The Sports Informant

If you’re tuning in to watch “UFC 109: Relentless” tonight, you’re likely to catch a few great Mixed Martial Arts fights, one including Sacramento-based fighter Justin Buchholz. Buchholz, who is originally from Alaska, joined Urijah Faber’s Team Alpha Male recently and has been training vigorously to turnaround his career in the UFC Octagon. He’ll have to do so against veteran Mac Danzig, with both hungry for a win to establish their success in the fight game’s highest ranks.

The UFC 109 card is stacked with talent from top to bottom, with two old-timers in Randy Couture and Mark Coleman headlining in what may be one of the least exciting main events in recent UFC history (two wrestlers well past their prime).

But while the main event may lack fireworks, the UFC compensated for the fight with an impressive list off other fights on the card, ones that provide a list of up-and-comers and possible future champions.

Winner of season six of The Ultimate Fighter, Mac Danzig (fighting out of Los Angeles, CA / 19-7-1) has faced some of the best lightweights the UFC has to offer in the form of Clay Guida, Josh Neer, Mark Bocek, and Jim Miller, and he has a well-earned reputation as one of the most complete 155-pounders in the game. The MMA veteran will be put to the test again in Justin Buchholz (Fighting out of Sacramento, CA / 9-4), a hard-charging native of Fairbanks, Alaska who has finished all nine of his pro victories.

Nate Marquardt (fighting out of Denver, CO / 32-8-2) has put together an impressive winning streak starting with a first round TKO of Martin Kampmann at UFC 85. Marquardt followed this up with another TKO victory over UFC veteran Wilson Gouveia at UFC 95, and with his most recent win, a devastating first-round KO of Demian Maia, the Lander, Wyoming native is closing in on a world title shot as he approaches his UFC 109 bout against veteran contender Chael Sonnen. A former Division I All-American wrestler and U.S. Olympic team alternate, Sonnen (fighting out of West Linn, OR / 25-10-1) enters this pivotal showdown after consecutive wins over Dan Miller (UFC 98) and Yushin Okami (UFC 104), and he hopes to make it three in a row with a win over Marquardt.

Winner of four of his last five fights, UFC veteran Mike Swick (fighting out of San Jose, CA / 14-3) is a former middleweight contender who has found even more success at 170 pounds. Known for his fast hands and knockout power, Swick will now have to go through Paulo Thiago (fighting out of Brasilia, Brazil / 12-1) if he hopes to put himself in the title mix. Thiago stormed onto the UFC scene last year by handing Swick’s teammate Josh Koscheck the first and only TKO loss of his career at UFC 95. In his last bout, at UFC 106 last November, Thiago scored his second Octagon victory by outpointing Jacob Volkmann.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard Demian Maia (fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil / 11-1) is known for his world-class submission skills. Maia made his first appearance in the Octagon at UFC 77 and submitted Ryan Jensen, kicking off a five fight submission streak that also saw him defeat Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald, Nate Quarry and Chael Sonnen. But Maia will have his work cut out for him as he takes on the always dangerous Dan Miller (fighting out of Whippany, NJ / 11-2 1 NC). A New Jersey native, Miller is a talented wrestler who also has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Since joining the UFC, Miller is 3-1, and he now faces his greatest challenge yet in Maia.

Former welterweight champion Matt Serra (fighting out of East Meadow, NY / 16-6) emerged as one of the UFC’s true superstars with his stirring first round knockout of Georges St-Pierre in 2007. But Serra — the first American to earn a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the legendary Renzo Gracie — was no overnight sensation, having already faced the likes of BJ Penn, Din Thomas, Chris Lytle and Yves Edwards over the course of his career. On Feb. 6, fresh from an exciting Fight of The Night with Matt Hughes last May, Serra returns to the Octagon.

World-class wrestler and perennial contender Frank Trigg (fighting out of Las Vegas, NV / 19-7) is a veteran of six UFC fights, including two classic battles with then champion Matt Hughes and two finishing wins against Renato Verissimo and Dennis Hallman. The 37-year-old – who has won four of his last five bouts – looks to begin another UFC winning streak.

A veteran with one-punch knockout power, Melvin Guillard (Fighting out of New Orleans, LA / 41-9-3 1 NC) is sure to bring more of his exciting brand of fighting to the Octagon. Now training with former foe Joe Stevenson in Albuquerque, Guillard hopes to show off some new tricks against UFC newcomer Ronys Torres (fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil / 18-1). Just 24 years old, Torres is already a world-class groundfighter with a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and the style to give anyone a rough night.

One of the lightweight division’s top prospects, Phillipe Nover (Fighting out of Brooklyn, NY / 6-2-1) is a finalist from season eight of The Ultimate Fighter and he is looking for his first Octagon win against another  Ultimate Fighter alumnus, Rob Emerson, (Fighting out of Irvine, CA / 10-8, 1 NC). The California-based fighter, who owns UFC wins over Keita Nakamura and Manny Gamburyan, has trained with the likes of BJ Penn and Jose Aldo for this bout, and he’s going to be ready for anything come.

Former World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight champion Brian Stann (fighting out of Scranton, PA / 8-2) has made quite an impact in the UFC as well, defeating Steve Cantwell and Rodney Wallace in his last two bouts. The veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps will be taking on a newcomer to the UFC, Phil Davis (fighting out of San Diego, CA / 4-0), at UFC 109. The 25-year old Davis is a 2008 NCAA National wrestling champion and a four-time All-American for Penn State. Add in his unbeaten pro MMA record, and Davis is a formidable opponent for anyone at 205 pounds.

Known as “The Thrashing Machine”, Tim Hague (fighting out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada / 10-2) looks to bring his heavy hands and submission skills to Las Vegas against decorated wrestler Chris Tuchscherer (fighting out of Fargo, ND / 17-2, 1 NC). With a submission win over Pat Barry already on his resume, Hague has shown that he can handle himself in Octagon, but he will be up against another solid heavyweight in Tuchscherer, a two-time Division II All-American wrestler who has also won seven fights by knockout in his professional MMA career.

Known for his ground game, Mostapha Al Turk (Fighting out of London, England / 6-5) hopes to utilize his skills to score his first victory in the UFC. Standing across the Octagon will be a man with a last name familiar to all fight fans in Rolles Gracie (Fighting out of New York, NY / 3-0) True to the Gracie name, Rolles is a decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner, and he has ended all three of his pro bouts via submission. He plans on showing the world what the next generation of Gracie fighter looks like.