UFC newcomer Chris Heatherly has a little less room to work than most first-timers when he meets vet Ben Saunders at tonight’s UFC Fight Night 49. The promotion is utilizing its 25-foot diameter cage, which means the 5-foot-8 Heatherly (8-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has less distance to get inside on the 6-foot-3 Saunders (16-6 MMA, 4-3 UFC) when they meet on the FOX Sports 2 preliminary card at BOK Center in Tulsa. In his previous octagon stint, which followed his appearance on “The Ultimate Fighter 6,” Saunders used his long limbs to batter opponents both from distance and in close. Just watch his fight with Brandon Wolff in 2008 — it was a brutal thing of beauty. The same could happen to Heatherly if he can’t close the gap, but the fighter, aptly nicknamed “Stump,” doesn’t see an issue. “He’s tall, but I feel like I’m going to have better footwork and the speed advantage,” Heatherly told MMAjunkie Radio
See the article here:
UFC Fight Night 49′s Chris Heatherly promises to get inside on Ben Saunders – MMA Junkie