Tag Archives: UFC

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC Fight Night and Bellator 177 Recap and upcoming MMA and Boxing Schedule

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This week’s broadcast features recaps and previews of MMA and boxing events around the world. Tony, Tom and Rich also discuss politics and go off on a couple tangents here and there. We make it the whole episode this week without mentioning MacGregor vs. Mayweather even once.

We do break down some huge upcoming fights with Andre Berto taking on Shawn Porter in the main event on Showtime this week and a fourth MMA fight between Daniel Straus and Patricio “Pitbull” Friere at Bellator 178 on Friday night. We also have another UFC fight night to discuss and last week’s MMA results to go over.

 

Combate Amerika, Fight Network, M-1, M-1 Challenge, mixed martial arts, MMA, One Championship, UFC

Pakig-away sa mga Presentasyon sa Network 5 Natapos ang Live nga mga Hitabo 3 Mga Adlaw Nagsugod Karong Gabii, Abril 20

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Alang sa Diha-diha nga Pagpagawas - Abril 20, 2017

Apil na UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov Prelims, USA Championship: Mga Hari sa Kapalaran, LFA 10: Heinish vs. Rota, M-1 Challenge 76 ug Combate Amerika 13

Toronto – Fight Network, ang kalibutan sa premier 24/7 multi-platform channel nga gipahinungod sa pagkompleto sa coverage sa combat sports, nagpresentar sa tulo ka adlaw nga puno sa aksyon sa live mixed martial arts, sugod karong gabii, Huwebes, Abril 20, uban sa Combate Amerika 13 gikan sa Tucson, Arizona, nagsugod sa tibuok kalibutan sa live prelims sa 8 sa gabii. ET ug sa 10 sa gabii. ET sa Canada nga adunay live main card, nga nagsunod sa usa ka buhi nga edisyon sa EPEKTO Wrestling sa 8 sa gabii. UG.

Ang aksyon nagpadayon sa Biyernes, Abril 21 sa 8:30 am. ET nga adunay live nga sibya sa Canada sa USA Championship: Mga Hari sa Kapalaran gikan sa Manila, Philippines. Ulahi, sa 9 sa gabii. UG, LFA 10: Heinish vs. Rota gikan sa Pueblo, Ang Colorado ug nag-air live sa Fight Network sa Canada ug sa tibuuk kalibutan 30 mga nasud sa tibuok Europe, Africa ug sa Middle East.

Sa Sabado, Abril 22, M-1 Global mibalik nga adunay usa ka buhi nga doubleheader, sugod sa 10 am. UG sa M-1 nga Pagpili 76, nga gisibya live sa Canada, ang U.S. ug sa tibuok kalibutan sa kapin 30 mga nasud sa tibuok Europe, Africa ug sa Middle East. Ang M-1 Challenge 76 Ang nag-unang kard nga gipasalida eksklusibo sa Canada sa 1 sa gabii. UG.

Katapusan, Ang Fight Network maghatag ug halapad nga coverage sa UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov sa tibuok Canada niadtong Sabado, Abril 22, sugod sa 7 sa gabii. ET uban sa live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. LobovPRE-FIGHT SHOW padulong ngadto sa LIVE PRELIMS sa Fight Network. Ang nag-unang kard gisibya live sa TSN5. AngUFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov PRE-FIGHT SHOW mopakita si UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley ug ang retiradong UFC lightweight contender nga si Yves Edwards nga nagsilbing desk analysts kauban ang host Karyn Bryant ug reporter nga si Laura Sanko nga nagpahigayon og on-site fighter interviews.

Sa pagtapos sa pangunang kard sa Sabado, sa live UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov POST-FIGHT SHOW sa Fight Network adunay mga highlight, pagtuki ug mga interbyu human sa away.

Ang gipatong-patong nga linya para karong gabhiona Combate Amerika 13, sugod sa 8 sa gabii. ET sa tibuok kalibutan sa Fight Network ug 10 sa gabii. ET nga adunay panguna nga kard sa Canada, naglakip sa:

-Sa Roma Salazar (10-5) vs. Ricky Palacios (7-1)

-Irwin Rivera (5-2) vs. Kevin Nativity (2-0)

-Benny Madrid (9-3) vs. Chad Dietmeyer (8-2)

-Daniel Rodriguez (3-0) vs. Joel Champion (4-0)

-Erick Sanchez (7-3) vs. Randy Steinke (17-10-1)
-Victor Reyna (8-3) vs. Andrew Perez (5-4)
-Stephanie Alba (3-1) vs. Alesha Zappitella (2-0)

USA Championship: Mga Hari sa Kapalaran, isalida sa Biyernes, Abril 21 sa 8:30 am. ET sa tibuok Canada, Gipangulohan ni lightweight kingpin Eduard Folayang nga nagdepensa sa iyang titulo batok ni Ev Ting. Ang bug-os nga kard naglakip:

-Eduard Folayang (17-5) vs. Home Butang (13-3) – USA ka lightweight nga titulo
-Kevin Belingon (14-5) vs. Tony Tauru (11-4-1)
-Mga Sapatos ni Danny (5-0) vs. Muhammad Aiman (2-1)

-Eugene Toquero (8-4) vs. Stefer Rahadian (4-0)
-Chan Rothana (4-2) vs. Xie Bin (2-1)

-Gina Iniong (4-2) vs. Natalie Hills (2-4)
-Michelle Nicolini (3-1) vs. Irina Mazepa (2-0)

-Robin Catalan (4-3) vs. Jeremy Miado (6-0)
-Kristohanong Lee (5-1) vs. Jianping Wan (2-2)
-Honorio Banari (11-6) vs. Jaroslav Jartim (6-5-1)

LFA 10: Heinish vs. Rota, isalida sa Biyernes, Abril 21 sa 9 sa gabii. ET sa tibuok Canada ug sa tibuok kalibutan sa Fight Network, nagpakita sa mosunod nga lineup:

-Ian Heinish (7-0) vs. lucas rota (12-6)

-Nick Urso (9-3) vs. Brandon Royval (5-2)
-Zac Riley (5-3) vs. Jerome Rivera (5-0)

-Dominic Montoya (7-0) vs. Slobodan Maksimovic (12-5-1)

-Andrew Yates (9-2) vs. Andrew Tenneson (5-1)
-Adam Martinez (3-1) vs. Michael Perez (1-0)

-Cody Yohn (3-1) vs. Mike Jones (4-2)

Ang M-1 Global doubleheader sa Sabado nagsugod sa usa ka live global broadcast sa M-1 nga Pagpili 76 sa 10 am. UG, nga maglakip sa mosunod nga mga away:

-Javier Fuentes (9-3) vs. Khamzat Sakalov (4-2)
-Elnur veliev (6-0) vs. Zalimbek Omarov (7-2)
-Anatoly Lyagu (5-1) vs. Abubakar Mestoev (4-0)
-Evgeny Goncharov (5-2) vs. Daniel Arepyev (7-1)
-Alexey Valivakhin (10-5) vs. Ingishkan Ozdoev (0-0)

Ang M-1 Challenge 76 nag-unang kard nga gipasalida sa tibuok Canada sa 1 sa gabii. ET ug giulohan sa usa ka sangka alang sa M-1 bantamweight championship. Ang bug-os nga away card naglakip:

-Movsar Evloev (6-0) vs. Alexei Nevzorov (12-2) – M-1 bantamweight nga titulo
-Khamzat Dalgiev (8-1) vs. Heliton dos Santos (15-5)
-East Nagibin (8-2) vs. Diego D'Avila (18-5)

-Sergey Morozov (6-2) vs. Fabricio Sarraff (22-9)

-Zalimbeg Omarov (7-2-1) vs. Elnur veliev (6-0-1)

Sabado sa UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Swanson vs. Lobov MGA PRELIMS hangin live sa Fight Network sa tibuok Canada sa 8 sa gabii. UG. Ang star-studded four-bout card naglakip:

-Thales Leites (26-7) vs. Sam Alvey (30-8)
-Dustin Ortiz (16-6) vs. Brandon Moreno (13-3)

-Scott Holtzman (9-2) vs. Michael McBride (8-2)

-Jessica Penne (12-5) vs. Danielle Taylor (8-2)

Kay sa usa ka bug-os nga listahan sa Fight Network sa sibya schedule, palihug bisitaha ang www.fightnetwork.com, mosunod kanato sa Twitterfightnet, mahimo nga usa ka fan sa Facebook ug sa pagbisita kanato sa Instagramfightnet.
Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

FNU Combat Sports Show: Johnson vs. Reis Preview, The Undertaker Retires, NASCAR Fights

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Rabble Rousin’ Rich Bergeron, “Psychic” Tom Padgett ug Tony “Ang Tornado” Penecale discuss the news and events of the last two weeks in combat sports. From Rampage Jackson’s rough final fight in Bellator to Chris Weidman’s controversial loss to Gegard Mousasi we cover all the major MMA happenings. We also discuss the upcoming week’s boxing schedule and look back at some events in boxing from the last two weeks. We wrap up with a discussion about NASCAR and Bellator taking advantage of their common partnership with Monster energy drink. The two sports giants announced recently that Bellator will host fight cards at future racing events.

 

Fight Network, mixed martial arts, MMA, UFC

Fight Network Presents KSW 38 & KINSA 38 Live Doubleheader this Friday, Abril 7, Plus Live UFC® 210 Coverage on April 8

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Toronto – Fight Network, ang kalibutan sa premier 24/7 multi-platform channel nga gipahinungod sa pagkompleto sa coverage sa combat sports, presents a thrilling live mixed martial arts doubleheader this Friday, Abril 7, beginning with NSS 38: Live in Studio from Warsaw, Poland at 3 sa gabii. ET followed by KINSA 38: Ascensionfrom Montreal, Canada at 6 sa gabii. UG. Live fight coverage continues on Saturday, Abril 8 with the live PRE-FIGHT ug POST-FIGHT shows for UFC® 210: CORMIER vs. JOHNSON 2.

NSS 38: Live in Studio will be televised live on Fight Network in Canada, ang U.S. ug sa tibuok kalibutan sa kapin 30 mga nasud sa tibuok Europe, Africa ug sa Middle East. Samtang sa laing bahin, KINSA 38: Ascension airs live on Fight Network in Canada and streams globally on UFCFightPass.com.

Kicking off at 3 sa gabii. UG, a pair of top Polish featherweight stars will headline NSS 38: Live in Studio, ingon ngaArtur Sowinski (17-8) makabangga sa Lukasz Chlewicki (14-5-1). Sa co-main event, Polish lightweightGrzegorz Szulakowski (7-1) welcomes Brazil’s Renato Gomes (20-9) into enemy territory. In other featured contests, Polish featherweight Roman Szymanski (9-3) meets Brazil’s Denilson Neves (11-4),Lukasz Rajewski (6-2) mga nawong Sebastian Romanowski (11-7-1) in a battle of Polish featherweights, Kamil Selwa (10-5) tackles fellow Polish bantamweight prospect Anzor Azhiev (6-2), Antoni Chmiewlewski (32-15) ug Lukasz Bienkowski (4-1) square off in a clash of Polish middleweights, labaw pa Kamil Szymuszowski (15-4) ug Grajcan Szadzinski (5-1) throw down in an all-Polish lightweight showdown.

KINSA 38: Ascension gets underway at 6 sa gabii. ET and will be headlined by a massive lightweight matchup between Ontario’s Jesse Ronson (16-8) and Montreal’s Derek Gauthier (8-6). The bantamweight co-feature pits Michael Imperato (7-2) batok sa Xavier Alaoui (7-1). In other marquee bouts, T.J. Laramie (5-1) makakuha sa Alex Morgan (6-2) diha sa usa ka featherweight contest, Speedy Gym product Dimitri Waardenburg (12-7) meets American bantamweight David Sachs (10-3), once-beaten Canadian middleweight Marc-Andre Barriault (6-1) nakigbisog Pranses Yacine Bandaoui (7-5), undefeated Canadian heavyweight Adam Dyczka (4-0) takes on debuting Bobby Sullivan (0-0), labaw pa Tyler Wilson (1-0) mga nawong Eric Daigneault (2-2) sa 135 libra, Charles Jourdain (3-0) mga nawong Mathieu Morciano (3-2) sa 145 libra, Jeremie Capony (5-0) risks his perfect record against Kevin Genereux (2-2) sa 155 pounds and highly touted flyweight prospect Tony Laramie (1-0) pursues his second professional triumph opposite undefeated Derek Falk (2-0).

Dugang pa, Ang Fight Network maghatag ug halapad nga coverage sa UFC® 210: CORMIER vs. JOHNSON 2 sa Sabado, Abril 8, sugod sa 1 sa gabii. ET with four hours of Fight Network’s original series UFC IN 60showcasing main event and co-main event stars Daniel Cormier, Anthony Johnson, Chris Weidman and Gegard Mousasi. Sa 5 sa gabii. UG, UFC 210 COUNTDOWN goes inside the lives and gyms of four athletes preparing for pivotal battles.

Fight Network will televise the live UFC® 210 PRE-FIGHT SHOW sa 7 sa gabii. ET leading into live prelims on TSN2. The show features retired UFC contenders Kenny Florian and Yves Edwards working as desk analysts with host Karyn Bryant, along with reporter Megan Olivi conducting on-site fighter interviews.

At the conclusion of UFC® 210: CORMIER vs. JOHNSON 2, sa live UFC® 210 POST-FIGHT SHOWfeatures highlights, pagtuki ug mga interbyu human sa away.

Kay sa usa ka bug-os nga listahan sa Fight Network sa sibya schedule, palihug bisitaha ang www.fightnetwork.com, mosunod kanato sa Twitterfightnet, mahimo nga usa ka fan sa Facebook ug sa pagbisita kanato sa Instagramfightnet.
boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale

Marso 30, 2017 FNU Combat Sports Show: King Mo vs. Rampage Preview, Arum says UFC will take half of Conor’s purse against Floyd

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Tom, Rich and Tony break down last week’s big fights and preview the upcoming week’s combat sports cards. The main focus is Bellator 175 in MMA this week. We also discuss some of the latest news, such as a claim made by Bob Arum that the UFC wants to take half of Conor MacGregor’s purse when and if he fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a boxing match. We also have a good laugh about Rampage Jackson being mad at King Mo Lawal for “fat shaming” him.. Rampage’s defense is vintage Cartman from South Park: “I’m not fat, I’m just big boned.”

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale

FNU Combat Sports Show: Mga Recipe sa UFC, Golovkin vs. Jacobs Results, Bellator 175 Preview

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Tom, Tony and Rich discuss the world of combat sports. Conor MacGregor will fight Floyd Mayweather, Jr. if you believe Dana White. We also chat about UFC Fight Night events featuring Jimi Manuwa and Kelvin Gastelum notching huge career wins. We look back at Golovkin vs. Jacobs and the unlikelihood of Canelo taking the fight with Golovkin now. We also preview King Mo Lawal vs. Rampage Jackson next Friday.

Pamati sa broadcast sa ubos:

 

 

 

boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Premier Boxing Champions, Showtime, Showtime Boxing, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC

SHOW SA FNU COMBAT SPORTS: Lou Duva Tribute Show, Psychic Tom Padgett absolutely crushes UFC 209 Predictions, Garcia vs. Thurman Recap and Analysis

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Tony Penecale (sa wala) and Lou Duva (sa tuo) at the Brockton, Massachusetts dedication of the Rocky Marciano statue.

Our show this week was dedicated to Lou Duva (above right with our co-host Tony Penecale). Lou died earlier this week at the ripe old age of 1994. He was a great friend to Rocky Marciano, a promoter of 19 world champions, and a man who had all his irons in the one fire that lit his life: boxing. The promoter/trainer/manager/legend appeared on the FNU Combat Sports show years back, but unfortunately the audio is grainy and spotty. If you listen closely the gems our talk contains outweigh the difficult spots to hear.

The full Lou Duva interview is here:

http://hosts.blogtalkradio.com/fightnewsunlimited/2009/07/03/joey-giambra-the-uncrowned-champion

I’m also posting a couple specific remastered clips here:

 

 

 

 

 

Tom, Tony and Rich also recap Garcia vs. Thurman, The latest on Mayweather vs. McGregor, UFC 209 and the many controversies attached, GSP’s dark warning about weight cutting, and Tony Bellew’s shocking upset of David Haye.

 

Here’s the tape: (THE TAPE DOESN’T LIE)

 

Bellator, boxing, mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, Tom Padgett, Tony Penecale, UFC, wrestling

FNU Combat Sports Show: UFC, Bellator and Boxing Recaps/Previews; Dana The Drama Queen; Muhammad Ali Jr. Detained at Florida Airport; Transgender Wrestler Wins Women’s Wrestling Title in Texas

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Tom, Rich and Tony recap the major combat sports events from last week, including a major heavyweight showdown between Deontay Wilder and Gerald Washington, a successful title defense by Liam McGeary last Friday at a Dublin, Ireland Bellator show, and a superb comeback by Jarrett Hurd over Tony Harrison. We also look forward to the inaugural women’s featherweight title bout in Bellator tomorrow night and a star-studded UFC 209 fight card including two of the most anticipated co-main events in recent UFC history. Stephen Thompson gets his rematch with UFC Welterweight Champ Tyron Woodley in the main event while Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson fight for a shot to face Conor McGregor for the lightweight title in the co-main event. We also discuss GSP’s comeback fight against Michael Bisping, a transgender female on her way to becoming a male winning a Texas women’s wrestling title, and Muhammad Ali’s son being detained at a Florida airport in early February. Check out our first Full FNU Combat Sports Show hosted on YouTube:

Halwa Warriors Fighting Championship, mixed martial arts, MMA

FORMER CAGE WARRIORS COMMENTATOR JOHN GOODEN SHARES HIS IRISH FIGHT NIGHT MEMORIES AHEAD OF CAGE WARRIORS’ RETURN TO DUBLIN

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SA HINANALING PAGPAGAWAS
Martes, February 28th, 2017

As we look forward to our long-awaited return to Dublin this weekend, the former voice of Cage Warriors remembers the raucous atmosphere of the Irish fight fans and recalls the moment he took a knee from a man who would go on to become the biggest star in the sport – Conor McGregor.

Before he started calling fights for the UFC, British play-by-play man John Gooden was the voice of Cage Warriors.

And nobody knows the passion of the Irish fight fans quite like John who, during the now-famous rise to prominence of Conor McGregor, ended up right in the thick of it with the legendary Irish fight fans during both of ‘The Notorious’ one’s Cage Warriors championship victories.

We chatted to Gooden at CW80 in London where he shared his memories of his Irish fight night experiences ahead of our return to Dublin this weekend for Cage Warriors 81.

“I think my first taste was the Helix when Conor won his first world title,” he began.

“I got injured – Conor kneed me in the face! But I stayed here to live to tell the tale!

“He jumped the fence. His fans were going absolutely bonkers, and I think if he didn’t go out, they were coming in. So strategically he did the right thing, although he sort of ran through me to get to them!

“But Josh (Palmer, Cage Warriors co-commentator) and I were covered in beer and it was just this melee of craziness. So that was really cool, because I can say I took a knee from Conor McGregor – which he apologised for, ingon man!

“The Helix was an interesting venue. It was on different levels and the last time I was there the Irish were having mixed results. Then Conor came out and, as he does, rouses everyone and came away with the victory in the fashion that he did. That just put the capstone on the night and just made it celebratory.”

After that fight both McGregor and Gooden were UFC bound, where they would reunite in Dublin at the 3Arena for UFC Fight Night: McGregor v Brandao, an event that has gone down in folklore as one of the most raucous in UFC history.

“I’ve been over to Dublin twice (with the UFC) but the first time in 2014 – McGregor-Brandao – it’s gonna be difficult to top that,” Gooden smiled.

“The fans were SO good. The Irish fighters went 100%. They won, they won, they won and the crowd loved it. They got behind every single one and it was just a big celebration.

“Going back there, it was a sensory overload and I’m gonna take that to the grave with me.”

That event has been held up as the standard by which all fight night atmospheres are now judged, but there have been plenty of examples of the Irish fans’ passion since then, whether it’s at home for a host of different events, or on the road supporting their heroes overseas.

And on Saturday night the Irish fight fans have the opportunity to cheer on their boys on home soil once again at Cage Warriors 81. With a host of Irish fighting talent set for action, including Karl Moore bidding to capture the vacant Cage Warriors light-heavyweight title against American Josh Clark, we’re expecting another party atmosphere at the 3Arena.

Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.ie, priced €98, €38 and €24, with ticket holders also able to attend a special meet and greet session with our special guest fighters Neil Seery, Nicolas Dalby and the newly crowned Cage Warriors Welterweight Champion Karl Amoussou.

The bout will be televised live on eirSPORT 1 in Ireland, BT Sport in UK and Ireland, and streamed worldwide on UFC Fight Pass.

CAGE WARRIORS 81: CONFIRMED BOUTS
Bout order TBC

PRO CARD
Karl Moore (7-1) v Josh Clark (10-3) – Cage Warriors light-heavyweight title (205lbs)
Catherine Costigan (5-2) v Wendy McKenna (1-0) – atomweight bout (105lbs)
Joe McColgan (3-0) v Arnold Quero (13-5, 1 NC) – gaan nga gaan (155lbs)
Darren O’Gorman (4-1) v Blaine O’Driscoll (3-1) – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Hughie O’Rourke (alang sa debut) v Arann Maguire (0-1) – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Håkon Foss (7-3) v Martyn Harris (4-2) – welterweight bout (170lbs)
Lloyd Manning (2-0) v Paul McBain (2-0) – featherweight bout (145lbs)
Eric Nolan (alang sa debut) v Marcin Zembala (alang sa debut) – catchweight bout (150lbs)

AMATEUR CARD
Bill Farrell v David Piotrowicz – kahayag-heavyweight bout (205lbs)
Richie Stack v Pawel Politylo – featherweight bout (145lbs)
Mark Gallivan v Makinde Adeyemi – welterweight bout (170lbs)
Francis Treacy v Stephen Treacy – gaan nga gaan (155lbs)
Austin Lynch v Alex Brophy – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Colm O’Regan v Mateusz Kopyto – catchweight bout (161lbs)
Ivan Blanita v Gary Coffey – welterweight bout (170lbs)
Gary Wallace v Darren Sarsfield – catchweight bout (161lbs)
David Whelan v Brandon Myers – bantamweight bout (135lbs)
Adam Darby v Leon Hill – gaan nga gaan (155lbs)
Barry Hanna v Matthew Whyte – catchweight bout (132.2lbs)

For the latest Cage Warriors Fighting Championship news and updates, keep track of us on Facebook, Twitter ug Instagram. View past CWFC action, free and on-demand, online via Cage Warriors TV.

Photo: John Gooden & Dan Hardy – Dolly Clew for Cage Warriors

www.CageWarriors.com

CAGE WARRIORS FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP is Europe’s leading and longest-running mixed martial arts promotion. An Irish-owned brand with offices in the UK & Ireland, CWFC is the sport’s fastest-growing organisation, having staged 80 events in 12 countries across three different continents since its establishment in 2002. Home to some of biggest stars of MMA’s past, present and future.
mixed martial arts, MMA, Rich Bergeron, UFC

UFC 209: Woodley vs.. Wonderboy and Khabib vs. Ferguson Preview and Prediction

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Pinaagi sa: Rich Bergeron

UFC 209 is fast approaching with two dynamic fights headlining the card, including a highly anticipated rematch closing the show. Fans are itching for a solid fight card to watch after multiple disappointing Pay-Per-View events left them wanting more in recent months. This is a card that could definitely deliver the action-packed, adrenaline-filled spectacle fans have come to expect for the price of admission. Here are my previews and predictions for the two blockbuster fights at the top of the bill.

Stephen Thompson (13-1-1) gets another crack at the welterweight title against Tyron Woodley (16-3-1) sa main event. Even the odds makers (Check out the M88 sportsbook for more betting info) have a tough time predicting how this highly charged rematch will go. Woodley comes in as the slight underdog at +110 to Thompson’s -140.

Bisan pa, the Champion came close to finishing the first fight in the fourth round. Rather than continue with his powerful ground and pound approach against the in-trouble Thompson, Woodley switched to a failed choke attempt instead. Thompson was able to weather the storm and eke out the draw, but he also won three out of the five rounds on the scorecard. The experts who set the betting lines are obviously conscious of this and factoring it into their calculations.

Can Woodley put himself in position to get the knockout win this time or will Thompson make the right adjustments to win every round this time?

Tagna: Stephen Thompson made one glaring mistake in the first fight that led to Woodley having a huge chance to win by knockout. Woodley picked his spots and made the fight competitive, but with both fighters knowing so much about each other now he may not be able to repeat or improve upon his performance in the first fight. Samtang sa laing bahin, Thompson is a skilled tactician, and he will focus on cage control this time around. He will use distance striking, superb defense, and constant movement to keep Woodley from doing any major damage this time around. Woodley of course has a chance to quiet all his doubters with one punch, but Thompson is the type of fighter who may not give the champ a chance to land that shot.

THOMPSON WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECISION

The co-main event will set the stage for Conor MacGregor’s return to the UFC cage. The Irish superstar will eventually face the winner of UFC 209’s co-main event: Khabib Nurmagomedov (24-0) vs. Tony Ferguson (22-3). This fight could potentially upstage the main event, despite the fact that Khabib is a -205 favorite to Ferguson’s +165 odds to win. Both fighters have enough momentum going for them to earn a title shot without fighting each other, but that doesn’t make this bout any less exciting on paper. Ferguson is 12-1 in the UFC with his only loss coming against Khabib’s last opponent: Michael Johnson. Ferguson lost to Johnson in 2012 by unanimous decision while Khabib submitted Johnson via Kimura in the third round of their UFC 205 clash last November.

Both fighters have equally imposing strengths. Khabib smothers many of his opponents with crisp wrestling skills to match his more than capable striking and submission ability. Sambo and judo are also staples of Nurmagomedov’s intense approach to cage fighting. He is so well rounded that he has an equal number (8) of submission, decision and T/KO wins, and all of his decision wins are unanimous.

Ferguson is on a nine-fight win streak. He is more of a volume striker, and he used excellent boxing to impose his will on the opponents he’s dominated so far. He is also well rounded like Nurmagomedov and can use that superb striking to secure submissions on stunned opponents. Siya adunay 8 submissions to go with 9 T/KOs and five decisions.

PREDICTION: Ferguson may be on a tremendous run right now, but Khabib’s absolutely dominated every opponent he ever faced in his MMA career. McGregor may actually be rooting for a tie in this fight so he can have some extra time to negotiate a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. while these two contenders are setting up an inevitable rematch. Apan, ties are rare enough in the UFC that one here is far fetched to imagine. It’s much more likely that this fight ends up with one fighter on the canvas, out cold or too dazed to continue. All signs point to that fighter being Ferguson, leaving MacGregor with the prospect of having to prove his mettle by beating a man nobody’s been able to beat before. Siyempre, anything can happen in that cage and anyone can have a bad night at the office, but perfection is hard to argue with.

NURMAGOMEDOV BY 2nd Round TKO