It feels like an eternity since fans have seen a card like UFC 192.
Sure, there was an event last week, but a borderline regional show in Japan doesn’t really count as an “event,” does it? And sure, there was a pay-per-view last month…but does anyone…
It feels like an eternity since fans have seen a card like UFC 192.
Sure, there was an event last week, but a borderline regional show in Japan doesn’t really count as an “event,” does it? And sure, there was a pay-per-view last month…but does anyone want to remember shelling out $65 for five squash matches? UFC 192 is the first strong, talent-rich, “stacked” card we’ve seen since UFC 189, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Saturday night is chock full of high stakes and high-level bouts, but obviously, some have more on the line here than others. Who, then, is squirming on his chair from the heat of the seat? Read on to find out!
Sergio Pettis
Sergio Pettis came into the UFC with high expectations due to his undefeated 7-0 record and multiple titles from the Midwest regional circuit (oh, and his surname), but has struggled to live up to the hype in the UFC thus far. Make no mistake, Pettis hasn’t been bad by any stretch of the imagination. The nature of sports, though, is that a top prospect either ends up being the greatest thing since sliced bread or the biggest bust since the last guy.
While Pettis is coming off a loss to the unheralded Ryan Benoit, he finds himself receiving a major step up in competition at UFC 192, where he will face former flyweight title contender Chris Cariaso. While Kamikaze is coming off back-to-back losses and largely remains an unknown to MMA fans, he is a crafty veteran who has made a career out of edging out fighters like Pettis.
The former RFA champ is already on his last straw with fans, but if he winds up losing and looks bad doing it, he will likely find himself on the brink of being cut. Not a great place for somebody who was expected to storm his way to the top of the flyweight division.
TyronWoodley
TyronWoodley is in a strange place career-wise. The power-punching wrestler is almost unanimously ranked among the top five of the welterweight division in spite of the fact that he has never mounted a winning streak longer than two in the UFC. Oh, but one of the guys he did beat is actually going to fight for the title. How about that?
That said, he is still playing by the same rules as everyone else. With a lopsided loss to Rory MacDonald already on his permanent record, he cannot comfortably take another one from Johny Hendricks without having his chances at a future title shot irreparably damaged.
That is not an enviable position for anyone. Hendricks has made a career of making other top-notch fighters look bad with his strong wrestling game and powerful left hand. Woodley may have asked for this fight, but if he can’t chew up what he bit off, he may wind up locked in a gatekeeper role from here on out.
Alexander Gustafsson
It’s impossible to talk about Alexander Gustafsson without mentioning his UFC 165 bout with Jon Jones. The gigantic Swede brought today’s greatest champion to the brink of defeat in one of the most exciting fights in recent years and, while he didn’t quite get the judges’ nod that night, he has remained right in the thick of title contention ever since.
Ultimately, however, that fight with Jones went down in his record as a loss. So, too, did his heartbreaking UFC on Fox 14 fight opposite Anthony Johnson. And if he drops yet another big one to Daniel Cormier? Then things start to get really bad.
Right now, Gustafsson‘s MMA career has been defined by UFC 165. That’s not a bad thing, even if he didn’t get the “W.” If he doesn’t walk out of UFC 192 as the UFC light heavyweight champion, however, his career will be defined by his consistent inability to defeat a top-five light heavyweight.
Daniel Cormier meets Alexander Gustafsson in a UFC light heavyweight title showdown this Saturday night in Houston. It’s one of the very best fights that can be made in the division and a classic wrestler-striker matchup between two of the most skilled…
Daniel Cormier meets Alexander Gustafsson in a UFC light heavyweight title showdown this Saturday night in Houston. It’s one of the very best fights that can be made in the division and a classic wrestler-striker matchup between two of the most skilled fighters in the division.
Both Gustafsson and Cormier are cerebral, strategically minded fighters with diverse skill sets. This is a complex matchup with a great many variables, so I spoke to former UFC bantamweight champion, longtime Gustafsson training partner and current Fox Sports 1 analyst Dominick Cruz to find some clarity.
Wyman: Given that you have a lot of experience with the topic and in training with Gustafsson, I was hoping we could discuss the art of fighting on the outside. Gustafsson is obviously going to want to stick and move and keep this Cormier on the outside as much as possible. How can he go about shutting down Cormier‘s pressure?
Cruz: He has to shut down Cormier‘s pressure by getting respect right off the bat. When Alex fought Jon Jones, he came right out and hit him immediately with combinations. That’s how he got the respect of Jones.
He has to do the same thing here. He can’t come out backpedaling and worrying about the power or the wrestling of DC, because if you’re worried about it, you’re going to back up. If you’re confident that you know he’s going to wrestle, and you know when he’s going to wrestle, that makes it easier to deal with Daniel Cormier.
How do you know when DC’s going to wrestle? You know because of places that you’re lined up. He [Gustafsson] has to give DC certain positions so that he wants to shoot. When he wants to shoot, you have something set up for that.
The key to dealing with DC is that you have to bring his shot down, make him telegraph it. You can make a wrestler telegraph shots when you move the way Alex does. He moves laterally, side to side. It’s hard to shoot on a target that isn’t planted, and Alex is constantly moving and switching stances.
More than anything, Alex lines his lead leg up with the right leg of his opponent, especially if it’s a shorter wrestler. He’ll float just outside the right hand of Daniel Cormier, so that if he tries to throw that right, Alex can just slip outside of it.
Simultaneously, that also deals with the shot of Daniel Cormier, because he’s offset. He’s not standing directly in front of him. Most of the time they’re lined up directly in front of each other, so that their right hand and left hand can touch. Instead, Alex will have his right hand lined up with Cormier‘s.
That’s where he likes to stay when he fights on the outside, shifted to the left of his opponent. What that does is it lines his uppercut right up the middle and takes away the shot, because DC will have to shift directly in front if he wants the takedown. That tells Alex to peel off and get away.
The jab is obviously going to be very important in this fight. Using that jab keeps DC outside and forces the shot by pressuring him, and allows Alex to deal with the wrestling without having a wrestling background.
Wyman: In the past, Gustafsson has used his clinch game, which is really underrated, to buy time when aggressive opponents get inside. Can he afford to do that against someone who’s as good in the clinch as Cormier, or will that give Cormier too many opportunities?
Cruz: He can still do that against Cormier. He’s done it his whole career against wrestlers who are trying to take him down. The reason why he can do that is because he doesn’t just clinch you and try to use wrestling; he uses his boxing to set up his clinch. When he’s throwing punches, it looks like he’s just being offensive with boxing, but really he’s using it to set up his clinch and his takedowns.
But honestly, the takedowns aren’t going to be effective against DC unless he can keep him there. If you take DC down, he’s going to get right back up and start pressuring you again. Against Jon Jones, it broke the rhythm and took away a lot of his comfort.
Daniel doesn’t get uncomfortable when you take him down. He’s used to it and he’s ready for it. He actually doesn’t mind if you get into any kind of wrestling scramble situation, even if he’s on his back, because then he’s wrestling.
Wyman: Cormier is exceptionally comfortable, probably more so than any other wrestler in the UFC, in those spaces in between positions. He loves the ride, hitting duck-unders, where he doesn’t have to complete a takedown as long as he can force a scramble, grab a front headlock or even just a two-on-one on the arm. He’s going to be comfortable in that position.
Cruz: Right. DC wants to get into any kind of grappling scramble he can with Alex. It doesn’t matter if Alex tries to clinch him for one second; any time DC is clinched with Alex, DC is comfortable. That’s the one thing Alex can’t allow, for DC to get comfortable.
He has to constantly keep moving, constantly keep the jab out and get the respect with heavy punches. He has to rip the body of DC, too. The more he eats up the body with punches, the less of a chance there will be for DC to get under the punches and take him down.
Wyman: That’s a really interesting point. If we’re thinking about this fight as one that’s likely to go five rounds, since they’re both durable guys, this figures to be an attritive matchup. In that kind of fight, who has the edge as it goes later? Who do you think is more committed to wearing the opponent down?
Cruz: It just depends on how the fight goes. This fight is all about who can establish their comfort first. Alex finds his comfort zone by being able to move both forward and backward, not just back. When we see Alex able to move and pressure Cormier, we know he’s comfortable.
DC is comfortable in any kind of clinch. It doesn’t matter if it’s for one second, if he’s grabbing hold of Alex he’s in a good place. That’s what it comes down to, who can establish their comfort with the adjustments made. If DC can get the takedown, he might be able to finish faster, but I think Alex has to go all five rounds.
Wyman: Do you see any of this taking place in the pocket? We talked about Gustafsson‘s clinch entries and their usefulness, but do you think it might be good for him to stand his ground a throw a few combinations to keep DC off of him?
Cruz: If this fight is fought in the pocket, it’s to Daniel’s advantage. That’s an off-limits zone for Alex. If he’s not at jabbing range the whole time, Daniel’s getting more comfortable. He has to keep Daniel on the outside, and the way he does it is by firing that jab and keeping his left leg lined up with Daniel’s right leg.
By doing that, any time DC decides to force the fight into the pocket, he runs right into an uppercut. Alex can keep the range and make DC pay every time he tries to get into the pocket. Alex can slowly keep Daniel from even wanting to get inside and keep him outside where he wants.
When Alex moves simultaneously with that, the fight becomes DC chasing Alex around the cage and trying to force the clinch or telegraphing his shots.
Wyman: If DC is telegraphing shots, that’s going to wear him out.
Cruz: Exactly, that’s why Alex has to keep his jab out and keep his body offset. That way, the shot’s not there, the pocket isn’t there and every time he tries to get inside he pays for it.
If the fight starts getting into the pocket, or up against the cage, it’s Daniel’s fight.
Patrick Wyman is the Senior MMA Analyst for Bleacher Report. He can be found on Twitter.
Sage Northcutt is 19 years old. He is 6’1″ tall. We are standing in the lobby of the Gracie Barra gym in Katy, Texas where he trains in mixed martial arts, and I am realizing he is perhaps the most in-shape human I have ever seen in person. The veins b…
Sage Northcutt is 19 years old. He is 6’1″ tall. We are standing in the lobby of the Gracie Barra gym in Katy, Texas where he trains in mixed martial arts, and I am realizing he is perhaps the most in-shape human I have ever seen in person. The veins bulging from his arms appear to have veins of their own.
I did not know this was even possible.
It makes complete sense that he is a physical freak of nature once you know his background. When he was five years old, his father Mark pushed him to do pushups and situps every day. He started with roughly 250 of each; by the time he was seven, he was doing 1,000 of each. Every day. He ate chicken and fish and rice and egg whites and avoided all sweet stuff.
By six years old, Northcutt was all rippling muscle. He had the kind of abdominal muscles most of us can only dream of having.
“People use to say that it wasn’t good for a little kid to be that ripped, or to have abs,” Mark says. “But we made it fun for him to do pushups and situps.”
It certainly did not stunt his growth. His dad claims Northcutt can step onto a track and run a 5-minute mile without training, or run a 4.5 40-yard dash.
He is attractive. He has modeled professionally since he was a kid, and has dabbled in acting. He has a magnetic smile, memorable (and very spiky) hair and the kind of face the UFC loves, because it is the kind of face that is easy to market and the kind of face that could, if handled properly, make the UFC a lot of money some day. And he is charmingly polite, except for his insistence on calling me “sir,” which makes me feel quite old.
19 years old. Looks like an Abercrombie model. Polite and respectful. Oh, and he’s also a very good fighter. It is easy to see why Dana White—who discovered Northcutt while scouting talent at a Legacy Fighting Championship event in June—jumped out of his seat with excitement after Northcutt demolished opponent Gage Duhon. White’s eyes sparkled with the kind of excitement that only comes when you discover a potential new money-making opportunity.
And make no mistake about it: he is still very young, and he needs plenty of time to develop. He is the third-youngest fighter in the history of the UFC.
But Northcutt could someday be a massive star for the UFC.
Northcutt (5-0) began training in karate at four years old. Mark is a black belt in the sport, and he pushed his three kids into karate instead of team sports. Northcutt began competing in karate tournaments at age six; by the time he was twelve, he’d traveled to Russia, Croatia, Italy and many other countries for tournaments. He won 77 world championships.
Northcutt attended Seven Lakes High School in Katy, where he scored a GPA of 4.0 while actively training in mixed martial arts. If that’s not an indication of how driven and smart he is, perhaps this is: after graduation from high school, he was accepted into the prestigious petroleum engineering program at Texas A&M University. It is enormously difficult to earn a spot in the program, much less maintain the perfect grades he does.
During his freshman year at A&M, he took on a complete course load that left very little time for training. He traveled back to Katy for training on the few weekends he wasn’t busy with engineering projects, and he maintained a cardio regimen each night, but the opportunities to properly train for fighting were few and far between. At the conclusion of his freshman year, Northcutt and his family decided to cut back on his coursework, giving him a year to focus more on his fighting career. Between May and August 2015, he fought three times; he will fight a fourth time on Saturday night.
Northcutt is unconventional in many ways. He does not watch tape of himself fighting. In fact, he rarely watches UFC events at all. His father says that whenever UFC is on the TV, Sage is usually off doing something else. He is not immersed in the world of mixed martial arts, which seems like a healthy decision.
Neither he nor his family have ever attended a live UFC event; this Saturday will be the first. Yep: the first UFC event Sage Northcutt will ever attend is one he’ll be fighting on.
Another thing that sets him apart: he does not spar for his fights. His coach Chris Mango says that Northcutt’s striking is already so advanced, developed by a lifetime of practice, that they don’t really need to focus on that aspect of his game. And Mango is well aware of the dangerous effects that continual hard sparring in the gym can have on the human brain, and sees no reason to subject Northcutt to that practice.
This is a new thing. The practice of heavy sparring a few times each week is standard practice in mixed martial arts. It is ingrained in the culture. But it seems like simple math: the more hard shots you take in training, the fewer you can take when you’re actually in a real fight.
Northcutt’s skill in striking affords him the opportunity to sidestep sparring altogether. But there is a movement rising in mixed martial arts, led by the UFC, to drastically change the way fighters train for fights, to train smarter and not harder. It is easy to imagine a day when Northcutt’s training methods are no longer an outlier, but the norm.
If the UFC plays it smart—if they give Northcutt opponents that are commeasurate with his skill level—they could very well have a future star on their hands. But he is young, much younger than fighters usually are when stepping onto this stage for the first time. His dad hopes the UFC will bring him along slowly and allow him time to develop, rather than trying to cash in on his marketability by matching him with the best in the lightweight division before he’s ready.
“I don’t think he should fight someone in the top 20 or 30 for his first three or four fights,” Mark says.
For now, Northcutt is taking it all in, and his youthful exuberance is refreshing and, frankly, feels a little bit strange. So many of us from the regular media beat are used to fighters trudging through their fight week responsibilities. Northcutt is obviously loving every moment of it.
“This has been his goal for his whole life,” his mother Mary says. “He’s just embracing it.”
At the conclusion of his open workout on Thursday in front of approximately 100 fans and media, Northcutt poses. The fans cheer, so he leaps in the air with a spinning backflip. They cheer again, so he does it again, this time with an even wider smile.
He is young, and he has a long way to go. But this kid may be the future of the UFC.
We’ll have to wait and find out just how good he is.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Houston with a stacked card this Saturday on pay-per-view. In the headliner, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on former top contender Alexander Gustafsson in an outstanding scrap. While Gusta…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Houston with a stacked card this Saturday on pay-per-view. In the headliner, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier takes on former top contender Alexander Gustafsson in an outstanding scrap. While Gustafsson’s booking drew heat from fans who would’ve preferred not to see a challenger who was melted in his last outing, it is one of the best fights that can be made in the division.
The long shadow of Jon Jones hangs over the entire event. Forty percent of the fighters on the main card—Cormier, Gustafsson, Rashad Evans and Ryan Bader—have fallen to the longtime and now former light heavyweight champion. This fight is for the full title only because the UFC has made it so, not because there’s any doubt as to who the best 205-pounder on the planet happens to be.
Jones will likely get the winner of the main event when he returns from his suspension. While Cormier holds the belt he won against Anthony Johnson, this is essentially a glorified top contender matchup. With that said, it’s still an outstanding fight.
The rest of the card is stacked to the brim with meaningful and entertaining bookings. In the co-main event, former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks takes on Tyron Woodley in a likely top contender matchup. The winner will likely draw the winner of Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit in January.
Further down the card, the hits keep coming. Bader takes on Evans in what could also be a top contender matchup at 205 pounds, with the winner getting a shot at either Gustafsson or Cormier if Jones can’t return to action in the near future.
Shawn Jordan and Ruslan Magomedov meet in a matchup of two of the division’s best younger fighters, with Magomedov in particular on the cusp of breaking through to the divisional elite. Jessica Eye takes on Julianna Pena in the main card’s opener as The Ultimate Fighter 18 winner gets a shot at vaulting herself into the top 10 and eventual contention.
The preliminary card is as good as it gets. Joseph Benavidez takes on Ali Bagautinov in the Fox Sports 1 headliner, and every fight beneath that carries some level of interest. Rising stars Yair Rodriguez and Rose Namajunas compete for attention with a matchup between violence specialists Albert Tumenov and Alan Jouban.
Even the Fight Pass portion of the event is outstanding. Sergio Pettis draws former top contender Chris Cariaso as he attempts to stay relevant in the flyweight division, rising star Islam Makhachev takes on Adriano Martins and hot prospect Sage Northcutt makes his debut in the evening’s curtain-jerker.
UFC 192 is right around the corner, and headlining the event will be a contest for the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Champion Daniel Cormier will meet No. 2-ranked contender Alexander Gustafsson in the main event. For the second straigh…
UFC 192 is right around the corner, and headlining the event will be a contest for the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Champion Daniel Cormier will meet No. 2-ranked contender Alexander Gustafsson in the main event. For the second straight event, a challenger to the crown will be coming off a loss. Cormier lost to then-champion Jon Jones, but when Jones was stripped of the title, Cormier returned at UFC 187 to defeat Anthony Johnson.
The commercials for this event have centered around the height discrepancy between the two combatants, but will that play a significant role in this fight?
That will be just one of the many things we look at in the head-to-toe breakdown for Saturday’s event. Let’s jump right into the analysis for this championship tilt that will take place this weekend in Houston, Texas.
UFC 191 was an unremarkable slate of showcase fights. UFC 192 on October 3, though? Well, at the very least, it’s an interesting slate of showcase fights. The full card is as follows:
Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Johny Hendricks vs. Ty…
UFC 191 was an unremarkable slate of showcase fights. UFC 192 on October 3, though? Well, at the very least, it’s an interesting slate of showcase fights. The full card is as follows:
Daniel Cormier vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Johny Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodley
Ryan Bader vs. Rashad Evans
Shawn Jordan vs. Ruslan Magomedov
Jessica Eye vs. Julianna Pena
Joseph Benavidez vs. Ali Bagautinov
Yair Rodriguez vs. Dan Hooker
Rose Namajunas vs. Angela Hill
Alan Jouban vs. Albert Tumenov
Chris Cariaso vs. Sergio Pettis
Derrick Lewis vs. Viktor Pesta
Islam Makhachev vs. Adriano Martins
Francisco Trevino vs. Sage Northcutt
It’s easy to gripe about the main event, an awkward light heavyweight title match between Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson. When one looks over the entire card, however, it’s easy to get at least a little excited.
Johny Hendricks vs. Tyron Woodley is likely a top contender’s bout at 170 pounds. Ryan Bader vs. Rashad Evans probably decides who gets the next crack at the light heavyweight belt. Jessica Eye looks to hold back the Julianna Pena storm. Oh, and Shawn Jordan is set to return after his electrifying Sweet Chin Music knockout against Ruslan Magomedov.
With that in mind, it’s worth taking a closer look at these five fights and making some early predictions about who will come out on top.
It feels like an eternity since fans have seen a card like UFC 192.