This is my preview of tonight’s Fight Night card that takes place at the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. A fight card where the smaller guys are front and center. The main even of the FightPass we have “The Funkmaster” Aljamain Sterling taking on Mr. Tate aka Bryan Caraway. This is a very anticipated fight after Sterling tested the free agency market and re-signed with the UFC. He is taking a step up in competition taking on a solid veteran, and an excellent grappler. Sterling thrives in taking the fight to the ground and controlling his opponents, but he is facing Caraway who will have the advantage on the ground. Good test in competition to see if Sterling is who we think he is, a superstar in the making.
The next fight that i find really compelling is the main fight of the prelims: Sara McMann vs Jessica Eye. Both fighters coming of 1-3 record in their last 4 fights, this is a extremely important fight in the career of both fighters. The looser will take a huge step back in the tittle picture. McMann has been training with Firas Zahabi of the famed Tristar Gym. Zahabi is the genius behind GSP and Rory McDonald, so we will likely see a smarter and better McMann in the cage tonight. Eye is feeling the momentum of her teammate capture the Heavy Weight championship in Curitiba, Brazil. She is, also, looking to fight at her hometown this September coming off a win. Thought fight for both girls, Eye has great hands and McMann is a silver medalist olympic wrestler. I believe Eye has to keep it standing to win, and McMann will look to control the fight and take it to the ground.
Now on to the main card, “Gamebred” Jorge Masvidal takes on “the Monsoon” Lorenz Larkin in a stand up super fight in the welterweight division. Masvidal has great standup but his advantage comes in the grappling department. Larkin has very unorthodox striking due to his background in Kung Fu. Two fun fighters who come to fight and have a very fan friendly style. Larkin is having success at welterweight but is coming off a loss to Albert Tumenov who is a stud. This is in my eyes the fight of the night to watch, due to styles of both fighters.
Renan Barao is moving up in weight after two beatings by the former champion TJ Dillashaw. We all know Barao has struggle to make weight, and once was removed from a fight card for passing out the day of weight-ins after collapsing cutting weight in the tub. Now he is moving up to 145lb limit and taking on heavy handed Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens. Stephens is the hardest hitter in the featherweight division after Conor Mcgregor. A lot of people believe Barao will never be the same, after loosing for first time after 10 years when he lost to TJ. Barrio is a solid fighter who is flat footed but has great kicks and stand up, but this is will be his first fight where he wont have the power advantage As a co-main event this is a great fight. Former champion moving up in weight, and taking on a heavy handed Heathen.
In the main event we have two undefeated fighters looking to become super stars. Thomas Almeida who is ranked #7 in the UFC Rankings, takes on unranked “No Love” Cody Garbrandt. I believe Cody can win the fight as the underdog and from there is off to the races. He has great stand up, has an amateur boxing record of 35-0, also, has solid wrestling from being an outstanding high school wrestler and trains at the world class Team Alpha Male Team. Cody has the looks and the style to be a super star, but he is facing a monster. Almeida has near perfect Muay Thai when it comes to MMA. Great clinch work, elbows, and punching combinations. The bantamweight division needs superstars, and the winner of this fight will create one, either in the USA or Brazil. Almeida has the firepower to take the division by storm, but Cody stands in the weight and looking to upset the party and become a star of his own.
The next fight that i find really compelling is the main fight of the prelims: Sara McMann vs Jessica Eye. Both fighters coming of 1-3 record in their last 4 fights, this is a extremely important fight in the career of both fighters. The looser will take a huge step back in the tittle picture. McMann has been training with Firas Zahabi of the famed Tristar Gym. Zahabi is the genius behind GSP and Rory McDonald, so we will likely see a smarter and better McMann in the cage tonight. Eye is feeling the momentum of her teammate capture the Heavy Weight championship in Curitiba, Brazil. She is, also, looking to fight at her hometown this September coming off a win. Thought fight for both girls, Eye has great hands and McMann is a silver medalist olympic wrestler. I believe Eye has to keep it standing to win, and McMann will look to control the fight and take it to the ground.
Now on to the main card, “Gamebred” Jorge Masvidal takes on “the Monsoon” Lorenz Larkin in a stand up super fight in the welterweight division. Masvidal has great standup but his advantage comes in the grappling department. Larkin has very unorthodox striking due to his background in Kung Fu. Two fun fighters who come to fight and have a very fan friendly style. Larkin is having success at welterweight but is coming off a loss to Albert Tumenov who is a stud. This is in my eyes the fight of the night to watch, due to styles of both fighters.
Renan Barao is moving up in weight after two beatings by the former champion TJ Dillashaw. We all know Barao has struggle to make weight, and once was removed from a fight card for passing out the day of weight-ins after collapsing cutting weight in the tub. Now he is moving up to 145lb limit and taking on heavy handed Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens. Stephens is the hardest hitter in the featherweight division after Conor Mcgregor. A lot of people believe Barao will never be the same, after loosing for first time after 10 years when he lost to TJ. Barrio is a solid fighter who is flat footed but has great kicks and stand up, but this is will be his first fight where he wont have the power advantage As a co-main event this is a great fight. Former champion moving up in weight, and taking on a heavy handed Heathen.
In the main event we have two undefeated fighters looking to become super stars. Thomas Almeida who is ranked #7 in the UFC Rankings, takes on unranked “No Love” Cody Garbrandt. I believe Cody can win the fight as the underdog and from there is off to the races. He has great stand up, has an amateur boxing record of 35-0, also, has solid wrestling from being an outstanding high school wrestler and trains at the world class Team Alpha Male Team. Cody has the looks and the style to be a super star, but he is facing a monster. Almeida has near perfect Muay Thai when it comes to MMA. Great clinch work, elbows, and punching combinations. The bantamweight division needs superstars, and the winner of this fight will create one, either in the USA or Brazil. Almeida has the firepower to take the division by storm, but Cody stands in the weight and looking to upset the party and become a star of his own.