UFC Fight Night 107: Main Card Staff Predictions

The UFC takes its Octagon across the Atlantic for Fight Night 107 this Saturday, March 18, when it will set up at the O2 Arena in London, U.K.
The host nation will be well represented throughout the event, including the main card, which features three …

The UFC takes its Octagon across the Atlantic for Fight Night 107 this Saturday, March 18, when it will set up at the O2 Arena in London, U.K.

The host nation will be well represented throughout the event, including the main card, which features three British fighters competing over the course of four fights. The headliner, a light heavyweight clash, pits London’s own Jimi Manuwa against America’s Corey Anderson.

Since starting out in the UFC with a trio of wins, Manuwa has alternated victories and defeats over his last four bouts, most recently besting Ovince Saint Preux. Anderson, meanwhile, has found success in four of his last five outings, and he is coming off a TKO win over Sean O’Connell.

In the co-main event, Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson takes on the American Alan Jouban. Nelson has won two of his last four, while Jouban enters the scrap riding a three-fight win streak. 

The full Fight Night 107 main card is as follows:

  • Jimi Manuwa vs. Corey Anderson
  • Gunnar Nelson  vs. Alan Jouban
  • Brad Pickett vs. Marlon Vera
  • Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani

The Bleacher Report team has assembled to provide you with our predictions for each of these contests. Read on for what I like to think of as our collective and considerable wisdom. 

Begin Slideshow

Alan Jouban Says He’s Treating Gunnar Nelson Bout Like a ‘Championship Fight’

Alan Jouban is trying to make the most of his opportunity this Saturday night (March 18). Jouban is riding a three-fight winning streak, but he doesn’t have a spot on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings. That will change with a victory over the ninth ranked Gunnar Nelson. The two will do battle […]

Alan Jouban is trying to make the most of his opportunity this Saturday night (March 18). Jouban is riding a three-fight winning streak, but he doesn’t have a spot on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings. That will change with a victory over the ninth ranked Gunnar Nelson. The two will do battle […]

UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban?

UFC Fight Night 107 is a card that seems to be flying under the radar. I knew there were fights again this weekend but I have to admit even I had no clue who was fighting until I did a bit of investigation. To my surprise, it turns out that this card features some key nit events including the potential swan song of the always entertaining Brad Pickett as well as the main event which features Jimi Manuwa versus Corey Anderson. But if you’ve been following any of my articles closely then you know that I’m a bit of a traditional martial arts fanatic. That means a great deal of my focus has shifted to the co-main event featuring Muay Thai specialist Alan Jouban and karate and Brazilian jiujitsu master Gunnar Nelson.

The post UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban? appeared first on Cagepotato.

UFC Fight Night 107 is a card that seems to be flying under the radar. I knew there were fights again this weekend but I have to admit even I had no clue who was fighting until I did a bit of investigation. To my surprise, it turns out that this card features some key nit events including the potential swan song of the always entertaining Brad Pickett as well as the main event which features Jimi Manuwa versus Corey Anderson. But if you’ve been following any of my articles closely then you know that I’m a bit of a traditional martial arts fanatic. That means a great deal of my focus has shifted to the co-main event featuring Muay Thai specialist Alan Jouban and karate and Brazilian jiujitsu master Gunnar Nelson.

Alan Jouban opened a lot of eyes with his disciplined win over the slugging Mike Perry. He utilized some slick movement, hard left body kicks, sharp left straights, and an overall disciplined boxing game to shut down Perry even hurting the durable welterweight a number of times throughout the encounter. He faces a far more difficult challenge in this match as he faces off with the puzzle that is Nelson. What Jouban will need to do in order to be successful against Nelson is control the middle and short range. While at middle distance Jouban will need to keep busy, immediately firing with jabs as well as that left leg and body kick he’s fond of. Considering that Nelson likes to strike at long range and look for takedowns at short range, whoever establishes dominance at middle distance will likely win this match. If he is taken down, Jouban can’t be content to regain guard or patiently wait for opportunities. Nelson is calculated when he gets things to the ground. Scrambles will be important to getting back to his feet, but Jouban will have to be careful when doing so as Nelson is keen at getting back control and holding the position.

Gunnar Nelson on the other hand faces a similar problem in this matchup as he did when he faced Brandon Thatch. Controlling the middle distance is paramount for the karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert. He’ll have to bounce in and out of range and either force Jouban to throw and miss or move forward with too much aggression. It’s when Jouban decides to push forward that a blitzing counter should be awaiting him. Gunnar Nelson has a clear boxing deficiency and does struggle at times when facing opposition with superior hands at middle distance. That’s why it’s important that he turns this into a karate match on the feet. After a short combo burst he should get out of dodge ASAP. When he full commits and transition to his takedown game, he should look to mix things up, disengage to throw off Jouban then re-enter with another strike before pushing for a legit trip or double leg.

With two talented welterweights the sky’s the limit on how entertaining (or boring) this match can be. Who do you think gets the win?


Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

 

The post UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban? appeared first on Cagepotato.

The Complete Guide to UFC Fight Night 107: Manuwa vs. Anderson

The UFC returns to London with a decent card on its Fight Pass platform this Saturday, March 18. In the main event, talented light heavyweights Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson meet to decide who will get a shot at an elite fighter in a division that bad…

The UFC returns to London with a decent card on its Fight Pass platform this Saturday, March 18. In the main event, talented light heavyweights Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson meet to decide who will get a shot at an elite fighter in a division that badly needs new blood.

To be clear, this isn’t an especially compelling main event. Neither Anderson nor Manuwa has much of a profile, and the stakes here aren’t obvious or high. With that said, it should be a fun fight between two intriguing competitors.

The rest of the card fits that profile as well. There’s nothing here that screams relevance, but everything is well-matched and has the potential for entertainment.

The co-main event features Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson against Alan Jouban in an excellent welterweight scrap, while Brad Pickett draws Marlon Vera in his retirement fight. The featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Makwan Amirkhani might be the best fight on the card.

The preliminary card features a mixture of talented prospects and action bouts. Ireland’s Joe Duffy headlines the preliminary portion with an intriguing matchup against Reza Madadi, and the welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Vicente Luque is a slobberknocker in the making. Keep a close eye on prospects Tom Breese and Marc Diakiese, both of whom have enormous potential.

Let’s take a look at each fight.

Begin Slideshow

Alan Jouban Says Mike Perry Win Did Nothing, Still Wants Rafael dos Anjos

https://youtu.be/-J-tybQj5Ds?t=5561

Last week, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Alan Jouban made it clear that he was done fiddling around in his division. After taking a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Mike Perry, “…

https://youtu.be/-J-tybQj5Ds?t=5561

Last week, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Alan Jouban made it clear that he was done fiddling around in his division. After taking a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Mike Perry, “Brahma” wanted to compete against elite competition.

Jouban was a recent guest on MMAFighting.com’s “The MMA Hour” to discuss why he isn’t thrilled with his place in the UFC rankings. He told Ariel Helwani that his big UFC on FOX debut didn’t yield the results he hoped:

“It didn’t do anything for me. I took the fight because I wanted to fight before the year’s end. I wanted to fight in Sacramento, there were a majority of reasons. Mike Perry was not one of em. I just wanted the fight on big FOX, which I hadn’t done yet at the time. I wanted to be on the main card, which I got. All these things were the factors into why I wanted to fight on that fight [card].”

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos recently made the decision to move up to the 170-pound division. Jouban explained why he wants to welcome the former champion to welterweight.

“Ever since he announced moving up in weight, as soon as I saw it I just thought he’s a big enough name. He’s a number four [ranked] lightweight and other than that he’s a former champion. He’s a big name.”

“Brahma” and his manager reached out to dos Anjos’ manager to try to push the UFC to make the bout happen. While Jouban is willing to throw down, he’s not sure if “RDA” feels the same way.

“My management reached out to dos Anjos’ management. We said, ‘look man, all we have to do is both of us email the UFC and say we both want this fight, it’s done. Let’s do it, March 4, Vegas let’s do this.'”

“We had to kind of push them, we had to kind of sell it to them.”

Alan Jouban’s Message to UFC: ‘Give me Rafael dos Anjos’

alan-jouban-ufc-warrior-code

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXqvRre9Liw

It’s clear that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Alan Jouban is tired of floating around the division. While “Brahma” has gone 6-2 under the promotion, he hasn’t had a fight against a big name yet.

Jouban told BJPenn.com that he wants to get back inside the Octagon soon:

“I want to return in early March. There are two fight cards in (Las) Vegas, one on the third and one on the fourth (UFC 209). Those are the two cards I am looking at. They are like two months out and eight weeks training is perfect timing. The events are local, well they are close, Vegas is about a four hour drive for me.”

The Las Vegas card planned for the night before UFC 209 is no longer happening (via MMAJunkie.com).

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos recently announced he is moving up to the 170-pound division. The Brazilian said he was simply putting his body through too much to continue cutting the weight.

Jouban didn’t waste any time offering to welcome dos Anjos to welterweight.

“So we (me and my team) were already eyeballing a ranked fighter in the top 15, like putting it in the UFC’s head that we want a ranked fighter and that I belong in the rankings. So when this came about that Rafael dos Anjos said he was moving up, it just kind of dawned on us that this is the fight man. So all day today I have been on the phone with my manager and it is something that we 100 percent want now. We have already let the UFC know that this is the fight that we 100 percent want. I want to be the guy to welcome ‘RDA’ to the division. We have even reached out to his management team and said, ‘Hey let’s put this together.’ They don’t have an opponent yet so I’ll be their guy. So yeah bro I am excited for it. This is the fight that I want one hundred percent! I want to fight on a big card against a big name. I want the UFC to let me prove myself, so give me Rafael dos Anjos!”

alan-jouban-ufc-warrior-code

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXqvRre9Liw

It’s clear that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight Alan Jouban is tired of floating around the division. While “Brahma” has gone 6-2 under the promotion, he hasn’t had a fight against a big name yet.

Jouban told BJPenn.com that he wants to get back inside the Octagon soon:

“I want to return in early March. There are two fight cards in (Las) Vegas, one on the third and one on the fourth (UFC 209). Those are the two cards I am looking at. They are like two months out and eight weeks training is perfect timing. The events are local, well they are close, Vegas is about a four hour drive for me.”

The Las Vegas card planned for the night before UFC 209 is no longer happening (via MMAJunkie.com).

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos recently announced he is moving up to the 170-pound division. The Brazilian said he was simply putting his body through too much to continue cutting the weight.

Jouban didn’t waste any time offering to welcome dos Anjos to welterweight.

“So we (me and my team) were already eyeballing a ranked fighter in the top 15, like putting it in the UFC’s head that we want a ranked fighter and that I belong in the rankings. So when this came about that Rafael dos Anjos said he was moving up, it just kind of dawned on us that this is the fight man. So all day today I have been on the phone with my manager and it is something that we 100 percent want now. We have already let the UFC know that this is the fight that we 100 percent want. I want to be the guy to welcome ‘RDA’ to the division. We have even reached out to his management team and said, ‘Hey let’s put this together.’ They don’t have an opponent yet so I’ll be their guy. So yeah bro I am excited for it. This is the fight that I want one hundred percent! I want to fight on a big card against a big name. I want the UFC to let me prove myself, so give me Rafael dos Anjos!”