UFC on FOX 26: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos
Date: December 16
Arena: Bell MTS Place
City: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is headed back to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada with UFC on FOX 26: Lawler vs. Dos Anjos. The stacked 12 fight card is set to kick off with preliminary action on UFC Fight Pass at 4 p.m. ET. Prelims will continue on FOX Sports 1 at 5 p.m., with the main card getting going on FOX at 8 p.m. If interested in wagering on any bouts for these fight cards, all betting lines are made available at Several Bookmakers.
These are my fighters to watch at UFC on FOX 26 in Winnipeg:
Rafael dos Anjos
After dropping back to back fights at 155 pounds to Eddie Alvarez and Tony Ferguson, dos Anjos made the move up to the UFC’s welterweight division. He has since earned a pair of impressive victories, including a one sided unanimous decision over former Strikeforce welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine and Colorado’s Neil Magny. He will aim to make it three in a row against a former UFC welterweight champion this time when he squares off against Robbie Lawler in the five round main event of the evening. A victory will put the Brazilian one step closer to earning a title shot and fulfilling his goal of becoming a two-weight UFC world champion.
Misha Cirkunov
After striking a big deal and re-signing with the UFC, Cirkunov suffered a first round knockout at the hands of current UFC light heavyweight title challenger Volkan Oezdemir. That marked the first official loss of his professional mixed martial arts career, and he will be looking to return to his winning ways when he takes on former 205 pound title challenger Glover Teixeira in what is arguably the stiffest test of his career. The Brazilian is coming off a one sided unanimous decision defeat against Alexander Gustafsson and will be looking to upset Cirkunov in front of the Russian-Canadian’s home crowd. This is a “make or break” fight for Cirkunov, in the sense that a loss will almost surely guarantee that he will never earn a title shot in the UFC; whereas a victory over Teixeira would be huge for him and a great way to return to the win column.
Julian Marquez
Marquez knocked out Phil Hawes in an upset on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender series and he will be making his UFC debut against Darren Stewart. Marquez is a solid prospect at 185 pounds and is definitely a fighter to keep an eye on. Despite it being his Octagon debut, Marquez is a heavy betting favorite heading into this contest, so he is expected to impress on Saturday night. I think he will, which is why I think he is a fighter to watch this Saturday night.
