Dana White is calling UFC 172 ‘possibly the biggest fight card we’ve ever done’. It isn’t. It is, however, an well-put-together event with some potentially excellent fights. Let’s have a look why don’t we?
UFC light heavyweight championship – Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira
Yet another case of an opponent’s chances being talked up to sell a Jon Jones fight. Yes, Glover Teixeira hits very, very hard and has a decent top game but – with all due respect to Kyle Kingsbury – he ain’t fighting Kyle Kingsbury.
Rampage was a KO artist too. Machida had the style Jonny Bones’s chin. Rashad had the whole package. Well guess what, they all had almost nothing for the champ and were dispatched with relative ease. Jones will be able to keep away from Glover’s dangerous power shots and takedowns will be a non-factor. In reply he will be able to threaten with kicks, punches utilising his freakish reach and put the Brazilian on the mat with embarrassingly superior wrestling.
The pick: I was this confident about Jones winning his last fight and look how that turned out. On the other hand Jones probably had something of an off night and Alexander Gustafsson was/is the perfect foil. Glover is not. Jones puts Teixeira on the mat after something of a feeling-out process, slices him up and puts him away in any way he wants within three rounds.
Light heavyweight – Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson
Anthony Johnson has given his career some decent rehab since blowing one-too-many weight cuts and gassing his way to a strangling at the hands of Vitor Belfort. He has proved his power is still there at the heavier weight classes and earned his way back to the big show with six straight wins. I think that streak is about to end though.
‘Rumble’s’ issue was always cardio. A true front-runner, he would usually smash opponents in round one or look wholly unimpressive soon after – with few exceptions. We’re talking about a man who went life-and-death with Kevin ‘The Fire’ Burns for goodness sake. Phil Davis is one hell of a tough customer for anyone, let alone a man with a history of poor stamina. ‘Mr Wonderful’ will keep the pressure on with a high volume of power kicks from WAY back out of range and get after that takedown. Once on the mat, there will be a horrific helping of knees to follow
The pick: Johnson may survive early and threaten with strikes, but he should run out of gas if he’s subjected to the kind of extended pressure that many other 205 pounders have faced from the former NCAA Division 1 champion. Mr Wonderful by second round sub.
Middleweight – Luke Rockhold vs. Tim Boetsch
I hate to be a negative nancy all the time, but Tim Boetsch’s high standing at middleweight was a bit of a false dawn. He pretty much got there with a hail-mary KO of Yushin Okami after he’d been crushed for 10 minutes, followed by a highly debatable win in a bore-fest with Hector Lombard. What followed were two whippings from Philippou and Muñoz as well as another BS win over C.B. Dollaway. He’s big, strong and a threat, but Luke Rockhold has that and so much more.
The former Strikeforce champ has spent his time in the cage over the last six years beating the hell out of everyone that has stepped in front of him. The only exception was TRT Vitor and I think it’s fair to put a rather large asterisk next to that one. You can;t take him down, you can’t knock him out (unless you’re the aforementioned spinning-kicking freak) and you can’t outwork him. Furthermore, he can submit you, knock you out or outwork you for 25 minutes.
The pick: Things do not look good for Boetsch. There’s a reason why he’s the biggest underdog on Saturday. I’m in a mood for violence, so I’ll predict a late stoppage by strikes for the AKA standout Rockhold,
Lightweight – Jim Miller vs. Yancy Medeiros
You have to admire the balls on Yancy Medeiros. tHe Hawaiian is stepping into the breach against one of the UFC’s most battle-tested 155 pounders. Despite ‘The Kid’s’ impressive showing against Yves Edwards, it’s hard to see him being able to stop Miller doing what Miller does. Pushing the pace, mixing up his game and working for a submission.
The Pick: Miller has had a couple of tough losses in the recent past, but only against top, top fighters. He still has a few more years left at the top level and he’ll show that by comfortably getting a decision win.
Featherweight – Max Holloway vs. Andre Fili
For the opening bout of the main card we have yet another lighter-weight action extravaganza. Max Holloway will put his kinetic kickboxing to the test against Fili’s… similarly kinetic kickboxing.
Max Holloway’s UFC record looks like shit, but that’s only because he has had to fight Dustin Poirier, Conor McGregor and Dennis Bermudez. Otherwise he’s looked quite the capable fighter and at just 22 is improving all the time. FIli is also a youngster at 2, but has not had the same setbacks. He has not faced such stiff competition and has capitalised by showing a bit more power than his Hawaiian counterpart and a few more grappling chops to boot.
The pick: ‘Touchy’ Fili (great name) takes this in a war, but by using his reach and landing the more powerful shots he will leave more of a mark and leave more of an impression on the judges for a decision win.
The prelims
Two words of advice for these: tune in. There doesn’t look like there is going to be a dud among these pairings. Plus, there’s only five so you’ won’t be spending a full seven hours in front of the TV. Hooray!
Flyweight – Joseph Benavidez vs. Tim Elliott
Lightweight – Takanori Gomi vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Women’s Bantamweight – Jessamyn Duke vs. Bethe Correia
Lightweight – Danny Castillo vs. Charlie Brenneman
Bantamweight Chris Beal vs. Patrick Williams
