It will be a very busy weekend in the fighting world, with 3 events this weekend: UFC Fight Night, the celebrity boxing match between Jake Paul and Ben Askren, and a Bellator event with Corey Anderson (ex UFC fighter). I will only focus on the UFC event, but we can chat about the other events in the comment section 😀
Middleweight bout: Robert Whittaker (23 - 5 - 0) vs. Kelvin Gastelum(17-6-0, 1NC)
After being 2 years in the making, we finally have a chance to watch the former UFC middleweight champion going toe to toe with Kelvin Gastelum. Of course, the stakes have changed a little, as bob "The Reaper" isn't the current champion anymore, after losing his fight against Adesanya, and consequently his belt, but bounced back after racking two wins against Darren Till and Jared Cannonier. Bobby is a nice guy, a true gentleman, but don't take his calm demeanour for a mark of weakness, Robert Whittaker is a true killer, with the instinct of an assassin, and violent shots, using all angles, the way he throws that jab and right head-kick is a thing of beauty, like he did against Jacare Souza.
He was meant to fight Paulo Costa, but after the Brazilian middleweight had to withdraw from their bout, none other than Kelvin Gastelum was appointed as a replacement for this Saturday/Sunday, a fight that I've always wanted to see as it was booked as the Ultimate Fighter Finale, but got scrapped at the time due to a Hernia from Wittaker. The timing is just a little off, but us MMA fans, are getting used to these kind of last minute replacement, and I am just not gonna complain too much of the outcome, we have a fight, and a good one.
Let's talk about Kelvin Gastelum for a minute. I only have great things to say about him, he has always been one of my favourite fighter, his style and personality are entertaining and I tend to identify with him being also a 5'9, 185er.
I have to be honest, I always been terrified by the prospect of fighting middleweights, as they all walk around 205. I don't know if Kelvin cut weight to 185, he used to be at 170, so does Robert,
I think it's just the natural weight progression of a boy to manhood, but I still think that Kelvin is a tad small for the middleweight division but managed to prove me wrong countless times.
I truly thought that he won that fight against Adesanya, until the decisive 5th round that changed the game.
It's especially hard to see him losing several fights in a row (lost against Till and Hermansson), knowing how much he worked for that title shot against Izzy and how difficult it is to reclimb the ladder after a skid, I am not sure how he kept his head clear and managed to get a win against Ian Heinhisch via unanimous decision, but he is now a contender again, and will probably be ready for a war with "Bobby Knuckles" on Saturday.
The stand up will be a good battle, as they are both very experienced on their feet with a clean technique. Wittaker's range and weird wide angles might give a problem to Kelvin, on the other hand Gastelum has a devastative left hand, and is incredibly efficient in the pocket, having a lower centre of gravity for a middleweight. On the ground, we might be witnessing a stalemate, their skillset are practically identical. The odds are heavily in favour of the former champion, unsurprisingly.
I do think that Robert Wittaker will win, but Kelvin might bring the war out of him and has a valid chance, something we haven't seen since Yoel Romero's two fights, let's see if these fights took a toll on "The Reaper", or if he can once more contend for the title.
Lightweight Co-main - Jeremy Stephens(28-18-0, 1NC) vs. Drakkar Klose(11-2-1)
The question you might ask is, "who da fook is that guy?" and this is a valid question. One video of the meme machine RippedRoofie might be able to help you understand who is Jeremy Stephens:
Jeremy might not have a perfect record, but rest assured that he brings an unparalleled violence to the table, and a mighty beard. In his last 4 fights, he lost against Calvin Kattar, Yair Rodriguez, Zabit Magomedsharipov and Jose Aldo, all straight killers, and he will surely have something to prove this weekend. With more than 33 fights in the UFC, that might be it for him he doesn't get the win.
He is facing Drakkar Klose; who hasn't fought since his loss to Beneil Dariush in March last year. Jeremy Stephens is well known for calf kicks that are now trending in the MMA community, and he what Drakkar has to say about it:
If Drakkar win this fight, it could really put his name out there, he seems to be pretty confident that their game plan is fail proof. Someone is definitely going to sleep 😁 on Saturday!
Heavyweight - Andrei Arlovski (30-20-0, 2NC) vs Chase Sherman (15-6-0)
Can we just appreciate the fact that Andrei Arlovski fought 50 professional fights? I think it's time to appreciate it, because with the recent changes in the UFC roaster, any fighter above 40 is one loss away from being cut. I give you that, his latest loss against Tom Aspinall came a little bit as a surprise, a sneaky rear naked choke in round 2, and unless a miracle, it's clear that another loss for "The Pitbull" will be the end of the road for the Belarusian fighter.
In all honesty, I don't much about Chase Sherman, and won 4 fights in the a row. I still think Arlovski is better in all areas, but might have a puncher chance. "The Pitbull" will have a much superior technique, in the exchange, the grappling, and the transitions. I say Arlovski via second round TKO!!
Middleweight - Abdul Razak Alhassan (10-3-0) vs Jacob Malkoun (4-1-0)
The great Judoka AbdulRazak Alhassan got knocked the fuck out on the first punch of his fight against Khaos Williams, and will be eager to do better against Jacob Malkoun, that is looking super chilled; sometimes it's a good thing, so he might know something we don't. He does train with Robert Wittaker, so high caliber fighter, with just one loss.
Lightweight - Luis Peña (8-3-0) vs Alex Munoz (6-1-0)
This fight was meant to happen in Feb and got scrapped due to injury, they are both young prospect, Munoz is coming off a loss and might face a great challenge with Luis Pena aka "Violent Bob Ross".
It's incredible that Luis Pena still make 155, such a lanky guy, that uses his reach to his advantage, on his feet and on the ground. I really enjoyed watching him in the Ultimate Fighter, a good personality, and seem to have worked really hard in recent years to take his skills to the next level. He will have the advantage for this fight.
Featherweight - Ricardo Ramos (14-3-0) vs. Bill Algeo (14-5-0)
The fight has been cancelled!!
Prelims
Women Flyweight
Tracy Cortez (8-1-0) vs. Justine Kish (7-3-0)
Heavyweight
Alexandr Romanov (13-0-0) vs. Juan Espino (11-1-0)
Women Strawweight
Jessica Penne (12-6-0) vs. Loopy Godinez (5-0-0)
Middleweight
Bartosz Fabinski (15-4-0) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (31-14-0)
Women Bantamweight
Zarah Fairn dos Santos (6-4-0) vs. Josiane Nunes (7-1-0)
Bantamweight
Tony Gravely (20-6-0)vs. Anthony Birchak (16-7-0)
Thanks for reading, what is the fight that you are the most excited about this weekend? Are you going to watch Askren vs Paul?