Shake Off The Sunday Scaries With The First (Free) UFC Card Of The Year After Football Tonight
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the New Year in mixed martial arts! We’re leaving a lot of the lackluster from 2017 behind and hoping for a resurgence in certain aspects of the sport, and that starts (in the UFC) tonight at 10pm on FS1!
Main eventing the card is Jeremy “Who The Fook Is That Guy” Stephens (+155) vs “The Korean Superboy” Doo-ho Choi (-160) in a featherweight bout. Superboy is obviously coming back from his fight of the year worthy loss again Cub Swanson on December 10th, 2016, and Jeremy Stephens off his dominant win over Gilbert Melendez this past September. Every time Stephens fights, he gets the soundbites of a guy who can knock anybody out with one punch, and I always find that very strange. He’s a great fighter, don’t get me wrong, but I think we’ve moved past the days of him having that kind of power. His last KO was at UFC 189 in 2015, and before that, in November of 2013. He goes very back and forth between having these great, calculated, dominant performances (like the one against Melendez) and trigger shy, more frustrating performances (like his fight vs Renato Carneiro), and I think Doo-ho’s pressure is going to cause that second personality of Stephens to come out. He IS the kind of guy who can land a one punch knockout, and should have a hefty enough size/strength advantage in the cage tonight. I’m prediction a finish from him in the second or third round.
The co-main event of the evening is between friend of the program Paige VanZant and Jessica-Rose Clark, and it’s a pick ‘em. This is Paige’s first fight in the UFC at her desired 125lbs, and I think it’s going to go her way. Clark’s greatest strength, the clinch, is probably VanZant’s as well, who I think has more ways to get there, and more directions to go FROM there. Granted, I haven’t seen enough of Jessica-Rose to know her ENTIRE game, but I have a feeling Paige is going to be able to vastly out-grapple her, especially with the extra strength that comes along at 125. Probably a decision in this one.
Vitor Belfort was supposed to face Uriah Hall in his retirement fight, but Hall fainted and had a seizure on his way to the weigh-ins yesterday. He’s in stable condition in the hospital. I assume nothing at the UFC will change as far as weight cutting goes, because fuck fighter safety, right?
The other two fights on the card are Kamaru Usman vs Emil Meek, which should basically just be a showcase for Usman who I expect to wreck Meek’s shit, and Darren “The Damage” Elkins vs Michael Johnson in what could be a barn burning brawl. I’ll take Johnson in that one because he’s a little less reckless with his chin. Knows a thing or two about defense.
Enjoy the fights, everyone.