It's mid-summer, and the UFC keeps on bringing the heat. They're ending July with a serious bang.
UFC 291 doesn't offer any actual title fights, but the whole card is well balanced with a unique cast of fighters. This card is just full of personality. The main event between Poirier and Gaethje for the BMF Title is totally bonkers. I'm not the biggest fan of this title, but it does make the main event about 5-10 percent more interesting.
Jake Matthews fights once again. This man has been in the UFC since 2014. He has had mixed results in the UFC but does have a decent 11-6 record overall with the organization. He fights Darrius Flowers who makes his UFC debut in a welterweight bout.
One of my personal favorite fighters in heavyweight Derrick Lewis fights tomorrow. Derrick is a hilarious, likeable dude and had a nice run of elite fighting, but lately he's been struggling, losing four of his last five. He's currently on a three fight losing streak unfortunately. I would love to see him get another classic win. He's getting up there in age at 38, hopefully he still has some juice in him. Lewis is set to fight Brazilian Marcos Rogério de Lima. Lima is a good, but remarkably inconsistent fighter.
The Main Card is truly a unique set of legends and bright personalities.
Michael Chiesa faces off against Kevin Holland in an interesting welterweight bout. Chiesa is an underrated former lightweight, while Holland is an inconsistent beast at times and has fought at middleweight. I'll be interested in seeing how they matchup size-wise in the octagon. Kevin is a more athletic, explosive fighter, while Chiesa is a bit more tactical and basically very competitive.
Similarly to Derrick Lewis, Kevin Holland is well known for his hilarious stories and just being hilarious in general. I think Holland gets it done.
Tony Ferguson vs Bobby Green is lowkey an epic lightweight matchup and further emphasizes how colorful this card is.
Tony is an absolute legend of the sport but has been looking pretty washed lately. It's truly a pretty tragic situation. From 2008-2019 Tony was 25-3 as a fighter including an insane 12 fight win streak entirely in the UFC! Since 2020 Tony is on a rough five fight win streak. Just hate to see it. At 39 years old in a ridiculously tough division, it's hard to envision Tony having a resurgence.
Bobby Green is a overall a pretty inconsistent fighter, but he does have a nice collection of quality wins and he's fought a lot of big names in the sport. I think Bobby is pretty underrated considering those factors. The dude is similar to Jorge Masvidal in a lot of ways. Super game.
Both Tony and Bobby only add to the colorful character theme of this UFC 291 event.
I think Bobby gets the win!
Stephen Thompson and Michael Pereira are two great welterweight fighters with distinct personalities. In many ways though, Thompson and Pereira are kind of opposites.
Thompson is tremendous striker and a legend for his lifetime of fighting and was nearly a UFC champion once upon a time. Ever since his prime about a half decade ago he's been about a .500 fighter, but it seems he can beat anyone in the sport still. Thompson is often known as the nicest fighter in the sport LOL. Known for being delightfully charming and corny.
Pereira on the other hand is in the prime of his career and freshly ranked I believe for the first time. The guy is on a five fight win streak. If he can beat Thompson, his life changes forever in a lot of ways. He'll practically be a top five fighter.
Pereira is not only a great prospect to watch out for, but he's known for doing truly insane things in the octagon, like literally doing a flip for example. I think Pereira gets it done.
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The more I write about UFC 291, the more insane it gets.
The co-main event is set to be thrilling and it takes place in the Light Heavyweight division. Jan Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira. Both former UFC Champions and both are the only men to defeat middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in MMA.
Both of these guys are big heavy strikers. Jan seems like he'll have the size advantage but only slightly. Alex was a massive middleweight.
Alex seems actually bigger than Jan here, but we shall see in the octagon what the difference truly is.
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There's big implications in this one since former champ Jamahal Hill vacated his title due to injury. The winner seems very likely to fight for a title next. I think Alex gets the win, but this could be a wild one. Jan hits very hard. If Jan can implement grappling he may be victorious.
The Main Event for the BMF Title: Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje 2 in a Lighweight Bout!!
Two of my favorite fighters are about to go to WAR tomorrow!!!
These two are legends of the sport man. They always come to battle and throw limbs, looking for knockouts. Their careers are full of classic unforgettable fights. Including when they fought each other over five years ago now. Can't believe it's been that long already.
Dustin won their first matchup but it was just a war throughout the entire fight.
Justin has improved a lot since then and is much less reckless. I think he has improved more, but did he improve enough? Dustin also improved since then as well.
Justin clearly learned a lot from getting finished by Dustin five years ago, as I said he's more patient nowadays. BUT Dustin has been patient for years now, he's a pretty calculated, clean striker.
Both Dustin and Justin have a ton of similarities. Since they last fought each other, they've both only lost twice and they were both against the same opponents in Khabib Nurmagomedov and Charles Oliveira. They have similar fight styles and heck, their names rhyme!!!
I cannot wait to see these fights, and this main event is giving me goosebumps. Can't imagine what this fight could be if it lasts 25. I doubt it will, but the possibility is nuts.
It's so cool to see the last BMF Jorge Masvidal facing these two off!!! Jump to 2:45 to see the three legends. Pretty cool moment.
I think Dustin gets the win here.
This card feels like a Suicide Squad movie or something!! Comment your predictions and overall thoughts!!
