The UFC returns to London Saturday with UFC Fight Night 37. Headlined by Alexander Gustafsson and Jimi Manuwa, the event airs live on Fight Pass in the late morning, early afternoon.
Before the main card, six preliminary fights host a slew of pros…
The UFC returns to London Saturday with UFC Fight Night 37. Headlined by Alexander Gustafssonand JimiManuwa, the event airs live on Fight Pass in the late morning, early afternoon.
Before the main card, six preliminary fights host a slew of prospects and local fighters who are set to excite fans. With names like David Grant, Luke Barnatt and Cyrille Diabate, these fights will deliver great action that butters up the fans for the underrated main card.
The Ultimate Fighter China Finaleproved to be .500 experience, as unexpected things happened and other fights were called off before fight night. It continued a rough start to 2014 for me, so hopefully London’s fight card will be kinder.
Without further ado, here are the preliminary card predictions for this fight card.
The UFC returns to London Saturday with UFC Fight Night 37. Headlined by Alexander Gustafsson and Jimi Manuwa, the event airs live on Fight Pass in the late morning, early afternoon.
Before the main card, six preliminary fights host a slew of pros…
The UFC returns to London Saturday with UFC Fight Night 37. Headlined by Alexander Gustafssonand JimiManuwa, the event airs live on Fight Pass in the late morning, early afternoon.
Before the main card, six preliminary fights host a slew of prospects and local fighters who are set to excite fans. With names like David Grant, Luke Barnatt and Cyrille Diabate, these fights will deliver great action that butters up the fans for the underrated main card.
The Ultimate Fighter China Finaleproved to be .500 experience, as unexpected things happened and other fights were called off before fight night. It continued a rough start to 2014 for me, so hopefully London’s fight card will be kinder.
Without further ado, here are the preliminary card predictions for this fight card.
The UFC continues its Fight Pass series this weekend with UFC Fight Night 37. Live from the UK in the late morning-early afternoon, the card boasts an exciting main event and some interesting prospects throughout the card.
Alexander Gustafsson and Jimi…
The UFC continues its Fight Pass series this weekend with UFC Fight Night 37. Live from the UK in the late morning-early afternoon, the card boasts an exciting main event and some interesting prospects throughout the card.
Alexander Gustafsson and JimiManuwa meet in the main feature at light heavyweight, with both men looking for title considerations with a win. For Manuwa, this bout represents the biggest of his career, while Gustafsson looks to earn his second title shot.
There are three bonuses up for grabs as usual. Let’s predict who will win each, with the two “Performance of the Night” bonuses likely going to the best knockout and submission.
Performance of the Night #1: Alexander Gustafsson
Let’s be honest here. Gustafsson is arguably the second-best light heavyweight in the world, especially after his performance against Jon Jones.
He now has a striker in front of him who has never been tested on the ground. As Gustafsson showed in his fight with Jones, he has vastly improved his wrestling and can take his opponent down.
If he does that in this fight, he will out-grappleManuwa in dominant fashion. He is superior in the submission game, and if he pulls one off, he could be $50,000 richer.
Also in the running: Brad Pickett, Gunnar Nelson
Performance of the Night #2: Melvin Guillard
Co-main event participant Melvin Guillard has some nasty power in his hands. That has been proven in the fights he wins.
He has also improved his takedown defense, which will come in handy against Michael Johnson. While Johnson can indeed strike, he is a wrestler by nature and knows that will come in handy against Guillard.
However, this is a fight that Guillard has been getting for years, and this will go no different than most of his previous encounters that resemble this situation. He will touch Johnson’s chin, which the The Ultimate Fighter 12 vet will not like. It may be a fantastic knockout that earns Guillard another bonus.
Also in the running: Cyrille Diabate, Davey Grant, Luke Barnatt
Fight of the Night: Alexander Gustafsson vs. JimiManuwa
Yes, Alexander Gustafsson may double up come Saturday. His matchup with JimiManuwa looks to be a fun bout with good striking and nice back-and-forth action.
Manuwa swings for the fences with every strike. Gustafsson is tough as nails and is rarely in a boring fight.
There are some other intriguing bouts on the card, but this will be the best one of the night. Add in that the headliner is usually always in the running no matter what and you have pretty much a shoo-in for Fight of the Night, assuming this isn’t a sub-minute bout.
Also in the running: Brad Pickett-Neil Seery, Michael Johnson-Melvin Guillard, Phil Harris-Louis Gaudinot
The UFC continues its Fight Pass series this weekend with UFC Fight Night 37. Live from the UK in the late morning-early afternoon, the card boasts an exciting main event and some interesting prospects throughout the card.
Alexander Gustafsson and Jimi…
The UFC continues its Fight Pass series this weekend with UFC Fight Night 37. Live from the UK in the late morning-early afternoon, the card boasts an exciting main event and some interesting prospects throughout the card.
Alexander Gustafsson and JimiManuwa meet in the main feature at light heavyweight, with both men looking for title considerations with a win. For Manuwa, this bout represents the biggest of his career, while Gustafsson looks to earn his second title shot.
There are three bonuses up for grabs as usual. Let’s predict who will win each, with the two “Performance of the Night” bonuses likely going to the best knockout and submission.
Performance of the Night #1: Alexander Gustafsson
Let’s be honest here. Gustafsson is arguably the second-best light heavyweight in the world, especially after his performance against Jon Jones.
He now has a striker in front of him who has never been tested on the ground. As Gustafsson showed in his fight with Jones, he has vastly improved his wrestling and can take his opponent down.
If he does that in this fight, he will out-grappleManuwa in dominant fashion. He is superior in the submission game, and if he pulls one off, he could be $50,000 richer.
Also in the running: Brad Pickett, Gunnar Nelson
Performance of the Night #2: Melvin Guillard
Co-main event participant Melvin Guillard has some nasty power in his hands. That has been proven in the fights he wins.
He has also improved his takedown defense, which will come in handy against Michael Johnson. While Johnson can indeed strike, he is a wrestler by nature and knows that will come in handy against Guillard.
However, this is a fight that Guillard has been getting for years, and this will go no different than most of his previous encounters that resemble this situation. He will touch Johnson’s chin, which the The Ultimate Fighter 12 vet will not like. It may be a fantastic knockout that earns Guillard another bonus.
Also in the running: Cyrille Diabate, Davey Grant, Luke Barnatt
Fight of the Night: Alexander Gustafsson vs. JimiManuwa
Yes, Alexander Gustafsson may double up come Saturday. His matchup with JimiManuwa looks to be a fun bout with good striking and nice back-and-forth action.
Manuwa swings for the fences with every strike. Gustafsson is tough as nails and is rarely in a boring fight.
There are some other intriguing bouts on the card, but this will be the best one of the night. Add in that the headliner is usually always in the running no matter what and you have pretty much a shoo-in for Fight of the Night, assuming this isn’t a sub-minute bout.
Also in the running: Brad Pickett-Neil Seery, Michael Johnson-Melvin Guillard, Phil Harris-Louis Gaudinot
Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
In this episode, Olivier Aubin-Mercier celebrated his win while Jake Matthews experiences …
Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
In this episode, Olivier Aubin-Mercier celebrated his win while Jake Matthews experiences the feeling of losing. Everyone knows that there’s a lot riding on this competition, so taking a loss is hard. Richard Walsh says, “take the positives from a loss and that’s great advice for anyone.”
This week’s fight is Vik Grujic vs. myself. I have a lot of respect for Vik. He is a family man with good values. Like all of us, he’s worked very hard to get to this point. It’s an honor to fight someone like that.
It was pretty cool to have a visit from Cung Le and Jon Jones, although Jones was supporting the wrong team. This competition really is six-to-seven weeks of pure dedication. It was crazy to hear that Jon Jones tried out for TUF and didn’t make it onto the show. It just shows me what a huge opportunity just being here really is.
The welterweight situation is getting interesting with three Canadians; Kajan, Oli & Chad are all in the semifinals. Two will have to face each other in the semis. It will be difficult for teammates potentially having to choose sides and corners.
Going into this fight, I know it’s a great matchup for me. I’ve faced and beaten lots of opponents with similar skill sets to Vik. I know Zein Saliba has beaten Vik and I’m very confident that this is my fight. My goal is to go for the finish at all costs, as always when I fight.
My teammates know my ability and I appreciate Kajan, Chad, Oli and Patrick Cote speaking so highly of me. The fight didn’t go well for me. I came out flat-footed with my hands low and wasn’t feeling like myself. Mentally, I was prepared, but physically I was feeling very off. There are always circumstances that occur outside the cameras, but they don’t really matter when you step into the cage. In the fight, I got clipped with a hook then looked to clinch. I was attempting to throw, and in the process my head hit the ground on the takedown. I was flashed and that was all she wrote. I was out when I got elbowed. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
I started my MMA career at the age of 28 and I had lots of people tell me that I was too old to start. I always had a lot of drive and I knew that I could be successful at it. I have an unrelenting passion for this sport. It was a dream of mine to challenge myself as an MMA fighter and eventually, fight in the UFC. Along the way I’ve had lots of ups and downs. I tore my ACL, which required surgery and sidelined me for quite some time. I fractured my orbital and sustained countless other injuries, but I’ve also had lots of success; started a successful MMA gym, earned a Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, won 10 pro fights against tough competition, trained and coached many fighters and made some incredible friends along the way.
A loss teaches you a lot about yourself. It’s not my first loss and I’m sure it won’t be my last. The challenge and the uncertainty of victory vs. failure is a big part of why I fight. I also fight for my team and my family.
Over the years I realize that it’s more about the journey than the result. I’ve had my hand raised in victory many times, but this was not my day. I respect my opponent who got the better of me that day. I have great respect for any man who steps into the cage with me. This opportunity has been an amazing experience that I’ve been very fortunate to have been a part of. I’ve had an incredible time and met some incredible people. We’ll have to see where this takes my MMA career. I still train everyday and don’t see that changing anytime soon. Thank you for support and please know that win, lose or draw, I love what I do.
Stay humble. Live life to the fullest.
**Tune in next week to hear Luke’s thoughts on the continued tension between teams, more in-depth stories from the house, and his thoughts on the fight between Jake Matthews and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Follow Luke on Twitter@HayabusaHarris and follow his gym @Hayabusa_TC.
Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
In this episode, Olivier Aubin-Mercier celebrated his win while Jake Matthews experiences …
Note: All quotes and material were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report through a one-on-one between Luke Harris and Bleacher Report’s Riley Kontek.
In this episode, Olivier Aubin-Mercier celebrated his win while Jake Matthews experiences the feeling of losing. Everyone knows that there’s a lot riding on this competition, so taking a loss is hard. Richard Walsh says, “take the positives from a loss and that’s great advice for anyone.”
This week’s fight is Vik Grujic vs. myself. I have a lot of respect for Vik. He is a family man with good values. Like all of us, he’s worked very hard to get to this point. It’s an honor to fight someone like that.
It was pretty cool to have a visit from Cung Le and Jon Jones, although Jones was supporting the wrong team. This competition really is six-to-seven weeks of pure dedication. It was crazy to hear that Jon Jones tried out for TUF and didn’t make it onto the show. It just shows me what a huge opportunity just being here really is.
The welterweight situation is getting interesting with three Canadians; Kajan, Oli & Chad are all in the semifinals. Two will have to face each other in the semis. It will be difficult for teammates potentially having to choose sides and corners.
Going into this fight, I know it’s a great matchup for me. I’ve faced and beaten lots of opponents with similar skill sets to Vik. I know Zein Saliba has beaten Vik and I’m very confident that this is my fight. My goal is to go for the finish at all costs, as always when I fight.
My teammates know my ability and I appreciate Kajan, Chad, Oli and Patrick Cote speaking so highly of me. The fight didn’t go well for me. I came out flat-footed with my hands low and wasn’t feeling like myself. Mentally, I was prepared, but physically I was feeling very off. There are always circumstances that occur outside the cameras, but they don’t really matter when you step into the cage. In the fight, I got clipped with a hook then looked to clinch. I was attempting to throw, and in the process my head hit the ground on the takedown. I was flashed and that was all she wrote. I was out when I got elbowed. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.
I started my MMA career at the age of 28 and I had lots of people tell me that I was too old to start. I always had a lot of drive and I knew that I could be successful at it. I have an unrelenting passion for this sport. It was a dream of mine to challenge myself as an MMA fighter and eventually, fight in the UFC. Along the way I’ve had lots of ups and downs. I tore my ACL, which required surgery and sidelined me for quite some time. I fractured my orbital and sustained countless other injuries, but I’ve also had lots of success; started a successful MMA gym, earned a Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, won 10 pro fights against tough competition, trained and coached many fighters and made some incredible friends along the way.
A loss teaches you a lot about yourself. It’s not my first loss and I’m sure it won’t be my last. The challenge and the uncertainty of victory vs. failure is a big part of why I fight. I also fight for my team and my family.
Over the years I realize that it’s more about the journey than the result. I’ve had my hand raised in victory many times, but this was not my day. I respect my opponent who got the better of me that day. I have great respect for any man who steps into the cage with me. This opportunity has been an amazing experience that I’ve been very fortunate to have been a part of. I’ve had an incredible time and met some incredible people. We’ll have to see where this takes my MMA career. I still train everyday and don’t see that changing anytime soon. Thank you for support and please know that win, lose or draw, I love what I do.
Stay humble. Live life to the fullest.
**Tune in next week to hear Luke’s thoughts on the continued tension between teams, more in-depth stories from the house, and his thoughts on the fight between Jake Matthews and Olivier Aubin-Mercier. Follow Luke on Twitter@HayabusaHarris and follow his gym @Hayabusa_TC.
The UFC continues its Fight Pass series this weekend with UFC Fight Night 37. Live from the UK in the late morning-early afternoon, the card boasts an exciting main event and some interesting prospects throughout the card.