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Can Volkov avoid kickboxing with Rozenstruik?

Zane Simon is joined by special guest analyst Dan Tom to break down all the fight on this week’s UFC event in Las Vegas, NV. With picks and odds for every fight on the card. From Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the…



Zane Simon is joined by special guest analyst Dan Tom to break down all the fight on this week’s UFC event in Las Vegas, NV. With picks and odds for every fight on the card. From Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the main event, down to Erin Blanchfield vs. JJ Aldrich in the opening prelim.

The UFC returns after a week away and they’re bringing another unspectacular Fight Night with them. While the co-main event between Dan Ige and Movsar Evloev should thrill, there’s every chance that Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik ends up as a bit of a grind. Outside of those two bouts there are some clear opportunities for violence up and down the card, but relevance is low.

For fans looking to dive deeper into the undercard, check out the Prelims Vivi below.

The MMA Vivisection is brought to you by ‘The Fine Art of Violence’, a collection of art and essays recapping the year in MMA by Chris Rini, featuring the most talented artists and writers in Mixed Martial Arts. The book is available in both hard copy and digital formats at chrisrini.com.

Here’s a look at the UFC Vegas 56 fight card as it stood at the time of recording:

ESPN+ MAIN CARD | 4pm/1pm ET&PT
Alexander Volkov vs. Jairzinho Rozenstruik — Picks, Both: Rozenstruik
Dan Ige vs. Movsar Evloev — Picks, Zane: Evloev, Dan: Ige
Michael Trizano vs. Lucas Almeida — Picks, Both: Trizano
Poliana Botelho vs. Karine Silva — Picks, Both: Botelho
Zarrukh Adashev vs. Ode Osbourne — Picks, Both: Osbourne
Alonzo Menifield vs. Askar Mozharov — Picks, Both: Menifield

Both: KowalkiewiczBoth: SoleckiBoth: JacksonZane: Saint-Denis, Dan: StolzeBoth: GravelyBoth: MolinaBoth: FakhretdinovBoth: Blanchfield

ESPN+ PRELIMS | 1pm/10am ET&PT
Felice Herrig vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz — Picks, Both: Kowalkiewicz
Alex da Silva vs. Joe Solecki — Picks, Both: Solecki
Damon Jackson vs. Daniel Argueta — Picks, Both: Jackson
Benoit Saint-Denis vs. Niklas Stolze — Picks, Zane: Saint-Denis, Dan: Stolze
Tony Gravely vs. Johnny Munoz — Picks, Both: Gravely
Zhalgas Zhumagulov vs. Jeff Molina — Picks, Both: Molina
Andreas Michailidis vs. Rinat Fakhretdinov — Picks, Both: Fakhretdinov
Erin Blanchfield vs. JJ Aldrich — Picks, Both: Blanchfield

* Due to a medical emergency with one of our producers, timestamps, picks stats, both of the YouTube videos for each show, and fb videos for the BE page and the Vivi page will all be delayed publishing until later this evening. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you enjoy our shows, give us a shout out in the comments here on Bloody Elbow, and give us a “like”, share & subscribe on your BE Presents Podcast platform of choice: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, OverCast, Player FM, & Amazon Music – For previous episodes of the show, check out our playlists on any of our BE Presents channels. Check out the new MMA Vivi Facebook Page, “Like”, Follow, Share! At: https://www.facebook.com/TheMMAVivi.UFC Vegas 56: Volkov vs.

Rockhold Gives Cannonier A 20% Chance Of Beating Adesanya

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold has given a less-than-optimistic view of Jared Cannonier’s chances against reigning king Israel Adesanya. After testing his Octagon skills and recording knockouts at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, Cannonier has found a home at 155 pounds. In his six appearances in the division, “The Killa Gorilla” has gone 5-1,…

Continue Reading Rockhold Gives Cannonier A 20% Chance Of Beating Adesanya at MMA News.

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold has given a less-than-optimistic view of Jared Cannonier’s chances against reigning king Israel Adesanya.

After testing his Octagon skills and recording knockouts at both heavyweight and light heavyweight, Cannonier has found a home at 155 pounds. In his six appearances in the division, “The Killa Gorilla” has gone 5-1, with his sole loss coming against former champion Robert Whittaker in 2020.

Now, having rebounded with a main event victory over Kelvin Gastelum and a brutal ground-and-pound KO of Derek Brunson earlier this year, Cannonier has risen to #2 on the middleweight ladder and set his sights on Adesanya, whom he’ll look to dethrone at UFC 276 on July 2.

Despite being regarded as a heavy underdog, Cannonier has given a confident assessment of his preparation, and suggested that he’ll force the champion to change his approach when they share the cage this summer.

But one former titleholder isn’t buying it.

During a recent appearance on Submission Radio, Rockhold, who sat on the middleweight throne in late 2015 after getting the better of Chris Weidman, gave Cannonier just a 20% chance of adding the first blemish to Adesanya’s 185-pound record in the UFC 276 headliner.

“Cannonier’s got a 20% chance. He’s got a puncher’s chance,” said Rockhold. “Israel’s so long and effective, how he gets out of the way of a power-puncher like that. I don’t know, I don’t see it. He fights from so many angles. It’s gonna be tough for Cannonier to get through the power kicks, takedowns, or whatever he’s gonna try to do. You never know though, he’s a tough dude.”

Having defended his title four times against Yoel Romero, Paulo Costa, Marvin Vettori, and Whittaker, Adesanya will be looking to extend his run of dominance by adding Cannonier to his résumé on July 2.

Should he accomplish that feat, perhaps a bout with Rockhold will be in his future. The Californian is preparing for his return against top-five contender Paulo Costa and has expressed his desire to return to the middleweight mountaintop.

Do you agree with Luke Rockhold’s assessment of Jared Cannonier’s title chances?

Continue Reading Rockhold Gives Cannonier A 20% Chance Of Beating Adesanya at MMA News.

Bookies Lay Odds On Ortega Vs Rodriguez

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Two-time 145-pound title challenger Brian Ortega will risk his No. 2 spot in the division Top 5 when he collides with No. 3-ranked featherweight striker Yair Rodr…


UFC 195: Brandao v Ortega
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Two-time 145-pound title challenger Brian Ortega will risk his No. 2 spot in the division Top 5 when he collides with No. 3-ranked featherweight striker Yair Rodriguez in the upcoming UFC Long Island main event, locked and loaded for Sat., July 16, 2022 on ESPN from inside UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

The bookies at BetOnline.ag have the 31 year-old Ortega clocking in as the -155 (20/31) betting favorite against the +135 (27/20) underdog role for Rodriguez, 29. UFC Long Island marks the first time “T-City” has been favored since his Clay Guida fight as part of the UFC 199 pay-per-view (PPV) event nearly six years back.

Ortega (15-2, 1 NC) is looking to rebound from his unanimous decision loss to reigning featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 266 back in September. The one-time Modelo spokesperson has only lost twice during his eight years under the UFC banner but both losses have come in 145-pound title fights.

Rodriguez (13-3, 1 NC) is also coming off a five-round decision loss, thanks to the busier hands of former champ Max Holloway in their UFC Vegas 42 main event. That defeat marked the only appearance for “El Pantera” since late 2019, and like his UFC Long Island opponent, Rodriguez has only fell twice inside the Octagon.

UFC Long Island will also feature the welterweight battle between Li Jingliang and Muslim Salikhov. Elsewhere on the card, Amanda Lemos and Michelle Waterson get busy at strawweight, while Jack Shore and Ricky Simon hook ‘em up at 135 pounds. In addition, Dustin Jacoby returns opposite light heavyweight bruiser Da-un Jung.

For the rest of the UFC Long Island fight card and ESPN lineup click here.

Pimblett fires back at Dillashaw after weight comments

Paddy Pimblett at Cage Warriors 136. | Photo by Pat Scaasi/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Dillashaw claimed Pimblett’s post-fight weight gain means he’ll never become a UFC champion. Paddy Pimblett remains one of the …


Paddy Pimblett at Cage Warriors 136.
Paddy Pimblett at Cage Warriors 136. | Photo by Pat Scaasi/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Dillashaw claimed Pimblett’s post-fight weight gain means he’ll never become a UFC champion.

Paddy Pimblett remains one of the most hyped prospects in the UFC. He retained this status thanks to a submission win over Kazula Vargas at UFC London in March.

Pimblett is now booked to face Jordan Leavitt on July 23. Pimblett will be facing Leavitt in the lightweight division. However, based on recent pictures of Pimblett it’s safe to say that his walk around weight is way more than 155 lbs.

Former UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw has taken exception to images of Pimblett at a recent Cage Warriors show. Based on that evidence Dillashaw claimed that the British fighter would never be a champion in the UFC.

“They can promote him the right way and do all this good stuff, and he’s got some stuff to grow and get into the higher echelons of the UFC, but if you keep that same work ethic that he has now, he’ll never be a champion,” Dillashaw said on “The Schaub Show” (ht MMA Fighting).

“You can’t have that down time like that. You can’t get that fat. You can’t get out of shape. It just kind of proves the dedication to what you need to do. And no, I’m not trying to pound on him or anything, but that’s something I think he’s going to have to figure out with age, right? He’s young. … It’s a full-time job, bro. This isn’t just wanting to be a fighter – you have to be a fighter.”

Pimblett got word of Dillashaw’s criticism and then let everyone know he’s not a fan of veteran fighter’s views.

“Cheating little juice head,” wrote Pimblett. “You would never have won a belt without them steroids you fucking mushroom.”

Dillashaw beat Renan Barao, on short notice, to claim the UFC bantamweight title in 2014. He defended the title versus Joe Soto and then Barao before dropping the title to Dominick Cruz in 2016.

After that razor thing decision loss to Cruz, Dillashaw beat Raphael Assuncao and Jon Lineker to earn a title shot against new champion—and former teammate—Cody Garbrandt.

Dillashaw TKO’d Garbrandt to win back the belt and then KO’d Garbrandt in an immediate rematch.

In 2019 Dillashaw unsuccessfully challenged Henry Cejudo for the UFC flyweight title. After that fight he tested positive for the banned substance EPO. He served a two-year suspension for that infraction and returned to the Octagon last July.

In his first fight back he took a close split decision over Cory Sandhagen.

Pimblett is 2-0 in his young UFC career. He’s a former featherweight and lightweight champion with the Cage Warriors promotion and has an overall record of 18-3.