UFC

Jamahal Hill knocks Jimmy Crute out at UFC Vegas 44

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On the main card of UFC Vegas 44, we saw a big time showdown in the light heavyweight division. Two of the division’s most promising young fighters face off as Jimmy Crute (12-2) took on Jamahal Hill (8-1, 1 NC).

Both of these top young contenders were looking to bounce back at UFC Vegas 44. For Jimmy Crute, we haven’t seen him since his fight against Anthony “Lionheart” Smith that came back in April at UFC 261.

That night, Crute suffered a loss after he was unable to continue after suffering a knee injury caused by a Smith leg kick. That loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for the Australian light heavyweight.

Standing across from Crute was Hill who was also looking to avenge a loss. The last time we saw Hill was at UFC 263 when he took on Paul Craig. Craig pulled guard on the dangerous Hill and ended up dislocating his elbow and scored a submission.

There was a lot on the line tonight for both of these contenders.

UFC Vegas 44 Recap

Round 1

The UFC Vegas 44 light heavyweight contest kicked off with a touch of the gloves. Crute opened the striking with multiple kicks. Hill bounced on the outside just trying to find the range.

Out of no where, Crute gets dropped by Hill but it’s a flash knockdown and Crute is back up. That was a big shot from Hill but Crute appears to be okay. Then Hill drops Crute again with a crisp right hook and Crute is out! Huge win for Jamahal Hill.

Jamahal Hill def Jimmy Crute by KO – Round 1

UFC books headliner between Sean Strickland and Jack Hermansson

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The UFC has finalized a big time matchup between top ten middleweight contenders. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report this afternoon that the promotion had finalized a matchup between Sean Strickland (24-3) and Jack Hermansson (22-6).

The matchup will headline a UFC Fight Night on February 5th. When these two meet, Hermansson will be looking to pick up his second straight win inside the octagon.

It seems like just yesterday that we were talking about Jack Hermansson being a potential title challenger. However, The Joker has fallen on tougher times as of late.

Halfway through 2019, Hermansson had won four in a row and the UFC gave him a main event on his home soil. However, Jared Cannonier was able to stop Hermansson.

Starting with that fight, Hermansson is just 2-2 in his last four. That said, he did look good in his last fight against Edmen Shahbazyan where he picked up a unanimous decision win.

Will Strickland enter UFC title contention?

This main event on February fifth will be the second straight main event for Sean Strickland. This is a massive opportunity for him to solidify himself as a title contender in the UFC’s middleweight division.

Since returning in 2020, Strickland has been on a tear. In just over a year, Strickland has gone 4-0 in the UFC and those four wins caused the promotion to book him against former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.

However, Rockhold had to pull out of their fight with back issues. The UFC has been working on another fight for Strickland for a while and finally settled on an opponent.

Strickland’s grappling is really going to be tested when these two meet in February. However, if he’s able to pass this test, you can start mentioning him in the title picture which nobody would have predicted just over a year ago.

UFC Vegas 44 Preview: Clay Guida – Leonardo Santos

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Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC Vegas 44, we will see a lightweight showdown between two aging veterans. The popular Clay Guida (36-21) returns tomorrow night as he takes on the talented Leonardo Santos (18-4-1).

Leonardo Santos will be looking to bounce back tomorrow night after suffering defeat in his last fight. The last time we saw Santos was against Grant Dawson back in March. Santos looked like he was seconds away from winning, but was stopped in the final seconds of the final round.
Had he won that fight, Santos would have won 13 out of 14 fights with one draw. So far, Santos is 7-1-1 in the UFC, but he hasn’t been very active. Those nine fights have spanned the last eight years. He is 41 years old and looked old in his last fight which could hinder his output tomorrow night.
That said, he’s taking on another older UFC vet in Clay Guida. The Carpenter is a fan favorite and for good reason. Whether it’s his antics in the cage or the constant movement, Guida has been a source of entertainment for UFC fans since 2006.
In his last fight, he lost a really close decision to Mark Madsen. Had he won that fight, Guida would have won two in a row. The veteran has been in there with some of the very best that the UFC has to offer and he will definitely test Santos tomorrow.

UFC Vegas 44 Prediction

This is a really weird fight to predict seeing as I don’t really know what to expect from Santos. Santos has had a tremendous career and he’s enjoyed a ton of success, but he hit a bit of a wall in his last fight especially near the end of the fight.
Unless he pull away early on, he could be in some trouble against Guida if he hits a wall. Guida is going to come on strong in the later rounds because he simply doesn’t run out of energy. So if Santos isn’t far ahead on the scorecards at UFC Vegas 44, the fight is there for Guida to take.
If this was prime Clay Guida, I’d say he has a great shot. However, this isn’t prime Clay Guida. Guida hasn’t shown the same ability to close the distance in recent fights. His takedown attempts aren’t great and his strikes are coming few and far between.
Ultimately, I think the Santos is going to get it done at UFC Vegas 44. I’m expecting some big early moments for Santos. While Guida will definitely score some points throughout, it won’t be enough to win a decision.
Prediction: Leonardo Santos by Unanimous Decision

UFC Vegas 44 Preview: Jose Aldo – Rob Font

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Tomorrow night in the main event of UFC Vegas 44 we will see a big time matchup in the bantamweight division with potential title implications. Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo (30-7) will be taking on the surging Rob Font (19-4).

Rob Font has been on a huge run over the last few years. After dropping a fight to Raphael Assuncao back in 2018, Font has gone a perfect 4-0. That streak started with a win over current Bellator bantamweight champion Sergio Pettis.
His last two wins came against former champion Cody Garbrandt and former title challenger Marlon Moraes. SImply put, Font has proven that he belongs near the top of the bantamweight division. However, he’s going to have his hands full tomorrow night.
It’s crazy to think about Jose Aldo’s historic career and think about the fact that he’s only 35 years old. Aldo has been one of the best fighters to ever step foot inside the UFC‘s octagon and he’s currently trying to chase down another world title.
Last year, Aldo lost in a vacant title fight against Petr Yan. However, he’s responded well with really good wins over Chito Vera and Pedro Munhoz. With a win over Rob Font at UFC Vegas 44, Aldo will be right back in the title picture at 135 pounds.

UFC Vegas 44 Prediction

This fight is so interesting because of how good both of these men are from range. For Rob Font, he’s one of the best pure boxers in the UFC. He’s incredibly slick with counters and long punches which could really give Jose Aldo problems.
That said, Aldo thrives from range when he can use his kicks and Font with his boxing-first style is usually very heavy on that front leg. Look for Aldo to potentially take advantage of that. One big thing for Aldo at UFC Vegas 44 is going to be his speed.
Font has really good timing, but he’s at a huge speed disadvantage. Aldo can explode into shots and if Font is just a little off with his timing, he could pay a big price. While Rob Font is a popular pick, I think Aldo gets it done tomorrow night. One of those big explosions will lead to a big shot and when Aldo hurts you, he will likely finish you.
Prediction: Jose Aldo by TKO – Round 3

Anthony Smith is the UFC’s odd man out at light heavyweight

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Anthony Smith

There appears to be an odd man out in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. Former title challenger Anthony “Lionheart” Smith (36-16) now finds himself in a difficult spot after suffering a recent injury. There were advanced talks to have Smith face Aleksandar Rakic in December.

However, Smith had to pull out of the fight due to knee surgery and the UFC decided to move in a different direction. While the fight with Smith could happen a few months later, the UFC pivoted and booked Rakic in a main event against former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz.

Smith is currently ranked fourth in the light heavyweight division. The only men above him are Rakic, Jiri Prochazka, Blachowicz, and the champion Glover Teixeira. Jiri Prochazka is expected to face Teixeira for the title sometime during the spring.

This leaves Smith as the odd man out at 205 pounds. Smith said this week that he would be frustrated if the UFC gave Rakic the fight against Blachowicz after Rakic has turned down multiple fights. In the end, the frustration wasn’t enough and the promotion booked that fight anyway.

What does the UFC do with Lionheart?

As mentioned, Smith is currently working his way back from a staff infection and knee surgery. Smith told MMA Fighting this week that he would be frustrated that he wouldn’t get the fight with Blachowicz after Rakic has turned down multiple fights while Smith has turned into a gate keeper.

Smith took on up and coming contenders and dominated three of them in his last three fights. Those wins snapped a losing streak which featured a loss to Rakic. The UFC likely gave Rakic the nod due to the fact that he won a head to head battle with Smith. Nevertheless, Smith has a point about Rakic’s inactivity.

The next two guys behind Smith, Magomed Ankalaev and Thiago Santos, are booked to face each other in March. Those two would make the most sense for Smith, but now the only fight out there for him might be a battle against a fellow former UFC title challenger.

In looking at the division, the only opponent that makes real sense is Dominick Reyes (12-3). Reyes has been taking some time off after suffering three straight defeats. Granted, two losses came in title fights and one came in a title eliminator against Jiri Prochazka.

Reyes is likely going to be looking for an opponent soon and Smith needs one. On paper, one might wonder why someone with three straight losses would fight someone with three straight wins. Simply put, these are the two best guys not booked in the top ten, and it would be a great fight.

Time will tell what the UFC decides to do. Perhaps Smith becomes the alternate for the title fight with Prochazka and Teixeira. Nevertheless, he’s in a very tough spot and is likely going to be in limbo for the short term.

UFC books headliner between Jan Blachowicz and Aleksandar Rakic

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Corey Anderson

The UFC has finalized a big time main event in their light heavyweight division. After Ariel Helwani first reported the possibility yesterday, the UFC finalized a headliner between former light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz (28-9) and Aleksandar Rakic (14-2).

The matchup will headline a Fight Night on March 26th. In all likelihood, this matchup will be a title eliminator at 205 given where both men stand in the division. Back in 2017, Rakic made his UFC debut and he’s been close to perfect.

Since debuting, he’s gone 6-1 with the lone loss coming to Volkan Oezdemir. However, most believe that Rakic won that fight but was the victim of a bad decision by the judges. Since that loss, he’s won two straight.

Those two straight wins came over former title challengers Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. There was talks of Rakic fighting Smith again in December, however, that fell through after Smith pulled out with an injury.

Rakic last fought at UFC 259 when he took on Thiago Santos. When we see Rakic next, it would have been just about a year away from the cage. After the layoff, he’s going to have a massive challenge in front of him.

Former UFC Champion Returns

After struggling early in his UFC career, Jan Blachowicz completely turned things around over the past few years. The Polish Power went on an incredible run that saw him go 9-1 and he captured the light heavyweight title.

The biggest win of that stretch was when he handed Israel Adesanya the first loss of his professional career back at UFC 259. Recently, Blachowicz took on Glover Teixeira at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi.

Blachowicz really never got going in the fight and was ultimately stopped by the 41 year old Brazilian. Now, Blachowicz will try to get back and get to his UFC light heavyweight title. To do that, he will need to defeat a man who could say that he’s truly never been defeated in the octagon.

At this time, there’s no timeline for the potential title fight between Teixeira and top contender Jiri Prochazka. However, that fight is likely going to take place around this same time which sets this fight’s winner up perfectly to be the next in line barring injuries.

After UFC release, what’s next for Kevin Lee?

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Today there was stunning news in the UFC. Former interim title challenger and top lightweight contender Kevin Lee (18-7) was released by the promotion. MMA Fighting was the first to report the release earlier this afternoon.

The news seemingly came out of no where. Recently, we learned that Lee was given a suspension for taking ADHD medication. The offense gave Lee a six month suspension that he’s currently serving.

This suspension came on the heels of back to back losses for the Motown Phenom. A few years ago, Kevin Lee looked like he could become a star for the UFC. After Lee defeated Michael Chiesa, his stock really took off.

Lee was 16-2 and after having a verbal back and forth with Tony Ferguson, the UFC gave Lee an interim title shot against El Cucuy. When they fought at UFC 216, Lee started out doing very well.

However, he ultimately gassed and was submitted by Ferguson. Starting with that loss, Lee has gone 2-5 in his last seven fights. After the recent skid and the issues with USADA, the UFC decided to part ways.

After UFC release, what’s next for Lee?

As mentioned, the Lee release caught many off guard and you can imagine that the former UFC title challenger will be a hot name on the free agent market. My guess is that Lee’s reps have already been reached out to by Bellator and PFL.

Lee’s brother currently fights for Bellator so that could be a spot for him. However, I think we might end up seeing Lee join the PFL. There’s no inside information here, it’s simply a hunch.

The PFL has been really trying to add to their lightweight division over the past couple of years. Former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis signing with them sent waves throughout MMA.

I can really see PFL going hard after Lee to try and secure him for their 2022 lightweight season. By the time the season rolls around, Lee’s suspension will be up and he will be ready to fight.

Who will Conor McGregor face in his UFC return?

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Conor McGregor, UFC

The biggest star in the UFC is getting closer and closer to returning. Conor McGregor (22-6) is still recovering after he broke his leg in his last fight against Dustin Poirier (28-6, 1 NC) back in July. The fight was the third installment of the rivalry between the two men.

With McGregor losing by doctor stoppage at UFC 264, McGregor went 0-2 against Poirier this year after winning their first fight. However, there are a lot of questions still surrounding the rivalry especially with the way the third fight ended.

McGregor took to his Twitter account over the weekend to answer some fans questions. Of course, many UFC fans were wanting to know when he would be making his return to the octagon.

In a response, McGregor said that he would resume full MMA sparring in April with a UFC return imminent at that point. Given that information, we should probably expect a McGregor return in the early summer months.

McGregor’s UFC return

When Conor McGregor is ready to return, the UFC is going to have some decisions to make. Who will the promotion pair him up against when he returns? McGregor has publicly said that he wants to fight for the title upon his return.

However, I just don’t know how realistic that option is. With that, what are some more realistic options for The Notorious one. I think the first obvious choice would be the trilogy fight with Nate Diaz (20-13).

McGregor and Diaz are both massive stars and they are currently 1-1 after two fights. This would get McGregor back into the swing of things against a big time opponent and it’s a winnable fight for him.

This would be the smart play in my opinion. Of course, there’s the outside chance that he comes right back to a fourth fight with Dustin Poirier. While the UFC could do this, I think they should hold off for now.

Another option to watch out for is Rafael Dos Anjos (30-13). Both men are former UFC lightweight champions and they have beef. They were supposed to fight years ago, but RDA pulled out with an injury.

They have had backstage run-ins and neither man likes each other. This could be another route the UFC could go. If I had to guess in terms of the likelihood, I would say it goes: Diaz, RDA, Poirier.

Examining Kevin Holland’s move to the UFC’s welterweight division

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Kevin Holland

There might not have been a fighter that had a better 2020 in the UFC than Kevin Holland (21-7, 1 NC). Holland went a perfect 5-0 on his way to becoming a budding star from the promotion. This perfect stretch netted Holland a main event in his first fight of 2021.

Holland was set to take on the tough Derek Brunson. The fight was going to be the first time that Holland faced elite UFC competition and a lot of questions stood to be answered. Well, unfortunately for Holland they were answered in a negative fashion.

Brunson controlled most of the fight with his wrestling and gave Holland a loss. After that fight, Holland took a short-notice fight against recent title challenger Marvin Vettori. This fight saw the same thing as Vettori dominated with his wrestling and Holland lost.

Following this loss, Holland said he would focus on his wrestling before making his UFC return. He returned last month against Kyle Daukaus but the fight ended in an odd fashion. Holland was essentially put out by an accidental headbutt and was later choked out.

However, due to the headbutt, the fight was ruled a no contest. Initially, the UFC wanted to run this fight back, however, a Holland injury forced them to pivot. During this time off, Holland has made a decision to make a change.

UFC’s Welterweight Division

Holland told MMA Fighting over the holiday week that he was taking his talents to the welterweight division. After experiencing some of the grappling from some of the bigger wrestlers at 185, Holland figures it’s in his best interest to move down a weight class where he’s more on an even playing field.

In his last few UFC fights, Holland continuously has weighed in under the 185 pound weight limit. He’s flirted with the idea of going to 170, but has just remained in more of a natural weight class. Now, Holland is making this move because he figures it’s the best thing for his UFC future.

So, who should the promotion give him when he moves down? I think there’s a couple of options, but there’s one option I would stay away from. The one option I would really stay away from is Khamzat Chimaev (10-0). Last year, Holland said he wanted to fight Chimaev during Chimaev’s rise.

Given where Holland has struggled recently, I think it would be a bad decision to put him in there with Chimaev. Instead, I think he should fight someone who would fight him where he’s at his best and that’s on the feet. A guy like Daniel Rodriguez (16-2) comes to mind as a potential opponent.

Another one could be Niko Price (15-5, 2 NC). These are opponents where Holland could fight at range and try to get back on track. Holland still has star potential for the UFC, he just needs to get back on track.

UFC books headliner between Islam Makhachev and Beneil Dariush

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The UFC has booked a massive lightweight main event that has big title implications. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto was the first to report this morning that the promotion has finalized a main event between Islam Makhachev (21-1) and Beneil Dariush (21-4-1).

The lightweight showdown will headline a UFC Fight Night on February 26th. Dariush is going to be looking to pick up his eighth straight win when these two meet in February. The last time we saw Dariush was back in May at UFC 265.

Dariush was in the co-main event and took on former interim champion Tony Ferguson. He completed dominated Ferguson on his way to winning a unanimous decision. That win put Dariush third in the UFC lightweight rankings.

While he wanted a title shot, it wasn’t in the cards and the promotion has been looking for a fight for him for months. Well, the perfect fight materialized and whoever wins will not be able to be denied a title shot.

UFC’s next Dagestani champion?

We just saw Islam Makhachev back at UFC 267 in Abu Dhabi when he took on Dan Hooker. Makhachev was able to get Hooker to the ground early in the first fight and everything was over after that. Makhachev got to a dominant position and submitted Hooker.

This was the ninth straight win for Makhachev since suffering his first career defeat. Many in the UFC believe that Makhachev deserves a title shot, however, after Justin Gaethje’s win over Michael Chandler, it’s apparent that he will get the next shot.

With that, Makhachev was forced to take another fight. This is going to be a very stiff test for Makhachev who will be taking on an elite grappler in Dariush. For the first time in his UFC career, we are going to see how Makhachev does against someone who is just as good on the mat. This is a fantastic fight and should provide a new number one contender.