The two top contenders at welterweight, Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann and Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks, will be facing each other as the co-main event at UFC 154, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The event will be held on November the 17th at the Bell Centre, and will mark Kampmann’s next step to the title. Headlining the event will be the return of ‘GSP’ and the long awaited George St. Pierre vs Carlos Condit fight.
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This is a great opportunity for the Danish Kampmann to not only solidify himself as the number 1 contender, but also do it it front of what’s expected to be, a major PPV audience.
On paper the two fighters should be pretty evenly matched. Hendricks has powerful hands, noticeably he knocked out Jon Fitch with one punch, and a very strong wrestling base. His wrestling credentials are some of the best in MMA and so far he has been able to translate them rather well. He likes to come forward and pressure his opponent and Kampmann has had trouble with powerful punchers pressing the action before. Even so, Kampmann has great recovery and is always dangerous. Like when he in a seemingly lost battle against Thiago Alves, caught him in a guillotine at the last moments of the fight. Or when he in his last fight against Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger, knocked him out with a knee after getting dropped in the first. Kampmann is also the more technical striker of the two, has more experience and a great ground game, which might hold up well to Hendrick’s wrestling.
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“The Hitman” has been considered a contender for a few years, getting close to a title shot several times but has unfortunately not succeeded. He will surely come into this fight hellbent on not letting yet another chance slip away. A chance that might be his last. Hendricks on the other hand is coming in confident and hungry and believe he has what it takes to stop Kampmann.
Whatever the outcome, it’s a very tough fight for both fighters and an exciting matchup for the fans. Could we see a Nordic fighter’s first opportunity to fight the champ and claim the UFC Welterweight title? We will have to wait until November the 17th to find out. I can’t wait!
