The UFC might put on close to 500 fights in 2016.
Very few of those will have as much going for them as Thomas Almeida vs. Cody Garbrandt.
That alone is remarkable since, at first glance, Almeida vs. Garbrandt might not seem that special to the untrained eye. Sure, it’s the marquee attraction at UFC Fight Night 88, but that event will air in an unorthodox Sunday time slot on Memorial Day weekend.
Most Americans will likely be too busy barbecuing or spending time with family to even notice. Or they’ll already be asleep. With a start time of 9 p.m. EST and six fights slated for the main card, Almeida and Garbrandt might not even take the cage until after midnight.
But smart money says it’ll be worth the effort to see this fight—and not only because it’s a sleeper candidate to be the UFC’s Fight of the Year.
A couple of years from now, you might want to brag to your friends that you were among the first to hop aboard the Almeida and Garbrandt bandwagons.
But don't take my word for it. Bleacher Report lead writer Scott Harris seems pretty adamant that the whole Fight Night 88 card is worth your time:
In Almeida and Garbrandt, you have two undefeated 24-year-olds both enjoying careers that are still trending steeply upward. They’ve each established themselves as among the most exciting fighters in the bantamweight division and are a combined 7-0 in the Octagon, including five stoppages.
Any list of the best fighters under 25 years old—not just in the men’s 135-pound division, but the entire UFC—would likely have to include them.
One day, both might wind up as championship contenders. Maybe even champions.
Matchups like this don’t come along every day in combat sports, and they’re becoming even rarer as the UFC slowly drifts away from its historically merit-based matchmaking philosophy in favor of bigger money and louder headlines.
It’s not that often you see two very dangerous fighters, each still with absolutely everything to lose, agreeing to roll the dice against each other. It’s not that often UFC brass, which maybe ought to be jealously guarding and grooming its future stars right now, would want to do it, either.
And to give it to you for free.
Oh, and one more thing?
This fight has all the makings of Pier 6 brawl.
Both Almeida and Garbrandt are aggressive, all-action fighters. They both apply constant pressure to their opponents and have a penchant for highlight-reel finishes. Almeida boasts a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Garbrandt has something of a wrestling background if you dig deep enough into his bio, but both prefer almost exclusively to stand and bang.
That means there’s a very good chance this fight turns out to be an action-packed, 25-minute slobberknocker—or that someone gets knocked out quickly.
Either way, not a terrible option for your Sunday night.
Here’s how ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto sees it shaping up:
Call this, what could prove to be, the first of several meetings between the two. I'm not convinced they don't run into each other multiple times over the course of their careers.
...
And this might have brawl written all over it. Both forfeit defense in favor of offense. Both have a pretty good deal of accuracy and throw at a high rate. Each likes to keep pressure on his opponent, and then downright floor it when the time comes. There will be no discrimination when it comes to offense in this fight -- body blows, leg kicks, head kicks and elbow strikes will be in play.
Almeida comes in as the slight favorite, according to Odds Shark. He’s been in the UFC for a little less than two years but has won four fights in the promotion while building his overall professional record to an eye-popping 21-0.
It appears the UFC understood early on what it had in Almeida. After debuting on the prelims against Tim Gorman in November 2014, his next three fights were all main-card affairs.
Especially after his flying-knee knockout of Brad Pickett at UFC 189 and his wicked KO of Anthony Birchak in November 2015, he’s become the leading candidate to be the UFC’s next great Brazilian fighter.
One person who hasn’t been impressed? Garbrandt.
This week, he accused Almeida’s record—earned largely on smaller, independent shows in Brazil—of being “padded” and vows to put an end to the hype on Sunday night.
"I watched this guy when he first got to the UFC and everyone talking about him being an animal,” Garbrandt told FoxSports.com’s Damon Martin. “I'll take that guy out. I'd probably knock him out with my jab to be honest. A stiff jab will bust him all up.”
Garbrandt isn’t just blowing smoke, either. An impressive all-around athlete, he packs the kind of power in his hands that most bantamweights can only dream about.
Since debuting in the Octagon, he’s gone 3-0, including two stoppages. In eight career fights, Garbrandt has only gone the distance once.
At the moment, he seems to have the best chance to lead California's Team Alpha Male into the future. The camp started by Urijah Faber has long been a major player in MMA’s lightest weight classes, and Garbrandt’s status as a top prospect is bolstered by the team’s reputation.
At least when asked about the American, Almeida found it in his heart to be a bit more diplomatic than Garbrandt has been about him.
“I think that Cody Garbrandt is a great athlete,” Almeida recently told MMA Junkie’s Brent Brookhouse and Christian Stein. “He’s young like I am. He also enjoys striking. He shows up to fight. He also has good boxing. I think everything is in place for us to have the best fight of the night. We’ll put on a great show for the fans.”
Together, they make as intriguing a matchup as you will see in the Octagon all year.
There’s a chance it won’t all go as planned. There’s a chance this fight will underwhelm. Mostly, though, this might well turn out to be fans’ last chance to see these young guns without having to pony up for pay-per-view.
And maybe their last chance to say they knew Almeida and Garbrandt before they were stars.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com
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