UFC Vancouver: Cerrone vs Gaethje - Sep 14 🇨🇦

[wandshogun09]

Saturday 14th September in Vancouver, Canada. It’s Cowboy vs Gaethje! 

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Donald Cerrone vs Justin Gaethje 

Glover Teixeira vs Nikita Krylov 

Todd Duffee vs Jeff Hughes

Michel Pereira vs Tristan Connelly 

Uriah Hall vs Antonio Carlos Junior 

Misha Cirkunov vs Jimmy Crute 

 

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Marcin Tybura vs Augusto Sakai

Cole Smith vs Miles Johns

Brad Katona vs Hunter Azure

Chas Skelly vs Jordan Griffin

Louis Smolka vs Ryan MacDonald 

Austin Hubbard vs Kyle Prepolec 

 

I like this. To be fair, with that main event I wouldn’t have cared what the undercard looked like but it’s pretty decent actually. And I’m going to Vancouver 3 weeks after this show. Typical. I could’ve witnessed Cerrone vs Gaethje live  

 

Donald Cerrone vs Justin Gaethje then. What can you say about this? Dana might as well write out the FOTN cheque now. Can’t see past this being wall to wall insanity. You put these two against anyone and you usually get a fun fight at the very least. But putting them against each other? I think the worst case scenario is it ends quick. Best case we get the FOTY. Cerrone has been on top form recently with wins over Al Iaquinta, Mike Perry and Alexander Hernandez. He came up short in his last fight though...

That’s what happens when you get locked in a cage with Tony Ferguson, I guess. This is his chance to get back in the mix. Things can change quickly and if Cowboy can beat Gaethje in a barnburner, it could set him up for something big in the title picture or even that much talked about McGregor fight. If McGregor can tear himself away from slapping old men. 

Justin Gaethje doesn’t give a fuck about Cowboy’s plans though. He’s coming to smash faces every time. He’s always been must-see (check out his battles with Luis Palomino in WSOF) but he’s been in the UFC for 5 fights now and I can’t remember anyone bursting through the doors and being so consistently exciting to watch. All 5 fights have either been brutal quick knockouts or all out wars and FOTY candidates. He had those back-to-back losses to Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier (again in FOTY slobberknockers) but he’s bounced back big time with first round knockouts of Edson Barboza and James Vick. 

Cerrone vs Gaethje promo;

Goosebumps. Watch it. Can’t bastard wait for this. I doubt they need the 5 rounds but if it goes into those later rounds then I really think we’re in for something epic.

 

Glover Teixeira vs Nikita Krylov sounds like fun. Glover will be 40 in October and I think it’s clear he’s lost a step from when he was the guy who came in with that ‘most avoided fighter in the sport’ rep all those years ago. But he’s still a handful for most as he’s shown in his submission wins over young lions Ion Cutelaba and Karl Roberson in his last 2 outings. Glover is far from done. He’s just dropped from that contender spot to a bit of a high level gatekeeper role. He only really loses to the champs or guys in and around the title mix. This is a big opportunity for Krylov. At 27 years old with a 25-6 record, a win over a grizzled vet like Glover would be big for him. He looked good submitting OSP in April so this is a logical next step up the ladder. Should be an entertaining fight.

 

Todd Duffee vs Jeff Hughes. I don’t know. I haven’t seen Duffee in forever. He hasn’t fought since July 2015 when he was knocked out cold by a fat Frank Mir (shudder). Looking at his Wiki page, it seems he’s been absolutely plagued by injuries since and also got MRSA at some point. Hopefully that’s all behind him. He’s still only 33, which isn’t that old for a heavyweight really. But he’s got some graft ahead of him if he wants to make waves at this point. Wiki also lists Duffee’s nickname as ‘The Irish Car Bomb’. @Carbomb ??? Hughes is 10-2 and was on Dana’s Contender thing. Lost his UFC debut in March, which I have no memory of seeing. 

 

Michel Pereira vs Sergey Khandozhko is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** on this one. Of course, the main event would be the obvious choice but I wanted to highlight this. Pereira is a nutcase. Anyone who’s seen the highlights knows what I’m on about. Fucker was doing moonsaults off the fence and shit. He made his UFC debut in May and pissed right through Danny Roberts in under 2 minutes. I’m not saying he’ll be a champion or anything but he’s going to be brilliant to watch all the same. And Khandozhko is no joke himself. He’s 26-5-1 with 17 finishes.

 

Uriah Hall vs Antonio Carlos Junior is an intriguing clash of styles. It’s MMA obviously but this is about as clear a striker vs grappler match as you can get in 2019. Love this pairing actually. Everyone knows the score with Hall by now. Bucket loads of talent but sometimes he shows up and looks spectacular and other times he doesn’t and he can’t pull the trigger. If he’s hesitant here it could be bad news because Shoeface doesn’t fuck about. He’s a fantastic BJJ specialist. He’s looking to rebound from a decision loss to Ian Heinisch recently so he’s got a point to prove here. Nice matchup.

 

Misha Cirkunov vs Jimmy Crute could be decent but it’s kind of just filler to me. Cirkunov has found his level as a bit of an also ran now. He’s lost every time he’s gone up a level and he got added to Johnny Walker’s growing highlight reel in his last fight via flying knee in just 38 seconds. Aussie Crute has looked alright so far though. He’s only 23 and he’s 10-0 with finishes over Sam Alvey and Paul Craig so far in his UFC stint. 

 

Marcin Tybura vs Augusto Sakai isn’t tickling my fancy. Two big lugs who are kind of going nowhere at this stage. Tybura has lost nearly every time he’s stepped up a level. He did go 5 rounds with Werdum a while back and has a points win over Arlovski in 2017. But he’s 1-4 in his last 5 and the one win was over a shot to shit Stefan Struve. Doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence in the bloke. Sakai has won 4 in a row and also has a win over Arlovski. He’s 13-1-1 now and still only 28 years old. Maybe he can do something. For me though, he’s still yet to rid himself of the stench of that rotten fight with Cheick Kongo in Bellator. 

 

Cole Smith vs Miles Johns is a complete unknown for me. Never seen either man, I don’t think. But they’re both unbeaten. Smith is 7-0 and he’s the hometown boy in Vancouver. Johns is 8-0 and was on DWCS. 

 

Brad Katona vs Hunter Azure. Again, I only know Katona. He won TUF not too long ago. Can’t remember which season. He’s 8-1 and seemed a good guy in the TUF house, although he had a little bit of that serial killing nerd Rory MacDonald vibe too. Never clapped eyes on Azure but he’s 7-0 and won DWCS. 

 

Chas Skelly vs Jordan Griffin should be decent enough. I like watching Skelly. He’s coming off a couple of losses but he’s one of those scrappy grinders who’s actually fun to watch because he’s usually always aggressive with it. He’ll never be a top contender but he’s good for his position on the cards. Griffin I’m less familiar with but he’s a bit of a grappler himself. He’s 17-6 and trains out of the Duke Roufus camp. 

 

Louis Smolka vs Ryan MacDonald should be worth a glance. Smolka is usually in entertaining fights win or lose. He’s had a real up and down UFC career though. He looked every bit the future of the flyweight division back when he beat Paddy Holohan in a tremendous fight in Dublin. But he’s been hot and cold since. MacDonald is 10-1 and coming off his first defeat. 

 

Austin Hubbard vs Kyle Prepolec, again, not a clue. Hubbard is 10-3 and lost to Davi Ramos in May. I probably saw that as I like Ramos and try to catch his fights but I don’t recall anything of Hubbard. Prepolec is Canadian, 12-6 and lost to Nordine Taleb on the Ottawa card in May.

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

after that debut, how is Michel Periera not on the main card?

[wandshogun09]

I know. That was one of the first things that stood out to me. I’d have gone as far as having him as co-main myself. Sod it. Strap a rocket to him. If he fizzles out he fizzles out but I’d have definitely had him on the main card after that debut. Bit baffling. Maybe it’ll change. There’s always a few injury pullouts so maybe he’ll get bumped up. 

For anyone who hasn’t seen Pereira yet, watch these;

Michel Pereira highlight (the second guy isn’t even Pereira though, guy who made the vid cocked up); 

And Pereira’s UFC debut in full;

Fucking wildman. He’s like if you mixed Anthony Pettis with Prince Naseem and Eddie Gordo off Tekken. You never know what he’s going to do next and it’s ridiculously entertaining. 

[David]

11 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

And I’m going to Vancouver 3 weeks after this show. Typical. I could’ve witnessed Cerrone vs Gaethje live

I arrive in Toronto three days before it happens. Do I try to get out to Vancouver? Or just watch it from a sports bar? That's the big question!

[wandshogun09]

If you can squeeze it in then do it, Dave. I think I’d probably watch it in a bar if I was you though. Vancouver is about a 5/6 hours from Toronto, isn't it? As great as Cerrone vs Gaethje is, I don’t think I could justify the flight and costs for a Fight Night. 

[David]

Yeah, I'm planning on keeping my powder dry for MSG later in the year. Fingers crossed we get a good main event for that.

[wandshogun09]

I was thinking we might get your man Jon headlining MSG. But I don’t know who he’d face now. If DC wins and comes out of tonight OK, maybe that but August-November might be a quick turnaround for old Eyepoke Dan. If not Jones vs Cormier 3 though, I can’t see Jones being on that card. Johnny Walker vs Corey Anderson is already booked for that card and Dominick Reyes is fighting in October. 

If it does end up Jones vs Cormier 3 at MSG though, and you go, I think we need the full diary treatment like that great Snooker one we had a few months ago. 

[jimufctna24]

Santos also won't be back until 2020. That means that Jan Błachowicz could be the only top-ranked contender available to fight Jones in November. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Covington vs Usman headlines the MSG card, with Jones returning early next year. 

[wandshogun09]

Good shout that, Jim. Usman vs Covington works out timing wise. 

[David]

On 8/17/2019 at 6:57 PM, wandshogun09 said:

If it does end up Jones vs Cormier 3 at MSG though, and you go, I think we need the full diary treatment like that great Snooker one we had a few months ago.

I'll do better than that, I'll do my very own UKFF version of Embedded, with the main difference being that it'll involve me being drunk and buying shots for Joe Rogan in the hotel bar.

[Carbomb]

1 hour ago, David said:

I'll do better than that, I'll do my very own UKFF version of Embedded, with the main difference being that it'll involve me being drunk and buying shots for Joe Rogan in the hotel bar.

You'd still be more coherent than Schaub.

[David]

18 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

You'd still be more coherent than Schaub.

That goes without saying.

[wandshogun09]

27 minutes ago, Carbomb said:

You'd still be more coherent than Schaub.

 

[David]

So, we have this up next. It's flown under the radar somewhat with the Khabib/Poirier stuff, but it looks like a tasty card.

[WeeAl]

Yeah it really does. It's been a while from I've been able to say that I have an interest in every fight on the main card of Fight Night show. The main card, plus a few of the prelims, have worthwhile talking points to them.