Author: Riley Kontek

UFC Fight Night 29: Predicting the Fight Night Bonuses

Although the consensus of the fans is that they are not excited, UFC Fight Night 29 has the potential for some great fights. When you have a bunch of up-and-coming guys competing for future main card slots, they tend to bring the fight.
The headliner b…

Although the consensus of the fans is that they are not excited, UFC Fight Night 29 has the potential for some great fights. When you have a bunch of up-and-coming guys competing for future main card slots, they tend to bring the fight.

The headliner between Demian Maia and Jake Shields will go either two ways. Either Maia and Shields will have an ADCC-level grappling match to the excitement of fans, or they will put on a five-round hug fest that elicits a hurricane of boos.

Further than that, there are some fun matchups. In particular, TJ Dillashaw-Raphael Assuncao and Joey Beltran-Fabio Maldonado should bring some fun moments.

Here are the predictions for the fight-night bonus.

 

Submission of the Night: Yan Cabral

UFC newcomer and TUF Brazil 2 alum Yan Cabral is set to make his debut at this event, and if you haven’t seen him fight, you will be in for a treat. He brings an aggressive, skillful Brazilian jiu-jitsu style that has seen him tap out all 10 of his professional opponents.

His most recent win came over two years ago, but it was against a Japanese legend in Kazushi Sakuraba. Cabral is a Nova Uniao product whose favorite technique is the arm-triangle choke.

David Mitchell, his opponent, is a very good grappler himself. However, Cabral is vastly superior and will continue his submission streak in impressive fashion.

Also in the running: Rousimar Palhares, Demian Maia

 

Knockout of the Night: Thiago Silva

If the man who looks like a Brazilian psychopath can pass his drug test post fight, I think he will win the Knockout of the Night bonus. That scary-looking dude is Thiago Silva.

Silva has just one win in the last three years. However, that is only because he failed two drug tests after demolishing Brandon Vera and choking out Stanislav Nedkov.

If there is something Silva proved in his last fight, it’s that he is back to the form that made him such a scary competitor a few years ago. His knockout of Rafael Cavalcante was impressive as it was violent.

Matt Hamill is not the fighter he used to be and he just takes way too much damage on the feet to survive with a home run hitter like Silva. That is what will make the knockout so spectacular. 

Also in the running: TJ Dillashaw, Mike Pierce

 

Fight of the Night: Fabio Maldonado vs. Joey Beltran

When Joe Silva was making this light heavyweight matchup, do you think he was salivating at the pure violence this contest would produce? Both Fabio Maldonado and Joey Beltran are never in a dull fight, so putting them together will be like combining lit matches and a tub of gasoline.

In short, it will mean fireworks. This fight cannot possibly be bad unless the UFC changes the rules last minute and disallows striking.

That obviously won’t happen and I am obviously kidding, but Maldonado’s boxing in combination with Beltran’s willingness to brawl mean these two will throw haymakers for 15 minutes.

Whoever wins, we will all win for having witnessed. Whoever loses won’t lose their job purely based on the performance they give us.

Also in the running: Thiago Silva-Matt Hamill, TJ Dillashaw-Raphael Assuncao, Iliarde Santos-Chris Cariaso

 

Follow me on Twitter for MMA news and other random thoughts (@RileyKontekMMA). Or don’t that’s cool too.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 30: 5 Replacements to Fight Alessio Sakara

Alessio Sakara has had some terrible luck with his next scheduled fight in England. First, Tom Watson was injured and removed as his opponent, and now Magnus Cedenblad has also bowed out.
Sakara is one of the key pieces of the upcoming card in England….

Alessio Sakara has had some terrible luck with his next scheduled fight in England. First, Tom Watson was injured and removed as his opponent, and now Magnus Cedenblad has also bowed out.

Sakara is one of the key pieces of the upcoming card in England. He is on the main card, one of the bigger names at the event and incredibly fun to watch.

Assuming they can’t find a guy on the roster to fill in this short time period, here are five guys they could sign and put against Sakara.

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Andre Fili in for Injured Charles Oliveira vs. Jeremy Larsen at UFC 166

UFC 166 is back to 13 fights on the card not long after it appeared that a bout between Charles Oliveira and Jeremy Larsen would be scrapped. Oliveira suffered an injury and was pulled from the card, but a member of Team Alpha Male has stepped up on sh…

UFC 166 is back to 13 fights on the card not long after it appeared that a bout between Charles Oliveira and Jeremy Larsen would be scrapped. Oliveira suffered an injury and was pulled from the card, but a member of Team Alpha Male has stepped up on short notice to meet Larsen.

Andre Fili, who appeared on B/R’s top 10 featherweights outside the UFC, will step up to fight Larsen in the featherweight division. Fili, who is just once beaten, will have less than a month to prepare for the UFC and TUF 15 vet.

Fili (12-1) will try to keep Team Alpha Male’s hot streak going. Since the addition of Duane Ludwig as head coach, they have won all but two bouts. The only two losses came outside the UFC, as Justin Buchholz dropped a close decision to Clay Collard and Daniel Romero was tapped out by Caol Uno.

Known affectionately as “Touchy,” Fili has been a staple of the west coast regionals. His lone loss came in the fifth round of a fight due to a leg injury, so he could easily be undefeated.

He is a finisher that has knocked out six opponents and tapped another three. In training with Team Alpha Male, you know that he is going to have some solid wrestling to go along with dangerous striking. Plus, he is long and lanky, so he can bang from a distance.

Possibly the best part about him is that he is extremely comfortable off his back. He has great sweeps and submissions, which makes the fighter on top of him incredibly uncomfortable. If you want proof of that, check out his fight with Enoch Wilson at Tachi Palace Fights 15.

Fili has the chance to be a staple at 145. He is skilled and incredibly charismatic, a trait you see in a lot of the Alpha Male guys like Urijah Faber, Joseph Benavidez and Lance Palmer.

His fight with Larsen will be very interesting. Fili had already been training for a fight later this year at welterweight, two weight classes above his normal division.

Larsen is a former lightweight, but will still likely be at a size disadvantage. He is known to be comfortable on the feet, so Fili‘s best bet may be for him to drag him down and tap him out in a similar game plan to Efrain Escudero.

Either way, this fight is instantaneously in the running for Fight of the Night.

Stay tuned for more news and updates from the UFC.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 29: Preliminary Card Predictions

It’s seemed like an eternity, but the UFC returns with their 29th installment of the “Fight Night” series on Wednesday. Headlined by welterweight contenders Jake Shields and Demian Maia, the card hosts a bevy of Brazilian talent, as well as talent from…

It’s seemed like an eternity, but the UFC returns with their 29th installment of the “Fight Night” series on Wednesday. Headlined by welterweight contenders Jake Shields and Demian Maia, the card hosts a bevy of Brazilian talent, as well as talent from a couple of other countries.

Before the main card, we have a four-fight preliminary card. Unfortunately, the most intriguing fight of the prelims was cancelled over the weekend, as Rodrigo Damm has kidney issues and an opponent couldn’t be found for Hacran Dias.

Here are the predictions for the preliminary card this upcoming Wednesday. 

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Matt Riddle Cuts Retirement Short, Returns at Bellator 109

The circus for Matt Riddle continues, as the recently retired mixed martial artist finds himself back in the game after a few short weeks.
He was originally slated to compete in the Season 9 Bellator welterweight tournament, but a rib injury forced him…

The circus for Matt Riddle continues, as the recently retired mixed martial artist finds himself back in the game after a few short weeks.

He was originally slated to compete in the Season 9 Bellator welterweight tournament, but a rib injury forced him out before he could enter the cage. Thinking that Bellator couldn’t get him another fight until next year, Riddle decided to hang up the gloves for good.

Or so he thought.

According to Matt Erickson of MMA Junkie, he is now back with Bellator, coming out of his extremely brief retirement. Plus, he will have a fight before the end of the year, taking a bout at Bellator 109 against an opponent to be determined.

Riddle has been on a wild ride the last few years. The medical marijuana user was with the UFC for his entire career until he was cut for failing multiple drug tests.

He then signed with Legacy Fighting Championship; however, Bellator bought out his contract and planned to use him in one of its tournaments.

That’s where the ride got rocky. Riddle got injured close to fight time and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. He was replaced by Ron Keslar and was told he wouldn’t be able to get a fight until next year.

Riddle said he had had enough. He told MMA Junkie that he didn’t “want anything to do with” the sport and was ready to give up MMA to get a “real job.”

It appears he has patched things up with Bellator for now. This could be good for him, as he is a skilled wrestler with an exciting style and good lasting power.

He has the potential to be a mainstay with the company as long as his drug tests come back clean. One has to expect him to be in a future welterweight tournament to make up for his absence in this season’s tourney.

Stay tuned with Bleacher Report for more information as we move forward, including a potential opponent and possible implications of a future tournament.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC Fight Night 29: 1 Reason to Watch Every Fight

UFC Fight Night 29 is coming soon, marking the return to Brazil for the company. Though there aren’t huge names on the card, it promises to be a fun night of fights.
The welterweight division figures to shape up with this event, as three of the top fiv…

UFC Fight Night 29 is coming soon, marking the return to Brazil for the company. Though there aren’t huge names on the card, it promises to be a fun night of fights.

The welterweight division figures to shape up with this event, as three of the top five spots on the card are reserved for 170 pounders. From Demian Maia to Rousimar Palhares, the event promises to be important to a division currently ruled by long-time title holder Georges St. Pierre.

This event should be a good one. Here is one reason to watch each main card fight.

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