UFC 229 Fight Predictions

     Finally!  After an almost 2 year mma hiatus, Conor McGregor is back to grace us on a UFC card.  Let's take a look at some of the other fights on the card before the main event, shall we?

Womens Strawweight Bout 

Michelle "Karate Hottie" Waterson vs. Felice "Lil Bulldog" Herrig

     This event pits the Karate based striker, Waterson against Thai Boxing based striker, Herrig.  Waterson, with a very good wrestling and submission defense will look to keep it on the feet and use her speed and angled strikes to pick apart her opponent.  Herrig, who has a very good offensive wrestling game, will look to stay in mid-striking range and throw combos and feints to gain successful takedowns.  While each fighter will be able to hold their own against each other, the bigger fighter, Herrig should get some takedowns in this, winning the fight by decision.  

Mens Heavyweight Bout

Derrick "Black Beast" Lewis vs. Alexander "Drago" Volkov

     I just want to put it out there that I am a Derrick Lewis fan.  The guy has ko'ed some heavy hitters in the UFC such as Gabriel Gonzaga, Marcin Tybura, and even beating Frances Ngannou in a decision.  His opponent Volkov, undefeated in the UFC, has ko'ed Fabricio Werdum and Stefan Struve.  Being a heavyweight bout, anyone can knock anyone out.  Lewis, the heavier fighter will look to put this one away early, throwing heavy bombs when the opportunity arises.  Volkov, the taller and faster fighter will look to evade and tough out an early barrage, taking advantage of a tired opponent in the later rounds.  As this fight can go either way, I'd like to think Lewis will catch Volkov with some PIBs (punches in bunches) to stun him and then follow up with some bombs, earning a late round 2 TKO victory.  

Mens Lightweight Championship Bout

"Notorious" Conor McGregor vs. Khabib "Eagle" Nurmagomedov

     Let's get right into it.  While McGregor hasn't had an mma fight in about 2 years, he has kept in shape and stayed ready, keeping his tools sharp for when they are needed.  Khabib has stayed busy fighting at least yearly, maintaining an undefeated record since 2008.  Conor will look to keep his distance on the feet, looking to use his reach advantage and counter or catch Khabib shooting in for a takedown with a hard left.  Khabib, will look to pressure McGregor, moving forward and staying in close range while capitalizing on any chance for a takedown.  Conor is notorious for doing his homework on his opponents and getting under their skin (see what I did there?).  He will look to push Khabib's buttons, causing him to make a mistake.  Khabib will have a better chance of winning as the fight drags on to the later rounds, but this fight should end in Conor catching the Eagle with a hard shot around mid-round 3 for a KO victory.  

UFC 227 - Dillashaw vs Garbrandt 2

This will be a quick write up, as the only interesting fights on this card are the rematches in the main and co-main events.

Lets start off with the co-main event.  This rematch features the number one ranked pound for pound fighter in mma, Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson against 2008 Olympic Wrestling gold medalist and TUF weirdo, Henry "The Messenger" Cejudo.  Cejudo (12-2-0) has complemented his high-level wrestling base with a quality striking game, garnering 6 TKO victories on record.  Mighty Mouse (27-2-1) is an exceptional fighter, excelling in all areas of MMA, showing no weaknesses.  The first match ended in an easy TKO victory for Johnson at 2:49 in the 1st round.  He is leagues above any current fighter in his weight class and will use speed and cardio to put Cejudo away in this rematch.  If "The Messenger" is having fight problems, I feel bad for him, son.  Mighty Mouse got 99 problems, but UFC aint one.  

The main event will be a rematch between T.J. Dillashaw (15-3-0) and Cody Garbrandt (11-1-0).  If memory serves, their first fight was a fast-paced striking bout where either fighter could have gotten KO'ed.  Dillashaw was rocked early by Garbrandt, who amped up the striking to seal the deal.  His overzealousness cost him the W, as TJ fired back with some shots that dazed Cody, paving the way for a TKO finish.  This rematch could again go either way, as both fighters are so evenly matched.  Cody's path to victory is keeping a calm and cool head, taking less risks such as pulling guard, and minimizing any mistakes.  T.J.'s path to victory will be goading Cody, and getting him angry enough to make mistakes.  I will be rooting for Cody in this one, as T.J. is a huge deuce.

UFC 217 Main Event Predictions

     The UFC is back at Madison Square Garden for the second time following UFC 205 with a highly anticipated fight card worthy of a return to NYC.

     The first of three championship fights on the card is women's Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk defending her title against dog faced asshole "Thug" Rose Namajunas.  While "Thug" Rose is an excellent well rounded fighter who has always performed very well in her matches, she is a huge asshole who sucks at being a human being.  She has demonstrated great cardio, long and short range striking as well as good BJJ/wrestling defense and fight IQ.  The champion has excellent striking, is hard to take down/keep down as well as great cardio.  She also has the ability to keep herself out of bad positions, making it difficult for opponents to catch her in a submission.  This will be a somewhat competitive fight, but Joanna should earn the win in the 4th round.

     The second of the three championship fights is men's Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt defending his title against T.J. Dillashaw.  This is a rivalry with a great storyline emanating from the Team Alpha Male/Duane Ludwig beef.  Since it can be quite lengthy to write about it here, a link to details of that conflict can be found here.  Because both fighters are very evenly matched, having great skill and technique, the winner may be the fighter that keeps a cooler head.  Cody appears to be the angrier of the two, verbally attacking T.J., with the latter giving the appearance of keeping his cool.  It is my belief that Cody is actually getting under T.J's skin and will goad T.J. during the fight into making mistakes.  While it would be exciting to see a finish, this fight should end up in a very close decision with Garbrandt raising his hand in victory.

     The main event of the card is Middleweight Champion Michael "The Count" Bisping defending his belt against former Welterweight Champion, and future UFC Hall of Famer Georges "Rush" St-Pierre.  Bisping is a fighter who is extremely well-rounded and excels in every area of MMA.  He has worked his way to the top, avenging losses, improving his skill set and defeating several big names along the way.  St-Pierre is also a well rounded fighter who excels in wrestling, but does have roots in Kyokushin karate and excellent MMA defense, having defeated his own who's who of top MMA fighters.  Bisping may have the advantage here, being the bigger natural fighter.  St. Pierre also may have some ring rust, not having  a professional fight since his retirement on December 13, 2013. On paper, it does look like Bisping should be the favorite,  but my opinion is that St-Pierre has been extremely determined be mentally and physically ready for this fight, setting up the right training camp and crafting the right fight strategy.  I see this fight ending in KO victory for St-Pierre in the 5th round.  There will be blood.

Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather Superfight Predictions

Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather Superfight Predictions

     Let me first start off by saying I have always been a Conor McGregor fan, even before his debut Knockout of the Knight UFC performance against middling striker Marcus Brimage.  With that said, I feel that even with Mayweather's age disadvantage, he will be able to win by points.  Here's how I feel the fight will go down:

     McGregor is a precise and powerful striker and can KO opponents within five 5 minute rounds of UFC regulations.  McGregor's fighting style can be very draining and can leave him a bit gassed in the later rounds as evidenced in his bouts with Max Holloway and Nate Diaz.  While 19 of his 21 fights have ended in stoppage (mostly TKO's), with only 2 going to decision, boxing's rules will force McGregor to conserve energy and go a longer distance than he is accustomed to.

     Mayweather, although possibly at an age disadvantage, is a very smart fighter.  Most of his TKO's came in early in his career, with UD's being his current favorite method of winning.  Mayweather has been known to neutralize his opponent's attacks and wins by sniping and evading.

      While McGregor can win this match with an early knockout, it is highly unlikely.  McGregor will no doubt be cautiously aggressive early on, conserving some energy with Mayweather using his speed to avoid strikes and score points, while weathering the early storm.  Midway through the fight, McGregor should start to slow down a little, leaving himself open every now and again for Mayweather to land a combo here and there.  Now McGregor does have a puncher's chance to end this fight in a KO, this fight should end in a decision with Mayweather soundly winning 8 rounds.

Bellator 180

I'll make this a quick write up, because I'm in the middle of watching the Larkin-Lima fight.

The best part of the live prelims on Spike was not the Championship fight between Ryan Bader and Phil Davis, but Mike Goldberg calling the fights.  He was fired from UFC rather unceremoniously about 6 months ago, and the UFC events since then has been kinda meh on the fight calling.  I mean come on, who cares what crappy John Anik has to say?  Anyways it was good to hear Goldie again, but then for the main PPV event, Goldie passes it over to Mauro Ranallo.  Lol it should be the other way around, but I guess Mike Goldberg may have to work up to it.  Anyway, here are some quick thoughts on the card:

Lima vs Larkin
Douglas Lima's brother Dhiego's face (more specifically his Bert-sized nose) annoys me, and he keeps winning matches in The Ultimate Fighter Garbrandt vs Dillashaw.  Because of this, i hope Larkin wins.

Chandler vs Primus
I've seen Chandler in some pretty good and competitive fights.  Primus is supposedly a very young fighter, but a prodigy and a huge prospect in the mma.  I will be rooting for Primus and hopes he lives up to the hype.

Fedor vs Mitrione
This is the only reason I am watching this card.  Fedor is a legend and hall of famer.  He is getting old and is definitely past his prime, but he is still dangerous and tough as @#$%.  Mitrione is surprisingly a good fighter with some notable wins under his belt, but he is not at Fedor's level.  Although I'd love to watch a long competitive fight, I a hoping for a quick ko to add to Fedor's highlight reel.

Sonnen vs Silva
Who cares?  I havent seen Sonnen win any good fights in the last few years.  His only good fight i can remember is when he beat up Anderson Silva for a few rounds before ultimately losing via submission.  He even lost to Tito Ortiz!  I mean really, he lost to old ass Tito Ortiz.  I was a big Wanderlei Silva fan, because of his super aggressive fighting style, but it has been a few years since I've seen him fight, and unless he was staying in shape and competitively training everyday, he may gas out early if he is heavy on offense.  I dont really care, but if i were to choose, I'd go for Silva.

p.s. if this Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight actually does happen, (*crosses fingers*) stay tuned for my write up on that.  =P

p.p.s. kinda bummed the Black Beast lost to Mark Hunt and then retired.  He was a good fighter in the punch hard - get tired way of Bob Sapp.  He was also funny as @#$% when he dissed Travis Browne after KOing him the F out.  People gotta retire sometime but his fights were always fun to watch ... heres to the Black Beast good luck to you son.

UFC 212 Main Event Predictions

The main event will feature UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo (26-2) pitted against Interim Featherweight Champion Max Holloway (17-3).

Holloway is on a bit of a streak with impressive wins against Cub Swanson(25-7), Ricardo Lamas(17-5) and most notably, former Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis(19-6).

This will be Aldo's 2nd fight after his stunning loss to UFC Superstar and household name Conor McGregor.

While Holloway is a highly skilled Muay Thai fighter, he is a notch below Jose Aldo, who is a fierce and creative striker who has even beaten UFC hall of famer Uriah Faber with leg strikes.  Aldo should also be fighting with a chip on his shoulder after feeling disrespected by the UFC by not allowing him a rematch with McGregor.  He had shown his newly tempered determination by demolishing a very game Frankie Edgar in his last outing at UFC 200.

It is this blogger's opinion that this fight will end with Aldo winning by TKO via strikes towards the end of the 4th round.

***Update - It looks like the fight went back and forth, until the 3rd round when Max Holloway dropped Jose Aldo with a vicious right and won via TKO with mounted strikes.  Great fight and great card overall.

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I wanted to mention another fighter on the rise, Tenshin Nasukawa.  He is a Karate based fighter who employs creative striking to KO his opponents.  He has a devastating striking combo where he shoots a fast roundhouse kick to the body then follows up with knees and punches to the body, usually resulting in a KO.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvsgixKCWg8
Let's hope we see this kid in a bigger promotion soon.

fantasy football preview week 3

ill fill out the rest after homewerk