A veteran of 100 professional bouts, Horn (79-16-5) has all the experience in the world but little in the way of UFC success to show for it. Sporting a paltry 6-4 record inside the Octagon, he may be looking at his last opportunity to make the title run that so many expected of him.
Coming off three straight disappointing performances punctuated by an uncharacteristic shellacking at the hands of Jorge Santiago (Pictures), that title run may be secondary to Horn simply reestablishing himself as a viable presence in the middleweight division. He has several lifetimes worth of fights already under his belt and may be proving to be more Methuselah than Legolas when it comes to graceful aging. Nothing short of a renaissance would salvage what's left of Horn's career, and the deadline is now.
Working on a short deadline against Marquardt (25-7-2) is hardly ideal. Marquardt's only misstep in the UFC came against the sport's current pound-for-pound kingpin, Anderson Silva.
How that loss will weigh on Marquardt's mind entering this bout is anyone's guess. He does have four prior UFC wins to his credit and years of success on the Pancrase circuit to boot.
Showing everything from strong takedown defense and striking against Dean Lister (Pictures) to suffocating ground control against Crafton Wallace (Pictures), Marquardt is turning into the fighter that many thought Horn would be. That doesn't mean Marquardt can expect easy pickings against Horn, who remains one of the sport's more versatile and savvy veterans. With that said, Horn simply isn't at the point in his career where he can expect to beat the likes of Marquardt.
This one won't be scintillating, but expect Marquardt to work a methodical decision win by controlling the tempo and positioning battle on the ground while getting the better of whatever striking could take place.
For the record, all prognostication is dependant on Horn failing to reach the lands of Valinor.
Ricardo Almeida (Pictures) vs. Rob Yundt
All the fame and popularity that Anderson Silva is enjoying today was once well within reach for Ricardo Almeida (Pictures).
Only 27 years old and already regarded one of MMA's best middleweights, Almeida walked away from the sport on the verge of establishing himself among the elite. The allure of reclaiming his place in the division ultimately proved too great, though, and four years after the fact, he is ready to make his return against a fighter who craves the status that Almeida once enjoyed.
One of Alaska's finest contributions to MMA, Rob Yundt (6-0) is the latest Alaska Fighting Championship alumnus to enter the UFC and perhaps the most promising to date. About as physically imposing a middleweight as you'll ever find, Yundt is built like an action figure and has the gung-ho attitude to measure up to anyone in your collection of G.I. Joes. Yeah, I know you still keep them on the top shelf of your closet.
Giving Alaska's middleweights the Cobra Commander treatment isn't a feat that will come quite so easily in the UFC, however, as Almeida is more Snake-Eyes than Firefly.
What that four-year absence has done to Almeida (8-2) may be the most relevant question entering this fight. At 31, the idea that Almeida has experienced any significant physical decline would be presumptuous at best.
Still one of the world's elite grapplers, his only real concern is shaking off all that ring rust and adjusting to a last-second change of opponent thanks to a severe case of bronchitis that forced Alan Belcher (Pictures) to bow out of this bout.
All that adversity also plays against Yundt, who must make his UFC debut on three days' notice against the sort of fighter designed to give ground-and-pound artists nightmares. Yundt should prepare for something out of the darkest recesses of Ernst Fuchs' imagination.
Given Almeida's Brazilian jiu-jitsu background, expect him to concede an early takedown to Yundt before turning the Alaskan into a poorly made pretzel inside the first round.
Gleison Tibau (Pictures) vs. Tyson Griffin
As the UFC lightweight division continues to take shape, the time has come to separate the wheat from the chaff. The clash between Tyson Griffin and Gleison Tibau (Pictures) will go a long way toward establishing which of these two can add his name to a growing list of contenders.
Initially, contending for the lightweight title was all but assumed for Griffin (10-1), who entered the UFC as one of the division's premier prospects. Despite being blessed with tremendous physical talent and sporting the rare combination of high wrestling and submission acumen, the path to the title took an unexpected turn when Griffin lost a nail-biter to then-unknown New Jersey phenom Frank Edgar (Pictures). That did little to deter Griffin, however, as he went on to best Clay Guida (Pictures) and Thiago Tavares (Pictures) in memorable bouts.
Putting on fight of the year caliber matches every time out will keep you in the UFC, but earning a spot and winning a title are miles apart. A dominant showing is what Griffin needs, and that is exactly what Tibau (15-4) is looking to prevent from happening.
A one-time Nova Uniao student turned American Top Team convert, Tibau's time in the UFC began with an exciting but ultimately disappointing welterweight scrap against Nick Diaz (Pictures).
Incapable of holding his own on the ground against a physically superior opponent, Tibau couldn't make it past the second round, and Diaz dropped punishment of both the physical and verbal variety reminiscent of Muhammad Ali's infamous bout with Ernie Terrell. Moving down to the lightweight division brought with it renewed opportunity, and Tibau quickly capitalized by racking up wins over middling contenders such as Terry Etim (Pictures) and Jason Dent (Pictures).
This time around, no such middling contender awaits Tibau. He must find a way to impose his top control-oriented grappling against one of the division's premier wrestlers.
No easy task given Griffin could be inclined to simply resist Tibau's takedown attempts in favor of a standup bout in which Tibau lacks the refinement to contend with him.
As the bout wears on and Tibau struggles to survive on the feet, watch for Griffin to score a bull-rush takedown and finish off his overmatched opponent with ground-and-pound late in the second round. Insert "drop it like it's hot" joke here if so inclined.