The UFC’s FIGHT NIGHT series continues in Atlantic City on July 16th with an event whose card is filling out. A lightweight bout between veterans Pat Healy and Gleison Tibau is in the works, as is a welterweight bout between Rick Story and John Howard. The flyweight division also moves to the forefront, as John Linkener and Alptekin Ozkilic face off at 125 lbs.
The Healy versus Tibau fight is a battle of veterans. Tibau is a solid 14-8 in the UFC’s octagon, where he has fought exclusively since 2007. Tibau has been on an average run of 2-2, most recently losing to surging Michael Johnson. He has scored some decent wins, but also has had a couple of momentum killing losses. For his part, Healy knows all about momentum killers. He entered the UFC in 2013 riding the strongest streak of his career, and he promptly beat up well regarded veteran Jim Miller. A pot suspension and 3 losses later, and Healy’s hot streak in Strikeforce is a thing of the past.
The match could be a real barnburner of both men come out with their full arsenal blazing and they do not fight cautious. The match also has the potential to be a stalemate between the two. Look for Healy to get the nod at the sportbooks when it comes to the line.
This is John Howard’s second UFC run, as he was cut after a 2 year run started in 2009 that saw him lose 3 in a row after winning his opening four bouts. He is 2-1 on this latest run, but dropped his last outing, to Ryan LaFlare in April. Story was once one of the division’s hottest prospects, and he was 6-2 to start in the UFC, including wins over veteran Thiago Alves and future champion Johny Hendricks. Since then he is 3-5 in his UFC appearance and he is no longer even mentioned when it comes to the division’s top prospects.
Look for Story to be favored at the sport books when the line comes out, if for no other reason that he has more name recognition.
The Linkener – Ozkilic fight should also be a fan friendly fight, as both men bring a different level of speed and agility than the behemoths people are used to seeing. The UFC has not fully exploited the potential of the lower weight classes like boxing has, so look for this fight to make a case for an expanded roster in the weight class.+
