UFC 252

UFC: Greg Hardy – Khalil Rountree targeted for UFC 252

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UFC 252 is quickly becoming a card for the heavyweights. The main event features the conclusion to the trilogy between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic while the co-main event is scheduled to feature Junior Dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Combate is reporting that the UFC is planning on another heavyweight matchup for the August card.

According to Raphael Marinho of Combate, Greg Hardy (6-2, 1 NC) and Khalil Rountree (8-4) will be going head to head on August 15th. For Rountree, the Hardy fight will mark his first fight at heavyweight, and potentially the last fight of his career. Back in December, Rountree said his next fight would be his last.

From All-Pro to UFC contender

The former all-pro defensive lineman, Hardy, has had an interesting MMA career thusfar. He came storming out of the gate winning three straights by first round knockout, then he ran into issues against Allen Crowder. Hardy went on to lose that fight by DQ due to an illegal knee.

After that loss, Hardy would go on to win back to back fights. We last saw Hardy at UFC 249 where he was able to secure a unanimous decision victory over Yorgan De Castro. There are no questions that Hardy will look to make this a statement victory on his way to the top fifteen in the UFC‘s heavyweight division.

The UFC‘s heavyweight division will see a lot of action on August 15th. Three big fights currently scheduled on the main card. Top contenders Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes just won a pair of fights which secure their spots at the top of the division. The heavyweight division is lacking right now so it makes sense that the UFC is trying to capitalize on the August card by stacking the deck with heavyweight fights.

UFC: Rizin Flyweight Champ, Manel Kape, set for debut at UFC 252

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The UFC‘s flyweight division is going to see an upgrade in August as Rizin flyweight champion, Manel Kape (15-4), makes his UFC debut per MMA Junkie. For the last couple of years, the flyweight division has been extremely shallow with talent. Now, we are starting to see some positive momentum for a division the UFC was close to shutting down recently.

Kape will be making his debut against Rogerio Bontorin (16-2, 1 NC) in August. Bontorin is currently the ninth ranked flyweight in the world, so this is not going to be an easy first fight for the Rizin champ. Kape is no stranger to UFC talent as he holds wins over UFC veterans, Ian McCall and Takeya Mizugaki.

New talent for the UFC’s flyweight division

Kape is an exciting fighter who can win in all stages of the fight. Kape is a natural finisher who has only seen the judges scorecards three times in his career, losing two of those. In his 15 wins, nine have come by knockout, and five have come by submission. Kape is going to be a guy who can climb to the top of the division quickly if he’s able to win in August.

Bontorin made his debut in the UFC last year after winning on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. The Brazilian won his first two fights before dropping  a contest to former title challenger, Ray Borg. A win over Kape would be massive in Bontorin’s ambitions to climb in the UFC‘s flyweight division.

If this fight stays on the feet, you will have to think that Kape has the massive advantage. Kape has tremendous striking, and Bontorin is viewed more as a ground specialist. UFC 252 will be a big night for the flyweight division. The UFC has seen a big surge in African born fighters over the last couple of years, and Kape could be on his way to being the next big-time African fighter if he’s able to win at UFC 252.

UFC: With the trilogy booked for August, who has more on the line between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic?

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On August 15th, two of the greatest fighters that have ever stepped foot inside the UFC‘s octagon will settle their rivalry once and for all. The two champions have fought twice, and both men have secured a knockout. Daniel Cormier (22-2, 1 NC) moved up from light heavyweight and stopped Stipe Miocic (19-3) in the first round at UFC 226 to become a double champion. After waiting over a year for a rematch, Miocic got his revenge stopping Cormier in the fourth round at UFC 241 last August. Now the two men will face each other one final time. With the trilogy booked, one has to wonder, who has more on the line in this fight?

The case for Miocic

Stipe Miocic is considered by many to be the best heavyweight champion the UFC has ever seen. He holds the record for the most successful title defenses of the heavyweight title. Prior to his reign, nobody had ever defended the title successfully three times, but Miocic accomplished that with his dominant victory over top contender, Francis Ngannou. In a weird way, Miocic has been drastically underappreciated. Miocic rose through the ranks, won the heavyweight title by knockout, then had three incredible title defenses in a row before losing to Cormier. Miocic has beaten some of the greatest to ever do it, but he still doesn’t get the respect he deserves. You could make the argument that this fight is more important for him to finally get the respect he deserves. Many consider Cormier to be one of the greatest to ever do it, but two clean victories over “DC” would cement Stipe forever as the greatest heavyweight of all time.

The case for Cormier

If it wasn’t for a man named Jon Jones, Daniel Cormier might be considered the greatest of all time. Cormier has beaten the best in the sport in two different weight classes, but Jones was the one man he couldn’t beat. Cormier became the light heavyweight champion only after Jones was stripped of the title. Cormier beat all the contenders, but couldn’t get the job done against Jones either time they fought. Cormier’s light heavyweight title always had an asterisk by some pundits due to the fact that he never beat Jones.

Cormier moved up in weight to heavyweight where he had never lost in his professional career. The only reason Cormier moved down to light heavyweight to begin with was because of his close friend and teammate, Cain Velasquez. Velasquez once ruled the heavyweight division, and the teammates vowed to never fight. When Cain was out of the picture, Cormier moved up to challenge Miocic. “DC” caught Stipe with the perfect punch coming out of a clinch to secure the UFC heavyweight title. Cormier defended the title once against Derrick Lewis before losing it back to Stipe. This fight is huge for Cormier, due to the luck factor. Nobody can take away the fact that Cormier won the heavyweight title clean, but if he loses to Stipe a second time, many pundits will argue that he won the title with a lucky punch. In my opinion, you can’t contest DC’s greatness, but you know that some critics will always say that he couldn’t beat Jon Jones, and he got lucky against Miocic in their first fight if he were to lose.

Greatest UFC Heavyweight of All Time

To me, whoever wins this fight will go down as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. Even in a loss, Miocic will have more of a resume as champion, but two wins over Stipe for Cormier would take the cake. I think the fight means more for Daniel Cormier than it does for Stipe Miocic. Miocic will always have the distinction of the first champion to defend the title three times. There are no question marks or asterisks by any of his title wins. Cormier on the other hand, has an asterisk by his light heavyweight run, and many might say he just got lucky in the first Miocic fight. If Cormier is able to defeat Miocic again, nobody can takeaway or say anything about the legendary career that he has had. I cannot wait for this trilogy fight, and I encourage fight fans to soak it all in because it might be the last time we either one of these all time greats

Junior Dos Santos meets Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 252

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UFC 252 is going to be headlined by the UFC heavyweight title fight between champion, Stipe Miocic (19-3), and former champion, Daniel Cormier (22-2), but another big-time heavyweight matchup was just added to the card. Multiple reports have confirmed that former heavyweight champion, Junior dos Santos (21-7), will be meeting Jairzinho Rozenstruik (10-1) on August 15th.

A must-win for Cigano

In 2019, Dos Santos was closing in on another UFC title shot after he had gone on a three-fight winning streak. He was finally looking like the guy that we remember that knocked out Cain Velasquez years ago. He had back-to-back knockouts over Tai Tuivasa and Derrick Lewis to put him prime shape to get a title shot. Unfortunately for Cigano, he ran into Francis Ngannou. Ngannou put Dos Santos out in the first round. Following that loss, Dos Santos was stopped by Curtis Blaydes back at UFC Fight Night 166. Dos Santos does not have any easy challenge in front of him next, and he’s desperate for a victory.

Rozenstruik looks to get back on track

Rozenstruik entered 2020 as a heavyweight prospect that everyone was talking about. “Bigi Boy” had won his first four UFC fights all by knockout including a knockout of Alistair Overeem which produced one of the worst cuts I’ve ever seen. Rozenstruik was riding high until he ran into the same problem that Dos Santos ran into, Francis Ngannou. Rozenstruik called out Ngannou after his last victory, and that proved to be a mistake. Ngannou knocked out Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds back at UFC 249. Rozenstruik will look to right this ship at UFC 252 against the former champion, Dos Santos.

Battle of Heavyweights at UFC 252

UFC 252 is going to be all about the heavyweights it appears. I cannot wait to see the trilogy conclude between Cormier and Miocic, and now I’m pumped for this matchup. I think one of these two men are going to get a stoppage, but I’m not ready to make a prediction just yet. Dana White teased this afternoon that some crazy fights were getting booked, and my guess is that this card will get even deeper as we get closer to August 15th.