What?: Maybe the most highly anticipated and stacked card of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as well as holding the heralded title of first event on ‘Fight Island’ this event from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi is once in a lifetime viewing and one where the universe has brought the unthinkable to life.
When and how?: The early Preliminary fights will air at 11:00pm on Saturday 11th July on UFC Fight Pass while the main preliminary fights will take place on BT Sport 1 at Sunday 12th July at 1am until 3am. The main card will begin at 3am running until approximately 6:00am.
Why?: The infrastructure of the UFC has went above and beyond to piece together a spectacle for the ages. Three title fights and other extraordinary pairings make this an unmissable event. With potential Fight of the Year candidates all round – as well as the professionals fighting on an island – there is little else to desire from one of the most exciting sports in the world.
Highlighted Prelim Bout: Volkan Ozdemir v Jiří Procházka
Fresh off of two wins in 2019, Volkan Ozdemir will be looking to earn that third victory in a row following three consecutive losses to former light heavyweight title challengers in Daniel Cormier, Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes. While Jiří Procházka has not tasted defeat in over 1600 days with his last loss coming on New Years Eve in 2015.
With nearly a decade in the sport many fighters choose to become a rounded mixed martial artist, while others such as The Swiss fighter has opted to hone his kickboxing and striking into the best of his ability. The 30-year-old has 21-fights under his belt and has showed time and time again how he is willing to stand and strike with kicks coming from all directions making this combination between the two over painfully short or painfully long.
Procházka will be making his debut under the UFC banner following five years at Rizin where he accumulated the Light Heavyweight Championship in 2019 – he is riding a ten fight win streak with only one victory coming via decision, he is a lethal striker capable of firing off of his back foot where he may be for much of this slug fest making his counter strike a deadly offence.
Prediction: Jiří Procházka by TKO.
Amanda Ribas v Paige VanZant
Amanda Ribas and Paige VanZant were set to square off in March 2020 but their bout was postponed due to an injury to PVZ’s arm which has caused a number of issues for the 26-year-old in recent years. Both females will be hoping to gain an edge over one another in order to climb the women’s strawweight rankings where Ribas ranks just #15 while her opponent has never made it past #19.
The Brazilian has been touted as a dark horse in her division and expected to enter the title picture soon with her well rounded ability a problem for anyone opposite her in the Octagon. Currently riding a four-fight win streak with Randa Markos and Mackenzie Dern two notable victories – it is hard to identify a weakness in her game, if she does not under estimate her foe she could be on course for gold by 2021.
Van Zant has endured an awful past year with setback after setback following a broken arm in 2018 which has fractured on multiple occasions creating issues – however the 8-4 fighter will be hoping to add to her submission win over Rachael Ostrovich in 2019 and put together back to back wins for the first time since 2015.
Prediction: Ribas by Submission
Jessica Andrade v Rose Namajunas
Both former Strawweight champions and both looking to get back into the title picture against their opponent who changed their fortune. Jessica Andrade stunned the world in May 2019 when she slammed Rose Namajunas into the canvas rendering the champion unconscious to earn his first piece of gold under the UFC banner – a rematch between the pair has been postponed following personal issues with Thug Rose during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Andrade was able to pull off an upset victory in their last meeting after being down on the scorecards by a round before the finish – previously she managed to put together a four-fight win streak to earn her shot and title before suffering a brutal TKO at the hands of current champ Zhang Weili. Andrade will be looking to use her power in this rematch with her strong left hand , heavy leg kicks and grappling control her best offence.
Thug Rose will have came away from her last outing wondering where it went wrong, after keeping Andrade at bay via her reach and agile movement she suffered a freak loss as she was slammed on her head midway through round two. Namajunas caused multiple problems for her Brazilian counterpart even scoring a knockdown in the opening five minutes and opening up a nasty gash above her eye.
Prediction: Rose by Decision
Petr Yan v Jose Aldo
Both men could be the catalyst for a resurgence of the bantamweight division after years of being an after-thought – either has the potential to end the night early making it one of the most interesting pairings on the card.
Petr Yan has been billed as an unstoppable wrecking machine in the 135lbs division with his only defeat coming via split decision in March 2016. Since then he has accumulated nine successive victories including a KO of Hall of Famer Urijah Faber in 2019 – his style of fighting limits his opponents greatly, luring his prey into a corner before accurately unloading for a finish which could be used again against a legend known for his explosive striking and patience.
Jose Aldo will feel unlucky to have been on the losing end in his most recent fight to Marlon Moraes, one that many including UFC President Dana White deemed The Brazilian to have won thus earning him this opportunity. With this being only his second bantamweight outing it is hard to predict how well he will appear amidst the increased tension of the Covid-19 pandemic. A quick fighter with expert timing it could be a rock meeting a hard place against Yan – or a case of who strikes first.
Prediction: Yan by KO.
Alexander Volkanovski v Max Holloway
Among all the craziness surrounding the hype of ‘Fight Island’ one comment almost went unheard – Max Holloway claimed he strictly trained over zoom for his upcoming title fight prompting raised eyebrows and likely an increase in bets on his opponent. This second rematch of the night has high expectations following their previous outing in December 2019.
Alexander Volkanovski is a man who has not suffered defeat since May 2013, over 2600 days ago; and it culminated in the Australian dethroning the man Joe Rogan claimed to the 'best featherweight of all time'. Training out of 2019 gym of the year -City Kickboxing, his unrelenting leg kicks and precision timing causes too many problems for his opponent as he landed over 150 strikes against the man he defeated most recently although he did attempt four take-downs succeeding with none.
Holloway is without a doubt one of the most universally liked stars of the UFC with the 28-year-old able to put on a spectacle time and time again with notable wins over Jeremy Stephens, a double over Jose Aldo, Anthony Pettis and Brtian Ortega to name a few; with his unique brand of punches usually leaving his opponents brandishing a shade of red in the facial area. The Hawaii native’s striking is very well respected and documented having landed over 2000 sig. strikes in his UFC career compared to just 684 for Volkanovski.
Prediction: Volkanovski via Decision
Kamaru Usman v Jorge Masvidal
Few fighters have enjoyed a ‘Resurrection’ that Jorge Masvidal experienced in the last year or so, having knocked out Darren Till in March of 2019 he went on to record the fastest knockout in UFC history at just five-seconds before defeating Nate Diaz for the first ever BMF Title – now he has earnt his first ever World Title opportunity against a man he has a clear problem with.
The whole article could be a love-story to how this fight came to exist – as Kamaru Usman was set to put his Welterweight Championship on the line against his former teammate Gilburt Burns who defeated Tyron Woodley just over 40 days ago, but tragedy would strike as the challenger tested positive for Coronavirus meaning he was was unable to compete; enter Gamebred.
Having been the people's no.1 contender since the end of 2019 – Masvidal has been at war with the UFC over an increase in pay but with Dana White and co. experiencing a decrease in funds due to the lack of live attendance, the 35-year-old was denied a pay rise, leaving him on the side lines until this unique opportunity presented itself.
Now with payment sorted, after 48-professional fights – Masvidal now competes for a Championship; against The Nigerian Nightmare, a man who has dominated nearly all who have stood before him with his only defeat coming in his second professional outing in May 2013.
While Usman will have a slight reach and height advantage, he may have a number of other assets that could halt the Masvidal movement from erupting into ecstasy. The 33-year-old is a well rounded Martial artist having been bred in wrestling during High school and since developing his striking to match the very best in his division, coupled with one of the best gas tanks to match, the 16-1 fighter a dangerous proposition for all opposition.
Masvidal may have the hype behind him and while he was not expected to fight for the title a week ago – it is likely he was preparing behind closed doors for an eventual showdown with Usman down the road. Having stunned Askren and Till recently, the Miami native has turned a corner and never looked back – stepping away from journeyman status and into megastar status rivaling Conor McGregor for popularity.
His fans will not however be in attendance in the empty arena and the former backyard brawler will be hoping to keep this fight standing where he will potentially have the best hope of an advantage, with former training partner Woodley claiming he is the best boxer he has seen following whispers of a showdown with Mexican champion Canelo Alvarez at one point.
Prediction: Usman by TKO
Disagree with any of these picks? Then get in touch with the writer at @JLampkinMedia
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