So the UFC presents another pay per view offering later today, at the Toyota Center in Houston, which seems to be a common location for many of these October shows. I believe the final fight of the Velasquez/Dos Santos trilogy took place at that same venue as well.
But tonight, it is all about light heavyweight gold, and one man who will undoubtedly have his eyes glued to the screen is former champion Jon Jones, who was stripped of that title earlier this year.
To no surprise, the card is a stacked one.
Let's take a look...
Julianna "The Venezuelan Vixen" Pena (6-2-0) vs. Jessica "Evil" Eye (11-3-0)
I believe this fight was moved up to the main card, after the Hendricks/Woodley fight was pulled, due to Johny Hendricks' failure to make weight, apparently because of some medical issues. Nevertheless, this is one that I'm personally looking forward to, as the women usually steal the show. We haven't seen a lot of Pena, since she became the first female Ultimate Fighter winner in 2013. She made her big return earlier this year, with a knockout victory over Milana Dudieva. Eye hasn't had the best luck in her UFC career thus far. She only has three losses on her record, but two of those losses were in the UFC, and both were recent. In her last fight, she lost a disappointing decision to Pena's TUF coach Miesha Tate. Will the student be able to follow the teacher's example? I think so. I pick Pena to win by Unanimous Decision.
Joseph Benavidez (22-4-0) vs. Ali "Puncher" Bagautinov (13-3-0)
The flyweights are always exciting to watch, and these two are no exception. Either one of them could be the next challenger to Demetrious Johnson's title, and I think the winner probably will be. Benavidez got rocked in his last fight with the champ, but I am impressed by the fact that he never let it deter him, as he chalked up three big wins since then, and is looking for number four tonight. Bagautinov hasn't fought since his big title fight, so one has to wonder if he'll be able to bounce back as well. Needless to say, Benavidez is not a good guy to be in the cage with, if your confidence isn't at 100 per cent. I think Benavidez has nothing but gold in his eyes, and I think he may be the better man on this night, mainly because he's been on a winning streak, while his opponent's last fight ended in defeat. I'll have to go with Benavidez by Unanimous Decision.
Ruslan "Leopard" Magomedov (13-1-0) vs. Shawn "The Savage" Jordan (18-6-0)
These are some heavy hitters, here. Magomedov has chalked up quite a few wins lately, with his most significant one being a decision victory over former heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia in 2013. He is still a rookie in the UFC though, and this is arguably his biggest fight to date. The thing about Jordan is that he always fights to finish, so I think we're almost guaranteed a knockout here. However, I don't think it'l be the result that Jordan would want. I'm going with Magomedov by armbar.
"Suga" Rashad Evans (19-3-1) vs. Ryan "Darth" Bader (19-4-0)
This is going to be interesting. Both of these guys are Ultimate Fighter winners, and both have losses to Jon Jones in recent years. The major difference is that Evans is a former champion, while Bader has yet to see a championship fight from inside the cage. Evans has undoubtedly had bigger fights, but he hasn't fought since 2013, so we could see signs of rust. Bader won a decision over Phil Davis earlier this year. I think these guys will remain on their feet for most of this fight, and I'm not expecting anything very exciting here, as both of them seem to focus more on strategy than entertainment. I think this one will go the distance, with Evans getting the nod by Unanimous Decision.
Daniel "DC" Cormier (16-1-0) vs. Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson (16-3-0) for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
So it's come to this, has it? I really think Gustafsson was robbed in his fight with Jon Jones in 2013, as that was the most damage I've ever seen Jones take. The question is whether or not Gustafsson would have still been the champion, had he won that night; after all, he did get knocked out by Anthony Johnson earlier this year, and Johnson was later dominated by Cormier. But Cormier could not top Gustafsson's performance in his fight with Jones, so it's really anybody's guess who's going to win here. I think the victory over Johnson may have boosted Cormier's confidence though, while Gustafsson's loss to that same man would have likely halted his momentum. I have to pick Cormier to retain here, but Unanimous Decision.
So there you have it.
Who are you picking?
But tonight, it is all about light heavyweight gold, and one man who will undoubtedly have his eyes glued to the screen is former champion Jon Jones, who was stripped of that title earlier this year.
To no surprise, the card is a stacked one.
Let's take a look...
Julianna "The Venezuelan Vixen" Pena (6-2-0) vs. Jessica "Evil" Eye (11-3-0)
I believe this fight was moved up to the main card, after the Hendricks/Woodley fight was pulled, due to Johny Hendricks' failure to make weight, apparently because of some medical issues. Nevertheless, this is one that I'm personally looking forward to, as the women usually steal the show. We haven't seen a lot of Pena, since she became the first female Ultimate Fighter winner in 2013. She made her big return earlier this year, with a knockout victory over Milana Dudieva. Eye hasn't had the best luck in her UFC career thus far. She only has three losses on her record, but two of those losses were in the UFC, and both were recent. In her last fight, she lost a disappointing decision to Pena's TUF coach Miesha Tate. Will the student be able to follow the teacher's example? I think so. I pick Pena to win by Unanimous Decision.
Joseph Benavidez (22-4-0) vs. Ali "Puncher" Bagautinov (13-3-0)
The flyweights are always exciting to watch, and these two are no exception. Either one of them could be the next challenger to Demetrious Johnson's title, and I think the winner probably will be. Benavidez got rocked in his last fight with the champ, but I am impressed by the fact that he never let it deter him, as he chalked up three big wins since then, and is looking for number four tonight. Bagautinov hasn't fought since his big title fight, so one has to wonder if he'll be able to bounce back as well. Needless to say, Benavidez is not a good guy to be in the cage with, if your confidence isn't at 100 per cent. I think Benavidez has nothing but gold in his eyes, and I think he may be the better man on this night, mainly because he's been on a winning streak, while his opponent's last fight ended in defeat. I'll have to go with Benavidez by Unanimous Decision.
Ruslan "Leopard" Magomedov (13-1-0) vs. Shawn "The Savage" Jordan (18-6-0)
These are some heavy hitters, here. Magomedov has chalked up quite a few wins lately, with his most significant one being a decision victory over former heavyweight champ Tim Sylvia in 2013. He is still a rookie in the UFC though, and this is arguably his biggest fight to date. The thing about Jordan is that he always fights to finish, so I think we're almost guaranteed a knockout here. However, I don't think it'l be the result that Jordan would want. I'm going with Magomedov by armbar.
"Suga" Rashad Evans (19-3-1) vs. Ryan "Darth" Bader (19-4-0)
This is going to be interesting. Both of these guys are Ultimate Fighter winners, and both have losses to Jon Jones in recent years. The major difference is that Evans is a former champion, while Bader has yet to see a championship fight from inside the cage. Evans has undoubtedly had bigger fights, but he hasn't fought since 2013, so we could see signs of rust. Bader won a decision over Phil Davis earlier this year. I think these guys will remain on their feet for most of this fight, and I'm not expecting anything very exciting here, as both of them seem to focus more on strategy than entertainment. I think this one will go the distance, with Evans getting the nod by Unanimous Decision.
Daniel "DC" Cormier (16-1-0) vs. Alexander "The Mauler" Gustafsson (16-3-0) for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
So it's come to this, has it? I really think Gustafsson was robbed in his fight with Jon Jones in 2013, as that was the most damage I've ever seen Jones take. The question is whether or not Gustafsson would have still been the champion, had he won that night; after all, he did get knocked out by Anthony Johnson earlier this year, and Johnson was later dominated by Cormier. But Cormier could not top Gustafsson's performance in his fight with Jones, so it's really anybody's guess who's going to win here. I think the victory over Johnson may have boosted Cormier's confidence though, while Gustafsson's loss to that same man would have likely halted his momentum. I have to pick Cormier to retain here, but Unanimous Decision.
So there you have it.
Who are you picking?
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