Light heavyweights clash when Luiz Cane (10-3, 3-3 UFC) meets Eliot Marshall (10-2, 3-1 UFC) on the undercard of UFC 128. The bout is scheduled to air on Spike TV.
How do these guys stack up?
Cane: 29 years old, 6’3″, 77″ reach
Marshall: 30 years old, 6’3″, 77″ reach
What have they done lately?
Cane: L Cyrille Diabate (TKO), L Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (TKO), W Steve Cantwell (DEC)
Marshall: W Chris McNally (SUB), W Adriano Camolese (DEC), W Josh Haynes (DEC)
How did these guys get here?
Luiz Cane entered the UFC as a feared striker, starting his career off 7-0 with all seven wins coming by stoppage. On the strength of his start he found himself entering the UFC cage for the first time at UFC 79 to face James Irvin. Cane lost the fight by DQ after landing an illegal knee. He would reel off three straight wins including a KO of the Night against Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Cane was scheduled to face Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a battle of feared Brazilians at UFC 106. Nogueira exposed a weakness Cane seems to have against southpaw strikers en route to knocking him out. A second southpaw followed as Cyrille Diabate TKO’ed Cane. Now, having lost two fights Cane will likely be fighting for his UFC life at UFC 128.
Eliot Marshall is a man who knows what it means to lose your spot in the UFC. A part of the cast of The Ultimate Fighter season 8, Marshall won his first three fights in the UFC. Unfortunately, Eliot was developing a reputation as a bit of a boring fighter. Vladimir Matyushenko would defeat Marshall by split decision and the UFC released him despite a 3-1 record in the promotion. After winning three straight fights an opportunity came for him to return to the UFC on short notice and, as he explained on Bloody Elbow Radio, Eliot plans to retire if he can’t cut it in the UFC this time around.
Why should you care?
These two men are fighting for their UFC lives. Marshall got cut after only one UFC loss and has a chance to prove that he still belongs in the UFC while Cane has lost two in a row and desperately needs a big win.