Tag: UFC 185

Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown Booked for UFC 185; Thatch vs. Thomson to Headline UFC Fight Night 60


(via UFCNews)

Johny Hendricks will look to bounce back from his title fight loss to Robbie Lawler when he faces off against tough bastard Matt Brown at UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos (March 14th, Dallas). The UFC announced the booking today, which comes as a bit of a surprise, considering that the original plan was to book Hendricks vs. Lawler III.

However, Brown recently found himself without an opponent when Tarec Saffiedine withdrew from their UFC Fight Night 60 bout due to a groin injury. Plus, some dudes on twitter told Dana White that they weren’t interested in seeing a Hendricks/Lawler rubber match so soon, and the idea was scrapped.

The UFC’s change of plans presents some good news and some bad news. The good news is, UFC 185 is getting stacked. Right now, it looks like this:

– Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (for UFC lightweight title)
– Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown (for intercontinental welterweight dip-spit king)
– Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson (for PRIDE Neva Die freak-show heavyweight belt)
– Henry Cejudo vs. Chris Cariaso (for flyweight…ah screw it, you know Cejudo’s going to pull out of this one for “personal reasons“)
– Sergio Pettis’s return to flyweight against Ryan Benoit (possible FOX Sports 1 featured prelim??)

So yeah, pretty good so far. The bad news is…


(via UFCNews)

Johny Hendricks will look to bounce back from his title fight loss to Robbie Lawler when he faces off against tough bastard Matt Brown at UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos (March 14th, Dallas). The UFC announced the booking today, which comes as a bit of a surprise, considering that the original plan was to book Hendricks vs. Lawler III.

However, Brown recently found himself without an opponent when Tarec Saffiedine withdrew from their UFC Fight Night 60 bout due to a groin injury. Plus, some dudes on twitter told Dana White that they weren’t interested in seeing a Hendricks/Lawler rubber match so soon, and the idea was scrapped.

The UFC’s change of plans presents some good news and some bad news. The good news is, UFC 185 is getting stacked. Right now, it looks like this:

– Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (for UFC lightweight title)
– Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown (for intercontinental welterweight dip-spit king)
– Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson (for PRIDE Neva Die freak-show heavyweight belt)
– Henry Cejudo vs. Chris Cariaso (for flyweight…ah screw it, you know Cejudo’s going to pull out of this one for “personal reasons“)
– Sergio Pettis’s return to flyweight against Ryan Benoit (possible FOX Sports 1 featured prelim??)

So yeah, pretty good so far. The bad news is, now that Matt Brown won’t be competing at UFC Fight Night 60, a welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Brandon Thatch will now serve as the main event (?!) of the February 14th card in Broomfield. Thompson is on a four-fight win streak, and most recently won a decision against Patrick Cote on the UFC 178 prelims in September. Thatch is 2-0 in the UFC, and is coming off his brutalization of Paulo Thiago back in November; all 11 of Thatch’s pro wins have come by first-round stoppage, with six of those wins coming in the first minute.

Make no mistake, Thompson vs. Thatch is a great matchup, and has the potential for beautiful, beautiful violence. But when Thompson vs. Thatch is the most high-profile fight on your card, blah blah something something oversaturation, you see where I’m going with this.

Henry Cejudo (Tentatively) Returns to Flyweight, Meets Chris Cariaso at UFC 185


(Henry Cejudo [right] roughs up Dustin Kimura during their fight at UFC on FOX 13. / Photo via Getty)

After winning his UFC debut at bantamweight last month, Henry Cejudo has decided to throw caution to the wind and return to flyweight for his next bout. The 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist will meet former flyweight title challenger Chris Cariaso at UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos (March 14th, Dallas), according to UFC officials.

The 125-pound limit has not been Cejudo’s friend during his budding MMA career. A series of blown weigh-ins and sudden fight withdrawals culminated in him pulling out of his originally scheduled UFC flyweight debut at UFC 177 due to a bad weight cut. The UFC agreed to give Cejudo another chance at bantamweight, and he won a decision over Dustin Kimura at UFC on FOX 13 in December.

Which begs the question: Why mess with a good thing? Why not see how far you can get at bantamweight before putting your career and health at risk once again chasing 125? From what we can gather, Cejudo’s TKO win over flyweight super-jobber Miguelito Marti at Gladiator Challenge: American Dream in May 2013 was the only time that Cejudo has ever successfully made 125 pounds in an MMA fight. And now he’s going to try again, God help him, while taking a gigantic step up in competition against one of the top ten flyweights in the world. What?


(Henry Cejudo [right] roughs up Dustin Kimura during their fight at UFC on FOX 13. / Photo via Getty)

After winning his UFC debut at bantamweight last month, Henry Cejudo has decided to throw caution to the wind and return to flyweight for his next bout. The 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medalist will meet former flyweight title challenger Chris Cariaso at UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos (March 14th, Dallas), according to UFC officials.

The 125-pound limit has not been Cejudo’s friend during his budding MMA career. A series of blown weigh-ins and sudden fight withdrawals culminated in him pulling out of his originally scheduled UFC flyweight debut at UFC 177 due to a bad weight cut. The UFC agreed to give Cejudo another chance at bantamweight, and he won a decision over Dustin Kimura at UFC on FOX 13 in December.

Which begs the question: Why mess with a good thing? Why not see how far you can get at bantamweight before putting your career and health at risk once again chasing 125? From what we can gather, Cejudo’s TKO win over flyweight super-jobber Miguelito Marti at Gladiator Challenge: American Dream in May 2013 was the only time that Cejudo has ever successfully made 125 pounds in an MMA fight. And now he’s going to try again, God help him, while taking a gigantic step up in competition against one of the top ten flyweights in the world. What?

Anyway, Chris Cariaso hasn’t competed since being submitted by Demetrious Johnson in the main event of UFC 178 last September, snapping a three-fight win streak for “Kamikaze.” UFC 185 will be headlined by a lightweight title fight, and will also feature a heavyweight smash-up between Alistair Overeem and Roy Nelson.

Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson Added to ‘UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos’


(Nelson’s decision to fight in March makes a 2016 presidential bid even less likely. / Photo via Getty)

In another classic matchup of tall muscular guy vs. short pudgy guy, UFC officials announced yesterday that a heavyweight slugfest between Alistair Overeem and Roy Nelson has been booked for UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos, March 14 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Nelson (20-10, 7-6 UFC) most recently fell victim to a Mark Hunt walkoff KO last September at UFC Fight Night 52. It was just the second knockout loss in Nelson’s career. Meanwhile, Overeem (38-14 w/1 no-contest, 3-3 UFC) bounced back to the victory column with a first-round knockout of Stefan Struve last month at UFC on FOX 13. Loser gets Lesnar, maybe?

No other fights have been announced yet for UFC 185, besides the main event. We’ll let you know when that changes.


(Nelson’s decision to fight in March makes a 2016 presidential bid even less likely. / Photo via Getty)

In another classic matchup of tall muscular guy vs. short pudgy guy, UFC officials announced yesterday that a heavyweight slugfest between Alistair Overeem and Roy Nelson has been booked for UFC 185: Pettis vs. Dos Anjos, March 14 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Nelson (20-10, 7-6 UFC) most recently fell victim to a Mark Hunt walkoff KO last September at UFC Fight Night 52. It was just the second knockout loss in Nelson’s career. Meanwhile, Overeem (38-14 w/1 no-contest, 3-3 UFC) bounced back to the victory column with a first-round knockout of Stefan Struve last month at UFC on FOX 13. Loser gets Lesnar, maybe?

No other fights have been announced yet for UFC 185, besides the main event. We’ll let you know when that changes.

Anthony Pettis Will Meet Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185


(Photo via Getty)

Anthony Pettis will defend his lightweight title against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 in March.

Twitter personality Front Row Brian was first to break the news, not Ariel Helwani and Fox like some might say.


(Photo via Getty)

Anthony Pettis will defend his lightweight title against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185 in March.

Twitter personality Front Row Brian was first to break the news, not Ariel Helwani and Fox like some might say.

Pettis last fought at UFC 181 in December, thrashing Gilbert Melendez and submitting him in the second round with a guillotine choke.

Dos Anjos, too, is coming off a hot victory. He dominated Nate Diaz at UFC on FOX 13. Prior to that, he knocked out former lightweight champ Benson Henderson at UFC Fight Night 49.

While we were hoping for Pettis vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, Pettis vs. dos Anjos isn’t a terrible booking decision either. We’re looking forward to this one.

Anthony Pettis vs. Rafael Dos Anjos Booked for UFC 185 Main Event

After spending almost all of 2014 out of the game, UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is set to make a fast return to the Octagon. During the UFC 182 preliminary card fights on Fox Sports 1, the UFC announced that Pettis will defend his lightweigh…

After spending almost all of 2014 out of the game, UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis is set to make a fast return to the Octagon. During the UFC 182 preliminary card fights on Fox Sports 1, the UFC announced that Pettis will defend his lightweight belt against Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 185. 

The news comes as little surprise, as UFC President Dana White pegged Dos Anjos as the likely top contender for the belt back in December. Since losing to Khabib Nurmagomedov in April 2014, Dos Anjos has compiled a strong three-fight winning streak, with back-to-back knockouts of Jason High and former lightweight champion Ben Henderson, as well as a dominant victory over Nate Diaz at UFC on Fox 13. With Nurmagomedov still nursing a knee injury, Dos Anjos is the on-paper top contender and will get his shot at the belt.

A quick turnaround between fights is a welcome departure from the norm for Pettis. Since capturing the WEC lightweight belt in 2010, he has fought in the UFC just six times. Multiple injuries have resulted in numerous extended leaves from the cage for Showtime, and while he has held the belt for 487 days, it took him 15 months to tally the first title defense of his career, over former Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

That said, Pettis has largely demonstrated remarkable abilities in the cage. While he lost his UFC debut to Clay Guida in 2011, his absurd finishing skills—best seen in his first-round knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC on Fox 6 and his second-round submission of Melendez at UFC 181—have helped make him one of the most feared fighters in the UFC.

UFC 185 is set for March 14 in Dallas. Keep an eye on Bleacher Report for more details on the card as they become available.

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