Those weigh-ins sure went smoothly, didn’t they?
Friday’s weigh-ins for UFC 210 will go down as the most bizarre, exciting and controversial in UFC history for a number of reasons. For one, both Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier, the two light heavyweights in the main event on Saturday night, didn’t show up until four minutes before the cutoff time.
Johnson, who has had a tumultuous history cutting weight, came in 1.2 pounds under the 205-pound limit. Now, remember the number 1.2. Because that’s exactly the amount of weight Cormier magically cut in the space of two minutes after weighing in at 206.2 the first time he hit the scales.
Call it a scale malfunction, Cormier’s fast metabolism/bowel movements or some sneaky behavior holding down the towel to balance out his weight. It doesn’t matter. The fight is on, and a light heavyweight championship fight is on the card in Buffalo, New York, on Saturday.
Cynthia Calvillo vs. Pearl Gonzalez
Speaking of a weird day of weigh-ins, perhaps Pearl Gonzalez had the most interesting of all.
Making her UFC debut, Gonzalez stepped on to the scale and made the 115-pound limit. No sweat. But then all of the sudden, she was pulled from the card. Why, you might ask? Gonzalez has breast implants, and that didn’t sit well with the NYSAC, even though she told them she had implants before the weigh-in.
The fight is back on, though, according to MMA Fighting’s Marc Raimondi, after the commission overturned its decision to remove Gonzalez from the card shortly after. It was a bizarre day for a lot of fighters, but let’s just be thankful the fights have stayed intact. Now that Gonzalez will be making her UFC debut, it’s unfortunate she has to go up against one the rising prospects in the sport.
Cynthia Calvillo is a wrecking machine. Training out of San Jose, California, with Team Alpha Male, you already know that she’s as tough as they come. And if you watched her first fight for the promotion back at the beginning of March, against Amanda Bobby Cooper at UFC 209, you wouldn’t mess with her.
Calvillo’s grappling is impressive for a fighter with only four pro fights on her resume, but she fights like an aggressive veteran in the Octagon. She is ferocious, but she doesn’t get too ahead of herself. While it’s nice to see Gonzalez back fighting on this card, she won’t last long against Calvillo.
Gegard Mousasi vs. Chris Weidman
There’s no easy way of saying this, but Chris Weidman needs to win this fight. And the only way he can do that is by taking Gegard Mousasi to the ground and sticking to wrestling.
Mousasi is lethal on his feet and should not be messed with. It remains to be seen whether Weidman will be gun-shy shooting for takedowns after Yoel Romero blew his forehead to pieces back at UFC 205 with a flying knee, but the All-American doesn’t have any more options.
The Dreamcatcher is an impressive striker who has developed his all-around game in recent fights. Since this is his last fight on his contract, a lot rides on Mousasi to show up and take care of the former UFC middleweight champion to secure a lucrative deal from the UFC or maybe from another organization.
Mousasi in Bellator has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
With a win, Mousasi moves one step closer to a title shot. That doesn’t say much when you consider the likes of Jacare Souza, Yoel Romero, Luke Rockhold, Michael Bisping and now Georges St-Pierre are floating around the top of the division.
Weidman needs to fight smart and stick to the game plan. He won’t be able to finish Mousasi on the feet, so there’s no point in even trying. If he can’t keep the Dutchman on the canvas for the majority of the fight, then it’s going to be yet another loss for Weidman, who is on a two-fight losing streak.
Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson
It’s difficult to get over Friday’s weigh-in, and it’s even more difficult to understand the physics behind pushing down lightly on a towel to lose 1.2 pounds.
But there is a fight happening, so we’ll try to focus on that.
Cormier isn’t shy about poking fun at Johnson and how he tapped out back in 2015 in their first fight. Johnson tagged Cormier right out of the gate but failed to capitalize on it. Instead, he wasted his energy and stamina looking for knockout punches every time he swung his right hand toward Cormier, who evaded the No. 1 contender with ease.
The champion will be looking for the same type of fight to happen. Johnson is a one-trick pony, even though he is good at knocking people out—and I would never say that to his face. But if he can’t knock out the champ, then he won’t win. It’s that simple.
It’s no secret that Cormier thinks Johnson lacks that mental fortitude to be a champion, often calling him a quitter and saying how Rumble gave up in their first fight, per Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour:
Yes, I do [think the fight will end in the same outcome]. I don’t ever change. He’ll give up. We’ve seen it too many times. And you’re making me be kinda mean to this guy when that’s not who I am to him, but it’s the truth. You can point to it, [Josh] Koscheck and me and Vitor [Belfort] and all these. It’s only the truth. I’m only speaking the truth, and here’s the thing, I’ll say it in front of him too. It’s not like I won’t say this in front of Anthony Johnson.
The champ has a point, but that doesn’t mean he’s always right. If Cormier can withstand a barrage of strikes in the first round like he did two years ago, then he will retain his title. The key will be avoiding Johnson’s explosive right hand, which is a lot easier said than done. But if anyone knows how to defeat Rumble in the Octagon, Cormier is the man to look to.
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