UFC Fight Night 21 Preview: The Main Card

Nate Quarry vs. Jorge Rivera

The Breakdown: There are some fights where anticipating strategy would be like attending “The Daily Show” and finding insult in the lack of conservative politics. Quarry and Rivera are going to hit each other in the head repeatedly until one -- or maybe both -- of them stops moving.

The odds fall in Quarry’s favor. Both fighters have mediocre chins, a world of power and aggression to spare. While Quarry could probably notch a nasty ground-and-pound win if he was so inclined, he has made peace with being the guy who gives as good as he gets. The same distinction applies to Rivera, but he may not be quite as qualified for the position.

When two sluggers lock up, the smart money rests on the guy who can bring something extra to the table. Quarry has proven quite good at identifying holes in his opponent’s defenses despite his predilection for ultra violence. There are plenty of flaws in Rivera’s defenses, and unless he shores them up, he could be in for a serious starching.

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The Bottom Line: Anticipating any fundamental improvement from either fighter at this point in their careers seems unrealistic at best, so the only work that remains is guessing which round Quarry will remove Rivera from consciousness. Bank on a cringe-inducing second round that ends with the zebra pulling Quarry off his downed opponent.