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UFC 210: Cormier vs. Johnson 2 Preview & Predictions


UFC is returning to Buffalo for the first time in 22 years for UFC 210. Daniel Cormier will defend his Light Heavyweight Championship for a 2nd time against #1 contender Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Let’s take a look at the prelims and main card fights that are scheduled for this Saturday. Below are previews and predictions.

Prelims:

Light Heavyweight – Patrick Cummins (8-4) vs. Jan Blachowicz (19-6)

Both fighters come into this fight losing three of their last four and this might be a “loser gets cut by the UFC” bout. Cummins lands almost 50% of his takedowns and Blachowicz only stops 33% of takedowns attempted. Look for Cummins to take this fight to the ground and wear our Blachowicz.

Prediction: Patrick Cummins via unanimous decision.

Featherweight – Charles Rosa (11-2) vs. Shane Burgos (8-0)

Rosa always finds himself in a war and Burgos is not scared to get hit while looking for the counter punch. This will be a good fight to watch until Burgos lands his left hook.

Prediction: Shane Burgos via second-round TKO

Welterweights – Kamaru Usman (9-1) vs. Sean Strickland (18-1)

Usman is trying to get himself into title talks and Strickland is trying to work his way up the rankings. Strickland has the experience but Usman has the super-athletic skills. Usman is a very strategic fighter and knows how to win rounds.

Prediction: Kamaru Usman via unanimous decision

Featherweight – Myles Jury (15-2) vs. Mike de la Torre (14-6)

Another “loser gets cut” fight that is headlining the prelims. Jury was once a lightweight contender but after a one-sided loss to Donald Cerrone he moved down to featherweight. Two years, two camp changes, one loss, and one extended layoff later, Jury hopefully is back to his old self. De La Torre tends to find himself brawling when he gets impatient and isn’t very durable. As long as the weight cut doesn’t kill Jury he should win this one easily.

Prediction: Myles Jury by first-round TKO

Main Card:

Lightweight – Will Brooks (19-2) vs. Charles Oliveira (21-7)

Even though Brooks lost his last fight I am going to say he comes into this fight on a nine fight win streak. His last opponent missed weight by six pounds and was easily ten pounds heavier than Brooks by the time the fight started. The problem is Oliveira has had a problem in his career making weight. He has been fighting at a catchweight in four of his last ten fights. Oliveira has been forced to return to the lightweight division because of the weight issues. Oliveira is a very aggressive grappler and will look to get Brooks in the clinch where he can do significant damage with his knees. He has also had a total of five submission wins from the clinch. Oliveira has lost three of his last four fights and the big factor in those bouts was his stamina. Although that issue may go away with the lower weight loss required for lightweight. Where Oliveira looks to finish, Brooks looks to win. Brooks is a master at controlling the pace and range of the fight. Brooks has only finished one of his last nine fights. If he can stay out of the clinch and control the octagon he will walk away victorious.

Prediction: Will Brooks via unanimous decision

Welterweights – Thiago Alves (21-11) vs. Patrick Cote (23-10)

Remember when Alves was one of the top welterweights and fought GSP for the belt at UFC 100? Well ever since that loss he is 4-5 and currently ranked 35th in the lightweight division. Alves is getting older and it shows. He is nowhere near the fighter he used to be, but he is still dangerous as he showed against Jordan Mein when he won via TKO due to a body kick. Cote has been nothing but average in the UFC with a record of 10-10. At the age of 37 and 6-2 in his last eight fights does he have one more push in the division left in him? Currently ranked 20th in the welterweight division Cote has become a smarter fighter. He now fights at a distance and has improved his kickboxing. He consistently uses low kicks to keep his opponent guessing and shoots for the takedown often. With Alves fading as he gets older, so has his takedown defense. This one really is a toss-up. Neither fighter has great defense and can get caught by the other at any given moment.

Prediction: Thiago Alves via second-round TKO

Women’s Strawweights – Cynthia Calvillo (4-0) vs. Pearl Gonzalez (6-1)

Calvillo is coming off a first-round submission victory in her UFC debut. She is a very effective wrestler and has one of the best ground-and-pound games in the women’s division. Her weakness is definitely her striking. She at times looks like a novice and finds her feet out of position when throwing punches. Gonzalez is making her UFC debut and is a Muay Thai fighter. She relies on her kicks but has very little head movement which shouldn’t hurt her too much against Calvillo. Gonzalez doesn’t rely on defense when on the ground, but relies on her strong ability to scramble. Against better opponents, scrambling can only defend you so much.

Prediction: Cynthia Calvillo via first-round submission

Middleweights – Chris Weidman (13-2) vs. Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2)

Even though this will be Mousasi’s 50th professional fight, he is only 31 years old. If last year was any indication, he is looking for a title fight. Currently ranked the 6th middleweight he won four fights last year, winning three by either TKO or KO. Mousasi has become a more aggressive fighter recently and you can see that he now goes after the victory. But don’t be fooled by the three straight knockout wins, Mousasi is more dangerous on the ground than his feet; he just hasn’t had a need to show that recently. Even with the new aggressive approach Mousasi still remains disciplined and has one of the best chins in the business. Weidman, the 5th ranked middleweight and former middleweight champion, has lost two straight and is looking to take a step forward to reclaiming his belt. Weidman is a great fighter when he is in control. When he can control the distance and press forward he is a completely different fighter than when he is being pushed backwards. He seems to lose the weight of his hands when he is on his heels and can’t counter punch. He has to out wrestle Mousasi to win this fight.

Prediction: Gegard Mousasi via second-round TKO

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship – (c) Daniel Cormier (18-1) vs. Anthony Johnson (22-5)

In 2015, Cormier won the Light Heavyweight Championship over Anthony Johnson after the title was vacated by Jon Jones. In the first fight Cormier dominated most of the fight before submitting Johnson with a rear-naked choke in the third-round. Cormier has since defended the belt twice and Johnson has since knocked out three straight opponents. Cormier is an NCAA Division I Collegiate National Championship Runner-up, and it shows in his UFC fights. In the first fight Cormier knew he could not stand with Johnson and trade blows. He got in on Johnson and never let go, making sure he always had a hold of Johnson’s hips. Earlier in the fight Johnson knocked Cormier down but went too aggressively trying to end the fight, slipped, and let Cormier execute his plan. Cormier needs to execute the exact same game plan he executed last time and Johnson needs to be patient and have confidence that he can land that same punch again and not go chasing it. Unfortunately, Cormier is too smart of a fighter and does what he needs to do to win against each opponent and Johnson has always had a problem with using all of his gas in the first round. If Johnson doesn’t get the knock out early he can’t recover.

Prediction: Daniel Cormier via second-round submission

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