Winning is everything.
UFC Fight Night 47: "Bader vs. St. Preux" takes place this upcoming Sat. night (Aug. 16, 2014) from Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine, featuring a crop of intriguing fights with a number of fighters looking to bounce back into the limelight.
In the main event, Ryan Bader aims to make it three straight wins when he takes on Ovince St. Preux, who is currently unbeaten in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Gray Maynard must avoid a third consecutive loss when he battles Ross Pearson in the co-main event. The Brit was inserted against the "Bully" after his original opponent, Abel Trujillo, suffered an injury in training, nixing Fabricio Camoes' contest against Maynard.
With the majority of this card's excitement focused on these two bouts, let's look into the near future and map out what a victory might mean for these four competitors.
Ryan Bader
Good question.
It's tough to determine where a victory puts Bader in the light heavyweight division, or if anything changes at all regarding his career.
It feels as if we've encountered this situation before with Bader, who holds a modest 10-4 record in the organization. He's knocked out, been knocked out, tapped foes, and tapped himself in his Octagon run, and the fandom has more or less given up on him, despite having moments of success in between.
It may be a bold statement to make, but "Darth" can turn it all around this weekend and get the biggest win of his career since defeating Quinton Jackson in Japan two years ago (UFC 144). It's strange to say, but the Power MMA Team product could see his young self in St. Preux, who is coming up fast in the 205-pound division, much like the decorated collegiate wrestler did when he won The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 six years ago.
However, "Darth" is now the veteran who needs to bounce back with a huge statement to stay afloat. A victory would see Bader as a good fit for anyone lingering outside of the top five, or it could even lead him into a fight against a blossoming contender, seeing how the title situation is a bit messy right now.
If he loses, he'll have plenty of fights left in him, but he also loses everyone's faith in thinking he could ever be a top contender.
Ovince St. Preux
It would be cliche to say something like the eagle has landed, yet it's the best way to describe a potential victory for "OSP."
The former Strikeforce product made his presence felt as Scott Coker's former company was fizzing out, and has since racked up three impressive victories in UFC (along with a technical decision over Gian Villante at UFC 159).
St. Preux has already faced tough opposition like Gegard Mousasi, although this is his biggest scrap to date. A victory over a light heavyweight veteran like Bader could propel him closer to the top of the division, based on how he defeats "Darth" on Saturday.
With three finishes under his belt in his previous three outings, if the 31-year-old fighter stops his foe in Bangor, he brings something fresh to a 205-pound division with no middle class. For the past few years now, it seems as if you're either dazzling while gunning for a title, or close to the bottom of the barrel.
St. Preux may not be labeled as the next big thing if he wins, but he could be awfully close if he repeats his accomplishments down the road.
Gray Maynard
Maynard was once the second best lightweight in the world, and that wasn't too long ago. After a grueling set of back-and-forth lightweight championship duels against Frankie Edgar, which saw him suffer the first knockout defeat of his career at UFC 136, sunny days simply haven't been present for the "Bully."
He went on record by saying 2013 was the worst year of his life, after being on the receiving end of two more knockout losses at the hands of T.J. Grant (UFC 160) and Nate Diaz (TUF 18 Finale). He's won one time out of his five previous contests (against Clay Guida in a lackluster main event), and pundits are signalling for the Arizona-born combatant to retire.
If Maynard has anything left in the tank, he needs to go balls out by showing it this weekend. That doesn't necessarily mean he needs to stand-and-bang against Pearson, who can string up some lethal combinations himself, but Maynard needs to find a way to win at any cost. If it means taking Pearson down and grinding him out for 15 minutes, then so be it.
Any form of loss would be detrimental to Maynard's career, and if he doesn't want to have to deal with questions about hanging up the gloves at the post-fight press conference, he needs to prove his career still matters to him at this point.
But more so, he needs to show observers he can still hack it after a difficult stretch.
Ross Pearson
When the judges crapped the bed back in Albuquerque by awarding Diego Sanchez the call over Ross Pearson, UFC said they would treat "Real Deal" like a winner since he didn't deserve to be called the loser. It certainly doesn't feel that way against Maynard, but would have if Trujillo was healthy to compete.
This may be the better fight for the Englishman, not because of the level of difficulty, but rather the reward that would present itself if he wins.This weekend marks the thirteenth time Pearson steps foot inside the Octagon, and apart from his last two victories (finishes over ex-UFC fighters Ryan Couture and George Sotiropoulos), his biggest win was over Dennis Siver in 2010.
The Brit is nowhere near title talk territory, and has never been during his career, but TUF's season nine winner could turn some heads if he finishes the "Bully" on Saturday. It would instantly be his greatest achievement apart from winning the promotion's tournament, even if his opponent has dipped in form as of late.
This win doesn't do anything grandiose for Pearson, though. It won't get him into the top five, but it could make him a little more popular with the fans, and allow him to challenge someone who sits outside the upper echelon. Or, perhaps headline a future "Fight Night" card in his native England. He just needs to keep the car running.
That just about does it.
For more on UFC Fight Night 47: "Bader vs. St. Preux," check out our event page, including bout order and set times, right here.