UFC 194 Conor McGregor vs Jose Also: I can't remember a card as stacked as this, writes Dan Hardy

Dan Hardy turns his attention to UFC 194 and the stacked main card. In the first of two instalments analysing this event, he shares his views on Holloway vs. Stephens, Maia vs. Nelson and Souza vs Romero

Yoel Romero in action (Josh Hedges/ Zuffa LLC)

I can’t remember a time when a UFC event has been as stacked with talent as UFC 194. Every bout on the main card could be a headliner. And we have two exciting strikers to kick off the main card action, as two fighters ranked inside the top ten of the featherweight division, Max ‘Blessed’ Holloway and Jeremy Stephens, face off.

Holloway has been nothing but impressive since joining the UFC almost four years ago. At only 23 years of age he is one of the youngest fighters on the roster, which makes his technical skill and level-headedness all the more impressive. Well known scrapper Stephens will put Holloway’s position at number five in the rankings to the test though. Stephens can knock a man down by landing a solid punch on their guard, and every punch he throws is to put you down. The heavy handed Stephens, a former light-weight contender, will need to close the distance on Holloway fast though. Too much time at the end of the Hawaiian’s reach could prove dangerous. The reach may be two inches in Stephens favour, but their style of fighting will mean that Holloway will probably have more success at range.

This could be a real coming out party for Holloway, or the veteran of the game may prove to be too tall an order for the young Hawaiian at this stage in his career. But whatever happens, it’s certainly a nice featherweight bout to get us started.

Next up, we have a welterweight clash between two ground fighting wizards, Demian Maia and Gunnar Nelson. Demian Maia is widely regarded as being one of the top three jiu jitsu players in MMA today. A two-time jiu jitsu world champion with the intention to beat his opponents without hurting them, Maia has really made welterweight his home after originally fighting in the middleweight division. In the heavier weight class he has decision losses to the former champion, Anderson Silva, and current title-holder, Chris Weidman on his record and his performances in those fights are a real statement to his toughness and durability.

Standing across the Octagon from him on Saturday night will be Icelandic phenom, Gunnar Nelson. Training partner and friend of main-event fighter, Conor McGregor, Nelson has had the fortune to share a very well organized and well-funded training camp, and his last performance against Brandon Thatch was, in my opinion, his best yet. Coming off his first defeat at the hands of Rick Story, it was clear that Gunni had re-evaluated his approach to the fight and done a little fine tuning. Against Maia I expect him to use his speed and elusiveness to frustrate Maia and pick him off as he moves.


 Max Holloway kicks Cub Swanson
 (Josh Hedges/ Zuffa LLC)

I would love to see this fight go to the ground but I feel that if it does, it will be on Demian Maia’s terms. Although Nelson has a very strong ground game, Maia is definitely the best grappler he will have faced so far in his MMA career. He may want to test himself, but with his striking advantage and reaction time, he would be doing himself a disservice to not at least do a little damage first.

Following the welterweight bout we have another grappling masterclass on our hands as Ronaldo Souza, another of the best jiu jitsu players in the UFC, puts his skills and ranking on the line against Yoel Romero, a freestyle wrestling Olympic medallist.

Souza, better known simply as ‘Jacare’, makes controlling a man and squeezing the life out of him look like an art form. He is a straight puncher with decent head movement, but when he gets his hands on you, you had better be ready because he will not give you a moment to breathe. If anyone can keep him off the mat though, its Yoel Romero. Built like a tank but as quick as a sport bike, Romero could beat anyone, on any night… in any division. He is a one-man wrecking machine and can use his wrestling to force fighters into a boxing match, and then putting them on stand-by with a huge left hand.

Expect these two to stand and trade until one of them is rocked. Then, depending on which one shows the first vulnerability, someone is either getting launched in the air or choked out. This is a fight worthy of a main event spot on any card, and a perfect precursor to our co-main event. This fight will decide the next opponent for the middleweight king, but first we will need to see if Luke Rockhold has the minerals to take that crown from Chris Weidman. More on that in part two…