Tag Archives: UFC 206

UFC 206: Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis Odds and Prediction

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UFC 206 lost its original main event after light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier pulled out of the event with an injury. Good thing UFC 206 already had a marquee featherweight bout as co-main event. That featherweight scrap is now promoted to main event status, and it may even turn out to be a better fight than Cormier vs. Johnson.

Interim Title Bout

With Conor McGregor relinquishing (or getting stripped, whichever you want to believe) the title he won with his 13-second destruction of Jose Aldo last year, the UFC has promoted the Max Holloway – Anthony Pettis showdown to an interim title bout. And for Max Holloway, it’s getting the title shot that he’s earned through the years.

After starting his UFC career with a modest 3-3 record, Holloway has blossomed into one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC’s 145-pound weight class. Since losing to Conor McGregor in 2013, Holloway has racked up an impressive 9-consecutive wins to become the division’s 2nd ranked contender. During this winning run, “Blessed” has beaten Top 10 contenders Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveira and Jeremy Stephens.

Second Lease on Life

Anthony Pettis, meanwhile, has found a new lease on his UFC life at a new weight class. Following three straight losses to Rafael Dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez and Edson Barboza, “Showtime” bounced back with an impressive 3rd round submission win in featherweight debut against submission master Charles Oliveira. The win immediately put Pettis at #5 in the UFC’s official Featherweight rankings and put him in a position to fight for the title.

The stakes are high for this bout, as the winner will face newly promoted champion Jose Aldo for the undisputed UFC Featherweight title sometime in the near future. And if you’re looking for a dog fight, it can’t get any better than this.

Blessed Over Showtime

Holloway opened as a -185 favorite against Pettis’ +145 when the betting lines for this bout opened. As of the latest UFC 206 odds (12.2.16), Pettis has narrowed the gap at +130 for him and -160 for Holloway. The odds are -160 that this fight goes the distance while it’s +160 that it doesn’t. These make Pettis-Holloway a tough fight to fight to predict, but it’s definitely going to be a exciting striking battle between two of the sport’s premier strikers.

Pettis has excellent Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Taekwondo background. He is good with his hands as he is with his feet. His unique and uncanny striking ability makes him an exciting fighter to watch. Holloway too is adept on his feet. Blessed knows how to pick his shots and when he lands, he does so cleanly and effectively. Just watch his UFC 199 bout against Ricardo Lamas and you can see how good Holloway has become. With both fighters preferring to fight on their feet, this could end up as one of the better fights of the year.

Pettis has a three inch reach advantage while Holloway is an inch taller and four year younger. Offensively, Holloway lands 3.07 more strikes lander per minute but absorbs 1.36 more per 60 seconds. Pettis’ 57% striking defense may be too lax against a surging Holloway. Pettis looked good against Barboza in his featherweight debut but we don’t know what the long term effects of the weight class drop would be. Holloway’s been at featherweight forever and he will be more effective in a five round war. We’re picking Max Holloway to win by unanimous decision or late stoppage.

UFC 206: Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown Odds and Prediction

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Barring any fight week shocker, Donald Cerrone’s finally going to fight.

First it was his original UFC 205 opponent Robbie Lawler who pulled out of their high profile bout. Then replacement opponent Kelvin Gastelum missed weight badly and was unceremoniously removed from UFC 205. The result? Cerrone was left without an opponent and a fight at the UFC’s historic Madison Square Garden debut.  The UFC then rescheduled Cerrone with a fight at the next event- UFC 206 in Canada. And Cowboy’s consolation prize? The Immortal Matt Brown.

Legit Welterweight

2016 has been a new beginning for Donald Cerrone. After failing to win the UFC Lightweight title from Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC on Fox 17th last December, Cerrone made the move to welterweight. While some quarters questioned his decision to go up to the 170 pound division, Cowboy has proved himself as a legitimate welterweight. Three straight stoppage wins over Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote and Rick Story have put Cowboy to #5 in the welterweight rankings.

After seven straight wins in the UFC, Matt Brown has struggled fighting against the promotion’s top rated welterweights. Losses to Johny Hendricks, Robbie Lawler, Demian Maia and Jake Ellenberger have given the Immortal a 1-4 record in his last five bouts and has dropped him to #14 in the rankings. With his UFC career seemingly on the line, Matt Brown will have to bring out his A game to halt the streaking Cowboy.

No Longer Immortal

While Donald Cerrone is on his way up the welterweight ladder, Matt Brown has been there but no longer there. As we said earlier, he’s lost 4 of 5 and his UFC career may be dependent on what happens in this fight. In his most recent fight, Brown was knocked out by Jake Ellenberger in the first round. But more than another defeat, Brown fought so lackluster that we wonder what’s left in his tank. One thing is certain though, Brown is no longer immortal. The clock may be ticking on him and this could be the ‘passing of the torch’ kind of fight.

Cerrone is the bookmakers’ favorite to beat Brown. Cowboy is currently a -270 favorite over Brown who is at +205 . Despite being on a losing skid, Matt Brown is fairly a better striker than Cowboy, at least that’s what the stats say. While Cowboy lands more significant strikes per minute at 4.1 vs 3.62, Brown is the more accurate striker at 53% striking accuracy against Cerrone’s 48%. Defensively, Brown absorbs less strikes per minute at 2.46 versus 3.81 for Cowboy.

Outside the numbers though, Cerrone’s recent stoppage wins over Patrick Cote and Rick Story make us wonder if Brown’s statistical advantages will hold at UFC 206. Cerrone has looked invincible lately and he seems to be in a better place physically, mentally and stylistically than Matt Brown. In what looks to be an offensive showdown, Matt Brown cannot outgun Donald Cerrone as Cowboy simply has too many weapons to beat him. Look for Donald Cerrone to win by unanimous decision or a third round submission.

UFC 206 Preview: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson Odds and Pick

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With Jon Jones at bay because of a recent drug suspension, the UFC’s next best Light Heavyweights will dispute the 205-pound title at the main event of UFC 206 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Rematch

Current champion Daniel Cormier was supposed to fight Jones for the undisputed title at UFC 200 but in his latest brush with the law, Jones got pulled from the bout and is currently facing a one-year suspension for a drug violation. Instead, Cormier will be facing the red hot Anthony Johnson, who has been knocking out one contender after the other.

This will not be the first time Cormier and Johnson face each other. DC won his current title by defeating Johnson at UFC 187. The two fought for the title which was vacated when Jones was first suspended by the UFC in 2015.

Roles Reversed

DC is -135 in many books while Rumble is popular at +115. This is opposite the numbers they had when they first faced each other at UFC 187 where Rumble closed at -120 and DC at +100. Rumble Johnson was on a nine fight winning streak ( 6 by knockout ) coming to UFC 187. But after Cormier humbled him with a punishing wrestling game, the tides have been turned.

Cormier has fought twice since beating Johnson. He defeated Alexander Gustafsson by split decision and then dominated Anderson Silva in a catchweight bout at UFC 200. Rumble’s coming off knockout wins over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira. His last two wins have been by first round KO. In 27 fights, Johnson has never gone past round three.

Grounding Rumble

Cormier has said in interviews that he is going to stand and trade with Rumble Johnson this time around. You bet Cormier didn’t mean those words because obliging Rumble in a slugfest would be a death wish. Daniel Cormier has proven to have a good chin. But it’s never wise to have it tested against Rumble Johnson. For Sure DC will go back to his wrestling base in this bout. Just like how he dominated Rumble at UFC 187.

Although he landed only three takedowns in their first bout, DC attempted eight times, meaning he really tried to put the fight on the ground. Those takedowns and attempts took its toll on Rumble and negated his strengths. He became a lame duck on the ground and that led to the rear naked choke finish by Cormier in round three. Rumble Johnson will either have to knock out DC first or take him down first. The latter seems likely. Cormier’s wrestling will be the key here once again. He’s going to grind Rumble to the finish. We expect another late submission victory or a close but clear 3-2 win on the scorecards for Daniel Cormier.

UFC 206: Anthony Pettis vs. Max Holloway Odds and Preview

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After calling out each other last month via Twitter, Anthony Pettis and Max Holloway are headed for a high level featherweight showdown at UFC 206.

The UFC announced the fight on October 26th:

Moving Down To Featherweight

Pettis is coming off an impressive featherweight debut at UFC on Fox 21 last August, where he submitted submission master Charles Oliveira in three rounds. Prior to that, Showtime lost three fights in a row at lightweight. That losing skid forced the former UFC Lightweight champion to move down in weight and fight at 145 pounds.

The win over Oliveira moved Pettis from #5 in Lightweight to #6 in Featherweight. It also installed him as one of the favorite contenders in the weight class whose title belt has been held hostage by reigning champion, Conor McGregor.

On A Hot Streak

On a nine-fight winning streak, Max Holloway certainly deserves a crack at the featherweight title. Holloway is coming off a decision win over Top 5 featherweight Ricardo Lamas at UFC 199 and has beaten the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Charles Oliveira and Cub Swanson during his winning run. The last time Holloway lost was in 2013 and that was to Conor McGregor.

Holloway would have loved to avenge that loss but McGregor is busy fighting for the Lightweight belt at UFC 205. With interim champion Jose Aldo busy with his squabble with the UFC, ‘Blessed’ said that he was willing to settle for Anthony Pettis instead. Pettis responded to that challenge by alluding to a UFC 205 bout but while that was denied, the two are headed to the co-main event of UFC 206 in Toronto.

Who The Odds Are Picking

Holloway has opened as a slight -160 favorite over Pettis, who comes in at +125.

Blessed’s impressive winning run has certainly left a good impression on him. Also, Holloway is the more experienced guy in this weight class, having fought here throughout his UFC career. Though Pettis proved he can make weight and beat a contender like Oliveira, he remains untested against the regulars of his new weight class.

Betting odds at sites like Bovada are also giving this fight a -245 for going over 2.5 rounds and a +175 for ending in less than 2.5 rounds which means that Pettis and Holloway are likely to go the full route.

UFC 206 Preview: Daniel Cormier vs. Anthony Johnson Rematch Coming

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Daniel Cormier will be defending the UFC Light Heavyweight title against Anthony Johnson at the main event of UFC 206 at the Air Canada Centre in Canada on December 10th.

The champ made the announcement himself at Wednesday’s edition of the UFC Tonight show on FS1:

Take Two

The bout marks the second encounter between the two fighters. Cormier defeated Johnson via rear naked choke submission in the third round of their title bout at UFC 187.

Back then, the two were fighting for the 205-pound title which was vacated after Jon Jones’ series of run ins with the law. After the victory, Cormier has defended the title once, against Alexander Gustafsson. The champ is coming off a unanimous decision win over Anderson Silva in a non-title bout at UFC 200.

On A Roll

Johnson meanwhile has been on a roll, winning three fights in a row since losing to Cormier. All of those victories have come via knockout. Rumble Johnson has won 12 of his last 13 bouts since returning to the UFC. The only blemish in his resume during that period was the loss to Cormier.

After knocking out Glover Teixeira in 13 seconds at UFC 202, Johnson now has the opportunity to exact revenge and finally win the title that has long eluded him.

Grounding Rumble

In his announcement, Cormier vowed to stand and trade with Rumble. He promised to knock his challenger out in the middle of the Octagon. But If we recall their first bout however, Cormier used his wrestling expertise to ground his explosive opponent. Johnson never got his offense going against Cormier who tried to keep the fight on the mat. It will be interesting to see whether Cormier is going to do as he says because going toe to toe with Anthony Johnson is a mortal sin.

In 22 MMA victories, Anthony Johnson has knocked out 16 opponents. Twelve of those knockouts happened in the very first round. Four of Johnson’s last five wins have come  via first round knockout. Known for his punching power and explosiveness, Anthony Johnson loves to brawl like a fish loves water. He’s not known as Rumble for nothing. As for DC, Cormier is known to have a granite chin but it’s still unlikely that he will take his chances in a rumble with Anthony Johnson.