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We got Tony Ferguson "El Cucuy" vs Justin Gaethje for the interim 155 title belt.
Ferguson after making his long awaited comeback got a stoppage vs Cowboy Cerrone, who oddly enough was also Justin Gaethje's last victory as well. Ferguson was supposed to be fighting Khabib but for the 5th time that fight has eluded him.
El Cucuy is arguably the most dangerous fighter in the 155 division outside of Khabib, with a 12 win fight streak & an 81% finish rate, he's handled every test put in front of him & hasn't lost a fight in 8 years! In the time span he's beaten Pettis, Kevin Lee, Dos Anjos, Edson Barboza, Josh Thomson & Tibau. The 10th planet Black belt is one of Eddie Bravo's best students, he's an excellent BJJ practitioner & has enough power in his stand up game to make him a well respected complete fighter.
Gaethje has been a rising star in the division & is a high volume striker with a 56% striking rate & a 91% finish rate, 18 out of his 21 W's were KO's/TKO's. He comes from a heavy collegiate NCAA wrestling background but his stand up boxing game is what makes him one of the best at 155.
Gaethje's only two losses were to Dustin Poirier & Eddie Alvarez who were both able to beat him with strikes.
El Cucuy is a man on a mission, the winner of this fight gets Khabib & Ferguson is the best matchup to deal with him. I don't see Gaethje being enough to get in his way of getting that match. I think Gaethje is going to come forward & bring heavy pressure with his boxing & attempt to use leg kicks to keep Ferguson from getting close to him. However, El Cucuy has abnormally long arms with a 76inch reach, he'll be able to strike as an entering point to open up Gaethje & get the fight to the ground. Gaethje's best bet is to hope the fight stays upright & he can land power shots to KO Ferguson, but if Ferguson gets him to the ground it's over.
I got El Cucuy winning by stoppage in the 4th, will be a great fight though.
The Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo vs Domonick Cruz
Cejudo is Champ Champ, holding both the Bantam & Flyweight title belts for the UFC.
After being doubted by many Cejudo has leveled himself up to be one of/if not the best in the world in the 125-135 weight classes. With recent W's vs Moraes, Dillashaw,& Might Mouse Demetrius Johnson, he's climbed himself to the top & put two straps on his waist.
Domonick Cruz is one of the best Bantamweights in UFC history, as a former Lloyd Irivin Blue Belt, but has been on a hiatus from competition for 4 years now due to injuries, his last fight was vs Cody Garbrandt back in 2016. His battles with Uriah Faber & Mouse DJ are what made him a household name in the UFC.
However, with him being off for such a long time I don't see how he can comeback after such a long layoff & beat Cejudo. He's bigger than Cejudo & has much better reach than him, but given he hasn't fought in such a long time Octagon rust (ring rust) is a real thing. If I'm Cejudo I'm testing Cruz's lungs & making him beat me, no way should he stand in the middle of the Octagon & brawl with him, get inside work the body & take him down from the start of the fight & force him to out wrestle you. Take the air out of his chest & see if after 4 years away from the sport can he go the distance in a marathon.
I got Cejudo winning, would be shocked if Cruz pulled it off.
The Heavyweight bout between Francis Ngannou vs Jairzinho Rozenstruik will be nothing short of a Gladiator fight.
Ngannou has bounced back from two bad performances vs Derrick Lewis & Stipe with 3 straight stoppages vs Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez & Curtis Blaydes.
Rozenstruik has become an uprising name on the MMA scene with a 10-0 record having all his fights end in KO's. Most people assume he came out of nowhere, but he's actually a well respected battle tested Kickboxer with over 85 fights & 76 wins. He's a Surinamese Kickboxer with explosive power in his fists, he's got a dynamite left hook & utilizes leg kicks in order to open up his opponents. He's got enough quickness as a striker to move around the Octagon & deliver effective strike combos in variety to get to his kill-shot, he's not slow sluggish statue.
Ngannou is a big giant pure power puncher, if you stand in front of him & allow him to throw haymakers he'll KO you, but if you move around & force him to put his stamina to the test he can be vulnerable.
To me this fight will come down to who came up with a better game plan. I would hope that Bigi Boy (Rozenstruik) has enough fight IQ to not stand in the middle of the Octagon & exchange with Ngannou, he has to neutralize his power by tiring him out & the way to do that is make him hit a moving target. Run around the Octagon, strike & evade, leg kick & jab & throw variety sequences at Ngannou. Make him defend everything until you set up the Left hook.
My brain tells me Ngannou wins this fight by TKO, but my heart would love to see another fellow Kickboxer become a dominant force in the UFC ala Stylebender. I'm gonna go against my better judgement & pick Rozenstruik for the upset, I won't be shocked one bit if Ngannou KO's & deals with him, but I'm rooting for Rozenstruik to pull it off.
Lots of other good fights on the card, who ya got!
