The UFC is back in Boston, Massachusetts from the TD Garden for UFC 220 on pay-per-view (PPV), and the promotion has a tremendous card in store for mixed martial arts (MMA) fans. Two title fights will round out the night of fights, the first being a UFC light heavyweight title defense of champion Daniel Cormier […]
The UFC is back in Boston, Massachusetts from the TD Garden for UFC 220 on pay-per-view (PPV), and the promotion has a tremendous card in store for mixed martial arts (MMA) fans. Two title fights will round out the night of fights, the first being a UFC light heavyweight title defense of champion Daniel Cormier against rising knockout artist Volkan Oezdemir.
In the main event of the evening one of the most highly-anticipated UFC heavyweight title fights of all time will take place; as champ Stipe Miocic looks to defend his strap, for what would be a historic third consecutive time, against feared knockout artist Francis Ngannou. There are plenty more great fights set to go down on the night as well, and you can check out the full fight card, start times, and information on how to watch here:
Main Card (PPV, 10 P.M. ET):
Heavyweight: (C) Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
Light heavyweight: (C) Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir
Featherweight: Calvin Kattar vs. Shane Burgos
Light Heavyweight: Gian Villante vs. Francimar Barroso
Bantamweight: Thomas Almeida vs. Rob Font
FS1 Prelims (FS1, 8 P.M. ET):
Featherweight: Kyle Bochniak vs. Brandon Davis
Welterweight: Abdul Razak Alhassan vs. Sabah Homasi
UFC 220 is just hours away and the sixth episode of Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel. In the episode, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has his kids play as his character in the new EA UFC 3 game, then cuts weight in the sauna alongside teammates including Cain Velasquez. His opponent Volkan […]
UFC 220 is just hours away and the sixth episode of Embedded was released on the UFC’s YouTube channel.
In the episode, light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier has his kids play as his character in the new EA UFC 3 game, then cuts weight in the sauna alongside teammates including Cain Velasquez. His opponent Volkan Oezdemir and heavyweight title challenger Francis Ngannou sweat it out in the workout rooms. Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic spends his Thursday evening in an ice bath, and all of the fighters make weight on Friday morning. Ngannou gets his ‘do touched up, and then the fighters square off against their opponents at the ceremonial weigh-in at TD Garden.
UFC 220 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, January 20, 2018) from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The card will feature two title fights. The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s […]
UFC 220 is here, and it goes down tonight (Saturday, January 20, 2018) from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The card will feature two title fights.
The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass, at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight title will headline this event while Daniel Cormier vs. Volkan Oezdemir for the light heavyweight title will serve as the co-main event. Rounding out the five bout main card is Shane Burgos vs. Calvin Kattar in a featherweight bout, Francimar Barroso vs. Gian Villante in a light heavyweight bout, and Thomas Almeida vs. Rob Font in a bantamweight bout.
According to oddsmakers, Ngannou is a -175 favorite over Miocic, who is a +165 underdog. Other odds for the main card include Oezdemir being a +260 underdog against Cormier, who is a -290 favorite. Here are the full betting odds:
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET) Francis Ngannou (-175) vs. Stipe Miocic (+165)
Daniel Cormier (-290) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (+260)
Shane Burgos (-125) vs. Calvin Kattar (+105)
Gian Villante (-170) vs. Francimar Barroso (+150)
Thomas Almeida (-120) vs. Rob Font (EVEN)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET) Brandon Davis (-115) vs. Kyle Bochniak (-105)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (-230) vs. Sabah Homasi (+190)
We are one day removed from the first UFC pay-per-view of 2018, and tomorrow’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 promises to provide a night of heavy-hitting action for fans in Boston, Massachusetts. Stipe Miocic will defend his heavyweight belt against Francis Ngannou in the main event while Daniel Cormier will defend the light heavyweight title […]
We are one day removed from the first UFC pay-per-view of 2018, and tomorrow’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 promises to provide a night of heavy-hitting action for fans in Boston, Massachusetts.
Stipe Miocic will defend his heavyweight belt against Francis Ngannou in the main event while Daniel Cormier will defend the light heavyweight title against Volkan Oezdemir in the co-main.
As usual, the UFC is holding the ceremonial weigh-ins on Friday night after the official weigh-ins took place earlier today with all fighters hitting their mark.
Check out tonight’s ceremonial weigh-ins video as it’s live streamed below:
Heading into this weekend’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will begin to celebrate their twenty-fifth year of existence with a live press event this afternoon. While the anniversary certainly marks a great achievement for the promotion, today’s press event has gained more hype for reportedly […]
Heading into this weekend’s (Sat., January 20, 2018) UFC 220 from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship will begin to celebrate their twenty-fifth year of existence with a live press event this afternoon.
While the anniversary certainly marks a great achievement for the promotion, today’s press event has gained more hype for reportedly being the place where UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor will finally be stripped of his 155-pound championship after over 14 months without any title defenses. Tony Ferguson vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was rumored to be a done deal for April 7’s UFC 223, and UFC president Dana White confirmed that on a Boston radio show the following day.
But the status of just which belt – the interim or McGregor’s soon-to-be-vacated undisputed title – would be contested in the fight remains a mystery. We could find out in the press conference today, but as we’ve seen throughout McGregor one-of-a-kind UFC run, anything is far from certain when the unpredictable superstar is involved.
Regardless, the fight is expected to be officially announced at the 25th Anniversary Series press conference shortly. Watch the anticipated event live right here:
The UFC’s first pay-per-view (PPV) event of 2018 is now just one day away, as UFC 220 is set to take place tomorrow night (Jan. 20, 2018) live from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In the main event, reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will look to make the third defense of his title against […]
The UFC’s first pay-per-view (PPV) event of 2018 is now just one day away, as UFC 220 is set to take place tomorrow night (Jan. 20, 2018) live from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
In the main event, reigning heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic will look to make the third defense of his title against surging knockout artist Francis Ngannou, while the co-main event, will play host to a light heavyweight title bout between champion Daniel Cormier and red-hot rising contender Volkan Oezdemir.
Without further ado, let’s take a deeper look into UFC 220’s biggest fights in our preview, breakdown and analysis:
Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou
UFC 220’s main event will feature not only one of the most anticipated but arguably the best heavyweight title fights in recent memory.
Miocic will be looking to make history, as another win would earn him the record for most consecutive title defenses made by a UFC heavyweight champion, but he’ll face a stiff test in Ngannou, a man who very well could be the most powerful puncher the division’s ever seen.
In terms of overall skillset, the champion is extremely well-rounded. He has crisp and polished boxing and a strong wrestling background. He’s also very athletic, moves well and possesses legitimate knockout power, although that aspect of his game seems to be getting a bit overlooked due to his opponent.
It’s also important to note that Miocic is in the prime of his career and only getting better, which may be true of Ngannou as well. The champion has won five consecutive bouts, with four of them ending in first round stoppages and all five of them have come against some of the best heavyweights the sport has ever seen.
Ngannou, on the other hand, is still a bit of a mystery.
What we do know, is that his punching power is unlike that of possibly any other fighter we’ve ever seen. He possesses an 11-1 overall record and a 6-0 record inside of the octagon. Five of his UFC victories have come by way of T/KO.
The man they call “The Predator” is strong, fast and athletic in his own right. He has fantastic timing and the ability to finish any opponent with one single shot.
What we don’t know, however, is how good of a ground game he has. He has one UFC victory by way of submission, but we really haven’t seen him grapple much, although he appears to be constantly approving. Regardless, I’d give Miocic the advantage in that area.
Ultimately, I’ve gone back-and-forth on this fight quite a bit.
I could see Miocic using his more well-rounded skillset and experience to attempt to stick and move and wrestle Ngannou in an attempt to drag this fight to the later rounds. However, it’s unclear how big of a factor Ngannou’s size advantage will play into the wrestling category, and once again, if he lands one big shot, the night could end rather quickly.
For that reason, I’ll side with “The Predator”.
Prediction: Francis Ngannou def Stipe Miocic via first-round knockout
