He’s back.
Jon Jones returned at UFC 197 in dominant fashion against Ovince Saint Preux. The lopsided decision victory netted him the interim UFC light heavyweight championship, but that is a consolation prize to just being back inside the cage.
It was…
He’s back.
Jon Jones returned at UFC 197 in dominant fashion against Ovince Saint Preux. The lopsided decision victory netted him the interim UFC light heavyweight championship, but that is a consolation prize to just being back inside the cage.
It was an impressive showing, but another champion was even more dominant in the co-main event.
Demetrious Johnson made quick work of Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo with a first-round TKO to retain the flyweight belt. Johnson continues to be the shining example of what high-level MMA is all about, and he is staking his claim as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
There was plenty of other action in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and the winners and losers will be seeking matchups following the show. That is what we take a gander at today.
These are the matches to make for all 24 fighters who competed at UFC 197.
The UFC flyweight champion of the world, No. 1-ranked Demetrious Johnson (24-2-1), continued to lay claim to being the pound-for-pound best fighter on planet Earth with a stunning TKO performance against No. 4-ranked Henry Cejudo (10-1).
Johnson finish…
The UFC flyweight champion of the world, No. 1-rankedDemetrious Johnson (24-2-1), continued to lay claim to being the pound-for-pound best fighter on planet Earth with a stunning TKO performance against No. 4-ranked Henry Cejudo (10-1).
Johnson finished in just 2:49 of the first round at UFC 197 on Saturday.
Cejudo wasted no time taking the center of the cage. Johnson gave him numerous looks to keep him dancing, but Cejudo did get a takedown with 3:30 remaining in the first round. Johnson pushed off and got to his feet quickly.
Johnson landed a couple of knees that got Cejudo’s attention. They remained in the clinch, where the champ landed an elbow over the top and several knees to the body. Johnson switched it up and went back to the head. Cejudo wobbled back; Johnson followed up and landed one more to the body to put Cejudo on the canvas.
And still.
Luke Thomas of MMA Fighting praised the champ’s dominance:
Cejudo (29) is still young in his MMA career, and this will serve as a big learning experience. The Olympic gold medalist has tremendous wrestling and excellent boxing, but he does not have the full gamut of MMA skills that allows him to blend them successfully against someone on Johnson’s level, as Bleacher Report’s Mike Chiappetta expressed:
That will come over time, and he also has to account for the speed differential with Mighty Mouse.
Cejudo needs to rebound, and no one is better to rebound against than Ali Bagautinov.
Johnson has all but cleared out the flyweight division. Should he move up to bantamweight? He has competed against champion Dominick Cruz in the past (a loss at UFC on Versus 6 in 2011), but there is nothing wrong with staying at 125 pounds where he runs the show.
If he stays at 125, the UFC has to debate long and hard because he has defeated all credible challengers. Other contenders are coming off losses that eliminate them from consideration.
At bantamweight, he should get an immediate shot against the winner of Cruz vs. Urijah Faber. Will that happen? We just have to wait and see because nothing is clear at 125 or 135. Johnson may have to sit awhile before we know what’s next.
In the meantime, we can relish this amazing performance by a special athlete who doesn’t get the respect he deserves as one of the baddest men walking the world today.
Bleacher Report’s No. 9-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker (16-4) defeated Rafael Natal (21-7-1) by unanimous decision in a stand-up battle at UFC 197 on Saturday.
This marked Whittaker’s fifth straight win and his fourth in the middle…
Bleacher Report’s No. 9-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker (16-4) defeated Rafael Natal (21-7-1) by unanimous decision in a stand-up battle at UFC 197 on Saturday.
This marked Whittaker’s fifth straight win and his fourth in the middleweight division. It snapped Natal’s four-fight win streak.
The bout opened up somewhat slowly as Whittaker and Natal tried to figure each other out. Whittaker came forward as he typically does, but Natal did well to circle away from danger. In the final seconds they began to open up. Whittaker won the round with aggression and by landing a couple of heavy shots before the horn sounded.
Whittaker’s accuracy was fantastic early in the second, and Natal’s winging punches were not working against the Australian’s crisp response. Natal’s success in the first two rounds was due to strong leg kicks. It began to affect Whittaker’s ability to land heavy strikes as the fight progressed. USA Today‘s Ben Fowlkes pointed out the match’s notable brutality:
Whittaker’s leg was wearing the damage heading into the third and final round.
Whittaker made the necessary adjustments for the final round. He did not put himself in a position to eat frequent leg kicks and landed several clean punches to score on the cards. Whittaker’s technical advantage on the feet was the difference. Natal could not get the fight to the ground or land his wild power punches. Whittaker put an exclamation on the bout with a head kick before the bell.
Natal is currently the No. 13-ranked contender, according to the UFC rankings, and he doesn’t deserve to drop after his performance in Las Vegas. Natal is a quality fighter and serves a good purpose as a middleweight division gatekeeper.
Natal should fight an up-and-comer or a fellow Brazilian who’s coming off a loss. Thales Leites fits the latter description and would be a great fight for a fall or winter Brazilian card. MMAFighting.com’s Shaheen Al-Shatti and FightMetric.com’s Michael Carroll highlighted Whittaker’s 4-0 record in the middleweight division:
As for Whittaker, it may be time for a serious contender. The problem is, the division is currently booked up, so it’s difficult to pinpoint an appropriate opponent. The most significant option for Whittaker would be Anderson Silva, should “The Spider” defeat Uriah Hall at UFC 198 in May.
Regardless, Whittaker has a bright future in the middleweight division, and he will be involved in a significant fight during his next outing.
The Australian striker performed well enough at UFC 197 to get the win against a tough opponent. Now it’s about claiming his stake as a true contender in the middleweight division.
It’s time to don the matchmaking caps and sit back down at the UFC 200 table.
By now, everyone has caught wind of the stunning yet brief retirement of Conor McGregor that saw his exit from the UFC 200 main event. Or, if you believe the UFC’…
It’s time to don the matchmaking caps and sit back down at the UFC 200 table.
By now, everyone has caught wind of the stunning yet brief retirement of ConorMcGregor that saw his exit from the UFC 200 main event. Or, if you believe the UFC’s version of the story, it pulled him for not committing to a press schedule.
Either way, he’s out and so is Nate Diaz for the time being.
Steven Rondina and I will take a look at the UFC’s leading options to replace McGregor vs. Diaz 2 atop the UFC 200 fight card on July 9. There are only a few realistic options on the plate. Mr. Rondina, what is the UFC’s leading option for a new UFC 200 main event?
Steven:First and foremost, it’s worth pointing out that the UFC would much rather keep Diaz vs. McGregor 2 in place rather than put something else together. No matter what kind of dispute may be happening behind the scenes or what sort of demands either side is making, there’s no question that keeping this fight in place is the most lucrative option available for all parties. Until the UFC officially announces, signs and promotes a new main event, I’m still expecting this fight to happen, regardless of UFC President Dana White’s bombast.
If McGregor is indeed out of the picture, the UFC would be best served by keeping Diaz atop the card. Nobody knows how much of a rub he got from defeating McGregor, but unless Ronda Rousey suddenly returns or Georges St-Pierre ends his hiatus, he’s the best option. Choosing an opponent for him is basically a two-horse race between either lightweight champ Rafael Dos Anjos or welterweight champ Robbie Lawler.
Dos Anjos is set to face Eddie Alvarez on the Thursday before UFC 200, but it wouldn’t be hard to sell him on a jump to UFC 200. As for Lawler, White told AXS TV broadcasters that he is going to fight at UFC 201 or 202 (probably) against TyronWoodley (probably), per MMAFighting.com. Again, it wouldn’t be difficult to woo Lawler into a fight with Diaz.
Of those two, Lawler has more legs and is the more fan-friendly fighter. If the UFC plans on making a totally new fight, however, that’s anyone’s guess.
But hey, Nathan! I’m fairly certain that you qualify as “anyone,” so what would you guess?
Nathan:McGregor is off the card for good, and I believe that will hold. The UFC will want to make a point that he can’t just waltz back into UFC 200 after everything that has transpired. Even though the UFC also pulled Diaz, he could end up back on the card against the right opponent.
Rouseydoesn’t seem like a realistic option at this juncture, given her hiatus and movie schedule, and it looks obvious she’s going to be a linchpin for the Madison Square Garden card.
The only three fighters I see coming in to save the day are Jon Jones, Lawler and GSP. The top option is, of course, the return of the Canadian superstar. Talks are ramping up on his return, and if there was ever a time for the UFC to throw canvas bags with a dollar sign on them at the former champion, now would be it. I’m just too skeptical that it will happen.
This weekend’s UFC 197 main event is going to play a big role in what goes down. If Jones runs through Ovince Saint Preux, I would expect an announcement that Jones vs. Daniel Cormier is the new UFC 200 headliner. It’s too easy of a fight to make, and Jones is one of the top UFC draws behind McGregor. If the fight goes on a bit too long and Jones is banged up, I could see the UFC having Lawler as the backup plan.
Steven, are there any options available to the UFC that may be just a little outside of the box?
Steven: Rousey, as you said, is out of the question. It stinks, but a return is unlikely to the point where it’s not even worth discussing further.
GSP, however, seems like a legitimate possibility. While he played coy Monday speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour,KhabibNurmagomedovtold Russian media that the UFC asked him about facing the former welterweight champ at UFC 200. Even though Nurmagomedov turned down the fight due to his plans to adhere to the fasting traditions of Ramadan, you can bet he’s not the only fighter the UFC called.
If GSP does indeed return, a fight against Diaz makes sense in a lot of ways. Past him, however, the options are limited to Lawler or Anderson Silva (if the UFC can get another quick turnaround out of him).
Jones is where things start getting interesting. As you mentioned, Cormier vs. Jones 2 is the biggest fight the UFC can make not involving Rousey or McGregor, but if Cormier can’t make it for July, the UFC has other options in Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Johnson.
Nathan: All told, we’ll probably get our answer at the UFC 197 post-fight press conference. If Jones can’t put away OSP with ease, Lawler will probably go on tap to take on Diaz or Woodley. Late Thursday evening, rumors swirled that Diaz was also pulled from the card. Damon Martin of Fox Sports reported that Lawler vs. Diaz had been discussed but was no longer on the table. Diaz is much more palatable than Woodley for this huge event.
It’s off the table until the UFC knows if Jones can make it or not. The company wants Lawler to headline UFC 201 and only wants to resort to him as a last option.
Jones. GSP. Lawler. That almost seems to be a consensus at this point. It’s going to be a wild few days as speculation heats up and we get ready for the return of the most dominant light heavyweight in MMA history.
This is the sport that keeps on giving, and it’s giving us a lot to think and talk about for UFC 198 and UFC 200. These are crazy times all thanks to an Irish superstar who wanted to focus on training.
UFC 197 is led by two title fights, but also on the main card is a big time lightweight tilt between Anthony Pettis (18-4) and Edson Barboza (16-4)
Pettis checks in at No. 6 and Barboza at No. 9 in Bleacher Report’s Steven Rondina’s MMA rankings.
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UFC 197 is led by two title fights, but also on the main card is a big time lightweight tilt between Anthony Pettis (18-4) and EdsonBarboza (16-4)
The former champion is on a two-fight skid: dropping his belt to Rafael dos Anjos and a title eliminator against Eddie Alvarez. Barboza is also coming off a loss against Tony Ferguson. Both men have their backs against the wall as they want to lay claim to being a title contender.
This is a stylistic matchup that should be making fans salivate. Two high-level, exciting strikers having the cage door locked behind them.
Pettis and Barboza are sure to electrify the crowd.
The co-main event at UFC 197 on Saturday isn’t getting much press, but it features arguably the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, Demetrious Johnson (23-2-1).
Johnson defends his UFC Flyweight Championship against rising star and Olympic…
The co-main event at UFC 197 on Saturday isn’t getting much press, but it features arguably the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet, Demetrious Johnson (23-2-1).
Johnson defends his UFC Flyweight Championship against rising star and Olympic gold medalist, Henry Cejudo (10-0).
The flyweight division has only known Mighty Mouse as its leader since its inception under the UFC banner in 2012. He does everything to near perfection. He is the example of what MMA can be at its highest level. And yet, he gets virtually no respect.
This is another opportunity for the flyweights to gain that respect. UFC 197 puts them on a platform underneath the return of Jon Jones. Who will walk out of the Octagon wearing 12 pounds of gold?
Here is your head-to-toe breakdown for Johnson vs. Cejudo.
