UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz is clearly the best Fox from top to bottom card thus far offered up by Joe Silva and the UFC. To be sure, the dreaded injury bug has inevitably hit - canceling some fights and shuffling the undercard, but the matches on the main card have remained largely unaffected. Dana White can un-pucker. Barring any last minute drama, this one is going to be a winner. Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson (#1) makes his second title defense against red hot Nate Diaz (#5) after dethroning and defending against newly christened featherweight contender, Frankie Edgar. The rest of the main card features Shogun Rua (#4) against Alexander Gustafsson (#7) , an un-retired BJ Penn against rising star Rory MacDonald, and finally injury-free Mick Swick against Matt Brown. Don't sleep through the under card, either. There are some really important fights in shaping the title picture for their respective division as well as a few genuinely explosive match-ups. We've got your covered. Here are 10 things to watch for on UFC on Fox 5.
10 - UFC's Best Kept Secret: Tim Means
Admit it - you don't know who Tim Means is, do you? Or maybe you remember him as the guy that FUBARed Justin Salas in 66 seconds back in June on the UFC on FX. Keep an eye out for Tim, recently promoted up to the FX card from Facebook. He's legit. Tim "Dirty Bird" Means has an awesome record (18-3-1) with 16 finishes. 16!!! Thirteen of those are by knockout. He's a monster on the feet with timing and serious power. Means is an enormous Lightweight at 6' 2" with a monstrous 75" reach. With those physical tools and his perfect jab, Means can stand with anyone in perhaps the deepest division in the UFC. His next test comes against Abel Trujillo (9-4), a decorated NAIA All-American wrestler. Even with Means early wrestling pedigree, he needs to prove that he's got superior take down defense to allow his hands to do their work and not just to earn a victory over Abel, but to climb into serious contention amid a murderer's row of grapplers in the LW top 10. Regardless, the Dirty Bird does not seem worried. He joined us on the
Getting Lucky podcast last week and guaranteed a finish. If Means can continue his impressive streak of finishes against Trujillo, he'll have earned his fourth victory in the UFC and will extend his unbeaten streak to 12. His next fight would have to be against a top 10 fighter, such as a Donald Cerrone or Anthony Pettis.