UFC 181 fight card: Todd Duffee vs Anthony Hamilton fight preview

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweights Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton will trade blows this Saturday (Dec. 6, 2014) at UFC 181 inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

After bursting into the UFC with a seven-second knockout and superhero physique, Duffee's career fell apart. An embarrassing loss to Mike Russow sent him out of the promotion, and he was next destroyed by Alistair Overeem. Since then, he's recovered with two straight knockout victories, though injuries have plagued him.

Hamilton entered the UFC riding a six-fight winning streak, but he lost to Russian grappling specialist Alexey Oleinik in his debut. He then battered Ruan Potts for his first UFC victory, but that does little to establish his position in the organization.

Both men need victories to secure their reputation as UFC-level heavyweights.

Let's take a look at the keys to victory for each fighter.

Todd Duffee

Record: 8-2

Key Wins: Philip De Fries (UFC 155), Tim Hague (UFC 102)

Key Losses: Mike Russow (UFC 114), Alistair Overeem (Dynamite!! 2010)

Keys to Victory: Duffee is a very athletic heavyweight with serious power. He's hardly the most technical fighter in the division, but that hasn't prevented him from finishing each and every one of his victories via knockout.

Duffee's game plan is probably the same in basically every fight that he's ever been in. He's going to go out and attempt to land power shots on his opponent, while hopefully avoiding any counter strikes.

Not all fights are complicated.

In this fight, it would be best for Duffee to focus on his speed. His opponent is around the same size as Duffee, but he doesn't possess the same freak athleticism that allows Duffee to keep pace with the medium size heavyweights.

With that in mind, Duffee should be able move in, land combinations, and then back out before his opponent can return. If Duffee sticks to this small piece of strategy and avoids brawling with Hamilton, he should have little issue disposing off the "Freight Train."

Anthony Hamilton

Record: 13-3

Key Wins: Darill Schoonover (MFC 39), Ruan Potts (UFC 177)

Key Losses: Alexey Oleinik (UFC Fight Night 44)

Keys to Victory: Hamilton is quite the powerhouse. One of the larger heavyweights in the division, the Jackson's MMA-trained fighter has finished seven of his opponents via knockout, as well as securing five submission victories.

Since Hamilton does not have any clear technical advantages over Duffee and is not as athletic, he needs to catch his foe off guard with a knockout blow. Luckily, that's more than a possibility inside the heavyweight division.

In order to land a haymaker on Duffee, Hamilton needs to really swarm him. If he makes it a brawl, Duffee's speed advantage means little, as it comes down to experience and chin. At this point, Hamilton likely has the advantage in both areas.

Additionally, Hamilton should attempt to wrestle with Duffee. At best, he secures a takedown and can damage Duffee while slowly fatiguing his opponent. If Duffee were to get tired first, then his athleticism advantage that he usually relies on would evaporate.

Alternatively, the threat of the takedown could set up Hamilton's strikes. Hamilton really just needs to connect cleanly a couple of times, and simple tricks like level change feints could help him do just that.

Bottom Line: At the moment, both fighters have yet to really prove that they deserve to be UFC fighters. Hamilton may have had some success on the regional scene, but his sole UFC win barely counts, as Potts is not a good representative of UFC-level competition.

Similarly, both of Duffee's UFC victories have been cut from the promotion long ago.

Therefore, victory is vital for each man. Neither is likely to get cut, simply because there's so few quality heavyweights. However, it's not out of the question, especially if this fight is boring.

At UFC 181, Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton will look to give the crowd a violent knockout. Which man will deliver?