UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Till (October 21, 2017)

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

UFC Fight Pass 3:00 pm ET
Donald Cerrone vs Darren Till
Jodie Esquibel vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Jan Blachowicz vs Devin Clark
Oskar Piechota vs Jonathan Wilson

UFC Fight Pass 11:45 am ET
Marcin Held vs Teemu Packalen
Anthony Hamilton vs Adam Wieczorek
Brain Kelleher vs Damian Stasiak
Ramazan Emeev vs Trevor Smith
Andre Fili vs Artem Lobov
Warlley Alves vs Jim Wallhead
Aspen Ladd vs Lina Lansberg
Felipe Arantes vs Josh Emmett

[turbozed]

Hit Till by dec at +645.

Cerrone is at -160 right now which may be as cheap as he's gonna get so took some but probably will be on Till come fight time.

[Hugo de Naranja]

Cerrone is one of my favorite fighters but I think Till has a real shot here.

[turbozed]

Hit Till by dec at +645.

Cerrone is at -160 right now which may be as cheap as he's gonna get so took some but probably will be on Till come fight time.

And of course right when I post this it drops to -145 lol. I can't see Till being the favorite here come fight time but I'm wrong almost as often as not so who knows here. Didn't think people had as much faith in Till as I do.

[firekillex]

make or break fight for cerrone here, -145 is a great price imo

[Sanity Check]

Cerrone said he doesn't know who Darren Till is, the same way he said he didn't know who Jorge Masvidal was before they fought.

I hope cowboy doesn't make himself look dumb here.

Is Anthony Hamilton fighting? Didn't he get TKO'ed by Daniel Spitz?

[Hugo de Naranja]

Cerrone said he doesn't know who Darren Till is, the same way he said he didn't know who Jorge Masvidal was before they fought.

I hope cowboy doesn't make himself look dumb here.

Is Anthony Hamilton fighting? Didn't he get TKO'ed by Daniel Spitz?

Yeah I thought he retired after that KO loss. Guess not. He's filling in for someone else on short notice.

[JIBBBY]

So this got next? Still along ways away ...

[Shagdogy]

Got some capping done today... Sam Alvey is never anything to be too excited about, and I was really expecting to have him as the dog coming in on one week's notice. But then I watched Ramazan Emeev's last fight vs. Anatoly Tokov and that all changed. I know that he has been on a good MW run over in M1, but I don't see what he has for Alvey. Smilin' Sam can be very boring, but we know that his takedown defense is good and he's a solid counter puncher, and those two skills alone should be enough to beat Emeev. Emeev stalked forward at Tokov with constant pressure but somehow still managed to shoot all of his takedowns from the outside without setting them up. They look like takedowns that Alvey can and does defend easily, and even if Emeev lands one, Alvey hasn't been subbed in 7 years and it's only ever happened once. And then Emeev's hands. He throws them wide. They're slow. They aren't particularly accurate. He doesn't have a lot of KO wins anyway whereas Alvey has at ton of fights and only one KO loss (Derek Brunson). Emeev looks like a guy who will play directly into what Alvey likes to do. I see Emeev coming forward, failing on takedown attempts, and getting hit more and harder than he can hit Alvey. I really expected to see something positive in him but I just don't. Am I missing it?

[JIBBBY]

Got some capping done today... Sam Alvey is never anything to be too excited about, and I was really expecting to have him as the dog coming in on one week's notice. But then I watched Ramazan Emeev's last fight vs. Anatoly Tokov and that all changed. I know that he has been on a good MW run over in M1, but I don't see what he has for Alvey. Smilin' Sam can be very boring, but we know that his takedown defense is good and he's a solid counter puncher, and those two skills alone should be enough to beat Emeev. Emeev stalked forward at Tokov with constant pressure but somehow still managed to shoot all of his takedowns from the outside without setting them up. They look like takedowns that Alvey can and does defend easily, and even if Emeev lands one, Alvey hasn't been subbed in 7 years and it's only ever happened once. And then Emeev's hands. He throws them wide. They're slow. They aren't particularly accurate. He doesn't have a lot of KO wins anyway whereas Alvey has at ton of fights and only one KO loss (Derek Brunson). Emeev looks like a guy who will play directly into what Alvey likes to do. I see Emeev coming forward, failing on takedown attempts, and getting hit more and harder than he can hit Alvey. I really expected to see something positive in him but I just don't. Am I missing it?

Sam Alvey is usually a betting disaster in fights if he can't get the KO.. He is seriously challenged to win a decision against anyone including this guy, his offensive out put is always slow....

Tough call, Sam is a boring fighter and borderline bum....

[Hugo de Naranja]

This fight with Till will be Cerrone's first outside of North America in his forty fight MMA career. Do you think that travel out of the country could be a factor here?

[PaperTrail07]

alvey can alert LOL....he is very boring until he is not.....

Sam Alvey is usually a betting disaster in fights if he can't get the KO.. He is seriously challenged to win a decision against anyone including this guy, his offensive out put is always slow....

Tough call, Sam is a boring fighter and borderline bum....

[PaperTrail07]

MUST factor it in.....same way he brings IT....he also takes fights off on occasion....or so it seems...

This fight with Till will be Cerrone's first outside of North America in his forty fight MMA career. Do you think that travel out of the country could be a factor here?

[Sanity Check]

I wonder what percentage of native born americans can accurately spell Joanna and Karolina's last names.

Card looks boring. I'm more interested in spelling stats than the actual fights.

Hoping for better than -500 on some of the favorites, that would help make up for it.

Went 0-5 in my prick beating this week. Very strange year for the NFL.

[PaperTrail07]

literal insanity lately

College:
-17 and -21 both lose outright on Fri (Wash st being a 17 point fav that scored 3)

Pro:
Giants with +13.5 (about as big of an NFL spread as you will see)...with Zero sweat...
Bears win ML
Mia wins @ Dolphins

Wacky is right....even if you did OK....it never went like you thought it would......NFL better off throwing darts

I wonder what percentage of native born americans can accurately spell Joanna and Karolina's last names.

Card looks boring. I'm more interested in spelling stats than the actual fights.

Hoping for better than -500 on some of the favorites, that would help make up for it.

Went 0-5 in my prick beating this week. Very strange year for the NFL.

[eligibletackle]

Cerrone said he doesn't know who Darren Till is, the same way he said he didn't know who Jorge Masvidal was before they fought.

I can't read into that too much - Masvidal is an 155-170 OG and Till is hidden on FightPass events. I can believe that Cerrone fought Masvidal w/o enough time between his last fight and he might have gotten a big head from his streak of finishes at WW prior to Masvidal - along with fighting in Denver.

I don't think there is any fighter that is better at separating the wheat from the chaff than Cerrone. He consistently beats tier 2 fighters while losing to tier 1 fighters. I'll admit that I will need to do some more homework on Till but a bet on him is almost saying he deserves to belong into the company of those that have vanquished Cerrone. I would need a lot of evidences on Till that demonstrates he belongs with Pettis / Lawler / RDA / etc., or a better price than +130, before I could begin to think that there is any value there.

[MMANick]

I surprisingly like a ton on this card. Karlolina & Held are basically locks for parlays, probably even w/ the 3.5 pt Handicap.

I think there are some real live dogs here as well:

Blachowicz, Alvey & Artem.

I like Piechota, Wieczorek & Kelleher as slight to moderate favorites.

I love Till as a prospect, but I get the feeling he may be in just a bit over his head here, unless Cerrone is on the downswing, which is also possible. If it approached 2 to 1 for Till, it may be worth a stab, but Cerrone -150 looks decent right now.

[JIBBBY]

Part 1 - MMA mania




185 lbs.: Sam Alvey vs. Ramazan Emeev

Sam Alvey (31-9) has had plenty to smile about recently, winning five of six in the span of 13 months. After a tough loss to Thales Leites in April, he notched perhaps the biggest win of his career with a split decision over Rashad Evans two months ago.

He replaces Trevor Smith on less than two weeks notice.
The Azerbaijan-born Ramazan Emeev (15-3) has long reigned as one of Russia’s top Heavyweight fighters, twice winning the M-1 Middleweight title and going 12-1 in his last 13 fights. His current four-fight win streak includes a submission of standout Vyacheslav Vasilevsky and, most recently, a decision over Anatoly Tokov that snapped the latter’s 17-fight win streak.
He has submitted seven professional opponents and knocked out another three.
Emeev — though not overwhelming in any particular area — certainly has the skills to excel in UFC. Solid boxing and top control have thus far carried him to success in Russia and ought to do the same against top Middleweight fighters.
That said, Alvey’s a significantly tougher match up than the game-but-fragile Smith. Emeev has proven easy to hit while closing the distance and isn’t a particularly overwhelming physical specimen at 185 pounds. Alvey may have a near-unmatched ability to shoot himself in the foot through his own lack of urgency, but Emeev’s style will give him way too many counter opportunities for me to pick against him.
Prediction: Alvey via second-round technical knockout

145 lbs.: Artem Lobov vs. Andre Fili

Following a loss in The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 house and consecutive defeats against Ryan Hall and Alex White in UFC itself, Artem Lobov (14-13-1) proved he was more than just a punchline by beating Chris Avila and Teruto Ishihara. These wins netted him a main event slot opposite Cub Swanson, who outstruck him over the course of five round in a “Fight of the Night”-winning bout.
He will give up a staggering nine inches of reach to Andre Fili (16-5).
“Touchy” — who entered UFC with some fanfare thanks to his Team Alpha Male association and debut knockout of Jeremy Larson — has yet to find consistency in UFC, alternating wins and losses. His last bout saw him face late replacement Calvin Kattar and, despite being a -350 favorite, lost a fairly one-sided decision at UFC 214.
Half of his professional wins have come by form of knockout.
By all accounts, Fili should smack the bejeesus out of Lobov. The reach advantage is absurd and Fili has the style to take advantage of it ... not to mention the meta fact that his win/loss alternation has him scheduled for a victory. Fili’s got a much more rounded striking game and superior wrestling on top of all that.
Lobov could undoubtedly surprise us again, but Fili’s holding all the cards. Heavy kicks and long-range punches steadily wear down Lobov for the finish.
Prediction: Fili via second-round technical knockout

135 lbs.: Lina Lansberg vs. Aspen Ladd

Lina Lansberg (7-2) was rather thoroughly deposed in her UFC debut when Cristiane “Cyborg” battered her into submission midway through the second round. “The Elbow Princess” bounced back with a decision over former foe Lucie Pudilova in March, but had to withdraw from a planned fight with Leslie Smith in Glasgow.
She has stopped four MMA opponents with strikes, two of them in the first round.
Aspen Ladd (5-0) followed her 8-1 amateur career by racking up five wins in Invicta, including a submission of TUF 23 finalist Amanda Cooper and a decision over current TUF 26 competitor Sijara Eubanks. This paved the way for a debut fight with Jessica Eye, only for Ladd to suffer illness on the day of the fight and withdraw.
She is 13 years younger than Lansberg (almost to the day).
The name of the game here is pace. Lansberg enjoys keeping opponents against the cage and going to work with knees and elbows, while Ladd throws a huge volume of punches while constantly pressing forward. I’m leaning toward Ladd’s activity. She’s hittable, wears damage and can be controlled in the clinch, but that frenetic offense looks like a recipe for success considering Lansberg’s struggles with Pudilova in the third round. Ladd outworks her for either a clear decision win or late ground-and-pound stoppage.
Prediction: Ladd via unanimous decision

145 lbs.: Felipe Arantes vs. Josh Emmett

Felipe Arantes (18-8-1) opened his Bantamweight campaign with consecutive armbar finishes of Yves Jabouin and Jerrod Sanders, earning “Performance of the Night” for the former before losing a close split decision against Erik Perez. “Sertanejo” — who missed weight badly against Perez — went on to withdraw from a fight against Luke Sanders just two days before the event.
He has knocked out seven professional opponents and submitted another six.
The high-volume offense of Josh Emmett (11-1) carried him to victory in UFC bouts with Jon Tuck and Scott Holtzman. Former Titan FC champ Des Green proved a tougher out, wearing down Emmett en route to a split decision victory.
This will be his Featherweight debut.
Arantes is well-rounded and extremely durable, but held back by iffy takedown defense. Luckily, Emmett isn’t much of a wrestling enthusiast, preferring to trade hands. Arantes has a more complete kickboxing game and is dangerous enough in scrambles to punish Emmett if he tries to change levels anyway.
Cardio may be the key here. Arantes regularly comes on strong in the later portions of the fight and Emmett gassed badly against Green. “Sertanejo” absorbs Emmett’s early onslaught and ultimately whittles him down with heavy strikes and submission attempts.
Prediction: Arantes via split decision

[turbozed]

Got some capping done today... Sam Alvey is never anything to be too excited about, and I was really expecting to have him as the dog coming in on one week's notice. But then I watched Ramazan Emeev's last fight vs. Anatoly Tokov and that all changed. I know that he has been on a good MW run over in M1, but I don't see what he has for Alvey. Smilin' Sam can be very boring, but we know that his takedown defense is good and he's a solid counter puncher, and those two skills alone should be enough to beat Emeev. Emeev stalked forward at Tokov with constant pressure but somehow still managed to shoot all of his takedowns from the outside without setting them up. They look like takedowns that Alvey can and does defend easily, and even if Emeev lands one, Alvey hasn't been subbed in 7 years and it's only ever happened once. And then Emeev's hands. He throws them wide. They're slow. They aren't particularly accurate. He doesn't have a lot of KO wins anyway whereas Alvey has at ton of fights and only one KO loss (Derek Brunson). Emeev looks like a guy who will play directly into what Alvey likes to do. I see Emeev coming forward, failing on takedown attempts, and getting hit more and harder than he can hit Alvey. I really expected to see something positive in him but I just don't. Am I missing it?

I agree with you on Alvey. Here's what I wrote up somewhere else in response to someone who was betting Emeev just to fade Alvey:

Alvey is always undervalued because he's boring and he looks and acts like a goofball. However, he does win fights. He's 5-1 in his last 6 fights (yes many were close). The first leg kick Leites threw in the one he did lose injured Alvey's knee and yet he still hung in there for all 3 rounds despite not being able to walk straight. His fights are boring, yes, but that says as much about his opponents as it does about him. He stands there and stares at his opponents because they are hesitant to get in close to trade with him. They're aware that he's a good counter puncher that packs a lot of power. So they're forced to either bypass boxing distance to expend energy clinching with Alvey or they have to find a way to dance around and score points like Theodorou. If they're not able to, then Alvey has a great gas tank and will walk them down enough to land enough shots to win rounds.The optics to the judges is that one guy (Alvey) is walking the other guy down. The opponent doesn't do much either and when they clinch up, Alvey shucks them off. And given the few strikes landed in this type of fight, the cleaner and harder punches of Alvey stand out. So those points go towards Alvey in winning decisions. It's not pretty but it seems to work more often than not, so it's hard to bet against Alvey here unless the guy can clearly overpower Alvey, has better boxing, or has a great outside striking game + good gas tank combo (like Theodorou did).

The above is before I watched any tape on Emeev. BTW, M-1 production value is great. I dig the ring with the ropes + cage at the bottom so they don't fall out. I also like the 90's style techno music that Emeev walks out to. All very entertaining. Anyway, if Emeev comes out like he did in the first Vasilevsky fight, he gets destroyed. Not sure what happened but he looks like a completely different fighter since then. Still he didn't show anything that would give Alvey problems. Probably not as strong as Alvey and doesn't have the powerful TD style to take Alvey down, who has as good of TD defense as anybody out there (against UFC caliber wrestling). Emeev doesn't seem like a good outfighter, he actually only does work in boxing range or in clinch range. He's added some nice clinch knees to his game, but I'm not sure if this will work on Alvey since Alvey frames well and is a good clinch fighter himself. And he's not a better boxer than Alvey, who throws more compact shorter punches that will land before any of the looping long punches of Emeev will. Alvey will have a 6" reach advantage.

The concerns are: 2 weeks notice for Alvey, and the fact that Emeev is tough as balls and will throw more volume. Alvey has been bum-rushed before by Brunson, so there's always that too. Also, Emeev did something in the fight against Luigi Fioravanti that, if done right, could cause Alvey problems. In the second round, Emeev changed levels while striking and was able to hit a takedown seamlessly from the striking (as opposed to his telegraphed shots in a lot of his fights). This is a path to victory since high volume + takedown looks good in the eyes of judges even if the guy is getting outstruck from a technical standpoint. I don't see enough of this though to think Emeev takes this.

[turbozed]

I've been meaning to bet on Aspen Ladd since her fight against Eye was cancelled (had multiple units on that). Glad she didn't fight sick.

But now she's an almost 2 to 1 favorite against Lansberg and I was hoping it'd be more around evens. Not sure if there's any value there. Hugo, I think you were in the same boat and high on Ladd. You also bummed about the price?

[Sanity Check]

This bellator card on october 20th is flying under radar. Why only one big name fight?



Maybe they're trying to gauge how big of a draw Mousasi is?

[JIBBBY]

This bellator card on october 20th is flying under radar. Why only one big name fight?



Maybe they're trying to gauge how big of a draw Mousasi is?

Only one big name fight I agree but I will certainly be watching that fight!!!.. Mous and Shlem would be a head liner on any UFC fight night card as far as I'm concerned.. Might make the co main on a PPV card as well.. That's a scrap!!

[PaperTrail07]

Mous should dice him up w shots from all angles right>?

[Hugo de Naranja]

I surprisingly like a ton on this card. Karlolina & Held are basically locks for parlays, probably even w/ the 3.5 pt Handicap.

I think there are some real live dogs here as well:

Blachowicz, Alvey & Artem.

I like Piechota, Wieczorek & Kelleher as slight to moderate favorites.

I love Till as a prospect, but I get the feeling he may be in just a bit over his head here, unless Cerrone is on the downswing, which is also possible. If it approached 2 to 1 for Till, it may be worth a stab, but Cerrone -150 looks decent right now.

I don't think that Held is a lock at all. He is winless in the UFC against low-level fighters. Maybe take him by Sub for better value?

KK probably wins a solid decision here but I wouldn't bet her ML. Parlaying the O2.5 seems better than taking a side.

I'm on Clark here pretty solid. Would you mind explaining the Blachowicz pick? Imo he has very weak TDD and will get taken down and controlled in this spot.

Till/Cerrone fight should be fire.

[Hugo de Naranja]

I agree with you on Alvey. Here's what I wrote up somewhere else in response to someone who was betting Emeev just to fade Alvey:



The above is before I watched any tape on Emeev. BTW, M-1 production value is great. I dig the ring with the ropes + cage at the bottom so they don't fall out. I also like the 90's style techno music that Emeev walks out to. All very entertaining. Anyway, if Emeev comes out like he did in the first Vasilevsky fight, he gets destroyed. Not sure what happened but he looks like a completely different fighter since then. Still he didn't show anything that would give Alvey problems. Probably not as strong as Alvey and doesn't have the powerful TD style to take Alvey down, who has as good of TD defense as anybody out there (against UFC caliber wrestling). Emeev doesn't seem like a good outfighter, he actually only does work in boxing range or in clinch range. He's added some nice clinch knees to his game, but I'm not sure if this will work on Alvey since Alvey frames well and is a good clinch fighter himself. And he's not a better boxer than Alvey, who throws more compact shorter punches that will land before any of the looping long punches of Emeev will. Alvey will have a 6" reach advantage.

The concerns are: 2 weeks notice for Alvey, and the fact that Emeev is tough as balls and will throw more volume. Alvey has been bum-rushed before by Brunson, so there's always that too. Also, Emeev did something in the fight against Luigi Fioravanti that, if done right, could cause Alvey problems. In the second round, Emeev changed levels while striking and was able to hit a takedown seamlessly from the striking (as opposed to his telegraphed shots in a lot of his fights). This is a path to victory since high volume + takedown looks good in the eyes of judges even if the guy is getting outstruck from a technical standpoint. I don't see enough of this though to think Emeev takes this.

I'm staying away from this one since I don't have a great read on the fight and betting Alvey's fights can be frustruating regardless of which side you take. On a sidenote, I played some craps with Alvey at the MGM over the summer and his personality was just like in interviews. Super down to earth and enthusiastic about life.

[Hugo de Naranja]

I've been meaning to bet on Aspen Ladd since her fight against Eye was cancelled (had multiple units on that). Glad she didn't fight sick.

But now she's an almost 2 to 1 favorite against Lansberg and I was hoping it'd be more around evens. Not sure if there's any value there. Hugo, I think you were in the same boat and high on Ladd. You also bummed about the price?

I'm not in love with this price but I'll still find a way to be on Ladd here. Maybe the -3.5 prop? I think she wins this fight handily.

[Hugo de Naranja]

Only one big name fight I agree but I will certainly be watching that fight!!!.. Mous and Shlem would be a head liner on any UFC fight night card as far as I'm concerned.. Might make the co main on a PPV card as well.. That's a scrap!!

I miss the Moose. Hopefully he'll come back to the UFC one day.

[turbozed]

I'm staying away from this one since I don't have a great read on the fight and betting Alvey's fights can be frustruating regardless of which side you take. On a sidenote, I played some craps with Alvey at the MGM over the summer and his personality was just like in interviews. Super down to earth and enthusiastic about life.

For some reason I end up betting on somewhat low volume guys with accurate striking and great TD defense. Tavares is another guy. They seem to be undervalued more often than not. Either people want to see them lose and/or see their previous wins as being lucky instead of a function of their ability to win a fight. But you're right that it makes it difficult to watch.

Another reason to stay away from this fight is the weight cut. Alvey will need to cut a lot of weight in just 11 days. In his two interviews on Youtube since then he is really emphasizing that this will be his most difficult cut since he was heavy before getting the call. It'll be a big problem for him if he's drained and Emeev pushes a good pace. On the flip side, Alvey is going to be a lot bigger than Emeev and he's got a great gas tank (looked fresh after 3 rounds in Mexico City). Maybe will want to wait and see what happens at weigh-ins or live-bet. If the first round is Emeev trying and failing to deal with Alvey's reach and failing to take Alvey down, then Alvey takes over in Rds 2 and 3.

[Hugo de Naranja]

For some reason I end up betting on somewhat low volume guys with accurate striking and great TD defense. Tavares is another guy. They seem to be undervalued more often than not. Either people want to see them lose and/or see their previous wins as being lucky instead of a function of their ability to win a fight. But you're right that it makes it difficult to watch.

Another reason to stay away from this fight is the weight cut. Alvey will need to cut a lot of weight in just 11 days. In his two interviews on Youtube since then he is really emphasizing that this will be his most difficult cut since he was heavy before getting the call. It'll be a big problem for him if he's drained and Emeev pushes a good pace. On the flip side, Alvey is going to be a lot bigger than Emeev and he's got a great gas tank (looked fresh after 3 rounds in Mexico City). Maybe will want to wait and see what happens at weigh-ins or live-bet. If the first round is Emeev trying and failing to deal with Alvey's reach and failing to take Alvey down, then Alvey takes over in Rds 2 and 3.

This seems like a reasonable read on the fight. Not sure that Alvey's reach will be a big factor since he's mostly a short-range counter puncher rather than a long out-fighter who consistently pumps a jab. His TDD is great though.

[turbozed]

This bellator card on october 20th is flying under radar. Why only one big name fight?



Maybe they're trying to gauge how big of a draw Mousasi is?

The openers just came out for this event. There was another co main event which was Brennan Ward vs. David Rickels which would've been entertaining, but Ward was injured. Also, Neiman Gracie's original opponent Javier Torres pulled out with an injury very late so his replacement is Zak Bucia.

[turbozed]

Moose now a -720 favorite. That's a bit too crazy IMO

[brooks85]

I gotta make up for last card, those fight changes screwed me.

[PaperTrail07]

Is it tho.....to a guy an off the bench tito Ortiz took out LOL...come one....Mooser will dice him up

Moose now a -720 favorite. That's a bit too crazy IMO

[Sanity Check]

Sam Alvey faces 'biggest weight cut of my life' ahead of UFC Fight Night 118

GDANSK, Poland – Sam Alvey wants to book a dream fight with Brazilian legend Vitor Belfort next year, but he’ll have to complete a weight cut of more than 34 pounds to get there.

Alvey (31-9 MMA, 8-4 UFC) takes on fellow middleweight Ramazan Emeev (15-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 118, which takes place ar Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, and streams on UFC Fight Pass. Alvey looks to round off his year with a win and convince the UFC to grant his wish to face former UFC light heavyweight champion Belfort (26-13 MMA, 15-10 UFC) in the new year.
But with the call coming just 10 days ahead of the contest, and with Alvey not in optimal fight shape, the California native has in effect accepted two fights this week, as he faces a battle with the scale, and then the bout itself against Emeev.

Alvey was looking to squeeze in one more fight before the end of 2017, and he was hoping he might be the ideal man to step in should anything happen to either Anderson Silva or Kelvin Gastelum ahead of their UFC Fight Night 122 main event clash in Shanghai later this year.
“We’ve been bugging them for a fight,” he admitted. “We wanted to fight again this year, just like everyone on the UFC roster. We were told it’s probably not going to happen.
“I started running because I was anticipating Anderson Silva or Gastelum getting injured. ‘Sign me up. I’m there!’ So I was kinda training for that one, just in case.”
That fight didn’t materialize, and instead Alvey was offered an altogether different kind of test, against a dangerous Russian with an underrated record – on just 10 days’ notice.
Alvey’s face told the story when he explained how he was “right on the borderline” of whether he could get enough weight off in time to make the 186-pound middleweight limit for Saturday’s matchup.
But despite admitting he faces a serious weight-cut between now and official weigh-ins, he’s taking everything in stride with that familiar smile on his face.


http://mmajunkie.com/2017/10/sam-alv...ead-ufc-gdansk

[PaperTrail07]

Devin Clark -150 is a tad much IMO.....didn't think his skills were that impressive....Jan should do enough to sneak out a decision....this could be a split or close one....rather have the + $....