Boxing’s fastest rising star returns to the ring on Saturday night to further his claim as the sport’s most devastating puncher in the sport today. Gennady Golovkin, the unified middleweight boxing champion of the world, defends his belts against the current WBC Silver middleweight boxing king Martin Murray at Salle Des Etoiles in Monte Carlo on Saturday night.

Freight Train

After winning the 2013 Boxer of the Year award, Golovkin was looking for a date against the bigger named fighters of his division. But instead of getting the big fights, Golovkin spent his 2014 fighting B-class challengers Osumanu Adana, Daniel Geale and Marco Antonio Rubio because the top dogs of the division avoided him like a plague. But one can’t blame the other middleweight stars for ducking this hard-hitting Kazakh.

Golovkin’s rise to boxing superstardom stems from the power of his hands. The 32-year old former Olympic Silver medalist from the 2004 Olympic Games owns the highest knockout rate in middleweight boxing history at 90%. Golovkin’s dropped 28 of his 31 opponents and has won 18 straight fights by knockout. On the other hand, Golovkin’s never been knocked down in a total of 375 combined professional and amateur fights.

Battle Tested Challenger

Martin Murray is not the big star that Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez are. But unlike both superstars, Murray willingly took the opportunity to fight Golovkin even if the odds were stacked against him. The St. Helen’s, England native may be a huge 10-1 underdog in this fight but Murray is still the toughest challenge ever for Golovkin.

Murray’s a battle tested challenger, having fought twice for the world title but losing on both tries. Murray first fought for the gold in 2011 when he challenged German Felix Sturm in Germany. Unfortunately, Murray could only salvage a draw against the champion. In April of 2014, he traveled all the way to Argentina to challenge then champion Sergio Martinez in his hometown. But despite knocking down Maravilla in round eight, Murray lost via a close and highly contested unanimous decision.

Opposite Styles

While both boxers have very extensive amateur backgrounds, they have very opposite boxing styles. Despite Murray’s criminal past, he is not a brutal ring warrior. His 41% knockout rate shows that he is a patient disciple of the sweet science. Murray is a “defense first” fighter who prefers a tactical approach in beating his opponents. He’s got good hand speed and he transitions well from defense to offense. His best weapon is his left hook which he sets up with educated jabs. Murray’s style has worked against his previous opponents, but it may not be enough to topple the King of K.O.’s.

Against Golovkin, there are no breathers. Golovkin is a unique animal who likes to pressure his opponents and chase them around the ring all-fight long. He is a diligent hunter who invests on weakening his opponents’ legs with powerful body shots.  Against Murray, he is fighting a taller opponent and has to get past Murray’s jab to land his killer blows. But Murray doesn’t look like he has enough ammunition to weather a tornado like Golovkin. He’s got to be more aggressive and force the issue on Golovkin, which in most probability he won’t be able to do.

That’s the reason why Gennady’s a -3500 favorite over Murray who is a +1200 underdog. The forecast here is a stoppage by Golovkin in the first half of the fight as under 7.5 rounds is a -160 while over 7.5 rounds is a +115. When the night is over, Golovkin is expected to add Murray to his list of conquests and move forward in his trail of destruction.

The women of the UFC take center stage on Saturday when bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey takes on number one contender “Alpha” Cat Zingano in the main event of UFC 184 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

Promoted to Main Event

The UFC women’s bantamweight title bout between Rousey and Zingano was promoted to main event status following the withdrawal of UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman from his scheduled title defense against Brazilian challenger Vitor Belfort due to injury. That bout was originally scheduled for UFC 175 last May but Belfort had to beg off from the fight in the wake of the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s ban on Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT) starting in February of 2014.

Now for the second time in as many tries, that title bout has been postponed. Luckily, the UFC had its biggest superstar booked in the undercard and for only the second time in the history of the sport, a women’s bout will headline a UFC PPV event.

UFC’s Biggest Star

Since arriving in 2013, Ronda Rousey has taken the UFC by storm. The former 2008 Olympic bronze medalist in Judo became the first woman to headline a UFC card at UFC 157 when she fought Liz Carmouche in the first ever women’s fight in UFC history. After submitting Carmouche via her vaunted armbar in the very first round, Rousey has gone on to win three more bouts via stoppage and has improved her record to 10-0 with 2 knockouts and 8 submissions.

Her dominant reign as the first UFC women’s bantamweight title has cemented her superstar status and has made her the new face of women’s MMA, replacing the retired Gina Carano. At UFC 184, she has the opportunity not only to enhance her legacy in women’s MMA but to become one of the UFC’s Pound for Pound best fighters-man or woman.

The Biggest Challenge

While Rousey has been virtually unstoppable in the Octagon, Cat Zingano is expected to become her biggest challenge to date. The former Ring of Fire and Fight to Win women’s 135-pound champion is the UFC’s #1 ranked challenger since 2013. Zingano was scheduled to face Rousey after beating Meisha Tate at the TUF 17 finale, but she suffered a knee injury which sidelined her for a long period of time. Personal tragedy struck Zingano in January 2014 when her husband Mauricio committed suicide. After almost one and a half year of hiatus, Zingano finally returned to the Octagon at UFC 178 where she defeated Amanda Nunes via 3rd round TKO to seal a date with Ronda Rousey.

Who Takes It?

The current betting tips say that Rousey is a -1350 odds on favorite to beat Zingano who is a +800 underdog. But make no mistake about it because Alpha Cat is a live opponent for Rowdy Ronda because she is one of the few true finishers whom Rousey has ever been matched up against. Like Rousey, Zingano is undefeated in nine bouts with eight stoppages: five by knockout and three by submission. If she can avoid getting pinned down by Rousey early in the fight, Zingano can test Rousey’s chin with her own punching power in a striking match.

Zingano is also very good in the clinch, utilizing powerful knees and elbows. She has good submission skills and has a very good ground and pound game. With these strengths, she will be the first challenger to have an answer to Ronda’s judo throws. However, the women’s game has been all Ronda Rousey so far. No woman has ever gone the full route with her and Zingano will likely be taken to the ground, beaten up and submitted by the dominant Rousey.

The UFC returns to the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for one the most anticipated comebacks in UFC history.

Lackluster Year

The UFC is coming off a lackluster 2014 in terms of PPV buys because of the absence of big name superstars like Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva. Both former longtime champs walked away from the sport with St. Pierre vacating his welterweight title after a controversial split decision win over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 and Silva suffering a major leg injury during his attempt to regain his belt at UFC 168. St. Pierre has decided not to return yet, but Silva has decided to give one more shot at glory.

The G.O.A.T

Silva is universally recognized as the greatest mixed martial artist of all time. The 39-year old Brazilian holds the longest title defense streak in UFC history with 10 title defenses embedded in a 16-fight winning streak that spanned over six years. But that aura of invincibility came to an end against the current UFC middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, who became the first man to defeat Silva twice and in consecutive fights. Weidman knocked out a clowning Silva during their first encounter at UFC 162 and then checked on a leg kick that led to one of the most gruesome injuries ever caught on national TV. Silva has been out of action since that incident, and while he’s claimed a full recovery, there will be more questions than answers going into Saturday night.

The Problem Child

Nick Diaz may not be as equally popular as Anderson Silva but he also boasts a rockstar status in the UFC. The former Strikeforce and WEC welterweight champion has not fought since March of 2013 when he lost a one sided contest to Georges St. Pierre in the battle for the UFC welterweight title. Diaz was a superstar in both the WEC and Strikeforce and after an impressive UFC debut where he beat BJ Penn in 2011, he dropped two straight bouts, including the St. Pierre title challenge. Diaz went into hibernation and stated that he would only come out of retirement if the UFC gave him a big and meaningful fight. A fight against Anderson Silva definitely fit his requirement and it was enough to pull him out of his cave even if he has to fight at middleweight for the first time since 2009.

Who Takes it?

Despite the questions on his health and mindset, Silva is the clear favorite here at -450 while Diaz is a heavy underdog at +350. The biggest question surrounding this bout is how Anderson Silva will react if Diaz starts to target that surgically repaired leg. More than the physical aspect of it, it’s the mental side that experts are worried about. On the other hand, the catch about Diaz is the weight class. Many are questioning how he will carry the extra pounds inside the Octagon.

Age is a factor because Silva is near his 40th birthday while Diaz is eight years younger, but Silva does have tons of octagon experience tucked under his belt, while Diaz has fought just three times in the UFC. Both men have been out of action for a long time and while dormancy brings ring rust, Diaz has been away on his terms and has been doing light training even without fighting in the UFC. On the other hand, Silva has had to undergo a long rehabilitation which started from learning how to walk again to how to use a surgically repaired leg in a fight. Both men are southpaws, thus negating the usual natural advantage they had against their previous opponents. Silva has not fought a southpaw since 2012 and Diaz since 2008, so it would be interesting how each adjust to this.

Most experts predict this fight will stay on its feet with these two dynamic strikers. Silva is known for his precise striking while Diaz lands plenty of blows because of volume. Target-wise Silva is the more diverse striker with a good mixture of head (64%), body (17%) and legs (19%). Diaz is a one-sided head hunter, targeting the opponent’s head 85% of the time. Stylistically, this fight looks like a perfect match because Silva is more of a counter striker while Diaz would be the wild aggressor. However, Silva does pack more knockout power (twice more KOs as Diaz) and more so that they are fighting at his weight class. The key here is the punching game in how Diaz will take the strikes of a full-fledged middleweight.

Title Shot Next?

Silva has been promised a title shot by the UFC if he wins. But he will need to win in spectacular fashion if he wants the fans to see him fight Weidman a third time ( if Weidman beats Belfort). Silva’s lost twice already to the stronger, heftier and younger Weidman. He needs to prove that he is still the same “Spider” who dominated the Octagon in the past. It’s a crossroad fight for Silva, whether he likes it or not. The world has been  waiting for his return. Let’s hope he doesn’t break a leg, figuratively and literally.

There’s nothing better than a trilogy in boxing and on Saturday, the world will witness one of the most highly anticipated rubber matches in recent memory when Brandon Rios and Mike Alvarado face off for the third time.

Big Rivalry

Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios and “Mile High” Mike Alvarado became household names because of each other. Their first fight in 2012 was a back and forth toe to toe war that was considered by many boxing experts and fans to be the Fight of The Year. Rios, who has the heavier fists between the two, won the bruising affair via a 7th round TKO. The following year, fans got their wish of an immediate rematch, but the craftier Alvarado decided not to brawl with Rios and instead chose to fight at a distance. His strategy paid off as he was able to come away with a unanimous decision win to even their rivalry.

But instead of a third fight right away, the camps of both fighters decided to separate their paths. Since then, their boxing lives have never been the same. After the Alvarado loss, Rios decided to shoot for the moon when he took on Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao in Macau. Rios lost a lopsided decision and then failed a post-fight drug test that netted a suspension. Rios’ next fight ended in controversy when Diego Chavez was disqualified in the ninth round for foul blows. On the other hand, Alvarado has lost twice since beating Rios. He retired on his stool in the 10th round of his match against Ruslan Provodnikov in a bout where he made the same mistakes as his first fight with Rios. Alvarado then took on Pacquiao nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez, but the aging Mexican proved to be the more technically superior fighter than the much younger Alvarado and won via decision.

Who Takes it

Although this one’s pretty much even as their first two fights, Rios is the slight favorite at -150 while Alvarado the underdog at +130. Both fighters are in a win-now mode and although Alvarado knows he has the advantage fighting at a distance, he will be forced not to leave this one in the hands of the judges. Experts are predicting that this will turn out like the first fight where Rios would cut-off the ring and engage Alvarado in a fierce gun battle. Alvarado is a good counter puncher and also owns a very respectable knockout punch, but if he decides to slug it out, he may be headed to retirement. Alvarado’s focus and mindset could be questionable after he was charged with one count of weapon possession last week. How this affects him come fight night remains a big question.

The fight is important because Rios has won one in his last three fights and Alvarado once in his last four. The loser in this crossroads fight will fall down the ladder of relevance in boxing’s most competitive weight class while the winner will resurrect a career and will be on a shortlist to fight for another world title. With all these at stake and the history between the two, Rios-Alvarado 3 should be better than the first two installments.

The Heavyweights have taken the backstage in the last couple of decades because of the absence of a true superstar in the mold of a Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield in America. But that could change very soon when WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne faces unbeaten Deontay Wilder at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 17th.

Back To America

After Bermane Stiverne’s 6th round KO of Chris Arreola in May 2014, heavyweight boxing has regained some interest in the United States. That fight was the first heavyweight title fight in America since 2008 when Vitali Klitchsko retired Arreola in the 10th round of their WBC title bout at the  Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Less than a year later, the Canadian Stiverne heads back to America and this time to the fight in the capital of the world – Las Vegas, Nevada, to defend his belt for the first time against undefeated mandatory challenger Deontay Wilder, who is aiming to become the first U.S. born heavyweight champion since Shannon Briggs in 2007. The card is dubbed as “Return To Glory” as both Stiverne and Wilder hope to put heavyweight boxing right where it belongs: on top of the sport.

Not going the Distance

Looking at their records, anyone will agree that this fight won’t last the distance. Stiverne is unbeaten in his last 13 fights with 10 knockouts included. Overall, he’s scored a knockout in 21 out of 24 wins, including 18 within round three and 14 in round one. On the other hand, the unbeaten Wilder has knocked out all of his 32 opponents so far. He has not gone past four rounds and has fought in only 58 total rounds. Of Wilder’s 32 KO’s, 18 have come in round one and 8 in round two. With these impressive knockout records, Stiverne and Wilder have a combined knockout ratio of 95% (53-56 wins) so it wasn’t a surprise why both men predicted to knock the other man out. Wilder said Stiverne won’t go past four rounds ( he’s never gone farther before) while Stiverne didn’t name a round but said that his KO win would “leave a lasting image” to the fans. Add the fact that we have two men who genuinely hate each other off the ring, and we have the perfect recipe for a heavyweight brawl that we’ve been waiting for in decades.

Who Takes it?

Fight odds have installed the champion as a -175 favorite with the challenger a +160 underdog and while that margin is close, bettors agree that the fight won’t last the distance with a knockout as mode of victory a -900 bet and a decision a +190.

There is no doubt that with their punching power, both man can end the bout at any given moment. The key here should be the length of the fight because Wilder has never been tested outside of four rounds. If Wilder’s power is indeed for real, he can take out the champion in less than four rounds as he predicted. But that won’t be easy. Stiverne has been in the ring with the tougher competition. Sure, he got knocked out in his only defeat but that’s as far as it goes for putting Stiverne down. If Stiverne can take Wilder’s punches in the first two rounds and withstand the expected early storm which the challenger will bring, he has a better chance at winning.

Nobody knows how Wilder will be after round 4 and it’s those unknowns that will give Stiverne the advantage as the fight goes longer. It’s true that Stiverne is the toughest fight of Wilder’s career and perhaps the first true test of his career. But the same can also be said of Stiverne because fluke or no fluke, Wilder is a former Olympic bronze medalist who does have the skill to be the next American hope.

Rory MacDonald will have to wait at least one more fight before fighting for a world title.

Makes Sense

UFC President Dana White announced on Thursday that the first title defense of newly crowned UFC welterweight champion Robbie “Ruthless” Lawler will be against the man he took the belt from-Johny “Big Rigg” Hendricks and not top contender Rory MacDonald. MacDonald had earned his title shot after three successive victories over Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffediene in 2014. Before the Hendricks-Lawler fight at UFC 181, White had said that MacDonald will fight the winner of that bout on March 14th in MacDonald’s home country of Canada. However, after the narrow margin of victory by Lawler over Hendricks last December, White said that completing the Hendricks-Lawler trilogy “makes sense.”

Taking Over From GSP

Hendricks and Lawler first fought each other at UFC 171 when they fought for the title vacated by longtime champion Georges St. Pierre. Coming off a controversial win over Hendricks where experts believe that Big Rigg won, St. Pierre walked away from the sport citing personal reasons and left the UFC welterweight title up for grabs. After being thought to have been “robbed” of victory, Hendricks was slated to fight for the vacant title against Robbie Lawler, who earned a trip to the title match with a UFC 167 win over Rory MacDonald.

A Close Call

Their first fight was as close as the second one. Both Hendricks and Lawler fought back and forth in a slugfest. But Hendricks’ takedown of Lawler in the fifth and final round proved to be the decisive move of the contest. Hendricks defeated Lawler to become the UFC Welterweight champion. While Lawler fought twice after losing to Hendricks, the new champion was sidelined by injury and by the time he recovered, the UFC set his next bout against the man he beat by a close call. Their rematch was set at UFC 181 and once again they fought in a classic. However, this time it was Lawler who turned the tide in the final minute of the bout, punching away in a blaze of glory to beat Hendricks via split decision.

Who To Pick

Hendricks was a -220 favorite during their rematch, with Lawler a +180 underdog. He was also a -370 against Lawler’s +325 during their first encounter at UFC 171. But as we know it, those two fights had different results although they were both very close and could have gone either way. Both fights were ultimately decided in the fifth round and there is no reason why the third fight will be just as close. No final date has been set yet for the rubber match although the March 14th date has been moved by the UFC from Canada to Dallas and has been dubbed as UFC 185. So it’s more likely that Lawler and Hendricks will settle their differences on that date.

In recent years, the UFC has closed out the year with a big PPV event that is headlined by a title bout. Not this year though, because the UFC chose to end the year with a meek UFC Fight Night 58 fight card on Saturday at the Jose Correa Arena in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

An Intriguing Matchup

Headlining the fight card is an intriguing matchup between former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida and Ultimate Fighter 7 season finalist C.B. Dollaway. While Dollaway welcomes this bout as the chance to finally prove his worth against championship caliber opposition, Machida is curiously pitted against a lower ranked ( #10) Dollaway after giving UFC middleweight king Chris Weidman a big scare at UFC 175 last July.

Dollaway is on a two fight winning streak and is being billed as the young gun on a roll. But Dollaway hasn’t faced anyone in Machida’s caliber. His biggest opponents have been Mark Munoz and Tim Boetsch and he’s lost both of those bouts. On the other hand, Machida has faced nearly everyone from Chris Weidman to Jon Jones. So, if you look at it from the point of view of experience, Machida wins this by a mile.

All-American Wrestler

But the thing with Dollaway is that he is an excellent wrestler. We know that Machida struggled during the Weidman bout when the champ took him to the ground. Like Weidman, Dollaway was a former All-American collegiate wrestler at Arizona State University.He has a vast repertoire of takedowns to jumpstart his wrestling, which is the core of his game. On the ground, Dollaway has good control instincts and a very good transition game. On his feet, Dollaway has a decent striking game with some solid power from both hands. He mixes up his head-body punch combinations well with low kicks.

Enter the Dragon

Machida, whose base is karate, is one of the hardest opponents to prepare for because of his unorthodox angles and lightning quick punching combos. He is known in the circles as one of the best strikers in the game. If Machida has a weakness, it’s that he doesn’t have the one punch knockout power of a Weidman or Belfort. But he makes up for that with deadly counters and killer knees which can stop anybody in the division.

Who takes this?

If Dollaway can take the fight to the ground and impose his wrestling skills, he has a good shot at upsetting Machida. On the other hand, if he is content to strike with the Dragon, he is making a big mistake. Machida is nearly flawless on his feet and as long as he keeps it up, Dollaway doesn’t have the same elite striking to keep up with the Dragon.

With these advantages, Machida is installed as a -600 betting favorite and Dollaway a big +400 underdog. Experts pick Machida to knockout Dollaway somewhere between round 2 and 3 when he’ll crack Dollaway with a powerful left or a sensational kick.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos returns after a 14-month absence from the Octagon to face rising heavyweight Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC on Fox at the U.S. Airways Arena in Phoenix, Arizona on December 13th.

Third Time’s the Charm

Dos Santos and Miocic were previously scheduled to face each other at UFC 173 but that fight was moved to the following week and during the finale of The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3. Once again, the bout was moved, this time it was Dos Santos who pulled out because of a hand injury. Finally, a third date has been set and with a couple of days to go, it seems that the third time is the charm for this much-awaited contest.

After winning the UFC heavyweight title in November 2011, Junior Dos Santos has won just two of four fights. But the two losses during that period were to Cain Velasquez during their rematch at UFC 155 where Junior lost the title and during their rubber match at UFC 166 where Velasquez dominated him for five full rounds. Despite the slump, Dos Santos is ranked #2 in the Heavyweight division because of the thinness of the weight class.

Rising Star of Heavyweight Division

Opposite Dos Santos is the UFC’s #4 ranked heavyweight Stipe Miocic. The 32-year old native of Croatia is the UFC’s fastest rising star in the UFC’s heavyweight division. Miocic won his first nine fights and eight of those wins were by stoppage. However, Miocic was knocked out by Stefan Struve at UFC on Fuel in September of 2012, ending his winning streak. Miocic has bounced back stronger by racking up three consecutive wins leading into Saturday night.

Miocic is a well-rounded fighter, being a former Golden Gloves champion and an NCAA Division 1 Wrestler at Cleveland State University. Before coming over to the UFC, Miocic was the undefeated NAAFS Heavyweight champion.

Who Wins it

Dos Santos is a -310 favorite in this one with Miocic a +230 underdog primarily because Junior does have more power and speed. By the looks of their record, this one should be a striking match-up all the way to the finish. While Miocic cannot be counted out with his own power and elite striking, Dos Santos has a more complete arsenal of moves which include low kicks, reverse elbows, and the newly discovered spinning kick which knocked out Mark Hunt cold.

Miocic will have the advantage if this fight goes to the ground because of his wrestling background, but it’s highly unlikely that he can put Cigano down on his back. While Dos Santos may not be as good as a grappler, he is hard to take down not only because of his size but because he is a very good defensive wrestler. The pick here is Dos Santos by knockout late in the third round.

Tyson Fury didn’t just win every round, he won every second of the fight.

Unleashing His Fury

Tyson unleashed his fury on his fellow trash talking heavyweight Chisora and laid a one-sided beating for ten rounds before Chisora’s corner threw in the towel to stop the beat down on Saturday night at the Excel Arena in London, England. The win not only earned Fury the vacant British Heavyweight boxing title and Chisora’s European belt, but also the mandatory challenger status for one of Wladimir Klitschko’s heavyweight belts.

Fury kept Chisora at a safe distance throughout the bout by pounding his face with stiff jabs. The 6-9 Fury turned southpaw for a pretty good portion of the fight and battered the shorter Chisora with his right jab. The strategy proved to be effective as it frustrated Chisora as early as round one when he was warned by referee Marcus McDonnell for a couple of low blows.

Easier Than First Bout

Chisora wasn’t a difficult prey and the fight was easier for Fury than their first encounter in 2011 which he won via a clear unanimous decision. Fury would just fire double and triple jabs against a plodding Chisora, who looked lifeless and far from the top conditioned boxer he claimed he was before the fight. During their pre-fight conferences, Chisora attributed his loss during their first bout to his lack of conditioning because he weighed 261 pounds for that contest.

Fury wobbled Chisora with a left hook in the fourth round and kept doing damage with his jabs. By the sixth round, the crowd was booing and was restless for action as Chisora kept on swinging wildly for the fences, hoping to land a big bomb on his opponent. At the end of round six, Chisora’s corner asked him if he wanted to continue because he was taking a lot of punishment. He said yes, but he never got going.

Now or Never

By round nine, Chisora’s right eye was cut and closed as his trainer, Don Charles told him that it was now or never. It was the latter for Chisora as Tyson Fury would not be denied on this night.  Fury dished out more punishment in round ten, forcing Charles to tell his fighter at the end of the round that he wanted him to finish the fight on his feet. After all the trash talk and the hype, the fight ended disappointingly. Fury won with ease and he snapped Chisora’s five-fight winning streak with his effective jabs.

Although Fury earned a title shot against Klitschko, he won’t get the next crack at the Ukrainian champion. Klitschko is likely to fight American Bryant Jennings in April while Fury is being eyed a February tune-up bout to stay in shape.