UFC 191 takes center stage Saturday night as Demetrious Johnson puts his UFC Flyweight Championship on the line for the seventh time in a rematch with John Dodson. “Mighty Mouse” won the previous matchup by a close, but unanimous, decision.
Other notable fights include Frank Mir looking to continue his resurgence against Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson trying to bounce back from a loss to Daniel Cormier as he takes on Jimi Manuwa. Paige VanZant and Alex Chambers also battle for position in the women’s strawweight division.
Let’s check out all of the important information for viewing UFC 191. That’s followed by predictions for each of the night’s fights and a preview of the main event.
Event Details
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. ET
Watch: UFC Fight Pass (early prelims), Fox Sports 1 (prelims) and pay-per-view (main card)
Prelim Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Ticket Info: ScoreBig.com
Card Predictions
Main Event Preview
Johnson and Dodson put together an entertaining battle the last time they faced off in early 2013. The challenger really pushed the champion during the early portion of the bout, but he didn’t have quite enough left in the tank to finish off the potential upset.
Now the question is whether the champion has pulled further away from the flyweight pack during the past couple years or if Dodson can take that next step to take the belt away.
Johnson has faced criticism for being a boring champion. His technical dominance doesn’t always appeal to mainstream fans and he’s never been overly interested in overhyping his bouts, which stands out more at a time in UFC when Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey talk a big game and then back it up.
Don’t expect him to change his approach due to outside pressure, though. He’s going about business as usual and had comments for those who don’t like it, per Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie.
“It’s only the fans and uneducated fools out there that say, ‘Oh, you’re boring,'” Johnson said. “You can say so, but you just don’t understand what I’m doing. There’s a process going on with the technique I bring to the table.”
Dodson has taken the opposite approach. He’s taken every opportunity to engage in some verbal warfare ahead of the fight and has set his sights beyond simply beating Johnson, as noted by Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.
“Even if I win [on Saturday], I won’t feel awesome,” Dodson said. “I will when I do what I’ve been telling everyone I can. Winning titles in three different divisions, that would be awesome. I want to walk a path of greatness.”
Can he back up all of the talk? It’s almost time to find out. Connor Reubusch of Sherdog doesn’t see an upset in the cards:
However, the champion is learning with every fight to temper his speed when necessary, relying instead on his ever-improving technique and a firm grasp of strategy, aided by the calm voices of trainer Matt Hume and striking coach Brad Keston. Against Dodson, for whom explosion is its own fundamental technique, this attention to detail should make the difference. Athleticism is often a crutch for Dodson, whereas for “Mighty Mouse” it is like a whole extra leg. The pick is Johnson by unanimous decision.
Dodson showed in the previous encounter that he can match Johnson’s speed, at least for a while. It’s not yet clear whether he has enough tricks up his sleeve to remain competitive for five rounds, though. His last outing against Zach Makovsky wasn’t overly impressive.
Johnson may not stir the type of excitement fans would like to see from one of UFC’s champions, but his success in the Octagon can’t be disputed. That’s why it’s best to expect a similar result in the rematch.
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