UFC 206 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Saturday December 10, 2016) from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and will feature an interim featherweight title bout between No. 2-ranked Max Holloway and No. 5-ranked Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. You can check out the full fight card and start time information for
UFC 206 will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) tonight (Saturday December 10, 2016) from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and will feature an interim featherweight title bout between No. 2-ranked Max Holloway and No. 5-ranked Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis.
You can check out the full fight card and start time information for UFC 206 here below:
Pay-per-view (PPV) 10 p.m. ET: Interim Featherweight title bout: Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis **only Holloway can win interim title since Pettis missed weight** Welterweight:Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown Featherweight: Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi Middleweight: Tim Kennedy vs. Kelvin Gastelum Welterweight: Jordan Mein vs. Emil Meek
Preliminary Card airs (FOX Sports 1) 8 p.m. ET: Light heavyweight: Nikita Krylov vs. Misha Cirkunov Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober Catchweight (117.5 pounds) Valerite Letourneau vs. Viviane Pereira Bantamweight: Mitch Gagnon vs. Matthew Lopez
Prelims (UFC Fight Pass) 6:30 p.m. ET: Lightweight: John Makdessi vs. Lando Vannata Catchweight (158 pounds): Jason Saggo vs. Rustam Khabilov Flyweight: Zach Makovsky vs. Dustin Ortiz
UFC 206 is coming this weekend and though we may have lost the stellar main event of Daniel Cormier versus Anthony Johnson, the replacement main event is just as intriguing as the light heavyweight title match would have been. Max Holloway versus Anthony Pettis has potential to be a true barnburner of a fight and for the interim featherweight title no less. But the other featherweight match up on the main card looks to be just as intriguing as Christmas comes early for Doo ho Choi who gets his wish of fighting his idol Cub Swanson.
UFC 206 is coming this weekend and though we may have lost the stellar main event of Daniel Cormier versus Anthony Johnson, the replacement main event is just as intriguing as the light heavyweight title match would have been. Max Holloway versus Anthony Pettis has potential to be a true barnburner of a fight and for the interim featherweight title no less. But the other featherweight match up on the main card looks to be just as intriguing as Christmas comes early for Doo ho Choi who gets his wish of fighting his idol Cub Swanson.
A twelve year veteran in the sport, Cub Swanson is a savvy striker with a ton of experience under his belt. Known as a grappler in the earlier phases of his career, it was evident that Swanson put a tremendous amount of focus in improving his striking. His six fight win streak showed just how versatile he has been on the feet. That is until he bumped into Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway. Now with a new streak going Swanson looks to batter Doo Ho Choi at UFC 206. The biggest issue he’s going to have to overcome is avoiding the temptation to just stand and bang. If he hopes to keep his future in the sport alive he’ll have to mix up his game. Choi is seasoned, but the kind of experience that Swanson has obtain means that he’s smart enough to take the fight to the ground or even slow down Choi’s pace by putting him against the fence. Neither man likes to kick much, but a healthy dose to Choi’s legs would be a good plan of action for Swanson. What Swanson absolutely cannot afford is to get into a wild slug fest where his younger opponent is likely to excel.
Doo Ho Choi has become a very intriguing addition to the UFC featherweight division, one that has been outclassing his opposition thus far in the octagon. Now he meets Cub Swanson who is sure to present different obstacles that Choi has yet to face thus far in his career. Choi has disciplined boxing but has some defensive flaws like overthrowing his shots when he feels he closes in for the kill, but for the most part he stays composed and ready to counter. Feeding Swanson some long range jabs and straights to the body with eventually start to keep Swanson guessing. Choi has some really explosive movement, especially when he’s on the counter and can cover distance well if need be. He has to get Swanson to react and either counter the counter or put Cub into a defensive shell to deter him from coming forward. If Swanson over commits an uppercut, left hook, or right straight will likely greet him on the counter.
While Cub Swanson still has plenty left in the tank Doo Ho Choi presents a striking threat that could see the veteran getting clipped with a well timed counter. Expect Doo Ho Choi to prove the hype is all real as he captures a KO victory in the first round of a fun striking contest.
Who do you think wins at UFC 206?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
These days it seems that the only thing people are talking about in regards to the featherweight division is whether Conor McGregor will hold onto the strap forever or relinquish it to free the division up. Another point of interest at featherweight is whether Jose Aldo will retire or not.
These days it seems that the only thing people are talking about in regards to the featherweight division is whether Conor McGregor will hold onto the strap forever or relinquish it to free the division up. Another point of interest at featherweight is whether Jose Aldo will retire or not. But for the most part most of the attention these days has been placed on whether or not Conor McGregor can beat Eddie Alvarez or how Ronda Rousey will look when she returns. As an avid, okay okay, rabid MMA fan, my concern is squarely on the up and comers that are set to shine in the near future. One fighter in particular who fits the bill is Doo Ho Choi.
There are a lot of people who believe this kid could be the best fighter to come out of South Korea since Chan Sung Jung. Doo Ho Choi has the kind of power that can turn anyone’s lights out, but more than that, his overall game is so damn impressive it can’t be ignored. He has a solid ground game, loves to create scrambles, and isn’t afraid to go submission for submission in the grappling department.
But make no mistake, it’s his striking that rules the day.
Doo Ho Choi has the kind of striking prowess that make fighters like Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor, and Max Holloway a pleasure to watch for both the casual and hardcore fans alike. So far in his UFC career “The Korean Superboy” has been looking as dangerous as any of the aforementioned fighters above. With the announcement of his UFC 206 bout against Cub Swanson, the whole world is going to have the opportunity to see just how far Doo Ho Choi can go.
What makes Choi so dangerous is his precision. He doesn’t waste energy on wild punching combinations. If he’s throwing hands it’s either to set something up or to land crushing finishing blows that usually lead to some fantastical knock out. Cub Swanson is the perfect test for Doo Ho Choi. Choi asked for the fight and now he has to back up his talk. But just as a little reminder of how dangerous this guy is, here’s a little highlight reel of his work.
Do you think Doo Ho Choi will challenge for the featherweight title some day?
Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.
A featherweight clash between two hard hitting 145’ers has been made for UFC 206 in December. UFC officials have announced that the No. 5-ranked Cub Swanson and No. 14-ranked Dooho Choi will meet later this year. Swanson (23-7) is riding a two-fight win streak with his two unanimous decision wins over Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri.
A featherweight clash between two hard hitting 145’ers has been made for UFC 206 in December. UFC officials have announced that the No. 5-ranked Cub Swanson and No. 14-ranked Dooho Choi will meet later this year.
Swanson (23-7) is riding a two-fight win streak with his two unanimous decision wins over Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri. Before embarking on his win streak, however, Swanson suffered two consecutive losses via submission.
Max Holloway most recently submitted Swanson in April of last year via guillotine choke, and Frankie Edgar in November of 2014 via neck crank at UFC Fight Night 57.
Choi (15-1) is looking as impressive as any other featherweight prospect right now, looking to continue his astounding eight-fight knockout streak when he takes center Octagon against Swanson.
‘The Korean Superboy’ has some tremendous power in his hands, with 12 of his 15 career wins coming via knockout. Can the 25-year-old continue his winning ways against Swanson?
Below is the updated card for UFC 206 in December:
Cub Swanson and Dooho Choi will square off this December at UFC 206, the promotion announced.
Swanson (23-7) owns eight Octagon wins in 11 fights, including victories over Hacran Dias a…
Cub Swanson and Dooho Choi will square off this December at UFC 206, the promotion announced.
Swanson (23-7) owns eight Octagon wins in 11 fights, including victories over Hacran Dias and Tatsuya Kawajiri. He had contemplated retirement following losses to Frankie Edgar and Max Holloway before deciding to continue his career.
Choi (15-1) has taken the world by storm, as “The Korean Superboy” owns 13 consecutive wins. Included in that run are eight knockouts and two “Performance of the Night” bonuses. The 25-year-old has bested Juan Puig, Sam Sicilia and Thiago Tavares since signing with the UFC.
UFC 206 takes place December 10 from Toronto and the Air Canada Centre. Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson for the light heavyweight title is the expected main event.
You have to have a thick skin to choose to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, an unforgiving sport where the difference between success and failure can narrow down to split-second decisions made in the heat of combat. Never is that more apparent than in a fighters professional debut, where deciding to bob when
You have to have a thick skin to choose to pursue a career in mixed martial arts, an unforgiving sport where the difference between success and failure can narrow down to split-second decisions made in the heat of combat.
Never is that more apparent than in a fighters professional debut, where deciding to bob when they should have weaved, or to attack when they should have defended, can result in a knockout or submission that leaves them questioning whether they have chosen the right path in life.
There’s a seemingly endless list of up and coming fighters who have called it quits at this formative stage of their career, hanging up their gloves for good with an 0-1 record, and in many cases they may have made the right call and spared themselves from further punishment.
However, there’s also been examples over the years of fighters who have had the courage to continue their mixed martial arts journey, either due to their unflappable self-belief, their passion for the sport, their desire to prove the doubters wrong, or simply because they had nothing else to fall back on.
In this article we’ll look at 12 inspirational examples of fighters who came up short in their MMA debuts, but overcame that early adversity and eventually fought their way onto the sport’s biggest stage to become UFC stars, and in some cases even world champions.
Andrei Arlovski
At M-1 MFC: World Championship in 1999, a 22 year-old fresh-faced, clean-shaven Andrei Arlovski made his MMA debut against one of the sports most infamous villains, Viacheslav Datsik who was also competing for the first time.
The fight turned out to be an exceptionally sloppy affair, with commentators Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros giggling in bemusement at what they jokingly dubbed as ‘The Lunch Money School Brawl’ that was playing out in front of them.
Datsik wacky, unpredictable striking paid off midway through the first round though, as he launched his body weight behind a right hand that flattened Arlovski.
”If Arlovski gets up from this it’ll be shades of Dracula rising from the coffin,” Quadros declared as the fight was waved off, handing Datsik an unexpected highlight-reel KO finish.
Despite the brutal loss, if there’s one thing we’ve learned about ‘The Pitbull’ over the years it’s that there’s no quit in him, and he’d go on to become a UFC heavyweight champion, and is still ranked in the top 10 today, some 17 years after his debut.
As for Datsik, he’d go on to produce a losing record in the sport, but became notorious for his crazy antics, which would eventually lead to him being put in prison as well as spending time in a mental institution.
