The UFC heads to Kansas City, Missouri, with a stacked offering on Fox this Saturday, April 15. In the main event, longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson looks to tie the UFC record for title defenses with his 10th victory, facing veteran compe…
The UFC heads to Kansas City, Missouri, with a stacked offering on Fox this Saturday, April 15. In the main event, longtime flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson looks to tie the UFC record for title defenses with his 10th victory, facing veteran competitor Wilson Reis.
While the main event is compelling, largely because Johnson is such an incredible and accomplished talent with history in his sights, it’s the rest of the card that makes this must-see TV.
The co-main event features an outstanding strawweight fight, potentially a title eliminator, between former top contender Rose Namajunas and the surging Michelle Waterson. It’s a crackerjack of a matchup and one with real meaning.
The same is true for the third fight on the main card, a meeting of elite middleweights between Ronaldo Souza and Robert Whittaker. Souza has been one of the best 185-pounders on the planet for the last decade, and Whittaker is the most talented young fighter in the division.
The rest of the event features strong and meaningful action. The main-card opener between Jeremy Stephens and Renato Moicano should be a barn-burner, and practically every fight on the undercard is well-matched and compelling.
Keep an eye on the Fight Pass bout between Aljamain Sterling and Augusto Mendes and the debut of uber-prospect Tom Duquesnoy on the early Fox prelims.
Two long, UFC-less weekends left many fans clamoring for UFC 210 but, unfortunately, the card left few feeling satisfied. While the promotion wasn’t necessarily planning on Saturday’s event to go poorly, they’re likely going to console many fans w…
Two long, UFC-less weekends left many fans clamoring for UFC 210 but, unfortunately, the card left few feeling satisfied. While the promotion wasn’t necessarily planning on Saturday’s event to go poorly, they’re likely going to console many fans with UFC 211 on May 13.
UFC 210 was another strange UFC event.
Controversey in the middleweight co-main event, a Predator retires and a second surprise retirement at the end of the light heavyweight championship match. The wild world of MMA continues to turn.
Daniel Cormier g…
Controversey in the middleweight co-main event, a Predator retires and a second surprise retirement at the end of the light heavyweight championship match. The wild world of MMA continues to turn.
Daniel Cormier got Anthony Johnson to tap in just the second round of their main event meeting. Johnson’s odd game plan to wrestle with the former Olympian cost him. Cormier eventually put Johnson on his back and choked him out to retain.
GegardMousasi picked up a fifth straight win before heading to free agency thanks in part to an inept referee and the New York Athletic Commission. But, still, he got the TKO win over Chris Weidman. Also in action, strawweight prospect Cynthia Calvillo impressed with another dominant grappling showcase Saturday night in Buffalo, New York.
After these performances, the crystal ball must be put to use. Who’s next for the winners and losers?
Here is your look at what should be next for all the fighters from UFC 210.
UFC 210 is a nice card overall, but the crown jewel is a light heavyweight title rematch between current champion Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
The first fight was an epic back-and-forth battle for the title abandoned by Jon “Bones…
UFC 210 is a nice card overall, but the crown jewel is a light heavyweight title rematch between current champion Daniel Cormier and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.
The first fight was an epic back-and-forth battle for the title abandoned by Jon “Bones” Jones. So while the two wait for the return of Bones from a one-year doping suspension, the powers that be saw it fit to bless fans with another encounter between these two powerful behemoths of the 205-pound division.
The card, hosted in Buffalo, New York, at the KeyBank Center, will also feature one of the state’s most successful fighters in Chris Weidman. The All-American will take on GegardMousasi in an important middleweight scrap.
Here’s a look at the complete card along with the latest odds from Odds Shark going into fight night and a closer look at some of the biggest fights on the card:
Will Brooks vs. Charles Oliveira
The card kicks off with a lightweight bout between fighters who find themselves outside the lightweight rankings.
Will Brooks fell a few ranks for reasons that might not have been entirely fair. The former Bellator champion had his nine-fight win streak erased by Alex Oliveira after “Cowboy” came into the bout 5.5 pounds overweight.
In a fight that had a lot of clinching and wrestling involved before Brooks was finished in the third round, that size advantage can’t be overstated.
This time, Brooks takes on a different Oliveira in Charles. Rather than a massive lightweight who primarily fights at welterweight, “Do Bronx” is a former featherweight, though it was often a struggle for him to make that cut.
Where this bout will be interesting is in the transitions on the ground. Brooks has a mauling top game, but Oliveira‘s submission game is slick. Brooks could look to take Oliveira down and work his ground-and-pound, but he could easily be ensnared in a choke if he isn’t careful.
Ultimately, Patrick Wyman of Bleacher Report believes that Brooks is simply on another level from his opponent in this one.
Looking at what both have done in their career, that’s the easy case to make. Brooks could easily avoid what Oliveira is best at by keeping the Brazilian’s takedowns at bay and forcing a stand-up bout. Brooks wins easily in that department and should get the decision.
Brooks by decision
Chris Weidman vs. GegardMousasi
Given the climate of the middleweight division right now, neither of these fighters can really afford a loss.
Michael Bisping is still the champion and is waiting on Georges St-Pierre to set a date. The obvious next fighter in line after that is Yoel Romero. At the rate that all of the guys involved fight, it could be a long time before the next person gets a crack at the belt.
That’s a scary place to be for GegardMousasi because a shot at the championship is what he’s been pining for. He feels like a win here will prove that he deserves that chance but knows there’s a chance it still might not happen even with with a victory.
“Now if I win, I’m going to have to put everything on the line again and if I win then maybe I’m next. And still maybe,” Mousasi told the Fight Society Podcast(h/t Damon Martin of Fox Sports). “Because who knows what fight they’re going to make after this. Like I said, I deserve this.”
Weidman won’t go away easily, though. His back is truly against the wall in this fight. The once 13-0 fighter now finds himself at 13-2. Back-to-back losses to Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero leave his contender status in question.
A loss to Mousasi would certainly be an end to Weidman‘s title hopes for an extended period of time.
Fortunately for Weidman, this is a better matchup for him than Rockhold and Romero. Both Rockhold and Romero are the physical freaks of the division. Rockhold has superior length, and Romero had the wrestling ability to out-grapple even Weidman.
Mousasi‘s streak has been impressive recently, but he hasn’t fought many fighters who are looking to turn things into a grappling exchange since JacareSouza.
In that fight, Souza took him down four times en route to a submission loss.
Mousasi has certainly improved, but a desperate Weidman is not an easy fighter to beat.
Weidman by decision
Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson
The last time these two fought, it was an awesome testament to the power of the human will.
Where most people are vaporized by an overhand right from Anthony “Rumble” Johnson, Cormier took one, recovered and went on to win the fight by submission.
Now, two years later, Rumble will get the opportunity to land that right hand again. Cormier has defeated Anderson Silva and Alexander Gustafsson in the interim while Rumble has racked up three more knockout wins against JimiManuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira.
The rules of engagement here are pretty simple: If Cormier can survive the early onslaught—like he did in their first fight—he will successfully defend the title. Johnson has devastating power, but not much cardio.
If Cormier gets tagged by Rumble in the same way that he did in the first fight, he’s in serious trouble.
Cormier defeated Gustafsson and Silva, but it wasn’t without cost. Cormier absorbed 120 significant strikes from the Swede in a split decision win and was rocked by The Spider in their non-title bout at UFC 200.
Those are all signs that an aging Cormier might not have the chin and willpower that once carried him through the early storms against Rumble.
Johnson is a front-runner, but he’s among the best front-runners in MMA. Cormier‘s defense isn’t strong enough to guarantee that he won’t get tagged early in the fight, and the odds that someone survives two bombs from Rumble isn’t a gamble worth taking.
Expect Rumble to catch Cormier early and finish the job this time.
The elder statesman label looks pretty natural on the lapel of Patrick Cote.
He’s 37 years old. He’s been a professional MMA fighter since 2002. He once fought Anderson Silva for the middleweight title (but let’s not speak of tha…
The elder statesman label looks pretty natural on the lapel of Patrick Cote.
He’s 37 years old. He’s been a professional MMA fighter since 2002. He once fought Anderson Silva for the middleweight title (but let’s not speak of that again). He has a 23-10 pro record. He has some mileage on him.
Pump the brakes, though, on another “old guy still has gas in the tank” story. Cote knows he’s old. But is it possible that he may be using that age to his advantage?
Who has ever heard of such a thing? I don’t know, but Cote calls it “experience,” and he’s cashing in on that, almost quite literally, as his pro MMA career rolls on. Saturday, he faces fellow welterweight ThiagoAlves on the main card of UFC 210.
Like most of the fighters with the unusual quality of UFC longevity, Cote, who entered the UFC in 2004 on a short-notice bout with Tito Ortiz, has taken certain steps to lengthen his career. In Cote’s case, those steps—entertaining aggression and personal care-taking—have been at odds.
So how does he balance them? There are several ways.
“I don’t need to do sparring five times a week,” Cote said in an exclusive interview with Bleacher Report. “I don’t need to receive punches in my head. If I’m not in camp, I don’t receive any punches in my head. If I’m in camp I spar only two times a week. I do technique drills, I do jiu-jitsu. You have to be realistic. You learn from experience. I don’t feel too scared or guilty to take a day off.”
Cote has plenty of advice to offer. That’s actually kind of his thing, it seems.
For instance, he discusses weight cutting, a potentially dangerous and increasingly controversial practice that pervades MMA and other combat sports. Cote estimated he cuts 20-22 pounds for each fight (Cote is a very large welterweight) but also pointed out that he had never missed a mark in his career. And it’s part of why he lacks sympathy for those who do miss weight.
“That’s stupid,” he said of those who struggle to make required weight limits. “Weight cutting is dangerous if you don’t do it well. It’s hard to do it, but there’s a process. I always make it and I feel awesome the day after. But I’m working with professionals who know what they’re doing. I don’t know how you don’t know what you’re doing at this level. It’s part of your job.”
Cote, who said he is taking it one fight at a time career-wise, has plenty of other irons in the fire. Plenty of UFC fans north of the border know him as the French-language color commentator for Canadian broadcasts.
“I’m like a French Joe Rogan,” Cote said. “We do every UFC fight. I think it’s helping me a lot as a fighter because I see a lot of different situations.”
There’s that experience theme again. Cote is outspoken about an athlete’s need to prepare for life after competition. He’s definitely trying to lead by example. He has a real estate company and works as a mentor with Canadian Olympic athletes and the Canadian Army. Contrary to what you might assume, though, there’s no direct combat angle in either case.
“I mentor new athletes on how to sell themselves,” Cote explained. “They are thinking they are invincible. Sometimes a big injury can happen, or a bad performance. You don’t want to think about it, but you have to. Sometimes we have no organization to back us, no pension. One day [retirement] is going to happen.”
The 33-year-old Alves (21-11) has plenty of time under his own belt, but not as much as Cote. Cote seems to believe that—plus a more well-rounded skill set—will win him the day. Either way, though, he still seems to have his ducks in a row.
“We’re both veterans,” Cote said of himself and Alves. “I don’t think he’ll bring anything that will surprise me. His striking is excellent, he has heavy leg kicks. But at the end of the day, I’m the better fighter. I’m the better wrestler, I’m the better boxer, I have the better fight IQ. I’m going to meet him in the middle of the Octagon. …I’m 500 percent confident I’m gonna win that fight. …If it gets to the ground, it’s not getting back up. He’s going to be a little bit panicky. …But now I’m not fighting because I need to fight. I’m fighting because I want to fight. And that’s awesome.”
For the second straight pay-per-view event, the challenger is favored against the champion in a title bout, this time at Saturday’s UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York.
In fact, No. 1 light heavyweight contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson clos…
For the second straight pay-per-view event, the challenger is favored against the champion in a title bout, this time at Saturday’s UFC 210 in Buffalo, New York.
In fact, No. 1 light heavyweight contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson closed as a betting favorite the last time he faced Daniel Cormier for the 205-pound championship at UFC 187 nearly two years ago, and that looks to be the case again on the UFC 210 betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
Johnson (22-5) lost to Cormier (18-1) for the title vacated by former champ Jon “Bones” Jones via third-round rear-naked choke in their first meeting, falling prey to a superior grappling game.
Cormier, a former Olympic wrestler, made sure the deadly striker Johnson would not keep their matchup on their feet, where his opponent would have a significant edge. Instead, he took Johnson down repeatedly and ultimately submitted him to win the championship, which he has defended only once since then.
Meanwhile, Rumble could not have been more impressive in his last three fights, earning Performance of the Night bonuses following early knockouts of JimiManuwa, Ryan Bader and most recently Glover Teixeira at UFC 202 last August 20.
He closed as -125 chalk (bet $125 to win $100) in the first bout against Cormier and sits around the same number for this weekend with the champ an underdog for the third time in his UFC career.
Cormier was originally supposed to meet Johnson in a rematch at UFC 206 last December 10, but a groin injury forced him to withdraw. His last win came versus former middleweight champ Anderson “Spider” Silva at UFC 200 last July 9 as a replacement after Jones failed a drug test and could not compete in their rematch for the title.
In the co-main event, another former middleweight champ will take on the fastest rising contender at 185 in fifth-ranked GegardMousasi (41-6-2). Fourth-ranked Chris Weidman (13-2) has dropped his last two fights while Mousasi has won four in a row.
Weidman is coming off a third-round knockout loss to No. 1 contender Yoel Romero at UFC 205 last November 12, and he is listed as an underdog on the UFC odds for the first time since upsetting Silva in back-to-back bouts at UFC 162 and 168 in 2013.
Mousasi is a slight favorite at -120 and hopes to move into title contention with another victory.
