Will it be a “Story”-book ending for Rick Story on Saturday night?
Alright, that is lame, but how can you not incorporate that into the biggest fight of Rick Story’s career? At UFC 130, we will see just how legit Story is when he takes on former No. 1 contender in the UFC welterweight division, Thiago Alves.
Here is a look at both fighters heading into the contest.
Thiago Alves (18-7) – Alves is trying to get himself back into the title picture as back-to-back decision losses to Georges St. Pierre and Jon Fitch set him back. Alves has since picked up an impressive win over John Howard and with the work of weight-cutting master, Mike Dolce, he seems to be a newly energized fighter. Alves has some of the best striking in the division as his leg kicks are considered to be among the most powerful in all of MMA. Alves is a very explosive and quick fighter and he can take a punch too. Where “The Pitbull” has struggled in recent fights is with his takedown defense. Fitch and GSP were able to get Alves to the ground with relative ease and Story will be looking to do the same thing on Saturday.
Rick Story (12-3) – This 26-year-old is on a tear, winning his last five fights in the Octagon, including wins over Brian Foster and Johny Hendricks. Story is a scrapper that just likes to push the pace no matter where the fight goes. He doesn’t let his opponents get time to think and forces them to have to make bad decisions, which opens the door for him to exploit a weakness. This will be the toughest test in Story’s career and be on the biggest stage, so nerves could be a factor for him. We haven’t seen Story face someone with the kicks that Alves has either, so it will be interesting to see how Story deals with the pain of those kicks as they come. Story can’t afford to be too cautious and let Alves get planted to throw his big strikes.
Who Will Win: This could be a bad matchup for Alves because of Story’s grappling ability, but I think Story lacks the explosiveness that St. Pierre and Fitch have with their takedowns. If the fight stays standing, which I think it will, I look for Alves to eventually land a big strike and finish off the up-and-coming fighter.
