Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is right back at it again as UFC on ESPN+ 8 goes down this Saturday night (April 27, 2019) from inside BB&T Center in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (full fight card here) live on ESPN+. The revised fight card will see Jack Hermansson face off against the biggest test of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza. In the co-main event, Greg Hardy will once again get a prime slot on ESPN in just his second fight for the promotion when he takes on Dmitrii Smoliakov.
What’s Hot:
Ronaldo Souza has been fighting tooth and nail to get his first-ever shot at UFC gold. After reeling off five-straight wins to start his Octagon career, “Jacare” needed just one more win to get to the promised land. Unfortunately for the BJJ ace, he ran into a wall of a man named Yoel Romero, who edged him out at UFC 194. Since then, Souza has gone 4-2, but hasn’t been able to rack up more than two straight victories in a row, stalling his shot up to a title fight.
After Paulo Costa was bounced from his headlining bout against Romero set for this event, Souza stepped in to face off against “Soldier of God” in hopes of not only getting revenge, but cutting the championship line. But after Romero bowed out due to illness, Souza will now take on Jack Hermansson, who in his own right is a legit contender, though he doesn’t exactly have the resume or name value as Yoel. While a win is necessary for “Jacare” either way, getting a title shot with a win over “Joker” will be a bit tougher as opposed to having it come over Romero.
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Despite not really racking up enough wins to put him high on the rankings or get him near a title shot, losing three of his last four fights, Mike Perry has captured UFC’s and fight fans’ hearts. I don’t know if it’s his personality or his balls-to-wall attitude inside the Octagon. Whatever it is, “Platinum” has kept the interest of the promotion to keep him on the main card against some decent names. Alex Oliveira will be Perry’s next foe, as “Platinum” jumped in on one month’s notice after an injury took down Li Jingliang, If Perry can’t score a win here, I don’t know how much longer the promotion is going to be able to justify giving him man card exposure.
What’s Not:
Andrei Arlovski, a former multiple-time UFC champion and all-around legend is fighting on the prelims while the aforementioned Hardy — as well as matchup between Roosevelt Roberts and Thomas Gifford — are on the main card. I get it, it will all be aired on ESPN+ not pay-per-view (PPV), but it’s the principal of it all.
Original Card vs Actual Card:
Originally set to be headlined b a much-anticipated Middleweight bout between Paulo Costa and Yoel Romero, the headlining bout was switched to Romero vs Souza 2 after “Borrachinha” bowed out due to this. After “Soldier of God” later withdrew, Souza was then booked to face Jack Hermansson — which as of this writing — is still a go.
Injuries:
Li Jingliang was struck down by the injury bug and forced out of his Welterweight scrap against Alex Oliveira, paving the way for Mike Perry to step in and fill the void. After Livia Renata Souza suffered an injury for her bout with former UFC champion Carla Esparza, she was replaced by Invicta FC Strawweight queen Virna Jandiroba. Jessica Penne and Jodie Esquibel were set to dance in Florida as well until the injury bug struck down Penne, who was replaced by Angela Hill.
New Blood:
Thomas Gifford will take a six-fight win streak into his Octagon debut when he faces off against Roosevelt Roberts. UFC seems to be fond of both prospects, booking them as the opening bout of the ESPN+ main card. Also, Takashi Sato will look to impress in his first-ever UFC fight when he faces longtime veteran Ben Saunders in 170-pound action. With Soto’s offensive-minded attack, he could very well hand Ben another brutal defeat.
Current Invicta FC women’s Strawweight champion Virna Jandiroba will look to keep her undefeated 14-0 record intact as she faces former UFC champ Carla Esparza. “Cookie Monster” needs a win pretty bad here, but getting it against Jandiroba, despite being a UFC rookie, will be a tough task. Rounding out the UFC newbies is Mike Davis, a lightweight striker who looks to add further depth to an already-stacked division. Wowing in his first UFC fight will be a tough task, though, as Brazilian finisher Gilbert Burns stands in his way.
To get a more detailed breakdown of all the “New Blood” click here.
How The “Prelims” Look:
As mentioned earlier, Andrei Arlovski will be competing in the prelims against Augusto Sakai. To add insult to insult, “The Pitbull” isn’t even the “Prelims” headliner. That honor goes to Ben Saunders and Takashi Sato. Saunders has dropped two-straight now and losing three in a row could be crippling for his UFC future.
To kick off the entire event, two longtime veterans in Court McGee and Dhiego Lima will kick off the event. If you ask me, those two men — while not the biggest of names — deserve a better slot.
To get a better detailed look at the underbelly click here and here.
Who Needs A Win Badly:
Greg Hardy laid an egg in his UFC debut back in January, losing to Allen Crowder via disqualification. Still, prior to the unfortunate turn of events, Hardy didn’t exactly look like a UFC-caliber fighter. That hasn’t stopped the promotion from giving him another co-main event spot on “The World Wide leader of Sports.”
This time around he will be facing a man who has lost both of his fights under the UFC banner. Still, Dmitri Smoliakov has gone 9-0 outside of the Octagon and is a legit threat to the former pro football player. Speaking of which, for those of you surprised that the promotion is giving Greg another big opportunity, you shouldn’t be, as Hardy is a former NFL star. It’s ESPN after all, and Hardy’s name still carries weight from his days sacking NFL quarterbacks.
Interest Level 7/10
It’s actually a pretty good card. While Costa vs. Romero or Souza vs. Romero 2 would’ve been great to see, I’m interested to see just what Hermansson can do against “Jacare.” Jack is adamant his ground game is better than Souza’s which is a bold claim to say the least. Nevertheless, he says his wrestling will be more than enough to get the job done. Hermansson has won three in a row — all via finish — and a win over “Jacare” could be what he needs to get him over the hump on his way to stardom.
Alternating wins and losses over the last three years, Glover Teixiera is still chugging along at 205 pounds. Up next for the Brazilian is a showdown against hard-hitting Light Heavyweight Ion Cu?elaba. The duo was set to fight earlier this year before Ion was forced out with an injury. After Teixeira smoked late-replacement Karl Roberson at that event, it opened up the door for UFC to re-book this fight.
John Lineker has often been the forgotten man at Bantamweight, as he has yet to score a title fight in a game of championship musical chairs that only seems to include T.J. Dillashaw, Cody Garbrandt, and Dominick Cruz. But “Hands of Stone” is as skilled as they come, and more than capable of knocking out any fighter in the division. While Cory Sandhagen isn’t the biggest name at 135 pounds, a win over him can put Lineker right in the thick of the championship race, especially since there’s one less threat to worry about due to this.
Full Fight Card:
UFC on ESPN+ 8 Main Event:
185 lbs.: Ronaldo Souza vs. Jack Hermansson
UFC on ESPN+ 8 Main Card (starting on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Greg Hardy vs. Dmitrii Smoliakov
170 lbs.: Alex Oliveira vs. Mike Perry
205 lbs.: Ion Cutelaba vs. Glover Teixeira
135 lbs.: John Lineker vs. Cory Sandhagen
155 lbs.: Thomas Gifford vs. Roosevelt Roberts
UFC on ESPN+ 8 “Prelims” (starting on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET):
170 lbs.: Takashi Sato vs. Ben Saunders
265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Augusto Sakai
115 lbs.: Carla Esparza vs. Virna Jandiroba
155 lbs.: Gilbert Burns vs. Mike Davis
UFC on ESPN+ 8 Early ‘Prelims’ (starting on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m. ET):
155 lbs.: Jason Gonzalez vs. Jim Miller
115 lbs.: Jodie Esquibel vs. Angela Hill
170 lbs.: Dhiego Lima vs. Court McGee
*Fight card, bout order and the amount of matches subject to change.
For more upcoming UFC events click here.