Leo Santa Cruz  takes on Kiko Martinez for the WBA (super) Featherweight title on February 27th at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Winning a Third Weight Class

The 27-year old Santa Cruz was last in action last August 29th in what was billed as the Battle of Los Angeles against fellow Los Angeles product Abner Mares. Santa Cruz beat Mares in that action packed Fight of the Year candidate by majority decision. Undefeated in 31 bouts with 17 knockouts, Santa Cruz has won world titles at bantamweight and junior featherweight before vacating his title to move up in weight and fight Mares. With the win over Mares, he is now a three division world champion who is looking to move up to 130 pounds and win one more weight class. But for now, he is staying at featherweight and will be facing an intriguing opponent in Kiko Martinez.

Not Over The Hill

Martinez is a former IBF bantamweight title holder. But he’s only 4-2 in his last six fights. The 29-year old Spaniard has won three fights in a row, but they were against unknown opponents. In 2014, Martinez lost his IBF title by unanimous decision to Carl Frompton. Two fights later, Martinez was knocked out in the second round by Scott Quigg when he challenged for the WBA bantamweight crown. Martinez isn’t considered over the hill at his age but it appears that the star power and depth of his weight class has put him close to that.

One Step Back

Santa Cruz considers Martinez as one step back in his quest for greatness. But with no big fights at hand at the moment, Santa Cruz had to take a fight as soon as possible especially since he has not fought since beating Abner Mares. The veteran Kiko Martinez will provide some opposition but it’s likely that he will be overwhelmed by El Terromoto’s relentless work rate and movement. Santa Cruz may not be a knockout artist, but he beats his opponents up with a lot of punches from all angles. Martinez may not have the speed to match Santa Cruz and if Leo just stays away from Martinez’s power (26 KOs in 35 wins), it will be a punching picnic for Santa Cruz who is a heavy -1600 betting favorite against the +800 underdog Martinez.

UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will defend his belt for the first time against Chris Weidman, the man he dethroned in December of 2014. Speaking to Katie Nolan at Wednesday’s edition of “Garbage Time”, UFC President Dana white revealed that Rockhold will fight Chris Weidman for the UFC middleweight belt at UFC 199 sometime in June.

The Rematch

It can be recalled that Rockhold challenged Weidman for the 185-pound title at UFC 194 last December 12th, 2014. After an exciting first two rounds, Rockhold took over the next two rounds and beat up Weidman en route to a 4th round TKO victory. The victory ended a 13-fight winning streak for Weidman, who became the first fighter to defeat the legendary Anderson Silva twice by KO and in successive bouts. Weidman first beat Silva at UFC 162 in 2013 in a stunning knockout that won him the UFC middleweight title. Six months later, Weidman beat Silva again after the Brazilian Spider suffered a leg injury while Weidman was checking one of his leg kicks. Weidman went on to defend the belt twice against former Light Heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort before losing to Rockhold.

On A Mean Streak

Rockhold is 15-2 in his career. He is on a mean streak, having won five fights in a row since losing to Belfort in his UFC debut in 2013. All five of those victories have been by stoppage and four have won him post fight performance bonuses. The San Jose, California fighter is also a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. He owns notable victories over Jacare Souza, Keith Jardine, Tim Kennedy, Costas Philippou, Tim Boetsch, Michael Bisping and Machida. Rockhold was supposed to defend his belt against Yoel Romero, who beat Jacare Souza also at UFC 194 but a potential failed out of competition drug test has put the Cuban striker in the UFC’s freezer for now.  Known for his elite striking and punishing leg kicks, Rockhold is once again favored in his rematch with Weidman.

Who Takes This?

At -175 versus Weidman’s +145, the early betting lines have been almost similar to those during their first encounter at UFC 194. Even though Rockhold destroyed Weidman in the last two rounds of that bout, it was a back and forth contest when it started and until Weidman’s ill-fated spinning back kick led to his Octagon demise. Weidman is considered the best wrestler in the middleweight division but the former All-American Division 1 wrestler failed to take advantage of that against Rockhold who not only displayed his excellent striking but also showed an impressive takedown defense. Rockhold’s striking, especially his leg kicks, make it almost impossible for Weidman to run right through him without getting pummeled first. If Weidman cannot find a way to take Rockhold down, the rematch will likely end like the first fight. And even if Weidman does take Rockhold to the ground, the latter has a very impressive ground game with 9 submissions overall.

Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will face Stephen Thompson in the five round main event of UFC Fight Night 82 on February 6th, 2016 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Downgraded UFC 196

Hendricks vs Thompson was supposed to be the co-featured bout of UFC 196 but when both Cain Velasquez and UFC Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum pulling out of the event one after the other in less than 24 hours last week, the UFC scrambled to find a replacement main event bout worthy of PPV status. But when it was clear that it would be difficult to manufacture a top-notch contest in a week’s time, they decided to promote Hendricks vs Thompson as the main event while moving the card to free TV on FS1.

The move was seen as a win-win situation for the UFC, the fans and its fighters as canceling the event would have meant shelving the 24 fighters who were supposed to fight at UFC 196. Letting the event push thru on free TV also gives the UFC the opportunity to reach out to more fans and with a former champion like Hendricks headlining the bout, nobody should be disappointed.

The Wonder Boy

Stephen Thompson is the former training partner of ex-champions Georges St. Pierre and Chris Weidman. An undefeated full-contact kickboxer, Dubbed as the Wonderboy, Thompson is ranked #9 in the UFC welterweight division. He has an overall MMA record of 11-1 with 6 KOs including 6-1 in the UFC with 4 KOs. His biggest wins have been knockouts of Robert Whitaker and Jake Ellenberger.

The Wonderboy believes Hendricks is his golden ticket to the top of the 170-pound rankings and a win will give him a shot at Robbie Lawler’s title. Thompson believes that he’s drastically improved since his loss to Matt Brown and that he’s ready to step up his level of competition. There could be no better opportunity for him than Hendricks who is hoping to return to top form after his recent struggles with his weight.

Young Again

“Young Again” is how former champion Johny Hendricks calls his rejuvenation under weight management specialist Louis Giordano. Hendricks’ weight problems caused him to lose to Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 and forced him out of the co-main event of UFC 192. But with his new-found direction and confidence, Hendricks believes he will return to the top of the 170-pound division where he says he truly belongs.

Hendricks record is an impressive 17-3 with 8 KOs and  1 submission. The former All-American wrestler at Oklahoma State University owns victories over T.J. Grant, Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Carlos Condit and Lawler ( during their first bout). His losses to Lawler and Georges St. Pierre were both by controversial split decision. In his most recent bout, Hendricks defeated Matt Brown by unanimous decision.

Who Takes This?

Hendricks is the -220 favorite over Thompson, who is a +180 underdog. Hendricks has seen the best of this weight class during his championship run. Against St. Pierre and Lawler, he proved that he has a granite chin and a big fighting heart. As always, his advantage is his elite wrestling skills which if he utilizes are close to unstoppable. In his last fight against a supreme striker like Matt Brown, Hendricks took him down 9/10 times to take the decision win.

While Thompson does have the disadvantage in grappling, his victory over Ellenberger proved that he could wrestle with veterans. But although he outworked Ellenberger in grappling exchanges, Thompson still cannot match Hendricks on the ground. But remember that every fight starts on its feet and Thompson has to keep it up if he wants a shot at beating Big Rigg. Striking from a distance should be his game plan as Wonderboy has a huge 6 inch reach advantage. If he keeps Hendricks off him, this should be an interesting fight indeed. Experts though are picking Hendricks to win by KO after three rounds as Thompson’s ability to fight in the championship rounds is a big question mark.

One of the more highly anticipated welterweight match-ups in the sport of boxing finally has a date and place.

Return to CBS

WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman will lock horns with former IBF 147-pound king Shawn Porter on March 12th at the Mohegan Sun Casino Resort in Uncasville, Connecticut. It will be televised in the prime time block on CBS, making it the first primetime boxing event since 1978 when Leon Spinks scored a mammoth 15-round upset of Muhammad Ali.

Although both Thurman and Porter are handled by Al Haymon who owns PBC, the bout interestingly will not carry the PBC branding. Instead it will carry the title “Showtime Championship Boxing on CBS” as CBS is the parent network of Showtime which will produce the said affair. Regardless of brand, this bout is expected to be a barnburner with two of the most exciting welterweights going at it.

One Time

Thurman will be making the third defense of his title. Last year, Thurman battered Robert Guerrero to a 12 round unanimous decision victory before taking out Luis Collazo in seven rounds during the debut of PBC on ESPN. His 2-0 performance against former world champions in 2015 earned Thurman the title of PBC Fighter of The Year. Known as One-Time for his dreaded knockout power, Thurman is undefeated in 27 bouts where he has 26 wins and 1 No-Contest. 22 of his wins were by knockout and his more popular KO victims include Carlos Quintana, Diego Gabriel Chaves, Jesus Soto Karass, Julio Diaz and Collazo.

Although Thurman has an impressive record, he needs a career-defining win to establish superstardom. A victory against Porter, a boxer he’s known since their amateur days, would give him that. The two have been hyped to face each other in the last three years and after a lengthy negotiation, Thurman hopes he will be the one to move forward.

Bouncing Back

Porter’s rise to superstardom was halted when he lost to current IBF champion Kell Brook by majority decision in 2014. Since then, Porter has won two fights in a row, including a 12-round unanimous decision win over Adrien Broner in June of 2015. Porter has a record of 26-1-1 with 16 KOs and while he does not have the big puncher reputation of Keith Thurman, he has a work rate that could topple any 147-pound fighter. Porter owns notable victories over the likes of Julio Diaz, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander and Broner.

Like Thurman, Porter is looking for a signature win that will propel him to the top. Fighting a guy like Thurman won’t only give him a world title, it will put him back on the 147 pound map once again.

Since Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s retirement last September and Manny Pacquiao’s impending departure after April 9th, there will be a huge void in the talent laden 147-pound weight class. With none of the champions really establishing himself as the division’s top dog, the winner of this bout will have a good stake at that claim.

Unified Light Heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev will defend his belts against former champion Jean Pascal on Saturday, January 30th, 2016 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada.

The Bell Center  is the same venue where Kovalev stopped Pascal in the 8th round of an action-filled fight in March of 2015. Pascal gave Kovalev plenty of trouble early before the Krusher finally halted his stubborn challenger in the middle rounds. But with a new trainer in tow, Pascal believes that their rematch will end differently.

New Trainer

In November of 2015, Pascal turned to famed trainer Freddie Roach to help him reboot his career. In going with Roach, Pascal dropped Marc Ramsay, the Montreal based trainer who had worked with him since he was 13 and who guided him to a place in the Canadian 2004 Olympic team and the WBC Light Heavyweight title in 2009. However, Ramsay will continue to work with Pascal between training camps. The move to hire Roach was seen as a preparation for his rematch with Kovalev, although Pascal says that he did that to have a new voice that could give his career a second wind after his losses to Bernard Hopkins and Kovalev. Pascal rebounded from his loss to Kovalev with a 10-round unanimous decision win over Yunieski Gonzalez. The victory also earned him a second date with the Krusher.

Retiring Pascal

Kovalev has been linked to a big money fight with American superstar and former Super Middleweight title holder Andre Ward later this year. But before he sets a date with Ward, he will have to settle unfinished business.  While Pascal says that the rematch will end differently, Kovalev promises that he will complete the job he believes he didn’t last March. The Russian Krusher says that the referee didn’t just save Pascal from further punishment in their first bout, he saved Pascal from career retirement. This time around, Kovalev says he will retire Pascal for good. There has been a lot of animosity between the fighters since their first encounter and all of that will culminate on January 30th when they meet once again at the center of the ring.

Who Takes This?

Like in their first encounter, Kovalev is the heavy favorite to defeat Pascal. This time around, he is a -2500 favorite versus Pascal’s +1000. Although Pascal gave Kovalev some problems during their first encounter, he was still able to turn the tables and come away with an impressive and decisive KO win. Kovalev is one of the rising stars in the sport and pundits are saying that his true test will be against Ward, not Pascal. Pascal may have changed trainers but in doing so, he will have to adjust with Freddie Roach’s style. Pascal does possess the power to change the fight with one punch, but the question is if he can land it against the technically superior Kovalev. Pascal was visibly off his game in his last fight with Yunieski Gonzalez and if he wants to beat Kovalev, he and Roach will have to fight the perfect game plan. Having said that, experts are predicting a KO win by Kovalev, probably in the fifth or sixth rounds.

Middleweights Vitor Belfort and Jacare Souza will square-off in the main event of UFC Fight Night 87 on May 14th in Brazil.

Giovani Decker, UFC Brazil General Manager and Senior Vice President, made the announcement on Combatante TV. Both Brazilians were earlier considered to be UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold’s potential first title challenger after Yoel Romero’s potential failed drug test. Instead, they will face each other in a bout that will likely determine the #1 contender position.

Getting Another Title Shot

Belfort, a former UFC Light Heavyweight champion, is fresh off  a first round KO of Dan Henderson last November. The former UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament champion fought and lost to Chris Weidman at UFC 187 in his second attempt to wrest the UFC 185-pound title. He also lost to Anderson Silva at UFC 126. Belfort is 4-1 in his current run at Middleweight which includes a first round KO win over current UFC Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the latter’s UFC debut in 2013. All his wins have been by KO and were either Knockout of the Night or Performance of the Night winners. The 38-year old Phenom has an overall record of 25-11 with 18 KOs. He was linked to a rematch with Anderson Silva but turned it down in the hopes of getting another title shot. Beating Souza will put him one step closer to that goal.

Getting a Rockhold Rematch

While Belfort is coming off a victory, Souza is coming off a close split decision loss to Yoel Romero at UFC 194 last month. Prior to that defeat, the former Strikeforce Middleweight champion won eight consecutive bouts, including 5 in the UFC. The former ADCC Grappling champion and World Jiu- Jitsu champion holds impressive victories over Jason Miller, Tim Kennedy, Yushin Okami, Gegard Mousasi and current UFC Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. The 36 year old Souza has an overall record of 24-3-0-2 with 16 submissions. He was high on the list of 185 title contenders prior to his loss to Romero. However with Romero facing a potential suspension, a win over Belfort should give him a rematch against Rockhold who once beat him for the Strikeforce Middleweight title.

The battle between these two Brazilian stars in their home country should be a blockbuster affair. It will be interesting to see which of them gets another shot at UFC Middleweight gold.

Danny “Swift” Garcia battles Robert “Ghost” Guerrero for the vacant WBC welterweight title on January 23rd, 2016 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Coming off a 9th round TKO win over former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi in August of 2015, Garcia will be looking to silence his critics when he fights at the talent-laden 147 division for only the second time in his career.

Swift Not Gift

The former unified Light Welterweight champion is unbeaten in 31 fights but has struggled since his impressive 12-round decision win over Lucas Matthysse in 2013. Two of his four wins since that bout have been controversial. First he struggled to beat Mauricio Herrera in what was supposed to be his Puerto Rico homecoming in 2014. Two fights later, he beat former 140-pound champion Lamont Peterson in another controversially scored bout which earned him a new monicker “Gift”, an obvious spoof from his real monicker of “Swift”. Looking to erase all doubts, Garcia promised to stop Guerrero within 5 rounds.

The Ghost of his Past?

Stopping Guerrero is easier said than done. He’s lost just thrice in his 39 fight career but has never been stopped. Known as the Ghost for being an elusive target during his earlier days, Guerrero is an experienced ring warriors who’s been boxing professionally since age 18. Guerrero’s been in many wars, but even in his losing effort to Keith Thurman and Gamaliel Diaz, he’s proven that he’s never out of any fight. Perhaps he got  his indefatigable spirit from his wife, a Leukemia survivor, whom Guerrero sacrificed the peak of his career for. In 2010, Guerrero gave up a mega-fight with Michael Katsidis to be at her bedside and bone marrow transplant. With his wife healthy now, Guerrero’s focus is back to boxing. After going 2-2 in his last four bouts, he’s eager to prove that he isn’t just the ghost of his glorious past.

Who Takes This?

Garcia is a big -900 favorite against Guerrero who’s at +500. He is five years younger than Guerrero who’s looked anything but an unhittable Ghost in his recent bouts. Many experts observe that Guerrero has looked like a spent fighter since losing to Mayweather and that may be because of a long and hard fought career that started in 2001. Stylistically, this could be a war between two excellent and intelligent boxers. But since Guerrero has noticeably slowed down in recent years, Garcia has the advantage in speed. If he can land his combinations early and dictate the fight from a distance, he will have Guerrero’s number. For Guerrero to win, he must drag this to a slugfest where his ring experience and big fighting heart may frustrate Garcia.

The NSAC may have resurrected Nick Diaz’s MMA career.

Deciding unanimously last Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commision approved a settlement that would shorten the suspension of UFC fighter Nick Diaz to 18 months and reduced his fine to $100K.

An Overkill

Diaz failed a drug test in connection with his UFC 183 bout against  Anderson Silva. It marked the third time in his career Diaz tested positive for marijuana. Because he was a repeat offender, he was handed a severe five year suspension plus a $165K fine that virtually put an end to his MMA career.

There was public outcry on the verdict and it even led to a White House Petition where more than 100K signatures demanded a review of the suspension. The electronic petition didn’t interfere with the NSAC’s jurisdiction, but it was a clear sign that the rest of the world felt that the punishment was an “overkill”.

A New Settlement

Under the settlement, Diaz was ordered to pay his fine 30 days before his next bout or December 1, 2016 whichever comes first. He was also ordered to apply for a license at least 30 days before his next fight. Additionally, Diaz is being required to submit urine tests 30, 15 and 3 days before the fight. The samples must pass both in-competition and out-of-competition drug testing. Should one of the test come out positive, the NSAC will penalize him once again. The parties also agreed to split the court costs arising from the settlement and to waive their rights to sue each other or appeal the settlement in higher courts.

Back At The Right Time

With this development, Diaz is now eligible to fight again on August 1st, 2016 since the suspension retroacts to the date of his last fight which was on January 31st, 2015. His early reinstatement comes at a right time when former champions like Georges St. Pierre and B.J. Penn are eyeing comebacks. Diaz fought St. Pierre in one of the sport’s biggest bouts in 2013 while he beat Penn during his UFC debut at UFC 137 in 2011. There are even rumors saying that UFC President Dana White is entertaining a Nick Diaz rematch with current UFC Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. With these and other possible big fight at hand, Diaz’s early release may have come at the perfect time for him to revive his career.

WBO Junior Welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford finally has an opponent. Top Rank President Bob Arum announced on Thursday that Crawford will defend his 140-pound title against “Hammerin” Hank Lundy on February 27th in an HBO-televised doubleheader to be held at The Theater in Madison Square Garden, New York.

The Fifth Man on The List

Arum confirmed that Lundy was only the fifth man on the shortlist of opponents for Crawford after Bud wasn’t chosen by Manny Pacquiao as his final opponent on April 9th. Arum’s initial list included Viktor Postol, Lucas Matthysse, Ruslan Provodnikov and Mauricio Herrera. But for some reason, they all said they would not be ready to fight on February 27th. Lundy was the only one who said he would be ready.

Lundy has lost two of his last three fights but both losses were in competitive bouts against Thomas Dulorme and Mauricio Herrera. Against Dulorme, he lost by a controversial split decision while the fifth round technical decision loss to Herrera is debatable. Lundy has an overall record of 26-5-1 with 13 KOs. He is currently the WBC Continental Americas Lightweight champion and a former NABF and NABO Lightweight title holder. He is credited as the fighter closest to beating current WBC 140-pound champion Viktor Postol in March of 2013. Postol won the fight by unanimous decision but the scores were very close at 116-112, 116-112 and 116-113.

Most Feared Fighter?

Like Gennady Golovkin, Terence Crawford is one of the most “avoided” fighters in the sport. Shortly after his 10th round KO of Dierry Jean last October, Crawford’s name came up in the shortlist of Manny Pacquiao’s final ring opponent. But while Arum made it clear that he wanted either Crawford or Timothy Bradley, Pacquiao chose the latter presumably because Pacman has already seen Bradley twice.

After the Pacquiao fallout, Crawford tried to set up a blockbuster fight with fellow 140-pound champion Viktor Postol but the latter turned it down due to availability on the scheduled date. After three more refusals, Crawford finally found a brave opponent in Lundy. Bud is undefeated in 27 bouts and has  18 KOs. He has beaten the likes of Ricky Burns, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Raymundo Beltran, Thomas Dulorme and Dierry Jean among others. Crawford was named BWAA Boxer of the Year for 2015 after his star-making victory over Gamboa. He is considered one of the top prospects in the sport today.

A heavyweight bout between former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir and former title challenger Mark Hunt will headline UFC Fight Night 84 at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia.

The blockbuster bout will be formally announced next week but has been confirmed by UFC officials via foxsports.au and espn.com. The five round main event, scheduled for March 19, is the first confirmed bout of the event.

An Unassuming Record

Ranked #7 in the UFC Heavyweight division, Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt carries an unassuming 11-10-1 MMA record including 6-4-1 in the UFC. However,8 of those 11 wins including all six UFC wins have been by stoppage. Hunt challenged Fabricio Werdum for the interim UFC Heavyweight title at UFC 180 but came up short as Werdum knocked him out in Round 2 to capture the Heavyweight title. After fighting Werdum, Hunt was once again stopped but in the fifth round by Stipe Miocic at UFC Fight Night 65. But just as we all thought that back to back losses would spell the end of the career of 41-year old Hunt, he bounced back with a spectacular first round KO of Antonio “Big Foot” Silva at UFC 193 in Melbourne, Australia.

Return To Winners Circle

Frank Mir on the other hand, will be trying to return to the winner’s circle after his disappointing unanimous decision loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 191. Since losing the interim Heavyweight Title to Shane Carwin at UFC 111, Mir has been on a slump. He’s just 5-5 since then with a four fight losing streak in between. Mir has won just twice in his last 7 bouts.  Now ranked #10 in the UFC Heavyweight division, Mir is looking for one final run at championship glory. The 36 year old Mir won the interim UFC Heavyweight title twice but he never became full-time champion. But his first title reign was cut short after he tore all his ligaments during a motorcycle accident in 2004. Mir holds the record for most fights, wins, submissions in UFC Heavyweight history and is tied for 4th overall with most wins.He is credited as the first man to submit Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera at UFc 140.

The winner of this bout will live for another day while the loser could be one step closer to his retirement plan.