The UFC descends on Fairfax, Virginia on Tuesday night for the first time since January 2010, as UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier will emanate live from the Patriot Center.
A total of 12 bouts will take place on Tuesday night in Fairfax, headlined by the featherweight showdown between the "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung and Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier. With the lighter weights featured prominently on the card, the action promises to be fast and furious. The question remains, however: what's it all about? Here's a look at what's on the line Tuesday night in Fairfax.
A UFC Featherweight Title Shot: In the most recent Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Rankings, Dustin Poirier was ranked seventh in the world, with UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo topping the list. Here's the thing, though. Of the five men standing in between Aldo and Poirier on the list, two fight in Bellator rather than the UFC: Pat Curran and Marlon Sandro. Two more have already had their shots at Aldo and lost: Kenny Florian and Chad Mendes. That leaves Hatsu Hioki, and while the "Son of Shooto" is coming off of an impressive win against Bart Palaszewski at UFC 144, he's also got a tough test coming up in June against Ricardo Llamas. A win over the "Korean Zombie" would put Poirier in prime position to face the winner of Aldo's battle with Erik Koch in July in Calgary.
It's less clear whether Jung would be in the same position to claim a title shot with a Tuesday night win. Jung is coming off of back-to-back wins over Leonard Garcia and Mark Hominick, but is only 3-3 in his last six bouts. A win for the Korean Zombie would put Hioki in the driver's seat heading into his battle with Llamas next month.
Signs of growth for Amir Sadollah: The winner of the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter has had to grow up in the Octagon, as Sadollah has fought his entire pro career in the UFC. The results have generally been successful - he has a record of 5-3 as a professional, but he hasn't proven himself able to win against truly accomplished opposition, with his three losses coming against Johny Hendircks, Dong Hyun Kim and most recently Duane Ludwig. Sadollah is a precise technical striker, but he's never really shown the power to finish a fight. Fighting in his home state of Virginia, it's time for Sadollah to show signs of improvement if he's going to grow into a contender in the UFC's welterweight division.
Signs of life for Kamal Shalorus
The "Prince of Persia" has a cool nickname, and coming into the UFC from the WEC, he had an undefeated record as well. However, that record saw its first loss at UFC 128 against Jim Miller, and Khabib Nurmagomedov added another loss earlier this year. Three losses in a row is tough to survive in the UFC, so the pressure will be on for Shalorus to make an impression against Rafael Dos Anjos. Dos Anjos posted an impressive win over George Sotiropoulos last summer, but is coming off a tough split decision loss to Gleison Tibau, and will pose a very dangerous challenge for Shalorus.
