Friday 19 January 2018

Where is the next UFC Star coming from?


Francis Ngannou (11 Wins 1 Loss) is firmly knocking on the door of the UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic (17 Wins 2 Losses).
In fact, he’s pretty much ripped the door off its hinges and knocked the coffee out of his opponent’s hand, if his stunning 1 minute 42 second knockout of heavyweight veteran Alistair Overeem (43 Wins, 16 Losses and 1 No Contest) is anything to go by.




 The two will collide this Saturday in the main event of UFC 220, the first pay-per-view event, in Boston, Massachusetts to decide who is the baddest man on the planet.

 This, along with the co-main event of UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier (19 Wins, 1 Loss and 1 No Contest) defending his title against the first ever Swiss UFC fighter, Volkan Oezdemir (15 Wins, 1 Loss), should be a huge night for President Dana White and Owners WME-IMG.
However, if last year’s numbers are anything to go by, the company shouldn’t get their hopes up too much.
In 2017, only one PPV (UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden) reaches one million buys (and even then you have to factor in Internet Pay-Per-View buys and those outside of North America).
The year before, the UFC had 13 pay-per-view events that did an estimated 8.21 million buys, or an average of 632,000 per show. In 2017, the UFC produced 12 pay-per-view shows that did an estimated 3.71 million buys, or an average of 309,000 buys per show — a 55-percent decline in total buys and a 51-percent decline in the average per show.
When you compare this to the three biggest selling UFC PPV events, UFC 196 (1.5 million buys), UFC 100 (1.6 million buys) and UFC 202 (1.65 million buys), there’s a distinct lack of something.
That something is star power.
The aforementioned events featured cult personalities such as former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, Lightweight veteran Nate Diaz and Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor.
These characters got fans to part with their money, which is hard to do in 2017.
The UFC have lost almost all their stars in the last two years, with former Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey (12 Wins 2 Losses) leaving the sport after her 48 second loss to Amanda Nunes (15 Wins 4 Losses) at UFC 207, Brock Lesnar retiring for the second time after failing a drug test for the anti-estrogen drugs clomiphene and hydroxy-clomiphene and Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor taking time off after his super fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.


Whilst it looks like McGregor will come back at some point this year, there doesn’t seem to be any other stars at the UFC’s disposal.


It’s not like they haven’t had opportunities to promote others fighters though, as the brass decided to ignore UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes’ (15 Wins 4 Losses) story of being the first-ever openly gay UFC Champion and went ahead with heavily promoting Rousey’s return to the Octagon back in December 2016.


Even after Rousey lost in deveasting fashion, those in Las Vegas didn’t go with the story of Nunes and turn her into a new star.


A similar thing can be seen with the lack of promotion around undefeated Lightweight fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov (25 Wins) who has a massive following in Russia and across Eastern Europe.


Now, with three pay-per-views announced so far this year, the UFC will no doubt be hoping that Ngannou takes the belt off Miocic in stunning fashion so they can build him up as a rags to riches Heavyweight champion.


However, if their track record is anything to go by, nothing is for certain.





Francis Ngannou looks to become UFC Heavyweight Champion this Saturday at UFC 220.
Posted by at 1 comment:

Saturday 30 December 2017

UFC 219 Preview



DISCLAIMER: This article is previewing four of the main card fights ONLY.

(C) indicates the current champion.

2017 has been an interesting year for the UFC.

From the returns of Jon Jones and Georges Saint-Pierre to their biggest star, Conor McGregor, boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr, it's been a strange but good year for the leading Mixed Martial Arts organisation.

The final Pay-Per-View card of the year will take place on 30th December and it's one hell of a card that sees the return of two of the most well-rounded fighters on the planet, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Cris Cyborg.




Carlos Condit vs Neil Magny (Welterweight Bout)

The return of Carlos Condit (30-10 MMA, 7-6 UFC) is weird.

Good but weird.

'The Natural Born Killer' last fought in August 2016 against Demian Maia, were he lost via first-round rear-naked choke.

Now, he's back to fight Neil Magny (19-6 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who recently lost to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 215. 

A few months ago, Condit said to MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani “That feeling never really left honestly, man.

 “I’m a fighter, this is what I love to do, there’s obviously a lot of different factors that go into making decisions. And as important as what I’m doing with my life and career and all that stuff. I think I wanted to fight, I’ll probably want to fight until the day I’m dead.”





 Whilst it might be worrying to read that Condit wants to fight until the day he dies, the former UFC Welterweight challenger has a steady coffee business that he looks to be putting his money into.

For Magny, he'll no doubt be up for giving Condit his third loss in a row.
PREDICTION: Condit wins via second-round knockout.







 Cynthia Calvillo vs Carla Esparza (Women's Strawweight Bout)

Undefeated Cynthia Calvillo (6-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on Carla Esparza (12-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) in what is a potential Strawweight Championship eliminator.

 Esparza is the favourite, despite not having the best record in the Octagon, but she has the experience over Calvillo but this'll no doubt be a good stand-up fight.


PREDICTION: Esparza wins via unanimous decision.


Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Edson Barboza (Lightweight Bout)

The return of Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the co-main event against Edson Barboza (19-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is one hell of a match up.

Khabib last fought on the historic UFC 205, were he dominated Michael Johnson, but was meant to fight Tony Ferguson at UFC 209 on 4th March and unfortunately pulled out due to a botched weight cut.

Now though, the former World Sambo Champion is back to earn a title shot by going through the Brazilian.

However, Barboza is a stunning striker who holds the record for being the only fighter to win twice via leg kicks and isn't there just to give 'The Eagle' another win.

There is concern over Khabib making weight, but he looks set to make it as his head coach Javier Mendez updated the MMA community on Instagram:


A post shared by Javier Mendez (@akajav) on



If Khabib wins, he'll either have to wait to fight the winner of Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson or he'll fight the aforementioned Ferguson for the interim Championship.

For Barboza, it's a golden opportunity to not only hand Khabib his first ever loss but to shoot up the lightweight division.


PREDICTION: Khabib wins via unanimous decision.




Cris Cyborg (C) vs Holly Holm (For the Women's Featherweight Championship)

In the main event, the monstrous Cris Cyborg (18-1 (1 No Contest) MMA, 3-0 UFC) takes on 'The Preacher's Daughter' Holly Holm (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) for the Women's Featherweight Championship.

Many have backed Holm due to her knocking out the other seeming unstoppable woman of MMA (Ronda Rousey) and they may be on to something, as Conor McGregor's head coach Jon Kavanagh details.





Holly recovered from three losses by hitting a stunning headkick KO on Bethe Correia back in July at UFC Fight Night Singapore and showed that she's still a world class fighter.

Cyborg is notorious for dominating her opponent with vicious and frequent strikes that lead to the stoppage but Holm is a former Kickboxing Champion and won't be taken out early by the former StrikeForce Women's Featherweight Championship.

This fight is certainly the biggest Women's MMA fight since Rousey v Holm, arguably the biggest ever, and it'll hopefully end the year in style for the UFC.

PREDICTION: Holm wins via third-round knockout.










Posted by at No comments:

Sunday 12 November 2017

UFC 217 Review




DISCLAIMER: This article is reviewing one fight from the Fox Sports 1 prelims and all the main card fights ONLY.

UFC 217 is in the books and even a week later, it's still being discussed and reviewed to how the results of it have influenced the MMA world.

With three new champions, and one of them being a returning legend, UFC 217 may well have a case for being the greatest MMA event ever.











Randy Brown defeats Mickey Gall via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28 and 29-27)

Randy Brown (now 10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) won the Dana White Lookin' For a Fight title (not actually a title, Mickey Gall (now 4-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) joked about it before his fight against Sage Northcutt)  by defeating Mickey Gall via unanimous decision in Gall's worst performance in the Octagon.
Paulo Costa defeats Johny Hendricks via second-round knockout (1:23)

Paulo Costa (now 11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) defeated former Welterweight championship challenger Johny Hendricks (now 18-8 MMA, 13-8 UFC) in convincing fashion.

Going into the fight, Hendricks thought he'd missed weight, but did make it, and although this shouldn't be an excuse for Hendricks, who was dominated by his Brazilian opponent, it's quite clear that he's not where he was back in 2013 when he came close to winning the Welterweight title.




Stephen Thompson defeats Jorge Masvidal via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27 and 30-27)

Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson (now 14-2-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC) defeated Jorge Masvidal (now 32-13 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in a good striking fight that saw Thompson regain his momentum after his majority draw and loss fights to Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley. 

Whether he'll get another title shot is up in the air, although there is a young up-and-comer called Darren Till who would love to get into the Octagon with 'Wonderboy'.





Rose Namajunas defeats Joanna Jedrzejczyk via first-round knockout (3:03) to become the new Women's Strawweight Champion
Rose Namajunas (now 14-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) shocked the world by dethroning Joanna Jedrzejczyk (now 7-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) for the Women's Strawweight Championship in just over three minutes.

In the build-up to the fight, Joanna showed her brilliant mental warfare by getting into Rose's face and whispering insults, some of them quite crude, in Polish.

However, Rose stayed calm and collected and went into the fight with a clear plan to shock the world.

A potential rematch could happen but whether Joanna needs to bounce back with a win before getting her rematch.















T.J. Dillashaw defeats Cody Garbrandt via second-round knockout (2:41) to become the new Bantamweight Champion

In a blockbuster co-main event, former team-mates T.J Dillashaw (now 15-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) and Cody Garbrandt (now 11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) went to war over Garbrandt's Bantamweight Championship.

 Many thought Garbrandt would pick up the win, and maybe put the rivalry to bed, but T.J rocked Cody with a left hook and continued to punch him before he was crowned champion.

In his post-fight interview, T.J called out UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson for a super-fight at 125 pounds. If that comes off or not, it looks as if Cody might not be next in line for a title shot.












Georges Saint-Pierre defeats Michael Bisping via third-round rear-naked choke (4:23) to become the new Middleweight Champion

After nearly four years, Georges Saint-Pierre (now 26-2 MMA, 20-2 UFC) returned to the Octagon to beat Michael Bisping (now 30-8 MMA, 20-8 UFC) for the UFC Middleweight Championship and put himself as the greatest martial of all-time, in my opinion at least.

To step away for four years and not only step up a weight class, but to beat the champion in a very good performance is remarkable and could've only been done by a small number of fighters (Anderson Silva, Demetrious Johnson are some names I think could do it).

It also came out after the fight that 'Rush' had an injured neck during his scrap with Bisping, saying on a Thursday media conference call:  'During the fight, I got a very bad inflammation in my neck and I couldn't really move my head much, especially at the end when I cooled down after the fight.

It was terrible. I couldn't even tie up my shoes. It was very bad.'

For Bisping, he's right back into the Octagon against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night Shanghai on 25th November.

For Saint-Pierre, it's in his contract that he'll defend the title against interim UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker, although GSP didn't confirm on the MMAHour that he would in fact face the Australian.

Whoever he faces next, it'll no doubt be the biggest fight possible, with McGregor not around.








 



Posted by at No comments:

Saturday 4 November 2017

UFC 217 Preview



DISCLAIMER: This article is previewing one fight from the Fox Sports 1 Prelims and all the main card fights ONLY.

(C) indicates current champion.

Almost exactly a year since the UFC held it's first-event in New York, UFC 205, Dana White and co return to Madison Square Garden with another outstanding card.

With three title fights, one featuring the return of former UFC Welterweight champion Georges Saint-Pierre, and brilliant match ups from top to bottom, let's preview the UFC's biggest PPV event of 2017.



Randy Brown vs Mickey Gall (Welterweight Bout)

Randy Brown (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will take on Mickey Gall (4-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) on the Fox Sports 1 prelims.

Gall is back 11 months after his last fight, second-round submission victory over Sage Northcutt at UFC ON Fox 22, and has already said he has a name prepared for when he defeats Brown.

Brown will be looking to avoid his second loss in a row but is no doubt aware of Gall's impressive submission skills.


PREDICTION: Gall wins via first-round submission.









Johny Hendricks vs Paulo Borrachinha (Welterweight Bout)
Johny Hendricks ( MMA, UFC) either didn't care or was just horrible at making the 170 pounds mark for Welterweight.

He missed weight for his welterweight fights against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 200, Neil Magny at UFC 207, both of which he lost.

Hendricks then moved up to Middleweight to face Tim Boetsch at UFC Fight Night 112... but he AGAIN missed weight.

He now faces Paulo Borrachinha (10-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and will be looking to getting his career back on track.


 PREDICTION: Borrachinha via unanimous decision.








Stephenson Thompson vs Jorge Masvidal (Welterweight Bout)

This fight promises to be a striking slug-fest, with Stephen Thompson (13-2-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC) looking to bounce back from his majority decision loss to UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 209.

His opponent, Jorge Masvidal (32-12 MMA, 9-5 UFC), is also looking to bounce back from his split decision loss to Demain Maia at UFC 211 and will be out in dispatch Thompson via a stunning knockout or submission.

However, 'Wonderboy' has shown that he's extremely tough to put away, adding to this blockbuster welterweight encounter.


PREDICTION: Thompson wins via third-round knockout.



Joanna Jedrzejczyk (C) vs Rose Namajunas (For the Women's Strawweight Championship)

Joanna Jedrzejcyk (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) is looking to make history and tie former UFC's Bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey's title defences (6) when she faces Rose Namajunas (6-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) in the first of the three title fights on the main card.

The build-up to this fight has seen Joanna impose her mental warfare on Rose, whilst the latter has just soaked it up and let the champion try to get into her head.

The odds aren't in Rose's favour, as Joanna has ran through all her opponents with ease, but there's something about Rose's cold persona that many think that a huge upset is on the cards if Rose is at the top of her game.


PREDICTION: Joanna wins via fourth-round knockout.


Cody Garbrandt (C) vs T.J Dillashaw (For the Bantamweight Championship)

As UFC Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier said in his preview for Fox Sports, this is a true grudge match.

Former UFC Bantamweight champion T.J Dillashaw (14-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) left UFC Hall of Famer Urjah Faber's Team Alpha Male to, in his view, advance his skills as an MMA fighter.

Former team-mate and current UFC Bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt (11-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) still has issue with T.J over his exit from Alpha Male and how he always lies.
This boiled over on this year's Ultimate Fighter.




Garbrandt then added to the already boiling bad blood when he released an Instagram video on Wednesday of him knocking T.J out in training.



It promises to be a hell of a fight with both very much looking forward to knocking seven bells out of each other.
PREDICTION: Garbrandt via unanimous decision.


A post shared by ufc (@ufc) on




Michael Bisping (C) vs Georges Saint-Pierre (For the Middleweight Championship)

After nearly four years since he stepped away from the octagon and vacated his Welterweight Championship, which he had defended nine times, Georges Saint-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) will face Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) for the Middleweight Championship.




GSP has the opportunity to become only the fourth man in UFC history to win titles in two different weight divisions (after BJ Penn, Randy Courte and UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor) but will face a tough fight in not only stepping up a weight class, but facing Michael Bisping, who himself is out to solidify himself as one of the greatest MMA fighters ever.

All eyes will no doubt be on GSP after four years, to see how he copes with being back in the octagon and wheter he can keep with the sport he left at his peak.

For Bisping, this is the chance to silence all critics by adding to his list of defeating legends such as Luke Rockhold, Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson.

Whatever happens, it'll no doubt be a fight that will go down in UFC history for many reasons.


PREDICTION: Bisping wins via third-round knockout.






Posted by at No comments:

Monday 23 October 2017

Everton: So Far Away From Being The Almost Club



At the end of the 2013/14 season, then Everton manager Roberto Martinez guided the Toffees to fifth in the Premier League, their highest finish since 2005.



Since then it's been a slow fall from being the 'almost club' of England's top flight, the team that came close to breaking the lauded top four (a.k.a Champions League qualification places).

The Blues only stayed up the following season due to a resurgence of form, mainly down to then record signing Romelu Lukaku, that saw them beat Newcastle, Southampton, Burnley and Manchester United in a thrilling 3-0 win at Goodison Park.




Roberto Martinez was then sacked in May 2016 after a poor campaign that saw him pick up just one win in 10 matches in all competitions.




Ronald Koeman was then chosen to get Everton back in the quest for European Football, specifically the Champions League.

Despite finishing seventh, Europa League Football was secured via the play-offs and Koeman was set to have a summer of splashing the cash, thanks to British investor Farhad Moshiri buying a 49.9% stake in the club for £200 million.





Everton then went on to spend the most money you'd spent in one transfer window, spending £158.5 million on the following players:

- Michael Keane (£30 million)

- Jordan Pickford (£30 million)

- Wayne Rooney (£10 million)

- Sandro Ramirez (£5.5 million)

- Davy Klaassen (£24 million)

- Nikola Vlasic (£7 million)

- Henry Onyekuru (£7 million)

- Gylfi Sigurdsson (£45 million)

- Cuco Martina (Free)


They also notably sold Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United for £75 million plus add-ons.




By this notion, you'd have thought Koeman would have replaced his best player.

Yes, he'd signed Wayne Rooney in a great nostalgia moment for the club, as the boy had finally come home after years of winning trophies elsewhere, but Rooney hadn't played as a striker for a number of seasons at United so surely Koeman knew he had to get a striker that could easily play 90 minutes.

However, this didn't happen.




Forward fast to now and Everton are currently 18th in the Premier League, having played nine games of which they've win two, drew four and lost five.

They're also bottom of their Europa League group after playing three games, losing away to Atlanta, drawing at home to Apollo Limassol and losing to Lyon on Thursday.

On Monday, the day after losing to Arsenal 5-2 at Goodison Park, Everton then announced that they had sacked Koeman after 16 months in charge.





So, aside from not buying a striker, has lead to this awful form?

Firstly, Koeman doesn't start players with pace, such as Kevin Mirallas and Ademola Lookman. Instead, midfielders such as Sigurdsson and Tom Davies are expected to not only win the ball on the wing but run towards goal with the pace of a winger.

Secondly, Leighton Baines has slowed down significantly in the last two seasons and his replacement, Luke Garbutt, has been assigned to the reserves and not included in the first team.

Third and finally, Rooney has been a burden for the team.

Yes, it's nice to see Rooney back at Goodison, especially for myself having never seen him play in his two years before leaving for Old Trafford, but as mentioned above Rooney is a throwback that has unfortunately come back at a time when Everton needed someone coming into their prime, not a player who is coming to the end of his career.








For Everton, the priority is to steady the ship, whether that be Under-23s coach David Unsworth or another manager.

Fans can argue till the cows come home at how and why Koeman didn't buy a striker, weather he was held back by Director of Football Steve Walsh or the fact that they weren't in the Champions League, but the main focus should be getting the club has far away from the relegation zone as possible.
 




As the Koeman era ends, it's painfully obviously for the Everton faithful that they're nowhere near where they thought they'd be at this point of the season (knocking on the door of the top four).

With the right personnel up front and in the dugout, the season could be turned around, which it drastically needs, and Everton will start again.

That is if the current rut stops.







Posted by at No comments:

Sunday 8 October 2017

UFC 216 Review



DISCLAIMER: This article is reviewing two of the main card fights ONLY.


UFC 216 is over and it was an interesting card.

From Fabricio Werdum vs Derrick Lewis being cancelled due to the latter not being able to move from his bed to Demetrious Johnson making history, and a new interim Lightweight champion being crowned in the main event, the first major event in Las Vegas since the shooting last Sunday was certainly a great night all around.

Demetrious Johnson defeats Ray Borg via fifth-round armbar (3:15) to retain the Flyweight Champion

Demetrious Johnson (now 27-2-1 MMA, 15-1-1 UFC) defeated Ray Borg (now 11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) with a spectacular armbar to break Anderson Silva's record and become the man with the most UFC title defences in history (11).


With this submission, many have changed their opinion on 'Mighty Mouse' from fighting nobodies to controlling every fight he's in.








Ray Borg deserves for lasting so long with Johnson but it was ultimately too much for Borg as his post fight tweet shows.


Whether Johnson will move up or defend his title again is up to the man himself but whatever he decides, he deserves to be in the conversation of the greatest MMA fighter of all time.



Tony Ferguson defeats Kevin Lee via third-round triangle choke (4:02) to become the new Interim Lightweight Champion

 Tony Ferguson (now 23-3 MMA, 13-1 UFC) defeated Kevin Lee (now 16-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) with a wicked triangle choke to become the new, and first-ever interim Lightweight champion.

 Like with Ray Borg, it seemed that Lee wasn't on the level on his opponent and whilst he did hold his own for a while, Ferguson was too sharp for Lee, who did a brutal weight cut from 174 pounds to 154.5 in just over 22 hours.

After the fight, Ferguson called out Lightweight champion Conor McGregor and repeated a statement he has stuck to since the Irishman won the belt last November at UFC 205: defend or vacate.

No doubt McGregor will be looking at a unification bout with Ferguson for his next fight, especially as he still has the Diaz trilogy fight in his back pocket.








Posted by at No comments:

UFC 216 Preview



DISCLAIMER: This article is covering three fights from the main card ONLY.

(C) indicates current champion.


UFC 216 is coming from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on the 7th of October and is set to be a night of explosive action.

Not only will Demetrious Johnson have the chance to make history and break the record for UFC title defenses, currently tied with Anderson Silva on 10, but the card also features a battle between two of the lightweight's hardest hitters, Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee, for the chance to become the interim lightweight champion and a potential fight with lightweight champion Conor McGregor in the future.
Demetrious Johnson (C) vs Roy Borg (For the Flyweight Championship)

Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) is on the verge of history.

The flyweight champion will be looking to be beat Anderson Silva's 10 title defences (Middleweight) when he meets Ray Borg (11-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC 216.

Originally booked for UFC 215, and cancelled after Borg missed weight, these two finally square in a fight that will define both men's careers.

Borg seems to be the underdog going into the contest, due to the quality of opponents he's faced and the fact he's not got a finish since February 2015, but he'll give Johnson a tough fight, especially on the ground, but I'm confident that Johnson will win and go on to have the most title defences in UFC history.
PREDICTION: Johnson wins via third round knockout.











Tony Ferguson vs Kevin Lee (For the Interim Lightweight Championship)

In the main event of UFC 216, top Lightweights Tony Ferguson ( MMA, UFC) and Kevin Lee ( MMA, UFC) will fight for the interim Lightweight title.

This fight has come around as the UFC Lightweight champion, Conor McGregor. took time off to prepare for his first professional Boxing match against Floyd Mayweather Jr and thus Dana and co needed to book an interim title fight.

One was booked at UFC 209 between Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov but was cancelled when Khabib was rushed to hospital in the morning of the weigh-in.

Khabib wasn't ready to come back so the UFC booked up-and-coming Kevin Lee to face Ferguson.

Lee has had problems leading up to this fight, with controversy surrounding his rear-naked choke win over Michael Chiesa, but also with his weigh cut in which he attempted to cut 19 pounds in just 21 hours.
He then weighed in an hour later weighing 154.5 pounds.


Whether Lee deserves to be in the interim title fight is up for discussion but for me this is Ferguson's time to win the title his current nine fight win streak seems to demand and potentially put himself in contention to face Conor McGregor.


PREDICTION: Ferguson wins via second-round submission.






Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)