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The three things you need to know about TUF prospect Corey Anderson versus TUF prospect turned UFC gatekeeper, Tom Lawlor at UFC 196 in Vegas.

A pair of light heavyweights, one prospect, one former(ish) prospect, do battle this March 5, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Match Up

Light heavyweight Corey Anderson 7-1 vs. Tom Lawlor 10-5-1 NC

The Odds

Light heavyweight Corey Anderson -290 vs. Tom Lawlor +245

3 Things You Should Know

1. Anderson is a lot better than what he showed on TUF.

TUF is rarely a good frame of reference. The fighters rarely fight in their natural weight class, they don’t get to properly train, and they’re mentally less sharp. I can’t think if a single fighter that ever looked worse in the UFC than on TUF. So I’ve been pleased to see Anderson look like the fighter advertised as opposed to the one who stumbled around with Kelly Anundson. He’s coming off a win over Fabio Maldonado, and will have a tough time with Lawlor, but he’s projecting upwardly. He’ll need to.

2. Lawlor is easily one of the more versatile, and effective overachievers TUF has ever produced.

Lawlor is turning into a LHW version of Mike Pyle: underestimate him at your own peril. He’s on a two fight winning streak that includes a massive, massive knockout over a massive human in Gian Villante. Lawlor has plateaued as a fighter, but his IQ, and how he has blended with IQ with experience has not. Sometimes that can be enough when you’re effective everywhere else and happen to be taking on a raw fighter.

3. Lawlor is savvy enough win a round. Don’t be surprised if Anderson’s complete dominance on paper ends up not quite enough.

Anderson is a pressure fighter through and through. Unlike a lot of young pressure fighters (think Thomas Almeida), he doesn’t get carried away on the feet when the momentum is swinging in his favor. He just keeps a high workrate, leaning in with a strong, lean right hand that never overstays its welecome.

It helps that he’s got experience training under Mark Henry. I interviewed Mark Henry after the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard bouts, and I really enjoyed picking his brain. He has a real mind for how to coach boxing within the MMA umbrella, and he’s not afraid to give raw, technical advice to his fighters in the middle of a bout. The opposite of Edmund, basically. So I’m confidant that judging by Anderson’s amateur fights, and looking at his subsequent development, that he’ll continue progressing.

It helps that he already has the physical advantage. While Anderson has a strong wrestling background, he’ll play the boxing game for as long as he’s comfortable. Lawlor’s issue is that he doesn’t cut into the pocket the way he needs to, and so he ends up throwing less than what we should. In the vacuum, he throws short, tight strikes that are quick and accurate. But he needs to close distance, otherwise he’s letting the opponent close distance on their own, which means he’s not dictating the pace. That knockout of Villante was nice and all, but Lawlor wasn’t looking great until it happened.

Anderson can be spotty in the defensive wrestling department, but he’s getting a lot better at shoring up flaws in his game.

Prediction

Lawlor needs an opponent who is good that happens to be reckless in order to look like the overachiever he clearly is. Without, he’ll look like the gatekeeper he also is. Anderson may have trouble in the 3rd, or the 1st, but not both. Anderson is efficient in all the areas Lawlor would be too if he had more talent and size. Corey Anderson by TKO, round 3.

Bellator 151: “Warren vs. Caldwell” comes to WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., tomorrow night (Fri., March 4, 2016). The Spike TV-televised main event features former Bantamweight champion Joe Warren (13-4) against “The Wolf” Darrion Caldwell (8-0).

A two time champion at both Featherweight and Bantamweight, Warren — the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” — is attempting to re-assert himself in the title picture following his verbal submission to Marcos Galvao last year.

The first stop on his redemption tour was the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, where Warren out-wrestled L.C. Davis for three straight rounds en route to a unanimous decision. A second straight win against could put Warren in the title picture again, but Caldwell boasts wrestling credentials equal to Warren’s. He was a national champion in the 2008-2009 season with a 38-1 record, winning the Dan Hodge Trophy for most outstanding wrestler of the year.

Warren recently spoke with MMAmania.com about facing one of the most dangerous opponents of his career and his plans to get the Bantamweight title back around his waist. For Warren, tomorrow night can’t come soon enough.

“We’re done! We’re ready to rock and roll man! Now it’s a waiting game y’know? The preparation is done and now it’s time to go beat someone’s ass.”

Beating Caldwell decisively will be easier said than done, though, especially since no one has done it yet. That’s exactly the kind of challenge Warren loves.

“It is what it is. It’s just a man in front of me for me to put a hole in. I’ve been saying this back and forth now — I’m like Bellator’s Bantamweight gatekeeper. If you want to win anything in Bellator at Bantamweight you gotta come through ‘The Baddest Man’ — and now it’s his turn.”

Warren and Caldwell have a common opponent in Rafael Silva who they both hold wins over, so I put it to Warren that Silva may in fact be the gatekeeper of the division as opposed to him.

“I’ve had three Bellator belts on my waist. I guess you have to win that title to say you can be a gatekeeper right? Rafael Silva I take nothing from him. I mean (Eduardo) Dantas backed out of that fight five days before I ended up having to fight him. He was hands down a tougher opponent than what I thought I’d have.”

Warren also stated that Caldwell’s win over Silva, combined with his collegiate record of success, makes him an opponent most Bantamweights would be afraid to face.

“Oh he’s way more dangerous than what people give him credit for. I mean Division I national champ, that’s the toughest thing you can do, and for him to do that it’s huge. I’m not looking past this man one bit. He is the young stud, undefeated stud coming up, and I’m a guy that’s been there.”

And since Warren mentioned Caldwell being a “young stud” I wanted to know how Warren plans to battle a wrestler whose skills rival his own while being 11 years his junior.

“Well, yeah, I didn’t start fighting until 33 or so. I could be half of these guys dads when I’m fighting in there! (*laughing*) That being said I’m not injured, I’m not hurt, I’m the best person I’ve ever been physically and mentally, so you don’t want to build my confidence. My head’s big enough — I can’t even get it through the door right now. I’m unstoppable. I’m a freaking killing machine.”

Even though last week’s “Galvao vs. Dantas 2” fight was scrapped, Warren still has history with (and at least one victory over) both men.

“I mean it doesn’t really matter to me who wins that belt, they’re both pretty much the same person to me. They come from the same place, they’re (like) little brothers, you know what I mean? So I beat both of them, they both don’t like me, but — I hear that Dantas is opening his mouth a lot about me this week when he should be worried about the task at hand period. I’m worried about this body Darrion Caldwell — this killer coming after me. I’m not worried about those two Brazilians — that’s next. One step at a time.”

Apparently it does matter, though, because Warren rated Galvao as the better fighter and “ever improving.” His comments about Dantas were not nearly so kind.

“I think Dantas is a little bitch man! He runs from me, he talks a lot of crap and doesn’t get the job done, so I’d like to fight him again personally y’know? But, we’ll see what happens. I’m excited to watch that fight myself.”

How does Warren feel when Bellator fans or keyboard warriors badmouth him on the Internet?

“I love the fans, but I just don’t give a shit you understand? I don’t read the Internet. I’m an old man you know. They call me anything (they) want. I’ve got two kids and a wife, I’m a family man. If I gave a shit what the public said or the press said then I probably wouldn’t be fighting any more! I’m an unstoppable freaking killing machine — that’s how I feel. I feel I get better every single day. As long as that’s happening you’re going to see me beating people up in the Bellator cage.”

One thing he might give a shit about though is how various commissions are experimenting with weight cuts.

“I know what’s going on over in ONE FC, over in Singapore and those guys — what they’ve been doing. I don’t have a problem with the weight, that’s why I dropped down to (1)35. I’ve won my world titles there. I’m a professional. I understand what it means to make weight.”

At Bellator 150, the commission decided to allow fighters to weigh in the morning of before the public weigh in that afternoon. Warren is in favor of it.

“That’s the smartest possible thing. One thing that happens in Japan and happens a lot around the world even in other sports is (that) you have a private weigh in and then you have a public weigh in. Then you’re all filled up, happy, have better interviews. People are smiling on the scale instead of one guy almost dying on the scale you know? I think that’s better for the promotion. You’re going to get more out of your fighters, more publicity, just a better fighter to talk when he’s hydrated. There’s nothing wrong with it.”

That’s in Kansas, though, Warren is fighting in Oklahoma, and he wants you all to tune in for his battle with “The Wolf.”

“I’d just like to thank Viacom, Spike and Bellator for putting ‘The Baddest Man’ back in there again. I’m honored to have the Bellator nation tuning in to watch me again. Make sure you tune in March 4th to watch ‘The Baddest Man’ put a hole through Darrion Caldwell.”

Complete audio of our interview is below and complete Bellator MMA coverage can be found right here on fight night.

*****

Today’s UFC 196 press conference was a real doozy, so Iain Kidd and Stephie Haynes did a little breakdown of all the finer points of the showdown before the showdown.

The second round of Pressermania for UFC 196 was even better than the first round last week. My longtime partner in crime, Iain Kidd and I decided that it required some discussion, so we recorded a quick 19-minute Three Amigos mini-sode for our listeners. There is even a bonus in that Iain’s demon (explained in the audio) makes an appearance.

Some of the points we covered were:

-The apparent irritability of McGregor
-His ownage of the verbal battle once again
–Dana White’s silence when put on the spot about the weight limit controversy
-The gazelle remarks
-The after-presser scuffle
–Jake Shields egging on Diaz to continue the skirmish
-A small breakdown of their styles
-Some bonus history of Three Amigos hijinx

We do realize we’ve put out three shows in a 24 hour span, but we feel this is an important event and McGregor/Diaz is absolutely an important fight. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording.

You can check out the show here or via the embedded player below. Remember, if you’re looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we’re under the MMA Nation name. Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes, Three Amigos Podcast, Iain Kidd and Mookie Alexander or our Facebook fan page, Three Amigos Podcast.

UFC 196 headliner Conor McGregor commented on a possible boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

The UFC 196 main draw isn’t planning to break on his way to the top of the fighting World. In his recent interview with BT Sport’s Gareth A. Davies, McGregor opened up on the possible match with boxing’s (now retired) P4P long-time king Floyd Mayweather.

“I’m open to discussions, come at me,” said McGregor about fighting with Mayweather (transcription by Bleacherreport.com). “But I hold the key and it’s me who holds the key to the fight game. I am open minded, I am open to discussion, I love competition, I love fighting. It would be nice to make that fight if the fans were interested and wanted to see it.”

Talking about this theoretical match-up that would likely become a ‘billion dollar fight’, McGregor was confident that he would accept a bout vs. Floyd.

“I’m all about those numbers, Gareth, so I would definitely do that, no problem,” said Conor.

McGregor is set to make his UFC welterweight debut on March 5. His upcoming fight with Nate Diaz has already become one of the most heated and anticipated bouts in recent MMA history.

Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will battle for the strap this Saturday (March 5, 2016) at UFC 196 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. In a match up of boxer and wrestler, what adjustments must be made for either woman to claim victory? Find out below!

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Bantamweight bad asses Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will collide this Saturday (March 5, 2016) at UFC 196 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Holm shocked the world in her last bout with her brutal finish of Ronda Rousey. Despite entering the title fight as a massive underdog, Holm stole the strap in violent fashion and now looks like a very difficult woman to beat.

Meanwhile, Tate was the woman passed over in favor of Holm for that title shot. Luckily, the gritty wrestler now will square off with someone other than Rousey in an attempt to become UFC champion.

Let’s take a look at the keys to victory for each combatant:

Holly Holm
Record: 10-0
Key Wins: Ronda Rousey (UFC 193), Raquel Pennington (UFC 184), Marion Reneau (UFC Fight Night 71)
Key Losses: None
Keys to Victory: Holm is a former professional boxing champion and has experience as a kickboxer as well. Thus far, her takedown defense has been very strong, forcing her opponents to contend with “Preacher’s Daughter” on the feet.

It hasn’t been going well for them, as Holm has knocked out seven of her past opponents.

For Holm, this is a pretty standard bout. Against an opponent who pressures forward and looks for the takedown, Holm needs to circle, stay off the fence, and punish her opponent coming in.

Sound familiar?

Overall, this will almost always be Holm’s game plan. She’s such a talented range striker that it makes little sense for her to do anything else, as the vast majority of her opponents will look to close the distance and take her down.

Holm’s style takes full advantage of her conditioning edge as well, which will be important in this fight. Tate does a damn fine job of making fights ugly and using that to her advantage, but if she gets tired first, that will become an impossible task.

VS.

Miesha Tate
Record: 17-5
Key Wins: Jessica Eye (UFC on FOX 16), Sara McMann (UFC 183), Liz Carmouche (UFC on FOX 11)
Key Losses: Ronda Rousey (UFC 168, Strikeforce: “Tate vs. Rousey”), Cat Zingano (The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale)
Keys to Victory: Tate is one of the toughest athletes in the sport. She’s a talented wrestler with some aggressive striking, but time and time again, it’s her heart and willpower that allows Tate to pull through and earn the victory.

In this bout, however, it’s more important that Tate stay smart and fight in a more measured manner.

If Tate comes out guns blazing and tries to blitz Holm, this bout will likely end similarly to Ronda Rousey’s bout with Holm. Forward pressure is great, but throwing wildly and leading with the face against a strong striker is never a smart move.

Instead, Tate needs to focus on a pair of things. First and foremost, Tate needs to try and pressure her opponent into the fence by cutting off the cage. While Holm was able to deny Rousey’s favorite clinch throws, she’s likely been preparing for them since day one.

Tate’s double-leg takedown may be a different story.

On a similar note, Tate needs to continue using level change feints to set up her punches. Holm has been in the game a long time and was rocked by one of Rousey’s wild shots, so a well-timed overhand could drastically change this fight.

Bottom Line: It’s for the title!

Holm went from a relative unknown — in the MMA world at least — to a star overnight. She did the impossible by dethroning Rousey, bringing her a ton of fame and acclaim. However, a victory here against one of the division’s former champions and a true veteran would really solidify Holm as more than a nightmare match up for “Rowdy.”

Alternatively, a loss would put Holm in an odd place. There’s simply a massive gap in competition level between Rousey and the rest of her wins, so it’s possible that Holm may not be quite as dominant as she showed in that bout. With only three fights inside the Octagon, it’s uncertain just how well Holm will fair opposite the rest of her division.

It’s odd to say this about a title fight, but this may be a far more important bout for Tate. Both of her losses to Rousey were dominant, and even though she’s improved since, it’s hard to like her chances in a trilogy match. For the first time in a long time, Tate seems to have a real chance at taking the title, so it’s important that she capitalizes right now.

If Tate comes up short, her road ahead is unclear. She’s contemplated retirement before, and it’s hard to see how she can work back to the title unless UFC creates a women’s Flyweight division. If that doesn’t happen in the near future, Tate may just live up to her word and leave the sport.

At UFC 196, Holly Holm and Miesha Tate will fight over the title. Which woman will have her hand raised?