UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Johnson - Sep 17

[wandshogun09]

Saturday 17th September sees the Octagon land in Hidalgo, Texas with this lot...

 

 

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD

Dustin Poirier vs Michael Johnson

Uriah Hall vs Derek Brunson

Evan Dunham vs Rick Glenn

Roan Carneiro vs Kenny Robertson

Chris Wade vs Islam Makhachev

Chas Skelly vs Maximo Blanco

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Sam Sicilia vs Gabriel Benitez

Augusto Montano vs Belal Muhammad

Antonio Carlos Junior vs Leonardo Augusto Guimaraes

Jose Alberto Quinonez vs Joey Gomez

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Randy Brown vs Erick Montano

Alejandro Perez vs Albert Morales

 

Bit of a weak looking card really outside the top few fights. But maybe it'll be a pleasant surprise.

 

 

Poirier vs Johnson is one of those can't miss fights though. At the very worst I think it'll be 'decent', and if things go right I think it could be in the FOTY discussion by the end of the year. I just don't see a scenario where these two could produce a bad fight together.

 

It's a bit of a strange bit of matchmaking when you consider Poirier is coming in on a 4 fight win streak, with 3 by KO/TKO and hasn't lost since going up to 155. And he's been matched with Johnson who's coming off back-to-back losses. But whatever, it's a great fight.

 

It's been understandably lost in the shuffle among all the bigger fights over the summer but now it's here I can't wait to see what happens. Rekindles the old ATT vs Blackzilians rivalry nicely as well.

 

 

Hall vs Brunson, like all Uriah Hall fights, is a bit of a mystery. Hall is weird like that. He'll genuinely look like the second coming of Anderson Silva one fight, then like a limp dick the next. I don't know what it is. He's clearly got the raw skills, it's just like he sometimes has a mental block and can't pull the trigger. When he's on he's a treat to watch though. Him making a highlight reel of Mousasi was one of the best finishes to a fight I think I've ever seen.

 

Brunson's the type of fighter I could see Hall struggling with though. He's a good wrestler, tough and pretty relentless. I could see Hall going into his shell and it making for one of his lacklustre fights but we'll see.

 

 

Trujillo vs Dunham is this card's ***WAND'S ONE TO WATCH***. This has all the ingredients of a proper show stealer. Trujillo's a beast, stupidly powerful and just a ball of aggression. And Dunham's a scrapper who will meet him head on. Trujillo's got that Lombard/Woodley thing where he'll fuck your day up in the early rounds but, if you can weather it, he can be beat. And I think Dunham might be tough enough to drag Trujillo into the trenches. Should be fun.

 

That's where my interest in this card takes a massive tumble. But a few other little bits of note...

 

Alejandro Perez won TUF Latin America in the bantamweight bracket.

 

Roan Carneiro is someone I've always enjoyed watching. Excellent BJJ, decent striking, been around forever. He actually dragged a really fun fight out of Jon Fitch years ago on one of the early UFC Fight Nights.

 

Sam Sicilia is a pretty exciting fighter and usually good for a brawl on the prelims.

 

Belal Muhammad had a wild fight with Alan Jouban on the RDA vs Alvarez card in July. One of the best fights of the summer that no-one talked about. Interested to see him in there again.

 

And the curtain jerker fight Skelly vs Blanco could actually be the sleeper on the whole card. Both really good grapplers, that could be a bit of a ground war.

 

Not a terrible card. As you can see, there's stuff of some interest sprinkled throughout. But it's only really the main event and Trujillo vs Dunham that's worth getting excited about.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Those top three fights are worth tuning in for. I love Poirier at 155.

 

Also like Roan Carneiro. Became a big fan after he won that Battlegrounds tournament.

 

I see Augusto Montano in there. The first I heard of him was in EA Sports UFC 2. I thought he was a CAF that the developers made for Career Mode because he looked so ridiculous, only to Google him and find out he's a real person that's fought in UFC twice.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Trujillo's apparently injured and out of his fight with Dunham. FFS.

[David]

Sam Sicilia is always good value, but aside from that it's only the main and co-main that I have even a passing interest in.

 

It's funny that in a week when we've been hearing about how much Punk doesn't belong in the UFC we're getting a card loaded with fighters no one has heard of or cares about. It could be argued that a lot of these guys don't belong in the UFC either.

[Egg Shen]

Its true, and its the reason i have zero issue with Punk fighting in the UFC, it was a fun ride.

 

I'll give the main card a whirl here though, great main event.

[wandshogun09]

I'm really 50/50 on Poirier vs Johnson. I can't split them. Johnson's hit and miss but if he's on I think he probably beats Poirier myself. Poirier's been more consistent though and he's looked fantastic since going up to lightweight. Bit of a tossup but I'm fancying an MJ win for some reason.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I think it'll be a fantastic fight,  but it seems to be flying under the radar, both here and the MMA community in general. But I've said it before, UFC's insane schedule these days means that some great fights don't receive the spotlight and promotion they deserve. If both guys are at their best, we could see a potential FOTY situation, bit like Ferguson vs. Barboza earlier this year. Or someone gets sparked in a minute. The beauty of MMA.

 

As you said, Wand, Poirier's been a killer since taking on UFC's 155 division, but I expect Johnson to be extra motivated too. The last time we saw him, Nate Diaz just picked him apart relentlessly on FOX. Not only does Johnson have to deal with that loss, he has seen the way Nate Diaz's star has exploded this year. And IIRC, most expected him to beat Diaz on FOX. So, he's gotta be motivated coming back for this main event fight.

 

While most of my interest lies in this main event, and the slight curiosity accompanying a Uriah Hall fight these days, I have to say I'm anticipating this fight night more than several recently, or a few coming up. Didn't care much for the Arlovski vs. Barnett, or Rodrigues vs. Caceres, or Holm vs. Shevenko cards or the Brazil one coming up.

[wandshogun09]

I've gone Johnson and Brunson, both by decision, in the poll.

 

Got a feeling Brunson's wrestling is going to cause Hall some grief tonight. Can't be arsed to check but has Hall ever been tested by a good wrestler yet? I know he fought Weidman before either were in the UFC and Weidman stopped him. But I have this recollection of Hall's UFC career consisting of him fighting a load of guys who are primarily strikers with the odd BJJ guy thrown in here or there. And Brunson's no pushover. If he can take down Yoel Romero, he can probably take down Uriah Hall as well, is my thinking.

[Egg Shen]

Yep, the bookies think so too. Brunsons the favorite.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Just watching this now, but the first fight of the night is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen..

[ColinBollocks]

It was one of those mental finishes I imagine I'd pull off on Velasquez when I daydream about my legendary MMA career. Mental.

 

Fun show. Plenty of big finishes and craziness.

[Guy Bifkin]

Yeah it was good fun largely with a smattering of shit here and there. What about that Chas Skelly finish as well?

 

The problem with these cards is that I do not give one single fuck about anyone fighting in them, but they often deliver in terms of the actual fights. Getting a bit tired of fighters calling for title shots and money fights when they are nowhere near that level as well. It's becoming almost as annoying as giving praise to Jesus or saying you will fight whoever the UFC give me next. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

Yeah, they have a problem at the minute where people have gone from not getting the game and assuming it was good to show a 'humble but game' attitude, to everyone thinking they get the game and wasting their time calling people out who they're not going to get booked against.

 

It makes Mickey Gall's call out of Sage even more impressive.

[lambyUK]

I still don't get the love of the northcutt call out.

 

He's in a completely different division to Gall. In reality it could be conceived as a bully mentality picking on the smaller guy.

 

Whilst in terms of profile it's similar, fighting in different weight classes doesn't really push the heavier guy up the weight class at all.

 

I know in terms of eyeballs it will likely do the job, but personally I would have preferred Gall to go after another welterweight. That said I know I'm probably in the minority.

[thevestofdeanambrose]

Uriah Hall fight felt like an early stoppage. I'm not as much of a Herb Dean fan as I have been in recent years