Donald Cerrone (left) must rely on his world class submission skills against Paul Kelly if he wishes to start his UFC career with a victory. (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
This Saturday night the Ultimate Fighting Championship holds another mixed martial arts spectacle with UFC 126 at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. One of the most stacked fight cards in recent UFC history, the event will showcase Jackson’s Submission Fighting trained “Bones” Jon Jones (11-1) facing The Ultimate Fighter 10 alum “Darth” Ryan Bader (12-0), former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin (17-6) versus former UFC 185lbs. champ “Ace” Rich Franklin (27-5), and in the main event, top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world and current UFC Middleweight Champion “The Spider” Anderson Silva (27-4) against dangerous striker “The Phenom” Vitor Belfort (19-8) for the middleweight belt. Though not on the main card, one of the most talked about fights offered at UFC 126 is the UFC debut of “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone (12-4) against UFC veteran and former Wolfslair fighter Paul Kelly (11-3). Both of these men are well on their way to becoming truly well rounded fighters, but each comes from a different background. Cerrone is deadly on the ground with ten of his 12 victories coming by submission. On the other side, Kelly has proven a solid striker with five TKO’s in his 11 wins. The result is a meeting in the middle as the classic Striker vs. Grappler match is met with the kickboxer who can grapple and the submission fighter who can box. Continue reading »
