Tag: Demetrious Johnson

UFC 186 has gone through some notable changes since it was originally announced, but we seem to have settled on a lineup of fights. The card isn’t exactly packed with superstars, but it still rates a cut above a normal Fight Night event.

The long-awaited rematch between UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao was supposed to take place as the main event. Unfortunately, for the second time, that fight was postponed. The rematch was called off once before at UFC 177 due to Barao falling ill during his weight cut.

This time, the champion had to bow out due to injury.

The UFC flyweight title fight between champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Kyoji Horiguchi replaces Dillashaw vs. Barao as the main event. Johnson is one of the best fighters in the world, but he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Size bias and ignorance are the best explanations for the lack of appreciation for one of the best fighters in the world.

Nonetheless, Johnson keeps fighting and winning. 

The co-feature between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Fabio Maldonado almost didn’t happen. A lawsuit filed by Bellator FC, Jackson’s previous promotion, initially blocked his participation in the event. However, on April 21, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports, the injunction was lifted, and Rampage was cleared to take on Maldonado.

Needless to say, UFC President Dana White was pleased with the news. Per a press release (h/t Martin) White said: “We are happy with the decision from the New Jersey Court allowing Rampage to fight in Montreal this Saturday night. I am looking forward to seeing Rampage back in the Octagon.”

Now that almost everything is intact, here’s a look at the viewing information and my predictions for every fight on the card. Let’s focus on the bouts that I predict will result in Fight Night bonuses. Those bouts are highlighted in the table below and further analyzed in the text that follows.

 

Fight of the Night: Makdessi vs. Campbell

Both John “The Bull” Makdessi and “Shaolin” Shane Campbell enjoy standing and striking. Makdessi’s boxing is above-average, and Campbell’s background as a kickboxer makes him a live underdog in the bout. Per Odds Shark, Campbell’s odds of 151-100 are likely enticing to bettors.

He’s a bit of an unknown commodity considering this is his UFC debut, but he is a good striker who can handle himself off his back. He’s also good at scrambling to his feet, as you can see in his TKO win over Jerrid Burke via AXS TV Fights.

Campbell will also enjoy a four-inch height advantage against Makdessi. This is a battle between two proud Canadians who are fighting in front of their countrymen. Makdessi is looking to make a significant move in the lightweight division, while Campbell wants to make an impact with the promotion overall.

While Makdessi has the edge in experience, Campbell has the physical advantages. 

Style agreement, potential career advancement and the elements of pride make this my pick for Fight of the Night.

 

Performance of the Night No. 1: Thomas Almeida

At just 23 years old, Thomas Almeida is 18-0 with 17 wins by stoppage. The only opponent he’s faced as a professional who has gone the distance with him is Tim Gorman in Almeida’s last bout. That fight was the Brazilian’s UFC debut.

While he dominated Gorman en route to a unanimous-decision victory, he’ll undoubtedly want to finish the job in his second bout with the promotion.

Yves Jabouin is a good candidate to be stopped. The 35-year-old has lost by knockout (four) or submission (three) in seven of his nine defeats. He’s a good athlete, but the Haitian veteran won’t be any match for Almeida’s surgical and powerful striking.

Bet on Almeida securing an impressive victory via strikes or submission after a hard shot drops Jabouin and makes him vulnerable to a choke. It should be impressive enough to garner one of the Performance of the Night bonuses.

 

Performance of the Night No. 2: Demetrious Johnson

As Bleacher Report’s Jordy McElroy surmises in his article about Mighty Mouse’s lack of appeal to UFC fans, Johnson’s bout might not be the most watched fight of the card.

Despite his lack of popularity, the champion is still a demon in the Octagon. He has a new challenge ahead of him in Horiguchi, but truth be told, Jackson is a little too fast on his feet and vastly superior as a grappler compared to his opponent.

This fight should turn out to be a showcase for Johnson amidst talk that he isn’t a draw. He could elect to take a few more chances to satisfy the crowd, but his fight IQ is too good to allow himself to fall victim to such insecurities.

He’ll dominate a good opponent and finish him in the second round via submission. Whether the crowd is halfway to their cars or looking at their cellphones when it happens is another story.

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At UFC 186 on Saturday in Montreal, Kyoji Horiguchi‘s only chance to beat UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson is to catch him with something big. Johnson is too quick in the stand-up game for Horiguchi to outstrike him for five rounds, and the champion has the edge in grappling.

In Johnson’s last five fights, he has outstruck his opponents 361-135.  

On the ground, Johnson can transition from position to position, scramble and work his submission game as well as anyone in the weight class. He has eight wins by submission in his career.

Horiguchi hasn’t really had to show a great deal of expertise on the ground in his career. His striking has been so good that he’s been able to overcome his opponents primarily in the stand-up game. That won’t be the case against the champion. No matter where the fight goes, Johnson should have the edge. 

If he wants to completely dominate, he’ll take Horiguchi down and likely finish him in the second round via submission. Here’s a look at viewing information and predictions for the entire card.

 

Rampage Will Win His Return Bout

Despite his advanced age of 36, if you put any pure striker in front of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, he has an excellent shot at coming out on top. That’s the type of matchup Rampage has in front of him on Saturday when he faces Fabio Maldonado. 

The Brazilian loves to stand and bang, but that will be his downfall against Jackson. The MMA legend almost wasn’t able to participate in the event as a lawsuit from Bellator FC (his previous promotion) temporarily blocked his participation.

However, on Monday the court injunction was dropped, and Rampage was cleared to fight. Per Fox Sports’ Damon Martin, UFC President Dana White had this to say in a press release: “We are happy with the decision from the New Jersey Court allowing Rampage to fight in Montreal this Saturday night. I am looking forward to seeing Rampage back in the Octagon.”

On Saturday, Maldonado will be the one getting dropped, as it’s just a matter of time before Rampage connects with one of his right-hand bombs.

 

Almeida Will Show Why He’s a Hot Prospect

Thomas Almeida is one of the brightest young stars in mixed martial arts. He’s 18-0 and still just 23 years old. He’s had just one fight with the UFC. It was an unanimous-decision win over Tim Gorman in November 2014.

That fight was the only bout in Almeida‘s professional career that he didn’t win by stoppage; but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. Almeida battered Gorman, but the latter was tough enough to survive the onslaught.

Here’s a look at Almeida‘s 17 previous finishes in just a seven-minute video from gigi bubu.

This is probably a bold prediction, but Almeida is going to be one of the best pure strikers in the UFC over the next 10 years—if not the best. He’s dangerous with his feet, hands and knees. He doesn’t discriminate in his attack.

He’s just as punishing with shots to the midsection as he is with strikes to the head. He throws all of them with deadly precision. The Brazilian has excellent balance, and he throws body-head combinations with all of his weapons.

While he clearly prefers to use his muay thai skills, he’s shown off some solid grappling in his young career with three wins by submission. How Almeida develops that skill will determine how well-rounded and great he can become.

In any case, Yves Jabouin is in for a long—but short night.

The 35-year-old has made a habit of losing by stoppage in his career. Seven of his nine defeats have come by KO (four) or submission (three). Bet on an eighth stoppage loss coming via Almeida‘s left hook to the body and right hand to the head.

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Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

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UFC flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson has run through his division about as efficiently as any other titleholder this side of Ronda Rousey and Jon “Bones” Jones. With a relative shortage of formidable opponents for Johnson at flyweight, he’s had to squash a few foes twice just to keep active.

On Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Johnson will get a fresh face opposing him across the Octagon in No. 7-ranked Kyoji Horiguchi. The Japanese challenger is just 24 years old, but he’s already 15-1, and that record includes a current nine-fight win streak and a 4-0 run in the UFC.

He’s undoubtedly earned his opportunity. 

In the co-feature, the in-out-and-back-in-again Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will take on Fabio Maldonado in a fight that has all the makings of a slugfest. Jackson’s inclusion in the card was in danger as a lawsuit was filed by his most recent employer, Bellator FC, blocking the 36-year-old’s participation in the card.

On April 21, the injunction was dropped, and Rampage was cleared to face Maldonado, per Ryan McKinnell of Yahoo Sports. The card had already lost its original headline bout when UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw was forced out of his rematch with Renan Barao because of an injury.

With the main event and the co-feature set, UFC 186 is set to take Montreal by storm. Here’s the complete card, the viewing information and the predictions. Just below the table is a closer look at the top three fights on the card.

 

Dollaway Will Take Down Bisping

It’s hard to put any faith in No. 10-ranked middleweight Michael Bisping. He has routinely failed to win the biggest fights of his career. Losses to Rashad Evans, Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and, most recently, Luke Rockhold have kept Bisping from taking his career to the next level.

At 36 years old, the arrow will likely be trending downward soon. 

On Saturday, No. 11-ranked CB “The Doberman” Dollaway will aid in Bisping‘s descent. Stylistically, this isn’t a great matchup for Bisping. Dollaway is a former All-American wrestler at Arizona State University. Bisping is a pure striker who has at times exhibited good takedown defense—62 percent TD, per Fight Metric—but he struggles to do anything more than survive while he’s on the ground.

That’s especially the case when he’s on the bottom. Bisping has never won a fight by submission in the UFC. Can Bisping stop Dollaway from taking him down?

The answer to that question is no.

Against Tim Kennedy, back at UFC Fight Night Quebec in April 2014, Bisping was taken down five times on 11 attempts, per Fight Metric. Kennedy is a decent wrestler, but he is nowhere near the caliber of Dollaway. 

The Doberman will look to gain some respect in stand-up exchanges, but he won’t waste a lot of time before he looks to take down Bisping. Once he gets him there, it’ll be all downhill as Dollaway secures a unanimous-decision victory on the strength of top control and ground-and-pound strikes.

Andrew Richardson of MMA Mania believes Bisping will be able to hearken back to his earlier days and snuff out Dollaway‘s takedown attempts:

Before his loss to Tim Kennedy, Bisping had never been consistently controlled on the mat. Then, Kennedy simply dominated him in largely unexpected fashion. If Bisping is out-wrestled similarly here, it’s a clear signal that the Englishman is no longer at the top of his game. Dollaway is a talented fighter, but he’s not a bigger takedown threat than Chael Sonnen, and Bisping repelled the vast majority of his attempts to wrestle back in 2012.

There’s also the question of hunger here. Bisping has a job secured with Fox Sports as an analyst. At his age, he has to know his chances of ever ascending to the top of the 185-pound division and challenging for a title are done. 

Does he want it as bad as Dollaway? It’s hard to imagine how he could.

 

Rampage Will Outslug Maldonado

Let’s be honest, the UFC probably wouldn’t have set up Rampage with an opponent who was going to take him too far out of his comfort zone in the legend’s return to the promotion. Rampage doesn’t like positional grappling, probably because that’s the best way to defeat him.

He has a chin made of adamantium and massive power in his hands. Thus, standing and slugging with him is usually a bad idea. 

Maldonado is a slight step up in competition from the likes of Christian M’Pumbu and Joey Beltran, whom Rampage beat in Bellator before winning a controversial decision over Muhammed Lawal in his last fight with the organization. 

While Maldonado is a tougher challenge than Jackson’s recent foes, the former still won’t have the beard to bang with Rampage. In an explosive and likely short bout, Jackson will stop Maldonado late in the first round with a hard right hand and a flurry of punches.

 

Mighty Mouse Is Too Fast, Too Good

Horiguchi is a worthy challenger, but like most of Mighty Mouse’s opponents, his attempt to win the flyweight title will be thwarted by the champion’s immense toolbox of skills and physical gifts.

Johnson’s speed is second to none and perhaps only rivaled by that of flyweight contender John Dodson. Horiguchi is no slow poke, but expect him to be a step or two slower than the champion. That advantage could be deadly in stand-up exchanges.

As Johnson proved in his stunning KO win over Joseph Benavidez at UFC on Fox 9 in December 2013, the punishment for being beaten to the punch by Mighty Mouse can be unconsciousness. 

Even if Johnson doesn’t catch Horiguchi with a mammoth right-hand counter, he could take the fight to the ground for what would likely be the easiest route to victory. Johnson’s wrestling prowess is easily the best in the flyweight division. When you group that with his lightning quickness and top-notch submission game, you have one of the best fighters in the world.

Horiguchi is good, but Johnson is great. The champion will win this one via second-round submission.

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 Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter.

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