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UFC Mexico Fallout: Five Fights To Make

This past weekend (Sat. September 21, 2019) at UFC on ESPN+ 17, we had a great night of fights and quite the underwhelming main event. The event featured twelve fights, seven of which went the distance, with three knockouts, one submission, and of course the no contest in the main event. The show was headlined […]

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The show was headlined by top ten featherweights Jeremy ‘Lil Heathen’ Stephens and Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodriguez, but we didn’t get much of a show like we thought we would. Just 15 seconds into the fight and it was over, Rodriguez had poked Stephens in the eye, so bad in fact that after Herb Dean gave Stephens the allowed five minutes to recover, his eye still wouldn’t even open.

We at LowKickMMA have compiled a list of five fights to make after their showings. Where do the winners go from here? Where do the losers go from here? Continue reading to see our five matchups:

Misha Cirkunov (15-5) vs. Paul Craig (12-4)

The timeline for these two works out quite beautifully, considering Misha Cirkunov just fought the weekend before last, and of course, Paul Craig just had his fight this past Saturday as well. Both had the best performances they’ve had inside the UFC to date. Cirkunov submitted the highly touted, young prodigy in Jimmy Crute with a Peruvian necktie, and Craig got just his second win inside the UFC without having lost the majority of the fight before finishing it.

It was a bit surprising that the UFC didn’t cut Craig after his most recent loss to Alonzo Menifield. He was then 3-4 inside the promotion at that point, he’d gotten finished in all four of his losses, and two of his three wins were in the final moments of fights he was losing. Craig was getting mauled by Magomed Ankalaev the entire fight, and got the tap via triangle choke with literally one second left in the fight. Then against Kennedy Nzechukwu, he was losing that fight as well, and ended up sinking in a triangle choke and got the tap with 40 seconds left.

The only fight Craig had really looked good in was his UFC debut, a back-and-forth fight that saw him win via armbar in round two, until UFC Mexico that is. He looked great this past Saturday, he’s certainly been putting in the work. After hurting Vinicius Moreira badly and almost getting the stoppage via strikes, Craig jumped on his back and sunk in the rear-naked choke for the victory over the BJJ black belt. He shouldn’t have even had to do that to be honest, that fight should’ve been stopped via TKO before Craig even had the chance to take Moreira’s back. Nonetheless, it was an incredible performance from “Bearjew”.

Cirkunov submitted the only fighter to ever submit Craig in his last fight; as mentioned above, Cirkunov defeated Crute via peruvian necktie, while Crute submitted Craig via kimura after dominating him for over 14 minutes. Cirkunov has also been submitted before, but not since his first and second losses in 2010 and 2012. Wouldn’t this be a great grapple-fest to see? Both guys have had somewhat of a rocky road in the UFC, with some success as well, but both are highly skilled and incredibly entertaining. How would this one go?

Irene Aldana (11-5) vs. Julianna Pena (9-3)

Irene Aldana had one of her best performances to date at UFC Mexico as well, as she easily out-struck Vanessa Melo 127-68 in total strikes over the course of three rounds. Aldana’s striking looked great, especially her hands. The combinations she threw, and her shovel hooks, in particular, she’s evolved in the game quite nicely.

Aldana came to the UFC with a 7-2 record, finishing all of her wins. After going 0-2 in her first two UFC outings, she’s since gone 4-1, with that only loss via split decision to Raquel Pennington, a fight that could’ve gone either way. A fight that’d be great to see her in now is one against The Ultimate Fighter 18 winner Julianna Pena, who successfully returned after two-and-a-half years away this past July.

With Aldana at 31-years-old, and Pena at 30-years-old, this is a great time to make this fight while they’re both at, or close to their peak. How does this one go down?

Jussier Formiga (23-6) vs. Sergio Pettis (18-5) II

Sergio Pettis just defeated the debuting Tyson Nam by out-striking him 96-43 in total strikes to a unanimous decision victory. Nam was certainly the underdog, but he’s a great fighter, and he belongs in the UFC. Pettis’ first fight with Formiga happened just after Pettis beat Joseph Benavidez, it looked like he was about to be fighting for the title. He came out and did well in round one, but got taken down toward the end of round two, and got his back taken for the entirety of round three.

Pettis recently said that his head wasn’t completely in that fight because he heard the flyweight division was going to be cut, and all of his hard work wasn’t worth anything considering. He then moved back up to 135 pounds to fight Rob Font after losing to Formiga and suffered back-to-back losses for the first time ever in his career. After not having a fight for nine months, he came back and defeated Nam.

Let’s see how much Pettis has improved since then, we all know how good he is. Look at his fight with Benavidez, that’s what he’s capable of. Yes, that was a close fight, but Benavidez is the No. 2 flyweight out there, maybe even No. 1, he does boast a win over Henry Cejudo. Also, “The Phenom” almost knocked Benavidez out in the first round of their fight. A rematch with Formiga makes all the sense in the world at this point.

Brandon Moreno (15-5-1) vs. Askar Askarov (10-0-1) II

A draw was the perfect result for this fight because there was no winner or loser. This fight was so close, yet so competitive and so entertaining, it’d be a shame if we don’t get to see this one get run back. With Moreno being the former MCC flyweight champion with three title defenses before coming to the UFC, then going 3-2 inside the UFC, getting cut, then winning the LFA flyweight championship via TKO in round four, it’s great to see that the UFC picked him back up.

On the other hand, Askarov is the former ACB flyweight champion, and we all see why now. This man can fight, and he’s only 26-years-old, just a year older than Moreno. Rounds one and two showed the two striking each other, primarily Moreno having more success than Askarov, but Askarov had a few nice takedowns and a good amount of back control at one point in each of the first two rounds. Round three was the only clear round to score, which was Moreno’s round considering his beautiful trip and top game kept him on top for the majority of the round.

It’s great that to see that one judge scored this fight 28-28, we don’t see that very often. Unless the referee takes a point, we almost never see an even round, but we should. Even rounds shouldn’t be scored often, perhaps not even at every event, but they’re absolutely necessary when a round is so close.

Most of the time, if a round is close, the judges will just give it to the more popular fighter, or maybe even the hometown fighter, that’s not how it should be. If the round is that close to where they don’t know who to give it to, a 10-10 score is a great idea and should be implemented more often.

These are two of the best flyweights on the entire planet, and it’s great to see both of them inside the UFC. Why not run this one back? It was one of the best fights of the night, and probably should’ve gotten the Fight of the Night award. What do you think, would you like to see it again?

Yair Rodriguez (11-2) 1 NC vs. Jeremy Stephens (28-16) 1 NC II

Again, yet another fight needs to be run back. We only got to see 15 seconds of this contest, and before we knew it, it was over. Rodriguez ended up poking Stephens in the eye, thus resulting in a no contest. Stephens has already made a video post stating “Yair, you think I’m faking bro? You’re the one that poked me in the eye. Let’s run it back… four or five weeks, two weeks, whatever, I’ll be ready.”

This was about to be a great, entertaining contest between two incredibly dangerous featherweights. We have the brutal power of Jeremy Stephens and the stunning footwork and lethal skill set of Yair Rodriguez. Who knows how it would’ve went, it’s impossible to say. Hopefully, we can get Rodriguez to agree to the rematch and sign the contract again.

If this fight was signed again, how do you think it would go? It’s so unfortunate to have an event end like that, especially one that was as exciting as this one was. We really had some great fights, and to have it just end like that, it sucks, but it’s part of the sport.

Do you think Rodriguez will sign another contract to fight Stephens again?

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UFC Mexico City Staff Predictions: Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens

A tremendous featherweight matchup between Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens headlines UFC Mexico City tomorrow night (Sat. September 21, 2019). All the action goes down from the Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, Mexico. In the main event of the night, Yair Rodriguez takes on Jeremy Stephens in a highly-anticipated featherweight clash. We here at […]

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In the main event of the night, Yair Rodriguez takes on Jeremy Stephens in a highly-anticipated featherweight clash. We here at LowKickMMA have compiled our predictions for tomorrow night’s card. Check them out below.

UFC Mexico City Staff Predictions

Jon Fuentes:

This is going to be a war. Both guys are finishers, but I have a funny feeling this one goes the distance. I’m expecting a dog fight tomorrow night, but given the long layoff from Rodriguez, and the fact that Stephens has been way more active as of late, I’m going to go with Stephens getting the job done on the judges’ scorecards by a very close margin. (Prediction: Jeremy Stephens)

Abhinav Kini:

It might be surprising that some have Jeremy Stephens as the favorite but I think that makes sense. Yair Rodriguez has only fought twice since 2017 and this is his first fight in nearly a year. He was losing comfortably against Korean Zombie until the last second and I think that should give Stephens confidence. Stephens tends to lose to the more technical strikers, but I think having trained with Tony Ferguson recently and this being a five-rounder plays to his advantage. (Prediction: Jeremy Stephens)

Andrew Ravens:

Rodriguez should win this fight but I don’t see it being an easy one as Stephens will give him his toughest challenge to date. The UFC prospect has won an impressive nine of his last ten fights and currently boasts a record of 11-2. Stephens has lost two straight. Rodriguez walks away with the decision win. (Prediction: Yair Rodriguez)

Brady Briggs:

This is a really compelling fight between two top 10 featherweights. Stephens certainly has the power advantage, and can end the fight with any limb he chooses. On the other hand, we have the flashy, yet effective taekwondo of Rodriguez. He’s great at circling the outside and picking his opponents apart to a decision, or picks them apart until he knocks them out. Stephens has tightened his game up quite a bit in recent years, I believe his power and experience will be too much. (Prediction: Jeremy Stephens)

Cole Shelton:

Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens is a hell of a fight. Yair is obviously the flashier striker while Stephens has the one-punch knockout power. We have seen Yair get hit a ton, especially in his last fight, and Stephens has all the skillset to knock him out, or possibly use his wrestling similar to what Edgar did.

If this was a three-round fight I’d pick Stephens. But in five rounds and in Mexico, I see Yair winning by decision. (Prediction: Yair Rodriguez)

What do you think about our predictions? Who are you picking?

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UFC Mexico City Breakdown: Yair Rodriguez vs. Jeremy Stephens

This coming weekend at UFC on ESPN+ 17, we have a great five-round main event in the UFC featherweight division between Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens and Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez. Both guys are generally strikers, and both typically look for the knockout. Rodriguez is a little more tactical with his skillset, and Stephens has the […]

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This coming weekend at UFC on ESPN+ 17, we have a great five-round main event in the UFC featherweight division between Jeremy “Lil Heathen” Stephens and Yair “El Pantera” Rodriguez.

Both guys are generally strikers, and both typically look for the knockout. Rodriguez is a little more tactical with his skillset, and Stephens has the power advantage. Stephens came to the UFC back in 2007. He actually debuted on his birthday against Din Thomas, a fight he’d lose via submission (armbar) in round two.

He then scored a knockout win in MCC, before coming back to the UFC. “Lil Heathen” has always been a viciously powerful individual, and he’s really sharpened up his game since he started. He boasts 19 knockouts in 28 wins and has UFC knockout victories via flying knee, head kick, punch(es), and an elbow. He can literally starch whoever he’s fighting at any given moment with any limb he chooses.

Yair Rodriguez came to the UFC in 2014 after winning The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America. He went 2-0 on the show with victories via triangle choke and TKO, before he won his season via unanimous decision. Rodriguez won his next two fights via decision and scored one of the most lethal head kick knockouts you’ll ever see in this sport over Andre Fili. He went on to win his next two fights before getting stopped by former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar – his only loss in the UFC to date.

Since then, which was in May of 2017, Rodriguez has only fought once because of a contract dispute, which is unfortunate given his age. At only 26-years-old however, maybe it’s a good thing, he was most likely in the gym polishing up what needed to be worked on.

Rodriguez boasts wins over Andre Fili, Dan Hooker, Alex Caceres, BJ Penn, and Chan Sung Jung, three of which were knockouts; while Stephens’ most notable wins are over Rafael dos Anjos, Dennis Bermudez, Gilbert Melendez, Darren Elkins, Renan Barao, Doo Ho Choi, and Josh Emmett, four of which are via knockout.

It’ll be interesting to see if the experience has anything to do with this fight. Stephens hasn’t lost too many stand-up affairs, and neither has Rodriguez. “Lil Heathen” seemed to be hitting his peak a little over a year ago during his most recent win streak, he was even the favorite going into his fight with Jose Aldo, which is pretty remarkable. He’d just looked better than ever while dismantling Melendez, Emmett, and Choi.

Will we see that Stephens again? Or will the footwork and flashy striking of Taekwondo black belt Yair Rodriguez be too much?

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UFC Vancouver Breakdown: Donald Cerrone vs. Justin Gaethje

There’s a lot to be said about this weekend’s main event between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje. Firstly, this is Cerrone’s second fight in a row against a straight-up assassin; his last fight was against Tony Ferguson, and now Justin Gaethje, those are two of the most dangerous fighters in the entire […]

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There’s a lot to be said about this weekend’s main event between Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Justin “The Highlight” Gaethje.

Firstly, this is Cerrone’s second fight in a row against a straight-up assassin; his last fight was against Tony Ferguson, and now Justin Gaethje, those are two of the most dangerous fighters in the entire game. The UFC just isn’t giving him much of a break when it comes to high-level opposition, not that he wants lackluster opponents, as he’s one of the best in the world himself.

“Cowboy” has always had great striking and great submissions, it’s kind of incredible what he did early on in his MMA career. After going 13-0 in amateur kickboxing and 28-0-1 in professional kickboxing, he turned to MMA. The crazy thing is, he never scored a knockout win until his sixteenth win, his twentieth fight, well past his WEC career.

He won 12 of his first 15 fights via submission. To have finished 18 of his 28 professional kickboxing wins via knockout, to have a 41-0-1 total record in the art, and then submit 80% of his opponents in his first 20 MMA fights, that’s incredible.

Cerrone has had many great points in his career; from coming to the UFC and winning his first four fights, back when the WEC roster supposedly wasn’t as good as the UFC’s guys, to going on his eight-fight win streak before challenging Rafael dos Anjos in a rematch for the UFC lightweight championship, to moving up to welterweight and winning his first four fights there.

What’s even crazier about that, he finished guys like Rick Story, Patrick Cote, and Matt Brown via (T)KO, all three guys that had never been stopped via strikes before, and Cote had fought at middleweight and light heavyweight as well. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson couldn’t even finish Cote.

Brown lost his previous fight via TKO to a body shot, but never got knocked out by a strike to his chin. Cerrone was the first to do it. Then after losing four of his next five, he beat Mike Perry, and went back to lightweight, again looking unstoppable. His last loss wasn’t because he wasn’t good enough to win, he fought “El Cucuy” – one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet – and his face just couldn’t take all that punishment.

Justin Gaethje is one of the toughest, roughest, most violent fighters any of us will ever see. He just walks his opponents down and throws leg kicks and heavy, accurate punches. One thing that’s helped Gaethje with his career is his incredible athleticism. He’s one of the more athletic fighters in the game today, and he also knows how to wrestle quite well. Even though he doesn’t use his wrestling for takedowns, he does sometimes use it to control his opponent with underhooks to get them in the position he wants them, kind of like he did to Edson Barboza.

After winning, and defending the WSOF lightweight championship five times, being a six-time world champion in MMA, with most of his wins via knockouts, we had to see him in the UFC. He made a massive impact once arriving to the promotion, quickly winning three Fight of the Year awards.

One of which was against Michael Johnson in his UFC debut, one against Eddie Alvarez, and the other against Dustin Poirier. Those were his first three fights in the UFC, and less than a year of fighting, literally that was a nine-month span, and he was awarded Fight of the Year for all three by multiple media outlets.

Donald Cerrone (36-12) 1 NC vs. Justin Gaethje (20-2)

Both of these two have vicious leg kicks, and both are great all-around strikers. Cerrone has the more diverse arsenal of kicks, as he’ll throw them to the legs, the body, and the head, whether it be round kicks, switch kicks, snap kicks, he has them all. However, as hard as Gaethje’s leg kicks are, that might make the difference.

The manner in which he throws them and the angles he can get them to land from is just remarkable, it’s been a big problem for everyone he’s fought, even the two guys that have beat him. He’ll even lock up a clinch and throw a leg kick from there, and land it. Both have good hands too, but Gaethje boasts much more power with his, and he has a pace that may be hard for Cerrone to deal with as well.

Then again, we have Cerrone’s high-level submission game, but will the fight even go to the floor? Cerrone has drastically improved his wrestling, both offensively and defensively, but will the fight hit the mat? It’s doubtful, at least for a period of time. Both of these guys are primarily strikers that love to stand and trade. Both are finishers as well, with Gaethje winning 17 of his 20 wins via knockout, as well as 10 knockouts and 17 submissions for Cerrone.

How does this stellar matchup play out this weekend?

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UFC Vancouver Staff Predictions: Donald Cerrone vs. Justin Gaethje

Tomorrow (Sat. September 14, 2019) UFC on ESPN+ 16 goes down from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In the main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will take on Justin Gaethje in lightweight action. It’s sure to be one of the best fights of the year as both men are two of the most […]

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Tomorrow (Sat. September 14, 2019) UFC on ESPN+ 16 goes down from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

In the main event, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone will take on Justin Gaethje in lightweight action. It’s sure to be one of the best fights of the year as both men are two of the most game fighters under the Las Vegas-based promotion’s banner. The winner could very well be next in line for the 155-pound title.

Check out our UFC Vancouver staff predictions below.

UFC Vancouver Staff Predictions

Jon Fuentes:

What a great matchup this is going to be. Two of the most exciting strikers in the game going head-to-head. Cerrone never fails to put on an entertaining fight, and Gaethje has been on a hot streak with back-to-back vicious knockout finishes. I see no reason for “The Highlight” to stop now. I got Gaethje finishing this one early with a TKO or knockout. (Prediction: Justin Gaethje)

Abhinav Kini:

This is a great fight for many reasons but I don’t see it being the war everyone expects. I think it’ll end up like Justin Gaethje’s last two fights — a first-round knockout. I feel “The Highlight” has learned a lot from his two losses and is more patient yet deadly at the same time now. His pressure along with his leg kicks will be too much for Donald Cerrone who has traditionally wilted against those types of fighters. (Prediction: Justin Gaethje)

Andrew Ravens:

Either guy could win this fight, which makes it hard for a prediction. Cerrone is great at rebounding after losing to a top tier name, which he just did to Tony Ferguson. On the flip side, Gaethje is right up there in the division and could beat Cerrone if he shows up with the right mindset. This will be a fun battle that will steal the show but I have Cerrone getting it done by split decision. (Prediction: Donald Cerrone)

Brady Briggs:

This is one hell of a matchup. Cerrone’s certainly more of a threat on the ground than Gaethje, but will the fight go to the ground? It’s hard to say, each guy loves to fight on the feet, as each of them are incredibly skilled there. Cerrone is 28-0-1 in professional kickboxing and Gaehtje has 17 knockout wins out of 20 total professional MMA wins. I think Gaethje finishes Cerrone with strikes at some point by round three, but wouldn’t be surprised to see it go the other way. Justin Gaethje via TKO. (Prediction: Justin Gaethje)

Cole Shelton:

Cowboy-Gaethje is one of the best fights of the year. Two fan favorites and fighters that always bring it will collide. For me, there are two possible outcomes. The first being Gaethje comes out hot like he always does and Cerrone starting slow, which he is prone to doing, and Gaethje knocking Cowboy out in the first or second.

The other, if Cerrone can get this fight to the 4th or 5th round, we have seen Gaethje gas and he could TKO him late in the fight. But I think Gaethje will win by second-round finish. (Prediction: Justin Gaethje)

What do you make of our UFC Vancouver staff predictions?

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Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington…

While this fight hangs in the balance and hasn’t officially announced by the UFC, a welterweight championship bout between reigning champion Kamaru Usman and former interim champion Colby Covington is hoped to take place at UFC 245. This event will go down at T Mobile Arena, Las Vegas on December 15th. We may finally get […]

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Kamaru Usman opened up as quite a sizable favorite over Colby Covington, with him sitting at -250 and Covington at +195. These odds will continue to change and fluctuate on the best betting sites for UFC, until the fight actually happens, they always do.

It’s hard to say how this one will go, considering they’re almost identical in style. Both are constantly throwing strikes and walking their opponents down, both strikes mainly to get into range for a takedown, or to wear on their opponent on the fence. They’re both elite level wrestlers, both have insane cardio, they’re almost the same fighter. The only differences are that Usman throws mostly punches, while Covington does mix in other strikes, and the other is that Usman’s just a little more physically imposing.

Usman is 6′ with a 76” reach, as opposed to Covington being 5’11” with a 72” reach. He’s also a little more muscular, and perhaps stronger. When it comes down to the best of the best, usually if there’s a size difference, the bigger man will win. Not generally, but when talking about the very best in the world, and Usman is the bigger man. Usman will most likely take a close decision considering, but who knows with this fight. They’re both so incredibly good at fighting.

Something to be noted, as Covington has said, Usman beat Demian Maia and Rafael dos Anjos both after he handled them first. Covington probably should have been the one to fight Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 rather than Usman in all fairness, and given how that fight went, Covington probably would’ve had a very similar performance and won the title himself. It’s very evident these two don’t at all like each other. From both of these guys being accomplished and credentialed wrestlers, to both being cardio machines, to being two of the only three fighters to ever land 10+ takedowns and 100+ strikes in a single UFC fight, to one being 31 and the other being 32, we literally need to see this fight happen so we can see a difference and see who’s better.

This is perhaps the biggest welterweight title fight since Georges St-Pierre versus Johny Hendricks. Remember how everyone needed to see that fight in order to know who the best welterweight was? Remember how a ton of people said “Bigg Rigg” was the one to dethrone “GSP” and that “GSP” was ducking him? Now everyone’s saying that about Usman. Now a ton of fans were saying that “The Nigerian Nightmare” was ducking “Chaos”, and everyone wants to see this happen, so we really know who the best 170-pound fighter in the world is.

This is a great fight that’s been in talks for quite a while now but was really made after Covington’s fight with Robbie Lawler at the ESPN desk. This fight needs to happen but until it’s confirmed by the UFC all we can do is wait.

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