UFC 134 Preview: The Main Card

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Light Heavyweights
Luiz Cane (11-3, 1 NC, 4-3 UFC) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (11-0, 0-0 UFC)

The Matchup: Cane throws sharp strikes from a southpaw stance, letting his hands go with commitment on his punches. He also fights with something of a nasty streak, as opposed to the detached manner of, say, an Anderson Silva or Lyoto Machida. His one-round stoppage of Eliot Marshall at UFC 128 halted a slide that saw him lose two in a row by knockout.

Nedkov is a rugged Bulgarian with strong grappling credentials. His standup and ground-and-pound remain raw, as he unfurls shots like a robot. Nedkov also has good takedown defense befitting his wrestling pedigree and seems to take special pleasure in slamming people to the mat and thrashing them around in tie-ups.

Cane needs to fight with a cool head in this one, playing the bull to Nedkov’s matador. He will want to shoot smooth strikes down the middle while keeping his right foot outside of Nedkov’s left. This will open up punching opportunities and make tie-ups and takedowns harder to secure.

Nedkov’s stamina held up somewhat in a decision over Kevin Randleman under the Sengoku banner in 2009. Though he looked tired and a little plodding at times, he worked through the adversity to get the decision.

The Pick: The longer this one goes, the more it favors Cane, who has the benefit of UFC experience. Given a year or two to refine his standup and overall MMA game, Nedkov could become an intriguing presence in the cage. However, Cane has too many key advantages, and he will pick apart and wear down Nedkov in a tense back-and-forth battle, scoring a knockout in the third round of an exciting bout.

Jason Probst can be reached at Jason@jasonprobst.com or twitter.com/jasonprobst.

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