Author: Nathan McCarter

UFC 200 Primer: Johny Hendricks vs. Kelvin Gastelum Head-to-Toe Breakdown

UFC 200 is an extraordinarily deep fight card featuring two upper-echelon welterweights as a preliminary contest.
Johny Hendricks (17-4), ranked No. 6 according to Bleacher Report, takes on Kelvin Gastelum (11-2) as part of the Fox Sports 1 prelims.
Bo…

UFC 200 is an extraordinarily deep fight card featuring two upper-echelon welterweights as a preliminary contest.

Johny Hendricks (17-4), ranked No. 6 according to Bleacher Report, takes on Kelvin Gastelum (11-2) as part of the Fox Sports 1 prelims.

Both welterweights are coming off losses. Hendricks was promptly ousted by Stephen Thompson in their February meeting, and Gastelum was edged out by Neil Magny last November. A loss for either man would be devastating to their title hopes.

Hendricks and Gastelum will be watched closely from the time they arrive in Las Vegas. Both men have struggled making the 171-pound weight limit in the past. It will be a point of discussion until they officially stand on the scale during fight week.

The heavy-handed grapplers matchup well against one another, and should make for a very intriguing contest.

Which welterweight can claim victory and move back into title contention? To assist you in the lead-up to the important welterweight clash, here is the head-to-toe breakdown for Hendricks vs. Gastelum at UFC 200.

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BJ Penn Calls for Unnecessary 3rd Fight with GSP at UFC 205 in NYC

It’s 2016 and BJ Penn is calling out Georges St-Pierre for a third fight. GSP announced on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that he is ready to return to the cage, and that has the Hawaiian’s wheels spinning.

The former lightweight and welt…

It’s 2016 and BJ Penn is calling out Georges St-Pierre for a third fight. GSP announced on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani that he is ready to return to the cage, and that has the Hawaiian’s wheels spinning.

The former lightweight and welterweight champion took to Twitter late on Sunday to call out GSP (h/t Damon Martin of Fox Sports). Penn is lobbying for the fight to happen at 155 pounds at UFC 205 in New York City.

Penn dropped both previous meetings against GSP. They originally met in a title eliminator at UFC 58 in March 2006, when GSP edged Penn on the scorecards. The two UFC legends ran it back at UFC 94 in January 2009 in a champion vs. champion tilt; Penn quit on the stool after the fourth round.

There is no reason this fight should happen, and no one—other than Penn—is calling for it. The tweet did not elicit the response Penn was hoping for on social media:

Penn is on a three-fight losing skid and looked horrendous in his 2014 return against Frankie Edgar. Perhaps even more crucial to this callout, GSP has not expressed an interest in fighting at lightweight. There is no heat behind this proposed fight from Penn.

In fact, GSP has his eyes on going in the opposite direction in terms of weight. In the interview with Helwani (h/t Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com), GSP stated his interest in fighting Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight crown. That one makes a lot more sense than a third fight with Penn that virtually nobody is craving.

Penn will likely have to look elsewhere for a marquee matchup, as there is no juice to a third encounter with GSP.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 200 Primer: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assuncao Head-to-Toe Breakdown

T.J. Dillashaw (12-3) and Raphael Assuncao (23-4) are set for another three-round affair inside the Octagon.
No. 2-ranked Dillashaw and No. 3-ranked Assuncao, per Bleacher Report’s June MMA rankings, first met in 2013 at UFC Fight Night 29. A…

T.J. Dillashaw (12-3) and Raphael Assuncao (23-4) are set for another three-round affair inside the Octagon.

No. 2-ranked Dillashaw and No. 3-ranked Assuncao, per Bleacher Report’s June MMA rankings, first met in 2013 at UFC Fight Night 29. Assuncao would capture a controversial split decision. According to MMADecisions.com, the majority of the media scored the fight for Dillashaw.

Less than year later, Assuncao was slated to fight Renan Barao for the bantamweight championship. The Brazilian cited a rib injury as reason to pull out, Dillashaw replaced him and the American won the belt. So much has changed since that evening in 2013. Where does that take us at UFC 200?

Undoubtedly, the winner of this elite-level matchup will put their name at the top of the list for a title shot. A lot is riding on how they perform at the UFC’s biggest event to date. Will Dillashaw get his rematch with Dominick Cruz, or will Assuncao finally claim his title shot?

This is your head-to-toe breakdown for Dillashaw vs. Assuncao II.

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Jessica Eye vs. Bethe Correia Added to UFC 203 Fight Card in Cleveland

UFC 203 will take place in Cleveland on September 10 with Stipe Miocic leading the charge, and another hometown fighter has joined the fray.
Cleveland’s Jessica Eye (11-5, 1 NC) will battle Bethe Correia (9-2) as part of the undercard. Eye confir…

UFC 203 will take place in Cleveland on September 10 with Stipe Miocic leading the charge, and another hometown fighter has joined the fray.

Cleveland’s Jessica Eye (11-5, 1 NC) will battle Bethe Correia (9-2) as part of the undercard. Eye confirmed the fight on Friday via Twitter (h/t Damon Martin of Fox Sports):

Eye, the No. 10-ranked women’s bantamweight contender, has suffered three consecutive losses inside the Octagon. Each of the three bouts has gone the distance, though. She has not been stopped inside the distance since a 2011 submission defeat to Aisling Daly.

No. 11-ranked contender Correia has also been on the losing end in recent fights. She lost her title bid to Ronda Rousey in 34 seconds by knockout and returned in a losing effort against Raquel Pennington in April.

Neither has had her hand raised in the UFC since 2014. Both women will have their backs against the wall when the cage door shuts at Quicken Loans Arena.

Stylistically, Eye vs. Correia offers fans the exact type of fight they want to see: two strikers who will meet in the center of the cage and let leather fly. They are two of the most intense and exciting fighters in the division, and with the possibility of their UFC careers hanging in the balance, they will leave it all in the cage.

The UFC 203 main event features Miocic defending the heavyweight title for the first time against Alistair Overeem. CM Punk also makes his UFC debut against Mickey Gall. Cleveland is getting the event it earned, and Eye vs. Correia adds to the depth of a stellar fight card.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Paige VanZant Returns at UFC on Fox 21 in Vancouver Against Bec Rawlings

Paige VanZant (6-2) is set to make her return to the Octagon on August 27 in Vancouver at UFC on Fox 21. Opposite her will be Bec Rawlings (7-4). VanZant made the announcement Thursday morning on SportsCenter.

VanZant has not competed in mixed martial…

Paige VanZant (6-2) is set to make her return to the Octagon on August 27 in Vancouver at UFC on Fox 21. Opposite her will be Bec Rawlings (7-4). VanZant made the announcement Thursday morning on SportsCenter.

VanZant has not competed in mixed martial arts since last December when her bloom was taken off by a different kind of rose—Rose Namajunas. After the beating, VanZant got the call from ABC to join the cast of Dancing with the Stars.

The platform gave her great exposure, and the UFC’s shining strawweight ended as the runner-up for the season. Over the course of 10 weeks on the show, VanZant participated in 15 different routines with four being scored a perfect 30.

Meanwhile, Rawlings earned her second straight victory in March over Seohee Ham. This matchup, live on Fox, will give Rawlings a shot against a ranked foe. VanZant currently sits as the No. 10-ranked strawweight contender on the UFC’s official rankings list.

The Rogers Arena gets a stylistic matchup sure to excite. Neither Rawlings nor VanZant back away from a brawl. The fight is a great way to get fans on their feet and excited for all of the remaining action. The bout order for the strawweight scrap has yet to be finalized by the promotion.

UFC on Fox 21 also features Anthony Pettis’ featherweight debut against Charles Oliveira, but it does not currently have a main event attached to the event. The addition of Rawlings vs. VanZant will help bolster the card with one of the brightest stars on the UFC’s roster.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 89 Results: Matches to Make for the Winners and Losers

UFC Fight Night 89 took place in Ottawa on Saturday evening, and the TD Place Arena was treated to a long night of high-quality MMA action.
In the main event, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson continued his ascent up the welterweight ladder by knocking off …

UFC Fight Night 89 took place in Ottawa on Saturday evening, and the TD Place Arena was treated to a long night of high-quality MMA action.

In the main event, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson continued his ascent up the welterweight ladder by knocking off former title contender Rory MacDonald. How far will this move Thompson up the ranks, and how far will MacDonald fall? We will examine that.

Donald Cerrone stated his case to be a contender in the weight class too. Cerrone pelted Patrick Cote en route to a finish. This opens the door for a plethora of fun matchups at 170 pounds.

But the other 22 fighters’ futures will also be addressed. Theorizing on their next outings is no easy task. The UFC’s large roster will give them many options for their next bouts. Let’s waste no time and get to cracking on filling out the next step for the winners and losers from Ottawa.

Here is what should be coming next for the winners and losers of UFC Fight Night 89.

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