Holloway vs Fili and Ellenberger vs Medeiros set for UFC 172

Two more fights added to UFC 172 in April

by Ben Heather @benheather

UFC 172 which is due to take place on April 26th has just added a couple of extra fights to the card and these should be sure to excite the fans.

Andre Fili will meet Max Holloway in a featherweight battle. Fili who made his UFC debut at UFC 166 taking the fight on less than two weeks notice and missed weight.... though this wasn't a massive shock as when he took the fight he weighed 178lbs. Fili managed to cut 30lbs but couldn't get down to the 146lb limit. However, when he got in to the Octagon he didn't disappoint again. He dominated the fight from start to finish when he picked up the win by TKO in the second round.

I certainly am looking forward to seeing him back in the Octagon again and I am pretty sure Dana White will be too after praising his performance last time out.

Fili's opponent at UFC 172 will be Max Holloway, who ended a two fight losing streak at UFC Singapore defeating Will Chope via second round. Before that he had lost to Conor McGregor and Dennis Bermudez but always comes to put on a show and with Fili's fighting style this should be a great fight for the fans.

Also added to UFC 172 is Joe Ellenberger who will be making his UFC debut at the same event as his brother Jake will be making his return from injury. Ellenberger, will meet Yancy Medeiros who defeated Yves Edwards by KO at UFC Fight for the Troops 3 last year and both men will be looking to continue up the ranks with a win in April.

Below you will find the current UFC 172 card

Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira
Jake Ellenberger vs Tarec Saffiedine
Yancy Medeiros vs Joe Ellenberger
Max Holloway vs Andre Fili

Joe Ellenberger signs for the UFC

Ellenberger signs four fight deal to fight for the UFC

by Ben Heather @benheather

Joe Ellenberger, the twin brother of longtime UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger has signed for the UFC.

The part that makes Ellenberger (14-1) joining his brother as part of the UFC roster is the fact he was told back in 2009 that his fighting career would have to end. At the time his record was 10-0 and he was diagnosed with Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a disease that attacks and destroys the red blood cells. Not only was he told he would not fight again, he was told the chances are he would not be alive to celebrate his 30th birthday.

Thankfully for everyone that is not the case and with the help of Soliris, a drug which is used to prevent the breakdown of red blood cells in people with Ellenberger's condition he has been able to focus back on his career. Ellenberger returned to fighting in 2011 after a 22 month lay off and won back to back fights before losing for the first time in his career in October 2011 against Justin Salas, who signed for the UFC after the win.

After that loss he has got back to winning ways with two wins in 2012 but has not fought since then so him signing for the UFC now came as a bit of a surprise. As yet there is no date set for him to make for debut in the UFC but I for one will be looking forward to seeing him make it on the big show and complete his dream.

Kingdom MMA Awards 2013: Worst Fight of the year

Kingdom MMA Worst Fight of the Year Award 2013: Soa Palalei vs Nikita Krylov

by Ben Heather @benheather

Although 2013 has been a great year for MMA it has also had a few stinkers. So this is the wooden spoon award of the year. Thankfully for us all this was actually quite a hard award to think of a winner for because we really have been treated to some amazing fights in 2013.

However, we had three contenders which were put forward as the worst fight of the year, our first contender was the fight between Jake Shields and Tyron Woodley at UFC 161 where the pair clinched for most of the fight in which Shields failed to get Woodley to the floor in the first two rounds alone with a staggering 11 attempts. The fight was either spent tied up in the clinch or pushed up against the side of the cage but nothing of serious note happened. All in all a stinker of a fight. However, Shawn Jordan must have been watching and gave the fans something to cheer about as he knocked out Pat Barry within a minute in the next fight.

Then in July Rory MacDonald vs Jake Ellenberger met at UFC on FOX 8 was certainly a fight with very little happening during the fight. Rory was waiting for Ellenberger to make the move and when he did, did just enough to win the fight without doing much in the process. Thankfully Demetrious Johnson vs John Moraga came on after that fight and put on a show for the fans to make them rightfully forget that fight ever happened.

Our winner though comes from UFC 164 at the end of August when Soa Palelei faced off against Nikita Krylov. Before the fight both guys had impressive records, Soa was returning to the UFC after a one fight stint years before and Nikita was making his debut in the UFC so both really wanted to impress..... unfortunately for both men and us fans that did not happen on this night. The fans were instead treated to over 11 minutes of fighting between two clearly gassed fighters before Soa put Nikita out of his misery and picked up the TKO win. Soa however announced after the fight that he went in to the fight with an injury, having suffered a fractured rib the week of the fight which led to him putting on a lack luster performance.

Thankfully Soa made up for this recently as the UFC returned to his home nation and he quickly knocked out Pat Barry making people forget all about his previous fight.

We are sorry to do this, but the award for worst fight of 2013 goes to Soa Palelei vs Nikita Krylov. Please forgive us and we hope to see you perform well again in 2014.

Johny Hendricks Meets Robbie Lawler For The Vacant UFC Welterweight Belt

Who will be crowned the new UFC Welterweight Champion? and is this the right match up?

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea

With the news that current UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre will vacate his title and take an indefinite leave of absence from the sport. Everyone was wondering, what would happen next?

Well, in true Dana White style it wasn't long before we found out!  Dana announced soon after that Johny Hendricks would be fighting Robbie Lawler for the vacant Welterweight bout which will be the main event for UFC 171, taking place in Dallas, Texas on the 15th March 2014.

Hendricks (15-2 MMA,10-2 UFC) who probably still can't believe he isn't already the welterweight champion after losing in controversial fashion to GSP in a razor thin split decision only last month at UFC 167. However, the news of this title shot surely would've eased the pain of that loss, knowing he will have the chance once again to win the title, this time in his own backyard!!

Many felt a little surprised that the opportunity would fall at the feet of Robbie Lawler (22-9-1 MMA,7-3UFC) having fought in Strikeforce prior and having a 3-5 record in his 8 fights with the organisation, you would've had to be mystic meg to try and predict what would happen next!!

He'd enter the UFC and in doing so, moving down from middleweight to welterweight, he'd  knock out the durable Josh Koscheck inside the first round on his return, following that up with a stunning KO over Bobby Voelker. Then to top things off being matched up with the fighter that many believed would go onto emulate GSP one day, and hold the welterweight belt for years to come. Lawler put on one of this best performances to date with a clinical display outscoring Rory MacDonald to win via split decision at UFC 167 in November.

Lets be honest here,  we've seen a fair few 'undeserving' title fights over the years, and more recently Chael Sonnen getting a title shot at light heavyweight when the last time he fought there was 2005!!
Yes you could make arguments for a few other fighters to get their chance, but here and now this is in my eyes is the perfect match up!

Lets look at a few other fighters in the frame:

Carlos Condit: 
Coming off Losses to GSP for the title and then Johny Hendricks more recently, it would be hard to gift him a title shot after getting back to winning ways beating Martin Kampmann via TKO.
A win against a Tyron Woodley will surely put him back into title contention.

Rory MacDonald: 
If he'd beaten Robbie Lawler there's no doubt we would've seen Hendricks vs MacDonald! Though this defeat is a setback for the young man! Up next for Rory is a really tough battle when he faces Demian Maia at UFC 170.

Jake Ellenberger: 
Seems to be the 'nearly man' Super talented fighter who just come up short when he's been in great positions. More recently losing via unanimous decision to Rory MacDonald in what will go down as a stinker. He's a couple fights away from being in the mix.

Jake Shields: 
Could arguably be in the frame if not for failing a drugs test after defeating Ed Herman at UFC 150. Though this was at middleweight he would've now been on a 4 fight winning streak since losing back to back fights against GSP (for the title) and Jake Ellenberger.

Since returning from his ban, Jake has done what he does best, grinds wins out with victories over Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia both via split decision.

The biggest downfall for Jake is his style of fighting which doesn't appeal to the masses.

Matt Brown: 
The guy I feel for the most here. Brown scheduled to fight Carlos Condit only this week had to pull out due to an injury, will now see the chances of him getting closer to that title shot fading away. Now Carlos has a fight with Tyron Woodley lined up, where does this leave Brown who is currently sat on a 6 fight winning streak?!!

I for one hope he gets a fight that pushing him closer to the title and up the rankings! Jake Ellenberger?

Whether you agree or disagree with Hendricks vs Lawler fighting for the vacant welterweight belt, I think there is one thing we will all agree upon.....

With two southpaws who love to throw bombs and both posses frightening punching power we can only imagine this fight isn't going the distance!!!

Rory MacDonald vs Robbie Lawler set to fight at UFC 167

Top Welterweight Contenders Meet in November

by Tommy Strong @strong_tea

Rory MacDonald will face Robbie Lawler at UFC 167 in a Welterweight bout that will take place on November 16th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

With both fighters so close to a title fight, the winner could well see their dreams come true with a win in November.

MacDonald (15-1) who recently come through an under whelming unanimous decision win over Jake Ellenberger in July at UFC on Fox 8. Will be eager to put on more of a display over Lawler to prove he's worthy of a title shot. A win over Lawler may have to see MacDonald put his views to one side about training partner GSP in order to get the title shot. Unless of course, the heavy handed Johny Hendricks can over come the odds and snatch the belt from GSP which happens to take place on the same night.
Robbie Lawler (21-9-1,NC) had a very topsy turvy time in Strikeforce with only a 3-5 record. Though 18 of his 21 victories have come the way of knockout which will make him a very dangerous fighter for MacDonald.

Since signing for the UFC and returning back to Welterweight Lawler has knocked out Josh Koscheck and more recently Bobby Voelker earning himself a shot at MacDonald and now sitting at number 9 in the UFC welterweight official rankings.

With so much at stake, both fighters will be looking to put on an impressive fight to earn the ultimate goal..

UFC 167 will be headlined by the welterweight title fight as champion Georges St-Pierre finally meets Johny Hendricks in what could be the toughest test to his belt in recent history.

UFC on FOX 8 Weigh in results

Weigh in Results for UFC on Fox 8

by Ben Heather @benheather

Tomorrow nights UFC live from the Key Arena in Seattle Washington, is now set after the weigh ins have now made the fights official. The main event sees Demetrious Johnson attempt to defend his UFC Flyweight title for the 2nd time against John Moraga. This fight will be a step up for Moraga in terms of how many people get to see his fight as last time out he was fighting on the Facebook prelims of UFC 155 and now he is headlining a UFC on FOX event live on national TV in the USA. Johnson has looked impressive since it was first announced that the UFC would create a flyweight division and last time out put on a brilliant performance against John Dodson, who many people thought may have beaten him going into the fight. Both men weighed in within the 125lbs limit to make the fight official. Now its just a matter of time before we see if Johnson can remain undefeated at Flyweight in the UFC or will Moraga become the second Flyweight champion in UFC history.

In the co main event, we will see a welterweight fight which could have a massive impact on the welterweight division as Rory MacDonald is set to battle Jake Ellenberger. Both men weighed in under the 171lbs limit at the weigh ins, and they both know that a big win will move them a step closer to a potential title shot. If Rory wins and puts on a show tomorrow night that could leave him, GSP, the Tristar gym and the UFC with a massive dilemma to answer if GSP beats Johny Hendricks at UFC 167. Due to the timing of this fight and the title fight not due to take place until November I think the logical move would be to put the winner of this fight back in to action against the winner of the Condit vs Kampmann 2 which takes place at the end of August. That number 1 contender fight could take place in December leaving the winner to fight for the title early next year. However that being said, on a personal note I would love nothing better than to see GSP vs Rory.

Also on the main card we have a welterweight contest between Robbie Lawlor and Bobby Voelker in which we see two men having there second fight in the UFC since coming over from Strikeforce. Robbie Lawlor shocked a few people when he knocked out Josh Koscheck at UFC 157 and now looks to continue that good work against late replacement Voelker who stepped in on 16 days notice for this fight. Could that decision prove to be a good idea.... we will find out tomorrow night.

Finally we have Liz Carmouche vs Jessica Andrade. Carmouche will become the first women to fight twice in the octagon tomorrow night after being defeated by Ronda Rousey in the first ever women's fight in the UFC. Carmouche was originally slated to fight Miesha Tate before she got the opportunity to fight for the title and in the process coach on the next series of The Ultimate Fighter. This fight also marks the first women's MMA fight on network TV in the USA. Jessica Andrade will be making her UFC debut and has a 9-2 MMA record including fighting seven times last year. Andrade will be looking to make it three wins in a row tomorrow night but it will definitely be against her strongest opponent yet.

John Albert, Tim Means and Jorge Masvidal all missed weight, all of the other fighters made weight when they stepped on to the scales making all of the fights official. I expect John Albert and Jorge Masvidal to attempt to lose the last bit of weight but with Tim Means coming in 4 lbs over weight I expect him to lose a lot of money.

A full list of results from today's weigh in can be found below.

Main Card - Live on ESPN at 1am Sunday 28th July 2013

Demetrious Johnson (c) (124.5 lbs) vs. John Moraga (124.5 lbs)    
Rory MacDonald (170.5 lbs) vs. Jake Ellenberger (171 lbs)
Robbie Lawlor (170.5 lbs) vs. Bobby Voelker (170 lbs)
Liz Carmouche (136 lbs) vs. Jessica Andrade (134 lbs)   

Prelims - Live on UFC.tv

Michael Chiesa (155.5 lbs) vs. Jorge Masvidal (157.5 lbs)***
Danny Castillo (155 lbs) vs. Tim Means (160 lbs)** WTF
Mac Danzig (155 lbs) vs. Melvin Guillard (155 lbs)    
Yves Edwards (155 lbs) vs. Daron Cruickshank (156 lbs)   
Ed Herman (186 lbs) vs. Trevor Smith (185 lbs)   
Julie Kedzie (135.5 lbs) vs. Germaine de Randamie (135 lbs)

Facebook Prelims - Live on Facebook

Aaron Riley (156 lbs) vs. Justin Salas (155 lbs)   
John Albert (137 lbs)* vs. Yaotzin Meza (136 lbs)   

*John Albert has 2 hours to lose 1 lb
** Tim Means has 2 hours to lose 4 lbs
*** Jorge Masvidal 2 hours to lose 1.5lbs

Rory MacDonald vs Jake Ellenberger to fight at UFC on FOX 8

MacDonald Vs Ellenberger set to battle at UFC on FOX 8

by Ben Heather @benheather

A fight which could have potential title implications has been added to UFC on FOX 8.

Rory MacDonald (14-1) will meet Jake Ellenberger (29-6) at UFC on FOX 8 in Seattle on July 27th. The news was first reported by The Province and later confirmed by the UFC.

No word has been made yet as to where the fight will be placed on the card, but I imagine with the fighters ranked 3rd and 4th in the UFC Welterweight rankings this will be on the FOX Main Card.

This will mark MacDonald's second-straight fight in Seattle and on FOX. He defeated B.J. Penn in December at the UFC on FOX 5 event via unanimous decision. A result which was a very one sided fight but Macdonald just couldn't find a way to finish Penn.

 MacDonald used the post fight interview to call out Carlos Condit for a rematch, Condit is the only person to defeat Rory and he wanted to seek revenge. The UFC then scheduled the fight with Carlos Condit at UFC 158, but MacDonald pulled out of the fight due to a neck and back injury. The 23-year-old, who grew up in nearby British Columbia, Canada, has won his last four fights in a row.

Ellenberger, is coming off a first-round knockout of Nate Marquardt at UFC 158 last month. That win marked his second in a row and eighth in his last nine fights proving that he is a force in the welterweight division.

A big win for either man could lead to a potential shot at the Welterweight title and if MacDonald wins it could see how strong the bond is between Rory and current champion Georges St-Pierre is as they have always said they will not fight each other.... What will happen, who knows but i predict it will be an exciting fight in July.

UFC on FOX 8 will take place at Key Arena, Seattle.

Keep Checking Kingdom MMA for the latest news on UFC on FOX 8, the UFC and the latest news from the world of MMA.

The Winners & Losers of UFC 158!!

The Winners & Losers of UFC 158

by Tommy Strong - @strong_tea

 

It's been two days removed since we saw GSP retain his Welterweight title in dominant fashion at UFC 158 in Montreal Quebec Canada.
This event was meant to put the Welterweight division into some perspective, though Im still not sure we are any the wiser with the talent pool so deep in this weight class.
So where do the winners & losers of the Welterweight division, top contenders go from here? Lets start with the current champion GSP.

GSP  (24-2-0) v Hendricks (15-1-0):

We truly have a number 1 contender in Johny Hendricks that has earn't his title shot at George off the back of some very impressive wins against, Fitch,Koscheck, Kampmann & Condit. And not off the back of a failed drug test and a loss!

This fight really has my mouth watering! George won't be able to implement his normal style of take down , hold them down labour his way to a UD.
He will almost be forced to stand with Hendricks who is probably one of, if not the hardest puncher pound for pound in the UFC right at this moment.
I hope Hendricks hasn't sustained to much damage to his left hand after his fight with Carlos, so a Summer fight v GSP could take place.

Diaz (27-9-1) v Condit (28-7-0):

This to me makes perfect sense. Having fought each other at UFC 143 just over a year ago , where Carlos won in a close fought battle. Both coming off losses and Im sure Diaz would like to avenge his loss to Carlos in a fight that he and his fans thought he done enough to win.
Diaz talked about retirement straight after his loss to GSP, but I think thats just all spur of the moment talk and deep down doesn't really mean it.
Once he sits back and reflects on his career, I believe he will be back in the octagon again soon.

Ellenberger (29-6-0) v Rory Macdonald (14-1-0):

After a very impressive knockout out over Nate Marquardt on Saturday night, Ellenberger is fast becoming a top contender for the title. Like wise so is Rory. Having to pull out of his fight against Carlos Condit due to an injury, he will be itching to get back in the cage with a Top 5 fighter like Ellenberger to push himself further up the rankings, so this could be a perfect fight for both fighters.


Nate Marquardt (35-12-2) v The Dreaded Cut ( 98-0)?

With back to back loses and with his previous history of failed drugs test & suspensions he really must be looking down the barrel of the UFC loaded gun that has 98 bullets left to fire!
But winning the Welterweight title in his debut for Strikeforce in a very impressive manner over Tyron Woodley, he might be given one more chance in the UFC before they decide his time is up.

UFC 158 Main Card Picks

Kingdom MMA main card picks for this Saturdays UFC 158 event

Georges St-Pierre vs Nick Diaz

Chris: Let me just start by saying how insane it would be if Nick Diaz was to become champion, you think it’s hard to get the guy to do press obligations now, imagine if he was ‘the motherfucking’ champion.

Don’t get me wrong I love Nick Diaz. I love how he is genuinely willing to fight anyone, and I share some of his sentiments on boring wrestlers who stall, but I just don’t see him winning this fight. Granted nothing in MMA is guaranteed, and Diaz does have the skill set to stop GSP and has clearly rattled GSP, but I don’t see how Diaz stops the constant take downs of GSP, and the only way he wins is by an unlikely late submission off his back.

St-Pierre to win by a lopsided unanimous decision.

Pick – Georges St-Pierre UD

Tommy: It will be a long tough night for Diaz, GSP will look to take him down, ground & pound him for 5 rounds and enjoy every second of it.

I love Diaz & what he stands for inside the cage, but 13 months out of the ring won't help his cause and I struggling to find a way he can beat GSP…

Pick – Georges St-Pierre TKO4

Ben: I’m going to go straight in and say it. I don’t think Diaz should be fighting for the title and in no ways deserves it. How he can get the shot over Hendricks makes absolutely no sense to me.

Thankfully for me though, I see absolutely no way in which he wins this fight. In fact I see more chance of Diaz not showing up to the fight than I do seeing him winning the fight.

No matter where this fight takes place it will be GSP who controls the fight from start to finish and my only disappointment will be that I don’t think GSP will finish Diaz. However I do think it will be so one sided even a stupid judge won’t be able to score it wrong.

Pick – Georges St-Pierre UD

Carlos Condit vs Johny Hendricks

Chris: You have got to feel sorry for Hendricks – he knocks out Fitch, beats Kos, then knocks out out Kampmann in a number one contender fighter, and still no title shot! The worse bit about it is this fight is probably going to rob him of his well deserved shot at the Welterweight title, in a fight that robs a division of its clear cut contender, something the UFC has been keen on doing in 2013 – see Bisping vs Belfort, Overeem vs Bigfoot, and Dan Henderson vs Lyoto Machida.

Sure Bigg Rigg could land one left and Condits world could come crashing down, and I can appreciate his college wrestling pedigree, but Condit is the complete package – he has excellent sweeps to get back up if he is taken down, a descent ju-jitsu game, KO power, and is a smart fight.

Look for Condit to frustrate Hendricks the same way he did Nick Diaz by popping in an out, and take a heartbreaking unanimous decision.

Pick - Carlos Condit UD

Tommy: Don't get me wrong I love this match up, but it doesn't make much sense to me.

Hendricks gains nothing by winning, he's the no.1 contender and has everything to lose. If Condit wins, he won't be getting a title shot next.

Condit will look to keep the fight at range staying away from Hendricks huge left hand. Using his jabs and movement not allowing Hendricks to get on the inside and land that power bomb.
If Hendricks can force his way inside taking some damage in the process he has a good chance of either landing that left hand or taking Condit down then he has a chance of winning the fight.

Pick – Carlos Condit UD

Ben: I agree with Tommy on this one, I love the match up however I preferred the original fight of Condit vs Rory. I still believe Rory got screwed in the first fight against Condit and would have loved to see the rematch.

That being said I see two outcomes to this fight. The first and the one I am hoping happens for Hendricks as he deserves his shot at the belt is he connects with his hammer of a left hand and knocks out Condit, unfortunately I am not confident this will happen.

I predict this fight will play out much like the Condit vs Diaz fight did… just with less middle fingers being stuck up during the fight. I see Condit getting inside scoring with quick combos and leg kicks before quickly getting back on the outside. Unfortunately this may mean it ends up being a boring fight when it has the potential to be such a great fight. It will also be a sad end to the run at the belt for now.

Pick – Carlos Condit SD

Jake Ellenberger vs Nate Marquardt

Chris: For me this is a great match up of two quality welterweights. Marquardt on one hand has pretty solid hands, is big for the division, is always a submission threat, but can be inconsistent. His opponent Ellenberger, has strong offensive wrestling, one punch knockout power, is coming off a full training camp, but has been known to have cardio issues. This fight could go either way, that being said Marquardt has shown in recent fights he can be hit, and Ellenberger has the offense to win this fight either using his wrestling or striking.

Pick - Jake Ellenberger- SD

Tommy: Just even mentioning the cheats name sends shivers down my spine! Though, he's taken the fight at short notice.

Both can be inconsistent inside the cage and never totally sure what fighter will turn up. Nate will be the bigger fighter and is huge at 170, his clinch will be better and his striking. Jake will have the edge wrestling, he's had a full training camp to prepare and as long as he can go the full 3 rounds I expect him to edge out Nate.

Pick - Jake Ellenberger UD

Ben: Again this fight plays out one of two ways for me, the first is that Nate comes out and puts on a performance the likes of his fight against Tyron Woodley in which he comes out as a man possessed and wanting to prove that he deserves to be back in the UFC. Unfortunately for Nate having not had a full training camp this may be a bit too soon for this to happen.

What I think is more likely is for Jake Ellenberger to out wrestle Marquardt and try and keep him on the ground before beating Nate with his ground and pound like we saw in the first round against Martin Kampmann.  I believe if he gets him down and tires Nate out in the first round the fitness levels will start to pull through and Ellenberger having the full camp should then start to dominate.

Pick – Jake Ellenberger UD

Chris Camozzi vs Nick Ring

Chris: For me this fight is a pick 'em fight. I think both fighters bring their own unique skill set - Ring has better kicks, and a better ground game, Camozzi has better boxing. The real question is how fit injury prone Ring is coming into this fight. While I wouldn't at all surprise me if Ring wins, I like Camozzi to use his superior boxing and improving ground game to keep this fight on the fight and to take this one by decision.

Pick - Chris Camozzi UD

Tommy: Camozzi is on a 3 fight win streak looking to make it 4 against Ring. Though Ring has a better all round game . Im picking Ring to take the fight to the ground and submit Camozzi inside the distance.

Pick - Ring Sub 2nd Round

Ben: I believe this fight certainly could go either way and is a very even match up, though both fighters bring completely different skill sets to the table. I also think that Ring will just have the edge thanks to his ground game and will finish the fight in the third with a submission and put an end to Camozzi’s three fight win streak.

Pick – Ring Sub 3rd Round
 

Colin Fletcher vs Mike Ricci

Chris: There is no one I want to win more on this card than Colin Fletcher, in the times I have met him he has been polite, charming and excellent with the fans – I have seen him climb walls and ignore telling offs from stewards to take photos with fans, and give most of his evening to spend time with them when he just trying to have a night out with his wife. That said I’m not sure he has the skill set to win this fight. Ricci is a quality fighter, he simply had a bad day against a great wrestler in Colton Smith. I think Ricci has the better striking and the better ground game, and justifies being the favourite here.

Pick - Mike Ricci UD


Tommy: Ricci is back to his natural weight class, after losing to Colton Smith in the TUF 16 final. This will suit him much better.

Freakshow is a lovely guy , but I think Ricci is more well rounded and will grind out a UD over Colin.
I really hope I’m wrong, as Colin has much more to offer than just a clown.

Pick - Ricci UD

Ben: I agree with Chris, you will struggle to meet a nicer MMA fighter than Colin Fletcher. A fighter who is willing to give up so much of his time to chat to fans and have pictures taken with hundreds of people in a night.

Although, Fletcher loves dressing as the clown in the weigh ins and outside of the cage his skills in the cage are far from being a joke. He has a lot to offer and I feel he will come out and put on a show this weekend after his poor performance last time out (by his own admission). Unfortunately all I think this will lead to is a competitive bout with Ricci but I still believe Ricci will have too much and will take the win.

The fact that Ricci had been competitive and made it to the TUF finale in a weight class that is not his natural proves he can fight. Now back to Lightweight I believe this will be a fight where Ricci can showcase his skills again to a PPV audience.

Pick – Ricci UD