On Saturday September 17th, the UFC will have it's first MMA event in New Orleans since the Lakefront Arena hosted UFC 27: Ultimate Bad Boyz on September 22, 2000. The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center will host UFC Fight Night 25: Battle on the Bayou more than a decade later, but better late than never for the rabid MMA fanbase in the crescent city and around the gulf coast. The main event will be aired live on Spike TV at 8 p.m. and all of the prelims will be streamed live on the UFC's Facebook page.
Shields vs Ellenberger
Jake Shields vs Jake Ellenberger is the main event of the evening. This is a battle between two grapplers, but each with a different skill set. Shields is an elite grappler. He is a wrestler and a BJJ blackbelt under Ceasar Gracie. Ellenberger is also a wrestler. He doesn't have the submission skills of Shields, but he does have good defensive wrestling and posses explosive power in his hands.
Whoever is able to dictate where the fight takes place will likely be victorious. If Shields can get the fight to the mat, it will be hard for Ellenberger to defend the submissions from Shields. If Ellenberger can keep the fight standing he will have the opportunity to turn off Shields' lights with a crushing overhand right.
McGee vs Yang
Court McGee was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 11. He is primarily a wrestler who likes to pressure and outwork his opponents. Dongi Yang has an attacking striking style but he isn't afraid to go to the ground either.
This is a closely matched bout as both men are well rounded fighters who have big hearts. McGee will be looking to grind on Yang for the finish on the canvas, and Yang will be looking to finish the fight with strikes.
Brookins vs Koch
Jonathan Brookings lived through a fight with featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo and used that experience to win season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. He prefers to draw his opponents into a grappling match while his opponent Erik Koch is more of a striker, coming in on a three fight winning streak.
Look for Koch to keep the fight standing and delivering punishment as Brookings tries to drag him into a grappling match.
Belcher vs MacDonald
While both men are well rounded, this is another grappler vs striker match. Jason MacDonald will try to employ his dangerous BJJ skills to take out Muay Thai fighter Alan Belcher. MacDonald is coming off a win against Ryan Jensen at UFC 129, and Belcher was working his way up the contender ladder and on a two fight win streak before a detached retina put him out of action since May 2010.
This in another very closely matched bout, and one has to wonder if ring rust will be a factor for Belcher.
Prelims on Facebook:
McKenzie vs Rocha
Dunham vs Bailey
Riddle vs Benoist
Stone vs Walker
Roberts vs Waldburger
Edwards vs Lopez
