UFC 206 Predictions: Will Failed Weight Cut Doom Anthony Pettis?

Despite a seemingly never-ending run of problems that make the vent seem somewhat doomed, tomorrow night (Dec. 10, 2016) the UFC will go forward with UFC 206 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The card was supposed to feature the long-awaited return of former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, but those plans hit a snag when negotiations with

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Despite a seemingly never-ending run of problems that make the vent seem somewhat doomed, tomorrow night (Dec. 10, 2016) the UFC will go forward with UFC 206 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The card was supposed to feature the long-awaited return of former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre, but those plans hit a snag when negotiations with the UFC’s new ownership stalled. Then, Daniel Cormier was forced out of his replacement main event light heavyweight title bout versus Anthony Johnson with a groin injury. The UFC then decided to strip Conor McGregor of the featherweight belt he never defended to create an interim championship for the card’s original Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis co-main, which became the main event on short notice, but even that fell apart when “Showtime” badly missed weight today.

Confused? No one can blame you. But UFC 206 will still roll on with only Holloway being able to win the interim featherweight championship and Donald Cerrone meeting Matt Brown in an exciting welterweight co-main event.

Rise above the mess and find out who we picked to win at UFC 206 right here.

Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis:

Mike Drahota:

The UFC’s most cobbled-together title fight ever received yet another disheartening blow when Pettis missed weight by an astonishing three pounds earlier today, amplifying the fact that he was somehow enjoying steak and eggs on this week’s UFC 206 Embedded. He had a golden opportunity after losing three straight at lightweight and receiving a title shot after just one win at featherweight, but now it’s safe to wonder if the botched attempt to make 145 pounds will affect his performance against “Blessed.”

It’s the wrong fight to have that playing against him, because Holloway has looked like nothing less than a destroyer during his nine-fight win streak that should probably already see him meeting Jose Aldo for the true belt. Pettis can end any fight in a flash, but I think his health will hold him back here against the lengthy, accurate striking of Holloway. I have to pick Holloway by decision.

Rory Kernaghan:

Tough call for me at the top of UFC 206, as both Holloway and Pettis have the tools to finish each other. Where I feel this fight is tipped in the balance is in the striking, and unfortunately for ‘Blessed,’ that’s not going in his favor. ‘Showtime’ has crazy power and technique, and although Holloway can bang and has speed, I feel his standing style will play against him tonight. I’m going to pick Anthony Pettis for the decision win.

Mike Henken:

In my opinion, Holloway is the clear pick in this 145-pound interim title bout and for good reason, as the Hawaiian has rattled off an incredibly impressive nine straight wins. He’s proven to be well-rounded fighter and he’s also proven that he’s without question one of the best fighters in the division, but I have a strange feeling about this bout. For some reason, I’m going to go with my gut and side with Pettis. “Showtime” has only one two of his last three bouts, but his featherweight debut was impressive to say the least, as he dismantled top-10 contender Charles Oliveira last August. Pettis’ submission game has always been underrated in my opinion, and his striking has always been second to none. I’m expecting a firefight. Pettis by decision.

BrownCerrone2

Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown:

Mike Drahota:

This is a fight that could and should be somewhat of a throwback – a knockdown, drag-out brawl where both fighters don’t seem to like each other that much. However, there are some sizeable distractions in place for both competitors, as Cerrone’s involvement with the MMAAA as a founding member and his nearly complete flip flop that followed can’t have his mind only focused on fighting. For Brown, his back is against the wall in a big way after a recent down streak, and it seems he has perhaps generated some beef that seems a bit forced in order to pump himself up for a must-win fight. Time will tell if that helps or hurts him, but I can’t look past Cerrone’s recent results compared to Brown’s. Cowboy by TKO round two.

Rory Kernaghan:

Cerrone is one of those fighters who could beat most top ranked fighters if he’s on point. Arguably Matt Brown could be lumped in to that debate, but I feel ‘Cowboy’ has the greater potential in this fight. Although Brown tried some pre-fight mind games at the staredowns, I don’t think he’ll have Cerrone off his game. The Greg Jackson product has the smoother and more technical striking, and also the defensive skills and footwork to avoid getting in an all-out brawl. Still a tough pick, and it could go the other way, but my gut tells me ‘Cowboy’ for the second round TKO.

Mike Henken:

Brown was once a surging welterweight contender on a solid win streak, but he has since lost four of his last five with his last two losses coming by way of stoppage. Now, Cerrone is the red-hot 170-pounder, as he’s won three straight in the division, all by way of finish. I expect him to continue his streak in Canada and in impressive fashion. Cerrone by second round TKO.

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WATCH: Anthony Pettis Misses Weight by Several Pounds For UFC 206

anthony-pettis-weigh-in

https://youtu.be/lSugAP3gNOY

UFC 206 had already been reshaped quite a bit by injuries and other pull-outs, and the card just changed a little bit more: #5 contender Anthony Pettis missed weight for the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship main event by three whole pounds, weighing in at 148 lbs. This would have been just his 2nd fight at featherweight, though he used the one pound allowance to come in at 146 lbs. in his debut win over Charles Oliveira. Petits’s UFC 206 opponent, #2 contender Max Holloway, made  “championship weight” on the dot at 145 lbs., and the belt will still be at stake if he wins.

The last time someone in a UFC title fight missed weight was when Travis Lutter weighed in a two pounds over and then one and a half pounds over in his second attempt before fighting Anderson Silva. Johny Hendricks missed weight on his first attempt before his first fight with Robbie Lawler, but made it on the second attempt. Since the UFC’s adoption of earlier weigh-ins, there is no longer any kind of grace period after the first attempt. You can strip if you think your clothing puts you over the limit, but that’s it. There’s no more additional hour to try and drop the remaining weight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-njsDcSz3mI

Pettis was not the only fighter to miss weight. Valerie Letourneau did as well, coming in one and a half pounds over the non-title limit, while Rustam Khabilov came in two pounds over.

anthony-pettis-weigh-in

https://youtu.be/lSugAP3gNOY

UFC 206 had already been reshaped quite a bit by injuries and other pull-outs, and the card just changed a little bit more: #5 contender Anthony Pettis missed weight for the UFC Interim Featherweight Championship main event by three whole pounds, weighing in at 148 lbs. This would have been just his 2nd fight at featherweight, though he used the one pound allowance to come in at 146 lbs. in his debut win over Charles Oliveira. Petits’s UFC 206 opponent, #2 contender Max Holloway, made  “championship weight” on the dot at 145 lbs., and the belt will still be at stake if he wins.

The last time someone in a UFC title fight missed weight was when Travis Lutter weighed in a two pounds over and then one and a half pounds over in his second attempt before fighting Anderson Silva. Johny Hendricks missed weight on his first attempt before his first fight with Robbie Lawler, but made it on the second attempt. Since the UFC’s adoption of earlier weigh-ins, there is no longer any kind of grace period after the first attempt. You can strip if you think your clothing puts you over the limit, but that’s it. There’s no more additional hour to try and drop the remaining weight.

Pettis was not the only fighter to miss weight. Valerie Letourneau did as well, coming in one and a half pounds over the non-title limit, while Rustam Khabilov came in two pounds over.

UFC 206: Open Workouts Featuring Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGAcissesVM&t=37s[/embed]

Open workouts for Saturday’s UFC 206 event in Toronto took place Wednesday featuring Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway and others.

Pettis and Holloway got in some work with the pad…

ufc-206

Open workouts for Saturday’s UFC 206 event in Toronto took place Wednesday featuring Anthony Pettis, Max Holloway and others.

Pettis and Holloway got in some work with the pads, while others like Donald Cerrone embraced the fans.

Max Holloway: Why Does Everybody Hate On Conor McGregor?

Currently riding a nine-fight win streak, UFC featherweight Max Holloway finally gets a shot at gold this weekend. Although it’s the interim title, a victory will at least guarantee ‘Blessed’ a unification bout in 2017. In a game where nothing is ever certain, at the minimum a junior title is a ticket to the full

The post Max Holloway: Why Does Everybody Hate On Conor McGregor? appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Currently riding a nine-fight win streak, UFC featherweight Max Holloway finally gets a shot at gold this weekend. Although it’s the interim title, a victory will at least guarantee ‘Blessed’ a unification bout in 2017. In a game where nothing is ever certain, at the minimum a junior title is a ticket to the full championship show. Facing Anthony Pettis in the UFC 206 main event, Holloway looks to win his tenth straight UFC fight in just over two years. For a guy who’s only been fighting since 2010, the Hawaiian native’s 16-3 record is very impressive.

During his four-year stint under the UFC banner, Holloway, especially lately, has claimed some big scalps. En route to Saturday’s scrap with Pettis, ‘Blessed’ has defeated Andre Fili, Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson, Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliveira and other tough competition. To say he’s hungry for a title shot right now would be a massive understatement. For some time it looked as though Holloway would face Jose Aldo, but factors at lightweight and light-heavyweight saw that change.

Max Holloway
Credit: Joe Camporeale USA TODAY Sports

Circumstance

Although clearly the most viable contender for the next featherweight title fight, circumstances have been strange at 145. Conor McGregor, after defeating Aldo at UFC 194, spent a year fighting in two other weight classes. That story ended once McGregor had won the lightweight belt at UFC 205, and was later stripped of the featherweight strap. Aldo, now promoted to full boss, is unable to fight until next year. Adding to the complication was the need for an intriguing UFC 206 main event, and so Holloway vs. Pettis for the interim title was born.

Even though McGregor held up the 145-pound division, and holds a win over ‘Blessed,’ Holloway isn’t mad at the Irish striker. Here’s what this weekend’s main event star told Champions.co about McGregor and this weekend’s action:

ufc rankingsmax holloway vs akira corassani

Why The Hate?

“Everybody hates on this guy – for what? If you had the opportunity, you know damn straight you’d take it,”

“If I had the opportunity, yes – it’s history,” Holloway said. “I want to make history. I want to break history. Conor McGregor set this bar, and bars are always meant to be broken. If you’re not trying to shoot or break it, then why are you in the game, then? I’m not trying to be this guy just chugging along. I’m trying to be the leader of the pack.”

Credit: Jake Roth USA Today Sports
Credit: Jake Roth USA Today Sports

“I’m not trying to go for the ‘Fight of the Night’ performance – that means the guy was my equal, and I don’t want an equal in there,” Holloway said. “I go out there and I make people wonder, ‘Why is this guy here? Why did they match me with him? This is a horrible matchup.’ Max is making this guy look easy, and that’s what I plan to do.”

Finalized UFC 206 Fight Card

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UFC 206 Lineup All Set For Saturday In Toronto

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHWkh69O_FM[/embed]

The fight card for Saturday’s UFC 206 event is now set, as five bouts take place on pay-per-view from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

In the main event, Max Holloway and Anthony Petti…

ufc-206

The fight card for Saturday’s UFC 206 event is now set, as five bouts take place on pay-per-view from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

In the main event, Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis meet for the interim UFC featherweight title. The winner is expected to unify the belts vs. Jose Aldo in early 2017.

Also planned is a welterweight co-main event featuring Donald Cerrone and Matt Brown, while 145-pounders Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi collide.

The action starts on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET with three bouts, shifting over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET for four fights. Included there will be light heavyweights Misha Cirkunov and Nikita Krylov.

MAIN CARD (PPV/10 p.m. ET)

Interim UFC Featherweight Championship
Anthony Pettis vs. Max Holloway
Welterweight: Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown
Featherweight: Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi
Middleweight: Tim Kennedy vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Welterweight: Jordan Mein vs. Emil Weber Meek

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1/8 p.m. ET)

Light Heavyweight: Misha Cirkunov vs. Nikita Krylov
Lightweight: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Drew Dober
Strawweight: Valerie Letourneau vs. Viviane Pereira
Bantamweight: Mitch Gagnon vs. Matthew Lopez

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass/6:30 p.m. ET)

Lightweight: John Makdessi vs. Lando Vannata
Lightweight: Rustam Khabilov vs. Jason Saggo
Flyweight: Zach Makovsky vs. Dustin Ortiz

UFC 206: Inside The Octagon Breaks Down Holloway-Pettis, Swanson-Choi

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKDmzqu6Xo[/embed]

Two featherweight bouts set for this Saturday at UFC 206 go “Inside the Octagon” for a special in-depth analysis of the action this week.

Dan Hardy and John Gooden offer up their though…

dan-hardy

Two featherweight bouts set for this Saturday at UFC 206 go “Inside the Octagon” for a special in-depth analysis of the action this week.

Dan Hardy and John Gooden offer up their thoughts on the interim UFC title fight between Max Holloway and Anthony Pettis, along with another 145-pound contest featuring Cub Swanson and Doo Ho Choi.

Dan Hardy and John Gooden analyze the featherweights at UFC 206 including the interim title matchup, Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis and Cub Swanson vs. Doo Ho Choi.