Rick Story is finally healthy. After successful surgery to his neck, Story is ready to make his long awaited return to the UFC Octagon. This Sunday in Las Vegas at UFC Fight Night 88, he will face off against former Strikeforce welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine. Even after a layoff of over a year and half, Story finds himself in a matchup with one of the top contenders in the division. While the recent past has been anything but easy for him, he continues to lobby for these types of fights. He has recently stated that he hopes this year will mark the beginning of his run at the welterweight title. This may seem like a far-fetched plan when you take a quick glance at the wins and losses on his record, but it’s easy to overlook the fact that if not for a pair of split decision losses, Rick Story could be riding a six fight win streak. The likelihood that Story challenges for the title in the coming year is slim, but it’s not impossible. It could happen, really. Let’s take a look at what I believe are his clearest and quickest paths to the title.
***All paths assume the recent neck surgery causes no complications, injuries are kept to a minimum, oh and he beats Saffiedine.
The Plow Method
Never known as a fighter who ducks difficult challenges or looks for more favorable matchups, Story will need to continue taking on any and all comers. If he can essentially plow his way through two or three fights, he will have extended his winning streak to at least four in a division where the last title challenger was riding a winning streak of one. As it stands, he has a two fight win streak leading into his current matchup and his last win came over welterweight standout Gunnar Nelson. Assuming Story can get a few fights against opponents from the bottom half of the top fifteen, it would stand to reason that he would be on the short list for title consideration. Here are a few of the fighters who might qualify to fill this role: Hector Lombard, Kelvin Gastelum (this would avenge a prior split decision loss), Neil Magny, or the winner of the Lorenz Larkin vs. Jorge Masvidal fight (also on the Fight Night 88 card).
The Callout
If Story wants to expedite his trip to the top, he should take a cue from another Pacific Northwest standout, Chael Sonnen, and simply call his shot. If he can be creative, obnoxious, and most importantly exciting, he will undoubtedly increase his odds of fighting for the belt. He should probably callout a top contender before pushing for the title, someone like Matt Brown would be good for starters. Jumping on the microphone and demanding a fight against Brown is probably many people’s greatest fear, so a callout of that order would likely get the attention of the UFC front office. Win that fight and you could be one well-constructed callout away from a title shot.
The Former Champs
Another good way to make it to the top of the mountain is by besting those who had been there previously. Story already has a win against former welterweight champ Johny Hendricks. Add to that a win over Carlos Condit and you are looking at a guy who beat the last Strikeforce welterweight champion (Saffiedine) and two of the last three UFC welterweight champs. That’s a good look for anyone pushing for a title shot. And if by some stroke of luck current champion Robbie Lawler loses his next title defense, he just might be looking for a fight at welterweight. I am sure Mr. Story would oblige.
Having a chance to see what Rick Story can do with a neck that is apparently highly functional for the first time since college gets me pretty excited. The matchup with Saffiedine will be tough, but winnable. Story will have a decided advantage in the wrestling department and should he be able to control Saffiedine’s sharp footwork he should be victorious. Saffiedine represents the first in a series of obstacles for Story as he looks to chase his championship dream; the path he takes after that is up to him, but he certainly has options.
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