Pirate Galaxy » his bit to enliven the contest for

In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Middleweights: Rafael Natal (21-7-1) vs. Tim Boetsch?(19-10)Odds as of Nov. 2:?Natal -160; Boetsch +140Dana Whites thoughtsYou know, two tough veterans, battling to stick around here. Thats how sports go. All sports, not just this one. Make a few errors in a key game, youre on the line. NFL -- Jonas Gray was a running back for the Patriots, stud, every time they put him on the field hed get 100 yards rushing, was late to practice and you never saw the guy again. Done. So, thats just the truth of every sport.Whats at stake?One step back to take a few forward for NatalManhattans Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu academy sits less than two blocks away from Madison Square Garden.Natal, 33, has been shaping his skills at W. 30th Street since moving to New York eight years ago and believes none of those years has been as critical to his development as 2016.Natal was recently shaping up to be the Cinderella of the division, having strung together four consecutive wins. That streak ended in April, when he came up short in a three-round fight against Australias Robert Whittaker.Following the loss, Natal requested time off to fill certain holes in his game, and he is eager to show that off against a battle-tested opponent in Boetsch.Renzos academy is one street behind Madison Square Garden. I see it every day, Natal said. In my last fight, I couldnt take him down -- first time in 30 fights. I take people down all the time. He avoided it, and that was a little frustrating. But I believe everything happens for a reason. Sometimes the best thing is to take one step back to take a few steps forward.I asked the UFC to give me a few months off to improve. Had I beat Whittaker, I would have asked for a top-five [opponent]. I wasnt ready for that, but now Ive fixed these things.Boetsch: I never feel secure until I get my hand raisedJust about every fighter on the UFCs roster would have given anything to receive an offer to fight in New York.When that offer came for Boetsch, the first emotion he felt was something close to dread.I was expecting to fight at the beginning of next year, Boetsch said. When I got a call from [matchmaker] Joe Silva out of the blue, I was concerned.Boetsch, 35, is coming off an upset win over Josh Samman in July, but before that, The Barbarian had lost three consecutive bouts. He has never forgotten what it felt like to exit the UFC; the promotion let him walk in 2009 before re-signing him the following year.I had three losses in a row before my last fight, Boetsch said. I was anticipating the call to say, We appreciate your time but no longer need your services. I was prepared for that call, and it never came. Instead, they called to offer me a fight on the biggest card in UFC history.I take pride in giving people exactly what they expect when I fight, but if were being honest, I never feel secure until I get my hand raised. Ive been cut by the UFC before. I understand the nature of this business. You better put on an exciting performance, but at the same time, you better win every fight. I go in with that mindset. I probably shouldnt put that pressure on myself, but its always on my mind.Boetsch believes others fighters might have scrambled their game after dropping three in a row, but says he was able to take a sensible approach. In June 2015, he got caught by a Dan Henderson right hand. In January of this year, it was an Ed Herman knee. Disappointing losses for sure, but Boetsch said he believes he has always had the recipe for success and that it hasnt changed.Those are two weapons no one wants to run into, and they found their way through on me, Boetsch said. Thats just fighting. I know the formula to win is there though. I just need to execute.Statistical comparisonNatal: 21-7-1 record (9-5-1 UFC); four-fight winning streak snapped in last fight Natal: 36 takedowns in UFC competition, most all-time in middleweight divisionBoetsch: 19-10 record (10-9 UFC); 14 of 19 wins by stoppage Boetsch: Lands 53 percent of significant strikes in UFC middleweight fights, sixth-highest among active UFC middleweightsBreakdownNatal isnt kidding when he says he couldnt get Whittaker down. He struggled to get anything going in that last fight, and his decision to take time off and evolve speaks to that.Boetsch doesnt have the same steady kickboxing approach that gave Natal so much trouble. His output is way lower, but he has a good deal of one-punch knockout power. Natal performs better when hes not on his back foot the whole time, which shouldnt be the case against the heavy-handed but at times lumbering style of Boetsch.A lot hinges on Natals ability, or lack thereof, to avoid the big shot. Hes durable and will probably have an advantage with judges simply because he does more, but Boetsch is a bigger threat for a KO.PREDICTION:?Natal via decision.Dylan Windler Cavaliers Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. John Henson Jersey . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. https://www.thecavalierslockerroom.com/Matthew-Dellavedova-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Kevin Porter Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Kevin Porter Cavaliers Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick.SYDNEY -- The beer ran out in some sections of the Olympic stadium, but most of the 61,247 spectators at Saturdays U.S. college football opener in Sydney between California and Hawaii appeared to be enjoying their Americangridiron experience.The favored Pac 12 conferences California Golden Bears from Berkeley across the bay from San Francisco were 51-31 winners. It was a midday start so that the game could be televised back to the U.S. in prime time on Friday night, and was played under sunny skies and with light winds.Tailgate parties werent a big part of the day -- there arent a lot of ground-level parking lots close to the 83,500-seat stadium -- but fans feasted on two-foot-long hotdogs and copious amounts of French fries and nachos. Asian and middle Eastern food from nearby catering kiosks also featured, reflecting the multicultural makeup of the neighborhoods around the former Olympic precinct of Homebush in western Sydney.The concession stands, however, appeared to be unprepared for the crowds. Stadium officials said 70,000 cups of beer were sold, but one spectator tweeted he waited in line for an hour, while another said the reason there were so many empty seats is that most of the fans were in a queue somewhere.Many of the Aussie fans were barracking more for the underdog Hawaiians than the more-fancied Cal side.Really, they were cheering for us more? asked Hawaiis first-year coach Nick Rolovich. He even admitted to noticing some traditional stadium features like the Kiss Cam, supplemented often by Karaoke Cam and Dance Cam -- the highlight of the last feature was a young boy with a Cal Bears t-shirt busting some Michael Jackson-like moves on the giant stadium scoreboard.A local marching band provided halftime entertainment, supplemented by 30 members of the Hawaii marching band. Among the glitches was the person who sang the Star Spangled Banner mistakenly replacing one word for another during the American anthem. And one of the referees made a not-so-flattering remark about someone oon the sidelines, but forgot his stadium microphone was turned on.ddddddddddddThe star of the show on the field was California quarterback Davis Webb, who made quite an impression in his first game as a graduate transfer from Texas Tech.Told he had 441 yards passing -- 38 for 54, with no interceptions -- Webb said dryly: Yeah, it was OK, Im just glad we got the victory. Hawaii threw a few blitzes at us and our offensive line played well.Hawaii was without three key players for unspecified disciplinary reasons. A Rainbow Warriors spokesman said just before the game began that safety Daniel Lewis Jr., linebacker Jerrol Garcia-Williams and tight end Metuisela Unga were not with the team Saturday.Cal coach Sonny Dykes said it was a good starting point for his team.There is still plenty of work to be done, but overall we played a very good game and never let them get back into it, Dykes said.Coach Rolovich also did his bit to enliven the contest for the new fan base. After losing the coin toss and Cal decided to receive, Hawaii tried an on-side kick that the Bears were able to recover at midfield. It was quite the way to start the new college season.I wanted to make sure Australian fans got to see an onside kick, and in my first game, too. Rolovich said, smiling. But seriously, I hope it sends a message that we are going to play aggressively and wont back down.The Hawaii entourage went straight from the stadium to the airport to get a scheduled 9 p.m. flight back to Honolulu. Cals charter left Sunday afternoon for its 14-hour flight back across the Pacific to San Francisco.Things wont get any easier for Hawaii when the Rainbow Warriors play Michigan at the Big House next weekend in Ann Arbor. Cal has a bye week before taking on another Mountain West Conference opponent, San Diego State, on Sept. 10 in San Diego.---This version corrects Cal State to Cal in 5th paragraph. ' ' '