The Greatest Heavyweight Matchup In UFC History Goes Down Tonight In Boston

Shoutout @BossLogic for making that awesome poster you see above

It’s Saturday afternoon, all competitors have already made weight for UFC 220, and the fights are ON. We’ve made it. UFC 220 goes down tonight at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and it’s headlined by the baddest men on the planet. Stipe Miocic will look to do what no heavyweight has ever done before in the UFC: defend his championship in three consecutive fights. Francis Ngannou, who stands in his way, has finished his last four opponents in under two minutes each, three by devastating knockout/TKO. He’s let his heavy hands work his way up the rankings in the blink of an eye, most recently delivering possibly the most vicious uppercut I’ve ever seen to secure this title opportunity. He’s never faced a monster quite like Stipe, however, who’s also finished his last four within one by knockout/TKO. When these two clash in the octagon in just a few hours, it’s gonna be rock’em sock’em robots. Somebody is getting their head popped off, it’s just a matter of who connects first.

UFC Heavyweight Championship: Stipe Miocic (c) (+165) vs Francis “The Predator” Ngannou (-165)

Like I said above, this is a matter of who lands the knockout blow first. I know that’s a “No duh” preview of a heavyweight title fight, but there’s no sense in me breaking down footwork, wrestling, clinch work, or anything. That’s all thrown out the window when hands are this heavy. These two monsters are going to throw haymakers at each other and one of them is going lights out in the first round. Hammer the under. I am picking Francis because I don’t think any human being on earth can be punched in the face by him and withstand it. That’s it.

Winner: Francis Ngannou #andNEW

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Daniel “DC” Cormier (c) (-315) vs Volkan “No Time” Oezdemir (+300)

I was actively campaigning for this fight not to be booked because I don’t think Volkan Oezdemir is anywhere near close enough skill wise to give Cormier a real good fight. I thought after Alexander Gustafsson’s dominant win over Glover Teixeira this past Memorial Day Weekend, he deserved the next shot at the 205 gold – especially given that his previous bout for the strap was ANOTHER controversial split decision. I think Cormier will give Volkan a LOT of trouble wrestling, hopefully land that signature high crotch takedown early, and smother him on the ground until he secures a submission victory.

Winner: Daniel Cormier #andSTILL

Featherweight Division: Calvin Kattar (+180) vs Shane “Hurricane” Burgos (-150)

I feel like this fight has been tremendously overlooked in the last few weeks. Nobody’s talking about it and I don’t know why. Shane Burgos is undefeated at 10-0 and has looked awesome in every fight I’ve seen him in, and Calvin Kattar is a guy who hasn’t lost in eight years. They’re very, VERY evenly matched up and I’m surprised the line is as drastic as it is. It may be like that because I feel the UFC might view this as a showcase for Burgos, but I don’t. I think Kattar’s experience is going to give him the edge and that he’s a good value bet at +180. It won’t be easy though, and I think he’ll have to stay out of the pocket with Burgos to do this. I predict this one goes the distance.

Winner: Calvin Kattar

Light Heavyweight Division: Gian Villante (-140) vs Francimar “Bodao” Barroso (+155)

This is the only fight nobody really gives a fuck about. People like Villante, I guess. I do, I think he seems like an alright dude. I just don’t have any interest in seeing this on the main card and would prefer if it were substituted with Kyle Bochniak vs Brandon Davis. Both guys in this fight are kinda shot. Villante is coming off being FINISHED by Shogun Rua, and in 2017, that means Villante has NO chin whatsoever, so I’ll select the 37-year-old Brazilian.

Winner: Francimar Barroso

Bantamweight Division: Thomas “Thominas” Almeida (-115) vs Rob Font (+105)

If you’ve followed my UFC blogs for the past year, you know I’m really high on Thomas Almeida. I think he has tremendous potential and a super high ceiling, and expect him to come into this fight with a very strategic muay thai gameplan to rattle Font early. Neither guy has AWESOME defense, but I think Almeida’s is good enough to get him through the fight until he inevitably drops Font and finishes him on the ground. I predict this’ll be a TKO.

Winner: Thomas Almeida

That’s it for my main card breakdown. I’ll be at the TD Garden as a credentialed unbiased journalist tonight, so if you see me make sure you say hey! If you’re at home wondering if this’ll be worth the pay per view price, I’d say it absolutely will be. Nothing better than heavyweight fighting at it’s highest level.