The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is in São Paulo, Brazil for the final time, at least for 2015, for UFC Fight Night 77, which takes place today, Saturday.
There will be six main cards to look forward to, headlined by the hometown boy Vitor Belfort who faces Dan Henderson for the third time.
Other matches worth watching include:
• Glover Teixeira vs. Patrick Cummins
• Thomas Almeida vs. Anthony Birchak
• Alex Oliveira vs. Piotr Hallmann
• Gilbert Burns vs. Rashid Magomedov
• Fabio Maldonado vs. Corey Anderson
However, it will be the grudge match and tie-breaker that will be the highlight for UFC Fight Night 77. Belfort and Henderson have faced off twice already, splitting their past two meetings.
Henderson drew first blood in 2006 via decision while Belfort evened out things in explosive fashion by knocking out Henderson in 2013. So who will break the deadlock?
It may all depend on who dictates the tempo of this one. Based on their last two fights, Henderson seems more inclined in a subtle technical approach while Belfort wants it fast and furious. So whoever dictates the match will likely end up winning it.
Of the two, however, Belfort seems to have more reason to go for a win considering that he is fighting right at his own turf.
With regard to the other matchups, Teixeira is a slight favorite over Cummins, while Almeida could overwhelm Birchak with his early strikes.
Oliveira will probably try apply his pressure attacks on Hallmann. Burns, on the other hand, could attempt to ground Magomedov from exploding.
The last of the main cards pits Maldonado against Anderson, where it remains to be seen if Maldonado will continue to shun defense in favor of offense against a dangerous Anderson.
UFC Fight Night 77 gets underway today, Nov. 7, starting at 6:30 p.m. EST, with the main cards kicking off at 10 p.m. EST.
The preliminary cards air via Fox Sports 1 starting at 8 p.m. EST and the main card at 10 p.m. EST.
