UFC 208: Holm vs De Randamie

[wandshogun09]

The UFC is back on PPV on February 11th. And the Octagon makes its debut in Brooklyn, New York.

 

 

PPV MAIN CARD

Holly Holm vs Germaine De Randamie - Featherweight Title

Anderson Silva vs Derek Brunson

Jacare Souza vs Tim Boetsch

Glover Teixeira vs Jared Cannonier

Dustin Poirier vs Jim Miller

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Belal Muhammad vs Randy Brown

Wilson Reis vs Ulka Sasaki

Nik Lentz vs Islam Makhachev

Philippe Nover vs Rick Glenn

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Roan Carneiro vs Ryan LaFlare

 

It's not the blockbuster the last couple of PPVs were and I expected a bigger main event for this one but there's actually some decent depth to this and it's one of those cards that will probably really deliver in quality on the night.

 

 

So Holm vs De Randamie is the headliner. And it will crown the first ever UFC women's featherweight champion. It was a division presumably created to house Cyborg, the biggest star in women's MMA in a post-Rousey world. But Cyborg pissed dirty and went and fucked this division up before it even got going. It's really hurt this fight for me as well because the winner of this fight would've more than likely made their first defence against Cyborg in the Spring or Summer. With Cyborg suspended now, I don't know what the fuck is next for the winner of this. Nothing jumps out.

 

With the negativity out of the way though, the actual fight between Holm and De Randamie should be excellent. It's two of the best strikers in the women's side of the game by far and it should be a really nice technical clash of striking styles.

 

 

It's well documented that Holly Holm is a very experienced and decorated boxer. She holds a pro boxing record of 33-2-3 and was a multi-time world champion. Granted women's Boxing isn't anywhere near as deep as men's but it's still an extensive and impressive record she's got and her experience in combat sports has served her well since she transitioned over to MMA. She's 35 years old now so she's no spring chicken really and she's had a lot of miles on the clock as a fighter. She was a champ at multiple weights in Boxing and this is her going for a second division's title in MMA. She'd be the first fighter, male or female, to hold world titles in more than one division in both Boxing and MMA if she wins this fight. That'd be quite an accomplishment to add to her legacy, along with ending Ronda Rousey's undefeated streak.

 

 

Germaine De Randamie is a bit of a mystery here. Less is known about her and I think a lot of people might sell her short going in but she's a very seasoned striker in her own right. She's 32 years old and is a Dutch kickboxer with an unbeaten 37-0 record. In MMA she holds a less than stellar 6-3 record so the transition wasn't exactly smooth. But she's won her last two fights by TKO now so she appears to have gotten herself on track now and comfortable in the Octagon. One of her losses was to Amanda Nunes as well so I'm not holding that against her.

 

Should be a good fight. I wouldn't be confident in De Randamie against anyone with a strong takedown or grappling or ground and pound game. But stylistically I think she matches up well with Holm. It won't be easy but at least Holm will engage her in the standup and that's what De Randamie wants. It's certainly the best chance she's got of ever winning UFC gold. And Holm's coming off back to back losses to Valentina Shevchenko and Miesha Tate so she needs to make it happen here.

 

 

Silva vs Brunson is a strange one. I really don't know what Anderson has left at this point. Even though it went down as a loss he still looked lethal against Bisping. Cormier dominated him but it was on stupidly short notice and Anderson was going up in weight. Brunson is a step down. But styles wise Brunson could be a tricky one for Anderson because of his wrestling. If Brunson comes out recklessly looking for the KO like he did against Robert Whittaker I see him getting laid out. If he comes to wrestle I could see him nicking two rounds and taking a decision. It's a pretty intriguing fight when you think about it.

 

 

Teixeira vs Cannonier should be entertaining. Glover was on a nice little three fight win streak of finishes over Rashad Evans, Patrick Cummins and OSP. Then he got Rumbled in 13 seconds at UFC 202 in August. Just completely decimated quick. No-one had ever done that to Glover before so it's going to be interesting to see how he looks coming back here. Cannonier is 9-1 and has looked decent but he's definitely a considerable step down from the level Glover is used to. I think this is being designed as a fight to get Glover back in the win column but you never know in MMA.

 

 

Jacare vs Boetsch has the feel of a keep busy fight for Jacare while the middleweight title picture sorts itself out. I really like Tim Boetsch but I just can't see a likely path to victory for him in this one. He looked good knocking out Rafael Natal at UFC 205 but going from Natal to Jacare is a HUGE jump. Jacare has him massively outmatched in the grappling and even on the feet I think he has the advantage. Just a bad matchup for Boetsch. I think Jacare takes this spectacularly and puts himself at the front of the queue to challenge the winner of Bisping vs Romero for the title sometime this year.

 

 

Poirier vs Miller is ***WAND'S ONE TO WATCH***. How do you go wrong here? Two of the most exciting fighters in maybe the most exciting division in the UFC. Both always go for the finish and are ultra aggressive in the striking and grappling. Poirier is coming off a bad knockout loss to Michael Johnson but before that he'd rattled off four wins since moving up to lightweight. And Miller comes into this fight off probably the best run of wins of his career over Thiago Alves, Joe Lauzon and Takanori Gomi. This is a shoe-in for FOTN.

 

 

Carneiro vs LaFlare has the potential to be a grappling masterclass. Hopefully that's how this fight plays out. They can both strike as well but the grappling is definitely both guys' bread and butter. Carneiro is the more accomplished grappler but LaFlare is no slouch either and actually survived five rounds with Demian Maia a couple of years back so that speaks for itself.

 

 

Felder vs Burns is the big styles clash on the card. This is about as close to a pure striker vs grappler match as you get in 2017. Felder is a Karate and Tae Kwon Do specialist who loves to strike, trains with Donald Cerrone and likes to throw spinning shit. Burns is a BJJ black belt and BJJ world champion. I like the contrast between these two.

 

 

Lentz vs Makhachev I'm not giddy about or anything but I usually enjoy watching Lentz fight. He's a suffocating grappler when he wants to be but he's also tough as nails and doesn't mind getting into a bloody scrap if need be. Can't remember much of Makhachev. I know I've seen him fight but nothing jumps out from memory. 13-1 record though and a strong background in Sambo so could be a good ground battle.

 

 

McCall vs Seery was meant to happen in November on the undercard of Mousasi vs Hall 2 in Belfast but McCall had to pull out after becoming sick cutting weight. I'm not holding my breath this fight happens, to be honest. McCall seems to spend more time pulling out of fights than actually fighting these days. Hopefully it happens this time though. Seery was on about retiring recently so this could be his farewell, unless he's planning to have a quick turnaround and get on the London show in March.

 

 

Reis vs Sasaki is a fight that actually could have title shot implications. Wilson Reis was all set to challenge Mighty Mouse at UFC 201 in July for the title but Mouse got injured. Reis wound up submitting replacement Hector Sandoval in under two minutes that night. If he wins this fight impressively, given the lack of fresh contenders at 125, I could see him getting the next crack at DJ. Don't know much about Sasaki but he's a funny looking fucker, isn't he?

 

So yeah, not a bad bunch of fights there. Could've been better but we've had a lot worse. Can't see many of these fights being boring, and a few of them have serious potential to be fantastic.

[Philjax]

Do you think Gina Carano could be tempted into a comeback now this title has been created? She'd make a great challenger for either of these girls.

[Egg Shen]

highly unlikely, she's still doing alright in the acting game isn't she? I think Ronda Rousey's rise pretty much killed any hope for a return of Carano.

 

Strange PPV this one, the addition of Anderson Silva strengthened it but i think any complaints i may have is due to us being so spoiled recently. Not sure how this one does buy-wise though?

 

Lots of good fights across the card though.

[Egg Shen]

 

McCall vs Seery was meant to happen in November on the undercard of Mousasi vs Hall 2 in Belfast but McCall had to pull out after becoming sick cutting weight. I'm not holding my breath this fight happens, to be honest. McCall seems to spend more time pulling out of fights than actually fighting these days. Hopefully it happens this time though. Seery was on about retiring recently so this could be his farewell, unless he's planning to have a quick turnaround and get on the London show in March.

 

 

Reis vs Sasaki is a fight that actually could have title shot implications. Wilson Reis was all set to challenge Mighty Mouse at UFC 201 in July for the title but Mouse got injured. Reis wound up submitting replacement Hector Sandoval in under two minutes that night. If he wins this fight impressively, given the lack of fresh contenders at 125, I could see him getting the next crack at DJ. Don't know much about Sasaki but he's a funny looking fucker, isn't he?

 

 

Not sure why the UFC took the title shot away from Reis? He won the fight he had instead of fighting DJ, DJ has since won so you'd think it would have been lined up at Mouse's next fight. Who else is there left for Mighty Mouse to fight? Reis has been a little hard done by here.

[wandshogun09]

Philjax - I guess stranger things have happened but I can't see it myself. I don't really get the feeling Gina's that arsed about coming back and winning titles. I think the only reason she was even contemplating possibly coming back was because she knew the Ronda payday would've been huge. She won't make near that kind of money against Holm or De Randamie. I think the ship sailed on a Carano return in 2014 when the talks died down, and she was just promoting whatever film she had coming out at the time.

 

As slim a chance as it has of actually happening, I'd actually say a Rousey vs Carano fight is more likely somewhere down the line than Carano going after the title. If Rousey ever decides to fight again then they might as well throw some money at Gina and do the big name fight, rather than feed either of them to a killer. It would be a pointless fight in terms of relevancy but it would have the novelty of seeing the two biggest stars in women's MMA square off.

 

It'll most likely never happen, and I'm not going to care if it doesn't. But it's one of those things where if either of them express any interest in fighting again, why not try to make it happen?

[METAL ON METAL]

They're doing a three-man commentary team for this show - Anik, Rogan & Cormier.

 

I quite like when they have the guest fighter third commentator for a main event, but not sure if that novelty will wear off through a whole event. I suppose they'll probably end up doing this at least until they get Goldbergs replacement.

[ColinBollocks]

Hmm, maybe this is them trying to slowly phase out Rogan?

 

I've been after a proper three man team ever since they did it successfully during the Jones/OSP fight. Obvs, Stann is the best, but DC seems very natural in the role. 

[Egg Shen]

Yeh, i love 3 man teams. Showtime and HBO's boxing announce teams are great, it's way more opinionated than UFC's commentary, 3 distinct personalities giving their views. They need a guest scorer for main events like Lederman too.

[jimufctna24]

They need a guest scorer for main events like Lederman too.

Yep.

 

I still miss Eddie Bravo's scorecard. Strikeforce used to have someone score fights as well, as do Bellator when I've watched their shoes. I don't know why the UFC won't follow suit. It's commonplace in combat sport, and there's little upshot to not doing so.They have pundits there for the post-fight shows anyway, so it wouldn't take much effort to get one of them to do it.

[lambyUK]

 

They need a guest scorer for main events like Lederman too.

Yep.

 

I still miss Eddie Bravo's scorecard. Strikeforce used to have someone score fights as well, as do Bellator when I've watched their shoes. I don't know why the UFC won't follow suit. It's commonplace in combat sport, and there's little upshot to not doing so.They have pundits there for the post-fight shows anyway, so it wouldn't take much effort to get one of them to do it.

 

 

I can see the purpose in boxing when there's so many rounds. You can often lose track scoring that many.

But with MMA you have only 3 or 5 to keep up with and as a viewer I don't see the point. I think having a guest scorer also opens that person up to scrutiny as well if they end up dramatically being different to the official judges. Having someone guest score could also feasibily take away the surprise for the viewer.

[jimufctna24]

Fight scoring can be pretty subjective. If a 5 round fight is a domination, then the presence of a scorecard won't take away any suspense. It would just serve as window dressing. However, in the event of a close fight, a guest's scorecard can be taken at face value, and can be easily contradicted by the judges. I wouldn't mind it opening up a spirited debate. I always enjoy disagreeing with some of the scorecards that the SKY pundits produce. 

 

It's only a minor niggle though. Not something that impacts my viewing habits.

[Egg Shen]

 

 

 

They need a guest scorer for main events like Lederman too.

Yep.

 

I still miss Eddie Bravo's scorecard. Strikeforce used to have someone score fights as well, as do Bellator when I've watched their shoes. I don't know why the UFC won't follow suit. It's commonplace in combat sport, and there's little upshot to not doing so.They have pundits there for the post-fight shows anyway, so it wouldn't take much effort to get one of them to do it.

I can see the purpose in boxing when there's so many rounds. You can often lose track scoring that many.

But with MMA you have only 3 or 5 to keep up with and as a viewer I don't see the point. I think having a guest scorer also opens that person up to scrutiny as well if they end up dramatically being different to the official judges. Having someone guest score could also feasibily take away the surprise for the viewer.

I understand the difference in rounds being why it would probably make it work better in boxing, but not doing it protect a guest scorer from scutiny is a shit reason not to do it. I love that boxing commentary involves so many people too, between round chats and all that stuff. Even if its just for main events.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Hmm, maybe this is them trying to slowly phase out Rogan?

 

I've been after a proper three man team ever since they did it successfully during the Jones/OSP fight. Obvs, Stann is the best, but DC seems very natural in the role. 

 

I'd like some kind of Stann/Cormier hybrid. Stann is super knowledgeable and articulate, great at breaking things down, but he doesn't have the same enthusiasm as Goldberg or Rogan. DC is way more animated but doesn't give the expert analysis Stann does. I just finished watching Rodriguez vs. Penn, and he has some good moments breaking down ground positions. Either Stann needs to be less robotic or DC needs to work on bringing more steak to his sizzle.

 

About this card, Anderson Silva is still a draw for me. I love the guy, boner pills and all. I think he should have beat Bisping, and balls of steel to jump in like he did at UFC 200. I don't know how Brunson gets a co-main on PPV when Robert Whittaker knocked his ass out, but hey, I'm getting incredibly used to us Aussies getting a raw deal lately.

 

Minor gripe aside, the addition of Anderson Silva means I might splash out for PPV, when I was going to give it a miss initially.

[Egg Shen]

I thought Brunson/Silva was the PPV opener?

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Was just going by the order in Wand's post, but also, it's Anderson Silva. Jacare might be the more relevant fighter at MW today, but he's having a squash match. You promote the GOAT to help sell the PPV, alongside the new championship. What would be the point in adding such a big name if he was only going to be the opener?