UFC 260 PREVIEW: Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou 2
UFC has been very successful with its brand since the beginning of the pandemic, but it got weird in the last few weeks with few lacklustre performances ending up with no contest and DQ galore.
Petr Yan kneed Sterling and got the DQ, a No contest draw for Edwards and Muhammad 2 weeks ago, Eryk Anders with another illegal knee ending up in a no contest, and I am forgetting some. Then last week Holland talked constantly for 5 rounds while getting wrestled by Brunson, lucky for us there were other entertaining fights.
I don't want to jinx it, but I don't think we have a chance of an illegal knee or an eye poke between Stipe and Ngannou, so let's pray the MMA gods, for giving us some good entertainment, 260 is a big number and the card is stacked!
Let's get started right away with the main event....
Main event
HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT : STIPE MIOCIC(20-3-0) V S #1 FRANCIS NGANNOU (15-3-0)
Stipe Miocic is the best heavyweight on the planet. there is no doubt about that.
He has solidified his dominance with his trilogy fights with Daniel Cormier, and continue to impose respect, admiration, in victory or defeat, while not taking himself too seriously and still managing to be an example (the dude still works as a firefighter 😌) of work ethic, how can you not love the man?
He must have felt at times a little bit disrespected by the UFC, that never really acknowledged how good he is, and even put him on the side line when he was asking for a rematch against DC, after his loss.
The fighter that he is facing, he faced him before, and masterfully dispatched him with a win by unanimous decision in 2018, but Francis Ngannou isn't the same guy anymore.
Stiopic applied the perfect strategy against him the first time around, and he might want to stay out of the way of punching range, while attacking aggressively the leg for a take down, it was clear that he had a better cardio than Ngannou in their first fight, the champion was so good at reading him, and even took few punches that would have knocked out any other fighter.
Truth is, Francis "The Predator" Ngannou has ungodly power in his right hand, and one punch is all that is needed to win. Check his KOs:
So many wins in the first round, and even if Stipe has his number, I cannot wait to see if Ngannou made the adjustments needed on the ground to beat the champion. I've heard from team mates of Francis, that he has been taking his job very seriously this year, and hasn't missed one training session, one wrestling day, and this is what's interesting to me right now, it feel like he has reached his prime, and we could witness history in the making on Saturday.
Edit: Interview on ESPN MMA
I normally give a prediction, but this time around, I really feel that they both have a chance to win the fight, that's what makes it that exciting!
WELTERWEIGHT BOUT: #7 TYRON WOODLEY (19-6-1) VS #10 VICENTE LUQUE (19-7-1)
There used to be a time when Tyron Woodley was the champion, and feared in the welterweight division. Who would have thought that 5 years later, he will be on a 3 fights losing streak and on the verge of being cut of the UFC?
I guess it just shows how quickly the wind can turn in MMA, a win could very well help him renegotiate his contract, but I doubt Tyron will stick around for long if he loses this fight.
It's such a pity because I've always been amazed by his potential, I guess it's hard to have multiple businesses, careers, while being the best fighter.
He is facing Vicente Luque that slowly has been climbing the ranks of the welterweight division, he defeated Randy Brown and Niko Price last year, lost to Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson via unanimous decision in 2019,
if I have pick winner, I will lean toward Luque, just because Woodley has been so disappointing, his last fight against Colby Covington was borderline embarrassing, I felt bad for the guy.
I am still gonna tune in, because I am morbidly curious about Woodley's demise, what the hell is going on? The odds are heavily in Luque's favor, no surprise here.
"The Suga Show" returns next month as @SugaSeanMMA announces his next fight vs. @ThomasAlmeidaCB. #UFC260 | Full story: https://t.co/TM6cBq91WU pic.twitter.com/jzmISRCjA6
— MMA Junkie (@MMAjunkie) February 3, 2021
BANTAMWEIGHT BOUT: SEAN O'MALLEY (12-0-0) VS THOMAS ALMEIDA (21-4-0)
Another fight I am curious to watch for the wrong reasons. I really want to see Sean O'Malley fight again, even after his last "calf kick fluke":
As you can see in his interview with Ariel Helwani, Sean doesn't think that he lost against Marlon Vera, I personnaly don't understand what is going on in Sugar Sean's head, but humility isn't a part of his vocabulary, self denial is a powerful drug.
He is facing a Thomas Almeida in doubt, that lost 4 out of his 5 last fights, and is also surely on his way out he doesn't get the W. Easy pick on this one, it will be a win for O'Malley, which is necessary at that point for the hype train to go back on track.
If you want to hear Sean blowing his own horn for an hour, don't miss out his show, if it rocks your boat.
Vegas odds are in the favour of Suga: Thomas Almeida +270 / Sean O'Malley -320
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT : JAMIE MULLARKEY (12-4-0) VS KHAMA WORTHY (16-7-0)
Jamie Mullarkey is fighting a soon to be 35 years old Khama Worthy, and I don't know if it's gonna be the most technical fight, but someone is getting knocked out. Sure, Khama is good on his feet, but had a somewhat questionable chin in the past, but I just don't see Jamie winning this one. Mullarkey seemed to have improved his conditioning and takedown defence, that could be a game changer.
Prelims
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT: WILLIAM KNIGHT VS ALONZO MENIFIELD
WOMEN'S STRAWWEIGHT BOUT: JESSICA PENNE VS HANNAH GOLDY
WELTERWEIGHT BOUT: JARED GOODEN VS ABUBAKAR NURMAGOMEDOV
Jared Gooden (@JGNiteTrain23) will fight Abubakar Nurmagomedov (@NurmagomedovMMA) at #UFC260 on March 27th. #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN pic.twitter.com/ww26c9hIrD
— MaRCeL DoRFF 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) March 9, 2021
Early Prelims
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT: MODESTAS BUKAUSKAS VS MICHAL OLEKSIEJCZUK
WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT BOUT : #15 GILLIAN ROBERTSON VS MIRANDA MAVERICK
FEATHERWEIGHT BOUT: SHANE YOUNG VS OMAR MORALES
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT:MARC-ANDRÉ BARRIAULT VS ABU AZAITAR
Abu Azaitar will fight Marc-André Barriault at #UFC260 on March 27th. (per @abu_azaitar) #UFC #MMA #UFCESPN pic.twitter.com/utCLTeSJKF
— MaRCeL DoRFF 🇳🇱🇮🇩 (@BigMarcel24) February 12, 2021
Cheers! Thanks for reading
Ed
Dang man, I had no idea just how well you knew your shit with this UFC stuff. I used to be the same way with NFL. Very impressive. And congrats on that 3speak visit in your last one.
Check out that superstar hanging in my comment section 😁, thanks homie! Yeah, to be honest, even if I wasn't writing about it, I would constantly be on my phone checking the latest MMA news, I can predict all their bowel movements, or do their taxes...
Yeah Threespeak got my back on this one, thankfully!
Superstars play guitar.
nah the leader of the red hot chili peppers doesn't play and he is pretty rockstar. Also Hank Moody...
Result:
Francis Ngannou is now champion! Congratulation!!! Amazing result, so happy!!