UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. dos Anjos - The Idiot's Guide to the Preliminary Card

Is there anything you wanted to talk about before discussing some MMA undercard action that I know readers are dying to engage in?

Not really. I've been trying to get into stoner rock that isn't Kyuss, and I can think of no other genre that gets more repetitious. Still, I enjoyed this Greenleaf gem, and Truckfighters have a few songs I like. Maybe someone in the comments section will help me refine my taste.

Other than that I've got nothing. Nothing other than trivial stories about work, and life from nine to five.

Yea that doesn't matter. What does, is Jason Miller's triumphant return!

Well, not so fast.

I don't feel comfortable talking about Miller's fairly recent past, as I'm just sick of all of it. MMA wise, although Coker means well, Miller just doesn't have it anymore. His performance against Michael Bisping was just dreadful (not to the degree Dana White thought it was, however). Although it was also sort of entertaining; watching him eat Bisping's punches despite not being in the fight at any point. He had his moments against Dolloway, but yea, his presence just isn't that interesting. Even in Bellator.

At least we got Cerrone vs. Alvarez.

I've got no words for such awesomeness.

Maybe an appropriate celebratory gif.

Or two.

Maybe three.

Or four.

Five.

Et cetera.

Word. Now...let's mother****ers!!

Ahh, yes, the return of Ben Saunders. Oh look, he even stopped by on Bloody Elbow to thank the fans. I never jumped on the bandwagon, mostly because I didn't even know Ben Saunders posted here, but after reading his comment expressing disappointment over the Total Recall remake, consider me a fan for life. I have no idea why one poster felt the need to post a picture of Kuato, but I personally thank you for it. As does my brother...who once drew Kuato with a Patton Oswalt face.

Should he be worried about Chris Heatherly?

Well, at +290, you can always hope that a small investment turns into a modest gold mine. Obviously, Saunders should always be worried about his opponent to the extent that they deserve your respect, because one wrong move means no win bonus, and a potential wound(s). But Heatherly seems like a good matchup for Ben. Chris prefers top control, but he seems incredibly raw despite his background in greco-roman, and freestyle wrestling. And his striking needs some work, to say nothing of what he'll need to do on the feet to avoid Saunders' punishing style.

Saunders' departure from the UFC seemed pretty rushed. He was 4-3, only ever losing two in a row, which is a far cry from what seems like the plethora of fighters currently riding three fight losing streaks. And his wins were flat out highlight reel violent: be it the coffin he gift wrapped Marcus Davis in, or the Kuato-shaped destruction he inflicted on Brandon Wolff.

The main thing for Saunders is that he's closing in on a year without a fight, even though he trained for a bout with Matt Riddle for Titan Fighting Championships. So he won't be going in cold. Saunders is the rightful favorite, and this bout feels exactly like the kind of fight for vintage Saunders violence.

Anything else worth mentioning? How about Neil Magny at +125?

That's probably a good bet. Alex Garcia vs. Neil Magny is a pretty good bout. Mainly because I think Magny is a fairly underrated TUF fighter who has steadily improved, and is in the prime of his career. He may well show us a few new tricks. Garcia's a very tough draw though. I was little disappointed in his fight with Spencer, as I think he could have done more against a journeyman. He's got some dynamite in his fists, but Magny is a solid bet because he's 6'3 to Garcia's 5'9. Don't expect Garcia to wade in easily with strikes.

Anything else?

Not really. It's another double card weekend where the undercarders really have to work to get our attention. I will say this in advance: The Macau is solid, and way better with some actual prospects. Stay tuned for that preview or you're interested and don't know a lot of those names. As a former Shooto nerd, I try to keep up with my JMMA.

Beneil Dariush vs. Tony Martin should involve a good bit of grappling, with Dariusch getting the better of the exchanges. And then there's Jackson/Winklejon trained Joby Sanchez vs. Wilson Reis.

That's just an awful draw for Sanchez, who is a 23 year old striker with promise, and coming off a solid win over once-Chuck Liddell protege, Antonio Banuelos. It's hard to tell what Sanchez can do this early in his career other than maintain distance with his kicks. He's pretty patient. Which I'm not really sure is a positive at times.

In MMA, urgency in defense of efficiency is no vice.