There’s no nice way to say this, so I’m going to just come out with it: UFC 186 is not the UFC’s best pay-per-view offering. Even when compared to some of the UFC’s more injury-riddled recent events, UFC 186 falls under what I’d call the “subpar” headi…
There’s no nice way to say this, so I’m going to just come out with it: UFC 186 is not the UFC’s best pay-per-view offering. Even when compared to some of the UFC’s more injury-riddled recent events, UFC 186 falls under what I’d call the “subpar” heading.
But the non-existent hype for this event received something of a kick-start Tuesday night when the UFC announced that the injunction granted to Bellator a few weeks ago that would keep Quinton “Rampage” Jackson from competing on the card had been overturned, to the shock of everyone. Well, everyone who did not read our story on the lawsuit in the first place, anyway.
So Jackson is back on the card, and former hockey thug/local draw Steve Bosse is relegated back to the sidelines. It’s the first true good news the UFC has received around this injury-riddled fight card, and to be frank, the company needed a little bit of good news when it comes to the Canadian market.
Now that we have an idea of what the finalized card will look like (with just a few days to spare, even!), let’s go through each matchup with a fine-tooth comb.
The busy UFC schedule continues this weekend and marks the promotion’s return to Montreal. UFC 186 comes live Saturday night with a title bout and several other intriguing feature bouts.
Dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson headlines the card…
The busy UFC schedule continues this weekend and marks the promotion’s return to Montreal. UFC 186 comes live Saturday night with a title bout and several other intriguing feature bouts.
Dominant flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson headlines the card against surging contender KyojiHoriguchi. Then, Michael Bisping and CB Dollaway get down in the co-main event in a pivotal middleweight bout.
Before that we have the preliminary card. Last week was a rough one for me, whether it was a call-out from Tim Means or a dismal 2-5 run. We look to improve drastically this time around.
With that, let’s take a look the preliminary card and make some picks.
UPDATE: Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Rampage is back.
According to Nancy Gay of UFC.com, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is officially back on the UFC 186 fight card against Fabio Maldonado in a catchweight bout to be contested at 215 pound…
UPDATE: Tuesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Rampage is back.
According to Nancy Gay of UFC.com, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is officially back on the UFC 186 fight card against Fabio Maldonado in a catchweight bout to be contested at 215 pounds.
“We are happy with the decision from the New Jersey Court allowing Rampage to fight in Montreal this Saturday night,” UFC President Dana White said. “I am looking forward to seeing Rampage back in the Octagon.”
Steve Bosse, who was originally scheduled to replace Rampage at the event, will no longer be fighting.
–End of update–
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson may not be out of Saturday’s UFC 186 matchup against Fabio Maldonado just yet.
Bleacher Report received a statement from BellatorMMA that has confirmed a judge in the Superior Court of New Jersey’s Appellate Division has overturned Bellator‘s injunction against Rampage, putting the light heavyweight’s immediate future back in limbo.
“We are gratified that the Appellate Division did not disturb part of the Chancery Division order enjoining Jackson, but are disappointed that they reversed the injunction as to the April 25 fight,” the Bellator MMA statement reads. “We continue to believe that Judge [Karen] Suter’s decision was thorough, well reasoned and correct, and are evaluating our options.”
For his part, Rampage says his fight with Maldonado is a go, a point he announced via Instagram:
UFC officials were unavailable for immediate comment on the matter.
Steve Bosse was originally scheduled to replace Rampage against Maldonado at the event, and it is unclear whether he will still be a part of the fight card at all.
Rampage’s last UFC fight came in January 2013, where he lost a decision to former UFC light heavyweight title challenger Glover Teixeira.
After being released from the organization, Rampage was scooped up by Bellator MMA, and he proceeded to rattle off an impressive three-fight winning streak with two knockout finishes.
Following this streak, Rampage was apparently re-signed by the UFC before the aforementioned injunction was granted in favor of Bellator. Now, Rampage’s future remains unclear, but MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani says an official statement from the UFC will be coming shortly.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as this situation continues to develop.
Michael “The Count” Bisping never lacks strong opinions.
Speaking with MMAJunkie.com ahead of his UFC 186 bout against C.B. Dollaway, Bisping discussed his matchup and other key upcoming tilts in the middleweight division.
The UFC’s 185-pou…
Michael “The Count” Bisping never lacks strong opinions.
Speaking with MMAJunkie.com ahead of his UFC 186 bout against C.B. Dollaway, Bisping discussed his matchup and other key upcoming tilts in the middleweight division.
The UFC’s 185-pound class was recently showcased on national television at UFC on Fox 15, where No. 1 middleweight Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza submitted Chris Camozzi in the night’s co-main event, and top-five middleweights Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Luke Rockhold squared off in the main event.
Like Jacare, Rockhold blitzed his foe, scoring a submission victory in the second round after rocking Machida twice in Round 1. Unfortunately for both winners, the UFC has yet to commit to the next middleweight title challenger. Both Jacare and Rockhold showed up and took care of business in impressive fashion, and now, the organization must weigh its options to determine the next title contender.
To Bisping, the choice is Rockhold, and he believes Rockhold could give current champion Chris Weidman fits inside the Octagon. Per MMA Junkie’s Rick Lee at a UFC 186 media luncheon Monday, Bisping said:
Rockhold and Weidman, listen, I’m not convinced on Weidman yet, I’m sorry. I know he’s getting a little smug up there the longer he’s the champion. It’s starting to go to his head a little bit, you know? I would take that belt off him in a heartbeat, and I’d probably favor Luke in that fight.
Since Bisping believes he’d snatch Weidman‘s belt “in a heartbeat,” it comes as no surprise that he also believes he has the tools to take care of Dollaway on Saturday evening in Montreal.
“I’m going to look to put him away as fast as possible and in as entertaining a fashion as possible,” Bisping said. “Dollaway hasn’t got the best chin, I’m just going to throw it out there. I think once I start connecting with Dollaway, he’s going to be in trouble.
“After a while, he’s going to realize, ‘Man, I can’t win this fight,’ and he’s going to crumble. He’s going to crumble and he’s going to let me win this fight.”
Dollaway, of course, disagrees with Bisping. While he is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Machida at UFC Fight Night: Machida vs. Dollaway, the former Arizona State wrestler is confident in his skill set. He sees a victory against Bisping in his future, and he knows exactly what he must do to achieve it.
“I’m not going to give you details about [my fight plan for Bisping], but we have a way to take him down,” Dollaway told Fox Sports Arizona’s Alexa Tieu. “I just want to prove that I belong in the title picture and I know a win over Michael Bisping will put me back in that title picture. An impressive victory will leap frog me up there.”
Currently, Dollaway is ranked No. 11 in the UFC’s official rankings, while Bisping sits one spot ahead at No. 10.
As such, it’s a little premature to talk about either man as a title challenger. Even with a highlight-reel finish at UFC 186, it’s hard to picture either fighter getting a title shot without at least one or two more victories.
Neither man has ascended to the top of the middleweight division during their lengthy UFC stints, but both have come close. Dollaway‘s matchup against Machida, should he have pulled out the victory, likely would have put him in a No. 1 contender’s bout for the championship.
Bisping, meanwhile, is never far from title talks. He’s confident in himself, and he’s unafraid to speak his mind, generating significant buzz and publicity for himself every time he gets on a roll inside the cage. Like Dollaway, should Bisping have won his last fight against Rockhold at UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping, we may be talking about him as a title contender right now.
As it stands, though, both men desperately need a victory at UFC 186 to stay relevant in the UFC’s ever-deepening middleweight division. Even with a win, a future title shot is no guarantee, but a loss almost certainly closes the book on that opportunity.
Who do you favor in this matchup? Is Dollaway‘s wrestling enough to take Bisping to the ground and control him there? Will Bisping take Dollaway to school on the feet?
Sound off, and we’ll discuss Saturday’s co-main event.
After starting 2015 on a strong note, the UFC is going through some major damage control in an attempt to salvage UFC 186 in Montreal.
However, if the organization really wanted to save this card, it would only make sense to move the Alexis Davis-Sara…
After starting 2015 on a strong note, the UFC is going through some major damage control in an attempt to salvage UFC 186 in Montreal.
However, if the organization really wanted to save this card, it would only make sense to move the Alexis Davis-Sarah Kaufman matchup from the Fox Sports 1 Prelims to pay-per-view.
At every single UFC event, the organization does it best to showcase hometown and domestic fighters on its cards. But do fighters like Steve Bosse and John Makdessi warrant enough star power to be showcased on a PPV? Have they given us a reason to be excited about dropping our hard-earned dollars to see them?
But we know that Davis and Kaufman are capable of bringing an exciting fight. They’ve already proved it. In case you forgot, here’s the first time:
And they’re Canadian. Nothing spells out “exciting Canadian showdown” better than “Davis vs. Kaufman” does.
Also, none of the fights—aside from Demetrious Johnson vs. Kyoji Horiguchi—have title implications. Not even the co-main event of UFC 186 has some kind of significance to its respective division. None of the cards even feature a hyped-up prospect whom MMA fans should make sure to keep their eyes on in the near future.
Davis is ranked No. 3 in the women’s bantamweight division, with Kaufman sitting at No. 5. This is a fight that has title or top-ranked-contender implications. And despite Ronda Rousey being light-years ahead of everyone else, the rest of the top 10 fighters in the division are evenly matched. Watching the winner of this fight square off against Cat Zingano would garner huge interest.
With everything going wrong for UFC 186, putting Davis and Kaufman on the main card would give the fans a small victory. Both fighters are PPV-worthy. While the fight may not shake off the “Canadian Curse” the UFC seems to endure, as noted by Jay Anderson of MMA Corner, putting Davis and Kaufman on the PPV would be the right thing to do.
If you ask the casual MMA fan who the top three pound-for-pound fighters in MMA are, Demetrious Johnson’s name probably won’t come up.
The list is guaranteed to have Jon Jones. Ronda Rousey and Cain Velasquez are not only switching to Metro but l…
If you ask the casual MMA fan who the top three pound-for-pound fighters in MMA are, Demetrious Johnson’s name probably won’t come up.
The list is guaranteed to have Jon Jones. Ronda Rousey and Cain Velasquez are not only switching to Metro but likely on the list as well. Perhaps even Jose Aldo—or as he’s more known these days—”the guy fighting ConorMcGregor.”
Chris Weidman could also be on the list. After all, he’s the one who took down Anderson Silva.
But the one they call Mighty Mouse isn’t likely to be found. Yet if you look at the pound-for-pound rankings on UFC.com as of April 20, he’ll be there at No. 3.
After seven consecutive wins in the Octagon, Johnson is finally starting to get the recognition he deserves in the rankings. At UFC 186, he’ll attempt to prove he’s earned the accolades he receives against KyojiHoriguchi.
Horiguchi has put together a nice winning streak since coming into the UFC. He’s a perfect 4-0 since joining the organization, and at only 24 years old, his potential as a contender is intriguing. MMA Infographics breaks down the records of both fighters:
So is the young Horiguchi prepared to spring an upset on the titan of his division? Here’s a look at how he matches up with the champion along with an early prediction for just how the fight will shake out Saturday.
When: Saturday, April 25
Start Time: Fight Pass prelims at 7 p.m. ET (subscription required); Fox Sports 1 prelims at 8 p.m. ET; main card pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET
Looking at the odds for this bout, Vegas isn’t too confident in Horiguchi‘s ability to find a way to beat the champion. Odds Shark pegs the challenger as a 6-1 underdog for Saturday’s main event.
In actuality, the odds seem even steeper than that. Looking at the way these two match up, Horiguchi only has one path to victory. With nine of his 15 wins coming by way of knockout or TKO, he stands a puncher’s chance against Johnson.
Here’s how the two stack up statistically, via FightMetric:
The problem for Horiguchi is that Johnson has seen powerful strikers before. As Brian Hemminger of MMAOddsBreaker points out, Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson were dangerous challengers in their own right:
The difference between Horiguchi and those other two strikers might be in his style, though. The NorifumiYamamoto-trained fighter doesn’t always have the most orthodox angles and footwork, meaning he can sneak in and out of striking range without relying on being quicker than Johnson on the feet.
The body kick that Horiguchi landed early in his bout against Jon Delos Reyes is a great example:
The greatest challenge for the Horiguchi won’t be keeping up on the feet, though. It’s going to be getting it to stay on the feet. When Johnson has sensed a talent disparity in the wrestling department, he’s often taken advantage. He took down John Moraga 12 times and Dodson five, according to FightMetric.
Where Johnson chooses to take this fight ultimately becomes the storyline to watch as this bout unfolds.
Prediction
This fight bears some resemblance to the aforementioned Johnson vs. Moraga matchup. Moraga came into the bout with Johnson as a promising prospect who had made a good impression in his few UFC bouts but ultimately had very little to offer the champion.
What ensued was a five-round beatdown that ended with Johnson getting a submission victory.
Ultimately, this feels like it’s a classic case of too much, too soon for the young Horiguchi. With his unique style and knockout power, the potential is there for him to be an excellent contender in the flyweight division, perhaps champion.
However, as Patrick Wyman of Sherdog notes, this just feels like poor timing for the challenger:
Horiguchi himself disagrees, of course. “This is the perfect time for me to get a title shot,” Horiguchi said via Mike Bohn of MMAjunkie. “As usual, I’m going to work very hard in training and have a hard training camp before the fight. I am going for the victory and going for the title.”
If Horiguchi‘s karate style can throw Johnson’s rhythm off early, things could get surprisingly more interesting.
However, the more likely scenario is one in which Johnson sets the tone early. Rather than stand and exchange strikes with the younger fighter looking to make a name for himself, Johnson will look to turn the fight into a wrestling match.
If he’s successful doing that early on, things will get ugly quick for Horiguchi. Johnson has found a way to finish three of his last four opponents, and that’s a trend that should continue here.
