DANIEL CORMIER vs DERRICK LEWIS
According to the undefeated and undisputed perfectionist, Chael Sonnen, we have seen this fight thrice already this year. We have seen cardio beasts, who all have spectacular wrestling (probably the best in each respected division) face off against a talented striker someone who has been knocking everybody out. It happened to Miocic first by Cormier himself. Then we saw Woodley display why he is the best welterweight in the world currently (gsp please fight him or khabib), and then Canadian Thanksgiving weekend we were blessed with the opportunity to watch Khabib outclass a flat footed, Conor. In each of those fights we saw complete domination.
So why should we think this Cormier vs Lewis fight will go any differently than these three fights we previously saw the wrestler dominate? Derrick Lewis cuts down to 265 pounds. He is an absolute monster and has seemed unstoppable since his back surgery. Unfortunately for him, His Black ass does need to sit down. Cormier has too much cardio and it should be an easy win.
Right?
Wrong.
I do not believe Daniel Cormier will be able to impose his wrestling on such a large man like Lewis. Don't get me wrong here. Cormier will wrestle him. He will impose his cardio game. But I just dont believe he will be able to keep Lewis on the ground. Lewis has shown a spectacular ability to get up off the ground. He is dealing with a much stronger Daniel Cormier at heavyweight. But this fight will be closer than a one sided ground and pound. Lewis will stand back up repeatedly. If Cormier is smart he will expose this and finish Lewis in the third round. If he makes a mistake like he has once in the past. Lewis will land a ridiculous hay-maker to have back to back come from behind victories in a little over a month. We may be looking at one of the largest upsets in UFC title history.
Dark Horse Prediction,
Huge Upset (Cormier is the #1 p4p fighter in the world what am I doing here)
Derrick Lewis by 2nd round KO.
NATE DIAZ vs DUSTIN POIRIER
It seems like everybody has been injured and pulls out of fights. Except for. That's right. Nate Diaz. He has never pulled out of a fight. Hopefully the UFC pays Diaz and somebody steps in to fight him on short notice.
LUKE ROCKHOLD vs CHRIS WEIDMAN 2
In a rematch between two former middleweight champions of the world, you have to think Rockhold will dominate once again like he did in their first fight. To me it seems like once Weidman is put in a bad spot he is unable to recover. This wasn't the case when he fought now title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. However, Gastelum is a small middleweight and emptied his gas tank. Weidman's advantage in this fight is Rockhold's previous three fights. Bisping shocked the world with a devastating knockout of a sloppy, cocky, Luke Rockhold. Rockhold returned over a year later and weathered the storm of David Branch, however, he looked sloppy along the fence showing terrible head movement and boxing defense. This was completely exposed by a patient gameplan in his next fight by Yoel Romero. Boxing has never been Chris Weidman's strength and Luke Rockhold has found phenomenal success when he keeps guys in range of his kicks. I see this fight concluding a lot like the first one unless Weidman comes in with a lot stronger striking. We know Rockhold must have been working on his boxing defense in preparation for this fight.
Prediction
Luke Rockhold, 3rd Round TKO.
RONALDO SOUZA vs DAVID BRANCH
Jacare is coming off a complete war with Kelvin Gastelum. After his lost to now middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, Ronaldo has looked incredible dismantling Derrick Brunson in the first round and going to battle with Kelvin Gastelum. This may be the most important fight of his career. With an impressive win, he definitely holds a claim to a title shot. Branch on the other hand is looking for the same thing. With a stoppage of Jacare he would be lined up perfectly for shot with a top 3 contender or the champion himself. Branch should emphasize cardio for this camp and should analyze how Robert Whittaker was able to stop Jacare's Takedowns. This should be a great fight for a pivotal moment in both guy's careers. This could be a one sided domination though.
Prediction
KO/TKO round 1...... Souza.... Branch? No my pick is Ronaldo Souza close call though.
DEREK BRUNSON vs ISRAEL ADESANYA
In yet another interesting middleweight clash. We have the up and comer Israel Adesanya vs Derek Brunson. Israel Adesanya is one of the most skilled strikers in the middleweight division. He has shown patience, and complete domination in mma going 14-0 since his transition from kickboxing. The key for Brunson to win here is complete the takedowns early and try and gas Adesanya. Brunson has power in his hands and if he can get Adesanya to respect that power early, he can implement his wrestling and cruise his way to a grinding victory. Adesanya on the other hand is a monster in this division standing at 6'4. It is hard trying to imagine someone continuously taking down this lanky, technical striker. The problem Derek Brunson will have with Adesanya is his distance control and long frame. This could be a very interesting fight if Brunson is able to take down Adesanya consistently. These two also hate each other so we might see Brunson strike with Adesanya. He definitely wants to.
Prediction
Israel Adesanya by 2nd Round TKO
This should be a good main card full of finishes. This card will really shape up the Middleweight division. And will hopefully lead to some interesting match-ups to future title contenders.