Preview: UFC 283 Prelims

The Ultimate Fighting Championship packed its return to Brazil with activity, as UFC 283 on Saturday at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro will feature 10 bouts on the undercard alone. Some late scratches hurt what were expected to be the more relevant preliminary affairs, so the main headline here comes in the featured spot, as mixed martial arts legend Mauricio Rua takes his final bow opposite Ihor Potieria. Beyond that? A parade of fun fights with the expected Brazilian flavor: Gregory Rodrigues is a must-watch attraction every time out, and top prospects like Jailton Almeida and the debuting Bonfim brothers look for some breakout victories.

Now to the preview for the UFC 283 prelims:

Light Heavyweights

Ihor Potieria (18-3, 0-1 UFC) vs. Mauricio Rua (27-13-1, 11-11-1)

ODDS: Potieria (-200), Rua (+170)

This is expected to be the retirement fight for “Shogun” Rua, and the timing does feel about right. Rua’s 2005 campaign is one of the best years for an individual fighter in mixed martial arts history, as he beat Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona over the span of about four months. That was only a piece of Rua’s excellent run in Pride Fighting Championships, which led to him entering the UFC as one of the consensus best fighters in the world as a 25-year-old back in 2007. That made it all the more stunning when Forrest Griffin outlasted Rua and scored a third-round submission. Looking back, that essentially marked the end of Rua’s peak, as he missed all of 2008 with one of the many knee injuries that would mark his career. Still, even though the last decade and a half has been post-prime Rua, it speaks to his talent that he still managed to capture the UFC’s light heavyweight title, serving as the bridge from the last of the old guard to Jon Jones back in 2011—a year that he capped off with one of the greatest fights of all-time against Dan Henderson. From there, Rua hung around near the top of the division until a 2014 loss to Ovince St. Preux seemed to permanently shut the door on title contention, at which point he recaptured some success under the radar. Clearly past his physical prime, Rua had a run of only one loss in seven fights against a mix of rising prospects and fellow veterans, appearing roughly once per calendar year. That made Rua’s fights a fun mix of nostalgia trip and curiosity until his last two bouts—rematches against Paul Craig and the aforementioned St. Preux, which have seen him suffer that final bit of slippage, as he is now much less willing to pull the trigger on his offense. It has been a while since Rua has been sparked, so thankfully, his durability has not left him just yet. Perhaps that will hold true in this one last ride opposite Potieria. Youth and athleticism are mostly what Potieria brings to the table at the moment. The Ukrainian looks like a physical talent but comes with a lot of the expected problems of someone who came up through a particularly weak regional scene. “The Duelist” can get wild and reckless with his offense, and as his UFC debut against Nicolae Negumereanu showed in July, he will get absolutely exhausted against an opponent that does not go away quickly. This could just wind up as a quick knockout win for Potieria, but his looping offense is exploitable and Rua could just be willing to make this a grind. The Brazilian legend will tire at some point, but it is a solid bet that Potieria will do so first and be the less effective fighter if this goes any length of time. This may just be optimism—even if there are no illusions that this will be a pretty fight—but the bet is that Rua still has enough in the tank to survive some early trouble and score an ugly decision win.

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Potieria vs. Rua
Rodrigues vs. Ferreira
Moises vs. Costa
Bonfim vs. Lazzez
Almeida vs. Abdurakhimov
Stamann vs. Lacerda
McKinney vs. Bonfim
Alves vs. Dalby
Nunes vs. Dos Santos
Oliveira vs. Marcos