Tag Archives: UFC 207

UFC 207: Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey Odds and Prediction

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Ronda Rousey challenges Amanda Nunes for the UFC women’s bantamweight title at the main event of UFC 207 at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on December 30th. The Return is going to be a sight to see.

The Return

Fans have long waited for Ronda Rousey to return and she couldn’t have picked a better date than the promotion’s final event for 2016. Ronda Rousey was the star of stars in the UFC, dominating one opponent after another. The former Olympic Judo bronze medalist won her first twelve bouts by stoppage and nine of them by Armbar tap out. She was on the most dominating championship reign of all-time when Holly Holm knocked her out cold on her feet last year.

Since Rousey lost the belt, it has changed hands after every title bout. Holm was choked out by Miesha Tate at UFC 196, while Take was brutally stopped by Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. Now Nunes is saying that the title belt will remain around her waist for a long time. And based on her more recent outings, she may be correct.

A Powerful Striker

Nunes is known for her punching power and exquisite striking. She averages 4.23 significant strikes landed per minute. On the other hand, Rousey isn’t far behind at 4.05 per minute. Accuracy-wise, both fighters have a similar 52% striking accuracy. The difference between the two, however, is with the strikes absorbed per minute. Rousey take 3.6 strikes per minute while Nunes is hit with just 2.81. Converted to a five round bout, that’s an estimated 13.75 significant strikes. That would be more than enough strikes for Amanda Nunes to knock you out.

On the ground, Rousey is known to be a beast with 6.43 takedowns landed per 15 minutes. Rowdy also averages 4.9 submission attempts per 15 minutes. Both numbers are pretty well better than Nunes’ stats and will be what Ronda’s going to do to beat her opponent. Taking Nunes down may not be easy. Not only is she an excellent striker, she also has an excellent 73% takedown defense. As a comparison, Holly Holm had a 77% takedown defense when she fought Ronda Rousey and the latter couldn’t take her down.

Question Marks

At her best, Ronda Rousey is one of the most dominant female mixed martial artists of her era. But it’s been over a year since she last fought inside the octagon. The last time out, she suffered a shocking loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193. Since that loss, she’s withdrawn from the limelight and has contemplated retirement and worse, suicide. She says she’s over those negative emotions now and that it’s time to get her old belt back. Getting back to dominant Ronda may not be easy. Facing an opponent who’s undoubtedly in the best stretch of her fighting career adds pressure to that. With all the question marks surrounding Rousey’s return and given Nunes’ hot streak, it’s hard not to place your bets on the plus money for Nunes.

Currently Rousey is a -160 favorite while Nunes is a surprise +140 on many books. That’s interesting, considering Ronda’s been out of circulation for over a year and Nunes has been beating top level opposition. But we know Ronda’s a popular girl so the lines aren’t unexpected at all. However, we know Nunes is going to give Rousey the fight of her life. If Ronda had all sorts of problems with a great striker like Holly Holm, she may be in for a rude awakening against Amanda Nunes. Needless to say, there is enough logic here to have me pick Amanda Nunes to win by knockout.

UFC 207: Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt Odds and Prediction

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UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz takes on the dangerous Cory Garbrandt at the co-main event of UFC 207 on December 30th, 2016 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The return of Ronda Rousey should continue to dominate headlines, but it’s quite arguable this is actually the title fight die hard MMA fans will be looking forward to.

Dominator

Known as the Dominator, Dominick Cruz has long been the barometer of the bantamweight division. However, successive knee injuries forced him to relinquish his title in 2014. And after several failed comeback attempts, Cruz made a successful return to the top of the division with a close decision win over T.J. Dillashaw in January of this year. Dom went on to successfully defend the belt with an easy decision win over Urijah Faber at UFC 199.

Cruz’s opponent is a product of Faber’s Team Alpha Male. Cory Garbrandt has been knocking out opponent after opponent to earn his first title shot. The 25-year old Ohio native has knocked out 9 of 10 opponents in an unbeaten MMA career. Garbrandt has knocked out his last three opponents in the first round. In his most recent fight, he stopped Takeya Mizugaki in the opening minute of their bout. Garbrandt has the power to knockout any opponent. But he has never faced one quite like Dominick Cruz.

Evasion over Aggression

The champion opened as a more than 2-1 favorite at -225. The lines haven’t changed much at -220 for Dom and +180 for Cory Garbrandt. Dominick Cruz is hard to hit but he isn’t unhittable. And it only takes a few punches from Cory Garbrandt to knock the living daylights out of you. So, you can’t really say No Love has no chance. But if Garbrandt can’t connect early or score that dreaded first round KO, it’s hard to imagine him going five rounds with a maestro. Garbrandt has never seen a round 4 or 5 before and Cruz is going to show him what they’re like.

Cruz will dictate this fight with his angles. He is going to stick and move and make Garbrandt miss like he’s never missed before. In short, Cory Garbrandt’s aggression may be no match for Dom’s evasion. And not only is Cruz going to make him miss, but the Dominator is going to counter him all night, as well. Cory may be powerful but T.J. Dillashaw is much quicker and faster. If Cruz beat a prime T.J. Dillashaw, there is no doubt he is going to school Cory Garbrandt. After a wild first round, it an easy decision win here for Dominick Cruz. He’s got to change his monicker though from Dominator to Decisionator.

UFC 207 Rumors: Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt to Fight For Title?

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Cody Garbrandt may have leapfrogged ahead of the Top 5 bantamweights all the way to a title fight with Dominick Cruz.

That’s because according to the latest MMA news, Garbrandt is the front runner to get the next crack at the Dominator. The bout was first reported by Ariel Helwani:

What Rankings?

Ranked 6th in the UFC’s bantamweight title following his win over Thomas Almeida last May, Garbrandt may have talked his way to a title shot. There is no doubt that Garbrandt’s had an impressive 2016 with three wins and three first round knockouts. But more than his fight resume, it was his back and forth trash talk with Cruz that’s made this bout a story.

Aside from Garbrandt, top ranked bantamweights like T.J. Dillashaw, Jon Lineker and Bryan Caraway all deserve a shot at the bantamweight gold. But in the tradition of Bisping-Hendo 2 at UFC 204 and McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205, the fight that made the most financial sense got the nod.

Dominator Once More

After a long struggle with injuries, Dominick Cruz returned earlier this year to capture the title he never lost inside the Octagon. Cruz bested erstwhile champion T.J. Dillashaw in a surgical five rounder. The Dominator then followed that up with a win over rival Urijah Faber at UFC 199.

Before those two victories, Cruz fought just once from 2012 to 2014 because of different and recurring injuries. But Cruz set his sights on regaining his old title and did so in what experts call the Greatest Comeback story in MMA history.

Garbrandt is an immaculate 5-0 with 5 KOs in the UFC. Without doubt, his biggest win came against  the highly touted Thomas Almeida in the main event of UFC Fight Night 88. Garbrandt is one of the division’s hardest hitters but the question is if he can find his target.  Dominick Cruz’s hit and run style may not be a good fit for Garbrandt, who loves to brawl.

Year End Extravaganza

The bout is reportedly being worked out for UFC 207 on December 3th0, 2015 UFC 207 will be headlined by the women’s bantamweight title bout between champion Amanda Nunes and the comebacking Ronda Rousey. It will mark Rousey’s first octagon appearance since losing by knockout to Holly Holm at UFC 193.

The UFC typically ends the year big with an explosive final event. Rousey’s return will be big enough to do that. Adding Cruz vs. Garbrandt would be icing on the cake for they UFC’s year ender.

UFC 207 Odds: Ronda Rousey vs. Amanda Nunes Odds and Preview

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She’s back.

After spending one year away from MMA, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda “Rowdy” Rousey returns to the octagon on December 30th to face current champion Amanda “Lioness” Nunes in the main event of UFC 207 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC President Dana White made the ‘major announcment’ at The Herd on Wednesday:

Major Announcement

White’s ‘major announcement’ really didn’t come as a surprise. The signs were leading to it.

Last month, White told Brazilian sports outlet O Globo that a Rousey-Nunes bout was possible before the end of the year. White also said earlier this month that Rousey’s comeback fight would be the biggest PPV the UFC has done. If that wasn’t at UFC 205, where else would that be but at the company’s year end show.

In September, Rousey’s coach Edmond Tarverdyan told reporters that a Rousey vs. Nunes bout was being discussed and that the main issue was Ronda working her way back into form after a minor knee injury in the summer. Apparently, Rousey is better now.

A Better Rousey

After a dominant run as the UFC’s inaugural women’s bantamweight champion, Ronda Rousey suffered a shocking knockout defeat to Holly Holm at UFC 193 last November. Prior to that defeat, Rousey won her first twelve bouts, all by stoppage including 9 by armbar stoppage.

She became a star, both inside and outside the octagon but things came falling down when she was knocked out cold by Holm. The seemingly invincible woman broke down and shunned the limelight. The longer she stayed outside the Octagon, the more people thought she would never fight again. But after a year off, Rousey is back and presumably better not just as a fighter, but also as a person.

The Lioness

Ronda’s opponent couldn’t have been tougher. With Rousey wanting to get her old belt back, she will have to fight the current champion, Amanda Nunes.

The Lioness won the title with a dominant first round KO of Rousey nemesis Miesha Tate at UFC 200. Nunes has a 13-4 MMA record but is an impressive 6-1 in the UFC. Five of those win were by stoppage and Nunes has beaten Shayna Baszler, Sara McMann, Valentina Schevhenko and Tate in succession. She is considered one of the best strikers in the sport and one with genuine KO power.

It can be recalled that Rousey lost to Holm, a former boxing world champion, because the latter had the better striking game. It will be extremely interesting to see how Rousey will deal with an equally versatile striker like Nunes.

Opening as Favorite

Despite her long absence, Ronda Rousey opened as a -200 favorite against Nunes’ +160. Oddsmakers point to Rousey’s popularity as the main reason for these numbers. Nunes has the better striking but the real question is whether she can keep the fight standing up.

Rousey’s power throws and judo are superb and once Rowdy takes the fight to the ground, we know what’s going to happen next. No opponent has ever matched Ronda’s skill on the ground, as she submitted one challenger after another before a much improved striking game saw her self-destruct against Holly Holm.

If Ronda keeps the striking exchanges at a minimal and focuses on grappling and wrestling, she is seen as having the advantage over Nunes. Nunes, meanwhile, must avoid getting her arm exposed on the ground because that’s almost a bait for Rousey.