The month of May is jam packed with great cards featuring fantastic fights. Because MMA Valor cares about you and your spare time, we’re going to give you the five fights not to miss this month, and why they are so compelling. These fights are not in any particular order, but they all pack the power to blow you away. There will be another five profiled tomorrow!
Rick Hawn .vs. Jay Hieron at Bellator 42 on May 7th in Newkirk, Oklahoma on MTV2
This fight will determine the 2011 Welterweight tournament winner and the next challenger for Ben Askren’s Welterweight Championship of the world. Rick Hawn is a perfect 11-0 and will be looking to keep that unblemished record intact when he challenges Xtreme Couture’s Jay Hieron on MTV2. Rick Hawn went through Jim Wallhead and former Bellator Champion Lyman Good to get to the finals. He has excellent Judo, being a former member of the Olympic Judo team and winning multiple awards in Judo over the years. He will have to be careful when facing Jay Hieron who might be the most well rounded fighter in this tournament.
Jay Hieron has quite an MMA pedigree. He’s faced top level opponents in organizations like WEC, UFC, IFC, IFL, Affliction, Strikeforce and now Bellator. He brings a very solid record of 21-4 into this fight, and went through Anthony Lapsley and Brent Weedman to get his shot at the Welterweight Tournament final. He brings solid wrestling, standup and submissions into the final and is always a factor at Welterweight.
This fight should be exciting and there’s a lot on the line, especially for a young up and coming fighter like Hawn. A win over Hieron would be a major boost to his career.
Frankie Edgar .vs. Gray Maynard at UFC 130 on May 28th in Las Vegas only on PPV
Frankie Edgar of course is the UFC Lightweight Champion and this is a rematch from the UFC 125 fight where they fought to a controversial draw. Frankie has only one defeat in his career, a unanimous decision loss to Gray Maynard back in 2008. He has been on a roll since then and many felt he’d won their last fight. He’ll have to be smarter standing to avoid the early trouble he got into against Maynard in the rematch.
Gray Maynard is called “The Bully”, and it’s a fitting nickname. He’s undefeated, huge for the weight class and has always had tremendous wrestling but has added some solid standup to make him the among the most dangerous Lightweight in the world. He hurt Frankie Edgar early and often in their last fight but was unable to put him away. If he can hurt Frankie again this month, he’d more than likely regroup and finish the job. Perhaps one fight away from being known as the best Lightweight in the world and pound for pound top five, Gray has it all laid out in front of him.
This fight should be another classic, and the winner stakes their claim as the very best in the world. A unification fight with Gilbert Melendez down the line would be absolutely amazing.
Frank Mir .vs. Roy Nelson at UFC 130 on May 28th in Las Vegas only on PPV
Frank Mir is the former UFC Heavyweight champion and he needs a win here in order to work his way back into the title picture. He has improved hands, excellent takedowns and world class submissions. He’s as dangerous a fighter as there is in the sport and is 5-2 in his last seven against top level UFC talent. You’d have to make him a favorite over Roy Nelson.
Roy Nelson is an improving fighter and is often underrated because of his physique. Don’t be fooled by his soft middle, he can throw hands, wrestle and submit anyone in the UFC. In his last outing he was bludgeoned by Junior Dos Santos for three rounds but didn’t quit. In his previous two UFC outings, he used his hands to finish Stefan Struve and Brendan Schaub by TKO. This fight will test Roy Nelson and with a win, he moves up the ladder to the elite level. A loss and it’ll be back down to the bottom, working his way up.
This fight interests me a great deal, because Roy looks to be in the best shape of his life, and he can outstrike Frank Mir. This one is going to be good!
Rick Story .vs. Thiago Alves at UFC 130 on May 28th in Las Vegas on PPV
Rick Story is one of my favorite fighters. He always comes to compete and is on a five fight UFC winning streak, with his last win coming over a very tough Johny Hendricks. He is intense, has solid standup, great wrestling and greater intensity than anyone I’ve seen with the possible exception of Diego Sanchez. A win here over Alves and Rick could be on the GSP shortlist.
Thiago Alves is a massive Welterweight with standup that is frightening. He can knock out anyone and also has a very solid ground game. He had lost two in a row to UFC bests, Jon Fitch and Georges St Pierre. He looked tremendous however in his last fight where he dominated John Howard.
This fight ranks way up high on my list of excellent and compelling May fights. This is going to be a war and the winner will be nipping at GSP’s heels.
Miguel Torres .vs. Demetrious Johnson at UFC 130 on May 28th in Las Vegas on PPV
Miguel Torres was once thought to be unbeatable at 135 pounds, but then, he lost to Brian Bowles, and Joe Benavidez. He’s rebounded since winning two in a row over Charlie Valencia and then in his UFC debut he bested Antonio Banuelos in what was considered a lackluster effort from the former champion. He will meet “Mighty Mouse” Demetrious Jackson in this contest and I’d not blink if I were you guys. Miguel has excellent reach and striking but he’ll perhaps be at a decisive speed disadvantage against Johnson.
Demetrious Johnson has won three consecutive fights since suffering his lone defeat to Brad Pickett. In his last outing he looked unbelievable as he schooled Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto en route to a perfect unanimous decision. Demetrious jabbed, threw hooks and ducked under “Kid’s” shots time and again landing picture perfect takedowns. It was as dominating a performance as anyone has had against Norifumi and puts Demetrious in the mix for a title shot with Dominick Cruz with a win here against Torres.
This fight should be back and forth, without a lull. You should expect fireworks and a definite candidate for fight of the night.
Be sure to check us out tomorrow for Five More Fights not to Miss in May!
