UFC 191: Johnson vs Dodson 2

[wandshogun09]

September 5th in Vegas...

 

 

PPV MAIN CARD

Demetrious Johnson vs John Dodson - Flyweight Title

Andrei Arlovski vs Frank Mir

Anthony Johnson vs Jimi Manuwa

Corey Anderson vs Jan Blachowicz

Paige VanZant vs Alex Chambers

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Ross Pearson vs Paul Felder

John Lineker vs Francisco Rivera

Jessica Andrade vs Raquel Pennington

Clay Collard vs Tiago Trator

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Joe Riggs vs Ron Stallings

Joaquim Silva vs Nazareno Malegarie

 

Obviously that isn't the full card but that's all they've announced so far. Odd really. Usually by the time one PPV is in the books, the next one has been finalised for a while. This is only about four weeks away as well. Bit shitty if Joe Silva's phoning guys now to be on this card and they're left with a three week camp before fight week.

 

Anyway, it's several steps down from the last few PPVs but I quite like this one myself.

 

 

Mighty Mouse vs John Dodson 2 isn't a blockbuster main event like we've been treated to on the last few PPVs with Rousey/Correia, McGregor/Mendes, Werdum/Cain and Cormier/Rumble. But what this is is a really intriguing rematch of a great title fight. It's the dominant champion in Demetrious Johnson vs his biggest threat, IMO, John Dodson.

 

The first fight was on FOX in January 2013 and was without doubt Mighty Mouse's most difficult title defence to date. Dodson is probably the only guy in the division who can rival DJ in speed, and he's also one of the few flyweights on the planet with legitimate KO power. He gave Mouse some problems early in the first fight, even hurting and dropping him in the second round...

 

 

Johnson toughed it out though and as the fight went on he pulled ahead on the scorecards, fucking Dodson up with knees from the Thai clinch and just generally outcardioing him in the championship rounds.

 

 

DJ won the decision.

 

It was a great fight. I think Mouse is one of the most underappreciated fighters in the sport. People recognise his skills but he gets this rep as a boring fighter sometimes and I don't think it's warranted. Sure he's not an interesting personality or a hype machine but some guys just don't have that in them. It'd be better if he did but I'd rather him do it how he's doing it than trying too hard to be something he's not and coming across as fake. In the cage, I think he's pretty fucking awesome to watch myself.

 

I'm well up for this fight. To me it's the very best two flyweights on the planet. I think Dodson poses more of a threat to Johnson than any other flyweight right now. Cejudo could be a threat in the not too distant future too. Flyweight could get very interesting in the next year or so.

 

 

Whack on some Obie Trice, watch a Chris Benoit title match - it's 2004 again and Arlovski vs Mir is the co-main event. Winner fights Paul 'Fear The Consequences' Buentello.

 

Seriously, this is a right throwback fight. But in fairness to both, it's actually a relevant fight in the heavyweight title picture. In 2015. Madness.

 

It's a hell of a story - this fight was most likely going to happen in 2004. Mir had just won the UFC heavyweight title in the summer, snapping Tim Sylvia's arm in the process. And Arlovski was waiting in the wings as Mir's first challenger. Sadly, Mir had his motorcycle crash and his career went to shit. Arlovski and Sylvia ended up fighting for the interim title and by the time Mir returned, Sylvia was the proper champ, Arlovski was his rival and Mir was in terrible form. The ship had sailed on Mir vs Arlovski.

 

From there - ups and downs doesn't come close to describing both mens' careers.

 

Arlovski left the UFC in 2008, bagged himself a sweet deal from the financial geniuses at Affliction, went on a hot streak with wins over Roy Nelson and Ben Rothwell among others. Then he got knocked out by Fedor, went on a losing streak and he's since admitted that he was so depressed around that time that he contemplated suicide and actually played Russian Roulette for real.

 

 

Mir finally got out of his post-motorcycle crash slump, beating Brock Lesnar and Big Nog in 2008 and scoring wins over the likes of Cro Cop, Nelson, Kongo and Nog again in the following years. Before going on a big losing streak again. He went from main eventing UFC 100 with the Brock Lesnar rematch to becoming the heavyweight 'jobber to the stars'. Mir was everyone's bitch from 2012-2014. Pretty much all the top guys had a go on him - from JDS to Cormier to Overeem.

 

 

He was on his arse. It got so bad he even stopped talking shit. You know Mir's in a bad way when he's not even being a smug prick anymore.

 

Yet somehow, in 2015, here we are. Mir's rattled off two first round knockouts of Bigfoot Silva and Todd Duffee. Arlovski's 3-0 since returning to the UFC last year and he's coming off a KO victory in one of the best one round fights in UFC history against Travis Browne.

 

 

And depending on how upcoming fights go and who's healthy, this could actually end up becoming a #1 contenders fight.

 

Heavyweight MMA, got to love it.

 

 

Rumble vs Manuwa is going to be fucking brutal. Two of the most powerful strikers in MMA, lethal kicks, huge punchers, both mega aggressive. Odds are this one's not going the distance and is probably going to end in nasty fashion. My head's saying Rumble wins this. He's younger, faster and has more overall tools as an MMA fighter. But when you get two big strong as fuck KO artists in there like these two, little gloves etc, who the fuck knows?

 

 

 

Paige VanZant returns. Fresh off a big win on FOX over Felice Herrig. Now she's advanced to PPV. Should be a fun fight as well. Alex Chambers is no pushover. She's coming off a great comeback win by armbar over Kailin Curran. She's decent all-round. I think PVZ wins though. It should really be a bit of a showcase for her. Hopefully she wins here and we get a Paige VanZant vs Michelle Waterson fight on later in the year.

 

 

Lineker vs Rivera is the perfect choice to open the PPV with. Absolutely no way I see this being a letdown. It's Lineker's move up to 135 as well after repeatedly failing to make 125. So hopefully his weight missing days are done now. If he misses weight at bantamweight, man, we've got problems.

 

They're not doing him any favours though. Rivera's badass. I had him beating Faber before the eyepoke and he's just wiped out Bruce Leeroy in seconds.

 

It's as close to a guaranteed slugfest as you can get. Can't wait.

 

I'll update this post as more fights are added.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I know Jimi is 35 to Johnson's 31, but in fighter years (like dog years but with far uglier noses) he's younger. Jimi didn't train in combat sports until he was 27, and took his first fight at 28.

 

Manuwa fascinates me, actually.

 

Combat sports are famed for being more receptive to late-starters than most, and they can make good livings too. But to be amongst the elite of the elite despite not getting to the UFC until he was 33 is genuinely incredible, aspirational stuff.

 

I'm really looking forward to this show. DJ is my P4P top guy, if such a thing is even possible to calculate, right now and it's a pleasure just to watch him be good at fighting; Mir/Arlovski is going to be a nice throwback and, like I say, I'm a big fan of Jimi and hope he pulls it off against Rumble.

[Guy Bifkin]

I might have mentioned I'm in town for this one...

 

A question for Supremo - I've heard you mention you've picked up free tickets for UFC events in the past, any tips for doing this? As I can't see this selling out I'm going to try and blag my way in. 

 

As for the card, can't say I'm too excited but the addition of Arlovski and Manuwa has improved things immeasurably. Hoping they can come up with a few more fun fights. 

[lambyUK]

I have to say, the main card is a good main and I personally wouldn't mind paying to see that. It's not a big fight card, but it's got some very good fights and for a DJ fight, it's extremely competitive. Dodson has a genuine chance of winning and i think it will be an exciting fight.

 

Arlovski/Mir is good fight in terms of names, but I can't see it being a great fight, but I could be wrong. That said, with these 2 in 2015 everything is out of the window with predictions.

 

VanZant and Chambers should be great as Paige doesn't seem to have bad fights and Lineker vs Riviera should be a war.

 

That said Bifkin, I wouldn't buy tickets and try and to get free tickets over there by hanging around the weigh in area, outside it and also follow Dana on twitter waiting for him to tweet the location of freebies. 

Worst case scenario is you have to buy a ticket at the door as they won't sell out for this. 

[wandshogun09]

This card is actually a bit better than I remembered. I somehow missed out of the opening post that Joseph Benavidez vs Henry Cejudo is on the card!

 

That's a tremendous fight, a big test for Cejudo and likely has title shot implications.

 

I've amended the opening post. Benavidez vs Cejudo will probably end up on the PPV though, I'm guessing. Can see Lineker vs Rivera headlining the prelims.

[lambyUK]

Oh bugger, yep, that's a great fight Wand. Hoping Cejudo proves he's the real deal here as he's the biggest threat to DJ in my opinion. 

[wandshogun09]

I really like Cejudo. I like his fighting style, he's got a certain charisma in a division sorely lacking it, I love the Olympic backstory and the nod to it with the gold shorts (although Reebok's ended that). He looks like a mini Frank Shamrock too.

 

I hope he wins spectacularly here. Flyweight needs someone like him badly, especially if Mouse goes 2-0 over Dodson. Cejudo beating a legit top 125er like Benavidez on the undercard of Mouse/Dodson, and then calling out the winner would be cool. He doesn't strike me as a 'I'll fight whoever the UFC puts in front of me' type.

 

Watch Benavidez balls it up now.

[Egg Shen]

yep that's some solid shit right there. Happy with that main card, and Cejudo/Benavidez.

[David]

Not many people except me buying into the Frank hype train then? I fully expect Mir to win this fight via KO or submission.

[d-d-d-dAz]

If Mir does win, what the fuck do you do with him then?

 

Feed him to Cain? Give him a title shot?

 

Jesus, the wacky world of Heavyweight MMA never fails to amuse.

 

The one thing I hope is that Mark Hunt gets to put his record back in a positive ratio and then leaves. It'd be gutting if he retired with a losing record.

[wandshogun09]

The MMA Beat lot were talking about Mir's little resurgence recently. This was before the Arlovski fight was announced. Someone mentioned him possibly fighting a Cain or Stipe and everyone was against putting Mir in that kind of matchup. Luke Thomas seemed particularly opposed to it.

 

The thing is, if you're a heavyweight coming off back-to-back first round KO wins over solid names like Bigfoot and Duffee - what options are there other than top guys? Mir's put himself in a position where the UFC have to give him big fights. As much as I can't stand him and I'm not on the 'Mir is back' bandwagon, there's no question he's earned his big fight and PPV co-main status here.

 

If he beats Arlovski, I honestly would just say 'fuck it' and book Werdum vs Mir for the title. Why not? Mir would be 3-0 in a division where no-one really goes 3-0. He's a former champion, a name, coming off three wins in a row. And the Werdum vs Mir match is appealing in that it's arguably the two best BJJ guys ever at heavyweight facing off (not that I'd see it playing as a grappling match).

 

This whole little run Mir's on makes me even more gutted that Brock Lesnar re-signed with WWE. Imagine them booking Lesnar vs Mir 3 as co-main to Aldo vs McGregor in January? Just imagine that shit!! And at a time where Mir's coming off wins and will be getting cocky again. It'd be magic. A McGregor/Brock's return PPV would be a monster. Especially if they threw Punk's debut in there as well. I think that would actually break UFC 100's buyrate. I really do.

[David]

If Mir does win, what the fuck do you do with him then?

 

The winner of a possible Struve vs Bigfoot fight?

[Egg Shen]

Not many people except me buying into the Frank hype train then? I fully expect Mir to win this fight via KO or submission.

im not, but i never do. Mir continuously proves me wrong so i won't be surprised if he wins this thing by wheel kick.

Not many people except me buying into the Frank hype train then? I fully expect Mir to win this fight via KO or submission.

im not, but i never do. Mir continuously proves me wrong so i won't be surprised if he wins this thing by wheel kick.

[Magnum Milano]

Nazareno Malegarie is the guy who had a tremendous fight with Daniel Strauss in Bellator. He was 19-0 at the time, and it was when Bellator were 'scouring the world to bring in all the top unsigned fighters'. He's 28-3 now, but all his wins bar one have occurred in South America and all his losses in North America (to Strauss, Marlon Sandro and Rad Martinez). Still, one to keep an eye on.

[wandshogun09]

Ah I thought his name looked familiar but I didn't google him. I loved that fight with Straus if it's the fight I'm thinking of. I think it was you who recommended that fight to me actually, Magnum.