Aside from Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson, TJ Dillashaw vs. Renan Barao 2 was the most anticipated of all championship rematches. Because of apparent complications with Barao‘s weight cut, that bout won’t be happening.
Former Bellator champion Joe Soto is stepping up to face Dillashaw. The headliner isn’t the only cancellation crippling the UFC 177 show. Former Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo was pulled from what would have been his UFC debut against Scott Jorgensen.
This ought to be interesting.
That bout headlines the card, but it really doesn’t appear to be a lineup that should be defined as a pay-per-view. While the fights don’t look strong on paper, there’s always the possibility that we could see thrilling performances from some unexpected or little-known fighters.
Here’s a look at the complete schedule, viewing information and fight card set for Saturday’s action.
| UFC Fight Pass Preliminary | ||
| Matchup | Weight Class | Prediction |
| Chris Wade vs. Cain Carrizosa | Lightweight | Carrizosa by submission |
| Fox Sports 1 Preliminary | ||
| Matchup | Weight Class | Prediction |
| Ruan Potts vs. Anthony Hamilton | Heavyweight | Hamilton by KO |
| Lorenz Larkin vs. Derek Brunson | Middleweight | Brunson by TKO |
| PPV Main Card – PPV only with cable provider, TV Set Top Boxes, including PlayStation 4 | ||
| Yancy Medeiros vs. Damon Jackson | Lightweight | Jackson by submission |
| Ramsey Nijem vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira | Lightweight | Ferreira by decision |
| Bethe Correia vs. Shayna Baszler | Women’s Bantamweight | Correia by decision |
| Tony Ferguson vs. Danny Castillo | Lightweight | Ferguson by TKO |
| UFC Bantamweight Title—(c) T.J. Dillashaw vs. Joe Soto | Bantamweight | Dillashaw by TKO |
Fights That Could Be Better Than Expected
Bethe Correia vs. Shayna Baszler
Let’s face it—neither Correia nor Baszler looks like a serious threat to Ronda Rousey‘s title. In fact, Baszler is a member of Rousey‘s female MMA crew called the Four Horsewomen of MMA.
Correia has called out each member of the crew. After beating Jessamyn Duke, part of Rousey‘s group, Correia held up four fingers and then dropped one. Having already vanquished Duke, Correia now sets her sights on Baszler. It feels like Correia is the Bride from Kill Bill and she’s hunting the group down one by one.
In this scenario, Rousey would certainly be O-Ren Ishii. While Baszler is a step up from Duke, I wouldn’t call her Gogo Yubari.
Correia is approaching her own marketing the right way. The call-out brought some attention to someone else in the weight class besides Rousey. It created intrigue in the second level of the weight class.
Can Baszler stop Correia‘s crusade?
Lorenz Larkin vs. Derek Brunson
Like Jorgensen, Lorenz Larkin is an underachiever, but he too doesn’t seem to know how to have a dull fight.
Larkin brings a hit-and-be-hit approach to the Octagon. If he lands one of his bombs first, then he’ll likely leave the cage the winner. If it’s the other way around, the fight will look a lot like his most recent defeat to Costas Philippou in May.
Larkin was stopped in the first round of that bout. It marked his second loss in a row and third in his last four outings.
Brunson is a slugger in his own right. He is also coming off a loss to the very scary Yoel Romero. With both Larkin and Brunson trying to bounce back, we may see caution thrown to the wind in an entertaining scrap.
Follow Brian Mazique, aka FranchisePlay, the Sports Video Game Journalist.
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