UFC Fight Night: Dos Santos vs Ivanov - Jul 14

[wandshogun09]

Boise, Idaho hosts the Octagon on Saturday 14th July. 

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD
Junior Dos Santos vs Blagoy Ivanov 

Sage Northcutt vs Zak Ottow

Dennis Bermudez vs Rick Glenn 

Niko Price vs Randy Brown 

Chad Mendes vs Myles Jury

Cat Zingano vs Marion Reneau 

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS
Eddie Wineland vs Alejandro Perez  

Darren Elkins vs Alexander Volkanovski 

Justin Scoggins vs Said Nurmagomedov 

Kurt Holobaugh vs Raoni Barcelos

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS
Liz Carmouche vs Jennifer Maia

Mark De La Rosa vs Elias Garcia

Jessica Aguilar vs Jodie Esquibel 

 

Completely overlooked this card but it's a cracker. 

 

JDS vs Blagoy Ivanov tops the bill. Very important fight for both men. For Dos Santos this is his first fight since losing to Stipe Miocic last May. He was meant to fight Francis Ngannou in September but got pulled from the bout when he was popped by USADA. He's since been cleared of using banned substances and he's good to go. But as always when it comes to PEDs, even if you're officially cleared, some of that shit sticks. He needs to come back with a bang here. Time is of the essence for big Junior. He's 34 years old, so by no means ancient. But he's been through the ringer and suffered a lot of punishment. 

For Blagoy Ivanov, this is his UFC debut. It's a big ask for anyone to make their Octagon debut, in a 5 round main event against a former UFC heavyweight champion. The other way of looking at it is it's a huge opportunity. Ivanov is Bulgarian, 31 years old with a 16-1-1 record. He has a background in Sambo and even beat Fedor in the 2008 Sambo World Championships. In MMA he's mostly fought in Bellator and WSOF. He held the WSOF heavyweight title and never lost it. His most notable wins came against Ricco Rodriguez, Kazuyuki Fujita and Shawn Jordan. His one defeat was against Alexander Volkov in 2014. The thing I associate with Ivanov most though, is the crazy story of him being stabbed back in 2012. He got knifed in the armpit and the blade actually partially pentrated his heart! Over the next few months he was obviously in hospital, nearly died, put in and out of a medically induced coma while they tried to save his life. Amazingly, he made his return fight just 18 months after the incident. 

Don't really know what to make of this fight. You don't really know what you're getting one fight to the next out of JDS these days. And he's been gone over a year. But Ivanov has never really faced anyone as good and accomplished as JDS. Even a JDS a few years past his best. Should be a good fight regardless. 

 

OK, Chad Mendes vs Myles Jury then. Mendes is back after a lengthy USADA suspension. He was last seen in 2015 suffering back-to-back knockouts to Conor McGregor and Frankie Edgar. After the Edgar fight he was suspended for 2 years after getting busted for growth hormone. In January 2017 though, he did pop up on a grappling show and submitted Jeff Glover who's a 3rd degree BJJ black-belt and BJJ world champion. It'll be interesting to see how he looks coming back after this layoff. Obviously, getting done for PEDs is never good but I actually think the time out was probably much needed and couldn't have come at a better time for him. In his last 4 fights he took ungodly punishment. He went 1-3 in that spell and on top of the aforementioned McGregor and Edgar KOs, he also had that 5 round war with Jose Aldo in there. PEDs or no PEDs, the damage might already be done to Mendes after all those hard fights in such a short timeframe. The time off can't have done him any harm in that sense though. Myles Jury does nothing for me. Not a fan of either guy but I'd kind of like to see Mendes rebound because I think there's more upside in him if he's on form again. 

 

Darren Elkins vs Alexander Volkanovski is ***WAND'S ONE TO WATCH***. This could be a hell of a fight. I've really grown to like Elkins. He's just such a hard-nosed, tough grinder you have to respects the way he fights. That comeback KO against Mirsad Bektic last year is still one of the most incredible comebacks I've ever seen. He's on a heck of a run as well. Won his last 6. Wins over Michael Johnson, Dennis Bermudez, of course Bektic, Godofredo Pepey etc. 24-5 record overall. Really enjoy watching him do his thing. Volkanovski is kind of the same mould though. He's a little tank. His nickname is 'The Hulk' for a reason. He's Aussie, has a tremendous 17-1 record, 14 fight winning streak and hasn't lost since 2013. These guys are both on an absolute tear. Fuck knows what happens when they collide. 
 

 

Cat Zingano vs Marion Reneau should be good, could be excellent. Always been a big fan of Zingano. Seems like one of the coolest and nicest people in the game and the shit she's been through with her husband's suicide, her injuries and her career ups and downs, you'd have to be dead inside to not root for her. Her appearance on Rogan's podcast the other week was really good too, by the way. Give it a listen if you haven't already. She's 35 now with a 9-3 record and coming off 3 consecutive losses after going 9-0 previously. Her last win was a come from behind TKO over current champ Amanda Nunes in 2014. If she can string together a few wins and get back on track, you have to think she could make a strong case for another crack at Nunes and the belt. But she's far from that position right now. And Marion Reneau is nobody to overlook. She's 41 now but she started late and she looks sharp enough. 9-3-1 record, BJJ black-belt, particularly dangerous off her back, triangled Sara McMann in her most recent outing in a fight she was losing. This is a sleeper for FOTN for me. Both have really good grappling, both aren't shy about mixing it up on the feet and both have shown they have heart to make comebacks in fights and win. 

 

Super Sage vs Zak Ottow should be worth a gander. Sage is 10-2 at this point. Seems to be back on track after winning his last 2 fights on points. He's back at 170 here though. Not sure I like it. Both his losses (Gall and Barberena) were at 170. But maybe the cut to 155 is getting to be a pain as he's getting older. Ottow is no cakewalk. 16-5, TKO'd Mike Pyle last time out. Beat Josh Burkman a while back. But he's someone Sage should be beating if he's as good as he was originally hyped up as. We'll see if Sage can get over that hump as a welter. 

 

Dennis Bermudez vs Rick Glenn is kind of just there but it could be decent enough. Bermudez used to be one of my undercard favourites. There was a time when he was legitimately a highlight of any card he appeared on. He's kind of gone off the boil. He's lost his last 3 and hasn't really been much fun to watch for a long time. It's a shame because back when he fought Max Holloway in 2013, that fight really had the feel that those two were future champions. Obviously, Holloway fulfilled that but Bermudez has been left behind. It's kind of the Frankie Edgar/Tyson Griffin thing. They were neck and neck once upon a time. But now there's a galaxy between them. 

 

Liz Carmouche vs Jennifer Maia doesn't do a great deal for me but I'm highlighting it anyway. Carmouche is best known for being the B-Side in the first ever women's UFC fight against Ronda Rousey. Jennifer Maia might actually be decent, to be fair. 15-4-1, fights out of Chute Boxe (yes!), hasn't lost since 2014, beat Jessica Andrade years ago and Roxanne Modafferi more recently, has a few Boxing wins. 

 

Eddie Wineland vs Alejandro Perez will probably be entertaining. Something about Wineland bugs me but he's rarely involved in anything resembling a dud. He's lost a bunch of fights, won more but on a good day he can trouble a lot of guys. Over the course of his career he's picked up wins over Takeya Mizugaki, Frankie Saenz, Brad Pickett, Scott Jorgensen. Likes a scrap, can take a dig, he's no joke. Perez won TUF Latin America in 2014, he's 20-6-1 and has won 6 of his 8 UFC fights. Expecting a solid fight out of these two. 

 

And Justin Scoggins vs Said Nurmagomedov...yeah another Nurmagomedov. He's apparently a cousin of Khabib. He's 11-1, with his only loss coming to current UFC fighter Magomed Bibulatov. From bits I've read he doesn't really fight like Khabib at all and is meant to be a bit of a beast striker. Trains with Frankie Edgar too, who gave him this glowing reference when the news broke of his signing...

Scoggins is a tough enough acid test for him coming in. He's a livewire, constantly moving and active. Definitely a fight to keep an eye on. 

 

Really liking this card. It's packed full of well matched fights and there's a bit of everything on there. 

 

 

[weevil]

Jennifer Maia was the reigning Invicta Flyweight champion and number 1 ranked w125er in the world. Obviously the division is more complicated now, but still worth mentioning I think.

[weevil]

Wow, this one is really getting overlooked.

[Egg Shen]

Yeah it is, the fallout from 226 has overshadowed the card. This is a little belter though. Outside of the early prelims i want to see pretty much all of this.

Elkins/Volkanovski deserves better than its placing, id have that as the co-main event.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, Elkins vs Volkanovski is the highlight of this card for me by quite a distance. Love that fight. Plus they're both on streaks. Elkins is 24-5 and coming off 6 wins. Volkanovski is 17-1 and riding a 14 fight winning streak. These two could've main evented this show but I get why JDS is the headliner.

Don't get why Elkins vs Volkanovski is so low down the card when you've got Bermudez (coming off 3 losses) vs Glenn (who's gone 2-2 in his last 4) third from top.

Guess it doesn't matter as it's all on the same channel, but I'd love to know the thought process behind how the bout orders of some of these cards come about. Elkins and Volkanovski, with the form they're both on, should be being positioned as potential contenders now. Having them barely above Fight Pass sends the message that they're just card fillers. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

That Niko Price was fucking astonishing, and probably as brutal as you’re likely to see. And hear.

The way the head was locked in, and how he pulled it towards him as he hit? Oof. No way of rolling with those shots. And that squelching sound?

Fucking hell.

[WeeAl]

Chad Mendes announced his return with a bang. He got his feet wet with this fight, now for bigger fish. 

The Niko Price KO of Randy Brown was pretty sickening. I thought Brown was dead, and he definitely caught at least a couple of those shots after he was already out. 

Elkins ability to take damage meant that he suffered an awful beating against Volkanovski. It should have been 30-27 or 30-26, yet somehow there were 29-28's in there. I can't see how round one wasn't a 10-8. 

JDS got some of the ring rust dusted off and got a well needed win, but I don't think he looked fantastic in doing it despite winning every round. I wouldn't give him a hope against Stipe for instance if he got that fight. I also wouldn't think he could beat Volkov or Blaydes, however he would definitely be competitive with the likes of Arlovski, Tuivasa, Overeem, Werdum, Struve, Hunt, Olyenik etc for many years to come. He's shop worn, but still as good or better than most of the division. 

[ColinBollocks]

This show made me realise I want nothing more in the sport than another JDS title run. Certainly too shop worn to happen again, but he's the best babyface in the sport. Anyway, he looked ok here against a limited opponent.

Sage won, but he's fortunate his opponent seemed to gas a little and wasn't good enough to finish Sage after he was dropped on his arse. Sage does seem to have a bit of a rubbish chin, but he showed that adversity isn't an issue.

[wandshogun09]

JDS vs Ivanov was what it was. A guy who's past his best and coming off a year layoff vs a guy making his UFC debut in a main event against a former UFC champ. I didn't exactly go in expecting any blow away performances. Thought JDS looked OK. I still wince whenever he gets hit in the face though. Those Cain beatings and the first Stipe war are still vivid in the memory and I don't want to see the big lump eating bombs. Don't like his chances in a rubber match with Stipe but I get why he's after that fight. 

As said, the Niko Price KO was stunning. I can't ever recall a KO in UFC history where the knockout has came from punches from the bottom. It was a funny position they were in though and Brown had nowhere to go as those hammers came flying in. I like Price so I was glad to see him pick up a win here. Hopefully he can build on it because I think he's got some real potential. 

Thought Volkanovski vs Elkins was excellent and more than lived up to my hype of it in the opening post. What a battle. The type I'd have liked to have seen play out over 5 rounds, actually. And once again Elkins proved he's granite hard. Volkanovski looked fantastic here though, his best performance yet easy, IMO. Really, really liked his callout of Chad Mendes. That's a great fight. Especially with Mendes scoring a quick KO here as well. 

And it was nice to see Cat Zingano finally snap that losing streak. The fight was cack but she badly just needed a W. Now she's got it and that losing streak is out of the way, hopefully she can start picking up some momentum now. But I've got a bad feeling. The way she was talking about the head trauma issues she's been dealing with since the Nunes fight, then you see how she reacts to getting hit against Reneau here, looking jumpy and jittery, I just don't get a good feeling watching her. She resembles nothing of the absolutely driven battler we saw take out Miesha Tate or come back to stop Amanda Nunes. Hope I'm wrong. For some reason I can see them doing Zingano vs Holm next and if that's the case I think Holm schools her. Just don't see her getting back in the mix sadly. 

[jimufctna24]

It's possible that Miocic and JDS will fight three times. Yet on all three occasions, one of the other will not have been at their peak. When they first met, Miocic was just a shade off his peak. Whereas the wars with Cain were just about to catch up with JDS. When they met in 2017, Miocic was at his very best, whereas JDS had clearly lost half a step. If they fight again in 2019, it would probably be a repeat of their 2017 bout with Miocic operating at his peak and JDS operating at a level below his. 

But what if JDS circa 2010-2012 had squared off with Miocic circa 2015-2018? Now that would have been one hell of a scrap. 

 

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, it's easy to forget now but JDS was the scariest guy in the division before Cain fucked him up. He pretty much cleared out the division at the time before he even won the title. The run he was on from his UFC debut up to the Cain fights was terrifying. 

- Knocked out Fabricio Werdum in the first round in his UFC debut. Big upset at the time as Junior was unknown coming in. 

- Knocked out Stefan Struve in a round. 

- Battered Mirko Cro Cop to the point Cro Cop verbally quit. 

- Knocked out Gilbert Yvel in a round. Yvel was a lethal striker. 

- Knocked out Gabriel Gonzaga in a round. 

- Beat the shit out of Roy Nelson en route to a lopsided decision. Nearly stopped him a bunch of times. It was only big Roy's insane toughness that saw him through to the final buzzer. 

- Dominated Shane Carwin to another one way traffic decision. Nearly finished it in the first round, showed a cement chin as he took some big shots off Carwin who to this day is seen as arguably the biggest raw power hitter in the division's history. He also surprised everyone by taking the wrestler Carwin down. 

- Knocked out Cain Velasquez in a round to win the title. 

- Smashed Frank Mir to pieces and took him apart over two beautiful, glorious rounds  

Even after Cain started shortening his life in their second and third fights, JDS still found time to knock Mark Hunt out with a fucking spinning kick to the head and beat Stipe in a 5 round war. 

JDS at his best was an animal. It's a shame his and Stipe's primes didn't overlap. The first fight is still a classic though. It goes a tad underappreciated IMO when the subject of the best heavyweight fights comes up but I think I'd easily stick it in my Top 5 all time. 

[jimufctna24]

Aye, good summary.

I recall fans being split about who was better between Cain and JDS before their first fight. There was a lot of buzz surrounding JDS after his win over Carwin. I remember being amazed when JDS scored a takedown on Carwin. It was that night where people figured out that he was something a bit special. 

[Egg Shen]

Just caught up...

Yeah id go for JDS/Miocic next, they are 1-1, a trilogy fight would sit nicely ad a PPV co-main event. JDS still has something left in the tank, hands still look good and he has the gas tank, he just takes a hideous amount of damage, he took some here too. 

Even though Ivanov plodded he still managed to land the better shots during the fight for me, he just plodded to point where it felt he was doing less than he actually was. All the energy was coming from Junior and he rightfully got the nod. It was more competitive tham the scoreline suggested though. Ivanov needs to mix in some takedowns and versatility to his game though...the guy is fucking tough though i'll give him that.

Speaking of tough, Darren Elkins is the toughest man alive isnt he? Ridiculous will to win just was out-struck and out-worked by the superior athlete. Its a shame Elkins streak ended buried on the prelims against a top unranked prospect, he deserved a big spotlight fight. Volkanovski is legit at that weight, cant wait to see how he does against the top guys.

Niko Price's KO was just silly. Not seen anything like that before...on any other night though Raoni Barcelos KO of Kurt Holobaugh would have been the talking about, brilliant finish to a very good fight, keep an eye on Barcelos.