Suga Show

Sean O’Malley-Marlon Vera targeted for UFC 252

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The “Suga” Show is returning to the UFC APEX. Per MMA Junkie, the UFC is booking Sean O’Malley (12-0) and Marlon Vera (15-6-1) for the main card of UFC 252.

The Suga Show is on his way to UFC stardom

O’Malley has been on fire since returning this year after a two year layoff due to some USADA issues. The charismatic bantamweight has two first round knockouts, the latest coming at UFC 250 against Eddie Wineland. O’Malley has a ton of hype behind him and he’s one of the UFC‘s potential superstars.

“Chito” Vera was on a five fight winning streak leading into his fight with Song Yadong back in May. The fight was razor close, but the judges gave the fight to Song. Many people believe that Vera won the fight. After O’Malley’s knockout of Wineland at UFC 250, he said that he would be interested in fighting Vera next. The two men have had some back and forth, and now it looks like were going to get to see them fight.

This is going to be a fascinating fight for both men. No disrespect to any of his previous opponents, but UFC 252 is going to be Suga’s toughest test to date. Both men are in about the same position inside the UFC‘s rankings. A win for O’Malley could vault him into the top ten in the UFC‘s bantamweight division. If O’Malley looks like he did in his last couple of fights, we could be talking about O’Malley’s title shot next July.

Five Fights to Make after UFC 250

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UFC, Dana White

Last night, the UFC made it’s PPV return to the fight capital of the world, and the card did not disappoint. There was a leg-kick TKO, two walk-off knockouts, and a brilliant performance from the greatest female fighter of all time. With that being said, let’s talk through five matchups that should be booked following UFC 250.

Suga Sean O’Malley vs Top Ten Opponent

Before last night, I said that the UFC did a great job of booking Eddie Wineland as an opponent for Suga Sean. O’Malley (12-0) is an elite striker, and he does a fantastic job at fighting from range. I thought it was the perfect showcase fight for him, and he did not disappoint. About halfway through the first round, O’Malley uncorked a right straight that put Wineland to sleep. O’Malley’s star is only going to continue to shine brighter, but I think the UFC needs to bring him along gradually. They need to use a similar path that they used with Conor McGregor.

O’Malley needs to fight someone in the rankings for his next fight. If you ask me, I would give him someone like a Rob Font (17-4). Font is currently ranked as the tenth best bantamweight in the world according to the UFC rankings. Font is coming off back to back wins, and he would be a good test for O’Malley. Font has been in there with some of the best guys in the world, and has only lost three times since 2016 to John Lineker, Pedro Munhoz, and Ralphael Assuncao. This is another winnable fight for O’Malley, but it would be a fight that would give him some top ten experience. Another win would vault O’Malley closer to the top five and a potential title shot.

Cory Sandhagen vs Jimmie Rivera

Last night did not go as planned for Cory Sandhagen (12-2). Sandhagen entered the matchup riding high having been unbeaten in the UFC. Sandhagen was submitted early in the first round by Aljamain Sterling (19-3). The only positive for Sandhagen was that he didn’t take damage in this fight. Sterling was able to get his back very quickly, but didn’t land a ton of shots. Instead, Sterling used his diverse ground attack to lock up a rear naked choke. With the loss, it’s back to the drawing board for Sandhagen.

To me, Jimmie Rivera (22-4) would be a good next opponent for Sandhagen. Rivera is currently ranked eighth in the world, but he’s coming off of back to back losses to Petr Yan and Sterling. Rivera is a tough guy who has consistently been one of the best in the world at bantamweight. Rivera hasn’t fought since last June so you have to believe he’s looking for a fight. With the limited damage, I’m guessing Sandhagen would like to get back in there as soon as he can. This would be a solid matchup of two top ten bantamweights who are looking to get back on the right track.

Cody Garbrandt vs Marlon Moraes

Cody Garbrandt (12-3) might have landed the best clean walkoff knockout of all time last night. Garbrandt had his back against the wall and he was facing a very tough challenger in Ralphael Assuncao (27-8). Garbrandt showed massive improvements last night in terms of his fighting IQ. Garbrandt stayed on the outside and used his speed brilliantly in this fight. Just before the second round ended, Garbrandt unleashed a right hand that put Assuncao to sleep. After getting knocked out three times in a row, this is exactly the type of win that Garbrandt needed.

“Magic” Marlon Moraes (23-6-1) is in a very weird spot in the bantamweight division. Moraes is currently the number one ranked bantamweight and he’s coming off of a win against the man who is getting the next title shot, Jose Aldo. Moraes is 5-1 in his last six fights with his only loss being to former champion, Henry Cejudo. It’s very clear that Aljamain Sterling is getting the next title shot, but a Garbrandt/Moraes fight would be perfect to setup the next challenger. Yan and Aldo will fight this summer, but maybe the UFC looks to book Sterling against the winner with Garbrandt/Moraes on the under card. Either way, I think this is the fight that makes the most sense.

Aljamain Sterling vs Winner of Yan/Aldo

There is no one in the UFC right now that is probably more deserving of a title shot than Aljamain Sterling. Sterling has now won five straight fights since his last loss to Marlon Moraes. Sterling has looked sensational in his last three fights, but last night he went to the next level. He went through the fourth ranked bantamweight like he was nothing. Sterling made an emphatic statement that he is next for the title, and honestly, he should be fighting for the title now.

Petr Yan (14-1) and Jose Aldo (28-6) have their fight finalized for sometime in July. Dana White announced that the fight was done and would take place in July. Sterling will be watching this fight very closely to figure out who he’s going to be taking on for the title.

Amanda Nunes vs Megan Anderson

To be honest, I really don’t know what to do with Amanda Nunes (20-4). She looked better than ever last night completely out-classing poor Felicia Spencer (8-2) over the course of a five-round beat down. Nunes is so much better than her competition it’s not even funny. I don’t see anyone in either of her two divisions giving her a challenge. Her only realistic challenger would be the UFC’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko. I previously said it’s a super fight the UFC needs to make, but last night, Dana White said that fight wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.

With that in mind, we look at her two divisions for some challengers. After previously defending her bantamweight title a couple of times in a row, I think Nunes will look to defend her featherweight title for the second time in a row. The logical choice for a challenger would be Megan Anderson (11-4). Anderson is 3-1 in her last four fights with her only loss being to Felicia Spencer. Anderson is a very tall woman and could pose some interesting challenges for the champion. However, I don’t think anyone would give Anderson much of a chance in this one. Nunes is just so much better than anyone which is why she is the greatest of all time.

UFC 250 Recap: Amanda Nunes Crushes Felicia Spencer

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UFC 250 marked the PPV return to the fight capital of the world and the main event featured a featherweight title fight between champion Amanda Nunes (20-4), and challenger, Felicia Spencer (8-2). The UFC has come back with a bang with these events, and tonight was arguably the best night of fights yet.

Amanda Nunes Dismantles Felicia Spencer

The greatest female fighter of all time, Amanda Nunes, made her return to the featherweight division for the first time since she took the title from Cris Cyborg back at UFC 232. Nunes was a massive favorite over challenger, Felicia Spencer. A Las Vegas better even placed a $1 million bet on Nunes prior to the fight. Early on, it became very evident as to why Nunes was such a massive favorite in this fight. Nunes hit Spencer with some bombs early on in the first round. To Spencer’s credit, she did take the shots well. Spencer tried to engage in grappling the champion, but Nunes immediately tossed her to the floor. Nunes spent the rest of the round dominating Spencer on the ground, punishing the challenger with vicious elbows which cut the challenger.

In round two, Spencer tried to rush the champion, but she continued to eat big shots coming in. Spencer continued to try to engage Nunes in the grappling in round two, but again, Nunes was able to take Spencer down. The fight ended back up on the feet, and Nunes continued to use Spencer for target practice. Round three didn’t see much of a change in the fight. Nunes just stayed on the outside picking Spencer apart. Nunes really hurt Spencer in the third round with some serious leg kicks. Spencer was having difficulties putting weight on her leg at the end of the round. Nunes was just having her way with the challenger.

Entering the championship rounds, Spencer tried to press forward knowing that she was down three rounds. However, Nunes just kept picking apart the challenger. Nunes kept a smile on her face as she stayed on the outside hurting Spencer. Nunes was using every striking technique she had in her repertoire, and every single one was landing. Despite getting dismantled, Spencer kept pushing forward trying to mount some offense, but there was nothing there. Nunes rocked Spencer bad at the end of the round. Nunes locked in a rear naked choke, but the round ended before Spencer went to sleep.

In the fifth round, Nunes landed a couple of clean shots then she took the fight to the ground. Spencer tried to throw up some submissions from guard, but nothing ever appeared to be close. Nunes seemed content to coast through the fifth round. Inside the guard, Nunes cut Spencer again with some sharp elbows. With about a minute left in the fight the two ended back up on the feet. Nunes landed a few more good shots and landed a massive takedown towards the end of the round. The final bell mercifully sounded in one of the most lopsided title fights in UFC history.  Nunes took the fight by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45).

Garbrandt Sleeps Assuncao in Two

The co-main event of the event featured the return of former bantamweight champion, Cody Garbrandt (12-3), and top contender, Raphael Assuncao (27-8). Both of the fighters went into this fight on two-fight losing streaks. The former champion, Garbrandt, had a ton of pressure on his shoulders after being knocked out in his previous three fights. Garbrandt opened up the fight with some solid leg kicks while keeping the distance on Assuncao. The entire first round, Garbrandt stayed very patient on the outside picking his shots on Assuncao. Assuncao really never got the distance right in round one. Assuncao was chasing Garbrandt all round and he was eating shots from the outside including some very nice leg kicks.

Garbrandt opened round two with a blitz where landed a clean head kick on Assuncao. Garbrandt’s speed and diverse striking attack was giving Assuncao fits. About two minutes into the second, Assuncao landed a couple of decent right hands, but Garbrandt didn’t react. In the past, Garbrandt would bite down on his mouthpiece and throw caution to the wind. Garbrandt stayed patient in round two trying to strike from the outside. Garbrandt quickly floored Assuncao with a big right hook that landed behind the ear. Assuncao bounced back up and landed some decent shots. Assuncao seemed to be gaining his range towards the end of the round, but right before the round ended, Garbrandt landed a massive right hook that put Assuncao to sleep. “No Love” made a massive statement with this fight, and proved to everyone that he is still one of the best bantamweights in the world.

Sterling Puts Sandhagen To Sleep via RNC

The fight that I was personally looking forward to the most heading into the evening was the bantamweight title eliminator fight between Aljamain Sterling (19-3) and Cory Sandhagen (12-2). Petr Yan and Jose Aldo will be fighting for the vacant title this summer, but Dana White said the winner of this matchup would fight the winner of that fight. The betting odds were dead even leading up to this fight with both men sharing very similar skill sets. Sterling came storming out of the gate putting a ton of pressure on Sandhagen early. Sterling was able to get Sandhagen down, and take his back within the first minute of the first round. From there, the fight did not last long. Sterling was able to lock in a rear naked choke and put Sandhagen to sleep. “Funk Master” left no doubt to who the number one contender is in the UFC’s bantamweight division with that performance.

Magny Decisions Rocco Martin

The second fight of the PPV featured a welterweight contest between Neil Magny (22-7) and Anthony Rocco Martin (17-5). There was a lot of pressure on Rocco Martin entering this fight with him saying earlier in the week that this fight was the last fight on his current UFC deal. Rocco Martin did come out with a sense of urgency really trying to push the pace early against the Haitian Sensation. The first round featured a lot of clinch work that was initiated by Rocco Martin. Whenever the fighters were at distance, Magny seemed to have the striking advantage, landing some solid straight punches and kicks.

In the second round, Rocco Martin was able to land a solid right hand which seemed to hurt Magny. A big takedown in the middle of the round for Rocco Martin was probably the most significant part of the round. In the third round, Magny came out with a ton of urgency. Rocco Martin seemed to be tired, and Magny put the pressure on him. Magny did a really good job of not letting Rocco Martin breathe in the third round. Rocco Martin was breathing very heavy in the third, and Magny landed some clean shots throughout the round. Magny looked like he could go another five rounds after the final bell sounded, and Rocco Martin looked exhausted. In the end, the judges gave the unanimous decision victory to Neil Magny (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). After nearly a two-year layoff, Magny has come out strong in 2020 with back to back victories.

Suga Show Rolls On With a Walkoff

The PPV main card kicked off with a great matchup between Suga Sean O’Malley (12-0) and Eddie Wineland (24-14-1). I said in our preview that I thought this would be the perfect showcase fight for O’Malley and it proved to be that. Wineland is a big name and is the kind of guy who would go right after O’Malley on the feet. Early on in the fight, O’Malley did a really good job at controlling the distance with his kicks. Wineland kept trying to press forward, but he really could never get close enough to do any damage. O’Malley used his feints extremely well in this fight and put Wineland to sleep with a massive right straight in the first round. O’Malley was already on the fast track to stardom before this fight, but his stock jumped massively with this performance.

Prelim Highlights

There were some definite bright spots in the prelims tonight. One of the early standouts was Herbert Burns (11-2), who kicked off the evening with a quick submission over veteran, Evan Dunham. Alex Perez (24-5) was also incredibly impressive in his performance against Jussier Formiga. Perez was able to get a stoppage via leg kicks which marks the second straight week we’ve seen a leg kick TKO in the octagon. Perez is now 6-1 in his seven UFC fights. Perez is likely next in line for the flyweight title. Devin Clark (12-4) was able to halt all momentum for previously unbeaten, Alonzo Menifield by getting the unanimous decision victory.

One of the fights that Dana White was telling everyone about before tonight was the fight between Maki Pitolo (13-5) and Charles Byrd (10-7). Both men went back and forth early on, but Pitolo was able to get the stoppage in the second round. Byrd has now been finished in three consecutive fights. The next fight featured a featherweight contest between Brian Kelleher (21-11) and Cody Stamann (19-2-1). Stamann was coming into this fight with an extremely heavy heart after he lost his younger brother this week. Stamann turned in an incredible performance and was able to take the unanimous decision victory. The next prelim saw a middleweight contest between Ian Heinisch (14-3) and Gerald Meerschaert (31-13). This was a fight that almost didn’t happen with a corner member of Heinisch testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. However, later testing determined it was a false positive so the fight went on. Heinisch went on to make a big statement stopping Meerschaert in the first round.

Bruce Leeroy Stops The Teenage Dream

The featured prelim of the evening featured a featherweight contest between the youngest fighter on the roster, Chase Hooper (9-1-1), and Alex Caceres (16-12-1). Hooper entered this fight with a ton of momentum and a lot of eyes on him. Hooper had the most viewed fight in the history of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. Caceres was a big step up in competition for Hooper and it showed. Caceres hurt Hooper early and often on the feet. There was a massive difference in the two men’s striking ability. Caceres spent the entire first fight busting “The Teenage Dream” up on the feet. Hooper threatened a couple of times in grappling exchanges, but this fight was controlled by Bruce Leeroy. Caceres went on to take the unanimous decision victory.

Final Takeaways

Amanda Nunes has no real challenges ahead of her at this point in either one of her divisions. To me, there is only one fight to make with Nunes, and that is a trilogy fight with flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko. Shevchenko, who arguably won the last fight with Nunes, is facing a similar situation at flyweight. These two need to fight for a third time. Nunes’ dominance is something to behold. Felicia Spencer was absolutely game tonight, but she had nothing for the champion tonight.

Aljamain Sterling made a massive statement with his first round victory tonight. I’ve thought all along that Sterling deserved to fight for the title over Jose Aldo/Petr Yan, and he reinforced those thoughts tonight. “Funk Master” will now wait his turn, but there is no denying him of his shot now.

Sean O’Malley and Cody Garbrandt’s knockouts were something to behold tonight. While it was great to see Garbrandt back in the win column, to me, the night belonged to the Suga Show. O’Malley is a budding star, and he made a massive statement tonight. Look for O’Malley to jump into the top 10 in the UFC’s rankings after this performance. Do not be shocked to see the UFC take the Conor McGregor route with O’Malley. I fully expect the Suga Show to get a headlining fight in his next appearance.