rodrigoviolim Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Main card predictions: FlyW: Yosuke SARUTA vs. Azam GAFOROV W FlyW: Kana WATANABE vs. Daiana TORQUATO BW: Kai ASAKURA vs. Shamil SHAKHBULATOV HW: Roy NELSON vs. Philip LINS HW Tournament QF: Ben ROTHWELL vs. Tanner BOSER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageRage Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 Main card predictions: FlyW: Yosuke SARUTA vs. Azam GAFOROV W FlyW: Kana WATANABE vs. Daiana TORQUATO BW: Kai ASAKURA vs. Shamil SHAKHBULATOV HW: Roy NELSON vs. Philip LINS HW Tournament QF: Ben ROTHWELL vs. Tanner BOSER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 TITLE CONTENDER CAUGHT ON PEDs! On the last UBL card, Juan Puerta earned a title shot in the UBL Flyweight division after defeating Rasul Albaskhanov in the UBL Flyweight Tournament. Turns out he was on PEDs, like most guys are in the UBL. Do these guys not realize they do drug testing? But as usually, he's not the only one guilty of such crimes! Featherweight Daniel Weichel had earned a beautiful submission win over Cody Stamann. Well, Weichel WAS ON BOTH TRT AND PEDs, DAMN SIR! Rumor has it he has been cut from the company, while Puerta will serve his suspension and come back in 2022. In non-major news, the MW bout between Bartosz Fabinski and Yasubey Enomoto was scrapped off the prelims because of an injury. Big fights between UBL 4 & UBL 5: UFC Cory Sandhagen beat Petr Yan by 4th round Kneebar sub for the UFC BW title. Paulo Costa beat Marvin Vettori by 2nd round TKO for the UFC MW title (which was vacated after Adesanya failed a drug test). Jorge Masvidal beat Michael Chiesa by 2nd round TKO. Darren Till beat Kelvin Gastelum by UD. UBL 5: DEMOLITION - Rothwell vs. Boser 16 June, 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: WW: Gadzhimurat Khiramagomedov defeats Shavkat Rakhmonov by UD (30-27, 29-28 x 2). LW: Islam Mamedov defeats Loik Radzhabov by UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28) in a Fantastic bout. MW: Vladimir Mineev defeats Salamu Abdurakhmanov by UD (29-28 x 3). W FlyW: #14 Gina Mazany defeats Silvana Gomez Juarez by SD (29-28 x 2, 28-29). FW: Alex Gilpin defeats #12 Henry Corrales by RNC submission @4:32, round 3. LHW: Jordan Johnson defeats #12 Nasrudin Nasrudinov by UD (29-28 X 3). Johnson calls out Aleksei Butorin, thinking it would make for a more fun fight than the one he's just had. Main card: 1. Flyweight Bout: #9 Yosuke SARUTA (21-9-3, -520) vs. #14 Azam GAFOROV (12-1, +410) Round 1: Gaforov is pressuring Saruta, but Saruta is connecting more with his counter jabs. Eventually, Gaforov walks into the pocket and finally manages to follow up on his jab with a beautiful head kick, but Saruta eats it. But Gaforov hits another jab and a second, stronger head kick, AND SARUTA HITS THE FLOOR! Gaforov is throwing big hands and the ref has to jump in! Winner: Gaforov (Kick & pound TKO @2:00, round 1). Rating: Great. Post fight: Gaforov thanks everyone for supporting him and says he'd like a fight against Tyson Nam next. It might work.. 2. Women's Flyweight Bout: #10 Kana WATANABE (9-0-1, -580) vs. #12 DAIANA TORQUATO (10-3, +460) Round 1: The feeling out process sees them both defend a bunch of punches, and it's Torquato that connects with a pair of jabs first. Kana misses a big hook and gets struck with a jab and a cross. Torquato connects with a hook, and Kana can only touch her with a jab. Another hook lands for Torquato, and Kana manages to catch her with a cross. Torquato is pressuring, she missed a combo from the pocket but then struck with a hook to the ribs. She then strikes with a good straight. They then go on to show spectacular defensive movements for the remaining 2 minutes of round 1, as despite the many strikes that are thrown, only a jab from Torquato lands. 10-9 Torquato, as Kana Watanabe didn't even attempt to start grappling. Round 2: Kana hits a leg kick and gets touched with 2 jabs. Torquato hits a jab-cross combo and creates a cut under Kana's eye. Kana hits a nice 1-2. Toruqato hits an overhand left. Kana buys a feint and gets struck with a body punch. Finally, Kana dodges a cross and hits with a jab-hook combo. Torquato hits a cross and then they display good defensive movements again, for a minute, and then Kana lands a cross of her own. Torquato, seemingly a bit tired now, hits a jab-cross combo and gets stung with a big hook by Kana. The ref pauses to check the cut on Kana, and as the bout restarts with 30 seconds left, Kana finally shoots and gets the TD, as Torquato pulls guard. She smothers her for the last seconds of the round. 19-19, as Kana's late explosion turned the round in her favor. Round 3: They yet again show off their high level good defensive movements, and Torquato manages to hit a pair of jabs. Kana hits a straight right, but Torquato comes forward with 2 jabs and a hook, and Kana'd better start grappling if she wants to keep her 0. Torquato hits a good jab-hook combo. Finally, Kana shoots with 90 seconds left. She works a bit, but manages to get Torquato against the cage, where she sets up a spectacular judo throw, and now Torquato is sitting against the cage. KANA LOOKS FOR THE GUILLOTINE! AND IT'S IN, TORQUATO TAPS! Good work from Watanabe! Winner: Watanabe (Guillotine submission @4:35, round 3). Rating: Fantastic. Post-fight: Kana seems very happy, and while her interview is pretty generic, she is pretty pretty, which makes up for the lack of remarkable statements. 3. Bantamweight Bout: #11 Kai ASAKURA (16-3, -410) vs. #13 Shamil SHAKHBULATOV (12-3, +320) Round 1: Shamil tries a hook but gets countered with a straight from Asakura. But Asakura misses a big straight and Shamil now counters with a good hook. They are both pretty aware of each other's strength, and are very cautious in the exchanges, as nothing fully lands for the next 90 seconds. Asakura is pressing forwrd, and as Shamil hits 2 jabs, Asakura connects with a heavy cross. They trade a few jabs and Shamil kicks the body. Asakura hits a jab and a straight right, and Shamil answers witha 1-2 that opens a cut under Asakura's eye. Asakura hits another straight right. Shamil dodges a cross and comes in with a good straight right of his own, and as the round approaches the ending, Shamil shoots but doesn't manage to get the TD. 10-9 for Shamil, as he managed to outstrike his opponent and connect with a few big shots. Asakura looks a bit shocked by the performance of his opponent. Round 2: Again, Asakura is the one pressuring. They trade a few jabs and as Asakura misses a big hook, Shamil comes in with 2 jabs and a cross, AND ASAKURA SEEMS RATTLED! SHAMIL HITS A BIG RIGHT TO THE JAW AND ASAKURA IS DOWN! But Shamil's pounding game doesn't manage to end the fight! Shamil spends the next 2 minutes throwing small shots from side control and blocking Asakura's guard attempts, and the ref gets them up with 35 seconds left. Shamil blocks a head kick and hits a mean hook. Asakura misses another head kick attempt and gets stung with a good 1-2, and it's looking like Shamil has got the right answer for anything that Asakura tries today. 20-18 for Shamil. Round 3: Asakura checks a low kick and hits a hook. They cancel each other out for the next minute. Shamil then hits a jab and dodges Asakura's 1-2. Asakura is looking impatient. He's throwing some reckless shots but Shamil defends everything. Asakura hits a jab and Shamil comes in with 2 jabs and a right cross. Asakura is still pressuring, but his combo simply can't trouble Shamil. Finally, Asakura manages to connect with a head kick, but it wasn't quite clean, and Shamil hits him with a good straight right. Last minute and Shamil dodges and hits a jab-straight combo. Shamil hits 2 more jabs as Asakura keeps missing. Asakura hits a body kick and takes another jab-jab-cross combo. And that was it, a clear win for the underdog, 30-27 Shamil Shakhbulatov on my scorecard. Winner: Shakhbulatov (UD: 30-27 x 3). Rating: Great. Post-fight: Shakhbulatov is glad he came in and got a clear W against a former champion of RIZIN, and he'd like to continue his UBL run with a fight against Timur Valiev. We might build them up some more before we have them go at each other. 4. Heavyweight Bout: #12 Roy NELSON (23-19, -550) vs. #15 Philipe LINS (14-5, +430) It's looking like Nelson has about 40lbs on his opponent, which isn't quite shocking. Round 1: Lins manages to hit a jab before Nelson shoots in and gets the TD. Lins pulls guard. Nelson moves into half-guard, and then into side control. He hits Lins with some knees to the ribs, and then attepts to grab his leg. He can't do it, so back to the kneeing tactic. Nelson also fails with an arm triangle attempt. BUT HE TRIES A KIMURA AND IT MIGHT BE IT! YUP, THERE'S THE TAP! Winner: Nelson (Kimura submission @4:19, round 1). Rating: Great. Post-fight: Nelson is glad to start this new chapter of his lenghty career with a win, and can't wait to celebrate breaking his losing streak with a barbecue and beer! Never change, Roy! 5. And now, it is time for our MAAAIN EVEEENT OF THE EVENING! A Heavyweight Bout, in the UBL Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Finals: #4 'BIG' Ben ROTHWELL (38-14, -280) vs. #6 'THE BULLDOZER' Tanner BOSER (19-8-1, +220) Round 1: They both miss their shots early on. Boser then connects with a big hook, but gets struck with a big straight right from Rothwell. Then they trade jabs and Rothwell connects with a left cross. Rothwell's pressuring, and he hits Boser with a hook. Rothwell misses with a big cross and Boser counters with a jab-straight combo. Again, Rothwell misses with a big shot and Boser counters with a jab-cross combo. Rothwell counters an unispired cross with a powerful hook. Looks like Rothwell is getting tired already as we approach the last minute. Boser counters a straight with a jab-straight combo. Rothwell misses some big shots while Boser chips away with jabs, as the round ends. 10-9 Boser and it will be an uphill road for Rothwell, as his cardio might fail him. Round 2: They both land powerful hooks. Then they land some more powerful hooks, damn. Boser comes in with one more good jab-hook combo, and then dodges a hook from Rothwell and hits a jab-body kick combo. Boser hits a jab-cross combo, and then two jabs, and Rothwell is too tired and slow to connect with most of his shots now. Boser hits a 1-2, and Rothwell finally catches him with a good straight. Too bad Rothwell seems exhausted. As we enter the last 30 seconds, both men have been missing more and more. Boser lands another good hook, BUT ROTHWELL SMASHES HIM WITH A BIG STRAIGHT AND BOSER HITS THE FLOOR! Rothwell doesn't manage to finish it, tho, and the round ends. Rothwell's late flury earned him the round in my book, 19-19. Round 3: Rothwell is pressuring, and he lands a big straight. After a minute of gassed big men missing punches, they clinch. Boser manages to push Rothwell against the cage with more ease than you'd expect. Boser attacks with mean dirty boxing, but soon he's looking just as tired as Rothwell. Still, he keeps doing damange while taking close to none, and Herb Dean gets them back in the center with 80 seconds left in round 3. They trade big hands, and then manage to hit 0 shots in the last minute of the round. Ah, cardio-less heavyweights... 29-28 Boser. Round 4: Rothwell is pushing again, and he hits Boser with a big right. He then dodges a hook and hits another beautiful right. Boser is looking stressed despite likely leading on the cards, and Rothwell hits him with a good hook. Rothwell then hits another right, as Boser landed nothing but a few jabs this round. Rothwell hits a strong jab-cross combo, and finally, they fall into a clinch. Boser gets Rothwell against the cage again. There, he controls the last 2 minutes of the round with strikes from every angle, but it's hard to say who dealt more damage this round, as Boser's many shots lacked the power of Rothwells. I'll give it to Boser, but it could go either way, 39-37. Round 5: Again, Rothwell is pushing, but he can't land anything, as both fighters seem quite sloppy this round. Boser hits a jab-cross combo, and Rothwell answers hit a jab-straight combo. Minutes pass with 0 shots landing, and finally Boser counters a big right with a good hook, and then they clinch. Boser attempts to trip Rothwell and he does it on his 2nd attempt, as Rothwell pulls guard. From there, Boser hits a few strikes and likely ensures he won this round and, with it, this fight. 49-46 Boser on my scorecard. Winner: Tanner Boser (UD: 49-46 x 2, 48-47). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Boser praises Rothwell for a tough, gritty fight, and says he's ready to do what he should have done in his debut, and win the belt ASAP. Boser breaks back into the world HW rankings at #24. Attendance: 702. Critical rating: 77. Commercial rating: 59. FOTN: K Watanabe v. D Torquato KOOTN: A Gaforov v. Y Saruta SubOTN: R Nelson v. P Lins Profit: Nah, - 126 689 Biggest paydays: Roy Nelson - 53 000, Ben Rothwell - 38 000, Tanner Boser - 21 600. RANKING UPTADES: HEAVYWEIGHTS LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS FEATHERWEIGHTS BANTAMWEIGHTS FLYWEIGHTS WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHTS WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHTS TOURNAMENTS HEAVYWEIGHT: © Alexander Romanov vs. Sergey Spivak / Tai Tuivasa Tanner Boser vs. Stefan Struve / Illir Latifi LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Ion Cutelaba © vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov Devin Clark vs. Ryan Spann Ovince St. Preux vs. Da Un Jung Mauricio Rua vs. Sam Alvey MIDDLEWEIGHT: Zak Cummings © / Karl Roberson vs. Darren Stewart Brad Tavares / Gerald Meerschaert vs. Dricus Du Plessis BANTAMWEIGHT: Ricky Simon © vs. Andre Ewell Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brad Katona Enrique Bazola vs. Jack Shore Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson FLYWEIGHT: Magomed Bibulatov © vs. Tim Elliott Rasul Albashkanov vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo Kai Kara-France / Amir Albazi vs. Jordan Espinosa Roster updates: New signings: HW: Justin Tafa (6-1). LHW: Anthony Smith (34-17). W BW: Sara McMann (12-6). Cut from the UBL: Daniel Weichel (40-13-1 FW). Prediction rankings: CageRage: 3/5; Total: 28/55 (51%) rodrigoviolim: 2/5; Total: 26/55 (47%) McDojoDelux: Total: 2/5 legendaryhorseman: Total: 2/5 Careful Rodrigo, looks like mr. CageRage is running with the gold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 As this is the first "heated" fight we have in the UBL and also happens to be the main event of our next card, it just felt like we needed something special for this bout, so allow me to introduce the UBL's first documented press conference! Ever since UBL Crowning Season 3, Perry, who has won his prelims bout vs. Jake Matthews by 2nd round TKO, has been badmouthing the champion Li Jingliang, who defeated Elizeu dos Santos and Niko Price to win the belt. Perry has been making borderline racist remarks, while laughing about how easy it will be for him to earn the belt in this new promotion. UBL 6 PRESS CONFERENCE Whana Dite: Hello, everyone. I'm glad to welcome you all to the presser of this wonderful card. You know these guys have been going at each other and wanting to fight for quite some time, and since it's a fight that makes sense, we're letting them have it. Reporter: Whana, how do you feel about the controversial remarks that Mike has made about the champion Jingliang Li? WD: Mike is wild. He's had a rough upbringing, like many of our other black fighters had, growing up in the rough sides of Florida. Mike will say what he thinks and I believe as long as he doesn't cross some lines, we can't blame him. Rep: Whana, Mike basically bad mouthed a whole country and said he will murder his opponent. WD: Come on, Mike isn't actually... Mike Perry: Hold on, mr. Dite, allow me to answer this. Jingliang Li is a mediocre fighter, born and raised in a dumb, dumb place. While I was thuggin' with my negro friends and trying to feed my family big ass cheeseburgers, Jingliang Li was probably eating dogs. How can you back this guy? Jingliang is laughing off his opponents intelectual remarks. R: What do you have to say about Mike, Jingliang? Jingliang Li: You know, it's obvious Mike likes to talk alot, and when you talk this much, it's likely to start talking things that are just dumb. MP: WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, LI? Don't ask this guy anything, I'll eat him alive, you want answers from the champion, just ask me 'cause that belt is already mine. R: What do you think that Jingliang's biggest strengths are, Mike? MP: Strengths? I don't know, does he have any? Being better than the bums he beat? Or being more lucky than the good guys he's beaten, I don't know, that might be it. Have you saw his striking stance? It's so dumb. I'll smoke him. R: And what do you think would be your road to victory? MP: Well, you know, I'm trying to regain my reputation as a knock-out artist, you know? In the UFC, I won my first 4 fights by KO and then went on to have all my other wins come by decision, I don't like that. Then I came over here and TKO'd Jake Matthews like it was nothing. That's what I wanna do here, I wanna TKO this paper champ. And since it's never been done, it will feel even more satisfying. R: Jingliang, it's looking like Mike isn't really taking you serious as a threat. Do you take him more seriously than he seems to take you? JL: Actually, I'm pretty sure it's all for facade. I belive Mike realizes this is a big opportunity and has been training harder than ever to impress everyone. It's his first big league main event, after all. And yes, I do take him seriosly, but I can guarantee you he will not KO me. R: And can you tell us how do you think you'll get your victory on fight night? JL: I don't believe it's wise to talk about my strategy in public. R: Whana, who do you think can challenge for the Welterweight Title after this fight? WD: Well, we just signed Ismail Naurdiev, he's a stud and if his debut goes well, he'll most likely be worth a title fight. MVP is also booked for a main event fight against Jake Matthews, if he wins in style he might also insert himself in the title picture. And Price and Lawler can also get back in the picture with a couple of good wins, Lawler will be coming back against Elizeu, we'll see what we can book for Price. R: One last question for the champ. Jin, do you believe Perry managed to get in your head? Do you think all the trash talk will matter when you step in the cage? Li laughs at this question before giving his answer. JL: In the cage, what matters is skill, technique, strength of body and strength of mind. I do believe my mind is stronger than his, so if his talk affects anyone, it's affecting him. He will be reckless and I will be focused. MP: YOU'LL BE BEAT UP, LI, THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL BE! NOW, I GOT A DATE TO GO TO, LET'S GET ON WITH THE STAREDOWN SO I CAN LEAVE THIS CHUMP ALREADY! As he finishes that sentence, Perry gets up and flips the table and goes to the center of the stage, in front of CEO Whana Dite, gesturing for Li to join him. Li calmy gets up, puts his belt on his shoulder and comes to face off with the challenger. As he bows down respectfully, Perry storms off the stage. As he climbs down the stairs, he shouts some more cheap trash talk, while, the champion poses with his belt. Perry stole most of the headlines, while sympathy grew for Li and his respectful ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 UBL 6: PLATINUM FOR GOLD - Li vs. Perry 30 June 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: BW: Stephen Loman vs. Felipe Colares FlyW: Jake Hadley vs. Bokang Masunyane W BW: Milana Dudieva vs. Mayra Rodrigues MW: Bartosz Fabinski vs. Kiamrian Abbasov WW: Miguel Baeza vs. Jason Jackson W BW: #15 Rin Nakai vs. Cornelia Holm LHW: #11 Ed Herman vs. Julius Anglickas WW: #13 Ramazan Emeev vs. #14 Murad Abdulaev Main card preview: 1. Featherweight Bout: #10 Grant DAWSON (16-1, -460) vs. Damon JACKSON (18-4-1-1, +360) Dawson is a top prospect that went 4-0 in his short UFC run. He's a RNC master, 9 of his 16 wins coming via the wonderful choke. He has unstoppable takedowns that allow him to use his very well rounded ground games, and he often manages to turn things his way on the gorund. Damon Jackson is a fighter with plenty of experience in the big leagues, going 2-0 in Bellator, 1-2-1-1 in the UFC and 0-1 in PFL. He's coming off a 1st round KO loss in the UFC, against current UBL FW champion Ilia Topuria. He is a dangerous BJJ player, with 14 of his 18 wins coming via submission, as he loves pressuring his opponent into grappling contests. He also has a great RNC, which brought him 8 of his Ws. Prediction: Dawson by 3rd round submission. 2. Women's Bantamweight Bout: #4 Bea MALECKI (5-0, -550) vs. #8 Joselyne EDWARDS (9-2, +430) Malecki is still in the early stages of her career, having gathered 5 fights since her 20017 debut, including 2 UFC wins anda win in her UBL debut, a UD win over Vanessa Melo. Before MMA, she was a muay thai and BJJ fighter. Still, her skills are pretty limited for MMA as of now, but at 29, she has a few years left to grow as a fighter. Joselyne Edwards is making her debut in the big leagues, coming off a 1st round TKO win. She is mainly a boxer, with 5 of her wins coming via KO/TKO, altho she does have a mean armbar that brought her 2 victories. Altho pretty far from being elite, she's young, at 25, and has plenty of time to develop into a big time fighter. For now, tho, I see Bea's ground game superiority being too much for Joselyne. Prediction: Malecki by 2nd round submission. 3. Lightweight Bout: #3 Renato CARNEIRO (15-4-1, -500) vs. #8 Vinc PICHEL (13-2, +390) Moicano Carneiro is coming off a big win in his UBL debut, over Brent Primus, following which he called out Vinc Pichel. Moicano is a greeat BJJ fighter that also has good wrestling on the feet and good power in his hands and is quite elusive on the feet. Vinc Pichel is coming off 2 UFC wins, his latest win being a UD win over Jim Miller. He has a 6-2 UFC record. He is mainly a striker, with good hands, and he also has good defensive BJJ skills. I don't see him managing to beat Moicano, tho. Also, a win here would surely make Moicano the #1 contender for Gillespie's title. Prediction: Carneiro by decision. 4. Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #2 Sergey SPIVAK (12-3, -400) vs. #3 Tai TUIVASA (12-3, +300) Spivak is coming off a loss in the first ever UBL main event, losing to proving PED addict Sergey Pavlovich in a competitive fight where he won 2 rounds on all scorecards. He's a sambo fighter with great power in his strikes, good wrestling skills and good offense on the floor, with very good ground striking. Tuivasa is coming off back to back 1st round TKOs, against Struve in the UFC and against Greg Hardy in the UBL. His last loss came against Spivak by 2nd round submission, in 2019, so he's likely happy with this shot at redemption. He's mainly a brawler with great power in his fists, and also pretty good technique. He also knows how to defend against submissions on the floor, but getting up when a high level grappler is over him is not something he usually pulls off. Spivak is the obvious favourite, but Tuivasa's KO power means he can always pull off the upset as long as he's on the feet. Prediction: Spivak by 3rd round submission. 5. Welterweight Title Bout: © Jingliang LI (19-6, -540) vs. #4 Mike PERRY (15-7, +430) The welterweight champion is making his first defence after debuting in the UBL with a kimura win over Elizeu dos Santos and a UD nod over Niko Price in the title fight. He's a very well rounded fighter with a high fight IQ, with the power of his hands being his main strength, and his bottom control and sub' defence being his main weaknesses. Perry used to be a KO artist early in his UFC career, but hadn't won by KO in his 9 fights before his UBL debut, where he TKOd Jake Matthews in the 2nd round. Now, having his confidence back, he aims to be at the top of the food chain in hsi new company, and he's been quite vocal about how he'll wreck the champion with his punches. He's mainly a striker with great stregth in his fists, and on the ground his main ability is scrambling back up. I believe Li is too well rounded for Perry, so I believe he'll succesfuly defend here, altho' Perry showed a bit of good grappling himself in his 2020 win over Mickey Gall. Prediction: Li by 5th round submission. Come on, lads, share theeeeeeeem Main card predictions: FW: Grant DAWSON vs. Damon JACKSON W BW: Bea MALECKI vs. Joselyne EDWARDS LW: Renato CARNEIRO vs. Vinc PICHEL HW Tournament QF: Sergey SPIVAK vs. Tai TUIVASA WW Title: Jingliang LI vs. Mike PERRY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageRage Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Main card predictions: FW: Grant DAWSON vs. Damon JACKSON W BW: Bea MALECKI vs. Joselyne EDWARDS LW: Renato CARNEIRO vs. Vinc PICHEL HW Tournament QF: Sergey SPIVAK vs. Tai TUIVASA WW Title: Jingliang LI vs. Mike PERRY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrigoviolim Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Main card predictions: FW: Grant DAWSON vs. Damon JACKSON W BW: Bea MALECKI vs. Joselyne EDWARDS LW: Renato CARNEIRO vs. Vinc PICHEL HW Tournament QF: Sergey SPIVAK vs. Tai TUIVASA WW Title: Jingliang LI vs. Mike PERRY I started the predictions of the past card well, but the last three fights sabotaged me hehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDojoDelux Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Main card predictions: FW: Grant DAWSON vs. Damon JACKSON W BW: Bea MALECKI vs. Joselyne EDWARDS LW: Renato CARNEIRO vs. Vinc PICHEL HW Tournament QF: Sergey SPIVAK vs. Tai TUIVASA WW Title: Jingliang LI vs. Mike PERRY I feel a perfect 5 for 5 coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 UBL 6: PLATINUM FOR GOLD - Li vs. Perry 30 June 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: BW: Stephen Loman defeats Felipe Colares by UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28). Loman makes a respectful call-out of Herbeth Sousa. Sousa is booked to fight Victor Henry soon. FlyW: Jake Hadley defeats Bokang Masunyane by UD (29-28 x 3) in a Fantastic bout. W BW: Milana Dudieva defeats Mayra Rodrigues by KO kick @2:55, round 3. MW: Bartosz Fabinski defeats Kiamrian Abbasov by UD (30-27 x 3). WW: Jason Jackson defeats Miguel Baeza by TKO @1:59, round 1. He calls out Albert Tumenov, stating it's a scrap that the fans surely wouldn't wanna miss. Hard to argue against that, so we'll see. W BW: #15 Rin Nakai defeats Cornelia Holm by Armbar submission @4:26, round 2. LHW: #11 Ed Herman defeats Julius Anglickas by TKO (due to a cut) @4:50, round 2. WW: #14 Murad Abdulaev defeats #13 Ramazan Emeev by TKO @0:58, round 2. Main card: 1. Featherweight Bout: #10 Grant DAWSON (16-1, -460) vs. Damon JACKSON (18-4-1-1, +360) Round 1: Dawson jabs Jackson, but can't stop him from starting a clinch. Jackson takes him down and gets side control with a spectacular outside trip! He quickly tries to lock in an armbar but Dawson defends well and then manages to pull half guard. Jackson spends the next minute hitting Dawson with small shots. Then, Dawson manages to get up off a scramble, and then he grabs Jackson and pushes him against the cage. They spend the last 90 seconds hitting each other with short strikes. Per total, Jackson oustruck Dawson and also held top control for quite some time, so it surely is his round. 10-9 Jackson. Round 2: Again, Dawson hits a jab just before Jackson gets a clinch. Another beautiful trip, and Jackson is again on top, in side control. Jackson has no success with his Kimura attempt, so he throws some short strikes. After a while, Dawson pulls half guard. From there, Jackson spends the next 2 minute hitting more small shots, and a scramble sees Dawson turtled up, facing Jackson. Jackson manages to get a few shots in before the round ends, and it looks like the underdog won the first 2 rounds. 20-18 Jackson. Round 3: Jackson gets the clinch straight away. He pulls off the same beautiful trip, getting side control for a third time. He tries a kneebar but can't get it, so he resorts to more short punches to his opponent. Finally, he goes for another Kimura, AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S GOT IT LOCKED IN THIS TIME! HE DOES, DAWSON TAPS! Winner: Damon Jackson (Kimura submission @2:54, round 3). Rating: Decent. Post-fight: "The Leeches get the Ws tonight, baby." 2. Women's Bantamweight Bout: #4 Bea MALECKI (5-0, -550) vs. #8 Joselyne EDWARDS (9-2, +430) Round 1: Malecki eats a jab and fires with a 1-2. Edwards hits a 1-2 of her own, but gets touched with a body kick. Edwards misses with a big hand and Malecki hits a good jab-hook combo. Edwards eats a straight left. She then lands a hook and eats another left straight. She answers with a cross, but Malecki hits another 1-2, and it's gotta be said, Malecki's looking game tonight. Edwards hits a hook and goes out of Malecki's superior range. They trade 1-2s. Then they cancel each other out for a while, and as we reach the last 30 seconds, Malecki hits a hook and gets struck with a straight left. Malecki then dodges a hook and hits a good 3 piece combo, and the round is over. 10-9 for Malecki, as she made good use of her superior range. Round 2: Malecki can only land a jab in the whole first minute, while Edwards pieces her up with a good 1-2. Malecki touches Edwards with another straight left. Edwards hits a cross but gets touched with a right hook. They then show great defensive movement (and some lackluster technique), until Edwards finally lands a nice hook as we approach the last 30 secs. Malecki hits a clean straight right. And it's round over, a quite bad round for both ladies, but Malecki is ahead 20-18 on my scorecard. Round 3: Malecki hits a cross. They trade straights. Malecki then hits a hook and she's starting to slow down a bit. She then misses a cross and gets touched with a good jab-straight combo from Edwards. They trade some jabs, and Edwards is starting to slow a bit as well. Edwards hits a good straight. Malecki finally hits antoher straight right of her own. They trade more jabs for a while, with Malecki outstriking Edwards. Then Malecki hits a beautiful right hook! And Malecki tries to follow up, but Edwards counters with jabs. Volume is on Edwards side for this round, but Malecki's impactful shots turn the tides in her favor on my scorecard. 30-27 Malecki. Winner: Bea Malecki (UD: 30-27 x 2, 29-28). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Malecki is happy to share the cage with a talented prospect like Edwards and she seems to believe she's ready for the champion, altho' she's willing to fight another up and comer if it's what it takes to prove her worth. Bea Malecki broke in the wrold W BW rankings, at #22. 3. Lightweight Bout: #3 Renato CARNEIRO (15-4-1, -500) vs. #8 Vinc PICHEL (13-2, +390) Round 1: They both miss each other in an early striking trade, and Moicano shoots on Pichel, and ends up pushing him against the cage. He keeps him there for almost 2 minutes, with rare strikes happening occasionaly. Then, he sets up a trip and manages to take Pichel down, ending up in his full guard. From there, Moicano hits a few shots, but a scramble sees Pichel gain top control and Moicano pulling guard. But Pichel gets up on his feet and invites Moicano to do the same. Moicano gets up too and gets hit with a jab-low kick combo. They have a few more exchanges that don't see any shot connect, and the round ends with Moicano as a pretty clear winner. 10-9 Moicano. Round 2: Pichel stings Moicano with a head kick! But Moicano is alive and well, and hits 2 jabs and a low kick. Moicano hits a good right hook, BUT PICHEL HITS A BIG HEAD KICK THIS TIME, AND MOICANO HITS THE FLOOR! Pichel follows up with heavy GNP, but Moicano survives initially. Pichel goes for an arm triangle, but it's an uninspired choice, as Moicano blocks the attempt and manages to pull guard thanks to it. They both strike each other on the ground, and Moicano fails when he tries to secure Pichel's arm. They strike some more, and as Moicano tries to grab the arm again, Pichel manages to slip into side control. From there, he throws some elbows and the round soon ends. 19-19. Round 3: Moicano shoots, but Pichel sprawls well! Back on the feet, Moicano gets hurt by a big hook! But he shoots again, and manages to drive Pichel up against the cage. He trips Pichel and gets into his half guard. Moicano can't move from half guard, and spends the rest of the fight throwing small strikes to Pichel, in a quite boring 3rd round. 29-28 Moicano. Winner: Renato 'Moicano' Carneiro (SD: 29-28 x 2, 28-29). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Moicano admits this fight was a hard one and declares his respect to Vinc Pichel. He believes he is next in line for the Lightweight Title, and that's all he has to say. Alright. Moicano went in the world LW rankings, from #24 to #21. 4. Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #2 Sergey SPIVAK (12-3, -400) vs. #3 Tai TUIVASA (12-3, +300) Tuivasa seems to have about 30lbs on Spivak. Round 1: Spivak starts hot, with 2 quick jabs and a leg kick, but Tuivasa fights back with a cross. Both guys seem fired up. They miss their next strike attempts, and Tuivasa counters a missed hook from Spivak hit a jab-body hook combo. Spivak hits a 1-2, and Tuivasa hits back with a nice hook. Tuivasa starts pressuring Spivak, and after getting struck with a few counter jabs, he smashes Spivak with a big left hook! But then Tuivasa misses another big hook and Spivak hits him with a good jab-hook combo. Tuivasa stays composed, tho, and hits Spivak with a clean left, BUT HE GETS STRUCK WITH A STRONG HEAD KICK, AND HE'S BACKING AGAINST THE CAGE, ON RUBBERY LEGS! Spivak hits with a knee to the ribs, tho, and Tuivasa circles his way back to the center, recomposed. Spivak hits a left kick to the body. Tuivasa is pressuring again, but missing his shots as Spivak counters him with jabs. Spivak hits a roundhouse body kick, but gets struck with a cross. Tuivasa misses another cross, and Spivak hits a good left hook just before the round ends. Very close round, as most of Tuivasa's shots would have been trouble for a weaker chin. 10-9 for Spivak for putting his opponent in more trouble, tho. Round 2: Again, Tuivasa is pressuring and Spivak dodges and jabs, twice. Tuivasa sleems to be a bit slower now. He misses another big strike and Spivak counters with a jab-hook combo. Spivak is getting a bit tired too now. Tuivasa misses what could have been a fight ending punch, and Spivak moves in with 2 jabs and a pretty strong body kick. Tuivasa seems hurt again! VICIOUS HEAD KICK AND TUIVASA HITS THE FLOOR! SPIVAK IS RAINING DOWN BIG SHOTS! And Marc Goddard has seen enough! Winner: Sergey Spivak (Kick & pound TKO @2:22, round 2). Rating: Good. Post fight: Spivak praises Tuivasa for his toughness, but he says he himself is pretty tough and that helped him survive his power. With this victory, he secured another title shot, hopefully against a cleaner athlete. He wants to ensure everyone he won't leave the cage without the belt this time. With this win, Spivak secures a title fight vs. Romanov in the HW Tournament Semi-Finals. Spivak went up in the world HW rankings, from #14 to #9, while Tuivasa fell from #18 to #23. 5. AND NOW, IT IS TIME FOR THE MAAAAAAAAAAIN EVENT OF THE EVENIIIIIIING! A GRUDGE MATCH FOR THE UBL WELTERWEEEEEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP! © Jingliang "THE LEECH" LI (19-6, -540) vs. #4 "PLATINUM" Mike PERRY (15-7, +430) Mike Perry comes out in a Ric Flair-ish robe, singing along to 50 Cent's "P.I.M.P.", basking into the mixed, but loud reaction of the audience. The champion comes out to the iconic "Eye of the Tiger", wearing his country's flag on his shoulders and smililng all the way until the bell rings for the start of the fight. No one offers to touch gloves, as expected. Round 1: They don't come out swinging, as expected, but take turns in striking and dodge succesfully early on, as only a jab from Perry connects in the first minute. Li is keeping distance, respecting Perry's power. But Perry manages to extend a powerful hook that must have hurt Li. Li misses with a hook of his own, and Perry jabs him but misses with a head kick attempt. Perry throws first now, missing with a big cross, and Li manages to catch him with a head kick, getting Perry a cut under the eye. Perry is looking him dead in the eye, as focused as you'll ever see him. Lo hits a decent left, but Perry unleashes a POWERFUL straight right AND LI GOES DOWN! Perry jumps on top of him like a hungry cougar and throws some big right hands, but Li is defending extremely well for a man that just got rocked big time! Perry keeps striking. After plenty of well defended hits to the head, Perry goes for the body. He's not letting Li move to a more advantageous position, and keeps striking, getting in some clean shots in the process. Great start for the challenger, 10-9 for Mike Perry. Round 2: Li misses an uninspired hook and gets caught with a cross from Perry. Perry hits a low kick. Li hits a jab but misses the hook again. Finally, Li manages to hit a whole combo for the first time, following his jab with a cross. Perry answers with a right hook. Perry then hits a jab and tries to kick the body, but Li catches the leg! He takes Perry down, and is now sitting in his guard! Li smothers him for 30 seconds, and then starts going to the body with some small punches. As Li isn't doing much from top control, the ref gets them up with 80 seconds left in round 2. Perry hits Li with another powerful hook. Li is still composed and hits Perry with a jab-cross combo, but Perry hits back with a clean right. Li hits a low kick but gets touched with a jab-jab-straight right combo. And Li dodges a big right from Perry as the round ends. Extremely close round, if you ask me, but it's not the kinda round you can score 10-10, so I'll have it 20-18 for Perry on my scorecard. Round 3: Both fighters miss each other with some big strikes. They then trade jabs but miss the big strikes again. They seem to start to slow down simultanously. Perry hits a left jab and a big right cross. But then they have 3 striking exchanges where neither man can land. Li throws a wild right, then, and gets countered with a jab-straight right combo. Perry is raising his hand, feeling himself. Li hits a jab but Perry blocks his cross and fires with a good 1-2. Perry catches Li with a low kick. They have another trade where neither can land any shot. Perry then hits a leg kick as Li hits him with a roundhouse body kick. Then they both hit jabs and block each other's hooks. Li misses witha big cross, and Perry hits a jab but misses the hook that followed up. In the last seconds, Li hits Perry with a good 1-2, but still gets struck with a good hook. Another big round for Perry and it's looking like Li might need a finish... 30-27 for Mike Perry on my scorecard. Round 4: They trade some nice hooks. Li is trying to get close, Perry hits him with a jab but can't land with the leg kick. Both men are getting quite a bit tired, and Li didn't manage to take advantage of his superior grappling at all. Li misses a hook and Perry counters with a good straight left. Finally, Li shoots for the takedown, and Perry's down, pulling guard. Li mostly smothers Perry for about 40 seconds, and a scramble sees them back up, with Li grabbing Perry's back. Struggling to take him down, Li delivers a right to the face of Perry. After some more struggle, he manages to take Perry down, and he gets side control. He hits a few body strikes, and soon the round is over. Is Li aware he'll likely need to finish Perry to win this fight? 39-37 for Perry. Round 5: Li seems caotious. Perry hits him with a strong jab-straight right combo. Both men are looking rugged. Li shoots again, but can only push Perry against the cage. He elbows him in the face, reopening his early cut. Li knees the thigh, then sends a sharp punch to the ear. Finally, Li takes Perry down, and he's in guard again. Li hits a bunch of body shots, and a scramble leaves him turled up, facing Perry. Perry pounds on him, landing a few big strikes on Li! That's how he spends the remaining minute of the round, and he managed quite a bunch of big shots by the end... We have a new champion, for sure. 49-46 on my scorecard. Winner, AAAAAND NEEEEEW UBL WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIOOOOOOON: "PLATINUUUUUUM" MIIIIIKE PEEERRYYYY (Unanimous Decision: 49-46 x 3). Rating: Good. Post-fight: "I TOLD YOU, DAMN IT! I SMASHED LI! PROPS TO HIM FOR NOT GETTING FINISHED, BUT I OWNED THE GUY. XI JINGPING COULDN'T SAVE HIM. EATING DOGS COULDN'T SAVE HIM. I EAT THIS DOG FOR DINNER! Now, about the future. Whana Dite, I respect you, I know you respect me, so here's the deal: I don't care that that whacko Niko Price ain't had the guts to have 1 fight since little Li beat him. I want Niko Price. "The High Kid", excuse me, "The Hybrid" Niko Price. So I know you're gonna get me my fight with Niko Price, so thank you Whana! Also, Niko - I will slap you around worse than I did with young humble Li, here. So don't bottle being humble, come in and be as bad as you can. I will end you anyway, so why not go out with a bang, y'know? And that's about it. UBL champion, baby. And new, soon to be and still, and forever." Title prestige: up from 63 to 64. Perry went up in the world WW rankings, from #23 to #16, while Li fell from #8 to #14. Attendance: 3 450 Critical rating: 70 Commercial rating: 75 FOTN: J Hadley v. B Masunyane KOOTN: M Dudieva v. M Rodrigues SubOTN: D Jackson v. G Dawson Profit: + 508 229 Biggest paydays: Mike Perry - 29 300, Damon Jackson - 27 700, Renato Carneiro - 23 600, Jake Hadley - 22 700, Rin Nakai - 21 200, Jingliang Li - 13 100. UPDATED RANKINGS: HEAVYWEIGHTS LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS MIDDLEWEIGHTS WELTERWEIGHTS LIGHTWEIGHTS FEATHERWEIGHTS FLYWEIGHTS WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHTS TOURNAMENTS HEAVYWEIGHT: © Alexander Romanov vs. Sergey Spivak Tanner Boser vs. Stefan Struve / Illir Latifi LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Ion Cutelaba © vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov Devin Clark vs. Ryan Spann Ovince St. Preux vs. Da Un Jung Mauricio Rua vs. Sam Alvey MIDDLEWEIGHT: Zak Cummings © / Karl Roberson vs. Darren Stewart Brad Tavares / Gerald Meerschaert vs. Dricus Du Plessis BANTAMWEIGHT: Ricky Simon © vs. Andre Ewell Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brad Katona Enrique Bazola vs. Jack Shore Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson FLYWEIGHT: Magomed Bibulatov © vs. Tim Elliott Rasul Albashkanov vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo Kai Kara-France / Amir Albazi vs. Jordan Espinosa ROSTER UPDATES: New signings: FW: Edson Barboza (21-10). Prediction rankings: CageRage: 1/5; Total: 29/60 (48%) rodrigoviolim: 1/5; Total: 27/60 (45%) McDojoDelux: 1/5; Total: 3/10 legendaryhorseman: Total: 2/5 Well, this card was not as predictable as the betting odds suggested Better luck next time, guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDojoDelux Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I have been hoodwinked bamboozled led astray run amuck and flat out deceived by my predictions lmao. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrigoviolim Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Prediction rankings: CageRage: 1/5; Total: 29/60 (48%) rodrigoviolim: 1/5; Total: 27/60 (45%) McDojoDelux: 1/5; Total: 3/10 legendaryhorseman: Total: 2/5 Maaaaan!!!! 1/5 again bad predictions :D:D:D:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 Big fights outside of the UBL: UFC (Some BIG SHOCKS) Katlyn Chookagian beat Valentina Shevchenko by 5th round Kimura submission, for the W FlyW Title. Joseph Benavidez beat Deiveson Figueiredo by 4th round TKO in a Fantastic bout, for the FlyW Title. Gian Villante beat Curtis Blaydes by 2nd round TKO. PFL Marcelo Golm beat Justin Willis by UD (48-47 x 3) for the PFL HW title. The 1st half of 2021 just ended, so I thought it would be nice to take a short look at the world top 3 of every weight class (except the ones that aren't included in the UBL, of course). But of course, we'll start with the P4P list. P4P: 1. Charles Oliveira Followed up on his December win over Tony Ferguson with a 1st round armbar victory over Dustin Poirier, becoming the UFC LW champion. He was booked to have his first defense against Conor, but suffered an arm injury while training, resulting in cancellation of the bout. 2. Conor McGregor Remember how Conor allegedly wanted to have 4 fights in 2020? Well, this year he might actually do it, as he started off the year by beating Gaethje via UD in the co-main of the Poirier - Oliveira card. Then he TKO'd Hooker in the 2nd round to earn a title shot, but his shot got postponed because of the champ's injury. Beneil Dariush stepped in to replace Oliveira, and he got TKO'd less than 4 minutes in the 1st round. Conormania is back on track, ladies and gentlemen! 3. Jan Blachowicz In this perfect world, Glover was Jan's first title defence. And, impressively, Jan won via 3rd round armbar! But it wasn't easy, and Jan's still serving his medical suspension, even though the fight took pace back in may! HEAVYWEIGHT: 1. Derrick Lewis Derrick Lewis is the UFC Heavyweight champion of the world. He shocked the world by TKOing Curtis Blaydes in the 3rd in February, and getting the UD nod over Stipe in May! We still have no idea how this happened, but everyone's glad for him. We love you, Derrick! 2. Alexander Volkov After his win over Walt Harris in October, Volk came back in March in a big fight against Francis Ngannou. And he won in AWESOME fashion, KO'ing Francis late in the 1st round. Still, it wasn't enough to earn him a title shot in Dana's eyes, and his next fight will be in August, against #6 HW of the UFC, Jairzinho Rozenstruik. 3. Stipe Miocic Well, Stipe lost to Derrick, but he's still Stipe. LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: 1. Jan Blachowicz See the P4P #3 entry. 2. Dominick Reyes After losing his 2nd title shot in a row, Reyes came back with a bang, KOing Anthony Smith by 1st round KO with a slick kick. He's booked to fight Luke Rockhold in July, and might earn another title shot with a win here. 3. Corey Anderson After debuting in Bellator back in November with a TKO win against Melvin Manhoef, Overtime Anderson received his title shot in January, and got the UD nod over champ Vadim Nemkov, making a great impression in the process. MIDDLEWEIGHT 1. Paulo Costa After getting wrecked by Izzy, Costa came back in March, when he KOed Derek Brunson cold in the second round. As Izzy failed some drug tests and lost his belt, Costa got to fight Vettori for the vacant title, and he TKOed him in the 2nd round. Stylin'! 2. Gegard Mousasi The 2-time Bellator MW champion made his first defense of his 2nd reign against Anatoly Tokov, and he TKO'd the top prospect in 80 seconds. The world can't wait to see what's next for Gegard. 3. Darren Till The world loves Darren. He got to fight Gastelum again, hoping for a more clear win this time, and he earned it, gaining the UD nod, and now he's getting ready for a big fight against Trailblazer Kevin Holland in August, in what might be a title eliminator. WELTERWEIGHT 1. Kamaru Usman Kamaru grappled his way into another dominant victory, against Gilbert Burns, via UD, in April. He called out Masvidal, and he'll be fighting him in August. People might not like his style, but his dominance is undeniable. 2. Jorge Masvidal Well, in this parallel universe, Gambred isn't a dodger, nope, he's still game, and actually earned his title shot. He got the decision nod over Magny in March and then TKOd Chiesa in the 2nd in June, and answered Usman's callout, and he'll confidently step in the cage against him for the second time this August. 3. Douglas Lima The great 3 time Bellator WW champion bounced back with a 2nd round RNC win over Lorenz Larkin, reminding everyone about his grappling skills in a back and forth Fantastic bout. He surely is Bellator's finest, and some would argue he's in fact the world's best Welterweight, with superior striking to Usman and the right BJJ skills to counter his wrestling. LIGHTWEIGHT 1. Charles Oliveira See P4P #1. 2. Conor McGregor See P4P #2. 3. Gregor Gillespie Finally coming back from his 1st round KO loss to Kevin Lee, back in November 2019, Gillespie started off the year in great fashion, with 2 wins in 1 night to become the 1st ever UBL LW champion, beating both Bobby Green and Rafael Fiziev by 1-sided decisions. He then went on to beat Drakkar Klose with ease, via 1st round kimura, and now he's rumored to be getting ready to defend against top UBL Lightweight Renato 'Moicano' Carneiro. He's also started a verbal war with Polish star Borys Mankowski, altho' Borys needs to work his way up in the rankings if he truly wants to fight Gregor. FEATHERWEIGHT 1. Brian Ortega After earning a dominant decision over Chan Sung Jung in October, Ortega received his title shot in April, and won in impressive fashion, getting an RNC locked in against Volk in the 2nd round. For his first defence, he'll face TKZ in a rematch, in July. His impressive comeback is one of the feel-good stories of the year. 2. Max Holloway Max bounced back after his pair of fights with Volk with a UD win against Edson Barboza, winning all 3 rounds in impressive fashion, in what turned out to be Barboza's last UFC bout. Then, in June, he had his trilogy bout with then ex-champion Volkanovski, and managed to win in impressive fashion, TKOing him 1 minute into the 2nd round. Most people are expecting him to be next in line, after the Ortega vs. TKZ title fight, and many believe he's already the real champion of the division. 3. Patricio Freire After wrecking Pedro Carvalho in just over 2 minutes in his lone 2020 bout, Patricio defended against Rustam Khabilov, and knocked him out cold in the 2nd round, letting the world know he believes himself to be the best featherweight on the planet. Altho many believe he needs to prove himself in the UFC to be able to say that, his dominant 10+ years in Bellator has been nothing short of amazing, and he's scheduled to face his long time rival Daniel Straus for a FIFTH time in August. Quality matchmaking. BANTAMWEIGHT 1. Cory Sandhagen Cory been a good guy and let Aljo have his shot vs Yan, knowing he'd be next in line if Yan wins. Well, Yan won vs. Aljo, and got subbed by Cory with a 4th round kneebar, in a great bout, in June! All eyes are on Cory right now, as everyone wants to know who'll be his next challenger. 2. TJ Dillashaw TJ came back WITH A BANG. 2nd round TKO over Frankie Edgar in February, 30-27 x 3 vs. Moraes in April, and scheduled to face Aljo Sterling in August. Many argue he should already be fighting for the belt, and a win over Aljo will surely earn him a title shot. 3. Kyoji Horiguchi Another stud that had a great comeback story, Kyoji returned after a big break due to injury in December, and TKO'd Kai Asakura to regain his RIZIN belt, and then went over to Bellator, to regain his other championship. There, he TKO'd Juan Archuleta in less than 40 seconds, becoming the first ever two-times double-company champion. And then, guess what he did! HE SIGNED WITH THE UBL! Sadly for him, the UBL belt is caught up in a tournament right now, but he's looking to debut sooner rather than later, and will also step in if someone has to back out of a fight in the tournament. FLYWEIGHT 1. Joseph Benavidez Well, this is awkward, but amazing nonetheless. Joe got the UD nod over Matheus Nicolau in March. Come June, an injury saw Alex Perez out of his title bout vs. champion Figueiredo, so Joe stepped in for the unlikely trilogy, and actually won an absolute BANGER of a fight, TKOing Figueiredo in the 4th round. An amazing moment all around, and likely the story of the year up to this point. 2. Alex Perez Alex earned another title shot quick, as he stepped in for Figueiredo vs. Cody Garbrandt, as Figueiredo was forced to pull out less than 2 weeks before fight night. Alex won the bout in style, TKOing Cody in less than 4 minutes. He was booked to rematch the champ afterwards, but an injury of his own saw him replaced by Joe Benavidez, who went on to win the bout. Talking about an unpredictable division! 3. Demetrious Johnson Well, DJ hasn't fought since 2019. This being said, name a flyweight you'd put over him right now. WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHT 1. Amanda Nunes Well, she's so dominant it's not even fun anymore. She knocked out GDR for a 3rd win over her in March, and now she's waiting for another suicidal lady who wants to get wrecked by her. 2. Ketlen Vieira After a UD win over Eubanks in September, Vieira impressed with a 2nd round RNC win over Lina Lansberg. Now, she's booked to face Raquel Pennington in July, and a win here would most likely see her challenge Amanda for the belt. 3. Sarah Kaufman After a pretty uninteresting run in the PFL in 2019 and an empty 2020, veteran Sarah Kaufman came back in 2021 in the UBL, where she knocked out Sarah Moras and Bethe Correia COLD. Two impressive performances, and she's booked to defend her UBL Crown against Lisa Verzosa in July. WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT 1. Katlyn Chookagian Well, despite a violent loss in October at the hands of Jessica Andrade, Chookagian's win over Calvillo was enough to earn her an early rematch with the champion Valentina. She did great this time, tho, getting Bulletina to tap to a late Kimura in the 5th round. Many say Valentina "just got caught", so a rematch might be on the books, altho' nothing has been made official as of now. 2. Liz Carmouche After a dominant win in her Bellator debut in September, February saw Liz challenge the new champion, Juli Velasquez, and she won in impressive fashion, showing she's still an elite fighter, TKOing Juli late in the 2nd round. 3. Montana de la Rosa After a decent UFC run that ended with a UD loss to Vivi Araujo in September of last year, Montana made her way to the UBL, where she got put in the tournament for the inaugural Flyweight Crown. She won both of her fights in impressive fashion, with first round submissions, and is now scheduled for her 3rd UBL fight in July, when she'll defend against Mariya Agapova. And now, about OUR FUN NEXT CARD! UBL 7: WRECKING TIME - Struve vs. Latifi 9 July, 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: W BW: Ewelina Wozniak vs. K Porczyk W BW: Sarah D'Alelio vs. Stephanie Egger FW: Daniel Pineda vs. Leandro Higo WW: Elias Silverio vs. Abubakar Vagaev HW: Tony Johnson Jr. vs. Alikhan Vakhaev MW: Artem Frolov vs. Roberto Soldic BW: #15 Taylor Lapilus vs. Chris Gutierrez Main card preview: 1. Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #2 Ovince ST. PREUX (26-16, -110) vs. #10 Da Un JUNG (13-2-1, +100) As you probably remember, OSP got stopped by Cutelaba in the first ever UBL LHW Title fight, getting knocked out in the 3rd round after TKOing legendary Shogun Rua in the 2nd round, in his UBL debut. The veteran is coming back, on the non-title side of the bracket. His hands are still strong, but his most spectacular weapon is still the extremely rare Von Flue choke that he masters. Also, despite his age, his chin ain't giving up on him, so expect a fun showing from him! His opponent, Da Un Jung, is coming off a short 2-0-1 UFC run. He is a finisher, having only 1 decision victory in his career, and he's coming with great power in his hands and good technical striking, high level takedown defense, to keep the fights standing, and also a pretty good BJJ game, with impressive control from the bottom. Also, his elbows ain't nothing to mess with in the thai clinch. Expect fireworks from this one! Prediction: Un Jung by 3rd round KO. 2. Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #3 Devin CLARK (13-5, +100) vs. #4 Ryan SPANN (18-7, -110) The Brown Bear Devin Clark came to the UBL after his first ever UFC main event, where he lost quick to veteran Anthony Smith, ending his UFC sting with a 6-5 record. He debuted in the UBL with a UD win over Ed Herman, and could have fought for the title, but expressed his interest in a fight with Ryan Spann, to avenge his 2019 loss to him, so here they both are, 1 win away from a title fight. Clark is a good technical striker, but prefers to wrestle his way into victories, in quite unspectacular fashion, with the takedowns and top control smothering being his main weapons. This boring style is why, despite coming off back to back 1st round KO losses, we hope to see Ryan Spann winning the title shot. Spann is a good fighter all around, with great power in his hands and technical boxing, good wrestling on the feet and good grappling abilities on the ground as well. His chin isn't the finest, but this shouldn't be a problem against a fighter like Clark. Expect a ton of grappling, but I see Spann managing to pull off a violent win in the end. Prediction: Spann by 3rd round KO. 3. Women's Flyweight Crown: © Montana DE LA ROSA (13-6, -560) vs. #1 Mariya AGAPOVA (10-2, +440) De la Rosa came off a 4-2 run in the UFC and made quick work of her opponents in the UBL Crown inaugural tournament, getting a kimura over McCann and a RNC over Lipski, both in under 4 minutes. Since then, she's only been getting better, altho she is still mainly only a BJJ fighter, and shall have problems if unable to get the ground to the floor. Well, is Agapova one to keep Montana standing and banging? Agapova came in the UBL after a short 1-1 run in the UFC, and TKO'd Denise Kielholtz in less than 2 minutes in her UBL debut. She does have pretty good TD defense, good sub' defense if she does get taken down, and mean hands to punish BJJ fools that can grapple on the ground but can't get the fight on the ground. I actually believe she has jsut the right tools to win, and since she's only 24, she might evolve in a great problem. Montana is quite young herself, at 26 years of age, so regardless of this fights result, expect these ladies to be at the center of the UBL's women's flyweight division for a long time. I believe Agapova leaves with the gold. Prediction: Agapova by 2nd round KO. 4. Lightweight Bout: #4 Bobby GREEN (27-12-1, -350) vs. #7 Jim MILLER (32-17-1, +270) OG King Green is coming off 2 losses, dropping decisions against Thiago Moises, in the UFC, and against now-UBL champion Gregor Gillespie. He has good wrestling on the feet and good takedown defense, and can catch a sub' on the ground as well, but his kickboxing is his favouite weapon of choice. Jim Miller is an absolute UFC veteran, with a 21-14-1 record in the company. He holds a 1st round sub' win over current #1 P4P fighter, Charles Olvieira, and also has wins over Joe Lauzon (x2), Taka Gomi, Tibau and Clay Guida. Still, he's coming off a loss to Vinc Pichel in his last bout and is now making his UBL debut. His top control and submissions are his main weapons, altho he can hold his own on the feet thanks to his technical boxing. Still, Bobby seems way better in many expects right now, so he's the biggest favorite of the card in my opinion. Prediction: Green by decision. 5. Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #7 Stefan STRUVE (29-14, +150) vs. #8 Ilir LATIFI (14-8-1, -190) Struve is on a 3 fight losing skid, losing his last 2 UFC bouts, to current UBL HWs Ben Rothwell and Tuivasa, and to Alex Romanov in his UBL debut. He made his MMA debut aged 17, and has been fighting in the UFC since he was 21, which is why it feels like he's been fighting forever. Now 33, he's had a 11 years run in the UFC, earning a 13-11 record in the company, with his biggest Ws being over HW GOAT Stipe, Big Nog and Bifoot Silva. He has great technique in his kicks and good power in his hands, but his BJJ is the best rounded side of his game, altho' his style is surely head-hunting. His chin ain't the best, tho, so standing and banging doesn't always end well for Struve, despite him being 7 ft tall. Latifi is coming off a bad 3 fight losing skid, with the last being against Derrick Lewis, taking his UFC record to 7-6. Still, Latifi is nothing to play with, as he is a well rounded beast, with great power in his hands, great wrestling and good BJJ, altho' some call him a glass cannon, thanks to his weakening chin. He's one of the shortest HW around, at 5'8" (basically, 40cm shorter than his opponent, and with a 30cm reach disadvantage). I don't know what to predict about this, I don't know what to say about this, other than it will surely be a fun fight, and the winner will earn a #1 contender fight against Tanner Boser. Come on boys, share theeem Main card predictions: LHW Tournament QF: Ovince ST. PREUX vs. Da UN JUNG LHW Tournament QF: Devin CLARK vs. Ryan SPANN W FlyW Crown: Montana DE LA ROSA vs. Maryia AGAPOVA LW: Bobby GREEN vs. Jim MILLER HW Tournament QF: Stefan STRUVE vs. Ilir LATIFI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrigoviolim Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Main card predictions: LHW Tournament QF: Ovince ST. PREUX vs. Da UN JUNG LHW Tournament QF: Devin CLARK vs. Ryan SPANN W FlyW Crown: Montana DE LA ROSA vs. Maryia AGAPOVA LW: Bobby GREEN vs. Jim MILLER HW Tournament QF: Stefan STRUVE vs. Ilir LATIFI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majster_93 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 St Preux Spann De la Rosa Green Latifi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageRage Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 <p>Main card predictions:</p><p> LHW Tournament QF: <strong>Ovince ST. PREUX</strong> vs. Da UN JUNG</p><p> LHW Tournament QF: Devin CLARK vs. <strong>Ryan SPANN</strong></p><p> W FlyW Crown:<strong> Montana DE LA ROSA</strong> vs. Maryia AGAPOVA</p><p> LW: Bobby GREEN vs. <strong>Jim MILLER</strong></p><p> HW Tournament QF: <strong>Stefan STRUVE</strong> vs. Ilir LATIFI</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 Big fights between UBL 6 & UBL 7: Bellator Darrion Caldwell beat Sergio Pettis by UD (50-45, 49-46 x 2) for the vacant Bellator BW Title. Brett Johns beat Eduardo Dantas by 1st round RNC. Vadim Nemkov beat Karl Moore by 1st round KO. KSW Nadia Kassem beat Svetlana Gotsyk by 1st round TKO for the KSW Women's SW title. Antun Racic beat Damian Stasiak by 2nd round RNC to defend his KSW BW title. Roman Szymanski beat Norman Parke by 3rd round TKO. Aleksander Emelianenko beat Kazuyuki Fujita by 2nd round KO. In other major news, the legendary Fabricio Werdum announced his retirement. The BJJ star had a remarkable run in MMA, defeating Alistair Overeem in his 4-1 PRIDE run, then beating Gabriel Gonzaga in his short initial 2-2 UFC run. He then shocked the world in Strikeforce, following his UD win over Bigfoot Silva with a 1st round submission against the great Fedor Emelianenko, becoming the only fighter to defeat both Emelianenko brothers. After his 3-1 Strikeforce run, he came back into the UFC and had a fabolous 10-4 run, winning the interim HW belt against Mark Hunt, unifying the belts against Cain Velasquez and collecting other big victories against Big Nog, Roy Nelson and Gustafsson. He then headed to the PFL, where he defeated the 2019 PFL HW champoin Ali Isaev by 1st round submission, before losing a title fight against Justin Willis by 1st round TKO, in what will remain the last fight of Werdum's legendary career. UBL 7: WRECKING TIME - Struve vs. Latifi 9 July, 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: W BW: Ewelina Wozniak defeats Kamila Porczyk by Arm Triangle submission @2:38, round 1. W BW: Stephanie Egger defeats Sarah D'Alelio by TKO @1:44, round 2. FW: Leandro Higo defeats Daniel Pineda by SD (29-28 x 2, 28-29). Higo is asked who he'd like to fight next and calls out Salman Zhamaldaev. WW: Elias Silverio defeats Abubakar Vagaev by SD (29-28 x 2, 28 29). HW: Alikhan Vakhaev defeats Tony Johnson Jr. by TKO @2:26, round 3. MW: Roberto Soldic defeats Artem Frolov by TKO @1:07, round 1. BW: Chris Gutierrez defeats #15 Taylor Lapilus by TKO @0:59, round 1. Main card: 1. Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #2 Ovince ST. PREUX (26-16, -110) vs. #10 Da Un JUNG (13-2-1, +100) Round 1: OSP is pressuring early, but Jung manages to hit counter jabs and dodge OSP's striking, until he gets caught with a jab-low kick combo. Jung switches to southpaw, checks a low kick and hits a good jab-hook combo. OSP checks a low kick too and hits a good straight, and then he hits a jab-low kick combo, but Jung also hits a good 1-2. OSP hits yet another jab-low kick combo, and it looks like Jung is starting to feel those kicks. They hit a few jabs and defend the bigger strikes, and then a missed cross from OSP gets countered with a good 1-2. OSP hits a jab-body kick combo, and Jung hits another 1-2. They trade some more jabs and it's round over. Close round, but Jung's won it by a slim margin in my eyes. 10-9 Jung. Round 2: OSP studies his opponent for a while before hitting him with a good hook, and Jung hits with 2 jabs and a low kick. OSP hits him with a good straight right, BUT JUNG UNLEASHES A BIG HOOK THAT SMASHES OSP'S JAW! AND OSP IS OUT COLD! Winner: Da Un Jung (Massive Hook KO @1:20, round 2). Rating: Good. Post-Fight: OSP: "I don't want to take Jung's spotlight for long, but I have an announcement to make. I decided a while ago that the next time I go out cold, that's it for me. So I'm ending my career here, tonight. I'd like to thank my team for supporting me in all these years, and my family for being there for me. I love you guys, thank you everyone!" Jung bows down and congratulates OSP for his career. When interviewed, he says he knows he'll get the winner of Sam Alvey vs. Shogun Rua next, but he makes it known that he'd like the chance to fight unsung veteran of the sport Ed Herman. 2. Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #3 Devin CLARK (13-5, +100) vs. #4 Ryan SPANN (18-7, -110) Round 1: Spann is trying to control the distance. He hits Clark with a jab-hook combo. Then, as Clark tries to get close to grapple, Spann hits 3 fast hands and a right cross. Spann then hits a low kick but can't stop Clark from starting the clinch this time. But there, Spann defends well and actually manages to trip Clark to the floor! And he catches his back off the takedown! He can't get the body triangle in, n'or can he lock in the RNC. But he keeps working the whole time, and when his corner tells him that time is running up, he starts striking Clark until the end of the round. 10-9 Spann. Round 2: Spann comes out swinging, catching Clark with 3 punches and a HARD straight, but Clark eats them all for dinner, damn! Clark gets a clinch started again. They stay for a while in the clinch, battling for control, and in the end, it's Clark who wins this time, getting Spann stuck against the cage. There, they battle with short strikes, as Clark is trying to exhaust Spann. Eventually, Clark uses the underhooks to attempt a takedown, but Spann defends and gains control of the clinch! But as they dirty box again, Clark regains control. As they enter the last 10 seconds, Clark uses his underhooks to try for another takedown, and gets it done this time. Extremely close round, with Clark's control time being the main factor that makes me give him this round. 19-19. Worth nothing all of Clark's UFC wins came via UD, so if this round didn't go to him on the official scorecards, he's likely already lost. Round 3: Spann is pushing the pace, coming out with 3 fast strikes, missing a big cross, and then coming in with a jab and a big straight right that hits the mark. But, noticing Spann's starting to look a tad tired, Clark shoots for the TD. But he settles for pushing Spann against the cage. There, he tries another TD using the underhooks, but Spann defends and gains control of the position. Spann is quick to go down and get the double leg takedown, and manages to get side control. Spann spends the remaning minutes of the round hitting Clark's body, with a few ocassional strikes to the head as well, winning this round comfortably. 29-28 Spann, as he likely goes 2-0 against Clark. Winner: Ryan Spann (UD: 30-27, 29-28 x 2). Rating: Average. Post-fight: Spann talks about how it sounded good as hell for him when Whana Dite told him he has to win a rematch he's already won to get a title shot, and he'll be ready for whoever wins between Ion and Yagshimuradov. Spann broke in the world LHW rankings at #23, while Clark fell from #23 to #25. 3. And now, FOR THE UBL FLYWEIGHT CROWN: © Montana DE LA ROSA (13-6, -560) vs. #1 Mariya AGAPOVA (10-2, +440) Round 1: As Montana tries to get close, Agapova hits a jab and tries a leg kick, but Montana catches her leg with ease! But Agapova escapes her opponents grip and hits her with a straight right. Montana is trying to find the right moment to grapple, but Agapova keeps jabbing at her, UNTIL SHE FINALLY SETS UP THE PERFECT HOOK! MONTANA'S DOWN! AGAPOVA IS THROWING BIG SHOTS AND MONTANA'S BARELY DEFENDING, WHAT A WIN FOR AGAPOVA! Winner, AND NEW UBL FLYWEIGHT CROWN BEARER: Mariya Agapova! (Hook & pound TKO @1:48, round 1). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Agapova says this is definetly the best moment of her career. She says she's already proved no grappler can stop her, and is hoping to fight high level strikers or better rounded fighters. Also, she wants to take this title to main event level. Title prestige down from 64 to 63. Agapove broke in the world W FlyW rankings at #17, while de la Rosa fell from #3 to #15. 4. Lightweight Bout: #4 Bobby GREEN (27-12-1, -350) vs. #7 Jim MILLER (32-17-1, +270) Round 1: Green is pushing forward. Miller hits 2 counter jabs, but gets struck with a low kick. Jab-cross combos land for both fighters. Green gets pushing again and they both trade jabs. Miller then hits a hook, but gets struck with a jab-jab-low kick combo. Miller hits a good straight, but gets caught with another leg kick. They then trade some straight rights. Green enters the pocket, but can't hit the target with a vicious cross. Some jab exchanges later, Green finally hits a big jab-straight right combo. Aaand another one. And it's round over, surely Green's round, altho Miller held his own very well early on. 10-9 Green. Round 2: They miss each other in the first 2 exchanges, and then Green hits a 1-2 and a body kick. He then comes in with 3 fast punches and a low kick, and Miller's limping a bit now. Green keeps pressuring Miller, despite starting to get tired. He connects with another low kick. And then with a body kick. Miller manages to hit Green with a hook, but Green fights back with a strong jab-hook combo. As they reach the last minute, Miller shoots and manages to take Green down, and hits a few strikes before the end of the round. Still, it likely wasn't enough to earn him the round. 20-18 Green. Round 3: Miller shoots straight away this time. He gets Green against the cage, but he escapes with ease, and hits him with a jab and a hard low kick. But Miller shoots again, and manages to trap Green against the cage. There, they dirty box for about 30 seconds, until Green manages to escape. Green hits a jab-jab-low kick combo, but Miller shoots once again! He pushes Green against the cage again, and after 40 seconds of dirty boxing, he tries for a takedown. But Green defends and gains control of the grapple. They keep striking for the rest of the round. 29-28 for Green, Miller's volume and control won him the round. Winner: Bobby Green (UD: 30-27, 29-28 x 2). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Green says it was a tough fight and says he liked how the harder he was hitting, the more aggresive Miller became. He says he's always down for whateva, so we'll see what will be next fo' him. Green broke back into the world LW rankings, at #22. 5. And now, IT IS TIME FOR THE MAAAIN EVEEENT OF THE EVENING! A Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final between #7 Stefan "SKYSCRAPER" STRUVE (29-14, +150) vs. #8 Ilir "THE SLEDGEHAMMER" LATIFI (14-8-1, -190) Besides the height and reach discrepancy, Struve also has about 20 lbs on Latifi. Round 1: Struve hits 2 jabs, while Latifi hits a hard jab-straight left combo. They trade some weak jabs, and then Latifi hits a hard left. Latifi hits a bunch of jabs, and it's looking like something's off with Struve. Latifi hits a hard jab-cross combo. Struve looks like he wants to grapple, but Latifi hits him with 3 jabs and a hook. Latifi then hits a big right, and then a left hook. After missing a bunch of strikes, then, Latifi hits another hard straight left. Then, they trade jabs, and Latifi hits another big left. AND THEN LATIFI CRACKS STRUVE WITH A BIG STRAIGHT LEFT TO THE JAW! AND STRUVE IS OUT COLD! Winner: Ilir Latifi (Straight Left KO @4:41, round 1). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Latifi is glad to be standing as a winner again, as it's been quite a while since his last W. He's looking to turn his whole momentum around and win the belt. Latifi broke in the world HW rankings, at #23. Attendance: 3 631 Critical rating: 68 COmmercial rating: 61 FOTN: A Vakhaev vs. T Johnson Jr. KOOTN: I Latifi vs. S Struve SubOTN: E Wozniak v. K Porczyk Profit: + 426 908 Biggest paydays: Latifi - 83 300, Struve - 33 500, Miller - 31 200, OSP - 20 000. Title fight paydays: De la Rosa - 3 200, Agapova - 2 900. RANKINGS UPDATES HEAVYWEIGHT LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT LIGHTWEIGHT BANTAMWEIGHT WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENTS HEAVYWEIGHT: © Alexander Romanov vs. Sergey Spivak Tanner Boser vs. Ilir Latifi LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Ion Cutelaba © / Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov vs. Ryan Spann Da Un Jung vs. Mauricio Rua vs. Sam Alvey MIDDLEWEIGHT: Zak Cummings © / Karl Roberson vs. Darren Stewart Brad Tavares / Gerald Meerschaert vs. Dricus Du Plessis BANTAMWEIGHT: Ricky Simon © vs. Andre Ewell Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brad Katona Enrique Bazola vs. Jack Shore Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson FLYWEIGHT: Magomed Bibulatov © vs. Tim Elliott Rasul Albashkanov vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo Kai Kara-France / Amir Albazi vs. Jordan Espinosa ROSTER UPDATES: Cut from the UBL: Sarah D'Alelio (11-8 W FlyW), Daniel Pineda (27-15-2 FW). Big fights outside of the UBL: UFC Brian Ortega beat Korean Zombie by 2nd round Guillotine to defend his UFC FW title. Urijah Faber beat Eddie Wineland by MD and announced his retirement afterwards. Dominick Reyes beat Luke Rockhold by 2nd round KO. Stephen Thompson beat Santiago Ponzinibbio by 1st round TKO. PFL Kayla Harrison beat Jozette Cotton by 1st round TKO. Emiliano Sordi beat Lincoln Ramsamy by 1st round RNC. And of coouuuurse, ourrrrrr Prediction rankings: Majster_93: 3/5 - A new challenger debuts with a W! rodrigoviolim: 2/5; Total: 29/65 (45%) CageRage: 1/5; Total: 30/65 (46%) McDojoDelux: Total: 3/10 legendaryhorseman: Total: 2/5 Despite back to back 1/5s, CageRage is still #1 in the Total Rankings, but Rodrigo is slowly closing in, can't help but wonder who'll be #1 by the end of the year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 24, 2021 Author Share Posted February 24, 2021 <p><strong>UBL 8: PROVING GROUNDS - MVP vs. Matthews</strong></p><p> 23 July 2021</p><p> Somewhere in Eastern Europe</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Prelims:</strong></p><p> MW: Sharaf Davlatmuradov vs. Nikola Dipchikov</p><p> BW: Abdul-Rakhman Dudaev vs. Danny Kingad</p><p> LHW: Shamil Gamzatov vs. Alex Polizzi</p><p> FlyW: Aren Akopyan vs. Blaine O'Driscoll</p><p> MW: #13 Aliaskhab Khzriev vs. #15 Magomedrasul Gasanov</p><p> FW: #9 Jeremy Kennedy vs. #13 Salahdine Parnasse</p><p> W FlyW: #6 Mara Romero Borella vs. #12 Victoria Leonardo</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Main card preview:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> 1. Women's Bantamweight Bout: #5 Sarah MORAS (6-7, -800) vs. #8 Vanessa MELO (10-9, +630)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Bantamweight contender Sarah Moras is on a 2 fight losing streak, with the latest being a 2nd round KO to the hands of current champion, Sarah Kaufman. Kaufman has expressed interest in offering Moras a rematch, for reasons only known to herself and God. Moras is mainly a BJJ fighter, who is at her best on the ground, but also has a pretty good wrestling clinch and some decent technical boxing. Melo is coming off a bad 0-3 run in the UFC, and her UBL debut didn't go much better, losing a clean UD to Bea Malecki. She is mainly a grindy grappler, with 9 out of her 10 wins coming via decision. Her last 10 fights all went to decisions.</p><p> </p><p> Prediction: Moras by decision.</p><p> </p><p> 2.<strong> Featherweight Bout: #5 Mirsad BEKTIC (14-4, -830) vs. #8 Makwan AMIRKHANI (16-6, +660)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Bektic is coming off a UD win against Nik Lentz, breaking his losing streak. He's a mean wrestler that also has good boxing and loves looking for a knockout when he can't get the fight down, but he'll usually manage to get the fight down, where he'll grind his way to victory. Amirkhani is coming off 2 Ls, one via UD to Edson Barboza in his last UFC fight, and one via KO to ex-champion Evloev in his UBL debut. He is also mainly a wrestler, but of lower level than Bektic, so he'll likely fail to impress here. Ooof.</p><p> </p><p> Prediction: Bektic by decision.</p><p> </p><p> 3. <strong>Bantamweight Crown: © Sarah KAUFMAN (23-5-1, -500) vs. #3 Lisa VERZOSA (7-1, +350)</strong></p><p> </p><p> WMMA veteran Sarah Kaufman is coming off two violent KOs over Moras and Correia. She's one hell of a kickboxer and has very good takedown defence and good sub' defence, so unless you're either a striker with crazy power, or an amazing wrestler, you're in trouble when stepping in against her. Verzosa is an coming off 2 wins, over Raquel Canuto and Tonya Evinger, after her losing effort when challenging for the Invicta BW title. She is mainly a tough counterpunching boxer, which might be just the right approach to triumph against Kaufman. Altho' hoping to win a 5 round decision via counterstriking is hard against a powerful fighter like Kaufman, and Verzosa seems to lack the KO power needed to finish Kaufman. Altho she did TKO Evinger, so you never know! Still, the safe bet remains Kaufman.</p><p> </p><p> Prediction: Kaufman by 2nd round KO.</p><p> </p><p> 4.<strong> Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #7 Mauricio RUA (27-13-1, -280) vs. #8 Sam ALVEY (33-14-1-1, +220)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Shogun Rua is coming off 2 back to back 2nd round TKO losses, to Paul Craig in the UFC, and to OSP in the UBL. His chin ain't what it used to be, neither is his technique, but he remains a capable wrestler who can be dangerous once he secures top control. He's also been working hard to maintain his conditioning and avoid getting hit when trying to get close. Sam Alvey is coming off a split draw against Da Un Jung, who he'll rematch if he goes past Rua. Alvey, like Rua, is a veteran of the sport, going 1-1 in Bellator and 10-9-1 in the UFC. He is mainly a striker, with good low kicks and powerful hands, and mostly trains wrestling to defend takedowns, altho he knows how to get around when grappling. I don't see any clean cut favorite here, but since Rua's chin is slowly breaking down, I expect a striker like Alvey to be able to finish him late in the fight.</p><p> </p><p> Prediction: Alvey by 3rd round KO.</p><p> </p><p> 5. <strong>Welterweight Bout: #5 Michael PAGE (19-1, +150) vs. #8 Jake MATTHEWS (17-5, -190)</strong></p><p> </p><p> Michael Venom Page has been strking all his life. He's a spectacular striker and has been one of Bellators biggest stars in the last years, building up a 14-1 record with the company before his UBL debut, earning wins over David Rickels, Paul Daley and, most famously, Evangelista Santos, whose skull he had cracked with a flying knee. In UBL, he debuted with a 2nd round KO over Lyman Good. He is a great striker with out of this world creative striking and good takedown defense to maximize his striking potential, and knees that can crack skulls. Damn. Also, MVP is currently on a 5 fight win streak, with only 1 decision and 4 cold KOs. Jake Matthews is a wild prospect, coming off a loss to now UBL WW champion, Mike Perry. Prior to that, he had a good 10-4 UFC run, where he managed to get a UD win over our former champion, Jingliang Li. Matthews is a wrestler who loves sticking close to his opponent, altho he does have decent low kicks for when grappling becomes trickier than he'd like. After a loss to a fairly similar opponent, Matthews seems to have a mountain to climb here, with MVP, but he's been working hard to round up his grappling in order to make it unstoppable, and he'll be glad to take MVP down and pound his head off or choke him out cold. Good luck with that, Jake!</p><p> </p><p> Prediction: Page by 3rd round KO.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Get hyper and share thoooooooose</p><p> </p><p> Main card predictions:</p><p> W BW: Sarah MORAS vs. Vanessa MELO</p><p> FW: Mirsad BEKTIC vs. Makwan AMIRKHANI</p><p> W BW Crown: Sarah KAUFMAN vs. Lisa VERZOSA</p><p> LHW Tournament QF: Mauricio RUA vs. Sam ALVEY</p><p> WW: Michael PAGE vs. Jake MATTHEWS</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageRage Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 <p>Main card predictions:</p><p> W BW: <strong>Sarah MORAS</strong> vs. Vanessa MELO</p><p> FW: <strong>Mirsad BEKTIC</strong> vs. Makwan AMIRKHANI</p><p> W BW Crown:<strong> Sarah KAUFMAN</strong> vs. Lisa VERZOSA</p><p> LHW Tournament QF:<strong> Mauricio RUA</strong> vs. Sam ALVEY</p><p> WW: Michael PAGE vs. <strong>Jake MATTHEWS</strong></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majster_93 Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 <p>Moras</p><p> Bektic</p><p> Kaufman</p><p> Rua</p><p> Matthews</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrigoviolim Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 W BW: Sarah MORAS vs. Vanessa MELO FW: Mirsad BEKTIC vs. Makwan AMIRKHANI W BW Crown: Sarah KAUFMAN vs. Lisa VERZOSA LHW Tournament QF: Mauricio RUA vs. Sam ALVEY WW: Michael PAGE vs. Jake MATTHEWS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDojoDelux Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 W BW: Sarah MORAS vs. Vanessa MELO FW: Mirsad BEKTIC vs. Makwan AMIRKHANI W BW Crown: Sarah KAUFMAN vs. Lisa VERZOSA LHW Tournament QF: Mauricio RUA vs. Sam ALVEY WW: Michael PAGE vs. Jake MATTHEWS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 UBL 8: PROVING GROUNDS - MVP vs. Matthews 23 July 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: MW: Sharaf Davlatmurodov defeats Nikola Dipchikov by TKO @2:13, round 1. BW: Abdul-Rakhman Dudaev defeats Danny Kingad by TKO @1:39, round 2. LHW: Shamil Gamzatov defeats Alex Polizzi by TKO @2:21, round 2. FlyW: Blaine O'Driscoll defeats Aren Akopyan by UD (29-28 x 3) in a Fantastic bout. MW: #15 Magomedrasul Gasanov defeats #13 Aliaskhab Khizriev by UD (30-27 x 3). FW: #9 Jeremy Kennedy defeats #13 Salahdine Parnasse by UD (30-27 x 2, 29-28). W FlyW: #6 Mara Romero Borella defeats #12 Victoria Leonardo by UD (29-28 x 3). Main card: 1. Women's Bantamweight Bout: #5 Sarah MORAS (6-7, -800) vs. #8 Vanessa MELO (10-9, +630) Round 1: Melo misses with a 1-2 and Moras exploits this mistake by shooting and getting a takedown, as Melo pulls guard. Moras is pounding and hits some good shots, and then makes a beautiful transition into side control. From side control, Moras throws a few punches to the body to keep Melo guessing, and then sets up a perfect armbar! It's in deep, and Melo has to tap & she does! Winner: Sarah Moras (Armbar submission @2:45, round 1). Rating: Great. Post-fight: Moras adresses the champion, saying that everyone knows that in their previous she just got caught and saying she believed she's evolved enough to make sure it doesn't happen again. "So Sarah Kaufman, defend and get me my rematch, girl". With this fight, Moras broke in the world WBW rankings, at #20. 2. Featherweight Bout: #5 Mirsad BEKTIC (14-4, -830) vs. #8 Makwan AMIRKHANI (16-6, +660) Round 1: They clinch up as expected, and as expected, Bektic is dominant, managing to get Amirkhani stuck against the cage. There, they dirty box for about a minute, and then Amirkhani manages to turn the clinch towards his favor, but Bektic regains control soon after. He smothers and dirty boxes Amirkhani for about 90 seconds, until the ref gets them back to the center. Amirkhani initiates the clinch, but gets outwrestled and Bektic ends up tripping Amirkhani and gaining side control. He throws some small punches until the round is over, and it's 10-9 for Bektic. Round 2: They clinch again, and Bektic gets Amirkhani against the cage again. After controlling and boxing Amirkhani for around 90 seconds, Bektic ends up backed against the cage by Amirkhani. Amirkhani dominates him for around a miunte, before ending up with his back against the fence again. Seeing that Bektic is doing nothing with his control, the ref gets them back to the center with 2 minutes left. They clinch again and Bektic trips Amirkhani down again, ending up in half guard this time. Bektic throws small time shots for around a minute, and then seizes side control off a scramble. He pounds some more and it's round over. 20-18 Bektic. Round 3: Guess what happens now! They clinch again, and shockingly, Bektic gets Amirkhani against the cage again. It's really looking like Amirkhani doesn't have the right answer to Bektic's gameplan at all. Bektic dominates Amirkhani for around 2 and a half minutes, until the ref separates them due to lack of action. They clinch again, and Amirkhani ends up stuck against the cage again. They spend the remaining 2 mintues of the round there, with Bektic grinding out another boring victory. 30-27 Bektic. Winner: Mirsad Bektic (UD: 30-27 x 2, 29-28). Rating: Very poor. Post-fight: Bektic shows respect to his opponent and says he's always ready to get back to work, so he'll be waiting by the phone to be enquired about his next fight. Mirsad Bektic broke in the world FW fankings, at #24. 3. And now, FOR THE FIRST EVER DEFENSE OF THE UBL BANTAMWEIGHT CROWN: © Sarah KAUFMAN (23-5-1, -500) vs. #3 Lisa "BATTLE ANGEL" VERZOSA (7-1, +350) Round 1: Kaufman is pushing forward, but Verzosa tags her with a hook, and Kaufman hits a straight left. Verzosa stands still and invites Kaufman to strike. Kaufman hits a jab-body punch combo. Verzosa pushes now, as they trade jabs. Kaufman comes forward now, gets struck with a jab, dodges a straight right, and hits a straight and a head kick, AND VERZOSA'S HURT! But aware enough to dodge a big overhand right. Kaufman pushes forward again, and hits a head kick, and Verzosa's wobbly, against the cage! HUGE RIGHT HAND FROM KAUFMAN AND VERZOSA GOES OUT LIKE A LIGHT, JUST LIKE THAT! Winner, AND STIIILL UBL BANTAMWEIGHT QUEEN: Saraaah KAAAUFMAAAN (Kick & kill KO @2:52, round 1). Rating: Great. Post fight: After being congratulated for another fabolous KO, Kaufman gets word about what Moras had to say earlier. She says she's up for anyone and would love to compete with Moras once again. Title prestige: up from 63 to 70. With this win, Kaufman went in the world WP4P rankings, from #13 to #6, and remained #2 in the Women's BW rankings, while Verzosa fell from #20 to #23. 4. Light Heavyweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #7 Mauricio RUA (27-13-1, -280) vs. #8 Sam ALVEY (33-14-1-1, +220) Round 1: They try to strike each other from afar in the 1st minute, and only a jab from Rua lands. Alvey catches Rua with a straight a short while after, and Rua fights back with a powerful jab-hook combo. Rua then hits a good 1-2, and follows it up with a left hook, while Alvey barely hits another jab. Alvey got a cut under the eye from that left hook. Alvey counters a big right with a nice jab-straight left combo. They trade some jabs and Rua hits a good straight right. Then they trade some good hooks. Shogun tries and misses another big right, and Alvey counters with a cross. Rua hits a hook and checks some low kick attempts from Alvey. Rua then hits a jab-low kick combo, and then the timer ends the round. Very close round, and Rua won it, but by a slim margin. 10-9 Rua. Round 2: They trade a bunch of jabs in the first 2 minutes, and then Alvey hits Rua with a spinning body kick, but gets touched with a good straight right. Rua misses a right cross and gets countered with a straight right from Alvey. Shogun misses another cross and this time gets struck with a cross by Alvey. Body kick hits the target from Alvey, BUT SHOGUN NAILED HIM WITH A VICIOUS CROSS, AND ALVEY FALLS DOWN! SHOGUN IS HAMMERING ALVEY WITH POWER AND LANDING CLEAN, BUT HE GOES FOR THE ARMBAR AND ALVEY SURVIVES IT! With few seconds left in the round, Rua pounds a few elbows and is likely annoyed for failing to finish the fight there. Must be annoying for Alvey, as he was obviously winning the round before that cross, and now he needs a finish in the third, 20-18 Rua. Round 3: Shogun misses a big shot and gets clipped with a few jabs. Alvey's pressuring forward but misses his shots and gets struck with a pair of jabs. As Shogun Rua now gets close, Alvey lands a hook but eats a big right hand. Alvey is starting to gas, but still catches Rua with a left cross, but gets hit by a jab-cross combo. They both hit some good straights, then. Alvey counters a roundhouse kick with a left hook, and Shoogun is also starting to look tired, as we eeach the halfway point of round 3. They clinch, and Shogun gets Alvey against the cage. Shogun beats Alvey up from up close, and then gets him in a muay thai clinch. He keeps him in the clinch for the rest of the round, but only hits 2 weak knees to the chest. Still, a dominant victory for Rua, 30-27. Winner: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (UD: 30-27 x 3). Rating: Good. Post-fight: Well gah dam it! Shogun announces his retirement, stating he feels his body can't get through another war like this one, which means it is time to call it an end on his fighting career. 5. And now, IT IS TIME FOR OUR MAAAIN EVENT OF THE EVENING! A Welterweight Bout between #5 Michael 'VENOM' PAGE (19-1, +150) vs. #8 'THE CELTIC KID' Jake MATTHEWS (17-5, -190) Round 1: Looks like MVP don't wanna touch gloves. He hits a good roundhouse kick to the ribs. He stalks forward, and Matthews hits a few weak counter jabs, BUT MVP HITS HIM WITH A NASTY HOOK. But Matthews looks like he's made of stone tonight. He backs and hits more weak jabs, as MVP hits a good combo of straight punches, and then a straight left-body kick combo. MVP hits another straight and tries for a big head kick, but Matthews catches the leg! But MVP escapes superbly. But Matthews shoots! And gets MVP stuck against the cage. Matthews holds him there for about 2 minutes, tiring the quite thin MVP by making him carry all this buff boy has to give. He also dirty boxes the hell outta MVP, likely outdoing MVP's striking output. MVP escapes with 30 seconds left. He hits 2 left hands, but Matthews dodges the big shots, and it's round over. Close round, I'll give it to Matthews for striking output and grappling control - 10-9 Matthews. Round 2: MVP starts off hot again, hitting a jab and a strong right hook. Matthews is tryign to get close to grapple, BUT MVP HITS A MASSIVE RIGHT TO THE JAW AND MATTHEWS HITS THE FLOOR! MVP FIRES AWAY AND IT MIGHT BE IT! What!? MVP GOES FOR A KIMURA AND OF COURSE MATTHEWS DEFENDS IT, MVP, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU'RE A STRIKER! WHAT!? MVP ATTEMPTS ANOTHER KIMURA AND HE GOD DAMN GETS IT!!?!? MATTHEWS TAPS OUT, OH MY GOOOOD! Winner: MICHAEL "VENOM" PAGE (Kimura submission @1:55, round 2). Rating: Decent (HOW IN THE WORLD WAS THIS ONLY DECENT, IT WAS GREAT, DAMN IT!). Post-fight: "Eyooo, are you not entertained, lads? Are you not impressed that can-crushin' Michael just subbed this boy? No disrespect, Jake, you had my number for half a round, you've been a tough guy, you'll be great soon. But dang it, I think it's time I get some more respect, maybe even a title shot over here. I think it's time I start calling some shots here." Following this win, MVP moved up in the world WW rankings, from #25 to #22. Attendance: 3 837 Critical rating: 71 Commercial rating: 67 FOTN: B O'Driscoll vs. A Akopyan KOOTN: S Kaufman v. L Verzosa SubOTN: S Moras v. V Melo Profit: + 558 788 Biggest paydays: Shogun Rua - 108 000, Sarah Kaufman - 31 000, Sarah Moras - 30 500, Michael Page - 23 000, Jake Matthews - 14 800. RANKING UPDATES: LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS MIDDLEWEIGHTS WELTERWEIGHTS FEATHERWEIGHTS WOMEN'S BANTAMWEIGHTS WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHTS TOURNAMENTS: HEAVYWEIGHT: © Alexander Romanov vs. Sergey Spivak Tanner Boser vs. Ilir Latifi LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Ion Cutelaba © / Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov vs. Ryan Spann Da Un Jung vs. Anthony Smith/Rashid Yusupov/Ivan Shtyrkov MIDDLEWEIGHT: Zak Cummings © / Karl Roberson vs. Darren Stewart Brad Tavares / Gerald Meerschaert vs. Dricus Du Plessis BANTAMWEIGHT: Ricky Simon © vs. Andre Ewell Kyung Ho Kang vs. Brad Katona Enrique Bazola vs. Jack Shore Rani Yahya vs. Montel Jackson FLYWEIGHT: Magomed Bibulatov © vs. Tim Elliott Rasul Albashkanov vs. Hiromasa Ogikubo Kai Kara-France / Amir Albazi vs. Jordan Espinosa Big fights outside of the UBL: UFC Weili Zhang beat Joanna by 2nd round TKO. Dominick Cruz beat Pedro Munhoz by UD. Kevin Lee beat Michael Chandler by UD in a Fantastic bout. Al Iaquinta beat Paul Felder by Ud. Aleksei Oleinik beat Ciryl Gane by UD. Ronaldo 'Jacare' Souza beat Antonio Braga Neto by 1st round Guillotine and announced his retirement. Bellator Josh Barnett beat Ryan Bader by 3rd round KO for the Bellator HW championship. Cat Zingano beat Sinead Kavanagh by UD. AJ McKee beat Tywan Claxton by UD. Khalid Murtazaliev beat Melvin Manhoef by 1st round Armbar Submission. ROSTER UPDATES New signings: LHW: Jai Parkhurst (2-0 newgen, "world class wrestler") FW: Rolando Dy (16-9-1, Brave CF FW Champion) W BW: Yuriko Okajima (1-0 newgen, "high level muay thai fighter") PREDICTION RANKINGS, WHICH FINALLY GET TO MATTER: Majster_93: 4/5; Total: 7/10 CageRage: 4/5; Total: 34/70 (49%) rodrigoviolim: 4/5; Total: 33/70 (47%) McDojoDelux: 4/5; Total: 7/15 legendaryhorseman: Total: 2/5 Now, since I've just said these rankings finally matter, here's what I came up with: I'm not sure about what to do with the LHW Tournament now that Shogun Rua won and retired, so I will invite the #1 of the rankings, CageRage, to pick one of these 3 options that I've thaught of: LHW TOURNAMENT OPTIONS: a. Book #5 Rashid Yusupov (1-0 in UBL) vs. #6 Ivan Shtyrkov (1-0 in UBL) as QUARTER FINAL for September week 4. b. Book #2 Anthony Smith (0-0 in UBL) vs. #5 Yusupov as QUARTER FINAL for September Week 4. c. Book #4 Da Un Jung vs. #5 Yusupov as SEMI FINAL for October Week 2. Note: Cutelaba vs. Yagshimuradov for the title is happening in August week 2 (next card), Spann will be ready to fight the winner of that ASAP in the semi-finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CageRage Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Yay Me! Will go with Yusupov vs. Shtyrkov in the Quarter-Finals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodrigoviolim Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 Very cool to see Shogun withdrawing as champion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vladjarca Posted February 26, 2021 Author Share Posted February 26, 2021 Next card: UBL 9: Golden Season - Cutelaba vs. Yagshimuradov 13 August, 2021 Somewhere in Eastern Europe Prelims: FlyW: Miguel Angel Torres vs. Bruno Rodrigues FW: Kevin Belingon vs. Movlid Khaybulaev LW: Thanh Le vs. Adam Piccolotti BW: #15 Herbeth Sousa vs. Victor Henry LHW: #9 Maxim Grishin vs. #12 Rafael Carvalho W BW: #6 Julia Stoliarenko vs. #10 Chelsea Chandler BW Tournament Quarter-Final: #8 Jack Shore vs. #9 Enrique Barzola Main card preview: 1. Bantamweight Tournament Quarter-Final: #5 Kyung HO KANG (19-8-1, +230) vs. #7 Brad KATONA (9-2, -300) Kang is on a 4 fight winning streak, interestingly coming off 3 Split Decision nods, with the latest being over Jack Shore in his UBL debut. He came to the UBL after a pretty good run in the UFC, where he went 6-2-1. Despite being on a decisioning streak, he's a good submission artist, with 11 of his 19 wins coming via submission. He has great takedowns to go with his jiu jitsu, and is also a skilled technical striker on the feet, despite lacking KO power. Katona came to the UBL after a mediocre 2-2 run in the UFC and debuted with a big UD victory over Patrick Mix. Katona is a well-rounded prospect that couldn't defend an armbar in any circumstance in my old KSW dynasty. Also, he is (supposedly) a very good grappler, wit great takedown defence, top control and submissions. On the feet, he has good technical punches and low kicks, and also a good muay thai clinch where he can blast with very powerful knees. He seems to be better rounded than his opponent, so I'm guessing he'll secure the win, but I wouldn't ever bet real money on Katona, so bet at your own risk. Prediction: Katona by 3rd round submission. 2. Lightweight Bout: #10 Steven RAY (25-9, -680) vs. #12 Brent PRIMUS (10-2, +540) Steven Ray is a Scottish fighter who has already made a great first impression in the UBL, debuting with a KO win against Myles Jury and earning a submission W via armbar in his following fight, against Chris Wade. Before the UBL, he had a decent run in the UFC, going 7-4 and getting a win over Joe Lauzon, and before the UFC, he was champion in the top British MMA companies, Cage Warriors and BAMMA. He is a well rounded fighter with very good takedowns, good skills on the floor and also pretty good wrestling on the feet, and quite great fight IQ and heart. His opponent, Brent Primus, is a Bellator ex-LW champion, coming off a loss via submission to Renato Carneiro, who caught him in a guillotine in his UBL debut. Aged 36, Primus will likely remain a one trick pony in MMA, with his ground game being the only well developed part of his arsenal. This being said, I expect Ray to do well in what will likely be a grappling heavy contest, but Primus always has the chance of locking in a tight submission and forcing the tap. Prediction: Ray by decision. 3. Bantamweight Title & Tournament Quarter-Final: © Ricky SIMON (18-3, -310) vs. #2 Andre EWELL (18-6, +240) UBL Bantamweight Champion has TKO'd Montel Jackson and Rani Yahya to earn his belt, two opponents he defeated via Unanimous Decision when he faught them in his short UFC run, that ended with a 4-2 UFC record. Simon has been working hard to get even better by the day, and it feels like he can become one of UBL's top stars, as he has great takedowns, great BJJ and good boxing on the feet, and also good head movement, plus the looks of a star and potential to grow, as he's still only 28yo. Andre Ewell is coming off 2 split decision wins in the UFC, ending his stint in the company with a 4-2 record, and a late 1st round TKO win over Enrique Barzola in his UBL debut. His biggest achievement might be his SD win over Renan Barao, but here he's looking to add to that list. He is mainly a striker, with great technique and good power in his hands, and good low kicks and TDD. While he is more one dimensional than the champion, he is also tough enough to give any fighter a run for his money, and he has the puncher's chance that's and technique that might be too much even for the champion Simon. Still, it is obvious who the favourite is in this bout. Prediction: Simon by 4th round submission. 4. Middleweight Title & Tournament Quarter-Final: © Zak CUMMINGS (26-7, -330) vs. #2 Karl ROBERSON (10-3, +260) No one expected to see Zak Cummings come out as champion from the Inaugural UBL Middleweight Tournament, but he won, and did so in impressive fashion, with a quick submission over Andrew Sanchez and a UD victory over Brad Tavares. Altho' seen by many as mainly a wrestler, Cummings has good low kicks and technical boxing and will prefer to seek a submission rather than pound when in top control, as we've seen after he dropped Sanchez with a punch and preferred to get the armbar over the TKO. Karl Roberson is a kickboxer who had an interesting 4-3 UFC run before his UBL debut, where he defeated Eryk Anders by TKO in just over a minute. Despite strating off as a kickboxer, Roberson's developed a very well rounded game, with better BJJ and wrestling than you'd expect from a kickboxer, and also good thai elbows, but he's at his best when he manages to start pounding on his downed opponent, and has many ways to get to this point. I see him as the minor favourite, but it will likely be a close fight and Cummings will not go down without a violent fight. Prediction: Roberson by decision. 5. Light Heavyweight Title & Tournament Quarter-Final: © Ion CUTELABA (17-6, -340) vs. #8 Dovletdzhan YAGSHIMURADOV (18-5-1, +270) Cutelaba is walking trouble for his opponents. Seemingly unable to defeat a top 10 fighter in the UFC, Ion started his UBL career with two "BANG"s, violently finishing both Ryan Spann and OSP. He has massive power in his punches and good wrstling, altho his ground game is his main weak point. Yagshimuradov was the ACA LHW champion before coming to the UBL, and he's on a 8 fight winning streak, with 6 finishes. As a sambo master, he's as well rounded as you'd expect, with good wrestling, great submission offense and a well rounded ground game, and also good boxing and head movement on the feet. Expect fireworks. Prediction: Cutelaba by 1st round KO. Come on laaads, share thooose Main card predictions: BW Tournament QF: Kyung Ho KANG vs. Brad KATONA LW: Steven RAY vs. Brent PRIMUS BW Tournament QF & Title: Ricky SIMON vs. Andre EWELL MW Tournament QF & Title: Zak CUMMINGS vs. Karl ROBERSON LHW Tournament QF & Title: Ion CUTELABA vs. Dovletdzhan YAGSHIMURADOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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