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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist UFC 97 will get underway with what looks like a solid bout to open the live broadcast, as Luiz Cane is set to take on Steve Cantwell in a battle of promising light heavyweights. Cane is a hard-hitting young prospect who made the world take notice when he stopped Sokoudjou at UFC 89, and he looks to continue on to bigger and better things by adding Steve Cantwell to his list of victims. As for Steve Cantwell, this will be his second bout under the UFC banner, and the former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion will get a very big chance to endear himself to the UFC faithful if he is indeed able to fend off Cane and get the victory. Both men are fantastic prospects within the division and this is a bout which makes sense for both men and should be a great way to kick off the night.
Luiz Cane is a 27-year old Brazilian who has fast become a name to know due to his recent performances inside of the Octagon. He took on James Irvin at UFC 79 in his UFC debut, but lost the bout due to landing an illegal knee to the face of a downed Irvin. He rebounded nicely by scoring a 1st round TKO victory over Jason Lambert at UFC 85, but it was his most recent performance that opened the most eyes.
Cane faced Sokoudjou at UFC 89, and at this point was definitely the lesser known of the two and a decided underdog against the Pride veteran. While it is true that Sokoudjou was never able to recapture any of his Pride magic inside of the UFC Octagon, it was quite the shocking upset for most when Cane notched a TKO victory in the 2nd round. Sokoudjou gassed, and it appears at this point that one must only weather the storm in order to find success, but Cane weathered the early assault with ease and this was the most impressive thing I took from the fight. Luiz Cane was able to keep coming and then displayed a killer instinct by not letting his man off of the hook and finished the fight with flourish. Luiz Cane had arrived on the scene, and just as suddenly as he had won the bout we could see him moving up the ranks of the UFC light heavyweight division.
Steve Cantwell is only 22 years old and has achieved quite a bit early on in his career. He made his WEC debut at WEC 26 in 2007 and was promptly smashed by Brian Stann in under a minute. Cantwell would go on to pick up two victories in a row before getting the chance to face Stann once more at WEC 35, and this time it would be for Stann’s WEC Light Heavyweight Championship. Cantwell would avenge his loss and become the new champion with a 2nd round TKO but would never get the chance to defend his new belt.
The WEC chose to drop the light heavyweight division altogether and Cantwell would go on to sign with the UFC and make his debut at "UFC: Fight For The Troops" in December of last year. His debut was a fantastic one as he submitted Razak Al-Hassan to an arm bar that made many of us ache just by watching it. He made some comments in his post-fight interview which raised the ire of some, but it must be remembered that this is a 22 year old fighter who was charged up following a victory in his UFC debut. Perhaps he should have been a bit more reserved, but his exuberance was something I would welcome from everyone who gets the chance to fight on the largest stage of all and is nothing he should be scolded for. Cantwell avoided suffering defeat in his big debut and moves on to what is certainly a tough test, and quite possibly the toughest test of his young career, as he takes on Cane at UFC 97.
Bent’s Prediction: Luiz Cane by way of TKO in the 1st Round
I like Steve Cantwell. He has shown himself to be a good striker and avenged his one loss in spectacular fashion, but he has not faced a fighter like Cane in his career. Cantwell is also very robotic and stiff, which is going to cause him trouble against Cane or anyone else at a higher level at this point. Luiz Cane is far from being a world-beater at this stage of his career, but he could very well be on his way, and it all starts here against the former WEC champ. I look for there to be not too much of a feeling out process and feel that Cane’s power, coupled with Cantwell’s stiffness, will take away any chance of the youngster getting the opportunity to go for the submission, and this one could well be over by the halfway point of the round. Cantwell will be back to fight another day, and his day will come for certain, but it will not be Saturday against Luiz Cane.
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