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Diggin’ Deep on UFC Halifax: Lewis vs. Browne – Main card preview
Find out why the main card of UFC Halifax should be worth staying up for, including action fighters Paul Felder and Sam Sicilia and former title contender Sara McMann all in action.
Admittedly this card feels a bit underwhelming… just like every other card we’ve seen since the beginning of the year. Still, there is reason to tune in to the main card outside of the headlining fights. Seriously, stop laughing. Paul Felder is one of the better action-fighters the UFC has picked up in recent years. Sara McMann is receiving an opportunity to showcase her skills and make a case to receive a title shot before the end of the year — as implausible as it sounds. Even Sam Sicilia, who has hit a rough patch, is almost always fun to watch whether he’s doing the finishing or getting finished himself.
You’re asking about Elias Theodorou and Cezar Ferreira? Well… Theodorou does have one of the best Twitter personalities in the fight business and Cezar Ferreira’s career resurgence is a nice story, but I fear that stylistically, it could be a snoozer. Only time will tell, but that would be the contest to consider an extended bathroom break if needed.
The main card begins at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on FS1,.
Sicilia is lucky to have a job given the round of cuts last week, as he is riding a two-fight losing streak. I can’t see him surviving a third consecutive loss, so he’d better be able to put together an impressive performance against relatively unknown newcomer Tucker.
The reason Tucker is unknown is a lack of footage of his contests. Snippets here and there can be found, but I could only find in its entirety is his professional debut over five years-ago. He appears to be well-rounded with the ability to either stand and trade or take the fight to the ground without a major preference for either phase. Possessing a background in Muay Thai, Tucker’s striking appears to be diverse enough as he ended his last contest early with a head kick. On the ground, he shows smooth transitions in scrambles and has picked up a couple of finishes by armbar.
Sicilia’s game isn’t as diverse, though it could be stated that it is more dangerous. Possessing an incredible amount of power in his right hand, Sicilia has progressed from being a head hunter to a solid boxer. He has a solid wrestling base too, though he tends to use that to keep the fight standing rather than threaten to go to the ground, especially as of late. Sicilia has also had a tendency to not bother defending shots to the body or legs, something you can expect Tucker to take full advantage of.
Even though I haven’t see a lot of footage on Tucker, Sicilia appears to be moving backwards in his career as he hasn’t continued to adapt. Opponents have figured him out and given Tucker’s killer instinct, I expect he’ll find a finish one way or another. Tucker via submission of RD2
Elias Theodorou (12-1) vs. Cezar Ferreira (11-5), Middleweight
Considering most people don’t give a damn about TUF anymore, it’s easy to forget both Theodorou and Ferreira are former winners of the once prestigious tournament. Now it seems a strong probability that the winner will get a crack at a ranked opponent.
Ferreira’s recent run has been highly improbable. After a stretch of four fights in which he was KO’d three times in the first round, most believed that Ferreira’s chin had completely evaporated. He then faced a string of three opponents known for their striking prowess, leaving most to predict Ferreira would end up sleeping on the canvas at some point. Instead, Ferreira’s newfound focus on well-timed takedowns and grappling control has led to a three-fight winning streak. He’s also adopted a focus on defense in his striking, countering rather than trying to blitz his opponent as he had been prone to do in the past.
Theodorou is the first opponent thought of as a grappler first that Ferreira has faced since his recent revitalization. That doesn’t mean the Canadian doesn’t have any striking prowess. He owns a wide variety of kicks from a distance that don’t offer much in terms of damage, but help him to maintain space. Theodorou is also overpowering in the clinch, either searching for a takedown or wearing down the opposition with knees and dirty boxing. He does tend to struggle in the pocket, but usually does a good job avoiding his weak area. On the ground, he is relentless with his striking, though he does struggle to maintain positional control.
Though I’m going to be picking Theodorou, I have to admit that Ferreira has turned into a highly intelligent strategist. Can he devise a game plan to pull off another upset? Theodorou has greater physical gifts than any of Ferreira’s previous victims. I think Ferreira has finally hit his ceiling, though it should be noted that he has proven me wrong before. Theodorou via decision
Originally scheduled to be a contest between former title challengers in McMann and Liz Carmouche, Carmouche pulled up lame and now Mazany fills in. Though I usually try to provide some reasoning as to why the underdog could pull off the upset, I’m struggling to find that here. Seriously, it feels that lopsided.
Mazany’s career path has been anything but orthodox. Her professional debut came in 2008, she’s had layoffs of four and three years in between fights. Footage has been exceptionally difficult to find on her besides her attempt to make the TUF house in 2013… and that was a drubbing at the hands of Julianna Pena where the only thing she showed was toughness. As for her perfect professional record, it came at the expense of women who own a combined record of 2-8. She did finish three of them in the first round, indicating she is dominating opponents she should be dominating.
On the other side of the spectrum, McMann is one of the most experienced women in terms of high level competition and I’m not just referring to her UFC experience. The Olympic wrestling silver medalist has evolved into a capable if somewhat stiff boxer with an overpowering clinch, making her more than a one-dimensional grinder that many saw her as upon her UFC inception. Her BJJ skills have been questioned, though she looked much improved as she cinched in as skilled of an arm-triangle choke as I’ve seen in recent memory over Alexis Davis. Even at 36, she’s still one of the better athletes in the division.
I wish I could offer more insight into what Mazany is capable of, but I can’t do that without talking out of my ass. McMann has offered steady growth, providing her best showings in each of her last two contests in hopes of getting another title shot. Coupled with Mazany’s lack of experience against quality competition, I see this as an easy victory for McMann. McMann via TKO of RD2
I know what you’re thinking. This contest makes no sense. Felder is an established UFC talent whose only losses have come against even more established UFC talents. Ricci is coming off his UFC debut as a short notice injury replacement. Why put these two together? Injuries. Felder was scheduled to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 208 and Ricci was supposed to face Alvaro Herrera. Rather than add more bodies to an already bloated roster, the UFC decided to pair them up.
Ricci, a veteran of the Canadian circuit, didn’t look so hot in his debut, fighting tentatively against a smaller Jeremy Kennedy. Perhaps his short camp had something to do with it, though others would say that being cautious is part of his nature. A Muay Thai practitioner, Ricci’s best weapon is his variety of kicks from the outside and knees in the clinch. He isn’t a bad counter puncher either, but doesn’t throw with enough volume or power to garner respect from his opponent.
Felder has developed a reputation as one of the most entertaining lightweights on the roster, largely due to his highlight reel KO of Danny Castillo off of a spinning back fist. Spinning back kicks are another staple of his attack, but the flash seems to distract fans from recognizing what a technically sound striker Felder actually is. Like Ricci, Felder is a counter striker who can fall into long bouts of inactivity. Unlike Ricci, Felder has some serious power in his fists if he is able to land clean. Though Felder rarely looks to take the fight to the ground himself, he’s got an unappreciated ground game focused on getting back to his feet.
There are a lot of stylistic similarities between these two. The main difference is that Felder is the younger, more powerful, more athletic, and bigger version of him. It could have a number of fun exchanges, but look for Felder to emerge the victory either with a KO or a comfortable decision. Felder via decision
Find out why the main card of UFC Halifax should be worth staying up for, including action fighters Paul Felder and Sam Sicilia and former title contender Sara McMann all in action.
Admittedly this card feels a bit underwhelming… just like every other card we’ve seen since the beginning of the year. Still, there is reason to tune in to the main card outside of the headlining fights. Seriously, stop laughing. Paul Felder is one of the better action-fighters the UFC has picked up in recent years. Sara McMann is receiving an opportunity to showcase her skills and make a case to receive a title shot before the end of the year — as implausible as it sounds. Even Sam Sicilia, who has hit a rough patch, is almost always fun to watch whether he’s doing the finishing or getting finished himself.
You’re asking about Elias Theodorou and Cezar Ferreira? Well… Theodorou does have one of the best Twitter personalities in the fight business and Cezar Ferreira’s career resurgence is a nice story, but I fear that stylistically, it could be a snoozer. Only time will tell, but that would be the contest to consider an extended bathroom break if needed.
The main card begins at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT on FS1,.
Sicilia is lucky to have a job given the round of cuts last week, as he is riding a two-fight losing streak. I can’t see him surviving a third consecutive loss, so he’d better be able to put together an impressive performance against relatively unknown newcomer Tucker.
The reason Tucker is unknown is a lack of footage of his contests. Snippets here and there can be found, but I could only find in its entirety is his professional debut over five years-ago. He appears to be well-rounded with the ability to either stand and trade or take the fight to the ground without a major preference for either phase. Possessing a background in Muay Thai, Tucker’s striking appears to be diverse enough as he ended his last contest early with a head kick. On the ground, he shows smooth transitions in scrambles and has picked up a couple of finishes by armbar.
Sicilia’s game isn’t as diverse, though it could be stated that it is more dangerous. Possessing an incredible amount of power in his right hand, Sicilia has progressed from being a head hunter to a solid boxer. He has a solid wrestling base too, though he tends to use that to keep the fight standing rather than threaten to go to the ground, especially as of late. Sicilia has also had a tendency to not bother defending shots to the body or legs, something you can expect Tucker to take full advantage of.
Even though I haven’t see a lot of footage on Tucker, Sicilia appears to be moving backwards in his career as he hasn’t continued to adapt. Opponents have figured him out and given Tucker’s killer instinct, I expect he’ll find a finish one way or another. Tucker via submission of RD2
Elias Theodorou (12-1) vs. Cezar Ferreira (11-5), Middleweight
Considering most people don’t give a damn about TUF anymore, it’s easy to forget both Theodorou and Ferreira are former winners of the once prestigious tournament. Now it seems a strong probability that the winner will get a crack at a ranked opponent.
Ferreira’s recent run has been highly improbable. After a stretch of four fights in which he was KO’d three times in the first round, most believed that Ferreira’s chin had completely evaporated. He then faced a string of three opponents known for their striking prowess, leaving most to predict Ferreira would end up sleeping on the canvas at some point. Instead, Ferreira’s newfound focus on well-timed takedowns and grappling control has led to a three-fight winning streak. He’s also adopted a focus on defense in his striking, countering rather than trying to blitz his opponent as he had been prone to do in the past.
Theodorou is the first opponent thought of as a grappler first that Ferreira has faced since his recent revitalization. That doesn’t mean the Canadian doesn’t have any striking prowess. He owns a wide variety of kicks from a distance that don’t offer much in terms of damage, but help him to maintain space. Theodorou is also overpowering in the clinch, either searching for a takedown or wearing down the opposition with knees and dirty boxing. He does tend to struggle in the pocket, but usually does a good job avoiding his weak area. On the ground, he is relentless with his striking, though he does struggle to maintain positional control.
Though I’m going to be picking Theodorou, I have to admit that Ferreira has turned into a highly intelligent strategist. Can he devise a game plan to pull off another upset? Theodorou has greater physical gifts than any of Ferreira’s previous victims. I think Ferreira has finally hit his ceiling, though it should be noted that he has proven me wrong before. Theodorou via decision
Originally scheduled to be a contest between former title challengers in McMann and Liz Carmouche, Carmouche pulled up lame and now Mazany fills in. Though I usually try to provide some reasoning as to why the underdog could pull off the upset, I’m struggling to find that here. Seriously, it feels that lopsided.
Mazany’s career path has been anything but orthodox. Her professional debut came in 2008, she’s had layoffs of four and three years in between fights. Footage has been exceptionally difficult to find on her besides her attempt to make the TUF house in 2013… and that was a drubbing at the hands of Julianna Pena where the only thing she showed was toughness. As for her perfect professional record, it came at the expense of women who own a combined record of 2-8. She did finish three of them in the first round, indicating she is dominating opponents she should be dominating.
On the other side of the spectrum, McMann is one of the most experienced women in terms of high level competition and I’m not just referring to her UFC experience. The Olympic wrestling silver medalist has evolved into a capable if somewhat stiff boxer with an overpowering clinch, making her more than a one-dimensional grinder that many saw her as upon her UFC inception. Her BJJ skills have been questioned, though she looked much improved as she cinched in as skilled of an arm-triangle choke as I’ve seen in recent memory over Alexis Davis. Even at 36, she’s still one of the better athletes in the division.
I wish I could offer more insight into what Mazany is capable of, but I can’t do that without talking out of my ass. McMann has offered steady growth, providing her best showings in each of her last two contests in hopes of getting another title shot. Coupled with Mazany’s lack of experience against quality competition, I see this as an easy victory for McMann. McMann via TKO of RD2
I know what you’re thinking. This contest makes no sense. Felder is an established UFC talent whose only losses have come against even more established UFC talents. Ricci is coming off his UFC debut as a short notice injury replacement. Why put these two together? Injuries. Felder was scheduled to face Gilbert Burns at UFC 208 and Ricci was supposed to face Alvaro Herrera. Rather than add more bodies to an already bloated roster, the UFC decided to pair them up.
Ricci, a veteran of the Canadian circuit, didn’t look so hot in his debut, fighting tentatively against a smaller Jeremy Kennedy. Perhaps his short camp had something to do with it, though others would say that being cautious is part of his nature. A Muay Thai practitioner, Ricci’s best weapon is his variety of kicks from the outside and knees in the clinch. He isn’t a bad counter puncher either, but doesn’t throw with enough volume or power to garner respect from his opponent.
Felder has developed a reputation as one of the most entertaining lightweights on the roster, largely due to his highlight reel KO of Danny Castillo off of a spinning back fist. Spinning back kicks are another staple of his attack, but the flash seems to distract fans from recognizing what a technically sound striker Felder actually is. Like Ricci, Felder is a counter striker who can fall into long bouts of inactivity. Unlike Ricci, Felder has some serious power in his fists if he is able to land clean. Though Felder rarely looks to take the fight to the ground himself, he’s got an unappreciated ground game focused on getting back to his feet.
There are a lot of stylistic similarities between these two. The main difference is that Felder is the younger, more powerful, more athletic, and bigger version of him. It could have a number of fun exchanges, but look for Felder to emerge the victory either with a KO or a comfortable decision. Felder via decision
