Tag: UFC 192

UFC 192: Start Time, Prelim Live Stream Info and Full Fight-Card Predictions

The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship takes center stage on Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET at UFC 192, as Daniel Cormier defends his title for the first time against Alexander Gustafsson in a showdown between two of the best pound-for-pound fig…

The UFC Light Heavyweight Championship takes center stage on Saturday night starting at 10 p.m. ET at UFC 192, as Daniel Cormier defends his title for the first time against Alexander Gustafsson in a showdown between two of the best pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts. 

UFC has been on a roll with huge title fights in recent months, going back to Conor McGregor’s win over Chad Mendes to win the interim featherweight crown at UFC 189, so Cormier and Gustafsson have a lot to live up to. 

The UFC 192 preliminary card can be streamed at UFC Fight Pass. 

 

Pre-Fight Storyline: Tyron Woodley Misses Opportunity

Tyron Woodley should have been fighting for an opportunity to get in the welterweight title discussion, but Johny Hendricks’ weight-cutting issues forced UFC President Dana White to scrap the fight altogether. 

It’s possible that Woodley gets another fight very soon, presumably a title eliminator bout, and is able to make his case for a championship match early next year. 

Woodley had been close to crossing that threshold before, notably after defeating Josh Koscheck and Carlos Condit, but he squandered it with a loss against Rory MacDonald. While there is no shame in losing to a fighter of MacDonald’s talent, it’s not a good sign for Woodley’s ultimate ceiling. 

Woodley has rebounded with two wins, and he told reporters Saturday’s original bout was being treated like a championship match, per Tristen Critchfield of Sherdog.com:

Many people thought Johny won that fight [against Lawler at UFC 181] and they thought that he’s the No. 1 guy in the world. So this is like a three-round title fight to me mentally. So I’m taking it very seriously.

…

…The goal is to focus on the person in front of you. You go out there, handle business and then whatever happens after that is going to happen. Whether I get a title shot or not is not going to solely depend on what happens Oct. 3. There are so many different variables that go into that.

Hendricks has had his problems in the spotlight, though no one is going to criticize him for losing to Georges St-Pierre. He did win the vacant welterweight title in a stunning match with Robbie Lawler at UFC 171, only to lose it in a rematch nine months later.

Woodley, who is 33 years old, will only have so many new opportunities to get a title shot. He’s ranked No. 3 in the UFC.com welterweight rankings, behind Hendricks and MacDonald. Losing a match with Hendricks, while certainly not his fault, does present a stumbling block he will have to overcome. 

 

Main Event Prediction

Gustafsson has really backed his way into a title shot. He lost to Anthony Johnson in January and missed a June fight against Glover Teixeira due to a back injury but nevertheless finds himself in a main event against Cormier despite not having won a fight in the interim. 

Like Woodley, Gustafsson has come up short in his two biggest tests. He put on a fantastic performance against Jon Jones at UFC 165, one that made him a star in the process, but he lost a unanimous decision. 

In January, Gustafsson’s fight with Johnson was a No. 1 contender bout, and Rumble knocked him out in the first round. 

Cormier is a different challenge because Gustafsson is clearly the more impressive physical specimen. He’s 6’5″ with a 79-inch reach and improved grappling skills; however, Cormier is a world-class wrestler who will have the edge if this becomes a mat fight. 

Coming into the fight, Gustafsson is trying to deflect the pressure away from him, telling Ryan McKinnell of Cagewriter that Cormier is the one under pressure on Saturday. 

“All the pressure is on him,” Gustafsson said. “He’s the champion; he’s got that belt. He’s fighting in front of his home crowd. I’m here in the United States and I’m challenging him. I’m coming here as the underdog, and he has other stuff he has to worry about.”

The problem with Gustafsson’s comment is Cormier has proved himself on the big stage. He also had a strong fight against Jones, losing a five-round decision, and rebounded with a submission win over Johnson in May to capture the vacant light heavyweight title.

Plus, Cormier is just a better all-around fighter than Gustafsson. He made his name in mixed martial arts as a wrestler, figured out that being a one-trick pony wasn’t going to be enough to make him a title contender, has continued to add striking to his game and is now an effective puncher. 

Even though Cormier doesn’t have huge power, he has the ability to attack from a standing position and move to the ground quickly. Gustafsson, on the other hand, has to prove he’s able to adjust his style when necessary. 

Until that happens, Gustafsson deserves to be considered an underdog. Cormier has the more diverse set of skills and will use them to secure a victory in his first title defense. 

Prediction: Cormier wins via second-round TKO.

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Johny Hendricks’ Failed Weight Cut at UFC 192: Let’s All Share the Blame

Mere hours before the start of the UFC 192 weigh-ins, welterweight contender Johny Hendricks checked into a Houston emergency room with a kidney stone and an intestinal blockage. And with that, Saturday evening’s co-main event featuring Hendricks …

Mere hours before the start of the UFC 192 weigh-ins, welterweight contender Johny Hendricks checked into a Houston emergency room with a kidney stone and an intestinal blockage. And with that, Saturday evening’s co-main event featuring Hendricks and Tyron Woodley was no more.

Hendricks and his team later acknowledged that the issues resulted from Hendricks’ steep weight cut, which he has previously said averages about 25 pounds, per Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting.

Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting first reported Hendricks’ forced withdrawal from UFC 192. It wasn’t the first report of its kind, though, and with an arms race of sorts underway to achieve the largest size advantage possible, it won’t be the last.

The knee-jerk reaction in the wake of the announcement was to blame Hendricks, and hey, that’s understandable.

But as most reasonable humans understand, things have nuances. It’s not always an “either…or” proposition. Hendricks’ withdrawal is one of those things. There’s plenty of responsibility (and blame) to go around.

It’s not the first weight-cutting problem for Hendricks. At UFC 171 he needed a second attempt to make weight for his title fight with Robbie Lawler. 

Per Doyle, Hendricks has said that, during his college wrestling days at Oklahoma State, he ballooned up to 218 pounds before undertaking his cut. That’s the kind of tough-it-out approach that science never supported and fighters are increasingly abandoning.

Hendricks also doesn’t seem like one who’s amenable to learning his lesson. At his last fight at UFC 181, he said afterward he pondered retirement because his cut was so bad. 

He has been open before about having a poor diet (the fact that he owns his own steakhouse doesn’t help anything on this front) and what seems to be the sort of boom-and-bust cycle engendered in the wrestling game where Hendricks got his start. 

That culture should certainly continue to shoulder some accountability in the debate, seeing as how the pervading grin-and-bear-it mindset, still so common in that sport, so frequently causes these drastic, reckless cuts.

Also in on the blame here is the UFC, which hasn’t done much to date to curb dangerous cuts. Kudos to the promotion for adopting a ban on IV rehydration—which, as it happens, takes effect for the first time here at UFC 192—but if Hendricks’ behavior and comments of other fighters are any indication, it won’t curtail cuts but rather just make them more dangerous by taking away an important rehydration tool.

The fans share the blame as well. We expect bigger, want bigger. As with brain trauma, if our lust for power and violence isn’t tempered by safety concerns, we’ll keep getting this.

From my uninformed perspective, it seems like Hendricks was hanging out around his steakhouse too much and going through his weight cut in the old tough-it-out sort of way. He did not control his weight until it was crunch time, and like a student cramming for an exam, he was walking a fine line.

The news also spurred UFC President Dana White to announce that Woodley may now receive the next welterweight title shot—something this fight at UFC 192 was supposed to determine. White went on to note that Hendricks is “a middleweight as of now,” given this latest mishap, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports.

But in the meantime, until the combat sports culture changes and its fans and athletes start taking this more seriously, we’ll have more canceled fights, more ER visits and worse.

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Cormier vs. Gustafsson: Latest Comments, Weigh-in Info, Predictions for UFC 192

Daniel Cormier will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 192 against Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday night after both weighed in successfully ahead of their clash.
Cormier weighed in at the limit at 205 pounds, while his opponent …

Daniel Cormier will defend his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 192 against Alexander Gustafsson on Saturday night after both weighed in successfully ahead of their clash.

Cormier weighed in at the limit at 205 pounds, while his opponent made the grade at one pound under at 204.

Here’s the official weigh-in and post-event comments, courtesy of the following video from the UFC:

As Dave Doyle of MMAFighting.com notes, Cormier is known for hyping up his opponents ahead of their bouts with aplomb, but the 36-year-old has switched up his tactics in the buildup to his clash with the Swede.

Although the American conceded Gustafsson is a threat, on Monday he admitted he has played down his opponent’s credentials in order to sap The Mauler’s confidence before they step into the Octagon, per Doyle.

In the comments following the weigh-in, Cormier continued this strategy as he threw more barbs at Gustafsson.

According to Damon Martin of Fox Sports, Cormier said: “Best weight cut ever. Tomorrow, I release the chains. I allow Alex to stop worrying about being a fighter. He’s talked about retiring time and time again. Go back to Sweden and become a model.”

By contrast, The Mauler would not be drawn into a war of words with Cormier. Per Martin, he merely said, “You’ve got a new world champion tomorrow.”

Bleacher Report’s own Jonathan Snowden was less than impressed by the pair’s post-event offerings:

 

Prediction

Anthony Johnson soundly beat Gustafsson in his last outing, knocking him out in just 135 seconds.

It’s difficult to know whether Cormier’s words have affected the 28-year-old, but dwelling on the devastating defeat could produce nerves just as equally as it could drive his hunger to prove himself.

The 6’5″ Swede has the size and reach advantage in the fight, but Cormier has experienced that before in Jon Jones, and Gustafsson is far from Bones’ level.

DC’s wrestling background gives him a huge edge in close quarters, so if he can get in behind The Mauler’s defences and take the fight to the cage or the floor—as he most likely will—then he can expect to win the match relatively easily.

It won’t be over as quickly as Gustafsson’s last bout, but Cormier can take this by TKO in the fourth or fifth round.

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Johny Hendricks Hospitalized While Cutting Weight, Woodley Fight Scratched From UFC 192


(What an absolutely shocking development. There is literally no way we could have seen this coming.)

We’re just a few minutes out from the UFC 192 weigh-ins, and we’ve already seen our first casualty.

Yes, it appears that the weight-cutting woes of former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks have taken a far more serious turn, as “Bigg Rigg” was forced out of his co-main event title eliminator against Tyron Woodley earlier today after being hospitalized during the weight cutting process.

Details after the jump.

The post Johny Hendricks Hospitalized While Cutting Weight, Woodley Fight Scratched From UFC 192 appeared first on Cagepotato.


(What an absolutely shocking development. There is literally no way we could have seen this coming.)

We’re just a few minutes out from the UFC 192 weigh-ins, and we’ve already seen our first casualty.

Yes, it appears that the weight-cutting woes of former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks have taken a far more serious turn, as “Bigg Rigg” was forced out of his co-main event title eliminator against Tyron Woodley earlier today after being hospitalized during the weight cutting process.

Hendricks, who parted ways with nutritionist Mike Dolce earlier this year, was rushed to the emergency room last night and had to be given an IV after suffering a blockage in his intestine and a kidney stone.

“The weight was coming off fine and then yesterday my body just started to shut down,” Hendricks said in an interview with MMAFighting. “Then yesterday my body just started to shut down. When it hit that point, I tried to push through it, and well, it didn’t go well because then I had to go to the ER.”

The news was first broke by Dana White via Twitter and later confirmed by Ariel Helwani.

Hendrick’s opponent is understandably perturbed by the news.

I’m frustrated, obviously. I’m always trying to look for the lesson in things and positive signs. I believe things happen for a reason. I’m counting this as a loss for him. You got to make the weight. I’m sitting here at weight, wired, ready to wage war and now I’m not going to get that opportunity.

Hopefully, I’m compensated accordingly because this shouldn’t be a strike against me.

And as it just so happens, Woodley will be *heavily* compensated in the form of a title shot against the winner of Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit at UFC 193. The flyweight fight between top contenders Ali Bagautinov and Joseph Benavidez will also be bumped up to the UFC 192 main card as a result of the Hendricks-Woodley cancellation.

As for Hendricks? Well, you’ve gotta assume that a temporary move up to 185 is in his future, ala Kelvin Gastelum. And it looks like Hendricks might actually be in agreement.

“I think I have to lose more fat or move up,” he said. “We might move up to 185, but I want to get home and start testing myself on body fat and try to work it down and see if that’s going to work in a mini weight cut. Then that’s when I can really focus on what’s next. If it doesn’t go go good, then it’s 185 for sure. I still enjoy fighting, just not the weight cut.”

The post Johny Hendricks Hospitalized While Cutting Weight, Woodley Fight Scratched From UFC 192 appeared first on Cagepotato.

Cormier vs. Gustafsson: Latest Odds, Predictions and Pre-Fight Twitter Hype

Daniel Cormier is set to defend the UFC light heavyweight championship for the first time Saturday night against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192. It’s a battle of contrasting styles, and whichever fighter can better impose their preferred tactics will …

Daniel Cormier is set to defend the UFC light heavyweight championship for the first time Saturday night against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192. It’s a battle of contrasting styles, and whichever fighter can better impose their preferred tactics will walk out with the belt.

The bout headlines a solid card that also includes a pair of intriguing matchups as Ryan Bader faces off with Rashad Evans and Shawn Jordan battles Ruslan Magomedov. It should make for a highly entertaining night of action from Houston.

That said, Cormier and Gustafsson will take center stage. So let’s check out all of the important details for the event along with odds and a preview for the main event.

 

UFC 192 Details

Where: Toyota Center in Houston

When: Saturday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. ET

Watch: Pay-Per-View

Live Stream: UFC.com

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

 

Fight Odds

 

Preview

The single biggest question mark heading into this fight is which version of Gustafsson is going to show up Saturday night. It’s hard to guess whether it will be the one who seriously pushed Jon Jones two years ago or the one who got knocked out in the first round by Anthony Johnson in January.

This is a fight the 28-year-old Swede can certainly win if he returns to the form he showcased against Jones. That’s far for a guarantee, however, given the lackluster showing against Johnson. His victory over Jimi Manuwa didn’t prove much in terms of his title worthiness, either.

That said, he’s feeling confident about the way the bout sets up for him, as noted by John Gooden of UFC.com.

“It’s very simple: He’s a short wrestler and I’m a tall striker,” Gustafsson said. “He’s a great fighter but I believe that I am the type of fighter that is the absolute opposite of DC. I move a lot. I can fight backwards. I have a lot of belief in my speed and precision and I know that I have really good takedown defence.”

Cormier probably hasn’t received enough credit for his success. When you’re holding a championship and the only loss on your résumé is to Jones, you’re clearly doing something right. A victory here would help him continue to gain respect.

Like Gustafsson, he’s confident heading into the fight and believes the mental side of things will be a major advantage, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times.

“The guy just lost in two-and-a-half minutes, so why … build him up if you think his confidence is already low?” Cormier said. “Why should I rebuild it for him? I want him to have these big questions overhead. He’s very dangerous, a real threat. If I don’t fight my best, I could lose to him, but I think I’ve covered all my bases.”

The uncertainty heading into the fight makes it warrant the hype. UFC President Dana White added to that by posting a video of social media:

Cormier is the favorite based on recent fights, particularly the drastically different results when they battled Johnson. The differences in height, length and styles make it a tricky fight to prepare for, though.

Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Snowden explained why that’s the case:

Both fighters must also prevent themselves from looking ahead. The future of Jon Jones is once again a hot topic following a plea agreement to settle his legal situation. Mike Bohn of USA Today highlights what that means for the rest of the division:

All told, it comes back to the fighting styles. Cormier wants to turn this into a brawl to utilize his wrestling background to maximum effectiveness. Gustafsson needs to maintain distance and land as many heavy strikes as possible to wear down the champion.

There will probably be points throughout the bout where both fighters hold a clear edge. The advantage will shift back and forth. But in the end, Cormier is the more well-rounded fighter and should score the win, even if he doesn’t have quite enough left in the tank to earn a knockout.

Prediction: Cormier by unanimous decision

 

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UFC 192: Fight Night Bonus Predictions for Cormier vs. Gustafsson Fight Card

The ultimate goal of an athlete in any sport is to win, regardless of how it looks. UFC has created an environment in which winning with style is a secondary achievement because fighters will get rewarded with a $50,000 performance bonus. 
Looking…

The ultimate goal of an athlete in any sport is to win, regardless of how it looks. UFC has created an environment in which winning with style is a secondary achievement because fighters will get rewarded with a $50,000 performance bonus. 

Looking at UFC 192, the main event featuring Daniel Cormier defending the light heavyweight championship against Alexander Gustafsson looks like a lock to win a Fight of the Night bonus for the two competitors.

The main criteria for Fight of the Night is putting on an exciting, emotionally engaging battle. It can end in the first round or go to the judges’ table, as long as everyone in the crowd and those watching on television can feel the tension. 

Cormier and Gustafsson know how to put on a show. The champion has won performance bonuses in each of his last two fights, with a performance bonus for his submission win over Anthony Johnson and Fight of the Night bonus for his five-round loss against Jon Jones. 

Gustafsson had one of the best UFC fights in recent memory, losing to Jones by unanimous decision at UFC 165, and he was awarded a Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts. He followed that up with a double-bonus for his TKO win against Jimi Manuwa. 

A title fight is naturally going to have a heightened sense of anticipation around it, so Cormier and Gustafsson will have to do a lot of things wrong to not earn a bonus for their fight. 

 

Cormier Will Stop Gustafsson

Sticking with the main event for one of the two Performance of the Night bonuses, Cormier is poised to have a very big night. 

The 36-year-old can rub some the wrong way because of his willingness to make declarative statements, such as telling Damon Martin of Fox Sports that Gustafsson isn’t championship material:

If I looked at his career and his resume, I would say he beat the guys he’s supposed to beat and any time it’s a toss-up fight he loses. In the fights that he’s not overwhelmingly favored, he really hasn’t done as well as he should outside of the fight with (Jon) Jones where he was a huge underdog and he really fought outside of himself and I truly do believe it was him fighting his best fight and Jones might have fought his worst fight and it was super close.

There is certainly a fanbase for Gustafsson that grew when he took Jones five rounds, but Cormier isn’t speaking out of line. After all, the Swedish star is entering Saturday’s fight coming off a loss against Anthony Johnson in January. 

Johnson’s win earned him a match against Cormier for the vacant light heavyweight title, which Cormier won by a third-round submission. 

Cormier also operates with a technical efficiency, especially with his punching, that makes him fun to watch, as these stats from that fight against Johnson show (via Jason Floyd of the MMA Report):

Unless Gustafsson is able to come out, establish his size advantage and rattle the champion in the first round, Cormier will retain his title in an entertaining battle. 

 

Shawn Jordan’s Streak Continues

There’s not a lot of depth in the UFC heavyweight division right now. Fabricio Werdum, Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez are a terrific trio at the top, but things quickly devolve with the likes of Stipe Miocic and Travis Browne as the next-best fighters. 

However, even in a weak division, a fighter like Shawn Jordan is still so valuable because of his entertainment value. The 30-year-old Texan is 5-2 in his last seven fights, all of which have ended via knockout or technical knockout, and four ended in the first round. 

Jordan is taking on a fighter in Ruslan Magomedov who is happy to be conservative, fighting to earn points from the judges. That’s not a bad strategy to take, even if it doesn’t produce the most exciting fights. 

There’s a high degree of entertainment value in Jordan’s knockouts. He’s not just going in with punches. This is a monster of a man who will try anything if he thinks it will help, as this highlight from his last fight against Derrick Lewis in June shows (via UFC on FOX):

That’s a WWE-style finishing move used in a mixed martial arts fight. The spirit of these performance bonuses is to give fighters an incentive to take big swings, pun intended. 

Jordan is going to do that, for better or worse. He’s won Performance of the Night bonuses each of his last two fights and will add a third one on Saturday. 

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