked out Yasuhiro Urushitani in March to earn his place in the flyweight tournament final but has sat on the sidelines for a number of months waiting for the other finalist to be named. The time has finally come for the former two-time bantamweight title challenger and he will be eager to win a world championship in a major organization for the first time.

Johnson (15-2-1) has a more grueling road to the flyweight finals as he was forced to fight Ian McCall twice after the first bout between them was ruled a draw. Fortunately for the Johnson, he was the decisive winner in the rematch and was able to gain more cage time as a flyweight fighter. Johnson’s speed and durability are a handful for anyone to deal with.

The Verdict: Don’t blink when Benavidez and Johnson step into the cage at UFC 152 because you might miss something spectacular. Two of the quickest fighters in the UFC will share the cage and whoever is refereeing this fight is going to have to be on their heels to avoid the action. When you put the combination of speed, skill and determination these two have in the cage together, you have the ingredients for a great fight. When you add the fact it is a five-round title fight into the mix, you have the making for an instant classic.

The Who: Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort (Light Heavyweight Championship Bout)
The When: Saturday, August 22nd – UFC 152: Jones vs. Belfort
The Where: Air Canada Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Goods: After a series of complicated events dating back to the end of August, Jon Jones will defend his light heavyweight championship against former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 in Toronto on Sept. 22.

Jones (16-1) defending his championship for the third time when he defeated bitter rival “Suga” Rashad Evans via unanimous decision at UFC 145 last April. The fight was the first five-round bout of Jones’ career and he displayed solid improvements in his striking by assaulting Evans with standing elbows. The 24-year-old will be riding an eight-fight win streak including four-straight wins over former UFC champions heading into UFC 152.

Belfort (21-9) will fight in the UFC for the 16th time in his storied career at UFC 152. The Brazilian has fought the best fighters in the world all over the globe for years and will compete in Canada for the first time in his career. The former UFC light heavyweight champion last fought at UFC 142 last January, submitting Anthony Johnson in the first round. Belfort is one of the most exciting fighters in the world; he has crippling knockout power in his hands that can put any man to sleep with one shot and black belt level jiu-jitsu skills to back it up.

The Verdict: While Vitor Belfort may not be the opponent everyone had in mind for Jon Jones, the Brazilian was the UFC 205-pound champion in 2004 after taking the belt from Randy Couture at UFC 46. The 35-year-old returns to the light heavyweight division for the first time in exactly five years with the opportunity to claim the title. He is a huge underdog but had the ability to turn the MMA world on its head with one punch. One of the reasons to watch Jones vs. Belfort is he fact Jones is so talented that all of his fights are can’t miss, the second reason is to see if Belfort can pull out the shocking upset.

The Who: Paul Sass vs. Matt Wiman (Lightweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, August 29th – UFC on FUEL TV 6: Struve vs. Miocic
The Where: Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England
The Goods: a lightweight bout between undefeated submission specialist Paul “Sassangle” Sass and “Handsome” Matt Wiman is set to take place at UFC on FUEL TV 5 in England.

Sass (13-0) has earned 12 of his 13 career victories by way of submission and is undefeated inside the octagon at 3-0 with three first round finishes. He last competed at UFC 146 in May when he brought an end to the 5-fight winning streak of the very tough Jacob Volkmann. UFC president Dana White stated after Sass’ victory that he would receive a stern test in his next bout, that’s exactly what he gets in Wiman.

Wiman (13-6) has ben impressive in his own right as of late, winning four of his past five contests. The 12-fight UFC veteran has never been submitted in 20 professional fights and will attempt to continue that streak against Sass at UFC on FUEL TV 5.

The Verdict: Matt Wiman is always fun to watch compete but the real reason people need to watch the fight is for Sass. The undefeated Englishman is on another level when it comes to jiu-jitsu, especially the triangle choke. Sass has proven he can submit talented fighters in his last two wins over Michael Johnson and Jacob Volkmann, but Wiman is one of the toughest fighters out there and getting him to tap out would be a huge achievement.

The Who: Stefan Struve vs. Stipe Miocic (Heavyweight Bout)
The When: Saturday, August 29th – UFC on FUEL TV 6: Struve vs. Miocic
The Where: Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England
The Goods: A heavyweight collision between Stefan “The Skyscraper” Struve and Stipe Miocic will serve as the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 5 on Sept. 29.

Struve (24-5) ended his last fight rather quickly, submitting Lavar Johnson with an armbar just 65-seconds into their bout. The Dutch fighter is 8-3 in the UFC, but has won five of his last six fights. At only 24 years of age, Struve is one of the best young talents in the heavyweight division. Struve has been bashed for his poor fight IQ in the past, but his victory over Johnson proved that he evolving not just physically, but mentally as well.

Miocic (9-0) has put together a nice run in the UFC thus far, defeating Joey Beltran, Philip De Fries and most recently, Shane del Rosario. The boxing skills of the American has been the most impressive part of his game so far, but he also possesses solid wrestling credentials and is able to finish fights on the ground, as seen in his win over del Rosario. Although he is five years older than his opponent, Struve will be the most experienced fighter Miocic has stepped into the cage with so far.

The Verdict: Struve and Miocic last fought when they competed on the all-heavyweight UFC 146 main card, defeating Lavar Johnson and Shane del Rosario respectively. Both men are known finishers and like to put their opponents away in highlight reel fashion when they step into the cage. The two heavyweights will compete for a place among the top contenders in the division on the line.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.