When most people think about the first fight between Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier at UFC 187, one of the first things that come to mind is the looping right hand that put Cormier on the canvas just 28 seconds into the opening round.
A lightning quick jab pierced Cormier’s guard before the thunderous overhand chased it home, taking the feet out from under the American Kickboxing Academy product and sending a jolt of electricity through the MGM Grand Garden Arena. As they prepare to meet for a second time this weekend in the main event of UFC 210, that initial blow and the trio of punishing knockout finishes Johnson has amassed since stand as Exhibits A through D for pundits and fans making the case for a new champion being crowned in Buffalo.
While the impact of that blow and Johnson’s destructive power are the explosive fuse wrapped around Saturday’s main event rematch, it’s everything that transpired immediately following that connection that momentarily eliminated Cormier’s ability to stand that remains at the forefront of the challenger’s mind heading into the sequel.
Frustrated by his performance and knowing that he made mistakes inside the cage, Johnson went roughly six months without watching the tape of his first meeting with Cormier before a restless night prompted him to press play, study the film and examine the decisions that resulted in him coming away on the wrong side of the result the first time around.
“I think I was too afraid to watch it because you never want to see yourself making the mistakes that I made in the fight because they were so critical,” the challenger explained. “It was eating at me the whole time and in the middle of the night, I was like, ‘Screw it!’ and decided to watch the fight.
“I still look at it and think, ‘That’s not me out there.’ It’s more of a disappointment because of my performance, not even the fact that I lost; just my performance. That’s the main reason why I didn’t want to watch it, because I wasn’t myself.”
He points to the sequence following the knockdown, where he rushes forward slinging wild shots as Cormier quickly gathered himself only to have the standout wrestler slip behind him and take his back, as a mental error, one of several that contributed to his demise.
“You keep making mistakes during a fight, pretty soon you’ll break mentally,” Johnson offered. “Daniel didn’t break me; I broke myself.”
Though it took him several months before he was able to re-watch the fight with Cormier, Johnson didn’t spend any time licking his wounds on the sidelines or dwelling on the defeat. Four months after the bout, he was back in the Octagon collecting a second-round knockout win over current contender Jimi Manuwa before needing just 99 seconds to finish Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira in his two 2016 appearances.
After starching the Brazilian in August, Johnson respectfully asked Cormier for a rematch and the champion was happy to oblige, only to have the bout postponed when “DC” suffered a leg injury just a handful of days before they were set to clash at UFC 206 in Toronto.
Now the contest shuffles down the QEW and across the Peace Bridge to KeyBank Center in Buffalo, where “Rumble” aims to rebound from his only loss in the last five years and earn a measure of revenge against Cormier.
“When I lost to DC, it opened up a whole other chapter in my life. It made me see things a lot differently because the things that I was doing back then, they were working for that moment and that time. Not taking any credit away from any of the fighters I fought before DC, but I never had to use anything that I had been taught with the jiu-jitsu and that type of stuff.
“I’m not a jiu-jitsu fighter; you don’t see me out there trying to throw an armbar on anybody. The day you see me throw an armbar, that’s probably the day I retire.”
While the challenger cackled at the notion of him becoming a submission fighter, it also underlines the blessing and the curse that carrying such prodigious power can be inside the cage.
In many instances, both during his initial time competing in the UFC as a welterweight and the five years since, Johnson has only needed that one shot to land clean for his night of work to be over. Having legitimate one-shot knockout power is an immeasurable trump card to carry into the Octagon and Johnson might very well be the most devastating striker on the entire roster, but when those big shots land and the fight doesn’t end, staying composed and avoiding mistakes are crucial.
Johnson was unable to do that the first time and it cost him, but the challenger has no intention of making the same mistakes again.
“When I lost to DC, the moment I stepped out of the cage, I was already thinking of what I needed to do to win, to beat him, to beat somebody at that level because I was right there scratching at the surface,” he said. “I’m still there, but I’m about to break some ground.
“With the training that I’m doing now, with the coaches that I have in my corner, it’s amazing. They got me ready. They have me ready and they have me right. Everybody is pretty excited for what’s about to happen.”
Ultimate Fighter alums Leonardo Santos and Olivier Aubin-Mercier will both attempt to extend their winning streaks on Jun. 3 when they collide in a UFC 212 lightweight bout at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
In the main event, Jose Aldo and Max Holloway collide in a battle for the undisputed UFC featherweight title.
Owner of back-to-back finishes of Thibault Gouti and Drew Dober, Montreal’s Aubin-Mercier is a submission ace who has won five Octagon bouts since making it to the finals of TUF Nations in 2014. A year earlier, Santos won TUF Brazil 2 by submitting William Macario, and after a draw with Norman Parke, he has won four in a row, including finishes of Kevin Lee and Tony Martin.
Las Vegas – UFC® today announced the appointment of Dr. Duncan French as Vice President of Performance for the new UFC Performance Institute, which will be located in Las Vegas. Dr. French brings more than 20 years of experience coaching athletes on the amateur, collegiate, professional and Olympic levels while most recently serving as the Director of Performance Sciences and Director of Olympic Sport Strength & Conditioning at the University of Notre Dame. In his role, Duncan will lead the development and implementation of all performance aspects within the UFC Performance Institute, overseeing a multi-disciplinary team including nutrition, strength & conditioning and physical therapy.
“We are thrilled to welcome Duncan as a new member of our UFC Performance Institute team,” UFC Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein said. “With the UFC Performance Institute being a first of its kind in mixed martial arts, we’re raising the bar by assembling one of the most talented staffs in professional sports and Duncan’s credentials are world-class. His vast experience will pay dividends for our athletes.”
During his tenure in South Bend, Indiana, French was responsible for leading the performance science services that supported more than 750 student-athletes that competed in 26 men’s and women’s sports at the NCAA Division I level. In his role, he coordinated the delivery of services within the high-performance structure of the Sports Performance Department, including strength and conditioning, nutrition, welfare and development, mental conditioning and athletic training.
“Duncan French is truly at the forefront of sports performance,” Notre Dame Football Head Coach Brian Kelly said. “He helped lift our football program to heights previously unseen in terms of nutrition, strength and conditioning, athletic training and data analytics. Duncan’s effort will have a lasting impact at Notre Dame for years to come.”
Prior to joining the Fighting Irish staff, Duncan spent eight years over the course of two stints as a Technical Lead and Senior Strength & Conditioning Coach at the at the English Institute of Sport (2005-09, 2012-16). During his tenure at the English Institute of Sport, he coached a variety of sports teams that encompassed Great Britain’s Olympic programs. Dr. French also spent a total of six years as the Head of Strength & Conditioning for Great Britain Basketball and most recently, served in the same capacity for Britain’s Olympic Taekwondo team, that included reigning world champions and secured Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro this past summer.
Overall, he has trained both amateur and professional athletes that earned a combined 16 medals (5 – Gold; 6 – Silver; 5 – Bronze) at the IAAF World Championships (2005, 2007-08), Commonwealth Games (2002, 2006), World Boxing Amateur Championships (2007), Pan-American Games (2007), FINA World Championships (2009), Taekwondo World Championships (2015) and Olympic Games (2008, 2012, 2016).
In between stints with the English Institute of Sport, French spent three seasons (2009-12) as Head of Strength & Conditioning for the Newcastle United Football Club of the Barclays English Premiere League. Duncan is a fully accredited strength & conditioning coach with the United Kingdom Strength & Conditioning Association, Australian Strength & Conditioning Association and National Strength & Conditioning Association, along with a USA weightlifting certification.
A native of Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom, Duncan earned both his Bachelor’s (1997) and Master’s (1999) degrees in Sport & Exercise Science from Northumbria University. He then obtained his Doctoral degree (PhD) in Exercise Physiology from the University of Connecticut in 2004. During his time in Storrs, he served as a volunteer Strength & Conditioning Coach for the women’s basketball team that captured three consecutive NCAA Championships (2002-04) and the men’s squad that won the 2004 NCAA title. He and his wife, Katie, currently reside in Las Vegas.
Daniel Cormier is a smart guy. So he gets it. Cormier understands why a good-sized chunk of the UFC fan base doesn’t like him much, and maybe never will.
He knows people are more infatuated with the one-punch knockout power and speed of Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, his opponent in Saturday night’s UFC 210 light heavyweight title showdown. Cormier also believes the boos he often hears in arenas and the criticism on social media has more to do with fan frustration over the absence of troubled superstar Jon Jones than it does with him.
But here is what else Cormier knows: none of that noise matters. So what if he’s the UFC’s most unappreciated champion in its most star-crossed division? He still holds the title belt. And he plans on keeping it.
“Initially, the boos bothered me,” Cormier said. “But I’ve come to realize that it’s just part of the game. I can only control what I can control. People can love me or hate me. But they cannot deny that when I go into the cage, I fight hard. Most of the time, that’s enough to get my hand raised at the end. I sleep well at night because I know that I bust my ass, day in and day out. And I do the right things.
“This fight is just another opportunity to prove people wrong.”
This headliner bout, which was delayed from last December when Cormier (18-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) suffered a torn adductor muscle in his groin, also is a monumental challenge. There is no other fighter like Johnson (22-5 MMA, 13-5 UFC) currently roaming the Octagon. Ever since Cormier submitted him with rear-naked choke in UFC 187, Johnson has been an absolute beast. He destroyed his last three opponents in knockout victories – the most recent lasting just 13 seconds.
Johnson leads the UFC in the unofficial category of: What the hell just happened!? Cormier, though, is not worried.
“Anthony is the boogie man,” he said. “People love the way that he fights. They love to watch him knock out people. They love that aggressive, striking style. But I do like beating Rumble because people make him out to be something that I truly don’t believe he is. I’m not afraid of him in any way, shape or form. There’s nothing about Anthony Johnson that scares me. You look at other fighters and it was clear they were terrified of Anthony. You won’t see that from me.”
There’s a long tradition in combat sports of cultivating an image of being the villain or, to use the pro wrestling term, the heel. For fighters who traffic in brashness, they’re practically begging for the jeers . . . and pay-per-view orders. They don’t care what you think of them, just as long as you pay attention.
But the man simply known as DC is something else entirely.
He has overcome immense difficulty and heartache in his life. He represented the United States twice as an Olympic wrestler and is a devoted family man with two young children. By all accounts, is one of the sport’s best ambassadors. Yet in this era of “alternative facts,” many somehow consider Cormier a bad guy, or at least the undeserving beneficiary of Jones’ problems, which include a year-long suspension for doping that ends in July.
Javier Mendez, the head coach of the American Kickboxing Academy fight team, is among those who are mystified by Cormier’s detractors.
“DC is just an amazing guy,” Mendez said. “He’s everything you would want in a champion, and yet people still boo him. I don’t get it. If you saw him on an everyday basis, I promise you would change your opinion.”
He cites one recent Saturday as an example. Instead of being at the gym, Cormier was coaching his youth wrestling team at a California state tournament.
“Who does that?” Mendez said, his voice raising. “Nobody does that! But DC does. That man remembers how people helped him get where he is, and now he gives back. People who don’t like him, they just don’t know him.”
It is remarkable to see one of the world’s best mixed-martial artists teaching wrestling moves to pint-sized kids during practices at AKA. Afterward, boys and girls will line up to shake his hand as parents wait outside for the chance to thank him for coaching their children. But in truth, Cormier says he receives far more than he gives by working with kids. He calls it his escape.
“Everything else falls by the wayside when it comes to my family and my kids,” said Cormier, 38. “This is who I am.”
If this leaves you thinking that Cormier isn’t focused on the cage, you would be mistaken. Mendez calls this Cormier’s best training camp ever. Instead of having surgery for his groin injury, Cormier elected to undergo cutting-edge, platelet-rich plasma therapy instead. The successful treatment allowed him to put the kind of grueling camp needed to meet Johnson.
“I’ve trained really, really hard for this fight,” he said. “I know how tough and durable and dangerous this guy is. So I have to make sure that I do everything right. It’s hard for me to put it in words, but I just feel like I’m ready to go get the job done.”
***
If we’re going to add to the reasons why Cormier isn’t one of the UFC’s cool kids, another explanation might be his fight style. He grinds down opponents. It’s not flashy, just effective. He describes his approach this way: Think of a deep pool of water.
“I’m down there, lurking,” he said. “I start pulling you by your ankles and then by your waist. The next thing you know, I’ll drag you down by the back of your shoulders. And that process takes time. I don’t knock people out in 15 seconds. That’s not me. It takes me a little bit longer to pull that guy into deep water. But once he’s there, I drown him. I understand that fans fall in love with the big moment. But in my fights, it’s not all about that big moment.”
Johnson nearly ended their first fight that way – dropping Cormier with a thunderclap right hand early in the first round. Cormier survived and went on to win, but Mendez can’t forget that shot.
“He launched DC – just launched him,” Mendez said. “It’s a good thing that DC was already on was way back when he got hit. Rumble is a special breed. If you stand in front of him, he will wreck you. He’s done that to everyone who has tried. But I don’t know if DC is going to want to avoid him. If he wants to stand with Rumble, he will stand with him. Now it’s not what I would want him to do, but DC is his own man.”
Cormier offers no insight into his fight strategy, other than to say he intends to punish Johnson even worse in this fight. But it’s clear that all the pre-fight talk about Rumble has gotten under his skin. One irritant was the official fight poster, which features a smaller Cormier in the foreground and a much bigger Johnson behind him.
“It bothered me a little,” Cormier said. “The challenger looming over the champ to take what’s his. I get it. But I just think they could have put a little more creativity into the poster.”
Cormier always gets it. He knows Johnson has captured the public’s imagination. But he also thinks that he’s better. Something else he believes is that he will finally get a rematch later this year against Jones, assuming he’s reinstated, and have the chance to atone for his only UFC defeat.
But first, there will be a rumble with Rumble.
“A lot of times, you have these guys go on amazing runs and everybody pays attention to them,” he said. “That’s happening for Rumble right now. But at the same time, people are forgetting about what I’ve done.”
This is a chance to remind everyone, like him or not.
The UFC 210 main event is the definition of a high stakes championship fight.
All championship bouts have a lot on the line, but for light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson, this fight is bigger than a normal title bout.
Looming over the division and the matchup is Jon Jones, who is just a few months away from returning to the Octagon. The former 205-pound king likely will face the winner of Cormier vs. Johnson, and for the current champion it’s a fight he desperately needs.
Cormier’s only blemish on an otherwise perfect run at heavyweight and light heavyweight is a loss to Jones back at UFC 182. At 38 years old, a loss to Johnson at this point of Cormier’s career would be devastating. A win by DC virtually guarantees the rematch with Jones and a chance to secure his legacy.
“Rumble” is getting his second crack at the championship after losing to Cormier in 2015. If Johnson were to fall short once again there’s no guarantee he’ll get another chance.
UFC 210 takes place at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. on April 8 at 10 p.m. / 7 p.m. ET/PT and Cormier vs. Johnson for the light heavyweight title is the No. 1 reason to watch.
2 – Can Rumble hang with the king of the grind?
In the months leading up to the rematch between Cormier and Johnson, the champion has been adamant about his plans to stand with Johnson. He said he’ll take his chances against one of the most dangerous strikers in MMA history.
Conventional wisdom says that DC is just trying to get in Johnson’s head and when the fight starts he’ll look to get inside and eventually get Rumble to the mat.
In the first fight, Cormier landed three takedowns on Johnson en route to the submission victory in the third round. The champion is 7-0 when he lands more than two takedowns in a fight.
While Johnson and Cormier are upright, DC is always in danger because of Johnson’s arsenal of fight-altering strikes. Rumble has 11 career KOs which is a mark good for second on the all-time UFC list. He also is fourth all-time with 13 career knockdowns and his five sub-one minute KO finishes are the most in UFC history.
Chris Weidman has always been known for his well-rounded game. Wrestling is his base, but the former champ made his name by knocking out Anderson Silva, altering the foundation of the entire sport of MMA.
Now Weidman faces Gegard Mousasi, an experienced fighter who may be even more well-rounded then “The All American.”
How about these stats: Mousasi has the fifth-best striking differential (+2.07) in middleweight history, third-highest strike defense rate among active 185ers (64.3 percent) and the second-highest takedown defense rate among active middleweights (82.8 percent).
What does it all mean? Mousasi hits opponents more than he gets hit, is the third-hardest middleweight in the world to land on, and when the striking isn’t going to plan opponents land takedowns on the former Strikeforce champion at only a 17.2 percent clip.
That’s the puzzle Weidman must solve at UFC 210.
The good news for Weidman is that he has the third-highest takedown accuracy rate among active middleweights (49 percent) and his six finishes since 2011 are the most in the middleweight division.
4 – Former champ looks to make impact
Will Brooks entered the UFC after running the lightweight division in a previous promotion. Since his move to the Octagon, Brooks has gone 1-1 and hasn’t yet found his comfort zone.
But Brooks has widely been considered a Top 10 lightweight for the past few years and he can reaffirm that standing with an impressive showing against Charles Oliveira to open the main card.
Oliveira is moving back up to 155 pounds after dropping his last two at 145 pounds. The Brazilian has eight career performance bonuses and can reestablish himself as a player at lightweight with a win over Brooks.
The UFC finally returns to Buffalo with a highly anticipated rematch between current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and arguably the most fearsome knockout striker in the history of the sport, Anthony „Rumble“ Johnson.
They first met in 2015, with Cormier submitting Johnson with a third-round rear naked choke, but that came after a very scary opening round when the two-time Olympian tasted his opponent’s power and was sent to the canvas early in the fight. Obviously, Cormier recovered and was able to get the win, but Johnson has been seething for the opportunity to get another shot at him ever since.
In the co-main event, former middleweight champion Chris Weidman returns to action, trying to bounce back from two recent losses when he takes on streaking contender Gegard Mousasi.
Mousasi has looked better than ever in his most recent fights, but Weidman will undoubtedly be the toughest opponent he’s faced during his current run through the 185-pound division.
In today’s fantasy preview, we’ll examine these fights and several more to see who has the edge and who might be primed for an upset at UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2.
SPLIT DECISION
These are the fights that are just too close to call, but a few minor differences between favorite and underdog could lead one fighter to victory and the other to defeat.
Daniel Cormier (-110 even) vs. Anthony „Rumble“ Johnson (-110 even)
The main event at UFC 210 features the top two light heavyweights in the division, with champion and challenger both coming off big wins in recent fights. For Johnson, this rematch serves as redemption for his only loss since returning to the UFC.
Johnson has put together one of the most impressive highlight reels in the sport, with his jaw crushing knockouts including wins over Glover Teixeira, Jimi Manuwa and Ryan Bader. Johnson has only been past the first round once in his past three fights due to the vicious power he’s unleashed against his opposition. While he’s best known for his first round knockouts, Johnson has gone much deeper into past fights, including a 15-minute battle with Phil Davis when he first returned to the UFC.
Of course, Johnson has to know his best path towards victory is lighting up Cormier on the feet during those early exchanges and looking for another knockout in the first two rounds. While Johnson has to be ready for a five-round fight, he can’t suddenly look conservative to save energy if he plans on walking out of Buffalo with the light heavyweight title. Johnson has to go after Cormier from the opening bell by letting his hands go and putting together those quick combinations that typically end with his opponent staring up at the lights or face down on the canvas.
For Cormier, surviving those early flurries will be the key to his survival. The current champion felt Johnson’s power in the first fight but somehow managed to fight back, but he may not get that opportunity the second time around. Cormier’s best strategy will likely involve a punishing clinch game against the cage to negate Johnson’s ferocious power from the outside before taking the fight back down to the ground. Cormier is at his best when he’s able to put his opponents on the mat and control them there. He can’t get into a striking battle with Johnson because he might land a punch that will win him the fight, but he’s just as likely to get a stick of dynamite blown up in his face from his heavy-hitting challenger.
While Johnson certainly possesses the jaw dropping power to finish anybody in the division, Cormier’s wrestling and durability should carry him past that opening round, and with each minute that ticks away into the second and third, the current light heavyweight champion should begin to take over. Once Cormier puts Johnson into deeper waters in the championship rounds, he’ll look to drown him and walk out with the title still around his waist.
Two of the top strikers in the welterweight division will square off when Patrick Cote meets Thiago Alves at UFC 210. Alves recently attempted a move down to 155 pounds, but after a disastrous weight cut backfired on him, the former title contender decided to move back up to a more comfortable 170 pounds for this fight. As for Cote, he’s looking to get back in the win column after suffering a tough loss to Donald „Cowboy“ Cerrone in his last bout.
In terms of style, this fight will feature a classic Muay Thai kickboxer in Alves against a power-punching boxer in Cote. During his run towards the title, Alves put together a very impressive win streak decorated by a series of blistering performances that were typically highlighted by him absolutely battering his opponents with leg kicks. Alves would do well to remember that strategy against Cote as well, because the Canadian slugger typically sits heavy on his lead leg while trying to land his potent punches. If Alves can damage that leg early, it could slow Cote down while also take away some of his power.
As for Cote, his boxing had looked outstanding prior to his bout with Cerrone, but there’s no shame in losing to one of the best welterweights in the sport right now. Cote had as always displayed good boxing, but now he’s also working in some takedowns and ground skills to compliment his overall mixed martial arts game. While Cote could certainly stand toe-to-toe with Alves, throwing in a takedown early in the fight could give him a huge advantage. Not only would it give Cote the chance to show off his ground acumen, but he may take away Alves’ leg kick attack if the Brazilian starts to get worried about the takedown.
Cote just has to be careful not to stand on the outside and allow Alves to start picking his shots. That’s a dangerous game to play and one the Canadian might very well lose. Still, if Cote can work his wrestling and boxing together to keep Alves guessing it should earn him a win by the end of the night.
The fight that will kick off the Pay-Per-View features lightweight challenger Will Brooks taking on former featherweight Charles Oliveira, who is moving up to 155 pounds for this matchup.
While Oliveira has put on some uneven performances lately, he’s still a very crafty and dangerous fighter, especially if he’s able to control the pace on Brooks during this fight. Oliveira is a very high-level submission specialist who also displays some flashy knockout skills as well. Despite moving up a division for this fight, Oliveira will actually have a two-inch reach advantage over Brooks, so he’ll be smart to use that to establish a jab early to keep Brooks at the end of his punches before exploding forward with a big knee or potentially a takedown.
As for Brooks, he’s a very well rounded fighter, but he’ll be best served working close against Oliviera in this matchup. Brooks is a strong wrestler who averages just under two takedowns per fight thus far in his early UFC career while also landing over four significant strikes per minute on the feet. Brooks has a very punishing clinch game, and if he can press Oliveira against the cage while bullying him with punches and elbows on the inside, he could make this a very uncomfortable night for the Brazilian. Brooks will have to be careful not to leave an opening for Oliveira to grab onto his neck for a guillotine choke, but if he can avoid that while battering him with punches and elbows against the cage, he should be able to do enough to get the job done over three rounds.
Prediction: Will Brooks by unanimous decision
KNOCKOUT PICKS
These are the fights that appear to be a little more one-sided, but remember that this is MMA, where anything can – and usually does – happen.
This is probably the toughest of all the „knockout“ picks because Cynthia Calvillo could be the next big thing in the strawweight division, but Pearl Gonzalez could still surprise a few people with her performance in this matchup.
On UFC Unfiltered: Cynthia Calvillo talks about Pearl Gonzalez
Gonzalez is a tough as nails competitor from Chicago, who actually holds a win over current UFC competitor Cortney Casey while putting together an impressive 6-1 record as a professional. Gonzalez actually started her career as a Golden Gloves boxer, so she definitely has good hands while also developing a very slick ground game where she’s finished three opponents by armbar.
That being said, Calvillo definitely appears to be the real deal and potentially a future top 10 fighter in the 115-pound division.
Training out of Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, Calvillo has an all-star cast and crew to get her ready for this fight and she looked outstanding in her debut against Amanda Cooper in March. Calvillo is a well-rounded fighter with good power behind her punches and a dangerous submission arsenal as well. Don’t discount that UFC experience either, because Calvillo shined in her first fight after she was bumped up to the main card on short notice while Gonzalez will be making her debut in Buffalo.
Of course, Calvillo has to be careful not to underestimate Gonzalez, but if she’s able to put on a similar performance to her first fight in the UFC, she will send a strong message to all the up and comers in the strawweight division.
Prediction: Cynthia Calvillo by submission, Round 2
As the welterweight division continues to be one of the toughest in the sport, Kamaru Usman could be a future star if he continues on the path he’s been on lately. The former Ultimate Fighter winner has looked stellar through his first few fights inside the Octagon and he’ll have a chance to show off his skills once again at UFC 210.
Usman is a powerful grappler averaging over five takedowns per 15 minutes in the Octagon with nearly 57 percent success. Usman is a powerhouse on the ground, and once he gets the fight to the mat, it’s virtually impossible to wiggle free from his grip. Usman isn’t afraid to stand and trade on the feet either, where he’s landing just under four significant strikes per minute with incredible 54 percent accuracy.
Now Usman will face a tough test from Sean Strickland, who is a very long, crafty striker on the feet. Strickland will enjoy a one-inch height advantage while also landing with more volume on the feet and also taking slightly less damage defensively than Usman. Strickland also showcases great takedown defense, but he’s also never faced a wrestler with the tenacious takedowns Usman will unveil in this fight.
Strickland will absolutely be a game opponent, but Usman’s grappling will give anybody fits and this will likely result in another lopsided win as this future welterweight contender continues his climb up the rankings.
Newcomer Desmond Green will make his UFC debut in Buffalo against a very tough opponent in Team Alpha Male fighter Josh Emmett.
Green is an interesting addition to the featherweight division who comes from a collegiate wrestling background while also putting together an impressive run outside the UFC with a 19-5 record. Green has faced good opposition throughout his career, including wins over former WEC champion Miguel Torres, as well as former UFC fighter Steven Siler. Green can be a stifling fighter at times with good control, especially when he’s able to dictate the pace against his opponents.
Unfortunately, Green got a very tough draw in his first fight with someone like Emmett.
Emmett is a gritty, hard-nosed competitor who doesn’t do any one thing great but does everything pretty well. Through his first two fights in the UFC, Emmett is splitting his time very evenly between a solid striking attack and a very potent wrestling game. Emmett has been working with top-flight training partners such as Cody Garbrandt, Urijah Faber and Chad Mendes for years and that has definitely paid off. Now Emmett can get a little wild at times, so he has to curb those tendencies against Green or risk being put on the mat by a takedown from his opponent.
That being said, Emmett’s Octagon experience coupled with his aggressive, never say die style should put together a very good offense while Green may be stuck playing defense for the majority of this fight.
Prediction: Josh Emmett by unanimous decision
UPSET SPECIAL
Chris Weidman (+110 underdog) vs. Gegard Mousasi (-130 favorite)
The co-main event between Chris Weidman and Gegard Mousasi could end up as the Fight of the Night at UFC 210, but it’s also one of the top matchups primed for an upset.
While Mousasi has looked better than ever while cruising to four straight wins, he hasn’t faced an opponent quite like Weidman during his current streak. Mousasi has torn through fellow strikers Vitor Belfort, Uriah Hall and Thiago Santos, but this time he’s going to face off with a knockout puncher who also happens to be a former All-American wrestler.
Weidman may have fallen on hard times of late with two consecutive losses, but make no mistake that the New York native is still one of the best fighters in a very tough middleweight division. Weidman was doing well in the early part of his fight against No. 1-ranked Yoel Romero last November until he made a critical error in the third round and got caught with a jumping knee strike that ultimately ended the fight.
Since that time, Weidman has worked tirelessly to correct those errors while also getting into the best shape of his life. Weidman has always suffered through a notoriously tough weight cut to get down to 185 pounds, but he’s been stricter with his diet and training for this fight and looks to be in phenomenal shape. Add to that the fact Weidman knows that this is probably a make or break fight for him if he wants to get back into title contention, and while that kind of pressure will turn some fighters to dust, it’s more likely to transform him into a diamond.
Weidman will look to use a solid boxing attack as his wrestling also has the potential to give Mousasi nightmares throughout this three-round co-main event. All said, Weidman just has more ways to win and definitely has more on the line as he looks to prove why he was the best middleweight in the world not that long ago.
Oh, and Michael Buffer, not Bruce Buffer, handled the introductions and announcements.
More than 20 years later, the UFC is returning to the birthplace of the best bar food in the history of time – buffalo wings – with a Pay-Per-View event headlined by a light heavyweight championship rematch between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson and former middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman looking to halt a two-fight skid against the surging Gegard Mousasi.
While those familiar names jump off the page when you look down the lineup, this weekend’s event also includes a trio of emerging talents with the potential to be contenders a couple years down the line, if not sooner.
The unbeaten Team Alpha Male representative made an instant impression in her promotional debut by choking out Ultimate Fighter finalist Amanda Cooper just over three minutes into the opening round of their main card clash at UFC 209.
It wasn’t just the fact that the 29-year-old upstart collected a first-round stoppage win in her opening appearance in the Octagon, but how she did it that truly stood out as Calvillo transitioned to back mount while attacking an anaconda choke when Cooper tried to scramble and defend. Even in a sport where athletes make in-fight adjustments all the time, this was the kind of on-the-fly improvisation that made you sit up and take notice, establishing Calvillo as someone to watch in the strawweight division.
Now the Sacramento-based prospect, who owns a victory over promising Invicta FC competitor Aspen Ladd from back in their amateur days, competes on her second consecutive Pay-Per-View main card in a matchup against newcomer Pearl Gonzalez, who has won six straight since dropping her first pro bout. A second straight eye-opening performance could put the confident Calvillo in the fast lane to contention in the strawweight ranks.
After amassing seven consecutive victories under the Ring of Combat banner to begin his career, Gillespie got the call to the Octagon for an “on the road” assignment against Glaico Franco in Brasilia last September. Shifting to the road after starring at home had no impact on “The Gift,” as the Long Island native maintained his unbeaten record with a unanimous decision win over the former TUF Brazil winner.
For his sophomore assignment in the UFC, the Bellmore Kickboxing Academy product steps in with fellow grappler Andrew Holbrook, who knows a thing or two about beating favorite sons on the road himself, having edged out Jake Matthews in Melbourne back in November.
The lightweight division is always flush with talent, so standing out and getting ahead is difficult. Moving forward takes a number of victories, but a single loss can set an emerging fighter back further in the 155-pound ranks than it does in other divisions, which makes this matchup with Holbrook critical for Gillespie.
I tabbed Bibulatov as one of the top unranked talents on the UFC roster and now the 28-year-old gets the chance to validate my position as he steps into the Octagon for the first time in the opening bout of this weekend’s event at KeyBank Center.
Another standout grappler from the Northern Caucasus, Bibulatov has a legitimate chance to make a rapid climb up the rankings in the flyweight rankings and not just because Demetrious Johnson has been turning back challengers with ease, creating a “sooner than expected” opportunity for the 13-0 up and comer.
First up, Bibulatov has to get through Jenel Lausa, who earned a unanimous decision victory in his UFC debut back in November, in Saturday’s kickoff fight.
Should the Chechen newcomer run maintain his winning ways and do so in impressive fashion, don’t be surprised if he finds himself in the express lane in the flyweight ranks, squaring off with a much more established talent in his sophomore appearance and generating some “how would he do against Mighty Mouse?” conversations right out of the gate.
Spoiler alert. Things don’t end up too well for Krzysztof Soszynski in the hit film “Logan,” but at the very least, the retired UFC light heavyweight did play a key role in one of the movie’s most memorable scenes, and that’s something for the man formerly known as “The Polish Experiment.”
“It was a short-lived adventure on the movie set, but it was a lot of fun, I got a chance to meet a lot of great people and it’s just something you’ll never forget for the rest of your life,” said Soszynski, whose latest adventure has landed him in Dubai.
Dubai?
“George (Yiasemides), here in Dubai, is running the UFC Gym here, and they’re opening up a bunch of locations – three clubs in Dubai, one on Egypt, one in Bahrain, one in Oman, and we’re going to Kuwait and all over the place,” he said. “They were looking for someone to help and run the mixed martial arts side of things.”
Already the Director of MMA for UFC Gym in the States, Soszynski will be in Dubai until May, though his future may hold a permanent move to the Middle East, a region that is becoming a hotbed for mixed martial arts.
“It is absolutely massive,” he said. “Next month is that huge world BJJ tournament that is happening in Abu Dhabi, and it is absolutely massive. The BJJ world here is bigger than Los Angeles. At UFC Gym in Dubai, we have eight BJJ black belts rolling at the same time, hanging out and chatting and doing some amazing things. You rarely see that at any other gym. So that world is very, very high level. As far as the MMA world, UFC is very popular, people notice you everywhere you go, but the mixed martial arts is definitely behind. They’re getting it going, but it’s definitely a few years behind, and that’s basically why I’m here. UFC Gym asked me to come out and help and see if we can grow this brand and this business.”
It’s the post-competition life you want to see every athlete have, and at 39, Soszynski has made the transition look easy, even though it wasn’t.
“There have been some ups and downs, but things are looking really promising,” he said. “I’m having a lot of fun with all these things that I’m doing.”
An eight-year pro, Soszynski still doesn’t know how he ended up as a professional prizefighter, let alone one who compiled a 6-3 UFC record after coming off season eight of The Ultimate Fighter.
“The crazy thing about me is, I was never meant to be a fighter,” he laughs. “I don’t have a mean bone in my body, I have no idea why I got into it or how I got into it. I remember my first one, fighting in a barn in Ada, I was 280 pounds of meat and muscle and I’m just scared out of my mind going into this fight with this guy, and the next thing I know, I’m fighting in the UFC against some of the best guys on the planet and training with some of the best guys on the planet.”
In Soszynski’s first two UFC bouts in 2008-09, he earned Submission of the Night bonuses for his finishes of Shane Primm and Brian Stann, but he may be best remembered for splitting a pair of bouts with Stephan Bonnar in 2010, the second of which earned Fight of the Night honors on the epic UFC 116 card in Las Vegas. It’s a nice resume to have, and while he pondered a comeback after a 2011 loss to Igor Pokrajac, that would end up being his final fight, leaving him with a 26-13-1 record.
A year after his retirement, Soszynski found a home with the UFC Gym, and on the silver screen.
“I’ve been a part of ten different movies already throughout the last few years, and each one has a special place,” he said. “It’s fun to play somebody else for a while. You have this everyday life and all of a sudden you go to this movie set and you get to portray somebody else.”
Yet despite everything, he will always be a fighter.
“The itch will always be there,” Soszynski said. “Unfortunately with nine knee surgeries, a plate and a screw in my left knee now, as far as me ever coming back or even sparring, for that matter, I can’t see it. The itch is there, for sure. You watch fights and you see how these guys are developing, the guys you’ve fought, the guys you’ve trained, the guys you’ve trained with, they’re all climbing the ladder and doing some amazing things, so you always get that itch, but my time has passed. It’s time to move on to other things and the sport of mixed martial arts has given me this huge opportunity with UFC Gym and everything else that I’ve done. Even the movie thing, it’s all because of my stay with UFC.”
It’s a positive story for all fighters, and Soszynski has talked to plenty of his peers about preparing for life after the final bell. So what’s the secret? It’s a simple one.
“This journey, I feel like I could write a book,” he said. “It’s been absolutely amazing. To go from where I’ve been to where I am now, and the travels that I’m doing, I basically became a ‘Yes’ man about nine, ten years ago. I’ve never said ‘No’ to anything that has come my way, and that has absolutely changed my life completely. Just believing in myself and trying new things, you never know what you’re gonna do or who you’re gonna meet. You never know who you’re gonna help or who’s gonna help you. It’s a fun way of living.”
NYCB LIVE, home of The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, will be the host for the UFC’s first event in Long Island, as a FOX-televised card hits New York on Saturday, July 22.
Tickets go on sale on June 2.
Stay tuned to UFC.com for fight card announcements.
After trading blows with the likes of Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort and emerging victorious against each, Chris Weidman doesn’t get rattled by much. But when the former UFC middleweight champion watched his four-year-old son CJ compete in his first wrestling tournament earlier this month, that was a whole different experience.
“It was an amazing, amazing feeling,” he said before adding, “Scary? I felt like I was going to throw up the whole time.”
Only a week away from his Apr. 8 bout against Gegard Mousasi in the co-main event of UFC 210 in Buffalo, Weidman is in an interesting place with his own career. He’s lost two in a row, and a win is imperative for him in order to make another run at regaining his title.
Yet despite Weidman’s strong desire to keep his son from getting burned out by the rigors of wrestling, watching CJ compete has provided the father a reminder of why he competes.
“CJ is only four years old, and I would never recommend anybody putting their kid in to wrestle that young,” Weidman said. But when CJ saw his cousins wrestle in a high school tournament, the boy was hooked.
CJ got on the mat, with dad coaching and his coach Ray Longo and training partner Gian Villante in attendance.
“Longo has never trained me before 11:30 a.m.,” Weidman said. “Villante, the same thing. He never works out with me before 12 p.m. But both of these guys were up at 8:30 a.m. because they wanted to see CJ wrestle so bad.”
The younger Weidman, battling a fever during his debut tournament, had a 15-second pin in his first match, won his second 9-0 and prevailed in his finals match, 11-8, with a series of last-second moves that left his father in awe.
“All of a sudden, this kid’s running him off the mat, and CJ sinks an underhook – and I never taught him that, it was just instinctual – and lateral dropped the kid to his back as he was falling backwards,” Weidman said. “It was unbelievable. I was tearing up, I’m so proud of him.”
Watching his son embrace competition has inspired Weidman, 32, in a whole new way.
“It definitely does get me more excited because it kind of brings me back to where it all started for me too,” he said. “When you’re wrestling as a little kid, you’re not doing it for any other reason other than you love it. You’ve got to love what you’re doing and it does bring me back to why I started all this and how I got where I am. It’s because of the love of the game. And that’s the way it started in MMA, too.
“My first sparring session, I picked the mouthpiece off the floor, I just wanted to do it so bad and I just loved to fight. And it does bring me back to the roots, because sometimes when you get so involved in a sport, you kind of forget why or how you got to where you are.”
When an athlete has the success Weidman has had, it’s easy to get lost in press conferences, photo shoots, interviews, and the trappings of being the best 185-pound fighter in the world. Couple that with two straight losses, and it could take away that love of the game. Yet despite the defeats to Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero, the Long Islander is more positive than ever about the future.
“I’ve been in a good place mentally leading up to this fight,” he said. “It’s good to have that moment of clarity and reflection and do really positive things, especially when you’re going through a slump. I’ve lost two fights in a row and I need to make my comeback and show the world that I’m not going anywhere, that I’m still the best in the world. I just had two bad fights and now I’m getting back on track.”
“Comeback” is the operative word for Weidman and his camp as they prepare for Buffalo. And while that’s a dirty word to some, to “The All-American,” it’s a proposition he’s embracing.
“Sometimes, a comeback is more exciting for an athlete than being on a winning streak because you have people writing you off now,” he said. “You almost go back to where you started, where no one’s watching, and it gives me that extra motivation to prove to myself and to everybody else who I am.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Duncan as a new member of our UFC Performance Institute team,” UFC Chief Operating Officer Ike Lawrence Epstein said. “With the UFC Performance Institute being a first of its kind in mixed martial arts, we’re raising the bar by assembling one of the most talented staffs in professional sports and Duncan’s credentials are world-class. His vast experience will pay dividends for our athletes.”
have no idea why I got into it or how I got into it. I remember my first one, fighting in a barn in Ada, I was 280 pounds of meat and muscle and I’m just scared out of my mind going into this fight with this guy, and the next thing I know, I’m fighting in the UFC against some of the best guys on the planet and training with some of the best guys on the planet.”
“CJ is only four years old, and I would never recommend anybody putting their kid in to wrestle that young,” Weidman said. But when CJ saw his cousins wrestle in a high school tournament, the boy was hooked.
When an athlete has the success Weidman has had, it’s easy to get lost in press conferences, photo shoots, interviews, and the trappings of being the best 185-pound fighter in the world. Couple that with two straight losses, and it could take away that love of the game. Yet despite the defeats to 
