DISCLAIMER: This article is reviewing the co main and main event ONLY.
UFC 212 had two blockbuster fights that would determine the future of their divisions (the Women's Strawweight and the Men's Featherweight divisions respectively) and in the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the courses of both divisions were dramatically changed.
Claudia Gadelha defeats Karolina Kowalkiewicz via first-round rear-naked choke
Claudia Gadelha (now 15-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) swiftly defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz (now 10-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) via first-round rear-naked choke to stake her claim for a third fight with UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC).
Going into the fight, I, like many others, said that Gadelha's main form of offensive would come in the form of wrestling and unfortunately for Karolina, the Pole was taken to the ground by the Brazilian and eventually forced to tap.
One woman goes to the first of the line for a title shot and the other goes to the back of the line after suffered back-to-back losses.
Max Holloway defeats Jose Aldo via third-round knockout to become the undisputed UFC Featherweight Champion
There is a new king of the 145 pound division.
In Jose Aldo's (now 26-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) hometown of Rio de Janerio, Max Holloway (now 18-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) did what he said he'd do in the build-up and knocked out the best featherweight fighter in MMA history in the third round (which I successfully predicted!).
It was a strange performance by Aldo, who didn't go for any takedowns at all throughout the fight, and looked to be slightly gassed when the third round came around.
Holloway took full advantage and ground and pounded the Brazilian until referee John McCarthy stopped the fight, thus ushering in the new featherweight blood to not only regain the undisputed 145 title but to strech his winning streak to 11.
The next big fight in the division looks to be Holloway against Frankie Edgar (22-5-1 MMA, 16-5-1 UFC) whilst Aldo will look to take some time off before he thinks of his next fight.
Max to Dana: You told me this is big game hunting. Bring in big game, get the big paychecks. It's time to have that talk. I wanna get paid.
DISCLAIMER: This article will be reviewing the co-main and main event ONLY.
C indicates Current Champion.
IC indicates Interim Champion.
UFC 212 comes from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. and features two intriguing fights, one between former Women's Strawweight title contender Karolina Kowaliewicz and Clauida Gadelha and the other being the blockbuster Featherweight champion vs champion fight between the king of the Featherweight division, Jose Aldo, and the new blood of the division, Max Holloway.
The card did suffer a big loss when former Ultimate Fighter winner Kevin Gastelum was pulled from his scheduled Middleweight fight with Anderson Silva due to being flagged by the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency) for a failed drug test, which turned out to be for Carboxy-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC), which is a metabolite of marijuana.
Former StrikeForce and UFC Middleweight champion Luke Rockhold accepted the chance to fight Silva in Gastelum's place but Silva rejected the fight, saying it didn't make sense with the former champ coming off a loss (at UFC 199 to current Middleweight champ Michael Bisping).
Silva then wanted Nick Diaz or Uriah Faber but stating that he would retire if he didn't get an interim title fight against Yoel Romero.
After a short period of time, the UFC and Silva agreed that he wouldn't fight at UFC 212.
Anyway, the card is now in shape and looks to end with the crowning of one undisputed king of 145.
Cláudia Gadelha vs Karolina Kowaliewicz (Women's Strawweight Bout)
In Madison Square Garden, New York, at UFC 205, Karolina Kowaliewicz (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) fought Strawweight champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0 MMA, 8 UFC) in a slug-fest that identified that whilst Karolina is a good fighter, she's not a top-level fighter like Jedrzejczyk.
So begins the route back to the title and the first roadblock comes in the form of Claudia Gadelha (14-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC).
Gadelha has also faced Jedrzejczyk, back in December 2014 at UFC on Fox 13, and again as the decider of The Ultimate Fighter 23 in July 2015.
Both losses came via decision, split and unanimous respectively.
It seems to be a title eliminator and the main battle going in is Gadelha's raw wrestling against Karolina's fast striking.
The key for Gadelha is to land quick takedowns and move swiftly into one of a number of possible submissions, whilst the key for Karolina is to knockout Gadelha before she lands any takedowns.
This is all easy to say however as the fight will be a lot closer than just closing out the opponent's main form of offense.
Regardless, it'll be a fight worth watching, especially if you're Joanna Jedrejczyk.
PREDICTION: Gadelha wins via second round knockout.
Jose Aldo (C) vs Max Holloway (IC) (Fight To Unify The Interim Featherweight and Featherweight Championships)
Here it is.
In Jose Aldo's (26-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) hometown of Rio de Janeiro, the undisputed king of the Featherweight division will be crowned when the Brazilian faces interim champion Max Holloway (17-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) in the main event.
It's arguably the biggest Featherweight fight in UFC history, even bigger than Aldo vs McGregor, and I agree with this as it's a battle between the old guard of the division (in the form of Aldo and his eight fight defence of the title) and the new young blood of the division (in the form of Holloway's ten fight unbeaten streak) and will shape the 145 division for the foreseeable future. As stated above, Holloway is on a roll in the Octagon, developing a unique style that has a kickboxing background that features spinning backhands and flash body kicks. Whether he's able to cope with Aldo's explosive jabs and savage legkicks is one of the very intriguing focus areas going into this fight.
I seems to me that Aldo will be looking to end the fight early with a stunning knockout of his Hawaiian opponent, fighting at home and all, but I see Holloway sticking out the early punishment dished out by Aldo and, to the shock of the Rio audience, knocking out Jose Aldo for only the second time in his career.
It may seem unlikely but as people say anything can happen in MMA and it could very well be Holloway's time, with the man himself saying: "Kings go to other king's villages and take everything they own." PREDICTION: Holloway wins via third-round knockout.
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.
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.
The unified rules need to be unified again. This is an awful way for a great fight to end.
— Mike Chiappetta MMA (@MikeChiappetta) May 14, 2017
According to his team, @DustinPoirier will be appealing yesterday's NC contest ruling w/ the TX commission. They believe it should be a DQ.
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.
Maia confirms White said he got the title shot. Well done. Would have been an absolute travesty if he didn't get it after 7 straight wins.
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.
That is one ferocious female fighter.
Lethal with every limb, and from every angle.
A truly amazing fighter.
Congrats @joannamma!
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.
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.
DISCLAIMER: This article is reviewing the main event ONLY.
Anthony Joshua defeated Wladimir Klitschko via 11th round knockout to retain his IBF Heavyweight title and win the vacant IBO and WBA titles.
The fight was one of the greatest Heavyweight bouts of all-time, with Klitschko coming out and surpursing Joshua with a combination of quick jabs and hard uppercuts.
The fifth round came and providing one of the most intense rounds in Boxing.
Joshua dropped Klitschko with a flurry of punches and it looked as if the Urkian was done for.
However, the former multi-time Heavyweight champion rallied in the sixth round and delivered a stunning overhand right to down Joshua for the first-time in his career.
The Briton answered the count at eight and came back to knockout Klitschko with a vicious uppercut in the 11th round.
After the fight, Joshua said to BBC Radio 5 Live "I knew it was possible to hurt him, but I am learning round by round. I'm learning under the bright lights. I don't come to box, I come to hurt people. With all due respect, I came to hurt him. "At the end of the day, I figured out what I had to do and got him done. I'm coming back to Wembley. I'll look forward to seeing you here again. "There's been many a time in training when we go into the 11th round and I'm tired but I know I have to keep it up because I have to go the distance. I showed tonight that fights are won in the gym. It gets tough and boxing isn't easy. You have to have the whole package."
Joshua also called out suspended Tyson Fury post-fight for a potential British Heavyweight clash and the out-spoken 'Gyspey King' responded on Twitter.
It's been oddly refreshing to have a fight not being swamped by heated verbal exchanges and press-conferences turning into a scene from a nightclub in the early hours of the morning.
This respectful but focused atmosphere around the build-up added to the best fight of the year so far and it will take something truly spectacular to top it.
DISCLAIMER: This article is previewing the main event ONLY.
The Biggest Heavyweight fight in recent memory is here.
IBF Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua takes on former WBA, IBF and WBO Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko for Joshua's IBF title, as well as the vacant IBO and WBA Heavyweight titles, in front of a sold-out 90,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium.
Being announced in the immediate aftermath of Joshua's third-round knockout win over Eric Molina back in December 2016, and Tyson Fury being stripped of his WBA, WBO and IBO titles two months prior, this fight has been billed as Joshua's potential launch as the greatest Heavyweight fighter of this generation and Klitschko's potential launch back as the master of the Heavyweight division.
So, without farther ado, let's preview the fight.
Tale of The Tape Name: Anthony Joshua Age: 27 (D.O.B 15 October 1989) Height: 6 foot 6 inches (198 cm) Reach: 82 inches (208 cm) Professional Boxing Record: 18 Wins (18 via KO) Name: Wladimir Klitschko Age: 41(D.O.B 25 March 1976) Height: 6 foot 6 inches (1.98 cm) Reach: 81 inches (206 cm) Professional Boxing Record: 64 Wins (53 via KO), 4 Losses Coming into the fight, it's clear that both men respect each other and know they have an extremely tough fight on their hands.
Joshua said "I will always stand up to the competition," said Joshua. "There is no fear at all which trembles through the body. "You can talk about experience but even when I faced guys with less experience I took them as world championship fights. I have prepared since day one for this. April 29 is just another stepping stone towards greatness." Klitschko said in the build-up that he was obsessed with becoming the winner of his upcoming fight. Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn commented on rival American TV stations Showtime and HBO coming together to broadcast the fight and that the Urkian is his client's toughest test yet.
"Only twice before have they done it - Lennox Lewis versus Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao," said Hearn.
"He has the ultimate test," added Hearn. "A test which should come maybe after 27 or 28 fights. Why risk it now? He wants to challenge himself. Is he the guy everyone talks about as the future of boxing?"
The major point ahead of the fight is whether or not Kiltschko will be able to cope with Joshua in the first six or seven rounds. The Urkian has the experience and knowledge ahead of his young opponent but it only takes one uppercut or right hand to floor even the greatest of the fighters.
PREDICTION: I predict that Kiltschko will win via ninth round knockout.
I know that this prediction is left-field from the majority but I just think Kiltschko has too much experience for Joshua and will overcome the early rounds that Joshua is aiming for.
DISCLAIMER: All stats accurate at time of publishing.
The 2016/17 Premier League season is, sadly, coming to a close.
We've seen the champions (Leicester) fall from grace, Manchester United cling onto sixth with the most pointless winning streak in Premier League history and Chelsea regain their place among the league's elite.
Around this time of the year, players are nominated for the Player of the Year award, Young Player of the Year award and the prestigious Team of the Year, which was announced on Thursday.
With this in mind, I will be putting together my Team of the Year.
The official PFA Team of the Year.
Before this though, I'm going to detail my picks for Young Player and Player of the Year.
PFA Young Player of The Year Nominees: Dele Alli (Tottenham),Harry Kane (Tottenham),Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Michael Keane (Burnley),Jordan Pickford (Sunderland) and Leroy Sane (Manchester City).
My Pick: Romelu Lukaku.
As of writing, Lukaku is the Premier League top goalscorer, with 24 Premier League goals.
Romelu Lukaku at Goodison Park in 2017 across all competitions:
Whilst his goalscoring have captured the headlines and linked him to Bayern Munich, Borrusia Dortmund, Chelsea and many others, it's not just him finding the back of the net that should land him the PFA Young Player of the Year.
He's a completely different player from 12 months ago and has massively improved his link-up play to double up as a target-man as well as the marksman that he's renowned for being.
Many will say that he's not a complete striker and whilst I agree with this, he's definitely the most improved striker in the league and if he is going to be moving on from the Premier League this summer should be given an award for his improvement over the past season and how crazy it is that he's become Everton's top goalscorer in the Premier League a few months before his 24th Birthday.
Romelu Lukaku has now scored as many Premier League goals (84) as Cristiano Ronaldo. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rDLN4Lxgci
PFA Player of The Year Nominees: Eden Hazard (Chelsea), N'Golo Kante (Chelsea), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal). Harry Kane (Tottenham) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United).
My Picks: N'Golo Kante.
N'Golo Kante has been the absolute rock of the past year and a half.
From winning the league last season with Leicester, which still baffles me almost a year later, the Frenchman has gone from an under-the-radar signing by then Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri to the best defensive midfielder in the league.
When trying to sum up how good Kante is, without referencing a meme or bombarding you with stats, the best way I can summarise it is that Leicester plummeted it after he moved to Chelsea for £30 million.
In an age when defending is sort of dying in Football, Kante has single-handily reminded everyone how important a defensive midfielder can be in a team's overall performance.
He deserves to be the PFA Player of The Year due to his insane consistency for both Leicester and Chelsea over the past two seasons. He's the backbone of Chelsea's midfield and I'm sure I'm not the only one that wished they had Kante at their club.
PFA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper: Tom Heaton (Burnley)
Burnley have had a good season and a major reason for this is Tom Heaton.
The England international has made 125 saves in a season in which Burnley have solidified themselves as a mid-table Premier League team. He's also a well-rounded keeper and deserves to be included ahead of rivals such as Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois and Manchester United's David De Gea.
Right-Back: Seamus Coleman(Everton) The Everton defender has been vital in Ronald Koeman’s first season at Goodison Park, constantly getting forward and making solid tackles, and whilst he won’t play the start of next season in August (due to his leg break that he suffered back in March), there’s no doubt that he’s been quality this season.
Centre-Back: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham) This season hasn’t really seen many top defensive performances, as counter-attacking and fast-paced Football, but Toby Alderweireld has been solid at the back of the best team in the league, in my opinion at least. Though he may not be the most prominent name when thinking about the Team of the Year.
Centre-Back: Michael Keane (Burnley)
A second Burnley player in my Team of the Year. Didn’t think I’d be writing that back in August.
Michael Keane is a promising young defender who does the basics right and has the potential to become a top-class overall defender and despite not being the most dominate figure this season, with David Luiz and Gary Cahill being preferred in the official team of the year, he’s my pick for centre-back of the season.
Left-Back: Marco Alonso(Chelsea)
Earlier in the season, Nathan Ake played really well for Bournemouth early into his loan spell from Chelsea.
So well that Antonio Conte recalled Ake from his loan spell.
Then Marco Alonso turned up.
The Spanardiard suddenly became the best left-back in the league, bombing forward with precision and became the catalyst for Conte’s 3-4-3 formation. His importance was proven by his absence in Chelsea’s 2-0 away loss to Manchester United and it’s slightly baffling how Rose was selected ahead of him.
Right-Winger: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Liverpool have had a good first season under Jurgen Klopp, despite where they finish, and a big part of this has been down to Sadio Mane.
Whilst the Merseyside club do have Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, the Senegal international has been instrumental for Liverpool this season and made an average side look brilliant at certain points of the season. Despite not been ruled for the season after sustaining a knee injury in the Merseyside Derby, Mane has been class.
Midfielder: Dele Alli(Tottenham)
Pre-November, Dele Alli wasn’t great.
Post-November, Dele Alli has been amazing.
The England international went on a fantastic run of form, including three braces in a row against Southampton, Watford and Chelsea. He’s currently scored 16 league goals and if he had been on top form from mid-August, there’s no doubt he would have been my choice for Player of the Year.
Midfielder: N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)
I've already mentioned Kante once in this article so I'll keep it short and sweet: Best defensive midfielder in the league (and maybe the World?...) and should win Player of the Year.
Left-Wing: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Hazard had a shocking season last year. It was so bad that his only memorable moment was equalising against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge around this time last year to win the league... for Leicester.
Anyway, the Belgian has drastically returned to form this year and currently has 14 league goals and five assists.
He might not be favourite to win Player of the Year but he's definitely improved under Conte and will be a force to be reckoned with next season.
Striker: Romelu Lukaku (Everton)
Like with Kante, I've already mentioned Lukaku once before in this article so again I'll keep it short and sweet: Most clinical finisher in the league and will most likely move away from the Premier League in the summer.
Striker: Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Harry Kane was dubbed a one season wonder by many fans.
Yet three seasons, Kane is still on banging with 20 league goals as of writing.
The England international has blossomed as Spurs' focal point and has proven he can score any type of goal to make him arguably the best striker in the league.
Game on game, Kane looks to have grown even more intelligent with his passing and shooting in order to get the most out of every attacking opportunity.
It's likely that he'd be top goalscorer in the league if it wasn't for a recent foot injury but Kane has undoubtedly had a remarkable season in cementing Tottenham among the top two teams in the country,
