UFC 207 is here, and it goes down tonight (December 30th) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The prelims kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET with one bout while the rest of the prelims will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET with four bouts. The main card starts at 10
UFC 207 is here, and it goes down tonight (December 30th) from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The prelims kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET with one bout while the rest of the prelims will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET with four bouts. The main card starts at 10 p.m. ET on PPV with five bouts.
The event will be headlined by UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Amanda Nunes and former champion Ronda Rousey. A UFC Bantamweight Championship bout between current champion Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt will co-headline the event. Rounding out the main card is T.J. Dillashaw vs. John Lineker in a bantamweight bout, Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tarec Saffiedine in a welterweight bout and Ray Borg vs. Louis Smolka in a flyweight bout.
According to oddsmakers, Rousey is a -140 favorite over Nunes, who is a +120 underdog. Other odds for the main card include Garbrandt being a +180 underdog against Cruz, who is a -220 favorite.
Here are the betting odds:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Amanda Nunes (+120) vs. Ronda Rousey (-140) – for women’s bantamweight title
Champ Dominick Cruz (-220) vs. Cody Garbrandt (+180) – for bantamweight title
Bantamweight bout: T.J. Dillashaw (-250) vs. John Lineker (+210)
Welterweight bout: Dong Hyun Kim (-145) vs. Tarec Saffiedine (+125)
Flyweight bout: Ray Borg (-140) vs. Louis Smolka (+120)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
Welterweight bout: Johny Hendricks (+105) vs. Neil Magny (-125)
Middleweight bout: Antonio Carlos Junior (-140) vs. Marvin Vettori (+120)
Welterweight bout: Alex Garcia (-175) vs. Mike Pyle (+155)
Welterweight bout: Niko Price vs. Brandon Thatch (-175)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Welterweight bout: Tim Means (-115) vs. Alex Oliveira (-105)
Having shared a very intense feud with Dominick Cruz in the lead up to UFC 207, all that’s left is the fight for Cody Garbrandt. When simplified in those terms, ‘No Love’s’ shot at UFC glory sounds somewhat straight forward. In reality, the champion Cruz is a puzzle of striking wrapped in an enigma of footwork.
Having shared a very intense feud with Dominick Cruz in the lead up to UFC 207, all that’s left is the fight for Cody Garbrandt. When simplified in those terms, ‘No Love’s’ shot at UFC glory sounds somewhat straight forward. In reality, the champion Cruz is a puzzle of striking wrapped in an enigma of footwork. Adding to that highly technical game that Joe Rogan describes as ‘revolutionary’ is the pre-fight tension. Storming out of an interview, and also scuffling backstage with Jeremy Stephens, Garbrandt has displayed numerous signs of frustration.
Similar to Jose Aldo with Conor McGregor, Garbrandt has proved reactionary to Cruz’s taunts and insults. Is ‘No Love’ trying to lull Cruz in to believing he has an edge in the mental domain? That remains to be seen, but what’s certain is a lot of people are writing Garbrandt off. Having that one-punch KO power is certainly useful tool, but the question is whether ‘No Love’ can hit the moving target. The Team Alpha Male prospect recently described himself as ‘the next generation.’ Leading us quite nicely in to the subject of today’s article, is Garbrandt a one-punch wonder, or the future of the UFC bantamweight division?
Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
History Of Violence
Looking at Cody Garbrandt’s pro fighting record is like analysing the rap sheet of a serial killer. Sporting a 10-0 tally, ‘No Love’ has taken out nine opponents within the distance by T/KO, with seven in the first round. Garbrandt also holds a 32-1 amateur boxing record and a 6-2 amateur MMA tally. Although Garbrandt is not quite up there with pro experience in comparison to Cruz, he is long in the tooth as a fighter overall. Heading in to this bout with three straight vicious knockouts, the power of ‘No Love’s’ hands is not in question.
What is being debated is his accuracy, and ability to hit a target as evasive as ‘The Dominator.’ Interestingly, we have some good benchmarks in terms of Cruz’s last two opponents, both of whom were Team Alpha Male standouts. Former 135-pound boss TJ Dillashaw and Urijah Faber both lost decisions to Cruz recently. Breaking down Garbrandt’s striking, he’s far more similar to Chad Mendes or Urijah Faber than he is Dillasaw, but also is arguably much faster than either ‘Money’ or ‘The California Kid.’ Check out this video of ‘No Love’ working the pads with those hard hands:
Movement
Predicting Dominick Cruz’s movements is difficult at the best of times, damn near impossible when he’s on form. Failing the champion having a terrible fight and not utilizing his gameplan, Garbrandt will need to have put in serious rounds with someone who can mimic his opponent perfectly. Putting Garbrandt in to a category of striker; I’d call him an upright power puncher with the ability to switch-hit.
To put this simply, let’s hope Danny Castillo isn’t the man who’s been brought in to emulate Cruz in sparring. If this moment from the UFC 207 fight week is anything to go by, Castillo is not the man for that job:
Conclusion
Wrapping up this last-minute preview, a few points stand out. Answering the original question, Garbrandt certainly may have much more than a puncher’s chance in this fight. Studying Cruz’s style will help massively, but simulation will be key. The problem there is that Cruz has drilled his footwork relentlessly for years, something I don’t think TAM will have made time for. Barring someone who has committed to drilling and emulating Cruz, Garbrandt may have worked on a clinch and dirty boxing game. One way to shut down an elusive striker is to smother and crush them against the cage.
Outside these factors, ‘No Love’ could uncork a monster KO blow on the reigning champion. If he’s able to overcome the unquestionably brilliant style of the champ, we can arguably say Garbrandt is the next generation of the UFC’s 135-pound division. At this level, anyone has more than a puncher’s chance, to what degree depends on how smart Garbrandt fights, and how much homework he’s done on Cruz.
At long last, Ronda Rousey is back and boy, does she look scary. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, though? Well, just look at the state she left Miesha Tate in at UFC 200.
This is a battle between two of the best finishers in women’s…
At long last, Ronda Rousey is back and boy, does she look scary. The UFC women’s bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes, though? Well, just look at the state she left Miesha Tate in at UFC 200.
This is a battle between two of the best finishers in women’s MMA and boy, does it have a solid lineup of fights behind it. Here is the full UFC 207 main card:
Naturally, the Bleacher Report MMA predictions crew is here to break down the fights and give its predictions. So who will have their hands raised and how will the matches unfold? Read on and find out!
Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title holder Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt are eager to mix it up tomorrow night (Dec. 30) in the co-main event of UFC 207. “No Love” had a con…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLQ9wEVz7qo
Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title holder Dominick Cruz and Cody Garbrandt are eager to mix it up tomorrow night (Dec. 30) in the co-main event of UFC 207. “No Love” had a confrontation with Cruz’s training partner Jeremy Stephens after tipping the scales in the morning weigh-ins. Later at the ceremonial weigh-ins, he and Cruz had to be separated.
“The Dominator” spoke to his fellow FOX Sports 1 panel following the face-off:
“I wanted to just stare down with him to get a good look, but I knew if I got too close you’ve gotta be careful because he’s a loose canon. You gotta make sure that he doesn’t swing. You gotta be aware.”
Cruz was asked by current middleweight champion Michael Bisping if wrestling would be his main strategy against the heavy hitting challenger. Cruz said the art would only be part of it.
“Wrestling is a part of the gameplan no matter who I fight. The biggest thing is mixing it up and making this a mixed martial arts fight. Not sticking one-dimensional and just looking for a boxing knockout, not just looking for a kick, not just looking for a takedown. Being able to make everything fluent, flow together, and it looks like one simple art instead of four or five different arts pieced together. That’s how you beat a guy like Cody with all the power he has.”
The 135-pound ruler doesn’t believe Garbrandt is taking his own punching power seriously. He said that is a fatal flaw in “No Love’s” thinking.
“The biggest mistake he’s making is he’s willing to eat my punches. He said that on several occasions, He gives no respect to the power, but anybody with four ounce gloves has power and I’m smart enough to realize that. I don’t care, I don’t want you to touch me and that is gonna be the objective in this fight. Don’t touch me, I’m gonna outslick you, I’m gonna outsmart you, I’m gonna beat you down while you try to force things.”
UFC 207 is less than 24-hours away and the fifth episode of UFC 207 Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel. In the episode, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Cody Garbrandt break down their verbal altercation after “No Love” storms out of a television interview. Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has as much
UFC 207 is less than 24-hours away and the fifth episode of UFC 207 Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel.
In the episode, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Cody Garbrandt break down their verbal altercation after “No Love” storms out of a television interview. Women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes has as much fun as she can during her weight cut. All of the title fighters, including challenger Ronda Rousey, hit their targets at the official weigh-in. But while Nunes is on the scale, members of Garbrandt and Cruz’ camps again exchange words – and nearly more.
At the official ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey on Thursday evening in Las Vegas, Nevada, not only did Ronda Rousey return to her fight-fan-public on stage at the T-Mobile Arena for an intense faceoff …
https://youtu.be/fr7P6fQIqaU
At the official ceremonial weigh-ins for UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey on Thursday evening in Las Vegas, Nevada, not only did Ronda Rousey return to her fight-fan-public on stage at the T-Mobile Arena for an intense faceoff with UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes, but co-headliners Dominick Cruz and Cody “No Love” Garbrandt continued to steal the show with their pull-apart faceoff after stepping off the scales.
Featured above, courtesy of the official UFC YouTube channel, are the faceoffs from Thursday’s UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey ceremonial evening weigh-ins in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Below, courtesy of the official UFC On FOX YouTube channel, are the Rousey-Nunes and Cruz-Garbrandt weigh-ins and faceoffs from a different perspective.
