The top two contenders in the bantamweight division will square off on Friday, December 30, when former world champion TJ Dillashaw faces Brazilian knockout artist John Lineker in a UFC 207 bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC 207 features a pair of 135-pound championship fights, as Amanda Nunes puts her UFC women’s bantamweight title on the line against Ronda Rousey, and Dominick Cruz defends the men’s bantamweight crown against Cody Garbrandt.
Eager to earn a shot at regaining his title, Dillashaw’s only loss in the last three years has been via split decision to Cruz in January of 2016. But after defeating Raphael Assuncao at UFC 200 in July, the Coloradan knows that a win over the No. 2-ranked Lineker could cement his place in line for a crack at the winner of UFC 207’s co-main event. Expecting to put a dent in those plans is „Hands of Stone“ Lineker, who is unbeaten in four straight since moving to the UFC’s bantamweight division, most recently defeating John Dodson in October.
Before his debut in Mexico City this Saturday against Marcin Held, Diego Sanchez is excited to return to the Octagon, but as far as this being his “real” debut in Mexico, he’s not buying it.
“No, Ricardo Lamas in Monterrey, Mexico was the real fight,” laughs Sanchez, who also saw two UFC 180 fights in Mexico City scrapped in 2014 before the loss to Lamas in November of 2015. “This is just another fight, another opponent, another city. But it comes with its own complications and special things about it.”
The biggest complication may not even be Poland’s Held, who is a highly-touted newcomer eager to make a splash in the UFC at Sanchez’ expense. Instead, the talk about fighting in Mexico City always seems to come back to the over 7,300 feet above sea level where the city sits. That high altitude is no joke, and while Held made the trip to the fight site for his final preparations on October 17, Sanchez remained home. At least his home is in Albuquerque, which sits at 5,900 feet above sea level.
“It’s in my genetics to be able to breathe in higher altitude, so I’m excited for it,” Sanchez said, noting that while going to Mexico City early to acclimate could help Held, that’s no guarantee either.
“A lot of these fighters look at the Cain Velasquez fight (with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188) and they’re like, ‘Oh, Cain Velasquez gassed out.’ You know what? Cain Velasquez got emotional and he wanted to destroy Fabricio in the first round, and he fought with emotion because Fabricio got in his head. And I think that played a lot into Cain gassing out. The other thing that people don’t realize is that the smog is so bad and I looked into that too. So it’s nice, but you’re out of your element. You don’t have your food, you don’t have your water, it costs a ton of money and that’s a decision he (Held) had to make.
“I chose to stay home and train in Albuquerque with my team and all my doctors and people that help me through injuries,” Sanchez continues. “What happens if you wake up in Mexico City with a stiff neck? Then you’re forced to have someone you don’t know working on your body. There are just a lot of complications that come with it. So I know I made the right decision.”
At this point in a career that began in 2002, the 34-year-old Sanchez knows all the ins and outs of the fight game, so his
Thirty miles east of Albuquerque, through the Cibola National Forest, sits the town of Edgewood, New Mexico, whose population nearly doubled between 2000 and 2010, bringing the head count in the Sante Fe County metropolis to just shy of 4,000 people.
A handful of years ago, the 33-year-old gunslinger started assembling a live-work-play oasis to call his own out in the sticks; a place where he could roll out of bed and into his own gym at whatever time he pleased, while also having the option to ride horses, shoot guns or put in a hard day of labor if he were so inclined.
While there are always bound to be projects on the grounds at all times, the BMF Ranch is now operational and the main place where Cerrone preps for his upcoming fights.
“I think it does help with his schedule,” explained Brandon Gibson, the long-time Jackson-Wink striking coach and the newest addition to the Cerrone’s band of outlaws. “Cowboy stays very busy on his sponsor side, on his promotional side, and on his duties with the UFC, and it’s great that we have the Ranch that we can go to at 11 o’clock on a Sunday night and still get our work in.”
Though he and Cerrone have known each other for years and have always been friends, Gibson only officially came on board at the start of the year, as the former lightweight contender began to embark on a welterweight sabbatical that has produced arguably the best results of his career.
Originally designed as a way to stay busy after suffering a second loss to then-lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos, the shift to the 170-pound weight class has yielded three consecutive victories for Cerrone, each more impressive than the last while vaulting him into the Top 10. On November 12 in New York City, he’ll look to make it four straight and potentially crack the Top 5 when he takes on Kelvin Gastelum on the main card of UFC 205, the organization’s historic debut at Madison Square Garden.
“I wasn’t coaching him during the ‘55 days, but I definitely worked a lot of cards with other fighters and saw what Cowboy had to go through to make ‘55,” said Gibson, who believes his work with Cerrone’s long-time wrestling coach Jafari Vanier in the corner of bantamweight stud John Dodson helped paved the way for him to join the coaching staff at the BMF Ranch. “Now it’s like Cowboy’s been saying lately – he has a little more meat on the biscuit; a little more weight on him, a little more muscle and the cuts aren’t as excruciating and we’re seeing it in his performance.
“He’s already ranked No. 6 but it’s not just him at 170 – I feel like Cowboy is evolving his game, which is hard for a lot of veterans.”
„It’s like Cowboy’s been saying lately – he has a little more meat on the biscuit; a little more weight on him, a little more muscle and the cuts aren’t as excruciating and we’re seeing it in his performance.“ –Brandon Gibson, BMF striking coach
Though his February victory over Alex Oliveira in the UFC’s first “Battle of the Cowboys” was impressive, his last two efforts are the ones that have really opened a lot of eyes and made many people sit up and wonder if the former WEC standout perennial lightweight contender is even better as a welterweight.
In June, Cerrone became the first man ever to stop Patrick Cote due to strikes, finishing the former middleweight contender with a hail of punches along the fence midway through the third round after controlling the action with perfectly timed takedowns and expert work on the canvas. Two months later, he showed even more against Rick Story at UFC 202, finishing the durable welterweight veteran with a four-strike combo straight out of Street Fighter V that was brilliant to watch in real time and even more breathtaking as a slow-motion replay.
Next up is Gastelum, the 25-year-old former TUF winner who enters off the biggest win of his career – a unanimous decision victory over former champ Johny Hendricks at UFC 200 in July.
Originally, Cerrone was set to face another former champion, Robbie Lawler, in a bout that had everyone salivating as thoughts of the violent symphony those two would have conducted danced through their heads, but Gastelum is no joke, and while Gibson is excited for the pairing, he’s more excited about seeing what more Cowboy can do in his new weight class in November and beyond.
“We have a super-tough fight ahead of us with Gastelum,” offered Gibson, one of the sharpest coaching minds in the sport. “I was very excited about Robbie Lawler, I’m still very excited about Kelvin, but I’m more excited about what we can do at welterweight.
“Obviously, his kickboxing has always been a threat and his jiu-jitsu has always been a threat, but now, his footwork, his defense, his wrestling, his boxing – all those areas are getting better, along with the fact that he feels so good at welterweight. He feels good, we’re getting the right matchups and now he’s a more technical, faster fighter than all these guys he’s facing and we’ve just got to keep this ride going.”
While Cerrone is one of few fighters who truly lives by the “Anyone, Anywhere, Any Time” mentality, even Gibson has to admit that being a part of massive events brings a little something extra out of every fighter, even a “been there, done that, keep your ******* t-shirt” veteran like Cerrone.
And he believes it will bring out the best in his charge.
“I think he definitely has that side to him where he’d fight anyone, anywhere, any time,” laughed Gibson when asked if Cerrone would just as readily face Gastelum in the “Back 40” at the Ranch as make the trek to MSG next month. “Some of these Fight Night cards he headlined weren’t the biggest cards, but UFC 202, UFC 205, those are the kind of fights that every fighter wants to be on and I know he’s excited to go to Madison Square Garden and New York City.
“You’re going to see the best Cowboy ever come UFC 205.”
The quarterfinals on The Ultimate Fighter are officially underway while Joseph Benavidez and Henry Cejudo take their rivalry to a whole new level this week after a guest coach arrives in town to help out the competitors.
Following a hard fought opening round, the competitors were treated to a barbecue and a pool party at the house where everyone got the chance to unwind. It was a celebration of sorts after the first eight fights all ended with finishes and the tournament definitely impressed UFC President Dana White.
Of course, Benavidez couldn’t waste an opportunity to take a shot at Cejudo after watching him roll around on the ground and act a little crazy at the pool party. Benavidez once again gave Cejudo a hard time about his desire to be a role model to the next generation of fighters and he was unrelenting with his jabs directed at the Olympic gold medalist.
„No one wants to be like you, Henry, so how are you a role model?“ Benavidez said.
If that comment wasn’t bad enough, Benavidez raised the stakes once again when his head coach Duane „Bang“ Ludwig arrived in Las Vegas to help out for a few days. Ludwig is one of the people responsible for getting Benavidez ready before all of his fights so it only made sense that he would show up to offer assistance to his team as well.
Ludwig is not only a multi-time veteran of the UFC, but he’s turned into one of the most sought after coaches in the industry while working with fighters like Benavidez and former bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw. Thanks to Ludwig’s vast knowledge, Benavidez decided that it was only fair to offer his help to the entire cast of the show this season rather than just giving lessons to his squad.
So during an open gym day on Sunday, Benavidez invited all of the fighters from Team Cejudo to come learn under Ludwig but there was one very special condition – Henry Cejudo could not make an appearance during the session.
Benavidez justified the move by saying that he didn’t want Cejudo to pick up on any of the techniques that Ludwig would be teaching that could also be used in their fight when they meet in December. Cejudo’s assistant coaches fought against the idea because they took this as Benavidez making some kind of power play while also looking to turn fighters against their coach by going to train with the other team. Ultimately, Cejudo conceded to the request to stay out of the gym that day while allowing his fighters to go train under Ludwig.
Cejudo looked at the entire situation as Benavidez being rather childish while trying to exert his own agenda by using the rest of the fighters in the house to do it. Cejudo promised he’ll have his revenge when they meet in the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter Finale.
„He’s a bully. You’ve got to humble a bully,“ Cejudo said of Benavidez.
Once Ludwig finished teaching class, everybody’s attention turned to the fight this week between Pantoja and France, who were squaring off while also training under Cejudo this season. As the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Pantoja had a lot of expectations heaped on his shoulders as the season started, but the Brazilian was confident that he could live up to the hype. Meanwhile, France was a dark horse as a No. 9 seed but he made quite an impact with his first round drubbing of Terrence Mitchell.
Pantoja couldn’t help but acknowledge the war he endured to get to the quarterfinals after facing off with a very tough and gritty Brandon Moreno in the opening round. Fighters all have to be concerned about health to make it all the way through this tournament, but Pantoja promised that he would sacrifice everything to make sure he got through France this week.
„If I have to go to war again and give my life again, that is what I’m going to do. That is why I’m here,“ Pantoja said.
As for France, he might be one of the most devastating strikers in the house, but he’s also one of the most respectful competitors on the show. France had nothing personal with Pantoja and treated him like a teammate all season long, but this was about realizing his dream and nothing was going to stand in the way of that.
„It’s just business. This is my goal and you’re in my way,“ France said.
ALEXANDRE PANTOJA VS. KAI KARA-FRANCE
As the fight got underway, it was clear that Pantoja wasn’t going to waste any time dragging France to the mat to avoid his lightning quick striking arsenal. Pantoja is a world-class grappler, so he had no problem getting France down early, but to his credit the New Zealand native did a great job working back to his feet several times. Unfortunately, France spent a majority of the round defending the takedowns and trying to stay off the ground, so he wasn’t able to produce a lot of offense. It was also clear by the end of the round while the two fighters were standing that those early takedowns forced France to reassess his game plan, as he was very tentative to engage on the feet.
The second round saw France start to stop Pantoja’s takedown attempts, but it still didn’t open the floodgates for him to unleash any real damage on the feet. Instead, it was Pantoja who fired off a steady diet of leg kicks both to the inside and outside of the thigh that started to slow France down a bit. While the round was much slower in terms of overall action, Pantoja was definitely landing the better shots while France just couldn’t pull the trigger to mount any kind of comeback.
When it was over, the judges all agreed that Pantoja had done more than enough to earn the victory in the first decision of the season.
With that fight finished, next week will see Team Benavidez fighter Hiromasa Ogikubo take on upstart Team Cejudo contender Adam Antolin in the next quartefinal matchup.
Don’t miss a minute when The Ultimate Fighter returns on Wednesday night at 10pm ET on FS1.
Tyron Woodley erupted onto the scene with one massive overhand right, destroying champion Robbie Lawler by knockout at UFC 201 in July.
The result was the fastest finish in UFC welterweight history. Woodley was off for 18 months before that fight – improving and plotting.
“I felt like I was just a thief in the night. Nobody saw any footage of me fighting or what I was working on,” Woodley said Wednesday during a UFC 205 media call.
Woodley, who defends his welterweight championship against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in the co-main event of UFC 205, wanted to fight during that span of inactivity. But the “The Chosen One” was forced to wait when Johny Hendricks pulled out the week of their scheduled bout in October 2015, and Woodley was promised an eventual title shot.
So he waited for the dream fight and capitalized on the opportunity. But his title fight only lasted two minutes, and Woodley still feels like fans are going to see a new and improved T-Wood in New York City.
“You’ve still not been able to see what I’ve been working on and that’s my little ace in the hole that I plan on taking into all my fights,” Woodley said.
Thompson is actually the betting favorite against Woodley. The former kickboxer has won seven in a row and four of those wins have been by knockout.
The striking specialist knows Woodley, a decorated wrestler, will try to take him down eventually, despite any moderations or improvements the champion has made to his game. But “Wonderboy” is ready for that tactic.
“I’ve been working on my wrestling tremendously. Chris Weidman and Olympic wrestler Matt Miller have been coming down to help me with my fights ever since the (Patrick) Cote fight,” he said. “I’m just improving on it every day. I feel like I came into the game late in 2010 and I think I’ve made leaps and bounds with my takedown defense.”
Former world light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans has always been one of the most likable fighters on the UFC roster, but he did rub some folks the wrong way when he spoke of being embarrassed about his April loss to Glover Teixeira.
How could a fighter – any fighter, but especially Evans – be courageous enough to make the walk to the Octagon, compete, and then hang his head just because he had a bad night? It was baffling at first, but then understandable, if only because it proved that after all these years, the 37-year-old still cared.
“My feelings of embarrassment were just because I really trained hard for that fight and I really felt like that was going to be the fight to bring me back.” –Rashad Evans
“My feelings of embarrassment were just because I really trained hard for that fight and I really felt like that was going to be the fight to bring me back,” said Evans, who has lost two straight heading into his middleweight debut against Tim Kennedy on November 12. “And it wasn’t. And I felt so bad because I sacrificed so much for it, and that’s a scary feeling because, for me, fighting was always something I never had to think about or worry about. It was something that just came to me and no matter what happened, I always found a way to get out of a situation and win a fight. And to lose in the first two minutes of a fight was very embarrassing to me and it hurt in a place that I never really felt before.”
Teixeira, owner of a pair of the most potent fists in the game, halted Evans at 1:48 of the first round with punches that would have felled any light heavyweight he hit with them. It was no reason for Evans to be embarrassed, but after a four-year stretch in which he went 2-4 and dealt with a two-year layoff due to injury, he thought he might have reached the end of the road.
“It crossed my mind,” he said of retirement. “I thought that maybe it was time to go in another direction and start to really confront what is going to come after I finish fighting, which is the rest of my life. As a fighter, it’s something that you don’t really think about, but it’s inevitable. You’re always one fight from it being your last fight, so it is something I’m going to have to confront sooner or later.” He did confront it, and decided he was going to stick around and take his gloves and mouthpiece to a new neighborhood – the 185-pound middleweight division. To some, it might seem like a last ditch effort to keep his career alive, but to Evans, it’s a move he should have made a long time ago but was too stubborn to make. Not surprising from someone who won the second season of The Ultimate Fighter at heavyweight.
“I felt as if I needed to really make a change, and after my last fight, I went through the process of looking at myself in the mirror and deciding that if I’m going to compete, what do I need to do to make sure I bring out the best in me. And I felt at 205, it got very stagnant for me there. I’ve competed with most of those guys, I’ve got a teammate and a good friend of mine (Anthony Johnson) who’s climbing up the ranks, and the guys are cutting a lot more weight than I am and they’re naturally bigger. So there were a few things I was thinking about, and for some reason, the weight class changed and I had to admit it. They were bigger than they were before and they were stronger and I needed to challenge myself and make sure I was still finding a purpose behind my reason to fight.”
And a chat with his friend, former NFL great Ray Lewis, sent him 20 pounds south to middleweight with the tools he needs to succeed.
“He’s such a good mentor and sometimes he gets so deep that you don’t get it until you get it,” Evans laughs. “He told me you’re gonna become a better fighter when you truly make it a lifestyle. That’s an element that I didn’t have before and I realized that it’s more than just a fight.”
The Niagara Falls native says that the move to 185 is “actually working out better than I thought,” so far, and he is primed and ready to fight in his home state of New York for the first time next week. But being lighter isn’t the only change he promises at UFC 205. When he steps into the Octagon, Evans is going to become a fighter again.
“Sometimes you can get in your own way with the way the whole fight game is,” he explains. “You can over analyze things, but at the end of the day, it comes down to one thing, and that’s fighting. And if you’re a true fighter at heart and you really love to fight, then you’re gonna find your way and you’re gonna be all right. It’s an instinct and I’ve just got to trust that more. I know the sport. I know how to fight. I just have to believe it, and believe it when I go out there.”
When we last left The Ultimate Fighter, the first round of the tournament wrapped up with eight competitors moving into the quarterfinals after some incredible matchups resulted in finishes in every bout.
It was clear from the first fight until the last that the competitors on this season of the show weren’t just going for the victory, but they were sending a subtle message to champion Demetrious Johnson that the winner of this tournament is gunning for his title. With the first round now wrapped up, the quarterfinals will begin in the latest episode as No. 1 overall seed Alexandre Pantoja faces No. 9 seed Kai Kara-France.
Now this matchup is interesting on several levels but, most notably, Pantoja and France are both training under coach Henry Cejudo, which means things are probably going to get a little awkward in the lead up to their showdown. Because this season was set up as a tournament, the teammate versus teammate fights were bound to happen and Pantoja vs. France won’t be the last time this happens before the show wraps up.
Before the fighters get focused back on the tournament, the coaches will treat them to a little party at the house to unwind a bit before the second round kicks off. The first eight fights have unfolded over a matter of weeks, so the competitors are clearly ready for a little down time and to get their minds off training for at least a few hours. Being cut off from the rest of the world is bad enough, but when life essentially goes in a constant loop of eat, sleep, train, repeat, it can get a little monotonous.
The party at the house will also give Cejudo and fellow coach Joseph Benavidez another chance to reignite their growing rivalry ahead of their matchup in December.
This week’s episode will also feature the arrival of Benavidez’s head coach Duane „Bang“ Ludwig, who joins the show to help out the fighters and give them some of the vast knowledge that he’s used to mold UFC champions.
Ludwig is the former head coach of Team Alpha Male, where he helped lead the fighters there to an unbelievable winning streak during his first year with the Sacramento-based squad. Ludwig eventually left to open his own gym in Colorado where he continued to work with several of the fighters, including TJ Dillashaw, who went on to win the bantamweight title when he knocked out Renan Barao. Since that time, Ludwig has continued to grow his stable of fighters, including Benavidez, who routinely makes trips out to Colorado to work with him ahead of his bouts in the UFC.
Ludwig will share some of that knowledge with the competitors on the show, who are thirsty to learn from a world-class coach, but his arrival will also bring some extra tension to the teams as well. It’s rare that the appearance of a guest coach coming to help out the fighters will end with the coaches at odds, but this is certainly one of those moments, with Benavidez and Cejudo finding yet another reason to snap at each other this week.
Once the drama about Ludwig’s visit comes to a close, it’s time to focus on the quarterfinal matchup between Pantoja and France.
When former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold was forced to withdraw from his November 26 (Nov. 27 local time) bout against Ronaldo „Jacare“ Souza in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday, Robert Whittaker didn’t hesitate to step up and add two more rounds to his highly-anticipated bout against Derek Brunson.
“It’s not a problem,” Whittaker said. “I always train for the long fights anyway.”
It’s almost fitting that the new main event for the UFC Fight Night show at Rod Laver Arena pits two more middleweight contenders against each other. And with each sporting five-fight winning streaks, this may be the perfect showcase for the No. 7-ranked Whittaker and the No. 8-ranked Brunson to make their own case for a shot at Michael Bisping’s 185-pound crown.
“I think I’m making a case for my title shot every time I step in that Octagon,” Sydney’s Whittaker said. “That’s my mentality going into these fights. I go in there with the idea to bring excitement, to show that I’m legit about how I do this.”
Both Whittaker and Brunson have certainly delivered on all counts. North Carolina’s Brunson is on the fast track to the top of the division with four of the victories on his five-fight streak ending by knockout. Whittaker hasn’t been too shabby either, as his own win streak includes victories over Uriah Hall, Brad Tavares and Rafael Natal. Runs like that are difficult anywhere; to be doing it against the competition they’ve been facing makes it even more impressive.
“Everyone’s in there to win,” Whittaker said. “Two men walk out and one of them has to leave the loser. But I don’t really focus on the win streak or focus on winning or losing. I just focus on trying to perform well and trying to beat my opponent.”
Over the last two months of 2016, several high-profile matchups will take place in the Octagon. Whittaker and Brunson will try to steal the show in Melbourne.
“I think this fight is the set-up for title contention,” Whittaker said. “I think either one of us could be fighting for a title and this is almost like the title fight. It’s two dudes who have the ability to get to the top and this is gonna be very exciting.”
After an extended hiatus, the UFC returns this weekend with a stacked card headed to Mexico City featuring a battle of two of the best lightweights in the world in the main event.
Former champion Rafael Dos Anjos will look to bounce back from the fight that cost him the title when he fell to Eddie Alvarez earlier this year and now he’s determined to get back to the top starting with his fight this Saturday night. Standing across from him is Tony Ferguson, who has won eight consecutive fights while making a steady climb up the lightweight rankings.
Also on the card, submission specialist Marcin Held makes his long awaited UFC debut as he takes on Ultimate Fighter season one legend Diego Sanchez in the co-main event. Ricardo Lamas is also back in action as he faces off with Brazilian Charles Oliveira while highly touted prospect Alexa Grasso makes her UFC debut against former Ultimate Fighter season 20 competitor Heather Jo Clark.
In today’s Cheat Sheet, we’re going to examine some of the key matchups from the card coming up in Mexico City to see who has the advantage and if there might be an upset brewing at UFC Fight Night: Dos Anjos vs Ferguson.
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.
Rafael Dos Anjos (-150 favorite) vs. Tony Ferguson (+130 underdog)
Over the past five years, you’d be hard pressed to find a lightweight with a more impressive resume than former champion Rafael Dos Anjos. With a 10-2 record over his past 12 fights, including wins over Donald „Cowboy“ Cerrone, Nate Diaz and Anthony Pettis, Dos Anjos has proven to be one of the most dangerous and versatile fighters in the division. He will certainly have his hands full this weekend when he takes on Tony Ferguson, who has been a force of nature in his last eight fights as he’s run roughshod over some of the best fighters in the world at 155 pounds.
Ferguson is a relentless fighter with an aggressive offense that never seems to slow down from the moment the referee says go until the final horn sounds. Ferguson prides himself on incredible conditioning and a never-say-die attitude that allows him to fight back from virtually any position, whether it’s on the feet or on the ground. Ferguson suffered through a scare in his last fight against late notice opponent Lando Vannata, but he still found a way to win in the end, which showed his championship spirit in the face of adversity.
Ferguson might need to show that kind of will again if he wants to get past Dos Anjos, who is a nasty striker on the feet and a world class grappler on the ground. Dos Anjos became champion by showing off serious knockout power honed under former coach Rafael Cordeiro, who famously brought up notable strikers such as Mauricio „Shogun“ Rua and Wanderlei Silva in Brazil. Dos Anjos counters his striking with a very slick ground game where he currently averages over two and a half takedowns per fight with very good accuracy. Of course, Ferguson comes from a proud wrestling background so he won’t be easy to take down, no matter how skilled Dos Anjos might be on the mat.
So who wins this fight?
The biggest factor might be Dos Anjos’ ability to bounce back from a disappointing loss and still show up like the top lightweight that he’s been the past few years. There’s nobody at 155 pounds that Dos Anjos can’t beat, but if his confidence is rattled in any way from his last bout with Alvarez, that could be a disaster against someone as dangerous as Ferguson. That being said, Dos Anjos didn’t make it to the top of the mountain by accident and he’s got the kind of veteran experience that will allow him to bounce back against another top ranked opponent like this.
Because Ferguson sometimes puts himself into harm’s way in his fights due to his aggressive style, that could leave an opening for Dos Anjos to take advantage. No matter who wins, expect this bout to have Fight of the Night written all over it, but the edge remains with Dos Anjos as he looks to erase a bad memory from his last loss and remind the world that he’s still the best of the best in the lightweight division.
Marcin Held (-265 favorite) vs. Diego Sanchez (+225 underdog)
It’s a little surprising that Marcin Held is such a heavy favorite in his UFC debut while going up against a true veteran like Diego Sanchez, but that’s just the kind of respect this lightweight prospect out of Poland commands.
Held is a world-class grappler with submission skills that could give anybody fits if the fight hits the ground. He’s best known for his leg locks with a huge arsenal of weapons that include a nasty heel hook, a slick kneebar and even a toe hold that has caught a few opponents off guard. Held is also extremely adept at transitioning from one submission to the next until he finally grabs hold of something that forces his opponents to tap out.
Facing someone as tough as Sanchez will not be an easy test for Held in his debut, especially considering the former Ultimate Fighter season one winner has never been submitted. Of course, Sanchez had never truly been finished by strikes prior to his last fight against Joe Lauzon, but that was the fate he suffered at UFC 200 back in July. Still it’s hard to imagine Sanchez being submitted, even by a nasty ground specialist like Held.
There’s no doubt that this will be a high pressure situation for Held, who makes his UFC debut after more than 25 professional fights. He’s fought on a big stage before, but nothing like what he’ll experience by stepping into the Octagon on Saturday night. Add to that, Sanchez has been an impossibly tough fighter to finish throughout his entire career and has faced a legendary list of opponents from middleweight all the way down to featherweight in the UFC.
Sanchez has been his best at lightweight and that’s where he’ll be this weekend, so look for a classic performance from this UFC legend as he will probably give Held a very rude welcome to the Octagon in his first fight. Sanchez may not get the finish, but his constant pressure and unrelenting offense should put Held on his heels, scrambling for air for 15 straight minutes.
Prediction: Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision
Ricardo Lamas vs. Charles Oliveira
This late notice addition to the card in Mexico City may end up being one of the best fights all night as Ricardo Lamas and Charles Oliveira both look to get back on track after recent losses.
Lamas has been one of the most consistent performers in the featherweight division over the past few years while making it all the way to a title shot back in 2014. He’s fallen on tougher times since then while posting a 3-2 mark over his last five fights, but still remains one of the most well rounded and dangerous fighters at 145 pounds. Lamas started his career as a grinding wrestler, but he’s developed his hands over recent years and now he’s just as tough to deal with on the feet as he is on the ground. Lamas lands with good accuracy and keeps constant pressure on his opponents, which allows him to typically dictate the pace in a fight.
Oliveira has been a little hot and cold in some of his recent fights, but when he shows up, this Brazilian has all the makings of a potential title contender at 145 pounds. At his best, Oliveira is a deadly Muay Thai specialist on the feet with one of the best submission arsenals on the entire UFC roster. Oliveira is an offensive juggernaut who is always on the attack and constantly looking to finish the fight. Oliveira actually averages more strikes landed per minute with more takedowns per fight than his opponent. Defensively, Oliveira seems to be at a slight disadvantage, but his ability to hurt Lamas on the feet or on the ground could give him an edge in many of the exchanges he’ll face in this matchup.
Don’t sleep on Lamas’ ability to grind out a decision, but given Oliveira’s incredible submission game mixed with a flashy striking arsenal, the Brazilian seemingly has more ways to win and that will give him the edge in this fight.
Prediction: Charles Oliveira by submission, Round 2
The final of this season of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America pits two of the best young prospects to ever come off the reality show as Claudio Puelles faces Martin Bravo. Puelles was a highly touted prospect when he arrived on the reality show and that’s why UFC legend Chuck Liddell quickly made the Peruvian his top pick. Meanwhile, Bravo was the first pick taken by coach Forrest Griffin and he made his way through some very tough competition en route to the final while being undersized in almost every fight on the show.
Bravo is probably a natural featherweight and that may be a big factor working against him in the fight with Puelles. Puelles is a big fighter for the 155-pound division and one of the toughest battles he faced on the show was cutting weight multiple times over the six-week period. With this fight, Puelles will be able to go through his typical weight cutting routine while carrying a significant size advantage over his opponent.
Bravo is a very well rounded prospect with a good submission game, but that could play right into Puelles’ strengths. Puelles is best known for his wrestling attacks and work on the ground, where he has a number of impressive submission wins. Puelles has shown rapid improvements in his striking game as well, but Bravo will have a speed advantage on the feet so that could be a much closer battle than the one he would have on the ground. Bravo has very quick hands with great counters and that could help him out while dealing with a taller, bigger opponent.
Still, Puelles has all the makings of a real prospect in the lightweight division and he should be able to showcase that in the fight against Bravo.
Prediction: Claudio Puelles 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.
Alexa Grasso (-470 favorite) vs. Heather Jo Clark (+375 underdog)
When it comes to names to watch in the women’s strawweight division, there may not be a better prospect than former Invicta FC fighter Alexa Grasso. At just 23, Grasso has shown off a huge arsenal of weapons through her first eight fights while staying undefeated against some very tough competition from the 115-pound division. Grasso is an experienced grappler, having competed in numerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments, and she’s also polished up her striking game, developing a devastating, fight-finishing right hand in the process. Grasso also possesses the ability to simply overwhelm her opponents with blitzing combinations and lightning quick reactions, whether she’s going for the knockout or finding an opening for a submission.
Her opponent, Heather Jo Clark, is no slouch and she has plenty of veteran experience to stick around until the final bell, but it feels like she’ll be playing defense for most of this fight. Clark has shown incredible toughness throughout her career, and as one of the bigger fighters for the strawweight division, she has the kind of strength that can overpower many opponents.
Unfortunately, in this case, Grasso’s skill should negate Clark’s strength to give the UFC newcomer an impressive win in her first fight with the promotion.
Sam Alvey has quickly become one of the most watchable fighters on the entire UFC roster thanks to his special brand of offense that typically ends with a spectacular knockout, and that could be the case once again this weekend. Alvey hits like a truck, but also has a very underrated grappling game that earned him a submission victory over Eric Spicely just two fights ago. Of course, Alvey is best known for his fight finishing power and he’ll look to add another KO to his resume while facing Alex Nicholson.
Nicholson is no pushover, but at the same time, he likes to brawl with his opponents and that’s a very dangerous game to play with someone like Alvey. Nicholson certainly has the ability to put anybody’s lights out with the power in his hands, but getting into exchanges with Alvey is like tossing firecrackers at your opponent while he’s launching dynamite as a counter attack. There’s a chance Nicholson could catch him, but chances are Alvey’s going to be the one smiling with a knockout finish when this one is over.
With four wins in a row in the UFC, Rashid Magomedov has risen up the ranks to become one of the most talked about lightweight prospects in the promotion, but it’s still a little surprising to see him favored over Top 10-ranked competitor Beneil Dariush this weekend. Magomedov certainly has the skills to win the fight, but Dariush has faced far better competition throughout his UFC career and he has more than enough weapons to win this matchup.
Dariush began his career as a world-class grappler and he certainly still possesses those skills, but in recent years he’s worked with fighters like Rafael Dos Anjos to improve his striking and now he’s just as dangerous on the feet as he is on the ground. Dariush has to be careful getting into too many exchanges with Magomedov, who is a very technical fighter on the feet, but there are still plenty of ways for him to win, even if this fight never hits the ground.
Dariush will have a much bigger advantage on the ground, which gives him a few more tricks to throw at Magomedov throughout this lightweight battle. Dariush’s takedowns could prevent Magomedov from unleashing some of his signature kicks and that immediately takes away one of the best weapons he has on the feet. Add to that, Dariush has plenty of pop behind his punches to mix with his wrestling and submission arsenal. In the end, Dariush should have more than enough to pull off the victory and silence any doubters who believed he was an underdog to begin with.
12 Current ranking of Dos Anjos on the UFC pound-for-pound list
14 Wins by the former UFC lightweight champion inside the Octagon, 4th most wins in UFC lightweight history
3:45:41 Octagon time by Dos Anjos, 5th most in UFC lightweight history
692 Significant strikes landed by Dos Anjos, 7th most in UFC lightweight history
90 Of those significant strikes by Dos Anjos were in his unanimous decision win over Anthony Pettis to claim the UFC lightweight title at UFC 185
1,100 Total strikes landed by Dos Anjos, 6th most in UFC lightweight history
39 Takedowns by Dos Anjos, 5th most in UFC lightweight history
9-2 UFC record by Dos Anjos when he lands at least one takedown
3 Current ranking of Tony Ferguson as a UFC lightweight
8 Fight active win streak by “El Cucuy”, longest active win streak in UFC lightweight division and 4th longest active win streak in the UFC
5 Fight Night bonuses won by Ferguson across his last four UFC fights – 3x Performance of the Night and 2x Fight of the Night
8 Finishes by Ferguson inside the Octagon, tied with Dustin Poirier for 2nd most finishes in the UFC since Ferguson’s debut in 2011 3 D’Arce choke submissions by El Cucuy inside the Octagon, UFC record
4.52 Significant strikes landed per minute rate by Ferguson, 8th best in UFC lightweight history (min. 5 fights)
+1.43 Significant strike differential rate in favor of Ferguson, tied with Johnny Case for 4th best among active UFC lightweights (min. 5 fights)
2.0 Submission attempts per 15 minutes of fighting average by Ferguson, 6th most among active UFC lightweights (min. 5 fights)
38.5 Submission accuracy percentage by Ferguson inside the Octagon securing five submissions on 13 attempts
10-0 Pro record by Martin Bravo from Team Griffin for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 lightweight finale
5 Submissions by “Toro” as a pro
3 KO/TKOs by Bravo as a pro
50 Percentage of Toro’s pro finishes occurred in the first round
7-1 Pro record by Claudio Puelles from Team Liddell for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 lightweight finale
4 Submissions by “El Nino” as a pro
2 KO/TKOs by Puelles as a pro
20 Years old for Puelles would make El Nino the youngest The Ultimate Fighter winner in the show’s 11+ year history, also first Peruvian born winner in the show’s history 1 The Ultimate Fighter season Diego Sanchez won as a middleweight
5:09:23 Octagon time by “The Nightmare”, 5th most in UFC history
24 UFC fights by Sanchez, tied for 7th most in UFC history
15 UFC wins by Sanchez, tied for 13th most in UFC history
6 Fight of the Night bonuses by The Nightmare, tied for 4th most in UFC history
0 Submission losses by Sanchez across his 35 fight pro career
Thirty miles east of Albuquerque, through the Cibola National Forest, sits the town of Edgewood, New Mexico, whose population nearly doubled between 2000 and 2010, bringing the head count in the Sante Fe County metropolis to just shy of 4,000 people.
Thompson is actually the betting favorite against Woodley. The former kickboxer has won seven in a row and four of those wins have been by knockout.
When it comes to names to watch in the women’s strawweight division, there may not be a better prospect than former Invicta FC fighter Alexa Grasso. At just 23, Grasso has shown off a huge arsenal of weapons through her first eight fights while staying undefeated against some very tough competition from the 115-pound division. Grasso is an experienced grappler, having competed in numerous Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments, and she’s also polished up her striking game, developing a devastating, fight-finishing right hand in the process. Grasso also possesses the ability to simply overwhelm her opponents with blitzing combinations and lightning quick reactions, whether she’s going for the knockout or finding an opening for a submission.
