The Complete Guide to UFC Fight Night 89: MacDonald vs. Thompson

The UFC makes its first trip to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this Saturday with an excellent Fight Night offering on Fox Sports 1. 
In the main event, former title contender Rory MacDonald makes his return to the Octagon after his devastating fifth-ro…

The UFC makes its first trip to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, this Saturday with an excellent Fight Night offering on Fox Sports 1. 

In the main event, former title contender Rory MacDonald makes his return to the Octagon after his devastating fifth-round loss to champion Robbie Lawler last July. MacDonald faces karate expert Stephen Thompson, who put a stamp on his entry into the welterweight division’s elite with a crushing first-round knockout of former champion Johny Hendricks in February.

This is one of the best potential fights in a division stacked with talent, and it could well determine the next contender to the welterweight crown.

The bout takes on additional meaning because this is the last fight on MacDonald’s contract. If he wins, he becomes one of the biggest free agents to hit the market in the history of the sport.

The main event is the biggest and most relevant fight on the card, but the rest of the event is stacked with fun fights. Action fighter Donald Cerrone takes on veteran Canadian brawler Patrick Cote in an entertaining co-main event, while former hockey enforcer Steve Bosse meets Sean O’Connell in another bout that promises violence.

Name value isn’t the preliminary card’s strong suit, but nearly every fight should be full of action. Keep an eye in particular on the middleweight bouts between Tamdan McCrory and Krzysztof Jotko and Elias Theodorou and Sam Alvey, the latter of which headlines the Fight Pass portion of the event.

Let’s take a look at each individual matchup.

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UFC Fight Night 89 Officially Adds “Cowboy” Vs. “Predator”

A matchup of two fighters with fitting nicknames has been made official for UFC Fight Night 89, as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone takes on Patrick “The Predator” Cote.

The event goes down June 18 from Ottaway, marking the debut of the Octagon in the Canadi…

patrick cote

A matchup of two fighters with fitting nicknames has been made official for UFC Fight Night 89, as Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone takes on Patrick “The Predator” Cote.

The event goes down June 18 from Ottaway, marking the debut of the Octagon in the Canadian province. Rory MacDonald and Stephen Thompson are the scheduled headline fight.

Cerrone (29-7) moved up to welterweight earlier this year, besting Alex Oliveira. The former lightweight title contender owns 21 stoppage victories to his name and 11 “Fight Night” bonus awards.

Cote (23-9) has strung together three consecutive wins and is 5-1 overall at 170 pounds. He previously faced off with then-middleweight champion Anderson Silva for the title back in 2008.

Other planned bouts for the card include Steve Bosse-Sean O’Connell, Elias Theodorou-Sam Alvey, Jason Saggo-Leandro Silva, Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Thibault Gouti and Tamdan McCrory-Krzysztof Jotko.

Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. Patrick Cote Set For UFC Fight Night Ottawa

UFC has announced another intriguing fight for their upcoming UFC Fight Night event in Ottawa.

Officially scheduled for the event is a welterweight contest between longtime UFC veterans Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Patrick Cote.

Headlined by Rory …

ufn-cerrone-cote

UFC has announced another intriguing fight for their upcoming UFC Fight Night event in Ottawa.

Officially scheduled for the event is a welterweight contest between longtime UFC veterans Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Patrick Cote.

Headlined by Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, UFC Fight Night Ottawa takes place on June 18, 2016.

Video: Patrick Cote Calls Out Nick Diaz

patrick cote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAuZJZkZkfY

Patrick Cote, who is fresh off a win over Ben Saunders at UFN 81, wants to step into the octagon with Nick Diaz next. Cote says he wants a guy who is ranked in the top 15, and that Diaz is that guy. Here’s what he had to say:

“There’s a guy who’s coming back in August, it’s Nick Diaz,” Cote said in Boston. “I would be very happy to share the Octagon with him. He’s a big name. I have nothing personal against him. I’m a big fan of the Diaz brothers. I know he’s going to bring it. It’s going to be a fun fight to promote. If it’s not him, I think I really deserve to be in the top 15 and fight a top 15 guy.”

Diaz’s five-year suspension has been reduced to 18 months, which will allow him to return to competition as soon as August 1st. He was suspended after UFC 183 when he tested over the limits for marijuana metabolites in a post-fight drug screening.

patrick cote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAuZJZkZkfY

Patrick Cote, who is fresh off a win over Ben Saunders at UFN 81, wants to step into the octagon with Nick Diaz next. Cote says he wants a guy who is ranked in the top 15, and that Diaz is that guy. Here’s what he had to say:

“There’s a guy who’s coming back in August, it’s Nick Diaz,” Cote said in Boston. “I would be very happy to share the Octagon with him. He’s a big name. I have nothing personal against him. I’m a big fan of the Diaz brothers. I know he’s going to bring it. It’s going to be a fun fight to promote. If it’s not him, I think I really deserve to be in the top 15 and fight a top 15 guy.”

Diaz’s five-year suspension has been reduced to 18 months, which will allow him to return to competition as soon as August 1st. He was suspended after UFC 183 when he tested over the limits for marijuana metabolites in a post-fight drug screening.

Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Boston

With a blockbuster free card on FOX Sports 1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kept their momentum rolling early this year with last night’s UFC Fight Night 81 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The card featured the long-awaited return of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who returned from a multi-year injury layoff to

The post Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Boston appeared first on LowKick MMA.

With a blockbuster free card on FOX Sports 1, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) kept their momentum rolling early this year with last night’s UFC Fight Night 81 from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

The card featured the long-awaited return of former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who returned from a multi-year injury layoff to win a split decision over TJ Dillashaw in an emotional reclamation of the title he never actually lost. The riveting main event was obviously the highlight of the East Coast show, yet there were some other fighters who definitely deserve their own recognition for playing a part in the memorable card.

Let’s take a look at the five biggest takeaways from UFC Fight Night 81:

The post Five Biggest Takeaways From UFC Boston appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Fight Night 74 Highlights/Results: Oliveira Tears His Esophagus, Perez Retires, Cote & Burkman Go to War + More

Fight Night 74 was a night full of surprises, and that’s not just referring to the fact that seven underdogs came out victorious on Sunday night, or the fact that the highly-anticipated main event ended before it ever got started. No, the biggest shock of the night came in the form of 26-year old Frankie Perez, who followed up an impressive (if not necessarily surprising) KO of Sam Stout by retiring in the ring. Check out the video above.

“I train with the best team on the planet” said Perez, “I have the utmost confidence to beat anybody in this division. (But) me being 26, this is my first win in the UFC and my last. I’m done after this. I’ve brought my dreams to come true and I’m on to the next chapter in my life. I’m done putting my family and my body through all this.”

It was an incredibly honorable moment for Perez, which could only mean that one of the UFC’s analysts for the evening, Michael Bisping, could only lob insults aimed Perez’s “cajones” when discussing it with Dominick Cruz in the studio afterward. Thankfully, Cruz set the record straight by both lauding Perez’s discipline and shitting on Bisping’s gatekeeper status/lack of two functional eyes.

Check out the complete list of Fight Night 74 results (with highlights) after the jump. 

The post Fight Night 74 Highlights/Results: Oliveira Tears His Esophagus, Perez Retires, Cote & Burkman Go to War + More appeared first on Cagepotato.

Fight Night 74 was a night full of surprises, and that’s not just referring to the fact that seven underdogs came out victorious on Sunday night, or the fact that the highly-anticipated main event ended before it ever got started. No, the biggest shock of the night came in the form of 26-year old Frankie Perez, who followed up an impressive (if not necessarily surprising) KO of Sam Stout by retiring in the ring. Check out the video above.

“I train with the best team on the planet” said Perez, “I have the utmost confidence to beat anybody in this division. (But) me being 26, this is my first win in the UFC and my last. I’m done after this. I’ve brought my dreams to come true and I’m on to the next chapter in my life. I’m done putting my family and my body through all this.”

It was an incredibly honorable moment for Perez, which could only mean that one of the UFC’s analysts for the evening, Michael Bisping, could only lob insults aimed Perez’s “cajones” when discussing it with Dominick Cruz in the studio afterward. Thankfully, Cruz set the record straight by both lauding Perez’s discipline and shitting on Bisping’s gatekeeper status/lack of two functional eyes.

Check out the complete list of Fight Night 74 results (with highlights) after the jump. 

Speaking of surprises, Fight Night 74′s main event ended not with a surprise finish or controversial decision, but with an injury that I have legitimately never seen before. After failing to secure his first takedown, Charles Oliveira clutched his neck and surrendered almost instantly. He was then stretchered out of the arena, leading many of us to speculate that something very, very serious might have been wrong with Oliveira heading into the matchup. As it turns out, were were right: Oliveira had previously injured his neck in training, then tore his goddamn esophagus in the opening minute of the fight. “Do Bronx” explained what went wrong during today’s MMA Hour:

I injured my neck in training, but did physical therapy and thought everything was fine, but when I fell against the cage everything went numb, I couldn’t feel my body.”

Oliveira also stated his hopes for a rematch with Holloway, who rallied for a fight against Frankie Edgar during the evening’s post-fight press conference. To which I say, book that fight, UFC. Book that fight as quickly as you sons a bitches can.

Most of us could have predicted that Josh Burkman vs. Patrick Cote would’ve been a banger, but I’ll be damned if these two vets didn’t surpass all our expectations and then some. Cote’s legendary chin was put to the test early and often by Burkman, who himself had never been TKO’d until he ate a hellacious counter right from Cote in the third round. Some 20 or so follow-up punches later, Cote had scored his first TKO win since dropping to

The highlights from Chad Laprise vs. Francisco Trinaldo and Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Tony Sims are below.

Laprise vs. Trinaldo

OAB vs. Sims

Main card
Max Holloway def. Charles Oliveira via first-round TKO (1:39)
Neil Magny def. Erick Silva via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Patrick Cote def. Josh Burkman via third-round TKO (1:26)
Francisco Trinaldo def. Chad Laprise via first-round TKO (2:43)
Olivier Aubin-Mercier def. Tony Sims via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Valerie Letourneau def. Maryna Munoz via unanimous decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)

Undercard
Frankie Perez def. Sam Stout via TKO (punches) at :54 of R1
Felipe Arantes def. Yves Jabouin via submission (armbar) at 4:21 of R1
Nikita Krylov def. Marcos Rogerio de Lima via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:29 of R1
Chris Kelades def. Chris Beal via unanimous decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Shane Campbell def. Elias Silverio via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Misha Cirkunov def. Daniel Jolly via KO (ground and pound) at 4:45 of R1

The post Fight Night 74 Highlights/Results: Oliveira Tears His Esophagus, Perez Retires, Cote & Burkman Go to War + More appeared first on Cagepotato.