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UFC 214: Will The Daniel Cormier vs Jon Jones Rivalry End Here?

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Daniel Cormier will finally have the opportunity to legitimize his UFC Light heavyweight title against the man who is universally recognized as the best light heavyweight of all-time.

The Rematch

Jon Jones never lost the lightweight title inside the octagon. He got stripped of the belt because of his run-ins with the law. They have fought before at UFC 182 and Jones beat Cormier decisively by unanimous decision. A rematch had been set at UFC 197 but Cormier got hurt and Jones won the interim title against Ovince St. Preux.

The UFC set up a unification bout at last year’s iconic UFC 200 but Jones was pulled from the event after failing a drug test. He was subsequently suspended for one year because of the doping violation. With Jones reinstated, he will have the opportunity to get back what is rightfully his. To do that, he must beat a familiar foe. And so the rematch is set as the main event of UFC 214 on July 29, 2017 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Jon Jones is the youngest champion in the history of the UFC. Jones holds many records at 205 pounds including most wins, most consecutive and successful title defenses, longest winning streak and most career wins by submission. For several years, Jones stood as MMA’s best pound for pound fighter. That was before his personal troubles began.

Brushes With Law

Not counting the DUIs, Jon Jones had two major brushes with the law that led to his removal from the top of the light heavyweight mountain. In April 2015, he was stripped of the title after a felony hit and run incident led to him being arrested. The following year, Jones was pulled from UFC 200 three days before the event after testing positive for a banned substance during a pre-fight drug test. With all these behind him now, Jones looks to win back the belt that he believes is his.

While Jones was battling his demons, Daniel Cormier slowly carved out a niche for himself and became the UFC light heavyweight champion in Bones’ absence. The former Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix champion has won four consecutive  bouts since losing to Jon Jones at UFC 182, including two victories over Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson.

The Odds

Despite having the belt, Cormier’s title reign has has an asterisk. That’s because while he succeeded Jones as champion, he never beat the man in the first place. In fact, Cormier lost convincingly to Jones in their only meeting thus far. At UFC 214, Cormier has the opportunity to prove his doubters wrong and show the world that he truly is light heavyweight champ.

Jones is the favorite here at -250 and Cormier the betting underdog at +200. During their first bout at UFc 182, Bones was also favored by oddsmakers at -240 while Cormier was at +145. The reason we brought that up is because there isn’t really going to be too much difference between this fight and the previous one.

More Diverse Striker

Daniel Cormier is an excellent wrestler as he was an All-American and an Olympic alternate in college. His best weapons will always be his wrestling and grappling. He is most comfortable when the fight is on the ground. Three of his last five wins have been by rear naked choke so there is some development in his game. But as they say, you really can’t teach an old dog new tricks. DC will always be a wrestler and that will not work against Jones.

Jones is a superb striker and the much more diverse one compared to Cormier. Given his five inch advantage in height and one foot advantage in reach, it’s going to be a picnic out there if Cormier doesn’t take Jones down and if Jones starts to find his range. Cormier’s problems begin with Jones takedown defense though. The former champ has a 94% takedown defense which might be too good for DC’s surprisingly low 46% takedown accuracy.

The Prediction

Statistically, Jones even has the advantage in takedowns at 2.26 per fifteen minutes. On the other hand, the better wrestler Cormier is only at 1.92 over that period. With Cormier’s takedown defense only at 78%, there is a chance that Jones is even going to land some takedowns against the champ. Jones has the better submission average than DC at 0.6 to 0.4.

Jones can beat Cormier whichever way he wants to fight. That’s why it’s going to be tough to bet against Jon Jones. Sure, the long layoff tells you that he may be rusty but for an elite level athlete like him, there’s no such thing as ring rust. Jon Jones looks in fantastic shape at his training camp. That’s going to be the least of his worries. We’re picking Jones to win this by unanimous decision, just like the first bout. And with the victory should come the end of this rivalry. Jones is simply better than Cormier.

UFC 214: Robbie Lawler vs. Donald Cerrone Could Steal The Show

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The fight that MMA fans have been waiting for is finally happening.

Former UFC welterweight champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler makes his long awaited octagon return against the fan-favorite Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone on July 29th, 2017 at UFC 214 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Look, this fight isn’t the main event. It’s not even the co-main event. That’s because there are three title fights at UFC 214. This one’s not one of them. But it could steal the show, no doubt about it.

Ruthless Returns

The bout marks Lawler’s first fight since losing the UFC welterweight title to Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 last July 30th, 2016. Prior to the loss, Lawler won five fights in a row, including three title fights. During his ruthless reign, Lawler battled and battered some of the division’s best fighters on his way to becoming the UFC’s welterweight king.

Lawler is known as one of the toughest fighters on the planet. He loves to go to war and he doesn’t mind eating some to deliver his powerful blows. Lawler has excellent hand speed and one punch knockout power. Six of his last ten victories have been by knockout.

Cowboy Tries Again

Like Robbie Lawler, Donald Cerrone is coming off a loss. The former lightweight title contender suffered his first defeat as a welterweight this past January. Cerrone was already at #5 in the rankings when he lost to #12 Jorge Masvidal. It also pushes Cerrone’s title ambitions backwards. Cerrone has produced many exciting wins but has come up short in big fights. He’s looking to change that against Robbie Lawler.

Cowboy is an excellent striker because of his Muay Thai background. He also has excellent submission skills with half of his 32 wins by submission. In short, Cerrone is a very versatile offensive fighter whether be it on his feet or on the ground. He’s one hell of a fighter who simply loves to take challenging fights like this one.

The Odds

Lawler is the slight favorite here at -150 and Cerrone the underdog at +130. This is as close as it gets and this is why many fans are excited to see these two exciting fighters finally square off inside the UFC octagon.

At first look, you’d think that Lawler would be the much bigger man here as Cerrone originally fought at lightweight. But if you look at the tale of the tape, Ruthless only has a once inch reach advantage and Cowboy Cerrone is two inches taller. Physically, Lawler’s main edge over Cerrone is his punching power. And that may be all that matters here.

Difference in Punching Power

We’ve seen Cerrone rack up four straight KO wins at welterweight but we also saw how he was knocked out by a come-forward fighter in Jorge Masvidal. During that fight, Cerrone started out well but after Masvidal found a home for his jab, Gamebred started pushing Cerrone backwards. Uncomfortable backing up, Cerrone would get caught by a combination at the end of the round. He never recovered. If Cerrone had problems backing up against an good striker like Masvidal, then he could be in trouble against Robbie Lawler.

On the average, Cerrone lands more significant strikes per minute at 4.18 against Lawler’s 3.49. But most of Cerrone’s numbers were against lightweights while Lawler has been punching welterweights all his life. With his punching power, all Robbie Lawler needs is just one punch. Look make no mistake here. Lawler too was knocked out by Tyron Woodley in his last bout but Cowboy’s no Woodley and so is his punching power.

The Prediction

We’re thinking that Cerrone would prefer this fight to go on the ground, where he has the more definite advantage. Cowboy averages 1.6 submission attempts per 15 minutes while Ruthless’ submission game is almost non-existent. Problem here is Cerrone can put Lawler on the ground given Lawler’s 67% takedown defense.

Having said all those, i think the fight stays on the feet most of the time. Lawler has the advantage here with a little more reach and a lot more punching power. One fight could end it for Ruthless while Cerrone may need his ‘Super Saiyan combos’ to put Robbie down. Either way, it’s going to be an exciting fight. But we’re going to pick Robbie Lawler here because of better punching power. Robbie Lawler by stoppage!

Cristiane Justino Booked For Title Fight at UFC 214

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The world leader in MMA in the UFC has confirmed that women’s featherweight (145-pound) contender Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino (17-1, 1 No Contest, 2-0 in the UFC,) considered by many to be the best fighter at that weight of all time, has been booked to fight for the division’s title at the upcoming UFC 214 pay-per-view event. She will not be facing the now former champion, “The Iron Lady” Germaine de Randamie.

Randamie Won’t Fight

De Randamie initially won the championship at UFC 208 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in a move up from bantamweight (135 pounds) with former women’s bantamweight champion Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm. However, after winning the title said that she needed to take time off to deal with a long-time hand injury to determine whether or not the injury required surgery.

Regarding the Brazilian striker specifically, de Randamie’s management said:

“Germaine and her team have talked, and the position is that she will not fight Cyborg because Cyborg is a known and proven cheater. Even after so much scrutiny has been put on Cyborg, she still managed to pop for something and will always be a person of suspicion who is trying to beat the system rather than just conforming to the rules. For that reason, Germaine and her team don’t believe that Cyborg should be allowed to compete in the UFC at all. If that is the only fight the UFC wants, then Germaine is willing to wait and see if the UFC will strip her belt before making her next move.”

Cyborg the Cheater?

Justino failed a 2011 drug test for performance-enhancing drugs (PED) but has since expressed immense regret and passed every test since that time. She was provisionally suspended in late 2016 due to a diuretic known as spironolactone, which is banned in and out of competition. Due to a medical paperwork snafu, the provisional suspension was lifted, Justino no longer faced a one-year ban, and she was granted a retroactive therapeutic use exemption (TUE.)

De Randamie has shared her own thoughts on the stripping with MMAFighting.com.

The move to give Justino a title fight may also be viewed as controversial by some after she was cited for misdemeanor battery after punching fellow UFC fighter Angela “Your Majesty” Magana (11-8 in MMA overall, 0-2 in the UFC.) The incident resulted in a lot of social media support for Justino from fans after Magana taunted her on Twitter, using a photo of Justino visiting children hospitalized with cancer in her native country to do so.

The strawweight (115-pound) fighter did later challenge Justino to a grappling match due to their weight difference, which has not yet come to fruition. She revealed to TMZ in late May that she will be suing Justino.

Anderson Vies For Title

Stepping in as challenger against Justino will be Australia’s Megan Anderson (8-2 in MMA overall with six finishes,) the now former featherweight champion for the all-female Invicta FC, which is mostly considered a feeder league to the UFC. She initially won an interim title in January, scoring a TKO win over Charmaine Tweet at Invicta FC 21.

Anderson was promoted to being a full-fledged champion after Justino vacated the promotion’s featherweight strap to focus on the UFC. The Aussie had been eying a UFC debut but wasn’t sure why she had yet to be signed (along with any other fighters to fill out the new division.) There were rumors that the division might be scrapped, but the UFC has put an end to that.

Anderson had previously been announced as the main event for July’s Invicta FC 24 opposite the debuting Helena Kolesnyk (5-0 in MMA overall with all five wins being finishes.) She has replaced by bantamweight champion Tanya Evinger (19-5-0, 1 No Contest in MMA overall, 7-0-0, 1 No Contest in Invicta FC) although the bout will still take place at 145 pounds.

“We’d obviously been campaigning for that fight, probably for three weeks, but the UFC had told us it wasn’t happening,” Anderson told ESPN this morning (June 19.) So, we went to Invicta and said, ‘Get us an opponent.’ We signed that bout agreement, and not more than six hours later, the UFC called and said, ‘Hey, let’s look at that Justino matchup. I don’t know what was going on in their head. They knew we wanted the fight this whole time. We finally said, ‘OK, fine’ and we sign another fight. Then all of a sudden they’re like, ‘Oh wait, we’re back.’ At least it all seems to have worked out.”

The Cyborg-Anderson title bout will serve as the UFC 214 co-main event. Headlining the card, which will take place at the Honda Center on July 29, is the rematch between light heavyweight (205-pound) Daniel “DC” Cormier and former champion Jon “Bones” Jones.  Yoel Romero faces Robert Whittaker for an interim middleweight (185-pound) title as well.