UFC on FUEL TV 5: September 29, 2012 Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England UFC Welterweight Contender Che Mills (-205) Profile: One of the UK’s favorite exports over the last few years, 29-year-old Che Mills (14-5, 1 No-Contest) has given as good as he has received in his UFC career. After going 14-4-1 across Europe from 2003 to 2011, Mills debuted at UFC 138 in devastating fashion, with a flying knee and punches TKO over Chris Cope in under a minute. This won Mills the Knockout of the Night award and opened the world’s eyes to new blood in the UFC welterweight division. Then Mills met Rory MacDonald at UFC 145 and received a serious wake-up call from a top contender, as he was absolutely dominated. Regardless, Mills still has the talent to bounce back and shine under English lights in his next fight at UFC on FUEL TV 5. UFC Welterweight Contender Duane Ludwig (+155) Profile: A longtime vet of MMA and kickboxing, Duane Ludwig (21-13) has seen it all and fought just about everyone worth fighting at lightweight and welterweight. He lost via submission to BJ Penn at welterweight, knocked out Jens Pulver at lightweight, decisioned Genki Sudo and also fell to Tyson Griffin and Josh Thomson in Strikeforce. Lately, he has had an unspectacular run in the UFC, going 2-4 over the last three years with a win over Amir Sadollah and losses to Dan Hardy, Jim Miller and Josh Neer by finish. The 34-year-old Colorado native is well-rounded, but he appears to be over the hill at this point, not as fast as he used to be despite still possessing solid KO power and ring savvy. Opening UFC on FUEL TV 5 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Mills a solid -205 favorite (bet $205 to win $100) while Ludwig opened as a +155 underdog (bet $155 to win $100) according to the MMA odds. This will be a battle between a rising local star and a grizzled vet who has definitely seen better days. Ludwig has five years on Mills but has four additional fights in the UFC and 14 more overall, giving him a solid edge in experience. The problem is, Ludwig has been losing more than he has been winning recently, dropping four of six bouts, earning a split with the two fighters featured in the co-main event (Hardy vs. Sadollah). Mills has also split his two fights in the UFC and showed his strengths and weaknesses in each bout. Ludwig is closer to Cope as an opponent than MacDonald, but he is crafty and could be fighting for his job here. His hunger to win will have to overcome the crowd rooting for Mills though if he is going to pull off the upset.
