March MMAdness: Day 15, The Sweet 16! | UFC Betting Sites

No fooling here, just more classic violence as Mania’s March MMAdness’ Sweet 16 rumbles on …

Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 1 (#4) defeats Yair Rodriguez vs. Chan Sung Jung (#52) with 60 percent of Maniac votes
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 (#5) defeats Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum (#21) with 51 percent of Maniac votes

The ultimate Light Heavyweight title fight puts an end to our lowest seed still standing, while Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard’s superior sequel takes out the 2019 “Fight of the Year” by just seven votes.

Match 5: Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar 1 (#2) vs. Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero 2 (#15)

VS.

A 200-vote margin carried Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar’s first meeting past No. 63-seeded Junior dos Santos vs. Stipe Miocic 1, setting up a clash with the equally grueling No. 31-ranked Dustin Poirier vs. Justin Gaethje. Though the Lightweight bruisers put up a far better fight, the weight of history proved more than they could bear.

Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero 2 has had to turn aside a pair of legendary title fights to get this far, starting with 2019’s “Fight of the Year” runner-up No. 50 Dustin Poirier vs. Max Holloway 2. Then came the absolute war that was No. 18-seeded Eddie Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler 1, which fought its way to within four votes in one of the Round of 32’s tightest races.

Between its incredible legacy and the visceral thrills it offered, Griffin vs. Bonnar I is unquestionably deserving of its high seed. Whittaker vs. Romero 2 is a beast in its own right, though, boasting knockdowns and wild momentum shifts that make it a worthy challenger. It’s a shame to see either of these two go, but that’s just the nature of this game.

Match 6: Zhang Weili vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk (#10) vs. Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot Silva 1 (#7)

VS.

A late substitution by popular demand, 2020’s current “Fight of the Year” front-runner gave No. 55-seeded Georges St-Pierre vs. B.J. Penn 1 a thorough whomping to announce its arrival in the bracket. Despite an immortal spot in UFC’s intro package and an endorsement from Dana White himself, No. 23-ranked Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg 2 fared little better, outvoted 3:1.

Extended violence beat out compressed violence in Mark Hunt vs. Bigfoot Silva 1’s opening-round tussle with No. 58-ranked Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Browne, resulting in a comfortable 72 percent /28 percent victory. Meanwhile, No. 26-ranked Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 largely held its own against the big boys, but still came up short by 35 votes.

It’s quite nice of these two fights to prove that UFC’s smallest and largest divisions can produce similarly stunning scraps. These are two genuine bangers, the former more technical and the latter more volatile. Judge them by their size, do not.

Also, to reiterate, spread the word, share socially … do whatever grassroots / viral “Get Out The Vote” campaign needed to ensure your favorite fights advance to the next round. Complaining in the comments section about seeding and whatnot will not impact the results and will just make you look like an unappreciative dick.

Same time tomorrow, Maniacs.

Be sure to also check out our March MMAdness archive — which includes the entire bracket — to catch up on the tournament right here.