UFC Fight Night 107 didn’t blow the doors off the hinges Saturday, but it provided several quality finishes.
In the main event, Jimi Manuwa established himself as a top contender in the light heavyweight division with a swift knockout against Corey And…
UFC Fight Night 107 didn’t blow the doors off the hinges Saturday, but it provided several quality finishes.
In the main event, Jimi Manuwa established himself as a top contender in the light heavyweight division with a swift knockout against Corey Anderson.
Manuwa will be a very interested observer of the upcoming Daniel Cormier title defense against Anthony Johnson April 8. Did he do enough to earn the title shot?
Also in action, Gunnar Nelson took care of Alan Jouban in short order via submission. The win moves Nelson back into the welterweight picture and puts Jouban back on the preliminary card.
So, the question begs: What’s next? That’s what we’re here to decipher. Here is a look at the matches the UFC should make for the winners and losers following UFC Fight Night 107.
Light heavyweight prospect and former Ultimate Fighter winner Corey Anderson had a rough night at the office Saturday. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 107 in London, Anderson was quickly dispatched by the heavy hands of Jimi Manuwa. It was the second loss in three fights for “Overtime” — but Anderson didn’t let […]
Light heavyweight prospect and former Ultimate Fighter winner Corey Anderson had a rough night at the office Saturday. In the main event of UFC Fight Night 107 in London, Anderson was quickly dispatched by the heavy hands of Jimi Manuwa. It was the second loss in three fights for “Overtime” — but Anderson didn’t let […]
Jimi Manuwa had significant pressure on his shoulders prior to his main event bout against Corey Anderson at today’s (Sat., March 18, 2017) UFC Fight Night 107 from the O2 Arena in London, England, but it clearly didn’t hinder the hometown knockout striker. Building off a similar KO of former interim title challenger Ovince St. Preux in his
Jimi Manuwa had significant pressure on his shoulders prior to his main event bout against Corey Anderson at today’s (Sat., March 18, 2017) UFC Fight Night 107 from the O2 Arena in London, England, but it clearly didn’t hinder the hometown knockout striker.
Building off a similar KO of former interim title challenger Ovince St. Preux in his previous bout, the London-based “Poster Boy” added another high-profile name to his list of knockouts in TUF winner “Overtime,” knocking him out with a single vicious power left hook.
For the second time in as many fights, Jimi Manuwa dealt an impressive knockout to an opponent. This time the opponent was Corey Anderson and the event was UFC Fight Night 107 from the O2 Arena in London, England.
The 37-year-old defeated Anderson via …
For the second time in as many fights, Jimi Manuwa dealt an impressive knockout to an opponent. This time the opponent was Corey Anderson and the event was UFC Fight Night 107 from the O2 Arena in London, England.
The 37-year-old defeated Anderson via first-round knockout. MMAjunkie tweeted out the official result for the main event:
The matchup between Anderson and Manuwa was a classic wrestler vs. striker affair on paper. Anderson attempted to impose his will on the fight early on, missing on a single-leg takedown and creating a scramble.
But Manuwa wanted no part of that. Instead, he went to work looking to land his powerful striking.
Once he settled in, it didn’t take long. Manuwa landed a crushing left hook that stymied Anderson and sent the London fans home happy.
MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani described the ending and gave his thoughts on the overall card:
Manuwa gave his own commentary on the knockout after the fight, per MMA Fighting:
He didn’t stop there, though. Manuwa went on to call for a title shot against the winner of Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson and professional boxer David Haye:
Those goals might be lofty for the No. 4-ranked light heavyweight, but this is a division that desperately needs some new names to join the usual suspects. This might just be the fight that launches him into that stratosphere.
The light heavyweight main event wasn’t the only notable bout on this card, though. The Fight Pass main card featured the final fight for a featherweight prospect bout, the swan song for a British fan favorite and a memorable performance from Gunnar Nelson.
Here’s a look at the complete results from the event as well as a closer look at each of the main card fights.
Main Card
Jimi Manuwa def. Corey Anderson, KO (Round 1, 3:05)
Gunnar Nelson def. Alan Jouban, submission (Round 2, 0:46)
Marlon Vera def. Brad Pickett, TKO (Round 3, 3:50)
Arnold Allen def. Makwan Amirkhani, split decision (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
Prelims
Joseph Duffy def. Reza Madadi, unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Francimar Barroso def. Darren Stewart, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Timothy Johnson def. Daniel Omielanczuk, split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Leon Edwards def. Vicente Luque, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Marc Diakiese def. Teemu Packalen, KO (Round 1, 0:30)
Bradley Scott def. Scott Askham, split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Unless your name is Demian Maia, you really don’t want to be on the ground with Gunnar Nelson.
That’s a simple fact of life and a lesson Alan Jouban learned the hard way in the co-main event from the O2 Arena.
The Icelandic welterweight dragged Jouban to the mat in the opening round where he put on a grappling clinic for the rest of the round. He plied his ground game, working his way to mount and clearly winning the round.
From there, Nelson went to work in the second round showcasing his striking. Nelson used his precise counterstriking to crack Jouban’s jaw, sending him to the mat. This time, Nelson was quick to follow, slapping on a guillotine choke.
Brett Okamoto of ESPN described the finish:
The UFC posted the highlight finish:
This is the kind of win that should continue Nelson’s ascent up the welterweight rankings. He sits at No. 9 in the rankings, but after this win, it might be time for Nelson to take another high-profile fight.
Nelson has now won back-to-back fights since a unanimous-decision loss to Maia. As long as he doesn’t draw the Brazilian again, he should have the grappling advantage over anyone else he fights next.
Brad Pickett vs. Marlon Vera
“One Punch” Brad Pickett was just over a minute from walking away from the sport of MMA with about as nice an ending as he could hope for. The English veteran was working Marlon “Chito” Vera through the first two rounds of the fight and appeared to be up on the cards.
That was until Vera unleashed a hellish head kick that landed flush and ruined the storybook ending:
Pickett—who once beat UFC champion Demetrious Johnson and fought 18 times in WEC and UFC—showcased a little power in the opening round, dropping Vera with a sharp left hand:
Pickett’s striking stood out in the first round, but it was his grappling that won the second frame. One Punch earned a takedown early in the round and spent the majority of the five minutes working his ground-and-pound against Vera, who offered little resistance.
Josh Gross of the Guardian paid homage to Pickett. Although he never really elevated to contender status, he won four Fight of the Night bonuses throughout his career and was a true fan favorite.
Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani
The featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Makwan Amirkhani was supposed to be a close battle of prospects to kick off the card, and it didn’t disappoint. The 23-year-old Allen and 28-year-old Amirkhani went at each other for three rounds taking turns being in control of the bout, but it was Suffolk native Allen who got the nod on two of the judges’ cards.
Amirkhani had some moments in the ground game. The fight featured plenty of high-level grappling exchanges.
However, Allen was the one who held the advantage when the fight was on the feet. The UFC posted some highlights of Allen’s powerful striking that helped him get the W:
Although Allen was technically the hometown fighter, he still took the time to address the doubt from the England crowd after the fight, per Ben Fowlkes of MMAjunkie:
This is a huge win for the young Allen. He continues his undefeated streak in the Octagon at 3-0 while also putting Amirkhani’s own 3-0 start to a halt.
It’s safe to say this isn’t the last we’ll see of Allen, as he’s found a way to stand out in the loaded featherweight division.
UFC Fight Night 107 may have lacked star power, but it still contained some pretty interesting fighters—and some doggone interesting fights.
The main event of the card, which aired Saturday on UFC Fight Pass, pitted heavy-striking light heavyweig…
UFC Fight Night 107 may have lacked star power, but it still contained some pretty interesting fighters—and some doggone interesting fights.
The main event of the card, which aired Saturday on UFC Fight Pass, pitted heavy-striking light heavyweight Jimi Manuwa against grinder Corey Anderson. With the card taking place at the O2 Arena in London, Englishman Manuwa was the crowd favorite.
The winner of the bout was looking at a big leap forward in the light heavyweight division, as was the victor in the co-main event, which featured welterweights Alan Jouban and Gunnar Nelson in a striker-grappler matchup.
As noted, there was no big star anchoring the card. But you don’t need star power to have a quality card—there was intrigue all up and down the lineup in London, and as usual, the final stat lines only reveal so much. These are the real winners and losers from UFC Fight Night 107.
UFC Fight Night 107 went down from the O2 Arena in London, England this afternoon (Saturday, March 18, 2017), headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson. The hometown favorite Manuwa made quick work of “Overtime”, finishing with a pair of left hooks in the very first round. The first put
UFC Fight Night 107 went down from the O2 Arena in London, England this afternoon (Saturday, March 18, 2017), headlined by a light heavyweight clash between Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson. The hometown favorite Manuwa made quick work of “Overtime”, finishing with a pair of left hooks in the very first round. The first put Anderson on wobbly legs and into retreat mode, but Manuwa calmly followed him along the fence and uncorked the second. It caught Anderson clean, sending him unconscious, face-first to the canvas. Manuwa walked calmly away.
The co-headliner saw welterweight action fighter Alan Jouban battle karate and grappling specialist Gunnar Nelson. Jouban had early success on the feet but was taken down and mounted in the first. Nelson would not need his wrestling in round two, however. A straight right crashed into Jouban’s face and completely took away his equilibrium. Nelson followed it with a head kick, then snapped Jouban to the floor and locked up a fight-finishing guillotine choke.
See how Twitter reacted to these scraps below:
Beastin 25/8 forever. I don't care. Best nickname in MMA history.
For the second time in as many fights, Jimi Manuwa dealt an impressive knockout to an opponent. This time the opponent was Corey Anderson and the event was UFC Fight Night 107 from the O2 Arena in London, England.