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UFC lightweight contender Roger Huerta has signed a 5 fight deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

On December 8, 2007 Roger Huerta defeated Clay Guida by rear naked choke at The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale in Las Vegas.

Roger Huerta, who dropped his first bout in the UFC Saturday night versus Kenny Florian, no is evidently not very close to reaching a new agreement with the company. The Wrestling Observer states:

“Huerta, who has one fight left on his contact after the Florian fight, is far apart with UFC on terms for a renewal. Huerta, who has gotten a new agent, was asking for six-figures guaranteed per fight as well as points on the PPV, in negotiations that haven’t gone well for some time. That’s a better deal then Penn, so he wasn’t going to get it. The UFC position is that they groomed Huerta and pushed him hard and were careful of his opponents, with the exception of Clay Guida.”

“He’s one of the greatest fighters in the world,” St. Pierre says of Huerta. “He just wants to work and work and work and is constantly looking to find a way to get better.”

Aug-9-2008 6pm ET/PT  

See Georges ‘Rush’ St-Pierre  as ghe trains in his hometown to defend his UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 87: SEEK AND DESTROY against Jon Fitch. First time Welterweight title challenger Jon Fitch prepares to take on the challenge of his fighting career. Also see Heath Herring and Brock Lesnar as they get ready for a Heavyweight battle.
 
 

Roger Huerta is hungry for Saturday night’s battle versus Kenny Florian at UFC 87 in Minnesota:

“Now it’s just time to fight. I know Kenny’s training his butt off for me. I know that I’m training my butt off for him, and I’m self-motivated. I always have been, and I have the trainers that motivate me, the guys that push me every day. And that’s the beautiful thing about our sport – we are professional athletes and we don’t need that animosity between us. At least I don’t. I look at my opponent, I want to beat him when we’re in there and I want him to say ‘hey, that guy was the better man and the better fighter for sure.’ After that I’ll shake his hand and wish him well in his career.

But when the bell rings and you’re in there, all bets are off. The adrenaline’s flowing and you’re not even thinking. The job of me and my opponent is to get the win. The referee’s job is stop the fight if someone’s in trouble. I can’t do the referee’s job for him. ”

Source: UFC.com

Main Event – UFC Welterweight Championship
Jon Fitch (170) VS Georges St-Pierre (170)

Heath Herring (250) VS Brock Lesnar (265)
Roger Huerta (155) vs Kenny Florian (155)
Demian Maia (185) VS Jason MacDonald (185)
Robert Emerson (155) VS Manvel Gamburyan (155)

Tamdan McCrory (170) VS Luke Cummo (167)
Dan Evensen (244) VS Cheick Kongo (235)
Andre Gusmao (205) VS Jon Jones (205)
Steve Bruno (170) VS Chris Wilson (170)
Ryan Thomas (170) VS Ben Saunders (170)

Lightweight War 

Two fighters in the smallest division in the UFC possess a couple of the biggest hearts in the sport. Roger Huerta and Kenny Florian put their will and skill on the line in August at UFC 87. The winner of this fight is likely set to get a title shot against current champ BJ Penn. Here’s how the fight breaks down:

STRIKING

Both fighters are comfortable trading on the feet. Florian comes off are the more technical stand up fighter and he agrees with that assessment. “I think I’m more of a technician, I think he’s more of a brawler and I think that’s where the difference is really going to pay off for me”, says Florian. “I think he makes some mistakes out there with his stand up and I think he’ll be exposed if he makes those mistakes, hopefully he’s working on those things.” Huerta is more concerned about the endurance factor in the fight when it comes to striking—he feels that will eventually turn the tide in his favor. While at the start it may be even, Huerta feels his pace break Florian. “I think it’s pretty even from the beginning until you start fatiguing and I think he will fatigue and I’ll get the upper hand in the later rounds”, comments Florian. “In the first round everyone is pretty much neutral and then you just wear down your opponents.”

Huerta is dangerous on the feet because he throws hard with bad intentions and keeps coming at you. But Florian is the more technical striker and he will come in with the advantage on paper.

EDGE: FLORIAN

WRESTLING

Florian admits this is the aspect of his MMA game he needs to work on the most. It has been a goal of his for a while and is coming together now. “I know I have a lot better wrestling than what I’ve shown in my fights and I’m working on it”, he comments. “I just finally secured a full time wrestling coach, a former division 1 wrestling coach. That was one of my goals, to find good quality wrestling partners and trainers and getting that much closer to it.” For Huerta, he is returning to his college wrestling roots to improve his wrestling skills. Going back to

EDGE: HUERTA

GRAPPLING

Florian, a blackbelt in BJJ, is the more decorated grappler in this contest. Alberto Crane was a fighter who was able to put Huerta in some precarious spots in their bout in 2007. However, Huerta proved hard to submit and worked his way out of those bad situations. Florian however is looking to capitalize if he gets the chance to finish. “Alberto’s a friend of mine and I remember talking to him the day after the fight and we’ve trained since then, and I think there are definitely some technical errors he made and a lot of it was due to inexperience, he hadn’t fought in a long time”, comments Florian on Crane’s fight with Huerta. “I’m hoping if I’m in that same situation I can capitalize–I think there are certain mistakes Roger makes in his fights and me and my team are doing our best to analyze those mistakes, break them down and work on them.”

From the top position Florian has the potential to be very dangerous. He has the ability to work to mount and can be a great finisher once he gets into that position. Huerta has a big heart however, and isn’t too concerned if he ends up on his back. Much of that stems from one of his mentors in the sport and training partner, Dave Menne. “It doesn’t matter where it goes, I’ve been rolling with one of the best guys in the world in Dave Menne, a former UFC champion at middleweight and a wizard on the ground”, comments Huerta. “Rolling with a guy like that who is also 2 weight classes above you, I’m not really worried about a 155 pound guy much.”

While Huerta is able to hold his own on the ground, Florian slick skills on the ground give him an advantage. If Florian gets on top of Huerta in this fight, that is the best situation for him in this fight and where he has the strongest advantage.

EDGE: FLORIAN

CARDIO

Huerta is confident he can make Florian fatigue in this fight. There’s no doubt Huerta pushes a very strong pace and his ability to fight and fight through much adversity and come out on top against Clay Guida in his last fight is a testament to that. “I think youth will play a big factor as well (Huerta age 25, Florian 31), I think my conditioning is better than Kenny’s, I think my conditioning is better than anybody in the UFC. I go, go, go, go until they break”, says Huerta on his conditioning. Florian is aware of Huerta’s cardio, but his style is quite similar as well. Pushing an aggressive pace throughout his fights, Florian is the one who wants to be the stronger conditioned athlete at UFC 87, and feels he will be. “I have to make sure everything is solid as far as my endurance work goes, he always comes in tip top shape”, assesses Florian of Huerta’s heart. “So I know I have to constantly push myself because my style is always to push the pace on people–I’m confident  I’ll be in the best shape of my life and I know that even Roger Huerta is always in tremendous shape, I feel I’ll be in even better shape than him.”

This one is tough to call. Both fighters are very determined and don’t stop for a second in their fights. Florian has an experiential advantage in going 5 hard rounds with Sean Sherk in their lightweight title fight. But in this 3 round contest cardio is not going to be a factor because both fighters will not break. Their heart in training and fighting will not allow them to slow down.

EDGE: NONE, EVEN.

VENUE

This fight takes place in Roger Huerta’s hometown of

While it won’t play much of a factor in the outcome, having your fans cheering you on and not wanting to disappoint them can be an added motivation to keep fighting and look for the finish. However if it is an advantage it would be a very minor one as Huerta is already incredibly motivated and never stops going for the kill in his fights regardless of where they are taking place.

EDGE: POTENTIALLY VERY SLIGHT ONE FOR HUERTA

PREDICTED WINNER: FLORIAN

This is a tough one to call, but on paper Florian has an edge. He has the more technical striking and a stronger BJJ pedigree. Cardio is even while a wrestling edge could be given to Huerta. Because both of these fighters are finishers and fight at a breakneck pace, this fight could end in any round. Florian has more ways to win as he can score a submission or KO, while Huerta is not very likely to catch Florian with a sub, however can win via KO if he lands a big shot on the feet.