Diggin’ Deep on UFC on FOX 20: Holm vs Shevchenko FOX main card

I’m a huge fight fan and can usually find reasons to watch any card. Even I’ll admit that it is hard to justify watching the card the UFC is putting out this weekend in the middle of summer. You could be at a BBQ. Boating on a lake. At a music concert. Anywhere but in your home watching TV!

It isn’t that there aren’t reasons to watch this card. Francis Ngannou and Kailin Curran are exciting prospects, but they are still a long, long way away from being headliners. And yet here they are as the first two fights on free national television. At least Gilbert Melendez and Edson Barboza will be offered up….

The main card begins at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on FOX.

Francis Ngannou (7-1) vs. Bojan Mihajlovic (10-3), Heavyweight

Wondering where all of the heavyweight prospects have gone? They haven’t gone the same way as the dodo yet as Ngannou is the rare legitimate specimen who wasn’t snatched up by the NFL or NBA.

Ngannou’s career has been on hyper-drive as he started his professional career less than three years ago in France where ground strikes are illegal. Now he finds himself on the main card on big FOX. Quite the jump. He was able to score impressive finishes in each of his first two UFC appearances, though he showed enough holes to indicate that he isn’t quite ready for prime time yet. Make no mistake, Ngannou has the physical skills to be a major player in the near-future.

Mihajlovic rides into the UFC on a 10-fight winning streak after opening his career with three consecutive losses. The Serbia native is already 36, so he isn’t going to be afforded any time to develop as a prospect. He needs to win immediately or be content with beating up no-names back in Europe as he’ll be back there in a hurry otherwise.

The UFC is giving Mihajlovic a tough task as there doesn’t appear to be a physical skill in which Ngannou doesn’t have the advantage. Where Ngannou is chiseled, Mihajlovic carries around quite a bit of excess poundage. Mihajlovic will surprise with how quickly he can cover ground as he’ll spring at his opponent with an overhand or kick before quickly retreating back to safety. A big chunk of his fights is spent against the cage in a battle for underhooks, where he can grind away or use a bodylock takedown. Mihajlovic’s ground and pound is where his wheelhouse is located, as he is quick to achieve mount off of his takedowns and unleash a …

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