UFC on ESPN+ 27: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo (February 29, 2020)

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

ESPN+ 8:00 pm ET
Joseph Benavidez vs Deiveson Figueiredo (for flyweight title)
Zarah Fairn vs Felicia Spencer
Magomed Ankalaev vs Ion Cutelaba
Megan Anderson vs Norma Dumont
Grant Dawson vs Chas Skelly
Kyler Phillips vs Gabriel Silva

ESPN+ 5:00 pm ET
Giga Chikadze vs Mike Davis
Brendan Allen vs Tom Breese
Alex Munoz vs Luis Pena
Sergei Spivac vs Marcin Tybura
TJ Brown vs Jordan Griffin
Spike Carlyle vs Aalon Cruz
Sean Brady vs Ismail Naurdiev

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

[bitcoinLuke]

Just an awful card.

[Sanity Check]

Interested to see.

-Ismail Naurdiev
-Steven Peterson
-Felicia Spencer
-Ion Cutelaba
-Magomed Ankalaev
-Grant Dawson

And the main.

[kcchiefs]

Early leans are Benavidez, Megan Anderson, and Spivac. Interested in Cutelaba, and Peterson.

[Beelzebubzy]

Jibby give me winners!

[PaperTrail07]

Naurdiev is the better fighter in this one

[PaperTrail07]

Ankalev should destroy Cutebala....he is the real deal.....better all around.....

[Teem]

Breese
Cruz
Spencer ITD

... I may play those.

[JIBBBY]

Prelim write ups!!! MMAMANIA





145 lbs.: Jordan Griffin vs. T.J. Brown

Jordan Griffin (17-7) — who scored two consecutive submissions in LFA — made it three straight tapouts by clubbing-and-subbing Maurice Mitchell on “Contender Series.” He has yet to claim his first Octagon victory, dropping decisions to fellow grapplers Dan Ige and Chas Skelly.
“The Native Psycho” will have one inch of height and reach on “Downtown.”
T.J. Brown (14-6) fought back from a 3-4 skid to score three consecutive first-round stoppages and secure a spot in “Contender Series.” There, he survived an early knockdown to choke out Dylan Lockard and secure a UFC contract.
He has just one win by decision, submitting nine.
If I had to predict the most entertaining fight on the “Prelims,” this’d be it. Both men boast aggressive grappling onslaughts, heavy firepower on the feet, and a reticence to go three rounds, combining for five decision victories in more than 40 cumulative fights. The bookies have this almost a dead heat at the time of writing, and though I agree with the narrow spread, I disagree with Brown being the underdog.
Griffin’s persistence and Brown’s shaky chin present an unfortunate combination for the UFC debutant, but “Downtown” appears to have the technical edge everywhere. He’s certainly the cleaner kickboxer, at least, and has demonstrated a more versatile wrestling game and better ability to get off of his back. I think he can walk the tightrope; accordingly, in an absolute barnburner, Griffin comes out looking for blood but loses enough ground and stand up exchanges to suffer his third consecutive defeat.
Prediction: Brown via unanimous decision
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145 lbs.: Aalon Cruz vs. Spike Carlyle

Aalon Cruz (8-2) brought a three-fight win streak into “Contender Series,” where he faced Steven Nguyen in a competitive striking battle. As the clock wound down in the third round, Cruz unleashed a vicious flying knee, knocking out Nguyen cold and securing himself a UFC contract in the process.
He is the taller man by five inches.
Spike Carlyle (8-1) put a split decision loss to Serob Minasyan behind him to win four straight, three of them by stoppage. His last two fights have seen “The Alpha Ginger” knockout Matthew Colquhoun with a spinning back fist and punch out Jean-Paul Bosnoyan in less than two minutes.
His seven stoppage wins are split 4/3 between knockouts and submissions.
Distance is the name of the game for these two. Though some of his kicks leave him open to counters, Cruz generally does an excellent job of using his 6’0” frame to pick apart opponents. Carlyle, though he showed some issues closing the gap against the towering Colquhoun, is such a menace on the ground that he really only needs one or two tie-ups to take over the fight.
Cruz strikes me as far more likely to get the fight he prefers. He avoids a lot of traditional tall guy pitfalls, primarily with some quality footwork that keeps him off the fence, and he’s shown some wrestling chops of his own. As a result, Carlyle’s clinch/shot opportunities will be few and far between, and he’s nowhere near guaranteed to get Cruz to the mat each time. In sum, Cruz takes him apart with an endless diet of long-range strikes.
Prediction: Cruz via unanimous decision
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170 lbs.: Sean Brady vs. Ismail Naurdiev

Sean Brady — who went undefeated (4-0) as an amateur before joining the professional ranks in 2014 — spent the majority of his pre-UFC career tearing through the CFFC promotion, winning and twice defending its Welterweight title. His efforts culminated in an Oct. 2019 Octagon debut, which saw him out-strike Court McGee en route to a decision victory.
He’ll give up two inches of reach to “The Austrian Wonderboy.”
Three fights removed from a loss to The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) veteran Ismael “Marmota” Naurdiev (19-3) defied serious odds to defeat powerhouse grinder Michael Prazeres in his late-notice UFC debut. He wound up on the other end of a major upset against Chance Rencountre, but soon got back on track with a decision over Siyar Bahadurzada in Copenhagen.
He has knocked out 11 professional opponents and submitted another five.
It’s a bit of an odd choice by UFC to bury two of its more promising young Welterweights at the bottom of the card, but the promotion has never been particularly adept at marketing new faces, so I’m not surprised. Brady is a rock-solid all-rounder, while Naurdiev is a high-octane kickboxer with a strong wrestling pedigree to back it up. I can very easily see both of them winding up with numbers next to their names in the coming years.
Naurdiev sooner than Brady, however. The Austrian looks to be the heavier hitter and more versatile striker; Rencountre managed to put him on his back, but that was through a near-suicidal disregard for getting punched in the face that I can’t see Brady mimicking. In the end, good footwork, heavy kicks and a stout sprawl will carry Naurdiev to a competitive victory.
Prediction: Naurdiev via unanimous decision



185 lbs.: Brendan Allen vs. Tom Breese

Brendan Allen (13-3) won and defended the LFA Middleweight title before tapping Aaron Jeffery on “Contender Series,” snagging a UFC contract in the process. Three months later, “All In” successfully debuted with a second-round finish of Kevin Holland in Boston.
His eight submission wins include six by rear-naked choke.
Tom Breese (11-1) got off to a red-hot start in the Octagon, smashing Luiz Dutra and Cathal Pendred before winning his first-ever decision over Keita Nakamura. A questionable split decision loss to Sean Strickland sent “The Octopus” up to Middleweight, where he knocked out Dan Kelly for his second post-fight bonus.
This will be his first fight in nearly two years after health issues scrapped fights with Cezar Ferreira and Ian Heinisch.
Man, I’m just not sure whether the tall submission specialist with a surprisingly dangerous striking game has what it takes to beat the tall submission specialist with a surprisingly dangerous striking game.
All joking aside, this is a pick-‘em mirror match. I’ve got Breese by a hair — he’s got the grappling credentials to dictate the nature of the fight and is the heavier puncher. The rust is definitely a concern, as is Allen’s reach advantage, but “The Octopus” just seems like the stronger fighter overall, and he’s at least kept busy with grappling. In the end, Breese lands the more telling blows and wins enough wrestling exchanges to get the win.
Prediction: Breese via unanimous decision
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265 lbs.: Marcin Tybura vs. Sergey Spivac

Marcin Tybura (17-6) made a name for himself in UFC with a head kick knockout of Viktor Pesta, which he followed up with two more wins to earn a main event slot. He is just 1-4 since, suffering knockout losses in three of his last four fights.
“Tybur” has submitted seven foes and knocked out another six.
Finishes of journeymen Travis Fulton and Tony Lopez brought Sergey Spivac (10-1) to the Octagon, only for Walt Harris to spoil his debut via 50-second knockout. “Polar Bear” wound up a decent-sized underdog against Tai Tuivasa, but defied the odds to choke “Bam Bam” out in the second round.
Eight of his previous nine finishes came in the first round.
The however-much-their-win-bonuses-are-dollar question is how much Tybura has left in the tank. He can probably win a slow-paced kickboxing battle if he’s firing on all cylinders, but when was that last the case? His 2017 beatdown of Luis Henrique, probably; beating what’s left of Andrei Arlovski and Stefan Struve are not praiseworthy accomplishments at this point.
It’s become clear that beating Tuivasa isn’t the feat we once thought it was, either, but it’s a lot more heartening than three knockout losses. Spivac should be able to just straight-up maul Tybura early, and if that doesn’t work, I’m not convinced “Tybur” has the gas tank to capitalize. Spivac makes it 2-1 in the Octagon, blitzing the older man for a swift finish.
Prediction: Spivac via first-round submission


155 lbs.: Luis Pena vs. Steve Garcia Jr.

Injury knocked Luis Pena (7-2) from The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 27 following an opening-round victory, but didn’t stop him from winning three of his first four in the Octagon. His last Octagon effort pitted him against fellow prospect Matt Frevola, who narrowly edged Pena by split decision in a fight that had the media similarly split.
He has finished six opponents overall, four of them by submission.
Steve Garcia Jr. (11-3) scored a dominant first-round knockout of Desmond Torres on “Contender Series,” but missing the Bantamweight limit by almost four pounds cost him a UFC contract. He moved up to 145 pounds for an LFA main event opposite Joe Mariscal, scoring another finish despite missing weight once again.
He replaces the injured Alex Munoz on five days’ notice.
Garcia is going to have the very unfamiliar experience of being the smaller man on fight night. Indeed, as a hulking six-footer, he’s generally able to bash away with his straight left and front kicks, a luxury he won’t be afforded in the face of a three-inch height disadvantage and five-inch reach disadvantage. He’s also not immune to getting pressed against the fence even by smaller men, a bad sign considering Pena’s grappling skills, and looks to be on the wrong end of the wrestling battle.
“Mean Machine” does have enough power in that left hand to fold Pena with a clean shot, especially if he targets the midsection, but the likelier outcome sees Pena sit pretty at range before dragging Garcia to the mat and polishing him off with ground-and-pound.
Prediction: Pena via second-round technical knockout

[Sanity Check]

“I switched camps from AKA to American Top Team,” Luis Pena told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “Not because of anything bad at AKA, it was just financially. Living in Silicon Valley is very, very expensive. Talking to my managers about what to do to kind of mitigate that they had brought up the possibility of moving to Florida. I talked to my coaches at AKA about it and told them the situation and they gave me their blessing to kind of do what I had to do. Now I’m at American Top Team and it’s been a lot easier for me. I don’t have to focus on anything other than showing up and training.”

“Something really clicked,” Pena said. “I don’t know if it was the actual environment of California compared to Florida, the weather or something. Ever since I’ve got to Florida there’s just been something different. I feel 10 times better when I train, I feel super, super motivated to get up every day, cook breakfast, go through all the supplements and everything.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mma...ed/ar-BB10uEnx




There could be bad things in that california water/air that has a negative influence on people.




(Figueiredo missed weight.)

[JAKEPEAVY21]

(Figueiredo missed weight.)

Guy gets a once in a lifetime opportunity and shits the bed

[BIGDAY]

It’s Fight NIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!

[Thrilla]

[Hugo de Naranja]

UFC on ESPN+ 27: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo Picks
Ismail Naurdiev Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3)
Aalon Cruz Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Jordan Griffin Round 1 Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Luis Pena Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Marcin Tybura Round 1 TKO (Punches)
Tom Breese Round 1 TKO (Punches)
Kyler Phillips Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3)
Grant Dawson Round 2 Submission (Armbar)
Megan Anderson Round 1 TKO (Head Kick and Punches)
Magomed Ankalaev Round 3 KO (Punches)
Felicia Spencer Round 1 Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Joseph Benavidez Unanimous Decision (49-46 x2, 48-47)

[Hugo de Naranja]

Good luck all!

[wlulaxer]

Thanks Hugo, good luck to you

[Sanity Check]

Is Naurdiev throwing the fight?

Embarrassing performance.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Impressive debut by The Alpha Ginger.

[kcchiefs]

Lets go Spivac

[Thrilla]

Lets go Spivac

Seems he can easily get wrestle fukked

[Hugo de Naranja]

Bad stoppage but I win my only bet of the night on Ankalaev (-180)

[Thrilla]

Kevin McDonald you fukking dumb motherfukker

[PaperTrail07]

Ill take it lol.....woooooooooooooooo

[PaperTrail07]

Weird Stuff......Have to let him take that last KO shot....

[UncleChael]

Worst stoppage, I ever watched... Tops the Askren/Lawler stoppage .

[Sanity Check]

Worst stoppage I've ever seen.

[BIGDAY]

Wow

[Thrilla]

Bad stoppage but I win my only bet of the night on Ankalaev (-180)

Ill take it lol.....woooooooooooooooo

pathetic

[JAKEPEAVY21]

That was insane. Cutelaba is a douche so i don't feel all that bad for him, however.

[Thrilla]

[Thrilla]

Let's go Zarah!!!

[Sanity Check]

Trivia question.

What does Felicia Spencer and Rich Franklin both have in common.

[Sanity Check]

Trivia question.

What does Felicia Spencer and Rich Franklin both have in common.

Both are/were math teachers.

[PaperTrail07]

Nice step in by Dan there...