Sunday 14 May 2017

UFC 211 Review



UFC 211 was tipped to be the super-card of the 2017 so far... and it delivered.

Filled with controversy, split decisions and stunning knockouts, UFC 211 was a Pay-Per-View that delivered for the fans and the UFC.




 Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier ends in a no-contest as referee Herb Dean deems illegal knees were thrown by Alvarez

In the final fights of the FX Prelims, Eddie Alvarez (now 28-5 (1 No Contest) MMA, 3-2 (1 No Contest) UFC) and Dustin Poirier (now 21-5 (1 No Contest) MMA, 13-4 (1 No Contest) UFC) were having a slug-fest when referee Herb Dean stopped the contest after Alvarez delivered illegal knees to Poirier, after the latter had his hand on the mat.

The fight was then ruled a no contest.



There was so confusion and anger as to why there is still different rules from state to state and that the unified rules should be unified across all 50 states and beyond.







Frankie Edgar defeats Yair Rodriguez via second-round doctor stoppage

Frankie Edgar (now 22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) defeated Yair Rodriguez (now 10-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) to put himself in the conversation to face the winner of Jose Aldo (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) vs Max Holloway (17-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) at UFC 212.

Before the fight, Edgar said that Rodriguez's push was pre-mature and that he would stop him in his tracks.

He did just this, striking the Mexican to the point of a doctor stoppage in the second round.

Whilst Edgar will be hoping for Holloway to beat Aldo in Brazil, it will be very interesting to see if Dana and co book Aldo vs Edgar 3 as the current UFC Featherweight champ has beaten Edgar in their last two meetings.



Damien Maia defeats Jorge Masvidal via split decision (29-28, 28-29 and 29-28)

Damien Maia (now 25-6 MMA, 19-6 UFC) beat Jorge Masvidal via split decision to earn himself a Welterweight title shot against champion Tyron Woodley (17-3-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC).

Maia fended off the take-downs of Masvidal and got the decision needed to get his seventh straight win inside the Octagon.

When that'll be exactly is if for debate but what isn't is that he deserves to step inside the Octagon with Tyron Woodley.








Joanna Jedrzejczyk defeats Jessica Andrade via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-44 and 50-45) to retain her Women's Strawweight Championship

Joanna Jedrzjczyk (now 14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) beat Jessica Andrade (now 16-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) via unanimous decision to search her title defences to five, one away from tying Ronda Rousey's (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) record set when she defended the Women's Bantamweight Championship.

The Pole improved in her striking against her Brazilian opponent, leading to her landing the most strikes in a championship fight, breaking her own record of 170 strikes by landing 225 strikes.

She's now worthy of being in the discussion of the greatest female MMA fighters of all-time and is one hell of a roll at 115 pounds.






Stipe Miocic defeats Junior Dos Santos via first-round knockout to retain his Heavyweight Championship

 Stipe Miocic (now 17-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) defeated Junior Dos Santos (now 18-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) to retain his Heavyweight title and tie the record for heavyweight title defences.

It was different from their five-round slug-fest from back in December 2015, which Dos Santos won by decision, as Miocic boxed Dos Santos in with close-range strikes to avenge his most recent loss.

After the fight, Miocic said "I'm the Best (Heavyweight) in the World" and after this performance it's extremely hard to argue with.




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Saturday 13 May 2017

UFC 211 Preview



DISCLAIMER: This article is previewing one fight from the prelims and the main card.

(C) indicates current Champion.


UFC 211 takes place at the United Airlines Centre in Dallas, Texas, on May 13th and is an absolute blockbuster of a card, with two title fights for the co main and main event.

Here's my preview of what could be the most stacked UFC card of 2017.


Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier (Prelim Lightweight Bout)

It's been a strange 10 months for Eddie Alvarez (28-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC).

He captured the Lightweight title from then champ Raphael Dos Anjos on July 7th via first-round TKO (punches) and was subsequently put in the main event of the biggest UFC show of all-time, at UFC 205 on November 12th, against then Featherweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC).

Unfortunately, the former Bellator Lightweight champion was beaten in convincing fashion by McGregor and has found himself on the prelims of UFC 211, to be aired on FX.

Actually, Alvarez is fine being on the prelims and understands that it will bring more eyes to the card if the former lightweight champion isn't actually on the pay-per-view itself.

He faces Dustin Poirier ( MMA, UFC), who is coming off a majority decision victory over Jim Miller ( MMA, UFC) at UFC 208.

Whilst, Poirier has come off a decent win, both will want to get a convincing win to kick off 2017 and move up the rankings.


 PREDICTION: Alvarez wins via second-round knockout.


Henry Cejudo vs Sergio Pettis (Flyweight Bout)

Since his return to flyweight at UFC 185, at which he lost to Ryan Benoit (9-5 MMA, 2-3 UFC), Sergio Pettis (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) has had a good three-fight winning streak, picking up unanimous decision wins over Chris Cariaso (17-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC), Chris Kelades (9-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) and John Moraga (16-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) at UFC 192, 197 and Fight Night: Rodriguez vs Penn respectively.

His opponent however, Henry Cejudo (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) is coming off of two back-to-back losses, one at UFC 197 to dominate flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson (26-2-1 MMA, 14-1-1 UFC) and his most recent fight, which he lost via split decision, against Joseph Benavidez (25-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) were Cejudo was deduced points for repeated low blows.

Again, it's a fight were both are out to prove themselves, Pettis out to continue his winning streak and Cejudo to get back on track in the flyweight division.


 PREDICTION: Pettis wins via unanimous decision.


Frankie Edgar vs Yair Rodriguez (Featherweight Bout)

Frankie Edgar (21-5-1 MMA, 15-5-1 UFC) has always seemed as the nearly man of the Featherweight division.

On two occasions, at UFC 156 and 200, Edgar was beaten by current Featherweight champion Jose Aldo ( MMA, UFC) for the Featherweight title (at 156) and for the Lightweight title (at 200).

Whilst his unanimous decision victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 205 will have boosted his standing in the division, he faces one of his toughest tests in the form of Yair Rodriguez (10-1 MMA, 6-0 UFC), who is undefeated in the Octagon thus far.

 Rodriguez, who destroyed UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn (16-11-2 MMA, 12-10-2 UFC) in his last fight, will be looking to get his name in the mind of UFC President Dana White by defeating a former number one contender in the form of Edgar and get a future title fight against the winner of Aldo vs Holloway.
PREDICTION: Rodriguez wins via third-round knockout.



Demian Maia vs Jorge Masvidal (Welterweight Bout)

 Two fine fighters that both have one goal in mind, Tyron Woodley's ( 17-3-1 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) Welterweight title.

In what is essentially a number 1 contender eliminator fight, both are coming off the back of two impressive runs in the Octagon, with Maia (24-6 MMA, 18-6 UFC) currently on a six-fight winning streak that includes three rear-naked choke wins over Neil Magny (19-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC), Matt Brown (20-16 MMA, 13-10 UFC) and Carlos Condit (30-10 MMA, 7- 6 UFC).

 When looking at how the fight will go, it comes down to if Maia gets Masvidal to the ground or whether Masvidal can utilise his striking power that saw him knockout Donald Cerrone (32-8 (1 No Contest) MMA, 9-5 UFC).

It's no wonder Woodley was looking for a big money opponent (Nate Diaz (19-11 MMA, 14-9 UFC) Middleweight champion Michael Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) and Lightweight champion Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC were mentioned after his split decision victory over Stephen Thompson ( MMA, UFC) at UFC 209, as he's got one hell of a task in defending his belt against one of these two fierce welterweights.


PREDICTION: Maia wins via second-round rear-naked choke.


Joanna Jedrzejczyk (C) vs Jessica Andrade (For the Women's Strawweight Championship)

Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is arguably the best female fighter in MMA today.

Since arriving in the UFC back in July 2014, the Pole has dominated the Strawweight division and has surprisingly become the most famous women's fighter since the fall of Ronda Rousey (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

Her next opponent, Jessica Andrade (16-5 MMA, 7-2 UFC), has a solid record inside the Octagon, with a number of submission wins (such as rear-naked chokes and guillotine choke).

Again it's another striking versus wrestling/submission based match-up and whilst Andrade looks to be the champion's toughest challenge yet, I see Joanna besting Andrade in the clinch, leading to a knockout.
PREDICTION: Jedrzejczyk via second-round knockout.



Stipe Miocic (C) vs Junior dos Santos (For the Heavyweight Championship)

 Back in December 2014, at UFC on FOX, Stipe Mioic (16-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) and Junior Dos Santos (18-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) had an absolute blockbuster Heavyweight fight.



Dos Santos won via unanimous decision but since then Miocic has gone on a four-fight winning streak, winning the Heavyweight title in the third fight via first-round knockout against Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1 MMA, 9-3 UFC) at UFC 198 364 days ago.

Now, after Dos Santos lost to Alistair Overeem (42-15 (1 No Contest MMA, 7-4 UFC) and beat Ben Rothwell (36-10 MMA, 6-4 UFC), the two meet again with Miocic as the champion.

Although he may have lost their first meeting, Miocic says that he learnt that he belonged in the Octagon with a former Heavyweight champion.

When it comes to this fight, it seems unlucky that it will go the distance like it did last time (due to them having fought five rounds previously and both looks for a convincing knockout).

No matter what happens, it's sure to be a blockbuster main event.


PREDICTION: Miocic wins via third-round knockout.




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