UFC Fight Night 107: Main Card Staff Predictions

The UFC takes its Octagon across the Atlantic for Fight Night 107 this Saturday, March 18, when it will set up at the O2 Arena in London, U.K.
The host nation will be well represented throughout the event, including the main card, which features three …

The UFC takes its Octagon across the Atlantic for Fight Night 107 this Saturday, March 18, when it will set up at the O2 Arena in London, U.K.

The host nation will be well represented throughout the event, including the main card, which features three British fighters competing over the course of four fights. The headliner, a light heavyweight clash, pits London’s own Jimi Manuwa against America’s Corey Anderson.

Since starting out in the UFC with a trio of wins, Manuwa has alternated victories and defeats over his last four bouts, most recently besting Ovince Saint Preux. Anderson, meanwhile, has found success in four of his last five outings, and he is coming off a TKO win over Sean O’Connell.

In the co-main event, Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson takes on the American Alan Jouban. Nelson has won two of his last four, while Jouban enters the scrap riding a three-fight win streak. 

The full Fight Night 107 main card is as follows:

  • Jimi Manuwa vs. Corey Anderson
  • Gunnar Nelson  vs. Alan Jouban
  • Brad Pickett vs. Marlon Vera
  • Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani

The Bleacher Report team has assembled to provide you with our predictions for each of these contests. Read on for what I like to think of as our collective and considerable wisdom. 

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UFC Fight Night 107: Main Card Staff Predictions

The UFC takes its Octagon across the Atlantic for Fight Night 107 this Saturday, March 18, when it will set up at the O2 Arena in London, U.K.
The host nation will be well represented throughout the event, including the main card, which features three …

The UFC takes its Octagon across the Atlantic for Fight Night 107 this Saturday, March 18, when it will set up at the O2 Arena in London, U.K.

The host nation will be well represented throughout the event, including the main card, which features three British fighters competing over the course of four fights. The headliner, a light heavyweight clash, pits London’s own Jimi Manuwa against America’s Corey Anderson.

Since starting out in the UFC with a trio of wins, Manuwa has alternated victories and defeats over his last four bouts, most recently besting Ovince Saint Preux. Anderson, meanwhile, has found success in four of his last five outings, and he is coming off a TKO win over Sean O’Connell.

In the co-main event, Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson takes on the American Alan Jouban. Nelson has won two of his last four, while Jouban enters the scrap riding a three-fight win streak. 

The full Fight Night 107 main card is as follows:

  • Jimi Manuwa vs. Corey Anderson
  • Gunnar Nelson  vs. Alan Jouban
  • Brad Pickett vs. Marlon Vera
  • Arnold Allen vs. Makwan Amirkhani

The Bleacher Report team has assembled to provide you with our predictions for each of these contests. Read on for what I like to think of as our collective and considerable wisdom. 

Begin Slideshow

Alan Jouban Says He’s Treating Gunnar Nelson Bout Like a ‘Championship Fight’

Alan Jouban is trying to make the most of his opportunity this Saturday night (March 18). Jouban is riding a three-fight winning streak, but he doesn’t have a spot on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings. That will change with a victory over the ninth ranked Gunnar Nelson. The two will do battle […]

Alan Jouban is trying to make the most of his opportunity this Saturday night (March 18). Jouban is riding a three-fight winning streak, but he doesn’t have a spot on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight rankings. That will change with a victory over the ninth ranked Gunnar Nelson. The two will do battle […]

UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban?

UFC Fight Night 107 is a card that seems to be flying under the radar. I knew there were fights again this weekend but I have to admit even I had no clue who was fighting until I did a bit of investigation. To my surprise, it turns out that this card features some key nit events including the potential swan song of the always entertaining Brad Pickett as well as the main event which features Jimi Manuwa versus Corey Anderson. But if you’ve been following any of my articles closely then you know that I’m a bit of a traditional martial arts fanatic. That means a great deal of my focus has shifted to the co-main event featuring Muay Thai specialist Alan Jouban and karate and Brazilian jiujitsu master Gunnar Nelson.

The post UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban? appeared first on Cagepotato.

UFC Fight Night 107 is a card that seems to be flying under the radar. I knew there were fights again this weekend but I have to admit even I had no clue who was fighting until I did a bit of investigation. To my surprise, it turns out that this card features some key nit events including the potential swan song of the always entertaining Brad Pickett as well as the main event which features Jimi Manuwa versus Corey Anderson. But if you’ve been following any of my articles closely then you know that I’m a bit of a traditional martial arts fanatic. That means a great deal of my focus has shifted to the co-main event featuring Muay Thai specialist Alan Jouban and karate and Brazilian jiujitsu master Gunnar Nelson.

Alan Jouban opened a lot of eyes with his disciplined win over the slugging Mike Perry. He utilized some slick movement, hard left body kicks, sharp left straights, and an overall disciplined boxing game to shut down Perry even hurting the durable welterweight a number of times throughout the encounter. He faces a far more difficult challenge in this match as he faces off with the puzzle that is Nelson. What Jouban will need to do in order to be successful against Nelson is control the middle and short range. While at middle distance Jouban will need to keep busy, immediately firing with jabs as well as that left leg and body kick he’s fond of. Considering that Nelson likes to strike at long range and look for takedowns at short range, whoever establishes dominance at middle distance will likely win this match. If he is taken down, Jouban can’t be content to regain guard or patiently wait for opportunities. Nelson is calculated when he gets things to the ground. Scrambles will be important to getting back to his feet, but Jouban will have to be careful when doing so as Nelson is keen at getting back control and holding the position.

Gunnar Nelson on the other hand faces a similar problem in this matchup as he did when he faced Brandon Thatch. Controlling the middle distance is paramount for the karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert. He’ll have to bounce in and out of range and either force Jouban to throw and miss or move forward with too much aggression. It’s when Jouban decides to push forward that a blitzing counter should be awaiting him. Gunnar Nelson has a clear boxing deficiency and does struggle at times when facing opposition with superior hands at middle distance. That’s why it’s important that he turns this into a karate match on the feet. After a short combo burst he should get out of dodge ASAP. When he full commits and transition to his takedown game, he should look to mix things up, disengage to throw off Jouban then re-enter with another strike before pushing for a legit trip or double leg.

With two talented welterweights the sky’s the limit on how entertaining (or boring) this match can be. Who do you think gets the win?


Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his Twitter and Facebook to keep up with his antics.

 

The post UFC Fight Night 107: Will Gunnar Nelson Be Able To Strangle Alan Jouban? appeared first on Cagepotato.

The Complete Guide to UFC Fight Night 107: Manuwa vs. Anderson

The UFC returns to London with a decent card on its Fight Pass platform this Saturday, March 18. In the main event, talented light heavyweights Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson meet to decide who will get a shot at an elite fighter in a division that bad…

The UFC returns to London with a decent card on its Fight Pass platform this Saturday, March 18. In the main event, talented light heavyweights Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson meet to decide who will get a shot at an elite fighter in a division that badly needs new blood.

To be clear, this isn’t an especially compelling main event. Neither Anderson nor Manuwa has much of a profile, and the stakes here aren’t obvious or high. With that said, it should be a fun fight between two intriguing competitors.

The rest of the card fits that profile as well. There’s nothing here that screams relevance, but everything is well-matched and has the potential for entertainment.

The co-main event features Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson against Alan Jouban in an excellent welterweight scrap, while Brad Pickett draws Marlon Vera in his retirement fight. The featherweight bout between Arnold Allen and Makwan Amirkhani might be the best fight on the card.

The preliminary card features a mixture of talented prospects and action bouts. Ireland’s Joe Duffy headlines the preliminary portion with an intriguing matchup against Reza Madadi, and the welterweight bout between Leon Edwards and Vicente Luque is a slobberknocker in the making. Keep a close eye on prospects Tom Breese and Marc Diakiese, both of whom have enormous potential.

Let’s take a look at each fight.

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Gunnar Nelson Explains Decision To Pull Out Of UFC Fight Night 99 Main Event

On Tuesday, UFC contender Gunnar Nelson publicly addressed his decision to pull out of his upcoming scheduled UFC Fight Night 99 main event against Dong Hyun Kim in the promotional return to Ireland next month.

Nelson addressed the issue in a statem…

gunnar-nelson

On Tuesday, UFC contender Gunnar Nelson publicly addressed his decision to pull out of his upcoming scheduled UFC Fight Night 99 main event against Dong Hyun Kim in the promotional return to Ireland next month.

Nelson addressed the issue in a statement released via his official Instagram page.

“I want begin with saying im very sorry to all my fans, sponsors, friends and StunGun that im pulling out of this fight in Belfast,” wrote Nelson.

He continued, “I was so much looking forward to fighting again in Ireland and now its not happening because of a stupid ankle twist that ironacly happend in a UFC open work out!!”

Read his complete statement in the post from his Instagram account embedded below.

As noted, replacing the Nelson-Hyun Kim bout as the main event for UFC’s return to Belfast, Ireland on November 19th from the SSE Arena in Belfast, Ireland is a rematch between Gegard Mousasi and Urijah Hall.

I want begin with saying im very sorry to all my fans, sponsors, friends and StunGun that im pulling out of this fight in Belfast. I was so much looking forward to fighting again in Ireland and now its not happening because of a stupid ankle twist that ironacly happend in a UFC open work out!! It happend at 1:08min into the video that was live on facebook for those who want to see it, its still up i think. Right away i wasnt sure how serious it was so i kept face and rolled a little on but told my training partner Kenny Baker about it during and he knew all about it he said because he felt the massive click when it happend. I was forced to stop within minutes because i relised it was bad. For a few days i was not able to put any weight on the leg and thought i had to pull out and felt devastated but then within 10 days i got to a state where i could walk normaly without much pain so i thought again that i was gonna fight and felt great. For a few weeks i was doing everything that i could to get better so i would be able to return to proper training again but that next step of being able to bounce, move in and out and grapple just would not happend. I kept doing everything i could wich was mostly rowing, swimming and bits here and there thinking i would get there. A week ago my trainers told me and i was starting to relise that this was gonna take more time and i could not go into this fight with one ankle and not realy any martial art training at all 🙁 Again i am so sorry for this but to all who already booked their tickets and travels and all the fans that were looking forward to this fight like I was. I will be back soon better then ever. Thank you all for all the support and I'm sorry for any inconvenience. Photo: @michaelquiet

A photo posted by Gunnar Nelson (@gunninelson) on