Ah yes, mid February. February is a tough month for a multitude of reasons, sports included. The NBA is currently at the All-Star break, the NFL season just concluded, and the MLB is still a month and a half away. Oh yeah, and it's cold. But who is here to save the day? The UFC!
Tonight is a UFC Fight Night and while this card is not exactly full of jaw dropping matchups, it's not too shabby. Also considering the circumstances of the sheer lack of sports going on, this card does feel more interesting than it maybe would have if other sports were in full swing.
For true MMA fans though, this card is decent, and the more I look at the main event, the more intrigued I become.
#12 Julia Avila is set to duke it out vs #13 Jacqueline Cavalcanti in the Women's Bantamweight division. To be frank I'm not to aware of these ladies and their skillsets but, that's all the more reason to watch. The Women's Bantamweight division has a reputation of being fairly shallow and just full of question marks when it comes to talent. It will be interesting to see these top fifteen ladies try and make a name for themselves in a division begging for a spark.
Brazilian Brothers Gabriel and Ismael Bonfim are looking to get victories tonight in Vegas. Both are fairly inexperienced in the UFC but they are pretty promising prospects. Gabriel in the Welterweight Division and Ismael at Lightweight. Gabriel is fighting an established, underrated veteran in Khaos Williams. Ismael is fighting Nazim Sadykhov who hasn't fought in 15 months but has yet to see defeat in the UFC.
Ketlen Souza is set to fight pretty high level, highly respected, seasoned veteran #13 Angela Hill in a Strawweight fight. Hill is a more than capable fighter and I do enjoy watching her fight. If Ketlen can get it done against such an experienced skilled fighter like Hill, it will do wonders for her career.
Edmen Shahbazyan and Dylan Budka are set to face off in a mildly interesting Middleweight fight. It's crazy to imagine how nearly half a decade has passed since Shahbazyan was a pretty big hype train. He has not lived up to expectations but he is still only 27 and has fought some legit competition in his time with the UFC. Considering he's now entering his prime as an athlete and has gathered a lot of good experience against names like Derek Brunson, Jack Hermansson, Nassourdine Imavov, Anthony Hernandez and even Gerald Meerschaert, perhaps Shahbazyan could turn this thing around still. It's not unheard of for fighters to turn a new page and rewrite the story of their career. Dylan Budka only has two fights in the UFC (other than the Contender Series) so far and has lost both fights. These guys are kind of both clinging to roster spots so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. I got Edmen winning.
#10 Featherweight Calvin Kattar has lost four of five and hasn't seen victory in over three years. The fact he's still in the top ten shows just how well he's viewed as a fighter and it shows the level of competition he's fought throughout his career. In his recent losses he lost a really close fight to Josh Emmett, he lost to Arnold Allen and then lost to a former Bantamweight Champion in Aljamain Sterling. A few years ago he also lost to the absolute legend Max Holloway. Considering the level of talent and a torn ACL he suffered, it's easy to see why Kattar is still seen as a top ten guy. People forget he also has victories over talented guys like Andre Fili, Shane Burgos, Ricardo Lamas, Jeremy Stephens, Dan Ige, and Giga Chikadze. Kattar may not be like, a Hall of Famer but he's very good. Tonight Kattar faces young up and comer Youssef Zalal. Zalal is 3-0 in the UFC and is eight years younger than Kattar. This will either be a good or bad thing for Kattar we shall see. I believe Kattar will be ready and is looking to tee off on someone though and re-establish himself. I got Kattar winning.
That leaves us with the main event of the evening between two muscular middleweights. #7 Jared Cannonier vs unranked but surging Gregory Rodrigues. Cannonier has been sniffing the Middleweight Championship for a number of years and even fought for the Title in 2022, losing to Israel Adesanya. Recently though things have not gone his way and he's lost two straight. Cannonier is also 40 years old. History and statistics will tell you that things aren't looking too hot for Cannonier in terms of his chances at grabbing gold. But who knows, perhaps he will prove to have one last run in him starting tonight.
Cannonier is fighting a hungry, scary looking fighter in Gregory Rodrigues. Rodrigues is in his prime at 32 years old (eight years younger than Cannonier) and just looks ferocious. He's an excellent grappler and is competent and really powerful on the feet striking. Rodrigues is 7-2 in the UFC since joining the promotion in June 2021.
Cannonier is a powerful striker with underrated grappling. While Rodrigues is a superb grappler with underrated striking. It will be such a fun watch to see how their skillsets match up. The age difference here may end up proving to be the difference. I got Rodrigues winning and propelling himself into the top ten.
This will be a fun night, and the fights start at a reasonable time too. So nobody is going to be up all night, and that feels pretty good.
Let's go!!!
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