Tonight A Phenomenal Matchup Will Determine An Interim Champion To Conor McGregor's UFC Lightweight Title
Now that I’ve hopefully got you here (probably because I put Conor McGregor’s name in my headline), I’d like to tell you a little bit about tonight’s UFC card. History will be made, a new (Interim) Champion will be crowned, and violence will take place. This event doesn’t really have any massive stars other than Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson, who some would argue isn’t a massive star, and that’s a real shame because eyes should be on UFC 216…many just don’t have a reason to tune in.
Before I get into the fights and my predictions, I’d like to note that 1,500 first responders to the Las Vegas shooting will be in attendance, with tickets given to them by Dana White and the UFC. It’s an incredibly classy move by the company, who’s explained this event is going on as planned to serve as a distraction away from the tragedy.
Alright let’s talk barbaric human cockfighting!
Reminder: this is not a gambling blog. These are not gambling picks. MMA is hard to predict and I try to predict every single fight. I’m rocking a meh 67-46-2 record on the year, 11-4-4 on events.
UFC Interim Lightweight Championship: Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson (-250) vs Kevin “The Motown Phenom” Lee (+240)
While this fight DOESN’T have an undisputed UFC Championship on the line, it’s still the main event, because fuck Mighty Mouse, right?! Not like he has the opportunity to break one of the most impressive records in UFC history tonight. Anyway, Tony Ferguson vs Kevin Lee is actually an amazing matchup, and I would be shocked if this didn’t wind up being the fight of the night. As much as I hate the guy (and trust me, I fucking hate the guy), Ferguson has become a must watch fighter every time he’s in the octagon. Look at the ninja shit he pulls!
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But also, look at the idiot shit he pulls…
You Don’t Have Some Master Plan To Troll All Of Your Haters By Capitalizing Every First Letter Of Every Word On Twitter. You’re Just An Idiot. I Hate Your Sunglasses. Go Fuck Yourself.
Kevin Lee pulled his weight cut thing yesterday which really rubbed me the wrong way, but I’ll still be in his corner tonight. Do I think he’s gonna get the nod? No, unfortunately I don’t. I think El Cucuy’s pressure is going to be too much for the less battle tested Kevin Lee. My only real hang up is whether or not Ferguson finishes Lee or if he just takes over in the deep waters and takes this thing to the judges. I’m gonna guess Tony gets the finish late in the championship rounds.
Winner: Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson
UFC Flyweight Championship: Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson (c) (-875) vs Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg (+900)
There’s not a TON to say about this fight because it’s so incredibly lopsided, but I do believe it should be the main event regardless out of respect to Demetrious Johnson, who’s about to become the most dominant champion in UFC history. His fights are an absolute pleasure to watch, just cheering on the greatness that is Mighty Mouse. Realistically, he’s one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time in a completely overlooked but stacked division. There is no way Ray Borg pulls off an upset here.
Winner: Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson
Heavyweight Division: Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (-245) vs Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (+225)
I wish I felt a little better about this matchup so I could write an interesting breakdown for it, or at least give you some unbiased thoughts, but I really believe the lines aren’t far enough apart for this one. Fabricio Werdum is better than Derrick Lewis at literally every aspect of MMA. He’s gonna steamroll him and probably submit him. I doubt we have to see the scorecards for this, and I’m gonna be confused as to what’s next for Werdum after this. Maybe he’ll get the loser of Overeem/Ngannou? Anthony “Rumble” Johnson upon return (which can’t happen for at least six months)? I’m really not sure. The Heavyweight Division is a weird one!
Winner: Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum
Women’s Flyweight Division: Mara “Why Am I On The Main Card?” Romero Borella (-200) vs Kalindra “I Don’t Know Why I’m Here Either” Faria (+195)
I don’t know a ton about either of these ladies. Both of them will be making their UFC debuts tonight, and I just don’t know why they got the main card nod over a banger of a fight like Lando “Groovy” Vannata vs Bobby “King” Green (I got my boy Lando in that one). It may be because the UFC likes to have a women’s fight on every pay per view, but that doesn’t feel right to me. Mixed martial arts is one of the few sports that I feel (for the most part) puts women on an equal level with the men, so the forceful placement of this fight on the main card is just unnecessary. Just let the biggest and best fights go on pay per view.
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Winner: Kalindra Faria I guess. Bet the over.
Lightweight Division: Beneil Dariush (-210) vs Evan Dunham (+195)
These guys are both pretty great southpaw kickboxers who were primarily grapplers when getting their start, but I believe Beneil Dariush has the advantage in the graps department, so he’ll look to bring this fight to the ground if things aren’t going his way on the feet. Dunham
is no joke when it comes to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu either, though, so it’s a tough one to call. I’m going with Dariush based on his impressive performance against Edson Barboza…before he got KTFO. I would not be surprised if Dunham got the nod, though, and this is the opposite of Werdum vs Lewis for me in that the lines should be closer. I think Dunham’s probably a decent value pick.
Winner: Beneil Dariush
It’s always the cards that fly under the radar in the build that deliver the most, so keep that in mind before you just write off UFC 216 based on the fact that you don’t know any of these names.