No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Anthony Pettis (18-3) will make his return for the first time since losing the UFC lightweight title, and No. 4-ranked Eddie Alvarez (26-4) will be awaiting him on the other side of the cage.
The two possible title co…
No. 1-ranked lightweight contender Anthony Pettis (18-3) will make his return for the first time since losing the UFC lightweight title, and No. 4-ranked Eddie Alvarez (26-4) will be awaiting him on the other side of the cage.
The two possible title contenders will co-main event UFC Fight Night 81 on Sunday at the TD Garden in Boston.
Both Alvarez and Pettis have had a lengthy stint away from the cage, and one could argue it was well deserved after their previous bouts. Everyone should see revitalized and motivated fighters inside the Octagon this weekend. And that makes for a compelling scrap between two of the most exciting fighters in the division.
The three-round affair has major implications not only due to the fighter’s rankings but because the recent news surrounding ConorMcGregor vs. Rafael dos Anjos has brought a spotlight back to the division. Who will walk out of Boston with momentum toward the gold?
This is your head-to-toe breakdown of UFC Fight Night 81’s co-main event.
Michael McDonald (17-3) had not fought inside the Octagon since 2013, and that is exactly what it looked like through the first round of his fight against Masanori Kanehara (25-13-5) at UFC 195 on Saturday night.
It was a tough task for his return figh…
Michael McDonald (17-3) had not fought inside the Octagon since 2013, and that is exactly what it looked like through the first round of his fight against MasanoriKanehara (25-13-5) at UFC 195 on Saturday night.
It was a tough task for his return fight after more than two years out of action, and the No. 8-ranked bantamweight contender struggled to find the same success that made him a title contender prior to his injury. Kanehara was making his long-awaited return less triumphant by the second.
Kanehara got McDonald to the mat early in the second round and went for an arm-triangle choke.
As Kanehara passed to the side to tighten up the submission attempt, McDonald contorted his body to slip out of danger and take his opponent’s back. It was a marvelous back take that opened the door for him to finish the fight right away.
McDonald sunk in the rear-naked choke, and Kanehara had no choice but to tap out.
The back take into the submission makes it an early Submission of the Year candidate. It was an extraordinary transition and fight reversal. The dramatic ending ensured that McDonald made an impact in his Octagon return.
Following UFC 195, it is evident that Mayday is the perfect nickname for Michael McDonald.
With the victory in the featured preliminary bout on Fox Sports 1, the American is right back in the thick of the bantamweight division. And he is still just 24 years old. The UFC has options on how it wants to bring McDonald back into the mix. After this performance, fans will be interested in what comes next.
McDonald’s incredible finish will be hard to top, but there are 12 months for another mind-boggling submission to occur. 2016 should be a whole lot of fun.
No. 12-ranked lightweight contender Dustin Poirier (19-4) and Joe Duffy (14-2) were initially slated to mix it up in Dublin, Ireland, but a fight-week concussion postponed the bout until UFC 195 on Saturday.
It was well worth the wait.
The UFC kep…
No. 12-ranked lightweight contender Dustin Poirier (19-4) and Joe Duffy (14-2) were initially slated to mix it up in Dublin, Ireland, but a fight-week concussion postponed the bout until UFC 195 on Saturday.
It was well worth the wait.
The UFC kept the fight on its digital streaming service UFC Fight Pass, and those who did not subscribe missed out on a fantastic lightweight scrap.
Poirier swept the scorecards for a unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27).
Duffy and Poirier went straight to work in the first frame. Duffy kept his hands low and cracked Poirier with his boxing. Poirier struggled to identify the angles the punches were coming from, but he found plenty of offense of his own.
The Irishman hurt Poirier in the stand-up, but the latter survived and rebounded later in the round. Poirier took Duffy down and scored with an elbow that landed flush. It was a closely contested first round of action.
Both men were bloodied at the start of the second frame.
Poirier was quicker with his takedown in the second and kept top position while scoring with his ground-and-pound. Duffy was active off his back, but lacing up a submission became increasingly difficult with the volume of blood that accumulated throughout the five minutes.
The No. 12-ranked contender had a dominant final minute in the second. When the horn sounded, Duffy smiled at Poirier, and the two warriors gave each other props before heading back to their corners between rounds.
At the start of the third, Duffy’s left eye wore the damage dished out by Poirier.
Poirier went right back to what had given him the most success—the ground game. He completed another successful takedown one minute into the final round. Duffy struggled to deal with Poirier’s top game but nearly swept him into a kneebar. Duffy continued to attack with a heel hook, but the American was patient and escaped.
Despite fun ground work from both men, the referee stood them up with about one minute remaining in the fight. Duffy started to have success with his boxing, but then Poirier dragged him right back down to the canvas. Duffy threw up a triangle and got it in the remaining seconds, but Poirier rode out the clock.
The downside to this fight was that it was scheduled for three rounds in Las Vegas instead of five in Dublin. We can only imagine what would have happened if this fight was allowed to continue for another 10 minutes.
What’s next for these two?
The possible Conor McGregor rematch is completely off the table now—for Duffy that is. Poirier could still have the featherweight champion in the cross hairs should the bombastic superstar come to lightweight in 2016. Duffy won’t drop too far in the rankings given the excitement of the fight, but he won’t meet a ranked opponent in his next outing.
Poirier proved to any remaining doubters that he belongs among the upper echelon of the 155-pound division.
It’s difficult to say who Poirier will fight next, given the uncertainty of the title picture. If McGregor wants the shot at the title, then he’ll get it, but if he stays at 145 pounds, both Tony Ferguson and the winner of Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez are logical choices for Poirier. Someone will be left out, and that someone would be a great opponent for him.
Other names who make sense are Nate Diaz and Edson Barboza. All would be thrilling fights, but the entire Top 10 picture is murky until the champion Rafael dos Anjos has a fight.
Until then, we can just be happy we witnessed a stellar battle between two top-level fighters who gave it their all. Fans can’t ask for anything more.
The UFC is getting 2016 off on the right foot. The first event of the year gives us a welterweight championship fight worthy of all of our attention.
Robbie Lawler, the undisputed welterweight champion, will defend against No. 4-ranked Carlos Condit. I…
The UFC is getting 2016 off on the right foot. The first event of the year gives us a welterweight championship fight worthy of all of our attention.
Robbie Lawler, the undisputed welterweight champion, will defend against No. 4-ranked Carlos Condit. It’s a matchup that screams violence. Two aggressive fighters who love to throw down will mix it up for the gold and our enjoyment.
And the co-main event looks to be a heavyweight title eliminator. No. 2-ranked contender Andrei Arlovski and No. 3-ranked Stipe Miocic are slated to throw their lunch-box-sized fists at one another in an attempt to lay claim as the next rightful challenger.
The rest of the main card looks like plenty of fun as well, and the Bleacher Report staff are excited to start a new season of fight picks.
The staff team of Craig Amos, Scott Harris, Sydnie Jones, Nathan McCarter and Steven Rondina are here to give you our thoughts on who walks out of UFC 195 as victors.
UFC 195 is a mere day away. The leader of MMA ended its 2015 campaign on a strong note and kicks off 2016 in much the same way.
UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler puts his gold on the line against No. 4-ranked contender Carlos Condit in the main e…
UFC 195 is a mere day away. The leader of MMA ended its 2015 campaign on a strong note and kicks off 2016 in much the same way.
UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler puts his gold on the line against No. 4-ranked contender Carlos Condit in the main event.
In the co-main event, No. 2-ranked heavyweight contender Andrei Arlovski and No. 3-ranked StipeMiocic are set to do battle. These bouts come after the other 10 that fill out this fight card, and Bleacher Report will have it covered wall-to-wall.
First up? The weigh-in. All fighters will tip the scale at 7 p.m. ET on Friday evening to make the bout official. Come back for live updates from the UFC 195 weigh-in.
If you stayed up late or woke up early for Rizin Fighting Federation’s second event, you got treated to the best worst fight of 2015.
Noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Gabi Garcia (1-0) made her long-awaited MMA debut against professional wrestler Le…
If you stayed up late or woke up early for Rizin Fighting Federation’s second event, you got treated to the best worst fight of 2015.
Noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Gabi Garcia (1-0) made her long-awaited MMA debut against professional wrestler Lei’D Tapa (0-1). And it was glorious.
Tapa nearly stunned the MMA world when she leveled Garcia early in the fight.
Garcia survived and continued. They got into another exchange, and Tapa thought she was out of danger. But Garcia is huge. Her massive wingspan allowed her to flail her right hand backward and connect flush, dropping Tapa. Garcia pounced and finished with hammerfists.
What a glorious mess of a fight.
To be fair, both women were making their MMA debuts without any prior striking experience. To expect high levels of striking would have been naive, but the resulting mess gave fans plenty of entertainment.
And Twitter enjoyed it quite a bit:
There is no division for these two women. There just isn’t enough talent in the world for women at this weight, but it was an entertaining sideshow for Rizin’s second event. And there will remain interest in Garcia’s MMA career. There is no one like her in this sport.
Rizin is the perfect promotion for Garcia. Japan loves these types of fights, and Rizin will be able to pay willing participants to stand opposite the ring from her. Tapa showed that Garcia is vulnerable, and that will add a bit more intrigue to Garcia’s next fight in terms of whether she has improved or will get dropped again.
The Brazilian wasn’t able to dominate this fight like many people, myself included, expected.
When MMA technique is this poor, it usually results in more entertainment than some mid-level fights, and that is exactly what we saw out of Garcia vs. Tapa. Technique was null and void. Garcia’s Sound of Musicbackfist, however, will be a memorable moment from the best worst fight of 2015.
No. 12-ranked lightweight contender Dustin Poirier (19-4) and Joe Duffy (14-2) were initially slated to mix it up in Dublin, Ireland, but a