UFC 207 is set for today, December 30th. This will be the last fight card of 2016. We have two championship fights and a stacked card. Cain Velasquez VS Fabricio Werdum was suppose to be on this card but the NAC pulled Cain from competition. You can find all that info in a previous article, lets jump right into the main card.
Amanda Nunes VS Ronda Rousey –
This will be the return fight for Ronda Rousey. We last saw Ronda take on Holly Holm. A fight where Holly won by head kick knock out over a year ago. This will be the first fight where Ronda isn’t the champion. We have seen very little of Ronda since her loss. Even in the build up to this fight Ronda has shunned the media, it’s unheard of. She has given no interviews, no fighter has ever got away with it before. At the end of the day they are still going to fight and that’s what really matters.
Amanda Nunes took the championship belt from Meisha Tate back on UFC 200. She was very dominant in that fight. Miesha said Nunes hit her harder than she has ever been hit and went on to say that Nunes is probably the hardest hitter in the women’s bantamweight division. While the promos have focused mostly on Ronda, Amanda said she is just fine with that and doesn’t crave the spotlight. A win over Ronda will certainly gain her a ton of attention. Ronda was built up to be unbeatable and many couldn’t believe it when she did finally lose. Even though Ronda did finally lose and left the game for a year, many still rank her as the greatest female MMA fighter ever.
Dominick Cruz VS Cody Garbrandt –
This is the co-main event of the night, bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz looks to defend his title against Cody Garbrandt. Cody is another team Alpha Male fighter and as you know, team Alpha Male fighters can’t stand Dominick. The rivalry started with Cruz and Urijah Faber and grew from there. Dominick most recently defended his title against Faber back in June, Dominick easily won the 5 round decision. Cruz has probably had more set backs than anyone in the sport and this will be the first time he’s managed to fight 3 times in one year inside of the UFC.
Cody is a tough challenger who has a real tendency to knock people out. He’s currently the 5th ranked bantamweight in the UFC and is 10-0. His last three fights in the UFC came by first round knock out. The feud between these two is real, we have seen massive amounts of trash talk. Daniel Cormier had to split these two up, security has had to step in a couple times as well. During the promos they put them in different rooms and that barely worked as Cody took his mic off and tried to go in the other room after Cruz. If you’re not excited for this fight you might want to check and make sure you have a pulse.
T.J. Dillashaw VS John Lineker –
Another great fight on a great card. T.J. is coming off a win over Raphael Assuncao back on UFC 200. T.J. lost his bantamweight title to Dominick Cruz by split decision back in January. No doubt he’s looking to climb the ranks and get another shot at the title. You could arguably say that Dillashaw is the best fighter to come out of The Ultimate Fighter who didn’t actually win the show. He has amazing combos, speed and footwork. His fight against Dominick Cruz was one of the best of 2016.
John Lineker is a guy who has had trouble making weight in the past, he made weight just fine for this fight, that’s a good sign. We last saw John Lineker win a split decision over John Dodson back in October. He is riding a 6 fight win streak and currently 10-2 inside the octagon. T.J. will arguably be the biggest challenge so far of his career. A win over T.J. could very well put him in line for a title shot, especially if he can finish him.
Johny Hendricks VS Neil Magny –
This will be the main event of the pre-lims. Johny Hendricks missed weight for this fight, he will be penalized 20% of his purse. Hendricks is a former welterweight champion and has seen his stock take a big hit. Losing 3 out of his last 4 fights. Losing sucks but losing to guys like Stephan Thompson, Kelvin Gastelum or Robbie Lawler could happen to just about anyone. Lots of guys come into the UFC with undefeated records and then go on to win about 50% of their UFC fights, the best of the best are in this promotion.
Neil Magny last took on Lorenz Larkin back on UFC 202. Magny lost this fight by TKO in the first round. Before that he was on a 3 fight win streak, beating Erick Silva, Kelvin Gastelum and Hector Lombard. Johny and Neil have both fought Kelvin Gastelum, Kelvin lost to Neil and beat Johny. We all know MMA math doesn’t mean much though. This is a great match up to end the pre-lims with. Neil is a 11-4 in the UFC.