Author: Riley Kontek

UFC Fight Night 68 Preliminary Card Predictions

Another weekend, another UFC event. This time we head down to New Orleans for UFC Fight Night 68, live on Fox Sports 1.
Formerly headlined by now-UFC champion Daniel Cormier and Ryan Bader, the card now features a main bout between Dan Henderson and Ti…

Another weekend, another UFC event. This time we head down to New Orleans for UFC Fight Night 68, live on Fox Sports 1.

Formerly headlined by now-UFC champion Daniel Cormier and Ryan Bader, the card now features a main bout between Dan Henderson and Tim Boetsch. The co-headliner pits exciting heavyweights Matt Mitrione and Ben Rothwell against each other.

Before we get to those fights, though, we have the preliminary card. After a .500 showing at last weekend’s event in Brazil, we hope to emerge from this event at least over .500 to right the ship after a frustrating last couple of events.

With that, let’s take a look at the fights and make some predictions for each bout.

 

2015 Riley’s Record: 63-44

Last Event: UFC Fight Night 67 (3-3)

Begin Slideshow

TUF 21 American Top Team vs. Blackzilians: Episode 6 Recap and Results

With American Top Team finally on the board, could it keep the momentum in its favor to make it two victories in a row? Or would the Blackzilians be able to recover and get back the win that ATT picked up in the previous episode of The Ultimate Fighter…

With American Top Team finally on the board, could it keep the momentum in its favor to make it two victories in a row? Or would the Blackzilians be able to recover and get back the win that ATT picked up in the previous episode of The Ultimate Fighter 21?

The score is 100-50 Blackzilians, and the show basically got down to business right away. ATT picked one of its most experienced fighters, Marcelo Alfaya, to take on hungry, unheralded Blackzilian Jason Jackson.

When fight time came along, things did not go the way many expected it to.

Alfaya, the veteran savage who has fought under the bright lights, put forth an incredibly underwhelming performance against his counterpart. Meanwhile, Jackson, the less experienced fighter of the two, used quickness, a tight jab and takedown defense to thwart any offense from Alfaya.

Jackson stuck and moved, while Alfaya barely put out enough offense for the audience to notice he was there. Alfaya rarely shot for takedowns, something he should have combined with the clinch to stifle Jackson.

It simply didn’t happen.

Jackson won a majority decision and brought things back to the Blackzilian gym. He also raised the score to 150-50, as his team continues to dominate a baffled ATT.

Once again, Dana White was critical of the fight, and I can’t blame him. There was no urgency from either fighter to finish impressively, especially from Alfaya.

 

Season Results

Winner Loser Points Leader
Kamaru Usman (BLK) Mike Graves (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 25-0
Luiz Firmino (BLK) Uros Jurisic (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 50-0
Valdir Araujo (BLK) Steve Carl (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 75-0
Carrington Banks (BLK) Sabah Homasi (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 100-0
Hayder Hassan (ATT) Andrews Nakahara (BLK) 50 Blackzilians lead 100-50
Jason Jackson (BLK) Marcelo Alfaya (ATT) 50 Blackzilians lead 150-50

 

Notes and Observations

  • Alfaya is crazy. Like, really scary. He’s the type of guy who gets cut off in traffic, punches the offender’s window in and drags them out of their car. Just watch his pre-fight breathing bit that had Nathan Coy and Mike Graves laughing their butts off.
  • Speaking of Alfaya, in the aftermath of his fight, he told his coaches that he was conserving his energy in the fight—especially in the first round. That is a terrible strategy, especially in a two-round fight. You have to take the Hayder Hassan approach, where you go in aggressively and look to finish early and often.
  • According to the preview for the next episode, since it is halfway through the competition, the coaches will have the option to bring on a maximum of two new fighters and exchange them for fighters currently on the squad. I would assume the Blackzilians won’t exchange anybody, but seeing as Steve Montgomery left the show already and ATT is struggling, I wouldn’t be surprised to see at least one new ATT member. In looking at ATT‘s roster of welterweights, some of its choices could be Joe Ray, Karl Amoussou or some other surprise appearance. Either way, ATT is in desperate need of changes.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 67 Preliminary Card Predictions

The UFC’s hectic schedule for 2015 continues this weekend, as UFC Fight Night 67 goes down in the MMA crazy country of Brazil. Headlined by welterweight strikers Carlos Condit and Thiago Alves, the card looks to be an exciting installment in the 2015 U…

The UFC’s hectic schedule for 2015 continues this weekend, as UFC Fight Night 67 goes down in the MMA crazy country of Brazil. Headlined by welterweight strikers Carlos Condit and Thiago Alves, the card looks to be an exciting installment in the 2015 UFC schedule. 

Also on the card are established veterans like Norman Parke, KJ Noons and Ryan Jimmo. They all will ensure that the card is exciting and will make this one to watch on Saturday.

Before them, we get the prelims. We look to build on a solid UFC 187, where we would have had a 5-1 record had Uriah Hall not lost a controversial decision to Rafael Natal.

With that, let’s take a look at the prelims for this card in Brazil.

 

2015 Riley’s Record: 60-41

Last Event: UFC 187 (4-2)

Begin Slideshow

UFC 187: Grades for Every Main Card Fighter from Johnson vs. Cormier Fight Card

Two belts were awarded Saturday night, as UFC 187 came live from the fight capital that is Las Vegas. With the UFC Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Championships on the line, two fighters put in grand performances to stake claim to gold.
In the main …

Two belts were awarded Saturday night, as UFC 187 came live from the fight capital that is Las Vegas. With the UFC Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Championships on the line, two fighters put in grand performances to stake claim to gold.

In the main event, Daniel Cormier scored a third-round submission when he choked out Anthony Johnson for the vacant 205-pound title. It was a belt left behind by Jon Jones, who vacated the title due to his recent legal troubles.

Then, in the co-main event, Chris Weidman made short work of Vitor Belfort to retain his title. It was an impressive performance that continues to build the star of one of MMA‘s best young champions.

The main card was an interesting one with good fights and great moments. Let’s take a look at each individual performance and put a grade on each fighter’s outing.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 187: B/R Staff Main Card Predictions

Even with the UFC’s top star in Jon Jones out, UFC 187 carries on this weekend with one of the biggest pay-per-view offerings of the year. Headlined by two championship bouts, it should be a very important night of MMA for the UFC.
Up for grabs in the …

Even with the UFC’s top star in Jon Jones out, UFC 187 carries on this weekend with one of the biggest pay-per-view offerings of the year. Headlined by two championship bouts, it should be a very important night of MMA for the UFC.

Up for grabs in the main slot is the light heavyweight championship. Anthony Johnson looks to finish one of the sport’s biggest career turnarounds when he takes on Daniel Cormier, a former title challenger for the vacant belt left behind by Jones.

Then, there’s a middleweight title defense, as Chris Weidman looks to refute the title bid of Vitor Belfort.

It’s a stacked card from top to bottom which should be a great event. With that, we assemble the B/R predictors who have guided you through this year so far. Here are the picks from James MacDonald, Sean Smith, Craig Amos, Scott Harris and yours truly, Riley Kontek.

Begin Slideshow

TUF 21 American Top Team vs. Blackzilians: Episode 5 Recap and Results

The point values are changed and American Top Team is against the ropes. Could they finally get on the board in episode five, or will the Blackzilians continue to pitch a shutout against their bitter rivals?
ATT, down four fights and 100 points, needed…

The point values are changed and American Top Team is against the ropes. Could they finally get on the board in episode five, or will the Blackzilians continue to pitch a shutout against their bitter rivals?

ATT, down four fights and 100 points, needed to think of an option that would allow them to gain a victory. So, they went with their finisher and aggressive striker Hayder Hassan, a man who has never gone to a decision in victory during his career.

Looking to counter and playing the defensive matchup in their theories, the Blackzilians went with karate world champion Andrews Nakahara. To Glenn Robinson, it was a matchup they felt very comfortable with, as on paper, Nakahara is the better striker of the two.

Dana White has been critical all season of the fighters for the lack of urgency and killer instinct. However, he could have no complaints with this fight, as it was a brutal, quick finish that left the judges out of it.

In under a minute, Hassan stalked Nakahara and walked through some punishing kicks to land a brutal punching combination that dropped the Blackzilian. The ref had no choice but to step in and save Nakahara, who took a brutal ground-and-pound beating in the lead-up to the stoppage.

With that, ATT finally got on the board in the first 50-point fight of the season. That cut the Blackzilians lead in half, giving ATT the momentum and the home-gym advantage.

The only fighters yet to throw down are Nathan Coy and Marcelo Alfaya of ATT, as well as Felipe Portella, Vicente Luque and Jason Jackson of the Blackzilians.

 

Season Results

Winner Loser Points Leader
Kamaru Usman (BLK) Mike Graves (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 25-0
Luiz Firmino (BLK) Uros Jurisic (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 50-0
Valdir Araujo (BLK) Steve Carl (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 75-0
Carrington Banks (BLK) Sabah Homasi (ATT) 25 Blackzilians lead 100-0
Hayder Hassan (ATT) Andrews Nakahara (BLK) 50 Blackzilians lead 100-50

 

Notes and Observations

  • After his win, Carrington Banks was visited by Anthony Johnson in the house. That’s one thing I love about this season: the team aspect. These guys are all teammates from a gym, not a bunch of randoms thrown onto one team. It’s cool to see the family-like aspect that all these guys share with their teammates. I really hope they do another season like this. Again, my suggestion is Team Alpha Male vs. Nova Uniao.
  • Jason Jackson and Hayder Hassan got in a heated argument in the house over the accusation by Jackson that Hassan is a dirty fighter. That stems from a bout the two had last year where Hassan was victorious. Jackson contends that Hassan pulled his hair, but it sounds like excuses to me.
  • A big focus on this season has been Mike Graves and his drinking in the house. It appears he really isn’t handling his episode-one loss very well. Losses don’t matter, it’s how you respond to those losses and get back on the horse. Graves is incredibly talented, and from the looks of it, is really letting this opportunity slip out of his hands. His teammates are not happy either, as he almost missed the weigh-in from being hungover and sleeping in.
  • I still think ATT is the more talented team and this shift of momentum is huge. I think Nathan Coy and Marcelo Alfaya, if they fight next, will continue the success for ATT. The three Blackzilians that are left to fight are probably their bottom-three talents.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com