UFC on FUEL TV 7: February 16, 2013 Wembley Arena in London, England UFC Featherweight Contender Dustin Poirier (-145) Profile: At only 24 years old and almost a horrifyingly complete fighter, Dustin Poirier (13-2) is a featherweight who will have a long career in the UFC. His work ethic, superb ground game and strong striking make him a danger no matter where the fight goes. Poirier may be young, but he is experienced and has beaten good competition. He was enjoying a five-fight winning streak until he met up with “The Korean Zombie” in a four-round war that was considered to be one of the best fights of 2012. After the loss, an emotional Poirier pledged to improve his fight game and keep climbing the UFC featherweight rankings. He is coming off an impressive submission win over former TUF winner Jonathan Brookins at the TUF 16 Finale on December 15. UFC Featherweight Contender Cub Swanson (+105) Profile: Former WEC featherweight title contender Cub Swanson (18-5) had a pretty good run in the WEC leading up to a title shot loss to UFC champion Jose Aldo. Since then, the 29-year-old California native has seen positive results with a 5-2 mark, including a 3-1 mark in the UFC. Swanson suffered a frustrating submission loss to Ricardo Lamas at UFC on FOX 1, but he has reeled off three wins in a row, successfully rebounding with an incredible knockout of George Roop at UFC on FOX 2 in Chicago followed by knockouts of Ross Pearson and Charles Oliveira that both earned post-fight bonuses. He is a very entertaining fighter who also won Fight of the Night in the WEC three times before the company was absorbed by the UFC. Swanson is a complete mixed martial artist trained by Greg Jackson and has proven he can finish the fight standing or on the ground. Opening UFC on FUEL TV 7 Odds Breakdown: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas has made Poirier a small -145 favorite (bet $145 to win $100) against Swanson, who opened as a +105 underdog (bet $100 to win $105) at Several Bookmakers sportsbook. Both of these fighters are Top 15 featherweights who are looking to state their case for a shot at Jose Aldo’s belt down the road, with the winner possibly meeting Lamas next in a title eliminator bout. This is an outstanding matchup, as each of them has something to prove and needs a win against a top contender to move into the Top 10 of the division. Poirier rebounded nicely from his loss to Chan Sung Jung with his first-round submission of Brookins just two months ago while Swanson has registered three straight knockouts since his loss to Lamas. Swanson has a slight edge in experience overall, but Poirier actually has fought in two more UFC bouts with six total, going 5-1 since joining the organization in 2011. With only six decisions among their 31 combined wins, a finish by one of them is more than likely with UNDER 2.5 rounds opening at -160. However, Swanson has the exact same amount of knockouts and submissions (seven each) with Poirier nearly equal with five knockouts and six subs. That just proves how well-rounded both of them are and how very tough this fight is to call.
