What's next for the UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz winners and losers?

UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz took place last night on 17th January 2016 from Boston. Overall it was a successful event for the UFC with some exciting fights and big finishes. However there was some controversial decisions, mainly in the main event and co-main event. This blog post will look at who some of the fighters from the event should compete against next.

Dominic Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw:
In the main event Dominic Cruz defeated T.J. Dillashaw via decision (split). The obvious next fight is to have both fighters compete in a rematch for the UFC Bantamweight title. The decision was contriversial and these two fighters are arguable the best two fighters in the division so it only makes sense if they fight again.

Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis:
I would do the same as the main event and have these two fight in a rematch. Its been confirmed that Conor McGregor will fight against Rafael Dos Anjos for the UFC lightweight title, so Eddie Alvarez won't be fighting for the title any time soon. The decision to award the victory to Alvarez was again controversial and the winner in a rematch could easily fight the winner of the lightweight title fight. 

Travis Browne:
I think Travis Browne should fight against Alistair Overeem in a rematch. Overeem has won his last three fights and would want to revenge the loss he suffered early on in his career. Browne wants to put a run of victories together so he can move closer to a heavyweight title opportunity and he will be confident of defeating Overeem again.

Matt Mitrione:
I think Matt Mitrione should fight against Antonio Silva next. Both men desperately need a win. Mitrione has lost his last two fights while Silva has lost three out of five. The loser of this fight will be released from the UFC.

Peter Ashdown
https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown

UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz | Results

UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz results:

I will put if my overall result prediction was wrong or correct. Please check out the previous blog post for my predictions. My total score will also be at the bottom of the post.

Francimar Barroso defeated Elvis Mutapcic via Decision (unanimous) - CORRECT.
Rob Font defeated Joey Gomez via TKO (punches) - CORRECT.
Charles Rosa defeated Kyle Bochniak via Decision (unanimous) - WRONG.
Ilir Latifi defeated Sean O'Connell via KO (punches). - CORRECT.
Paul Felder defeated Daron Cruickshank via Submission (rear naked choke) - CORRECT.
Luke Sanders defeated Maximo Blanco via Submission (rear naked choke) - CORRECT.
Chris Wade defeated Mehdi Bahdad via Submission (rear naked choke) - CORRECT.
Ed Herman defeated Tim Boetsch via TKO (knees and punches) - CORRECT.
Patrick Cote defeated Ben Saunders TKO (punches) - CORRECT.
Francisco Trinaldo defeated Ross Pearson via Decision (unanimous) - WRONG.
Travis Browne defeated Matt Mitrione via TKO (punches) - CORRECT.
Eddie Alvarez defeated Anthony Pettis Decision (split) - WRONG.
Dominic Cruz defeated T.J. Dillashaw via Decision (split) to become the new UFC Bantamweight Champion. - CORRECT.

Weekly prediction score:
Correct = 10.
Wrong = 3.

Total prediction score:
Correct = 17.
Wrong = 8.

Peter Ashdown
https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown

UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz | Predictions

My predictions for the UFC Fight Night event which has a main event between T.J. Dillashaw and Dominic Cruz. The event which is taking place on the 17th January 2016 will take place in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Predictions:
Francimar Barroso to defeat Elvis Mutapcic.
Rob Font to defeat Joey Gomez.
Kyle Bochniak to defeat Charles Rosa.
Ilir Latifi to defeat Sean O'Connell.
Paul Felder to defeat Daron Cruickshank.
Luke Sanders to defeat Maximo Blanco.
Chris Wade to defeat Mehdi Bahdad.
Ed Herman to defeat Tim Boetsch.
Patrick Cote to defeat Ben Saunders.
Ross Pearson to defeat Francisco Trinaldo.
Travis Browne to defeat Matt Mitrione.
Anthony Pettis to defeat Eddie Alvarez.
Dominic Cruz to defeat T.J. Dillashaw to become the new UFC Bantamweight Champion.

Previous prediction score:
Correct = 7.
Wrong = 5.

Peter Ashdown

https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown

UFC 195: Lawler vs Condit | Results

UFC 195 Results: 

I will put if my overall result prediction was wrong or correct. Please check out the previous blog post for my predictions.

Sheldon Westcott defeated Edgar Garcia via TKO (punches) - WRONG.
Michinori Tanaka defeated Joe Soto via Decision (split) - WRONG. 
Dustin Poirier defeated Joseph Duffy via Decision (unanimous) - CORRECT.
Drew Dober defeated Scott Holtzman via Decision (unanimous) - WRONG.
Justine Kish defeated Nina Ansaroff via Decision (unanimous) - CORRECT.
Alex Morono defeated Kyle Noke via Decision (split) - WRONG.
Michael McDonald defeated Masanoi Kanehara via Submission (rear naked choke) - CORRECT.
Abel Trujillo defeated Tony Sims via Submission (guillotine choke) - CORRECT.
Brian Ortega defeated Diego Brandao via Submission (triangle choke) - WRONG.
Albert Tumenov defeated Lorenz Larkin via Decision (split) - CORRECT.
Stipe Miocic defeated Andrei Arlovski via TKO (punches) - CORRECT.
Robbie Lawler defeated Carlos Condit via Decision (split) - CORRECT.

Predictions score:
Correct = 7.
Wrong = 5.

Peter Ashdown
https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown

Fedor Emelianenko's attempt to become relevant again in MMA.

Recently Fedor Emelianenko made a comeback to the sport of MMA by competing against Singh Jaideep at an event called Rizin Fighting Federation 2. Also on the card was a Heavyweight tournament including Bellator fighter Muhammed Lawal. The event took place at the famous Saitama Super Arena in Japan. 

Personally I don't think much can be achieved from this fight for Fedor except from a pay check. Going into the fight Fedor had a record of 34 wins, 1 no contest and 4 defeats. His opponent, Jaideep had a record of just 2 wins and 0 defeats. Jaideep does have a reasonably decent kickboxing record, however with his limited MMA experience, this fight seemed like a pointless exercise. Fedor won the fight in the first round by submission (punches). Nobody can be shocked by the way Fedor won this fight. A win does nothing in the sense of progressing his career. A lot of people will argue that Fedor isn't interested in that due to what he has already achieved in his career. However I don't see the point in continuing to fight if its against fighters like Jaideep. Fedor is already a legend in MMA. He should fight people who can genuinely challenge him or retire. A win over Jaideep will add nothing to Fedor's legacy. However if he was to fight a UFC heavyweight then this would definitely add something to his legacy. Some people argue that Fedor's MMA record is full of names who have been handpicked for him, and with fights like this it is hard to argue against it.

The other results from the event can be seen below:

Muhammed Lawal defeated Jiri Prochazka via KO (punch) in the first round.
Kron Gracie defeated Asen Yamamoto via Submission (triangle choke) in the first round.
Andy Souwer defeated Yuichiro via TKO (punches) in the first round.
Baruto Kaito defeated Peter Aerts via Decision (unanimous) in the third round.
Bob Sapp defeated Akebono Tara via Decision (technical).
Gabrielle Garcia defeated Seini Draughn via TKO (punches) in the first round.
Takeru Segawa defeated Yang Ming via TKO (punches) in he second round.
Soo Chul Kim defeated Maike Linhares Galvao Amorim via Decision (unanimous).
Brennan Ward defeated Ken Hasegawa via Submission (rear-naked choke) in the second round.
Jiri Prochazka defeated Vadim Nemkov via TKO (retirement).
Muhammed Lawal defeated Teodoras Aukstuolis via Decision (unanimous).
Rena Kubota defeated Jleana Valentino via Submission (flying armbar) in the second round.

Peter Ashdown
https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown

My opinion on who will still be a UFC champion by the end of 2016.

Current UFC champions: 

Men:

Heavyweight = Fabrício Werdum

Light Heavyweight = Daniel Cormier

Middleweight = Luke Rockhold

Welterweight = Robbie Lawler

Lightweight = Rafael dos Anjos

Featherweight = Conor McGregor

Bantamweight = T.J. Dillashaw

Flyweight = Demetrious Johnson

Women:

Bantamweight = Holly Holm

Strawweight = Joanna Jędrzejczyk

Fighters who I think will become new champions in 2016:

Heavyweight: Cain Velasquez.

I feel Cain will defeat Fabrício Werdum in their rematch and I can't see any other heavyweight defeating him in 2016.

Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones.

I think Jones will return from his suspension and challenge Daniel Cormier for his title in his first fight back. I think he will win the fight and perhaps defend it once before moving up to heavyweight.

Weltweight: Georges St-Pierre.

This one is a gamble for definite. I'm hopeful GSP will make a return in 2016. If he does I think he would beat Robbie Lawler. However chances are he will stay retired. If this is the case then I think Lawler will remain champion. 

Lightweight: Conor McGregor. 

McGregor will defend his title at featherweight once and then move up to lightweight to challenge Rafael dos Anjos for that title. He will win the fight and defend the lightweight title in 2016.

Featherweight: José Aldo.

Jose Aldo will challenge Frankie Edgar for the title vacated by Connor McGregor and I think Aldo will win.

Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz.

I think Cruz will defeat T.J. Dillashaw in their title fight and will also win in a rematch fight.

I feel all other champions will stay as they are at the end of 2016.

Who do you think will remain champion by the end of 2016?

Peter Ashdown

https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown

UFC 195: Lawler vs Condit | Predictions

This weekend, 2nd January 2016 is UFC 195: Lawler vs Condit. It is the first UFC event of 2016 and it will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. This blog post will go through who I think is going to win on the night. For the preliminary card I won't go in to much detail, I will just say who I think is going to win. On the main card I will discuss my predictions in more detail.

Preliminary predictions:

Edgar Garcia to beat Sheldon Westcott
Joe Soto to beat Michinori Tanaka
Dustin Poirier to beat Joseph Duffy
Scott Holtzman to beat Drew Dober 
Justine Kish to beat Nina Ansaroff
Kyle Noke to beat Alex Morono
Michael McDonald to beat Masanoi Kanehara

Main card predictions:

Abel Trujillo vs. Tony Sims:

This is a tough fight to predict. Abel Trujillo who has lost his last 2 fights, has a record of 12 wins and 7 losses. Tony Sims lost his last fight, and has a record of 12 wins and 3 losses. I think Abel Trujillo will win the fight. He will use his superior wrestling to win. Sims has finished every fight he has won, however 10 of these have been via a knockout. Trujillo has only been knocked out once and I can't see Sims repeating this. I predict Abel Trujillo to win via decision.

Diego Brandao vs. Brian Ortega:

Brandao goes into the fight having won his last 2, and has a record of 20 wins and 10 losses. Ortega has 9 wins, 1 no contest with no defeats. Despite Ortega being the favourite, I predict that Brandao wins this fight. Brandao is more experienced and has fought against a higher calibre of opponent. In his last 2 fights Brandao has looked exceptional in finishing both opponents in the first round. Ortega won his last fight, but did however show some weaknesses in his back and fourth exciting fight of the night against Thiago Tavares. I can see Brandao exploiting these weaknesses. I predict Diego Brandao to win via TKO in the second round.

Albert Tumenov vs. Lorenz Larkin:

Tumenov has won his last 4, while compiling a record of 16 wins and 2 losses. Larkin has won his last 2, with a record of 17 wins, 1 no contest and 3 losses. Since moving to welterweight Lorenz Larkin has looked impressive, however Tumenov will be his biggest test so far. I think Tumenov will be a step to far and I can see him knocking him out. However I wouldn't be surprised to see Larkin also win via knockout. I predict Tumenov to win via second round KO.

Stipe Miocic vs. Andrei Arlovski:

Miocic who is ranked number 3 in the UFC heavyweight division, won his last fight against Mark Hunt and has a record 13 wins and 2 losses. Arlovski, the number 2 ranked heavyweight, has won his last 6 fights, and has compiled 25 wins, 1 no contest and 10 defeats. I think that despite Arlovski's recent run of good form, I expect Miocic to have far too much for him. Miocic however needs to step it up. Nobody doubts his ability but in the past it has seemed that he has not stepped it up enough on the big occasion. The winner should be inline for a title shot, so Miocic needs to be impressive in this performance and I predict he will use his wrestling to great affect in this fight. I predict Stipe Miocic to win via decision.

Robbie Lawler (c) vs. Carlos Condit:

Lawler, the champion last defended his belt against Rory MacDonald. He has a record of 26 wins, 1 no contest and 10 losses. Condit who win his last fight, has achieved a record of 30 wins with 8 defeats. I think Condit doesn't particularly deserve his title shot. Nobody doubts his ability as a fighter, but his recent record isn't the best. In his last 5 fights he has lost 3 of them. On the other hand Lawler has looked the best of his career and I don't think Condit will be able to stop his run. Arguable a win will put him in the argument for being the best pound for pound fighter in the UFC. I predict Robbie Lawler to win via decision.

Peter Ashdown
https://twitter.com/PeterAshdown