Breakdown: Bellator 150

Breakdown: Bellator 150

 

            Marcos Galvao was forced out of his title defense fight, at Belator 150, against Eduardo Dantas due to illness. The February 26^th event, at Kansas State Arena in Mulvane, Kansas, will now be headlined by Heavyweights: 23-10 Cheick Kongo takes on 8-3 Vinicius Kappke De Queiroz.

The Forty year old Kongo is in his eighth fight with Bellator, his record with the organization is 5-2, two of those victories by TKO and one via submission. The Parisian won his last fight, June 26^th 2015 by Unanimous Decision, versus Alexander Volkov. At 6’4” Kongo will still be looking up to the 6’7” Brazilian.

De Queiroz has finished each of his eight wins, six by KO/TKO. “Spartan” is on a two fight win streak, including a 0:23 KO of Lavar Johnson (10/4/13) and a second round (4:00) arm triangle submission of Ewerton Teixeira in September.

Lightweight Action

            David “The Caveman” Rickels will be competing at his sixteenth Bellator event 10-4-1. The Lightweight was winless in 2015: an accidental knee to a downed John Alesseio resulted in a No Contest in June and he was TKO’d by Michael Chandler in the second round (3:05) in November. He takes on 12-5 Bobby “Super Duper” Cooper. Cooper won his last fight with Pablo Villaseca by Split Decision 6/26/15. “Super Duper” is 8-5 in fights that go to decision, he also has 3 subs and 1 KO.

22 Wins by Submission Combined

          Kendall Grove is 6’6”. Tall for the Middleweight division. He has an 80” reach. You might think more than six of his 22 wins have come by KO/TKO, but the Hawaiian has ten wins by sub. Grove is a veteran fighter, he won The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 as a MW. Grove is 4-2 in his last six with two TKOs and a Sub. Last fight he ended Joey Beltran’s night in the third round (2:27) by TKO 9/25/15. He takes on 13-3 Francisco “Kiko” France.

France is unbeaten since 2011. Only a single win has made it to the judges, the rest all Subs. Including the thirty-three year old’s Bellator Debut 11/20/15 when a second round (1:08) rear-naked choke proved the end for Ben Reiter.

Finishing Featherweights

            Twenty-nine year old, Gaston “Tonga” Reyno of Uruguay is 5-0-2. He began his career with two consecutive matches resulting in a No Contest, since he’s rattled off five straight (2 KO/TKO 3 Sub). “Tonga” is efficient. In fact he hasn’t been out of the first round yet. His longest fight to date: took him 3:35 to finally sink a RNC on Yohance Flayer 10/3/15. His most recent Bellator fight (6/26/15) versus Greg Scott only lasted 1:17 before Reyno locked a Guillotine Choke in for the tap. He faces 6-2 Chuka “The Lion King” Willis.

The twenty-two year old Willis is making his Bellator debut. “The Lion King” has finished three of his six wins by KO/TKO including his last pair: a third round (1:47) TKO of Christian Carnahan 10/23/15 and John Milledge suffered the same fate only eleven ticks into the opening round 12/11/15.

Submission VS Striking in Flyweight Fight

          Twenty-eight year old Lena “Hunter” Ouchynnikova of Ukraine is 10-3 with eight wins by submission. She has been a pro since September 2006, but hasn’t competed since 10/18/14 when she submitted Svetlana Gotsyk with a third round (3:40) RNC. She takes on Rebecca “Becky” Ruth.

At 5-1 the thirty-seven year old Missouri native has been the more active as of late. She totaled three TKO wins in 2015. In fact all five of her wins are KO/TKO. In September she stopped Alice Smith Yauger in the third (0:33).

Breakdown: UFC Fight Night 84

Breakdown: UFC Fight Night 84

 

            The UFC’s internet subscription service, UFC Fight Pass, will air its biggest live card to date on Saturday February 27, 2015 with Fight Night 84 from London, England. The Main event matches the former Middleweight Champion, Anderson “The Spider” Silva and the #6 ranked MW and Manchester, England’s own Michael “The Count” Bisping.

Anderson Silva is 33-6 with twenty wins by KO/TKO. “The Spider’s” first fight in the UFC was in June of 2006, a first round KO of Chris Leben by knee (0:49). Four months later he finished Rich Franklin for the MW Title (1^st 0:49). Silva went on a streak of sixteen straight wins in the UFC, fourteen of those were finishes (11 KO/TKO).

Chris Weidman ended that streak nearly three years ago (6/6/13) with a second round KO (1:18) and took the MW belt at UFC 162. A leg injury that December in the rematch forced Silva to mend. A January 2015 win over Nick Diaz was later overturned by NAC. The #7 ranked MW hasn’t won a fight since he TKO’d Stephan Bonner at Light Heavyweight, in October of 2012.  

Michael Bisping is also a veteran of the UFC, he is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Season 3 as a Light Heavyweight. He collected three consecutive TKO wins as a LHW in the UFC. “The Count” won both his 2015 fights: Split Decision over Thales Leites 7/18/ and aUnanimous Decision of CB Dolloway 4/25. Bisping’s last lost came at the hands of the, now, MW Champion, Luke Rockhold by a second round Guillotine Choke Submision (0:57) 11/7/14.

Co-Main Two More Ranked MW’s

            The ninth ranked MW in the UFC, Gegard Mousasi is 37-6 with nineteen wins by KO/TKO and twelve by Submission. He is coming off a TKO loss to Uriah Hall (2^nd 0:35) last September. Prior to that “The Dreamcatcher” had won two straight, including a first round (1:10) TKO of Dan Henderson 1/24/15. He takes on #10 Thales Leites.

Leites is also fresh off a loss, a SD to Main Eventer, Michael Bisping 7/18/15. Before that he rattled off eight straight with three finishes, two of those by strikes and he choked Tim Boetsch unconscious with a second round arm triangle (3:45) 1/31/15.

Fight Finishers at 170lbs

            Keita Nakamura is 31-6 with six KO/TKO and sixteen wins by Submission. A pair of TKO wins in 2014 began the five fight streak Nakamura is currently on. In September, he made his UFC debut in style, by submitting Jingliang Li with a third round rear-naked choke (2:17) at UFC FN 75. Prior to that he competed for Deep where he was the organization’s Welterweight Champion. Nakamura takes on undefeated, Tom Breese.

Breese has finished each of his fights, three KO/TKO and Six Subs. His last two fights were both 2015 TKO’s late into the opening rounds: May 30^th he stopped Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr at 4:58 in his UFC debut and bettered his effort next time out with the stoppage coming at 4:37 over Cathal Pendred on Oct 24^th.

Heavyweights in Action

            Polish HW fighter Daniel Omielanczuk earned won of his three KO/TKO wins last time out in the opening 0:48 over Chris de la Rocha. Nine of his seventeen wins have also come by submission. He takes on 6’3” Jarjis Danho. Danho has finished each of his fights (with exception of a 2013 No Contest).”Man Mountain” has finished his last three by TKO and has four wins by KO/TKO overall.

Be Sure to Watch

            Twenty-nine year old, Rustan Khabilov has dropped his last two, but the Russian fighter began his UFC career by suplexing Vine Pinchel unconscious in the first round (2:15). The 17-3 Lightweight looks to return to his winning ways when he faces “Stormin” Norman Parke. The 29 year old Irishman holds twelve sub wins. He beat Reza Madadi by UD Oct 24^th 2015 last fight.

Breakdown: UFC Fight Night 83

Breakdown: UFC Fight Night 83

 

            Cowboy VS Cowboy in the Welterweight Division will be the main event at UFC Fight Night 83 Sun February 21, 2016 at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburg, Pa. The event will air live at 9:00 PM ET with preliminary bouts preceding on Fox Sports 1.

Donald Cerrone has competed with the Lightweight Division’s top talent and holds a record of 28-7 with fifteen Submission and five KO/TKO wins. This fight he has moved up to the Welterweight division, originally slated to face Tim Means (pulled from competition due to anti-doping violation), now fights fellow LW Alex Oliveira at 170 lbs. Beside a history in LW division and nickname, the two also share the desire to fight often. The pair combined for nine fights in 2015, four for Cerrone (3-1) and Oliveira with one more (4-1).   

Cerrone’s last two losses have been to current LW Champion, Rafael dos Anjos, he dropped a Unanimous Decision 8/28/13 and was stopped by punches, in the opening 1:05, in his Title match with RDA December 19^th. Between the losses Cowboy had eight wins with five finishes (3KO/TKO). Following the loss Cerrone comes back in fast order to get back on that horse, looking to begin another win streak.

Alex Oliveira is riding a three fight win streak, including: a KO of Piotr Hallmann last time out 11/7/15 (3^rd 0:51) and a first round, rear-naked choke sub (2:51) win over KJ Noons 5/30/15. Cowboy made his UFC debut in 2015 and competed four times (3-1) in the LW division.

Two Top 15 Middleweights in Co-Main

            Derek Brunson is the UFC’s 13^th ranked MW and is on a three fight win streak, including back to back, first round, TKO wins over: Sam Alvey 8/8/15 (2:19) and Ed Herman 1/31/15 (0:36). Brunson is 5-1 in the UFC and 14-3 overall with six KO/TKO and four Sub wins. He takes on Thirty-seven year old, Roan Carneiro.

Carneiro is the #15 in the UFC with an MMA record of 20-9, with ten wins by submission. “Jucao” is on a six fight win streak including a first round rear-naked choke of Mark Munoz in his UFC debut 2/28/15.

Ranked Featherweights to Watch

            Number eight ranked Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez looks to end a two fight skid. Last time out he saw a fight he was winning slip away when power striker, Jeremy Stephens connected and ended his night thirty-two seconds into the third round by TKO in July. Prior to the two losses Bermudez ran off seven straight opponents, capped by a second round rear-naked choke sub (2:57) over Clay Guida in July of 2014. He takes on #12 Tatsuya Kawajiri.

The thirty-seven year old Kawajiri is 35-8-2 with twelve KO/TKO and ten by Sub. “Crusher” began his career in 2000 and has fought for: Shooto, Pride, Dream, K-1, Strikeforce, OneFC and now his fifth fight in the UFC (3-1). He won a pair of UD’s in 2015, Dennis Siver in June and Jason Knight in December.

Someone’s O Must Go

            Undefeated Bantamweights, Cody “No Love” Garbrandt 7-0 and Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes 5-0 will match styles to see who remains perfect. Of Garbrandt’s seven wins, six have come by way of KO/TKO, four of those in the first round. “No Love” TKO’d Marcus Brimmage in his UFC debut with only ten seconds remaining in the three round affair. Besides being a decorated High School Wrestler Garbrandt also collected an amateur boxing record of 32-1.

Augusto Mendes has finished each of his fights, four by sub and a single TKO. In fact “Tanquinho” has never seen the third round. The BJJ Black Belt is a two time No Gi world champion. His last three fights have been with Legacy Fighting Championship.

Diesel Returns to Middleweight Division

            Joe Riggs’ return to the UFC has been difficult, he’s gone 1-2 with the single win a disqualification of Ron Stallings for an illegal knee. Diesel is 41-16 with twenty KO/TKO and 10 Subs. In the nearly nine years between UFC appearances Riggs went 15-6, he takes on 22-10 Chris Camozzi.

At twenty-nine Camozzi will not only enjoy a four year youth advantage but also six inches in the reach category. Chris is 3-1 in his last four with two first round finishes.

Lightweights in Action

            The Ultimate Fighter 15 competitor, James Krause has sixteen first round finishes. At 22-7 with fourteen wins by submission and six by KO/TKO Krause looks to improve upon his 3-3 UFC record. Most recently he sub’d Daron Cruickshank by rear-naked choke 7/25/15 in the first 1:27.

Canadian, Shane “Shaolin” Campbell is 12-3 with 5 KO/TKO wins. In August Campbell out-pointed Elias Silverio to win by UD. Shaolin has won Pro titles in kickboxing and Muay Thai as well as MMA.

Breakdown: WSOF 28

Breakdown: WSOF 28

 

            World Series of Fighting Bantamweight Champion, Marlon Moraes puts his title on the line for the third time, against Joseph Barajas at WSOF 28, Sat Feb 20. The Main card will broadcast on NBCSN at 9:00PM ET live from the Next Level Sports Complex, Garden Grove, Ca.

The twenty-seven year old Moraes is entering his ninth fight in WSOF. His MMA record is 15-4-1, with a balanced win column: 5 KO/TKO, 5 Subs and 5 Dec. The Champ hasn’t lost since 11/18/11 to Deividas Taurosevicius by arm triangle. Since he’s gone 10-0 with five finishes. He won two in 2015, besting Sheymon da Silva Moraes by rear-naked choke (3^rd 3:46) 8/1 and a Unanimous Decision over Josh Hill 2/12. He takes on 12-1 Joseph Barajas.

Barajas comes into the fight riding a two fight win streak, including a third round TKO (4:06) of Erik Villalobos 11/20/15 last fight. This is his second fight with WSOF. Barajas has finished seven of his twelve wins (4 KO/TKO, 3 Subs).

Co-Main Features Bantamweights also

            When a title shot may be in your future it’s always good to be on the same recovery schedule as the champ. Two BWs with growing win streaks will be in perfect position to challenge for the title following a win Sat. 10-1 Timur “Lucky” Valiev faces 8-1 Chris “El Guapo” Gutierrez.

Twenty-six year old, Valiev’s only loss was his pro debut by UD in a ten minute, single round match. Since he’s won ten, with five finishes (4KO/TKO). In 2015 “Lucky” earned a UD win over Tito Jones in September and a first round TKO (1:39) of Ed West in March.

Making his WSOF debut is the Twenty-four year old Gutierrez. “El Guapo” is riding a six fight win streak with three by TKO. In August he bested Bendy Casimir by UD. Prior to that his record boasts back to back TKO wins over Aaron Phillips and Craig Ross.

Welterweights in Action

            Jamie Yager is on a two fight skid, but hasn’t fought since 1/17/13 due to injuries. “The Chosyn1” is 6-4 with three wins by KO/TKO and two by Sub. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter 11, highlighted by two first round KO’s. He takes on 8-5-1nc Tom Gloudeman. “The Grinder” won his last fight with a front choke in the second round (1:37).   

            Also in the Welterweight division: Andrew “The” Ramm takes on Ozzie “The Outlaw” Alvarez. Ramm is 4-3 all four wins by Submission, most recently by first round Kimura (1:45). He lost his last to Andre Ricardo Chaves Santos. Alvarez has stopped each of his six wins (4KO/TKO and 2 Subs). “The Outlaw” is looking to rebound from a Sept loss to Justin Patterson. The loss halted a five fight win streak.

Opinion: Party Like It’s 1993!

Opinion: Party Like It’s 1993!

 

            Celebrate life! Don’t get caught up in the idea that Ken Shamrock is older than many Grandpas, he’s fifty-two, but looks great! And don’t worry that Royce Gracie hasn’t fought MMA in nearly a decade, he’s a Gracie, the forty-nine year old chokes someone for breakfast every day. Why focus on the negative? Instead I’ve chosen to contact a couple of the guys that I first experienced UFC 1 with and reconvene to watch Bellator 149. To make it more enjoyable we first decided to dress like we might have in 1993, I even started to let my sideburns grow out like Dylan McKay’s from 90210, but John had a better idea: Costume Party. I’m going as David Koresh.

            This may not prove to be the most entertaining fight, but who cares. Indulge your reminiscent tendencies and be thankful that the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation allowed this.

            These Warriors’ dedication should inspire you in your own life. It isn’t easy for anyone to get into a cage, be in shape and fight in three, five minute rounds, with both fighters near the half century mark, my own fitness goals appear pathetic in comparison.

Good News for Ken’s Chin

          While Gracie does have twelve finishes in his fourteen wins, they have all come by way of submission. Since 2000, Shamrock is 5-11 with ten of those losses by way of KO/TKO, in this fight he’ll need to protect his neck more than his chin with the BJJ Black Belt.

Also in Ken’s favor will be the lack of a Gi. Royce wore the traditional Martial Arts uniform in both former matches. UFC 1 saw Gracie lock in a rear-naked choke in just 0:57, but in the UFC’s first Super-fight at UFC 5 Gracie utilized the Gi to hold Ken in his guard and control position from the bottom.

In the early days of the UFC, stand-ups were rare and Shamrock, after taking Gracie down in the opening minute, mounted very little offense and proved unable to advance position. By using the Gi to control Ken’s posture he neutralized possible ground and pound from “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” in the top position. The entire thirty-six minute Draw was fought in Gracie’s guard, with the Brazilian landing more strikes from the bottom and Shamrock avoiding sweeps and submissions, but little more.

With over twenty years to better familiarize himself with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and the frequent stand ups and numerous rule changes of modern MMA, Shamrock enters Bellator 149 better poised for a win then in the previous two fights.

            So why not embrace the throwback and Party just like it’s 1993? You don’t have to go all out with a costume party. Just dust off that old John Paxson Bulls Jersey, grab your Magic cards and that Shai compact disk and reminisce about how the world was before the Internet was such a big deal.

Valentine’s Weekend not Alright for Fighting

Valentine’s Weekend not Alright for Fighting

 

            The Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator and World Series of Fighting have all taken the weekend off. Bad news for fight fans, but good news for those looking to make Valentine’s plans, you’re weekend is clear. Next weekend all three promotions are back in action.

Friday Starts Just Like UFC 1 Finished

          Bellator 149 rematches UFC 1’s Main Eventers, Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie on Friday February 19^th. The Fifty-two year old Shamrock enters the cage 28-16-2 with 23 wins by submission. He began his career 9/21/1993 in Pancrase. Since 2000 “The World’s Most Dangerous Man” has gone 5-11 suffering 10 losses by KO/TKO, most recently at the hands of Kimbo Slice at Bellator 138 (6/19/15) by first round TKO.

Royce Gracie is slightly younger at Forty-nine, but hasn’t competed in MMA since 6/2/07 when he evened the score with Kazushi Sakuraba, earning a Unanimous Decision victory (Sakuraba won first contest by TKO 5/1/00). Gracie is credited for introducing much of the world to Gracie Jiu Jitsu, earning eleven consecutive submission wins in the UFC from 93-94. This is the third time the two will fight. Gracie saw his hand raised after sinking in a rear-naked choke 0:57 into the bout at UFC 1. On 4/7/95 the pair battled to a thirty-six minute Draw.

Not Enough Freak Show?

            Also on this card, 5-2 Kevin Ferguson takes on 2-0 Dhafir Harris. Ferguson better known by: “Kimbo Slice” has only been the distance once (UD over Houston Alexander). He competed on The Ultimate Fighter 10. At Forty-two now, “Kimbo” was inactive in MMA following a second round TKO by Matt Mitrione 5/8/10 until entering the Bellator cage 6/19/15 and beating Ken Shamrock in the first round by TKO. He takes on a 38 year old Harris, who is better known as “DaDa 5000”.

Harris has two pro MMA fights to his credit, but against questionable talent: Tim Papp is 1-10; his single win a DQ for an illegal knee. Cedric James 0-6, he made it to the see the second round once (a feat Papp never accomplished) for ten seconds, before being KO’d. Both Ferguson and Harris have a history with backyard internet fighting and some type of beef has caused this fight. Too much said.

Saturday WSOF Bantamweight Title Fight

            Champion, Marlon Moraes puts his BW title on the line versus Joseph Barajas. Moraes hasn’t lost since 11/18/11 to Deividas Taurosevicius by arm-triangle Sub (1^st 2:34). Since he stamped out ten wins with five finishes. Recently he stopped two of WSOF top BW talents by rear-naked choke: Sheymon da Silva Moraes (3^rd 3:46) 8/1/15 and Cody Bollinger (2^nd 1:35) 9/13/14.

Barajas is 12-1 and riding a two fight win streak, including a third round TKO (4:06) of Erik Villalobos in November. He has four KO’s and three subs in his twelve wins.

Cowboy VS Cowboy

            Sunday Feb 21^st, Pittsburg hosts UFC Fight Night 83 Cerrone VS Oliveira. Donald Cerrone’s last two losses are to Rafael dos Anjos, a UD on 8/28/13 and recently a first round TKO (1:06) 12/19/15. Between those losses are eight wins including five finishes (3 by KO). 28-7 with 15 subs and 5 KO’s, Cerrone has competed against the Lightweight division’s top talent. Following the loss for the title (vs RDA) “Cowboy” moves to the Welterweight division to take on a fellow “Cowboy”.

Alex Oliveira fought four times in the UFC in 2015 and went 3-1. He is on a three fight win streak including: a third round KO (0:51) over Piotr Hallmann 11/7/15 and a first round Sub (2:51) of veteran fighter KJ Noons 5/30/15. Oliveira is 13-3 with 9 KO wins. Oliveira is a replacement for Tim Means who was pulled due to an Anti-doping policy violation.

Middleweight Co-Main

            Derek Brunson is coming off back to back TKO first round wins in 2015, over: Ed Herman (0:36) Jan. 31^st  and Sam Alvey (2:19) Aug 8^th. This Brunson’s sixth fight with UFC (5-1), he takes on 20-9 Roan Carneiro.

Carneiro owns ten wins by submission, he displayed that talent in his UFC debut 2/28/15 by catching Mark Munoz in a first round RNC.  “Jucao” is on a six fight win streak.

Breakdown: UFC Fight Night 82 Prelims

Breakdown: UFC Fight Night 82 Prelims

 

Lightweights Headline Prelims

            Josh “The People’s Warrior” Burkman takes on fellow veteran fighter, K.J. “King” Noons. Burkman comes in 27-12-1 with 7 KO’s and 10 Submission wins, however he may feel like his back is against the wall, following consecutive stoppage losses: Dong Hyun Kim Sub’d (5/23/15) Burkaman by armbar and Patrick Cote scored a third round TKO over him in August.

This may feel like familiar territory for “The People’s Warrior”. Burkman had compiled a record of 5-2 from 2005-07, but in 08 he saw his ten fight stint with the promotion halted following 3 straight losses. He was able to battle his way back, getting wins in smaller promotions: Showdown Fights, and World Series of Fighting (where he went 4-1 with wins over UFC Vets: Jon Fitch, Aaron Simpson and Gerald Harris), but is 0-2-1 (March 23^rd NSAC overturned his loss to Hector Lombard in Jan, to a no contest, due to a failed drug test by Lombard) since returning to UFC.

Despite being 3-6-1 in his last ten, KJ Noons may not be in the same jeopardy as Burkman, will likely find, following a Saturday loss. Last time out “King” was submitted in the first round by rear-naked choke (5/30/15) and an accidental eye poke resulted in a no decision against Daron Cruickshank (12/12/14), but a KO of Sam Stout (4/16/14), just 0:30 into the bout may prove Noons best staying power, is his power.

KJ Noons is a striker, in his thirteen MMA wins, nine have come by way of KO/TKO. “King” has also competed as a Pro Boxer 11-2 with 5 KO’s and a Kickboxer 12-2 with 9 KO’s. In addition to the UFC, Noons has also competed in Strikeforce, Dream and Elite XC where he was the first and only LW Champ for the organization. A Doctor stoppage, following the first round, versus Nick Diaz put the Elite XC Gold around his waist and a TKO of Yves Edwards, just 0:48 seconds into the fight for a successful defense of that championship.

Heavyweights with 15 First Round Finishes Combined

          Derrick Lewis has finished each of his thirteen wins, twelve by Knock Out and one by Submission. This is his seventh fight with the UFC, 5-2 and none have made it to the judges’ score cards. Lewis has a second round KO win over, Co-Main Eventer, Jared Rosholt (4:41) at Legacy Fighting Championship 13 (8/17/12). He takes on Damian Grabowski, in “The Polish Pitbull’s” first UFC fight.

Grabowski took 2015 off from MMA, but has finished his previous three opponents: Tadas Rimkevicius 2^nd round TKO (5/23/13), Kenny Garner by 3^rd round head and arm triangle choke (11/30/13), and most recently Konstantin Gluhov by H&A triangle also (11/25/14). He is 20-2 with 6 KO and 11 Sub stoppage wins. Ten of those finishes came in the first round.

Flyweights to Watch

          Ray Borg is the number twelve ranked Flyweight in the UFC with an MMA record 9-1, his one slip, a split decision loss to Dustin Ortiz in Borg’s UFC debut (4/19/14). Just two months later “The Tazmexican Devil” rebounded by putting Shane Howell to sleep with a rear-naked choke at 2:17 of the first round. He followed that performance with two wins in 2015 (Chris Kelades by Kimura 2/14 and a unanimous decision over Geane Herrera in Aug). He takes on 23 year old, Justin Scoggins.

Scoggins is 10-2 with five first round finishes. “Tank” bested Josh Sampo by UD last time out (5/23/15). This is his sixth fight with the promotion 3-2.

Featherweight Action

            Noad “Neo” Lahat is fighting in his fourth UFC bout. He holds decision wins in his last two over: Steven Siler 6/26/14 and Niklas Backstrom 6/20/15. He takes on Diego Rivas. Rivas is 6-0 with 3 subs. He competed on The Ultimate Fighter Latin America on Team Werdum. This is his second fight with the promotion. Rivas didn’t fight in 2015, last fight (11/8/14) was a UD over Rodolfo Rubio Perez.

Lottery Ticket Winner?

          The fight is on the card so let’s address it. 1-0 Mikey Gall faces 0-0 Mike “The Truth” Jackson for the right to fight CM Punk at UFC 200. Gall’s one win came at Dead Serious 17 by rear-naked Choke at 2:53 into the first round. He pulled that off in front of UFC President, Dana White and the cast of Looking for a Fight. Following the win Gall asked White for the opportunity to fight CM Punk. “The Truth” is there isn’t a lot of information about Mike Jackson (at least not this one). The Bio page on UFC.com claims the Houston, Texas native has nine amateur MMA fights. One of these two will get the opportunity to face CM Punk in his first Pro MMA fight.

 

For a Breakdown of the main card: http://fightpage.blogspot.com/2016/02/breakdown-ufc-fight-night-82.html

Breakdown UFC Fight Night 82

Breakdown UFC Fight Night 82

 

            Despite the cancellation of a Heavyweight Championship rematch between current Champion, Fabricio Werdum and Former Champ, Cain Velazquez, and the subsequent rebranding of UFC 196 on PPV to UFC FN 82 to air on Fox Sports-1, we still have top level HW’s featured in the co-main event, on the NFL’s biggest weekend.  

Jared Rosholt is ranked as the #12 HW in the UFC. He is currently on a 3 fight win streak, most recently, “The Big Show” bested Stefan Struve for a Unanimous Decision in November. At 6’2” the twenty-nine year old has a two inch advantage and comes in with five first round finishes, and 10 wins in his last 11 fights. Rosholt was a three time All American Wrestler at Oklahoma State and the school’s winningest HW. His MMA record is 14-2. He takes on Roy “Big Country” Nelson.

Nelson is the #11 HW in the UFC. At 20-12 with 13 KO’s the Thirty-nine year old is in desperate need of a win. He has just one win in his last six fights. “Big Country” is a Black belt in BJJ under Renzo Gracie, but tends to fall in love with his striking game (last 11 wins have come by KO or TKO). Nelson was The Ultimate Fighter season 10 winner and the former IFL HW Champ and IFL Grand Prix Champion.

In The Main Event

          Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson looks to improve from his ranking as the #8 Welterweight in the UFC with a win over #2 ranked, and former WW Champ, Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks. Thompson comes in 6-1 in the UFC and 11-1 overall. His single stumble: Matt Brown by UD (4/21/12). “Wonderboy” also is an undefeated Kickboxer, with a record of 57-0 including 40 KO’s and is a five time World Champion in the sport. He is on a five fight win streak and owns UFC Knock Outs of: Daniel Stittgen (2/4/12), Chris Clements (9/21/13), Robert Whittaker (2/22/14), and most recently Jake Ellenberger by spinning hook kick (7/12/15). Thompson will enjoy a six inch reach advantage.

Hendricks is a four time All American and two time D-1 Champion Wrestler at Oklahoma State, but “Bigg Rigg” also has KO power. At 17-3 with 8 KO’s and 5 first round finishes, Hendricks striking is powerful. He has KO wins over: Kampman, Fitch, Waldburger, Brenneman and Sadollah. To overcome the world class striking of Thompson not to mention that six inch reach advantage, Hendricks will likely resort to his wrestling skills and look to take the fight to the mat.

19 First Round Finishes Combined

          Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante has finished each of his 12 wins (12-6-1 overall), seven of those finishes came in the first round. “Feijao” has 11 KO’s and 1 submission win, but is 1 of his last 4. The one win: a first round TKO of Igor Pokrajac, what else would you expect. Cavalcante’s most memorable career highlights came in Strikeforce when he KO’d: Yoel Romero in the 2^nd 4:51 (9/10/11) and a 3^rd rounder 1:14 over King Mo Lawal (8/21/10).

Ovince St. Preux is 6’3” with an 80” reach, he has first round finishes in twelve of his fights. “OSP” is also coming off a loss, by RNC to Glover Teixeira (3^rd 3:10). Prior to that St. Preux had back to back first round KO’s: Patrick Cummins (4:54) April 18, 15 and Shogun Rua (0:34) 11/8/14. Look for a fast start to this LHW match.

Top Ten Flyweights Battle

          Joseph Benavidez is on a four fight win streak since losing his second attempt at dethroning Champ, Demetrious Johnson. Benavidez is 23-4 with 6 KO and 9 Sub wins. The four losses have all come in title fights, in addition to the pair with “Mighty Mouse” at 125, Benavidez has also competed and lost to the current Bantamweight Champion, Dominick Cruz for that title, twice. He is currently ranked the #1 FW in the UFC.

Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky is 3-2 in the UFC, with UD wins over: Josh Sampo (2/22/14), Scott Jorgensen (12/14/13), and Tim Elliot (2/14/15). He dropped a UD to John Dodson his last time out (5/23/15). The former Drexel Wrestling Captain’s MMA record is 19-6 with 1 KO, 6 Sub and 12 Dec wins.