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Andre Fili vs. Max Holloway: Why Fans Should Not Sleep on This Bout

When it comes to UFC 172 on Saturday night, there’s a perfectly good reason why all of the focus is on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
First off, he’s one of the two most polarizing figures in MMA right now. Simply put, fans love…

When it comes to UFC 172 on Saturday night, there’s a perfectly good reason why all of the focus is on UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.

First off, he’s one of the two most polarizing figures in MMA right now. Simply put, fans love to see him perform or see someone bring the fight to him. Second, he is coming off a contentious unanimous-decision win over Alexander Gustafsson and defending his belt against Glover Teixeira, who told Sherdog.com’s Greg Savage that he will knock Jones out to win the title.

With a win, Jones can look forward to a rematch with Gustafsson, as well as facing a slew of contenders including (but not limited to) Daniel Cormier and Phil Davis. A host of others who are chomping at the bit to get their shot at gold might reveal themselves as the months progress and the light heavyweight scene unfolds.

Still, while a great deal of significance deserves to be placed on the main event, we must not forget about the first fight on the main card, which pits two rising featherweights against each other.

In that featherweight bout, Andre Fili sees action against Max Holloway, who opened up 2014 with a win over Will Chope in Singapore. On paper, this bout looks like just about any other scrap on a main card, right?

After all, Fili’s UFC 166 win over Jeremy Larsen was just his first UFC win, and Holloway just rebounded from a two-fight skid, so what makes this fight particularly special, besides the fact that it’s a featherweight fight?

First, consider the two styles at hand. In addition to the power he showed in Houston, “Touchy” Fili can work well enough on the ground to where he can find and secure a submission. Because of his knack for finishing fights (he has 10 finishes in 13 wins), he rarely ever goes the distance.

Against Holloway, though, Fili faces a strong striker in his own right, one who owns his share of finishes inside the Octagon. In contrast to Fili, though, Holloway does not mind taking a fight the full 15 minutes.

Holloway’s style of striking, while also punishing, serves as more of a volume-striking arsenal. In other words, even if he doesn’t immediately rock someone with a blow, he can pile on the onslaught until it overwhelms his opponent.

Second, this will be Fili’s chance to show what he can accomplish with a full camp and ample time to make 145 pounds. He fought Larsen at a catchweight of 148.5 pounds but made 145 for this bout with Holloway. Of course, Fili gets a mulligan for missing weight against Larsen since he replaced Charles Oliveira on two weeks’ notice. And in fairness to Fili, he was originally planning on fighting for another promotion at welterweight.

Nevertheless, he fights Holloway at featherweight on Saturday night, which can make things interesting in the long run. As it stands right now, Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson are the only two featherweights with clear cases for a shot at UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Mendes seems likely to get the next shot, and with a win over Jeremy Stephens in San Antonio later this year, Swanson would appear likely to follow suit.

Until we see what unfolds with Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and the other top 145ers, who else can Aldo expect to face next?

That’s where the third point of interest in this fight comes in. The winner of Fili vs. Holloway likely will not be far off from fighting a Top 10 guy, either in his next fight or soon afterward. If the winner fights and defeats that caliber of competition in his next bout, he can work his way up to becoming a fringe contender, thus putting him closer to the elite of the division.

Do Fili and Holloway have a chance to defeat Aldo at this point? It’s highly unlikely, but don’t sell either man short. Both fighters have paid attention to Aldo’s most recent performances and know that he must slow down sometime. Someone will work his way up to being “the one,” and both men want to be that guy.

Saturday night will go a long way in not only cementing both men’s respective standings in the sport but also serving notice to the MMA world that no one should sleep on them. If the winner doesn’t prove to be “the one” after this weekend, he will aim to do so soon enough.

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Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler: Will Someone Get Knocked Out in Dallas?

Nobody mistakes the power that exists in UFC welterweight title contender Johny Hendricks’ hands, especially when it comes to his left hand. In 15 career wins, eight men tried to survive Hendricks’ onslaught to no avail, while an official total of six …

We say “an official total of six men” because while Hendricks did damage former UFC welterweight champion Georges “Rush” St-Pierre, he dropped a controversial split-decision verdict to St-Pierre, who to his credit, edged Hendricks out in significant strikes landed.

Still, Hendricks gets the chance for redemption this Saturday when he faces “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Much like Hendricks’ career often stands out because of his career wins, Lawler‘s career is defined by the fact that most of his wins have come via knockout. In fact, he has 16 KOs, which comes as no surprise given his experience in the sport.

The fact that Lawler can put guys away with more than just a left or right hand makes him even that much more of a threat to Hendricks. It also serves as one of the reasons why a number of MMA fans anticipate this bout ending inside the distance via one form or another of a knockout.

While no question exists that both can knock each other out, does that mean it will happen when the cage door shuts?

Absolutely not, and while both men appear primed for an intense five-round battle that promises to end before the championship rounds, the matchup on paper suggests that a decision will determine the new UFC welterweight champion.

After all, when it comes down to the bare bones of the matter, the knockout ability only tells a portion of the story, in comparison to other overlooked aspects of the bout.

For instance, consider Lawler‘s three-inch reach advantage. Anytime he lays hands on someone, he always hurts them badly, even if he can’t finish them.

In his UFC 167 win over Rory MacDonald, as well as in early-career bouts against Chris Lytle and Aaron Riley, Lawler proved that he can use his striking effectively to dictate the tempo of the bout while going the distance, even if he gets taken down a few times or put in precarious positions.

In other words, he won’t worry if he finds himself in a situation where he swings and lands with deadly intentions and yet can’t knock Hendricks out.

Lawler knows he can pick Hendricks apart if he needs to, even if it costs him the chance to finish the fight. Besides, no durable opponent on earth will discourage him from trying to blast someone with anything that might end the fight anyway.

“Bigg Rigg” will not go down on his home turf without making it a struggle, though. Remember, Lawler head kicked a durable young man in Bobby Voelker and earned a solid win, but rocking Voelker‘s dome like a hurricane does not compare to cracking Hendricks’ jaw.

So far, no welterweight can claim to have done that.

Also, if the bout reverts more to grappling than striking, then interest begins to peak further.

If Hendricks does get rocked or hurt, he holds his wrestling experience in his back pocket. Lawler normally struggles with guys who can outgrapple him and overall remove him from his element.

While Hendricks does not fit the mold of a grappler, his takedowns and top control can bring bad news to anyone who cannot stuff his attempts.

Still, even his wrestling, which can stifle Lawler if Hendricks sets it up properly, sees a solid counter in the form of impenetrable takedown defense. Sure, Lawler can get taken down, but he has solid defense.

In this fight, he will need it.

How would anyone say that as a fact? Because even though Hendricks initially weighed in heavy at Friday’s UFC 171 weigh-in, even a Bigg Rigg that looked zapped of his energy can still find a way to threaten Lawler with takedowns. If Lawler cannot stuff any of them, he will find himself in a world of hurt.

Once again, though, this bout is scheduled for five rounds, and just as Hendricks showed that he could go hard for 25 minutes against St-Pierre, Lawler can prove the same on Saturday night.

Even though both men can come in calm, calculated and committed to a game plan, fans should expect that they will show the hearts of a champion throughout the duration of the bout and not let the fight end inside the distance.

The result after the full five rounds may be controversial. If so, it will all but guarantee a rematch down the line.

Yet, with the vacant UFC welterweight title on the line, it would only be fitting that the bout end on the heels of an exciting, back-and-forth affair that gives us a tremendous look at the best of the welterweight division today—while helping us get excited to watch what happens in the UFC welterweight picture in the future.

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Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann: Why McMann Could Make It a Competitive Bout

Every world champion in MMA, past or present, possesses a quality that makes his title reign one to pay attention to or one to remember.
Some champions destroyed their opponents and broke their wills in one fell swoop during title defenses, while …

Every world champion in MMA, past or present, possesses a quality that makes his title reign one to pay attention to or one to remember.

Some champions destroyed their opponents and broke their wills in one fell swoop during title defenses, while others took to showcasing something new in every bout by either dominating their opponent in their own realm or forcing their opponent’s foot off the gas as the bout progressed.

A select few even represented themselves not only as unstoppable forces who accumulated lengthy winning streaks but also as enigmas who nobody figured out for years.

These days, the term “enigma” seems to suit UFC women’s bantamweight champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, yet at this point, everyone knows her modus operandi. She wants to impose her strength, implement her judo, dominate on the ground and work her way to the armbar.

On paper, it sounds easy to either take Rousey down and control her on the ground or avoid the ground game altogether, but fights don’t always play out that way.

This may explain why Rousey holds the favorite over fellow undefeated Olympian and top title contender Sara McMann, who challenges for the title on Saturday night at UFC 170.

Much like Liz Carmouche and Miesha Tate, McMann’s edge on paper comes if she can force Rousey out of her element by using her wrestling game to nullify Rousey’s judo and her persistent control in all aspects of the grappling game.

McMann’s top control, if implemented in a similar way to how she controlled Sheila Gaff, would force Rousey to seek a different way to work her game plan—knowing that McMann would pose an answer to the champ’s various armbar attempts from any and every position possible.

It all works well until you realize the difference between claiming that McMann can control Rousey on the ground and McMann actually doing it. The challenger stands a chance, but so did Carmouche, Tate and former Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman.

Heck, just about every fighter in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight class who is on a winning streak can claim to have a chance against the champion, but once the cage door closes, it becomes a different battle altogether.

Rousey performs on a much different level than Gaff or any other woman in the game at 135 pounds.

Still, do not sleep on the undefeated silver medalist. While Rousey knows how to hook armbars in ways most fans don’t, McMann’s true edge may come mentally, and to understand why that might hold the key toward her success, we must recall Rousey’s road to this point.

Sure, we could beat it to the ground that every past opponent thought she would be the one to snap the champ’s streak, but remember that almost every MMA fan in the world, at one time or another, felt that one Rousey opponent would emerge as “the one.” She used that to push herself to become the top women’s bantamweight in the world, and it showed when she submitted Tate in their UFC 168 rematch.

Remember that fight? Some in the MMA world thought that if Tate pushed Rousey past the first round, the champ’s supposed lack of cardio would show and Tate would prevail. She pushed Rousey hard for three rounds, but someone forgot to tell Rousey that she needed to slow down and gas out.

As a result, Rousey took control, earning the first third-round submission win of her career.

Now, no one questions whether or not McMann can go beyond the first round. Three of the first six fights of McMann’s career ended in unanimous-decision wins, and when it comes to submissions, she possesses skills of her own as well. Still, she holds the underdog status because seven women have tried and failed against Rousey.

So what makes McMann think she’ll even last five minutes, let alone five rounds, with the champ?

Maybe that’s just the reason why she’ll compete harder than any oddsmaker, fan or expert expects her to. Nobody expects her to compete with Rousey—just like nobody thought Rousey would beat Tate the first time.

Just like nobody thought Rousey would be the reason why women’s MMA would make it to the UFC, and just like nobody anticipates her getting the “former champion” tag on her name unless she vacates the belt or retires undefeated.

When the critics entered Rousey’s mind, it motivated the champ to prove them all wrong. What would stop McMann from shocking the world if she took the same approach on Saturday night?

If McMann can say or do anything about it, nothing will stop her from at least making a fight out of it, whether anyone saw it coming or not.

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UFC 169: Win or Lose, Jose Aldo Must Make a Move to Lightweight

Unquestionably, UFC featherweight champion Jose “Scarface” Aldo stands in a class by himself as far as current UFC champions go. Unbeaten since 2005, he has laid a path of destruction with emphatic wins over Mark Hominick, Mike Brown, Manny Gamburyan, …

When the Nova Uniao camp unleashes him into hostile territory, Aldo takes his game to a different level against the men in his division.

UFC 169 will either mark the sixth successful defense of his crown against “The Bully” Ricardo Lamas, or it will ignite the flame that brings a brand-new heat to the 145-lb division in what some might immediately coin the Lamas era.

Incidentally enough, despite a time in the sport when the downfall of MMA legends and all-time greats still get classified as upsets, some could actually foresee the changing of the featherweight guard on Saturday night.

While Lamas’ aggressive style, punishing ground-and-pound attack and determination to win will factor into a potential victory, we must point out Aldo’s weight cut as a factor as well.

While he has made weight for every fight in the UFC and has looked good in a majority of his performances, the weight cut took its toll on him, causing him to look sluggish against Edgar and Florian. As a result, he was more careful in his approach and won decisions in both fights rather than finishing them definitively.

No MMA rule forbids a fighter to go to a decision, and when the UFC absorbed the WEC, fans knew that Aldo’s streak of KOs and TKOs would not continue forever. However, when weight cutting starts to take its toll and fans recall those cuts more than injuries suffered during the bout or after it, maybe going up a weight class would benefit the fighter more than people think.

When people hear about a fight with Anthony Pettis, who originally planned to fight Aldo for his featherweight belt at UFC 163 before injuries shelved the lightweight champ, they think that the prospect of Scarface moving up in weight indicates that the 145-lb division is devoid of challengers. The idea also seems like a cheap excuse to see two reigning champs pull off this superfight thing that the UFC has pushed for years.

Still, at what point do we wake up and observe that Aldo, only 27 years old, has slowed down noticeably in fights, even more so than the usual pacing that most fighters do to conserve energy? Sooner or later, the toll of trying to make the 145-lb limit will tax him far worse than any damage he physically absorbs inside the cage, and then what?

Do we all pretend to be surprised if the stress of weight cutting forces him into an early retirement?

The prospect of having a long MMA career should make Aldo at least reconsider his decision to finish his career at 145, even if he does not wish to fight at 155 full time without getting Pettis right off the bat. And that’s regardless of whether or not he leaves Newark, N.J. with his title on Saturday.

If he decides to go up to 155 permanently and work his way toward Pettis, even with the lack of real contenders for the lightweight belt, fans will get to enjoy Aldo for a considerably longer period of time. If he doesn’t move up in weight, the time may come when he’ll have to end his career earlier than anticipated.

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UFC Ireland: Can It Happen Without Conor McGregor?

It feels like forever ago since the Ultimate Fighting Championship made its way to Ireland, but in all fairness, a lot of things have transpired since UFC 93, the promotion’s most recent event in the republic.
The UFC expanded, traveled to a plethora o…

The UFC expanded, traveled to a plethora of countries, witnessed the departure of some top draws and recognized the influx of a new breed of talent. Overall, those events helped the UFC emerge into its own, as only the fastest-growing sport in the world can do.

Naturally, when fans talk about the new breed, someone always brings up former Cage Warriors two-division world champion “Notorious” Conor McGregor. McGregor represents a rising name in the UFC and a prominent name in the Irish MMA scene, predominantly due to his pre-UFC career. His star only elevated further with a knockout win over Marcus Brimage and his unanimous-decision win over Max Holloway.

Despite the noise McGregor made in his past two fights, some would suggest that UFC president Dana White hit it on the money when he spoke to media members this past Monday and suggested not only that they could go to Ireland without McGregor on the bill, but also that it would feel a bit silly if they went to do an event in Mexico without UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

None will argue much, if at all, with how much it would hurt the UFC if they did decide to go to Mexico without Velasquez. Notwithstanding, the presence of Erik Perez, Frank Trevino and other talent would create huge waves if booked for the UFC’s debut event in Mexico, because Velasquez carries a big name and a certain appeal that would work best on that type of card. Still, with TUF: The Smashes winner and Northern Ireland’s own Norman Parke as the only other Irish fighter on the UFC’s roster, can the UFC really pull off a return to Ireland without McGregor?

Yes, it remains possible that they can, and if McGregor doesn’t get clearance to compete before the UFC does return to Ireland, they almost certainly will look for some way to pull it off. Remember, this same promotion delivered memorable cards in England without having Michael Bisping in the main event. And in 2013, the promotion also proved that it could draw in some interest for cards in Brazil without former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva anywhere on the card. In fact, Vitor Belfort headlined the brunt of those cards, as did Glover Teixeira and Demian Maia.

At the bottom line of it all, though, it’d sound foolish to think that the UFC would not at least consider featuring McGregor. Sure, people don’t like him, while others choose to not yet buy what McGregor sells—in terms of his constant desire to face top-10 competition—but did that ever become a bad thing?

One constant in MMA is whether anyone likes McGregor or not, they will watch him fight if he can get cleared to fight, so if he can heal up by the time the UFC heads to Ireland, he will get booked. If they don’t watch out of a love for his bravado, or a hatred for his brash sound bites, they will watch because while only McGregor represents a style all his own, he may also represent the next enigma in terms of his fighting style.

One minute he’ll throw something out of a Capoeira skill set. The next minute you’ll wonder if he relocated to Roufusport to pick up a tip or two about taekwondo from Erik Koch or the Pettis brothers. And the minute after he could look like a totally different fighter altogether. For all anyone knows, his return could see him going heavy on a fluid submission-based game plan, or he could look to slam his next opponent 23 different times in a round, potentially forcing his foe to quit in the corner and subsequently causing McGregor to shout out a Sambo specialist.

In other words, McGregor‘s style remains hard to figure out because he represents the martial artist without one martial art. The guy will mix up every style he studies in order to get a win, and if his countrymen in Ireland knew they’d get the chance to see it in person, that support would help McGregor evolve into likely more of an international star than anyone could ever imagine.

Should we listen to those who won’t count out the UFC’s ability to make something happen without him on the next Ireland card? Absolutely, do not discount the UFC, because they’ve made things happen without one star on a particular card, even at the expense of ratings, and they can do it again.

Still, what does it mean to think the UFC won’t include McGregor on the UFC’s return to Ireland if they know he’s cleared to compete and make weight by that time? One could easily call that as foolish as the UFC debuting in Mexico without Velasquez, if not more.

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John Lineker vs. Ali Bagautinov: What If Lineker Makes Weight and Wins Again?

The case of John Lineker tells of a strange yet somewhat familiar scenario, one where a UFC-contracted fighter misses weight yet still manages to dominate his foes and reach title-contender status.
The fact remains that Lineker probably should find him…

The case of John Lineker tells of a strange yet somewhat familiar scenario, one where a UFC-contracted fighter misses weight yet still manages to dominate his foes and reach title-contender status.

The fact remains that Lineker probably should find himself against someone like John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez or Ian McCall right now, but he does not. Why doesn’t a Dodson, a Benavidez or a McCall stand in front of Lineker?

Perhaps that comes partially due to the depth (or lack thereof) at 125 pounds, but only so many problems in regards to UFC flyweights can come as a result of the lack of depth the division still experiences. At some point, the ultimate responsibility falls on the fighters themselves, especially one in the position in which Lineker sits.

Nobody ever questioned that “Hands of Stone” can fight. Anytime a man brings the punching power and ferocity that the Brazilian possesses, fans of solid fights and definitive finishes know they will witness something of beauty for as long as the bout lasts.

Still, it takes something incredible for a man to put previous instances of coming in overweight safely in the past, but by enlisting Mike Dolce it seems Lineker may find that something.

Given Dolce‘s track record of helping fighters make weight with relative ease, it raises a more optimistic question with Lineker, who faces Ali Bagautinov at UFC 169, than what one previously considered asking.

The time once existed when people might’ve asked who would come next for Lineker if he missed weight again and lost. Frankly, with the depth at flyweight and no public plans to consider an all-flyweight cast for a future season of The Ultimate Fighter, Lineker missing weight and beating Bagautinov forces Lineker to clean out the division until UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson stands as the only one left to fight.

Conversely, though, Lineker did not experience trouble making weight for either Yasuhiro Urushitani or Azamat Gashimov, and he looked strong in both performances. Henceforth, the question we raise will consider the possibility of Lineker making weight and beating a touted prospect like Bagautinov.

If he did, the UFC might look at a Dodson or a Benavidez. Whether or not Lineker would get McCall depends as much on McCall beating Brad Pickett when the UFC returns to London this March as it does Lineker making weight and beating Bagautinov.

However, no question exists that Lineker can make it a fight with the upper echelon of the UFC’s speediest weight class.

The question is whether Dolce will prove enough to help Lineker get his mind right when it comes to hitting the mark on the scales, but the man known as “Hands of Stone” has hit the mark before, and for the sake of keeping his own potential title hopes, Lineker may find a way to do it again.

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