Here we are, UFC 257, another Conor McGregor fight night. The guy brings eyes to the sport and he surely is entertaining. Love him or hate him, Conor has been great for the sport and a loss here would be devastating for his career. At least for any title aspirations. It probably wouldn’t hurt his ability to draw eyes and buys of his PPVs. For the UFC’s sake, they probably hope he wins and can gain a belt though, because this card is lacking and you can’t help but wonder if it’s because there are no championships on the line. Conor is definitely main eventing any card he is on, but having no championships on a PPV feels like we’re being cheated. This doesn’t look like a $70 card, and it is pretty shitty of the UFC to charge that much for this card. This card looks like the championship fight was cancelled. But I digress, this card will probably be entertaining, I’m just a bit bitter over being charged for this card. There are entertaining fights here with fighters that I do like a lot, so the goal is to win some money to make up paying for this card.
MAIN CARD
CONOR MCGREGOR V. DUSTIN POIRIER
Who doesn’t love a rematch? Especially when the first fight featured them when they were young upstarts and now they’re both former champions looking to get another shot at the title. In their first meeting, Conor KO’d Poirier in the first round. That fight was at featherweight. Both guys stopped cutting the extra weight. Poirier is a more mature fighter and has reached levels we didn’t expect him to reach. We all knew Conor was on the path to superstardom. He was calling his shots and told us his plans. Now their paths are crossing again, and the winner might have a shot at the lightweight title, whether it is Khabib or for the vacant title if Khabib’s retirement stands.
We know what Conor brings to the table. He likes to stand and trade. His hands are incredibly fast and precise. He is mostly a counter puncher and quickly reads his opponent and usually finds openings to get knockouts. An underrated part of his game is his takedown defense. He doesn’t get taken down often. If his opponent can take him down, it doesn’t tend to end well for Conor, but he does stuff most of the takedowns that are attempted on him. Conor likes to fight against takedowns by moving forward and starting quickly. His stance is wide, which leaves his leg open for leg kicks, which his opponents tend to drop their hands while throwing. He takes advantage of this. Conor’s biggest weakness is his gas tank. He may say that he has fixed it, and maybe he did, but no one can withstand 5 rounds of being wrestled easily.
Diamond is an apt nickname for Poirier. I’ve always liked him, but at featherweight I didn’t think he was talented enough to ever reach that next level of competition. But with enough force and pressure, you can turn a piece of coal into a diamond. He moved up to lightweight, and kept getting better. He became interim lightweight champion, he’s beaten some of the best lightweights in the world. Poirier is a great boxer, his footwork is excellent, he has solid power, and is accurate. An underrated part of his game is his grappling. He does have 7 submission wins. He has the ability to take the fight to the ground if he needs to.
How do I think this will play out? Both of these guys prefer brawls. They are strong boxers and like to put their stand up games to the test. It is going to be an entertaining fight. As with most Conor fights, if the fight ends quickly, I tend to think it means Conor is the winner. And if the fight goes late or the distance, Conor is probably the loser. They matchup very well. Both guys like to move forward and box. Conor likes to get reads on his opponents as they strike and throw first. Poirier likes to throw first. Poirier is hittable, but he has shown a solid chin. Conor is very precise and has put many people to sleep, including Poirier in their previous fight. If Poirier is able to get a takedown and can drag the fight into deep waters, maybe he can grind Conor out like Diaz did. This will probably be a last minute bet that will be decided based on how I’m doing.
Dustin Poirier (+250) by decision
DAN HOOKER V. MICHAEL CHANDLER
Welcome to the UFC, Michael Chandler. The welcome gift they give you is Dan “The Hangman” Hooker. I am not the biggest fan of Hooker, but he is certainly very talented, and just outside that top level of lightweight talent. This fight is the classic matchup of lanky striker v. short wrestler. Hooker has a very big reach advantage and has been very good at using it in his recent fights. He has been utilizing a volume striking game to the detriment of his power and cardio. His last two fights were really close, I thought he lost both of them. The Felder fight was very close and I wouldn’t call it a robbery, but I thought he lost it. The Poirier fight was a clear loss, but each round was a close loss. The difference between those fights and this fight though, this fight is a 3 rounder and those were 5 rounds. He banked the early rounds and took the 4th and 5th rounds off. He doesn’t have to worry about those late rounds this fight.
Chandler is a typical wrestler in the MMA world. He throws bombs with bad intentions and uses them to get inside and fight from the inside. If Chandler can fight inside Hooker’s reach, Hooker is definitely in trouble. Chandler has a lot of power and he is very strong. Chandler’s athleticism is underrated, he was a division I wrestler.
This is going to be a fun fight, and filled with violence. Chandler likes to move forward and get physical. Hooker is an active striker that throws a lot of volume when his opponents get in range. This is a matchup that screams for action. Hooker is very durable so even if Chandler lands the big power shots, I don’t think he will be able to finish Hooker. I like the over in this fight as well.
Dan Hooker (-150) by 3rd round TKO
JESSICA EYE V. JOANNE CALDERWOOD
Not the most exciting matchup, but this fight can give us an answer on who can lose to Valentina next. Well, if Joanne wins it will. I can’t imagine Eye will get a title shot again with a win. Although she may not remember that she has already faced Valentina. I hope this fight is entertaining, there should be spurts of entertainment thrown between some boringness. They’re both kickboxers but not volume strikers. Neither are much for grappling. Joanne is a bit more aggressive.
Joanne Calderwood (-125) by decision
ANDREW SANCHEZ V. MAKMUD MURADOV
Makmud Muradov (-170) by 1st round TKO
MARINA RODRIGUEZ V. AMANDA RIBAS
This is one of my hard fights to pick. I am a big fan of both fighters here. They’re both solid fighters and are names to watch in the strawweight division. Their first couple of fights I would get them mixed up. But now that I know they’re different people, I know they’re both a threat in this division. I am also not happy that they’re already fighting each other. Ribas is a world class BJJ fighter, but her striking is very underrated. Rodriguez’s grappling isn’t anything spectacular but her Muay Thai and standup game is very dangerous. This fight should be pretty fun. It will come down to who can impose their will on the other. I think Ribas’ grappling is stronger than Rodriguez’s defensive grappling. The winner of this fight should move up the division and work their way towards a future title shot.
Amanda Ribas (-330) by 2nd round submission
PRELIMS
ARMAN TSARYUKAN V. MATT FREVOLA
Arman Tsaryukan by decision
BRAD TAVARES V. ANTONIO CARLOS JUNIOR
Brad Tavares (-105) by decision
JULIANNA PENA V. SARA MCMANN
Juliana Pena (+100) by decision
KHALIL ROUNTREE JR. MARCIN PRACHNIO
Khalil Rountree Jr. (-380) by 1st round TKO
NIK LENTZ V. MOVSAR EVLOEV
Movsar Evloev (-700) by decision
AMIR ALBAZI V. ZHALGAS ZHUMAGULOV
Amir Albazi (-120) by decision
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
MATT FREVOLA V. ARMAN TSARUKYAN