The UFC is returning to Ottawa, and bringing “Wonderboy” to meet with a “Red King”.

UFC Ottawa is pitting the would-be heir to the welterweight throne Rory MacDonald against Stephen Thompson, a man that was being written off as a fun flash in the pan until only a few months ago.

MacDonald is one of the biggest-name veterans in the UFC today at only 26. When the Canadian was 16 he was being touted as the future of MMA, and when he made the move to train with his country’s beloved superstar, Georges St. Pierre, most analysts assumed it was only a matter of time before he actuated on his hype. After unsuccessfully challenging for the welterweight title, some are starting to wonder if MacDonald will live up to his early hype. Thompson’s story could not be more different.

The famous American karate based kickboxer entered into the UFC with a fantastic knockout win, but lost a decision to Matt Brown in his next fight. After losing a grappling-heavy contest, many simply assumed he would be another specialist that never filled up the holes in his game. Now, after a six-fight winning streak that includes a knockout victory over former UFC champion Johny Hendricks, the same people that doubted him are wondering if anyone can solve the problem of his enigmatic striking.

The two UFC welterweights are fantastically skilled, yet bring very different games to the cage. Today, we’ll be taking a look at what makes these two so special, from so far away.

MacDonald is a classic Firas Zahabi-trained fighter. Like his mentor St. Pierre, MacDonald is calculated and conservative on the feet, throwing long strikes while never over-committing. Particularly effective is MacDonald’s piston like jab. At 6 feet tall with a 76 inch reach, MacDonald keeps many of his opponents away from him by shooting his jab out.

MacDonald’s long lead punch has been a blessing and a curse in the UFC, as he has drawn criticism in some of his fights for being too jab heavy. When MacDonald entered the UFC he was an offensive dynamo, but fans were worried that he would become too careful with his jabbing style along his journey to reach the title. In recent fights MacDonald has added a few wrinkles to his long game that make him that much more interesting and dangerous.

MacDonald uses a piercing front kick off of his back leg to chip away at his foe’s endurance. The front kick from the back leg is a quick, long kick that sees the foot rise from the floor before the knee snaps out. The result is a relatively hidden kick that does it’s damage as the fight wears on.

MacDonald’s stance distributes weight evenly between both feet, and occasionally sees him put more weight on the front foot. For MacDonald to throw the front kick off of the back leg he doesn’t need to come out of his stance much due to his weight distribution.

Above, MacDonald snaps a quick jab off inside of UFC champion Robbie Lawler’s lead right hand as the latter attempts to parry. As the two shift back and forth slightly looking for an opening, MacDonald throws a rear leg front kick to Lawler’s midsection. Neither was a big shot intended to knockout Lawler, but both strikes landed quickly and did their job to keep Lawler at bay. What’s more, MacDonald sacrificed little defensively in throwing them.

Where Rory’s long game is effective at maintaining distance, and gradually winning a fight, Wonderboy’s long game is effective at ending fights.

Thompson’s last fight at UFC Fight Night 82 was a masterclass study in using karate in MMA. Thompson threw long side kicks to spear his opponent, Hendricks, and maintain a safe working distance for himself. When Hendricks looked complacent on the outside, Thompson kept him honest by throwing his feet up quickly at Hendricks’s head. After Thompson sensed he had hurt Hendricks with his stepping back counter punches, he used blitzing punch combinations to overwhelm Hendricks, leading to the eventual finish.

Below we see Thompson throw a solid side kick to the midsection, blasting Hendricks away from him. When Hendricks moves back into Thompson’s absurdly long range, Thompson chambers his leg as if to throw the same side kick. Because Wonderboy’s lower body is so dexterous, he is able to open his hips up and rotate them over at the last second, resulting in a slapping high kick to Hendricks’s face, instead of the expected side kick.

From far away it’s no question, Thompson has an edge over MacDonald, and just about anyone on the UFC’s roster that isn’t carrying a gun. His legs are too fast and accurate to be triumphed in a fight strictly based on long-range striking. When punching and arm strikes are added in, the contest gets a bit more fun.

While Thompson has made a name for himself kicking, his hands have done damage in their own right. To be exact, Thompson knocked out Hendricks, Robert Whittaker, and Chris Clements in the UFC all with his hands.

Thompson will blitz mercilessly when he has an opponent hurt, throwing straight punches while running his man down. As seen by his near flawless record, he often overwhelms his opponent, but when he doesn’t, Thompson leaves his chin unguarded, and his head unmoved.

In a fight that MacDonald eventually won, we see current UFC middleweight contenderRobert Whittaker pump a jab in his face, to which Thompson responds with a sloppy jab-cross combination. Whittaker responds by using his lead hand to keep Thompson in check, and firing a cross-hook combination. The sequence ends with Thompson attempting to pursue with a left to the body and a right to the head, but Whittaker slides away and ends the engagement.

Oddly enough, if Whittaker had opted to box with Thompson instead of conceding ground he could have been in a better position, as he was getting his licks in with his hands. Giving Thompson room to work is asking for trouble.

Continuing on with the quirks of both men, MacDonald utilizes crafty high guard to turn defense into offense in his fights. MacDonald will use his elbows as defensive posts to stop punches, or simply allow fighters to run into them.

Below we see MacDonald taking on crisp striker Tarec Saffiedine. After parrying a jab, Saffiedine attempts to throw a hook back at MacDonald, to which Macdonald simply flares his elbow out to block the punch. Rory ends the exchange in true MacDonald fashion by throwing a jab out to re-establish his range, and break whatever groove Saffiedine was attempting to get going.

This may be where you’re asking, why would elbow striking matter against Thompson, a distinguished out-fighter? It matters to disrupt Thompson’s punching blitzes.

As mentioned earlier, when Thompson closes the distance he does so with little regard for his own safety. Against a man with a superb jab that will also allow fighters to run in and hurt themselves, as MacDonald does, trouble could be on the horizon for Thompson. It is entirely possible that Thompson could charge behind punches and run into MacDonald’s elbows. After stunning Thompson, MacDonald could unleash his powerful combination striking, or opt to take to the fight to the ground where he owns a distinct advantage.

At the same time, that scenario is entirely contingent on Thompson attempting to enter punching range with MacDonald. There’s nothing forcing Thompson to rush MacDonald, and the karateka could very well bounce around on the outside, pick his shots and snipe MacDonald all day long.

In my opinion, where the rubber meets the road is with round kicks. If MacDonald is to have success in his fight against Thompson, he needs to attack the space around the latter with kicks at his legs and body.

Thompson loves to bounce around on the outside, often in an extremely narrow stance making him a harder target for straight on striking. If MacDonald uses round kicks to attack the legs and body early, he will discourage Thompson from using excessive lateral movement, chip away at Thompson’s springy evasiveness, and take the steam off of Thompson’s kicks. Simple, but not easy.

All of this is assuming that MacDonald has the time and comfort to effectively throw these round kicks, and discourage Thompson’s movement. Thompson could easily uncork a side kick, hook kick, wheel kick or any number of mind-bending kicks to punish MacDonald for attempting to kick with him. What’s more, MacDonald’s low crouch stance sees his head stick forward over his hips, making it a closer target for Thompson’s fancy feet techniques.

It’s easy being an arm-chair quarterback, but in reality this fight is extremely evenly-matched. I have no idea what’s going to happen this Saturday night. MacDonald may opt to grapple with Thompson for the entire fight, taking advantage of Thompson’s ground game that pales in comparison to his striking. At the very least, the fight will be an intriguing display of two tacticians searching for openings.

To see a cold, calculated killer take on a fancy, fleet-of-foot striker tune in to UFC Ottawa. The headlining match-up of MacDonald and Thompson will have immediate ramifications on the UFC welterweight title picture. Until then, keep your eyes on Cage Pages for more UFC fight coverage.