Konan
12-28-2012, 05:20 PM
The near-automatic is to presume Saturday's heavyweight title fight will produce the hardest hitters on the UFC 155 fight card.
Pound for pound that might not be the case. Bantamweights Brad Pickett (22-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Eddie Wineland (19-8-1 MMA, UFC 1-2), have one-punch knockout power that rivals anything in the heavier weight classes.
The two close out the event's preliminary card on FX (8 p.m. ET), a coveted position for those who don't make the main-card cut. Both think there's a big reason they're there, and that's to help sell a few more pay-per-views.
"They know me and him are going to be an exciting fight and we'll help sell the main card," Pickett, an Englishman who trains at the acclaimed American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "We'll get people hyped up and want to pay to buy the main card."
Wineland, a former WEC champion and longtime Indiana-based fighter, says he thinks UFC officials got things right when they laid out the bout order, despite many fans clamoring to see them on the main card at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
"It's the end-of-the-year card, a lot of big names, a lot of big fights," he says. "The last fight on the undercard is supposed to be a determination of what the main card's going to be."
Make no mistake, both think their fight will set a major tone. Pickett's most recent fight came in front of his home fans in England, and true to his "One Punch" nickname, he dropped Yves Jabouin with one shot.
Wineland is in the same boat after finishing Scott Jorgensen with one punch in June — Jorgensen had never been stopped.
Wineland closed his WEC career with two Knockout of the Night bonuses: one from a slam and one from a body punch.
They think they are right there with upcoming interim title challenger Michael McDonald as the three hardest hitters at 135 pounds.
"We both hit hard, and we've both knocked people out," Pickett says. "But in this sport, it's not always about how hard you can hit — it's about how hard of a punch you can take as well. Both of us are quite tough, and we can both take a punch."
But there might be a lot more than a potential big knockout at stake. With champion Dominick Cruz on the shelf for the foreseeable future, interim champ Renan Barao defends his belt against McDonald in February.
Although UFC officials haven't said the Pickett-Wineland winner might be next in line, both fighters think that might be the case. "I think it's safe to say that might be the next move," Wineland says. "But I'm not going to overlook Pickett, and I never look forward to the next fight. I'm always looking at the fight in front of me."
A win by Wineland would give him two in a row; Pickett would have three in a row with a win. But it might be a matter of right place, right time for one of them in a division that has been hit with injuries and features few contenders on long winning streaks.
"The winner between me and Eddie Wineland should get the winner of Barao and McDonald," Pickett says. "Maybe we both deserve it, whoever wins. But also, it just makes sense in the division''.
Pound for pound that might not be the case. Bantamweights Brad Pickett (22-6 MMA, 2-1 UFC) and Eddie Wineland (19-8-1 MMA, UFC 1-2), have one-punch knockout power that rivals anything in the heavier weight classes.
The two close out the event's preliminary card on FX (8 p.m. ET), a coveted position for those who don't make the main-card cut. Both think there's a big reason they're there, and that's to help sell a few more pay-per-views.
"They know me and him are going to be an exciting fight and we'll help sell the main card," Pickett, an Englishman who trains at the acclaimed American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "We'll get people hyped up and want to pay to buy the main card."
Wineland, a former WEC champion and longtime Indiana-based fighter, says he thinks UFC officials got things right when they laid out the bout order, despite many fans clamoring to see them on the main card at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
"It's the end-of-the-year card, a lot of big names, a lot of big fights," he says. "The last fight on the undercard is supposed to be a determination of what the main card's going to be."
Make no mistake, both think their fight will set a major tone. Pickett's most recent fight came in front of his home fans in England, and true to his "One Punch" nickname, he dropped Yves Jabouin with one shot.
Wineland is in the same boat after finishing Scott Jorgensen with one punch in June — Jorgensen had never been stopped.
Wineland closed his WEC career with two Knockout of the Night bonuses: one from a slam and one from a body punch.
They think they are right there with upcoming interim title challenger Michael McDonald as the three hardest hitters at 135 pounds.
"We both hit hard, and we've both knocked people out," Pickett says. "But in this sport, it's not always about how hard you can hit — it's about how hard of a punch you can take as well. Both of us are quite tough, and we can both take a punch."
But there might be a lot more than a potential big knockout at stake. With champion Dominick Cruz on the shelf for the foreseeable future, interim champ Renan Barao defends his belt against McDonald in February.
Although UFC officials haven't said the Pickett-Wineland winner might be next in line, both fighters think that might be the case. "I think it's safe to say that might be the next move," Wineland says. "But I'm not going to overlook Pickett, and I never look forward to the next fight. I'm always looking at the fight in front of me."
A win by Wineland would give him two in a row; Pickett would have three in a row with a win. But it might be a matter of right place, right time for one of them in a division that has been hit with injuries and features few contenders on long winning streaks.
"The winner between me and Eddie Wineland should get the winner of Barao and McDonald," Pickett says. "Maybe we both deserve it, whoever wins. But also, it just makes sense in the division''.