UFC

UFC: Two-Division Champ, Amanda Nunes, considering retirement

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The greatest female fighter in UFC history is considering walking away from the sport. In an interview with Esporte Espetacular, Amanda Nunes said that there’s nothing left for her in the sport of MMA. “I’ve achieved everything I wanted. . . I can go on with my life, maybe a new step, maybe find new talents,” Nunes said in the interview.

What’s left to prove?

When you sit back and think about it, there really is nothing at the moment for Amanda Nunes. In talking about proposed superfights, I suggested that the UFC needed to pair her and flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, up one more time. Nunes holds a 2-0 record in their series, but the last fight was very controversial. However, UFC President, Dana White, said that Shevchenko would fight strawweight champion, Weili Zhang, before she would fight Nunes again. If there’s no Shevchenko fight, who is Nunes supposed to fight at this stage in her career?

There are a couple of solid contenders for Nunes, but there’s no matchups that are remotely interesting. That’s no knock on the ladies that are lined up behind Nunes, but it’s a testament to just how good the champ is. I don’t see any competitive fights for her at 135 or 145. I think the only fight you could sell would be Megan Anderson, but Nunes just destroyed Felicia Spencer who just beat Anderson not too long ago. The only woman who can hang with her is Shevchenko, and that fight is not happening. Maybe it is time for the champion to walk away from the sport, at least for a while.

Greatest female fighter in UFC history

“The Lioness” has accomplished more than any other woman in UFC history. She’s the only woman to hold a belt in two weight classes at the same time. She’s the only fighter in UFC history to successfully defend both titles while holding onto them. She’s knocked out Ronda Rousey, she’s knocked out Cyborg, she’s knocked out Holly Holm, and she holds two wins over arguably the second greatest female fighter of all time, Valentina Shevchenko. Nunes is about to become a first-time mother with her wife and fellow UFC fighter, Nina Ansaroff. With nothing left to prove, maybe it’s time that she takes a step back and focus on other things in her life. At just 32-years-old, Nunes doesn’t have to walk away forever, but maybe it’s time to take a break from fighting. Maybe down the road she can return for a superfight if a new dominant champion emerges. Until then, there’s nothing left for her to prove. She can walk away now with no reservations as the greatest female UFC fighter we’ve ever seen.

Report: Zabit Magomedsharipov-Yair Rodriguez targeted for Aug. 29th

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Zabit Magomedsharipov, UFC

A big-time UFC featherweight contest that was originally scheduled two years ago, looks like it’s finally going to come together on the UFC‘s planned August 29th card. The contest would pair two top five featherweights against each other in Zabit Magomedsharipov (18-1) and Yair Rodriguez (13-2-1).

Zabit’s UFC Dominance

Since joining the UFC back in 2017, Magomedsharipov has been nothing short of dominant. The lengthy 6’1 featherweight holds a UFC record of 6-0. These days, the world of Russian MMA is on fire. You have the most dominant champion in the sport in Khabib Nurmagomedov, then you have Petr Yan who is getting ready to challenge for the bantamweight title, then there’s Zabit. Zabit is such a unique talent with a unique skillset especially for the 145 pound division. His last two fights were big step-ups in competition, and he passed those with flying colors. In his last fight, he defeated Calvin Kattar (21-4) back at UFC Fight Night 163. Kattar gave Zabit his toughest test yet, but the Russian was able to pull of the unanimous decision victory. This fight with Rodriguez was supposed to happen two years ago before an injury pulled Yair out of the fight. It will be very hard to deny Zabit of a title shot if he wins in August. We might have three Russian UFC champions by the end of this calendar year.

Rodriguez living up to his potential

Back in 2017, there might not have been a more exciting prospect in the UFC than Yair Rodriguez. “El Pantera” had highlight reel finishes over Andre Fili and UFC Hall of Famer, BJ Penn. He got his first real test against former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. Rodriguez showed that he wasn’t quite ready for that step-up as Edgar completely dismantled Rodriguez. Doctors had to stop the fight after the second round. Injuries kept Rodriguez out of the UFC for over a year after that fight. Upon his return, he had an incredible come from behind knockout victory over Chan Sung Jung. Following that fight, he had a pair of fights with Jeremy Stephens. The first fight ended in fifteen seconds after Stephens was accidentally poked in the eye and couldn’t continue. In the second fight, Rodriguez showed just how dynamic he could be, beating Stephens by unanimous decision. For Rodriguez, this fight is his chance to really prove he’s finally arrived at the top of the sport. It would be hard to deny Rodriguez the title shot if he’s able to defeat Magomedsharipov. Jung is the other likely contender for a title shot if he’s able to defeat Brian Ortega, but with Rodriguez holding a knockout win over Jung, Rodriguez might be next in line.

UFC’s Featherweight Division

The UFC‘s featherweight division is heating up much like the bantamweight division. The UFC‘s lower weight classes (excluding flyweight) are so deep it’s crazy. Back at UFC 250, the bantamweights put on a show. We all know how insane the UFC’s lightweight division is, and now the featherweights are showing their strength. Next month on Fight Island, you have the title fight and rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway. Later this year we should see the “Korean Zombie” and Brian Ortega fight, and now it looks like were getting the Magomedsharipov-Rodriguez fight in August. It’s going to be an insane rest of the year for the UFC’s featherweight division.

UFC: Jorge Masvidal’s offer was “Take it or leave it”

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It seems like we can’t go a day or two without there being new information that’s coming out about the UFC and one of their unhappy stars. Jorge Masvidal took to Twitter Sunday afternoon to talk about the offer that was given to him by the UFC to fight welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman.

A step back for a UFC title shot?

Masvidal signed a new UFC contract last year, prior to his fight with Nate Diaz. Historically, fighters sign long-term deals with the UFC, but they are able to negotiate on a fight-by-fight basis. Masvidal’s deal gives him a base pay, but he made much more than that base pay for his fight with Diaz. The entire issue that has come up is that the UFC is saying that they will not negotiate with Masvidal for his next fight. They offered him the title fight with Usman for the amount that is listed on his contract. Of course, Masvidal was not happy with the deal because he’d be taking a step back financially when he’s fighting for the actual title. It’s a weird situation because the UFC is well within their right to hold Masvidal to the contract that he and his management signed, but Masvidal has every right to be frustrated.

How UFC contracts normally work

Many pundits have come out recently and talked about this including former two-division champion, Daniel Cormier. “DC” said that he still is under his old contract, but he makes much more than that for his fights. While UFC contracts are signed for multiple fights, they are negotiated on a fight-by-fight basis. Masvidal also stated this in another Tweet:

Where we go from here

With this entire mess, the fans are the ones that are truly missing out. The Masvidal/Usman fight was going to be huge for the July PPV card. Don’t get me wrong, Usman/Burns is a fantastic fight, but it doesn’t have the heat that the Masvidal fight had. I’m not sure how this entire situation is going to end, but it’s not a good look right now. Many stars have issues, but the problem for Masvidal is that he doesn’t have the leverage that the other guys do. Jon Jones is considered to be the greatest of all time. He will likely get what he wants far before Masvidal gets what he wants. For fight fans, I really hope this situation gets resolved. But for now, we will all wait just like Jorge Masvidal.

UFC on ESPN 10 Recap: Cynthia Calvillo wins flyweight debut over Jessica Eye

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UFC on ESPN 10 was the third event held at the UFC‘s APEX, and the main event featured a women’s flyweight contest between Jessica “Evil” Eye (15-7) and Cynthia Calvillo (8-1-1). The card didn’t look incredibly strong on paper, but the fights were better than advertised tonight.

Calvillo impresses in flyweight debut

After struggling to make the strawweight limit of 115 pounds, Cynthia Calvillo moved up to flyweight. Standing across the octagon from her was the number one ranked flyweight in the world, Jessica Eye. Throughout the first round, both women seemed to be feeling each other out. Eye controlled the center of the cage, and seemed content to counter strike as Calvillo moved forward. Calvillo was able to land a few shots with some decent speed. Calvillo was able to land two flush head kicks early, but neither had enough power on it to do damage. Eye was able to catch Calvillo several times coming in, but Calvillo used her speed to land her shots as well. The first round was a very competitive striking match with neither woman trying to take the other down.

Calvillo came out in the second round with a little more pep in her step, but Eye continued to hold the center of the cage landing solid straight punches. About a minute into the second round, Calvillo finally shot for the first takedown of the fight. Eye stuffed the initial attempt, but Calvillo did a really good job of chaining her takedown attempts and got Eye to the ground. With about two minutes left in the round, Calvillo was able to secure Eye’s back. Calvillo was able to hold the back position for the rest of the round. The third round started a lot like the first round. Calvillo tried to use her speed on her feet while Eye held the center of the octagon. Both women landed some decent shots, but the round was won by Calvillo with about a minute left in the round when she was able to secure another takedown. Calvillo was able to secure Eye’s back for the second consecutive round.

In the fourth round, Calvillo was able to secure another takedown. For the third consecutive round, Calvillo was able to get to Eye’s back once the fight got to the ground. However, with about two minutes left in the round, Eye was able to get back to her feet. She spent the rest of the round chasing down Calvillo. Eye was able to land some solid shots which made the round a lot closer than it should have been. The fifth and final round was contested completely on the feet. Calvillo’s speed seemed to give Eye problems in the fifth as Calvillo continued to land the cleaner shots. With about two minutes left in the fight, Eye started pressing forward and sitting down on her punches. After getting hit with some clean shots, Calvillo was able to land a takedown on Eye. That takedown likely won Calvillo the round. On my personal scorecard, I had Calvillo up four rounds to one heading to the scorecards. The judges agreed with our scorecard giving Calvillo the unanimous decision victory (49-46, 49-46, 48-47).

Vettori Subs Roberson in the first

The co-main event of the evening was the fight that had the most heat on it leading into the evening. UFC middleweights Karl Roberson (9-2) and Marvin Vettori (14-4-1) were originally scheduled to fight a weeks ago. However, a tough weight cut, Roberson was not able to fight. Vettori confronted Roberson in their hotel lobby after the cancellation. Roberson then missed weight yesterday which added even more fuel to the fire. Both men entered the evening on two-fight winning streaks. In the first round, both men seemed to respect the others power early. About halfway through the round, the two men engaged in some grappling, and Roberson was able to get Vettori’s back for a few second. Vettori was then able to secure a takedown, and he almost secured a choke several times. With about one minute left in the round, Vettori landed some huge ground in pound which rocked Roberson. Roberson gave up his back, and Vettori secured a rear-naked choke which ended the fight. The third straight win for Vettori after losing a split decision to current UFC middlweight champion, Israel Adesanya. Vettori should be expecting a top-15 opponent in his next fight.

Fili takes close decision over Jourdain

One of the more anticipated fights of the evening was between UFC featherweights, Andre Fili (21-7) and Charles Jourdain (10-3). Fili came forward immediately and the two fighters looked to engage early. Jourdain and Fili exchanged some heavy shots in the first minute of the fight. Throughout the first round neither man tried to initiate any grappling as both men seemed content on a stand-up war. Fili seemed to be landing the more powerful shots throughout the round, but Jourdain floored Fili with about a minute left in the first round. Fili was able to work his way up to his feet after getting rocked. Both men continued to exchange the rest of the round, but with about ten seconds left, Fili landed a huge takedown and closed the round on top.

The second round started the exact same way as Fili immediately pressed the action to start. The two men continued to throw heavy shots at each other, but Fili continued to control the center of the octagon. Jourdain seemed content on hanging back and exploding forward with his combinations. While both men had their moments in the second round, Fili was more aggressive and seemed to be getting off first in the exchanges throughout the round. Jourdain landed some nice leg-kicks near the end of the round, but Fili landed a takedown which seemingly clinched the round for him. The third round featured some heavy exchanges early, but Fili was able to secure his third takedown about halfway through the round. Jourdain was able to get back to his feet, and he landed some heavy shots in the last couple of minutes. Fili did a good job of landing from the outside, but Jourdain was throwing smoke with everything he threw. Fili seemingly clinched the fight in the final twenty seconds when he was able to secure another takedown. In the end the judges gave the split decision victory to Andre Fili (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

Espinosa hands De La Rosa his fourth straight loss

Jordan Espinosa (15-7-1) and Mark De La Rosa (11-5) was a fight where both men had their back against the wall in the UFC. Both men entered the cage tonight with multiple fight losing streaks desperately needing a win. One of the fighters really stood out in this contest. Espinosa was able to right the ship tonight giving De La Rosa his fourth consecutive loss. Espinosa was able to use his speed on the feet to keep his distance and land some solid shots. It became very apparent early that the only way De La Rosa would win this fight is by taking Espinosa down. De La Rosa was not able to land a single takedown, and he got rocked in the first round while he was on a single leg. Overall this was a pretty dominant performance from Espinosa, and the judges agreed giving him the decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26). One has to wonder if this is the last time we see De La Rosa in the UFC for a while.

Merab Dvalishvili spoils Gustavo Lopez’s UFC Debut

It was quite the eventful week for UFC bantamweight, Merab Dvalishvili (11-4). Just a couple of days ago, Dvalishvili was expecting to fight former title challenger, Ray Borg. However, due to a family emergency, Borg had to pull out of the fight. Combate Americas bantamweight champion, Gustavo Lopez (11-5), volunteered to take the fight in his UFC debut on short notice. Lopez has serious knockout power and a decent overall skillset, but I was concerned in this matchup going in with little to no prep. In our UFC on ESPN 10 preview, I said that Dvalishvili needed to lean heavily on the wrestling in this matchup, and that is exactly what he did. After entertaining the striking early, Dvalishvili focused most of the fight on taking things to the ground. Without training, it was hard for Lopez to stop Dvalishvili from taking him down. Lopez was able to land some solid shots throughout the fight, but nothing ever threatened to end the evening for Dvalishvili. Dvalishvili stuck to his game plan, and landed a UFC bantamweight record, 13 takedowns en route to a unanimous decision victory (30-26, 30-26, 30-25).

Final Takeaway from UFC on ESPN 10

This fight card received a lot of criticism throughout the week, but I think that the card delivered. I was very impressed with the flyweight debut of Cynthia Calvillo. I think after this win a fight with Katelyn Chookagian would make sense. Calvillo should jump right into the top five of the flyweight rankings after beating the previously top ranked contender, Jessica Eye. Overall, it was a very solid night of fights, and we have a new contender in the UFC’s flyweight division.

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.

UFC Announces fight cards for June 20th & 27th

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UFC, Dana White

UFC President, Dana White, went on ESPN early this afternoon to confirm and announce the full cards for the planned UFC Fight Nights on June 20th and 27th. Both cards will be taking place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. The June 20th card will be headlined by heavyweights, Curtis Blaydes (13-2) and Alexander Volkov (31-7). That fight was announced earlier this month. The June 27th card is being headlined by a highly anticipated lightweight matchup between Dustin Poirier (25-6) and Dan Hooker (20-8). Let’s dive into some of the fights that were confirmed by White this afternoon.

UFC Fight Night – June 20th

Next Saturday night, the UFC has a pretty stacked card that will air on ESPN and ESPN+. One of the fights that I’m looking forward to is the co-main event of the evening between featherweights Josh Emmett (15-2) and Shane Burgos (13-1). Both of these two men are finishers, and bring multiple fight winning streaks into the event. A win for either guy could net them a top-five opponent in the featherweight division. Emmett is one of the more powerful punchers in the featherweight division, so anytime he’s booked, you might get to see a highlight reel knockout.

Another fight that stands out on the main card is Jim Miller (31-14) and Roosevelt Roberts (10-1). That fight will kick-off the UFC’s main card on ESPN. A quick turn around for Roberts, as he just competed back on May 30th against Brok Weaver. If Roberts is able to take out the veteran, Jim Miller, you could see a ranking in his future. This fight is being fought at a catchweight of 160 pounds. There are several very solid fights on the card next Saturday, and you can view the entire fight card here.

UFC Fight Night – June 27th

A huge main event is scheduled for this fight night in the UFC’s lightweight division, but there are solid fights up and down the card. The card is not 100% complete, so there will be additional fights added to this card as we get closer to the 27th. One of the fights that has caught my eye is Aspen Ladd (9-1) taking on former title challenger, Sara McMann (12-5). Ladd suffered her first career loss at the hands of Germaine de Randamie, but bounced back big-time with a third round TKO victory over Yana Kunitskaya at UFC on ESPN 7. Ladd has really good grappling skills, but it’ll be interesting to see her go up against the Olympic silver medalist, McMann.

The co-main event of the evening should be action packed between the always entertaining, Mike “Platinum” Perry (13-6), and Mickey Gall (6-2). Look for Perry to fight with a ton of urgency in this one. Perry is coming into the night after going 1-3 in his last four fights. A win over a solid guy like Mickey Gall would really get him back on track. For Gall, he’s trying to win his second consecutive fight after he was finished by Diego Sanchez. More prelims will be added to the card, but you can view the card as is right here.

UFC on ESPN 10 Preview: Jessica Eye welcomes Cynthia Calvillo to flyweight

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The UFC is on fire right now with a ton of hot news and fights every weekend. With that, the UFC hosts it’s third event at the APEX this weekend for UFC on ESPN 10. The event will be headlined by the popular, Cynthia Calvillo (8-1-1), who is making her flyweight debut against former title challenger, Jessica “Evil” Eye (15-7). While the main event choice has received it’s fair share of criticism, there are some solid fights on the card Saturday night. With that in mind, let’s dive into the card and breakdown some of the fights scheduled for this Saturday.

UFC flyweight debut for Calvillo against “Evil” Eye

Cynthia Calvillo was a very bright prospect in the UFC’s strawweight division. Calvillo made her debut back in 2017, and she won her first three fights in the UFC including a win over Joanne Calderwood who is next in line to fight champion, Valentina Shevchenko. Calvillo then ran into Carla Esparza who gave Calvillo her first career loss. Following that fight, Calvillo’s biggest adversary was her weight. She would miss weight multiple times which is why she is now moving up to flyweight. Calvillo is training at AKA, and I expect to see some improvement in her striking in this fight. She has pretty good wrestling, and I think the lack of a weight cut is going to help her stay fresher throughout the fight.

Jessica Eye has had a very interesting career in the UFC. When you look at her UFC record of 5-6-1, you would not think of her as a top fighter. However, since dropping down to flyweight from 135 pounds, Eye has seen her fortunes in the UFC change. She’s gone 4-1 since the drop with her only loss coming by way of a vicious head kick to the champion, Shevchenko. Eye has some pretty good hands is the type of fighter who always seem to do just enough in the judges eyes to get a decision. She doesn’t have knockout power, but she lands at a decent enough clip to win decisions.

To me this fight is going to come down to how Calvillo looks in this new weight class. I believe that she has more tools than Eye does, but it’ll be interesting to see her go up against someone stronger than she is. We are talking about two women who used to fight two weight classes apart. If Calvillo is able to mix her takedowns in with her striking, I think she can walk away with a decision. If the fight stays at range, I think Eye can have a classic performance where she just does enough in the judges eyes. The odds are even for this fight, and I can see why. I don’t see either woman getting a finish, so it will be a coin toss in the hands of the judges. I’m going to go with Calvillo here by the slightest of margins.

Prediction: Cynthia Calvillo by Split Decision

Karl Roberson vs Marvin Vettori

The co-main event of the evening is the fight that I’m looking forward to the most. We have Marvin Vettori (14-4-1) taking on Karl Roberson (9-2). These two men were supposed to fight a month ago, but due to Roberson getting sick from his weight cut, the fight was called off. A video went viral of a furious Vettori going after Roberson in their hotel lobby. These two men do not like each other, and they finally get to fight. Vettori has looked really good in his last couple of fights where he’s won against Cezar Ferreira and Andrew Sanchez. Vettori is the kind of guy who is going to constantly press forward in a fight. He’s pretty well-rounded with solid striking and a really good wrestling base. He’s got great submission skills which might come in handy during this fight.

Last year, Roberson dropped down from 205 to 185 and has won his first two fights at middleweight. Roberson has very good striking, and his power is going to translate really well at this weight class. The one knock on Roberson is his lack of ground game which could really hurt him in this fight. Expect Vettori to push the pace a lot in this fight, and for Roberson to win, his counter striking is going to need to be on point. If this fight stays on the feet, I definitely think that Roberson can win, but I see this fight getting taken to the ground throughout the fight. A popular pick in this fight is Vettori by decision, but I’m going to say that Vettori gets in a dominant position in the second round, and finishes the fight with an arm-triangle choke.

Prediction: Marvin Vettori by Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke) – Round 2

Merab Dvalishvili vs Gustavo Lopez

The third fight of the main card features a catchweight bout between Combate Americas batamweight champion, Gustavo Lopez (11-4), and Merab Dvalishvili (10-4). Dvalishvili was originally scheduled to fight Ray Borg on Saturday night, but due to personal reasons, Borg pulled out of the fight. Lopez decided to step in on short notice to fight Dvalishvili. Because Lopez is stepping in on such short notice, they have decided to make the fight a catchweight fight. Lopez is making his UFC debut on the heels of three consecutive first round finishes. In eleven career victories, Lopez has only gone to a decision once. Lopez has a great overall game, and I’m very interested to watch him make his debut on Saturday night, even if he didn’t have a camp to prepare. Him stepping in like this shows the kind of fighter that Gustavo Lopez is.

Dvalishvili has looked pretty good in his last three outings. Dvalishvili has won all three of his fights by unanimous decision. Dvalishvili is very strong and has a very strong wrestling base. With a lack of a camp, this matchup favors Dvalishvili by a lot. With no camp to prepare, you can’t imagine that Lopez’s cardio is at peak condition. Dvalishvili needs to really engage in the grappling early on in this one. Expect Lopez to come out very fast early on, but I’m not sure he will be able to stop Dvalishvili from taking him down. Even if he can keep Dvalishvili off of him in the first round, the last two are going to be a handful. I like Lopez, but it’s hard to see him pulling off a victory on such short notice over Dvalishvili.

Prediction: Merab Dvalishvili by Unanimous Decision

Andre Fili vs Charles Jourdain

The second fight of the main card is a very interesting matchup between UFC veteran, Andre Fili (20-7) and Canadian prospect, Charles Jourdain (10-2). Fili is a very solid fighter who has been in the UFC for a long time. Fili made his UFC debut back in 2013, and for the most part, has only taken losses against top level competition. You could consider him a little bit of a gate keeper in the featherweight division. Five of his six losses have been to guys like Max Holloway, Yair Rodriguez, Calvin Katter, Michael Johnson, and Sodiq Yusuff. Fili fights very well from distance, and he does a great job at mixing hin some grappling. He’s going to be a very tough matchup for the 24-year-old Canadian.

Jourdain shocked everyone in his last UFC appearance by knocking out Doo Ho Choi in Korea. Jourdain has ten professional wins, and he’s finished all ten of those wins. Jourdain has really good power, and he’s got some solid submission skills to go along with it. From what I’ve seen, he does lack a little in the wrestling game which might hurt him in this matchup, but overall, he’s a very bright prospect for the UFC. This is a very tough matchup for Jourdain. While Jourdain has very good power, Fili is one of the tougher guys to put away. Yusuff, Katter, and former champion, Max Holloway, couldn’t put Fili away. I think Fili is going to use his five-inch reach advantage well in this fight to stay on the outside. Jourdain’s best chance is to catch Fili coming in. Fili is going to mix in some wrestling in, and I think he’s going to be able to take Jourdain down a few times throughout the fight.

Prediction: Andre Fili by Unanimous Decision

Jordan Espinosa vs Mark De La Rosa

The main card on ESPN kicks off with a flyweight contest between Jordan Espinosa (14-7) and Mark De La Rosa (11-4). This is a very important fight for both men as they both enter this fight on multiple fight losing streaks. De La Rosa bounced back from his UFC debut loss to Tim Elliot by winning back to back fights which got him a shot at top contender, Alex Perez. Starting with the Perez fight, it’s been all downhill for De La Rosa, losing three consecutive fights including getting knocked out in his last performance. De La Rosa needs to make this fight ugly to win. He’s got a decent all-around game, but he doesn’t really shine in any one area which might be his problem in this matchup.

Espinosa grabbed a win in his UFC debut against Eric Shelton, but since then, he’s lost back to back fights by getting submitted in the first round. Espinosa has really good speed, and very good wrestling. I think Espinosa has a clear advantage going into this fight with his speed and overall game. I think he’s going to need to keep this fight clean by keeping De La Rosa down when he takes him down, or picking him apart using his speed on the feet. I just think when it comes down to it that Espinosa has more paths to victory. I think he snaps his two-fight losing streak by handing De La Rosa his fourth consecutive loss in this one.

Prediction: Jordan Espinosa by Unanimous Decision

UFC of ESPN 10 Outlook

This is definitely not the strongest card that Dana White and the UFC has put together, but there are some intriguing matches on this card. I’m very interested in watching the Fili/Jourdain matchup as well as the co-main event. I would not go into this card expecting to see a lot of finishes. Yes, it will likely be a long night of decisions, but I think we are going to see a couple of really good and action packed fights along the way.

UFC: “Everybody Should Get Paid More,” Says Joe Rogan

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Fighter pay has always been an issue on the forefront of the UFC world, but more recently that matter has been brought back up by some of the biggest stars seeking better paydays. Jon Jones has fought quite publicly with Dana White and has asked to be released by the UFC, while Jorge Masvidal has also told the league to let him go if he’s not worth it. He asked why he should have to fight for half as much as his previous outing because his opponent isn’t the same draw, a question that’s hard for the UFC to answer.

Conor McGregor walking away from the sport again, at least for now, can also be seen as frustration with the financial side of the sport. His brief jump to boxing was, after all, motivated at least in strong part because of the greater payday compared to MMA.

The situation surrounding how much fighters make will continue to be a talking point this year, especially as it’s affecting some of the most well known and mainstream talents in the sport, and it’s led to Joe Rogan giving his take on his podcast.

“I think everybody should get paid more. I think it’s a crazy way to make a living. I think you should get the most amount of money you can possibly get,” Rogan said. However, he did acknowledge that it’s a business and that the league doesn’t have unlimited money to spend on its fighters. “I don’t talk finances with them, but I know the WME people who own it are hurting, bad. They’re laying people off. Most businesses are hurting. All the entertainment business is (expletive).”

“You should get paid an incredibly generous amount of money to step into a cage fight for millions of people to see,” Rogan continued.

The matter of pay isn’t going to leave the conversation for a while, with the UFC still having ongoing disputes to clear up with Jones and Masvidal. Whether things will turn out in favor of the fighters or the company remains to be seen, but with the coronavirus pandemic preventing the UFC from collecting money at the gate from ticket sales at live events, it doesn’t seem like the company has the resources currently to deliver on an ideal outcome that would reward all of its fighters and please fans in the process.

Ray Borg out of UFC on ESPN 10; Gustavo Lopez steps in to fight Dvalishvili

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UFC on ESPN 10 has last one of it’s main card fighters as former title challenger, Ray Borg (13-5), has pulled out of his fight against Merab Dvalishvili (10-4) due to personal reasons. We do not know why the former UFC title challenger had to pull out of this fight. This would have been his second performance at bantamweight after the UFC forced him to come up from flyweight due to weight issues. Stepping in on short notice to make his UFC debut is Combate Americas bantamweight champion, Gustavo Lopez (11-4).

UFC Debut For Lopez

Lopez comes into this fight on a three fight winning streak. All three of Lopez’s last three wins have ended in the first round. In his eleven career victories, he’s only gone to a decision once. This is a huge opportunity for the Cambate Americas champion who is getting to fight on a main card in the UFC on the biggest network in sports for his debut. With the lack of a camp, the UFC has decided to make this fight a catchweight fight. Instead of meeting at 135 pounds, the two fighters have agreed to meet at 140 pounds.

Dangerous Switch

For Dvalishvili, the opponent change is pretty significant. In Borg, Dvalishvili had an opponent where I thought the path to victory was relatively clear. He just needed to land two takedowns to secure the victory. If he got Borg down, I wasn’t sure Borg was getting back up. Dvalishvili is going for his fourth consecutive win in the UFC in this fight.  Now he’s got to go up against a very hungry, Gustavo Lopez, who has really good submissions as well as real knockout power at 135 pounds. This is a much more dangerous fight for Dvalishvili if you ask me. If you’re not familiar with Lopez, you can check out his last fight against Joey Ruquet below. Lopez knocked Ruquet out cold in the first round.

UFC: Anderson Silva-Anthony Pettis at middleweight?

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The UFC world is anything but dull at the moment, and now we have another fascinating potential matchup to discuss that has come out of left field. Former lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis (23-10), took to Instagram yesterday to call out former middleweight champion and pound for pound great, Anderson Silva (34-10-1).

The Prospective Matchup

I have to tell you, this is not the fight that I thought would be next for the 45-year-old Anderson Silva. Silva has gone through some rough times in his career after losing his title to Chris Weidman back at UFC 162. Silva suffered a devastating injury in their second fight, and since then, he’s gone 1-4-1 in six fights. It is very clear that Silva is not the same guy, but he still has the passion to keep fighting. Silva has gone out recently and talked about fighting a former lightweight champion, but that was Conor McGregor. Silva said that he would cut down in order to meet McGregor at a weight that was more in the middle. Then out of no where, Pettis says that he wants to be the man to fight “The Spider” next.

“Showtime” is coming off of a very close decision win over Cowboy Cerrone back at UFC 249. The win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Pettis. The former lightweight champion was on his way to superstardom back in 2013. He even found himself as a cover athlete for Wheaties. Since then, he’s gone 5-8 in the UFC. Now, he’s fought some of the best guys in the world, but it’s been very clear that Pettis is no longer considered one of the absolute best fighters in the UFC. He did turn a lot of heads with his knockout win over Stephen Thompson, but he followed that win with back to back losses.

Would the UFC make this fight happen?

When you think about it, there is nothing about this fight that makes sense. Pettis is coming off of a win at 170 pounds, but his natural weight class is 155. He would be fighting 30 pounds above his natural class. Silva is a much bigger man who has fought during his career at 205 pounds. When you look at the two men, they don’t look like they belong in the octagon together. Size wise, it would resemble when BJ Penn fought Lyoto Machida years ago. I can’t exactly see the UFC jumping to make this fight, but crazier things have happened.

If this fight does come together, I really don’t see how Pettis would win unless he stops Silva. While Silva is clearly not the same guy he used to be, he’s just one fight removed from putting up an extremely competitive fight with current middlweight champion, Israel Adesanya. If Pettis and Silva fought, I think Silva would have the massive advantage. Silva does incredible work from the clinch, and we’ve seen Pettis get tired whenever a fight included a lot of clinch work. I think Silva would be the sizable betting favorite in this fight if it was to materialize. Would it be fun? Sure, it would be a lot of fun to watch. Do I think it will realistically happen? At the moment, I can’t see it, but given the current landscape of the UFC, you never know.