The UFC is in the business of selling fights, number one. Anything earned elsewhere is gravy, but too much gravy smothers the turkey. UFC has made a variety of branding decisions that will earn them a ton of money in the short term, but it may hurt the product in the long run. I’m not the first person to point any of these things out, but it begs repeating. Choosing the Reebok brand is bad for business.
Reebok is a weak brand. The Reebok Company is most closely associated with basketball. Their famous Reebok Pump sneaker put them on the map in the 80’s, but it’s a basketball shoe. If UFC couldn’t sign Nike or Adidas, they shouldn’t have bothered with branding. It’s third tier sports apparel at best. Sure, Reebok paid the most, but Nike is number one, and so is UFC. They sold themselves short. Kids don’t want to buy Reebok stuff. It’s not cool.
Reebok created the most boring fighter wear ever. This most recent TUF episode showcased exactly why the Reebok deal is making the product lame duck. The first fight of this show featured two average looking men, both from Team Europe, both sporting crew cuts, both wearing gray trunks, and both executing some pretty average fighting skills. Not to harp on the fight, because fights can be boring, and TUF is essentially a training camp, but the fight was in no way helped by the drab gray trunks. We all know personalities sell fights. How are these guys supposed to display any uniqueness when dressed exactly the same? Not only did the UFC upset almost everyone by eliminating their ability to get sponsors, but they also took away any individuality that a fighter may have displayed via their trunks.
Reebok chose some horrible colors. Black with white, or white with black are your only uniform options as a UFC fighter. These things seriously look like the original “biker” short of the 80s. They are unflattering and worse, the same for everyone. I’m assuming they will start to expand with colors, but so far, six months into the rebranding, it’s terrible. The fighters are generic and hard to tell apart for a casual fan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the NASCAR style trunks prior to Reebok, but a fighter’s colors are important. It’s part of the individual fighter’s brand. Fans remember colors. I loved Bret Hart because he wore pink and I thought that made him tough. I hated Cheick Kongo because he wore blue Muay Thai trunks with the silly drawstring. The point is that I remember the fighter because of the specificity of the outfit. I couldn’t pick Marcin Wrzosek out of a line-up and I’ve watched every episode of TUF 22.
The corner men are now wearing pajamas. Have you seen these outfits up close? They’re paper-thin. Remember when Lulu Lemon made those see-through yoga pants? I guess Reebok bought the template. The corner men look like they’re getting ready to go to sleep in the 20’s. All they need is one of those starched up long pointy hats.
Finally, the Reebok emblem looks like a vagina. Am I the only person who has pointed this out? I can’t be. Maybe it’s because I live with a doctor that specializes in women’s health, and thus I have a model of a vagina in my house of which to compare, but it looks exactly like one of those models I’ve seen on my kitchen table. For those of you who don’t know anatomy, it looks specifically like the uterus. The vagina is technically the canal from the external to the internal reproductive organs.
Bonus Bad Branding: NOS Energy Drink. NOS is terrible. The term “nos” was first brought into the nomenclature of Americana with the prestigious Fast and Furious movies. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel spoke the word “nos” a combined total of 457 times in that first movie. It is the energy drink most closely associated with supercharged douche bags. A few episodes ago on TUF, we saw Team USA dousing each other with NOS drinks after a victory, like the KC Royals after winning the World Series. NOS cans are displayed at every opportunity in the UFC. Yes, the UFC and the Fast and Furious franchise have a lot of crossover audience, but again NOS is a bottom of the barrel energy drink behind Monster, Rock Star, and Red Bull (probably not in that order). Not only does NOS taste terrible, but also the only people who actually drink NOS are guys who wear Axe Body Spray, and Danny Bonaduce.
UFC is trying to be the NFL with branding and selling its rights to everything. The replays are brought to you by Harley Davidson, the round is brought to you buy Bud Light, etc. Eventually, the UFC will lose its identity and instead of the NFL it will just be “football.” That’s bad.
The fight industry is based on creating stars with personality. Dressing these guys all the same is counterproductive. Even if the UFC is making big bucks on the fees, it’s not worth it. Selling the naming rights to everything is literally the definition of selling out, and that’s bad for business.
The Notorious Quote of the Week: “That takedown is there whenever you want it. Keep your chin tucked!” Yes… but WHO was he giving that advice to? Hmmm.
Last week, both Artem Lobov and Saul Rogers from Conor McGregor’s team advanced to the semi-finals. This week’s show is another two fight episode and we’re starting right away with two Team Europe guys going head to head.
Lightweight: Marcin Wrzosek (Team Europe) vs. David Teymur (Team Europe)
Both fighters are wearing gray trunks. You may recall Wrzosek earned the nickname ‘Polish Zombie’ for his ability to absorb damage and keep coming forward. He doesn’t need that early though because he drops Teymur with a right hook two minutes into round one, then wrestles him back to the mat 17 seconds later after Teymur tries to get up. Teymur finally gets up clean at 2:58 and this time he hits a takedown. He gets up with a minute left and they both swing hard. The gym is eerily silent since McGregor isn’t saying anything to show favoritism to either fighter. Wrzosek gets another right hook in right before R1 ends.
Wrzosek and Teymur mix it up 25 seconds into R2. Teymur lands an explosive takedown at 48 seconds. The ref warns Teymur to stay busy. Wrzosek briefly gets caught in a choke when trying to stand, but winds up escaping it and ending up on top and having full mount for a split second. He pounds away at the ribs as both fighters are reminded to work for the finish. Wrzosek gets swept. This is an incredibly back-and-forth fight. They’re stood up with two minutes left. Wrzosek gets another takedown quickly. Teymur is warned about the back of the head. He scrambles up with 91 seconds to go. Both men are head hunting. Wrzosek pushes him into the fence and they trade knees, and he backs away in time to avoid a high kick. Teymur throws a late leg kick and Wrzosek takes him down before R2 ends. That might have been enough.
19-19, 20-18 and 20-18 for the majority winner – Marcin Wrzosek. And now we have one last chance for Team USA to send a fighter to the semis – Julian Erosa goes against Abner Lloveras. There’s no slowing down for weigh-ins or drama at the house – we go right back to the cage.
Lightweight: Abner Lloveras (Team Europe) vs. Julian Erosa (Team USA)
Erosa is in the blue trunks and Lloveras the gray. Lloveras has the striking advantage early and Erosa is forced to circle on the outside and try to dance in and out of range. He finally lands a good overhand right at 1:53 but he’s getting hit with rights in each exchange. Lloveras seems to be a split second quicker on the trigger each time he gets into range. You can see that Erosa’s cheeks are bruising and swelling up. Lloveras puts him against the fence at 4:05 but Erosa shows great balance avoiding the single leg takedown until 3 seconds left. We’re on to round two.
Lloveras is right back to the jab to open R2. Erosa’s only answer seems to be to get into a slugfest since he’s unable to block or avoid the strikes. Lloveras gets him off his feet for a second at 1:40. Erosa suddenly catches Lloveras with a couple of good shots and opens a cut over his left eye. Lloveras is backpedaling as he bleeds, which shouldn’t necessarily influence the judges, but it just might. For his part Erosa is not letting Lloveras off the hook. Lloveras fails a a takedown attempt at 3:35. Erosa drops Lloveras with a big punch at 4:10 and tags him with several knees as he gets up. Faber is screaming at Erosa to finish him. He has completely turned this fight around and Lloveras looks gassed as we head to an overtime third round.
Lloveras is desperate for a takedown to open R3. It’s not “there all day” though the way McGregor thought it would be. Lloveras is crunched with a left hook and presses Erosa into the fence again. They couldn’t really stop the bleeding at all between rounds. Lloveras tries and tries for the leg trip but has to break at 2:02. Faber screams for kicks to the body. Erosa’s left hand looks better and more accurate the further we get into the fight. Lloveras fails on another takedown at 3:37 as McGregor screams for 3’s and 5’s in combos. Now it’s Lloveras who seems unable to stop a single strike from landing and HIS only answer is takedown attempts. He gets Erosa off his feet for just about a second as we go to the final minute and it’s a moral victory at best. Erosa continues to pressure him and land hands and knees. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t get this one from the judges.
Third round: 10-9 Lloveras, 10-9 Erosa and 10-9 for EROSA. McGregor: “That’s disgraceful.” So finally one guy from Team USA is going to move on. Faber: “We got a horse in the game. Thank goodness!”
Dana White comes out to announce the semi-finals: Saul Rogers vs. Marcin Wrzosek and Artem Lobov vs. Julian Erosa. Join us next week!
Dana White is spending the day at ESPN in Bristol, CT and has made two announcements thus far.
The first is that he said a Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey rematch is imminent.
“I think that if we didn’t make the rematch, me and Lorenzo should probably lose our promoters’ license,” White said on the Mike & Mike show. “Yeah, that fight’s going too happen. I don’t know when, but that’s the fight that will happen.”
White also said on Sports Center that the winner of the Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor fight on 12/12 would be sharing the upcoming video game cover with Rousey, saying that he believed it was the first time in major sports that a result of a match would determine who is on the cover of the new video game.
Holm knocked out Rousey in an historic upset in 59 seconds of the second round in the main event of UFC 193 from Melbourne, Australia on November 15th. The show drew one of the three biggest buyrates in company history. A properly-promoted rematch should beat that number, perhaps handily.
UFC announced the first three matches for its 2/27 show in London, England, at the O2 Arena earlier today including Michael Bisping (27-7) vs. Gegard Mousasi (37-6-2).
Bisping, who is from Liverpool, was UFC’s first major British star after winning season three of The Ultimate Fighter. This would be a major fight for both men. Bisping had been rumored for a fight with Anderson Silva in Brazil in the spring, but UFC looks to be going with Vitor Belfort for that spot. Mousasi was knocked out by Uriah Hall in his last fight and it knocked him down to No. 11 in the contenders rankings.
It will be Bisping’s 25th fight in the UFC, tying him with Matt Hughes and Josh Koscheck on the all-time list. The fight will be one of the top fights on the show, but it was not confirmed that it will be the main event.
Other matches announced today are featherweights Makwan Amirkhani (12-2) vs. Mike Wilkinson (9-1), and lightweights Rustam Khabilov (17-3) vs. Norman Parke (21-4-1).
In the morning hours here in North America, former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson fought Jorge Masvidal in the main event of the UFC’s debut in Seoul, South Korea — the last fight on his UFC contract. Now a free agent, the 32-year-old veteran is near the peak of his game and will be either an attractive acquisition or solid re-signing for the company that manages to secure his services.
In the past few years, many fighters considered top 10 in their weight class have been cut loose by UFC much to the outcry of hardcore fight fans who felt that if UFC was to be taken seriously as a sport, they shouldn’t let top tier talent walk away. But with Henderson, it’s different. Guys like Phil Davis, Jon Fitch, Jake Shields, and Yushin Okami were still top contenders but didn’t move ratings or PPV buys (proven when they went elsewhere), weren’t serious title contenders, and carried high price tags. While UFC runs a lot of cards and could use the depth that these guys provide, they also have a future to think of and names like the ones I’ve listed here were essentially roadblocks for younger talent to make their way to the top.
This is why someone like Henderson is very important. He could arguably be a top 10 competitor at either 155 or 170, and is someone that can very easily headline an FS 1 or Fight Pass card. He also fits in nicely in a co-main event position on a FOX show or PPV. The top of the show is familiar territory for him as in 14 UFC fights, he has been in either the main or co-main event position all but two times. And on one occasion, it could be argued that he was in the co-main (UFC on FOX 1), since only the main event fight aired on television.
On those shows, Henderson has delivered in terms of ratings or PPV buys…for the most part. Here’s a look*, listed by most recent appearance:
Fight Night 60 (main event vs Brandon Thatch) – 913,000 viewers on FS 1 (above average vs. an opponent with very little name recognition)
Fight Night 59 (co-main vs Donald Cerrone) – 2,751,000 viewers on FS 1 (record number obviously powered by Conor McGregor, but this was a strong co-main)
Fight Night 49 (main event vs Rafael Dos Anjos) – 689,000 viewers on FS 1 (below average,, but this was a very weak undercard and during a very down period for UFC)
Fight Night 42 (main event vs Rustam Khabilov) – 1,217,000 viewers on FS 1 (2nd highest FS 1 number at the time against an opponent with no name recognition)
UFC on FOX 10 (main event vs Josh Thomson) – 3.2 million viewers on FOX (above average)
UFC 164 (main event vs Anthony Pettis) – 270,000 PPV buys (the second highest number for a show headlined by a lightweight title defence that didn’t involve BJ Penn up to that point)
UFC on FOX 7 (Main event vs Gilbert Melendez) – 3.7 million viewers on FOX (well above average)
UFC on FOX 5 (main event vs Nate Diaz) – 4.4 million viewers on FOX (3rd highest number ever for UFC on that station)
UFC 150 (main event vs Frankie Edgar) – 190,000 PPV buys (very weak number for the period. Probably too soon after their first fight, which did very well
UFC 144 (main Event vs Frankie Edgar) – 375,000 PPV buys (still the highest number for a show headlined by a Lightweight title defence that didn’t involve BJ Penn)
UFC on Versus 5 (co-main vs Jim Miller) – 766,000 viewers on Versus (second highest number of the year on the station for a show with a weak main event of Dan Hardy vs Chris Lytle)
*His other two UFC fights were on the undercards of the first UFC on FOX show and UFC 129, both of which did monster numbers that had next to nothing to do with him.
Clearly, he’s made a difference for a number of years and should continue to do so as his skills haven’t diminished and as recently as this year, he was still doing very strong numbers for UFC. He’d be valuable for Bellator as they hope to bring bigger TV ratings to Spike TV, and would likely be favored in a fight against either their welterweight champion Andrei Koreshkov or lightweight champion Will Brooks. A win by either of those champions would legitimize those divisions in the eyes of fans and a win by Henderson would give them greater exposure and provide marketability that no fighter still in his prime has had for the company.
Asian MMA company ONE Championships would be another viable option. They run shows that draw big crowds in southeast Asia on more or less a monthly basis but have yet to make any real kind of dent in the North American market despite their shows being available on iPPV. A star the level of Henderson could help them get that foothold there while also helping ticket sales in that region, where he is very popular due to his maternal family being from the area.
Henderson is in a rare position where the UFC needs him as much as the outside companies do, maybe even more. Many cards that the UFC runs are somewhat skippable these days but having someone of his caliber on the marquee makes his fight almost a must-see. He almost always has the best fight on the show, and is one of the more skilled fighters in the world in two different weight classes.
Fighters like this do not become available all the time and Henderson should be in a position to almost name his price.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC Fight Night 79: Henderson vs. Masvidal from the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea. The event is headlined by a five-round welterweight bout as former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson takes on Jorge Masvidal. Also on the card, in the co-main event, is South Korea’s own, Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim, ranked seventh at 170 pounds, taking on Dominic Waters, plus the return to action of Yoshihiro Akiyama, who takes on the undefeated Alberto Mina. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 5 AM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action remains on UFC Fight Pass for the main card at 8 AM eastern time.
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 5 AM ET/2 AM PT)
WELTERWEIGHTS- DOMINIQUE STEELE (13-6, 0-1 UFC) VS. “MAESTRO” DONG HYUN KIM (13-6-3, 0-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- We have the first of our two Dong Hyun Kim’s fighting on the card. Steele drops Kim with a left hook early and gets on the top but they get to their feet. The crowd is loud early. KIm has Steele against the fence. KIm lands a head kick. Steele lands a left hook and they trade in the clinch. Steele with some foot stomps and then lands a big elbow. They trade in the clinch and they are throwing a lot of punches. Kim grabs the neck and pulls guard but Steele is in the full guard against the fence. They battle to their feet. Kim with a spinning elbow as they break the clinch. Steele lands a right hand and Kim counters with a combo and a head kick. Flying knee to the body from Kim. Good first round. 10-9 Steele.
ROUND 2- Kim with a jumping head kick to start the round off. Steele lands a right hand right as Kim goes for a low kick and Kim goes down and Steele follows into the guard. Steele with punches from the top and Kim is cut under the eye but they get to their feet. Steele picks Kim up and lands a takedown. Steele with an elbow from the top. Steele with more elbows from the top. Steele with a couple more big elbows from inside the guard. Steele with punches from the top as Kim is unable to work to his feet. More big strikes from the top by Steele. 10-9 Steele, 20-18 Steele.
ROUND 3- Kim lands a big right hand and Steele counters with a big takedown and some elbows from the top and Kim is out! Big slam and Kim was out there and ate the elbows as he was out.
Official Result- Dominique Steele def. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim by knockout (slam) at 0:27 of Round 3
BANTAMWEIGHTS- NING GUANGYOU (5-2-1, 2-0 UFC) VS. MARCO BELTRAN (6-3, 1-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- They are each missing kicks early. Beltran with a body kick and lands a knee instead and then a right hand. Guangyou with a low kick that went a little too low. Beltran misses a spin kick. Not a lot of action and the crowd is letting them hear it. Beltran with a body kick and Guangyou lands one. Neither man is doing anything. A round full of circling and movement and missed strikes. Beltran with a late takedown. 10-9 Beltran.
ROUND 2- Guangyou lands some punches and goes for a takedown. Beltran slips as he tries to land a knee and Guangyou goes into the guard. Guangyou lands a punch from the top. They are trading punches from the guard and then are stood up. Beltran with a leg kick. Guangyou with a leg kick. Not a lot of action when they’re on their feet. Beltran just misses a head kick. Guangyou with a leg kick. 10-9 Guangyou, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Guangyou with a leg kick. Beltran lands a combination. They trade leg kicks. Guangyou fighting very timid in this fight. Beltran lands a head kick. Beltran lands a right hand. Beltran with a front kick but Guangyou grabs the leg and forces the fight against the fence. Guangyou with an elbow on the break and then a left hand. Beltran with a big knee to the body on the break and then a big combo and lands in the clinch with some knees. Beltran with another big knee. They clinch and Beltran lands some knees as Guangyou lands some body punches. Dirty boxing by both to end the fight. Fight could really go either way. 10-9 Beltran, 29-28 Beltran.
Official Result- Marco Beltran def. Ning Guangyou by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
FLYWEIGHTS- YAO ZHIKUI (2-2, 1-1 UFC) VS. FREDY SERRANO (2-0, 1-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- Serrano is a big-time prospect, even at age 36, and a 2008 Olympian in wrestling. They trade punches and Serrano lands a takedown and some punches from the side and the fight is stopped. Zhikui hurt his arm on the takedown as he posted on his right arm and he dislocated his arm. Serrano gets the win though.
Official Result- Fredy Serrano def. Yao Zhikui by TKO (arm injury) at 0:44 of Round 1
WOMEN’S STRAWWEIGHTS- SEO HEE HAM (15-6, 0-1 UFC) VS. CORTNEY CASEY (4-2, 0-1 UFC)
ROUND 1- Ham got a big reaction walking out. They trade punches. They trade again. Casey lands a right hand. They trade in an exchange with Casey getting the better of it. Ham lands a left hand. Casey with a big head kick and looks for the finish with some punches. Ham survives and fires back with a combo. Casey with some punches. They trade punches as Casey lands a leg kick. Casey with an aggressive attack and they end the round in a wild exchange. Good round. 10-9 Casey.
ROUND 2- Ham with a leg kick as she looks to get inside of Casey’s range. Casey drops Ham with a right hand but Ham gets right back to her feet and lands a left hand. Break in the action as Casey is poked in the eye. Casey lands a leg kick as we get back to action. Casey just misses a head kick. They trade body kicks. They trade in an exchange and clinch against the fence. Ham with a body kick that went a little low. They trade as we get back to action and Ham lands a left hand. Casey lands a big right hand and they have another wild exchange to end the round. Another good round. 10-9 Ham, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Casey misses a head kick but lands a side kick. Ham lands a big left hand and then a nice combo. Ham with a spin kick to the body but Casey lands a right hand. Ham with a right hand as she looks for a finish. Casey has slowed down as Ham as picked up the pressure. Casey with a knee in close. Ham with a barrage of strikes and a spinning back fist. Ham with a body kick. They trade punches and clinch against the fence. Ham with a big combo. They trade an exchange. They battle for a takedown with 40 seconds left. Wild exchange to end the fight. Really good fight that comes down to how the second was scored. 10-9 Ham, 29-28 Ham.
Official Result- Seo Hee Ham def. Cortney Casey by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- TAE HYUN BANG (17-9, 1-2 UFC) VS. LEO KUNTZ (17-2-1, 0-1 UFC)
ROUND 1- They trade punches to start the fight and Bang drops Kuntz with a left hand and looks for the finish. Bang grabs the guillotine and is looking to finish. Kuntz escapes. They get to their feet. Kuntz with a low knee. Bang’s eye is cut open and is looking bad. Kuntz lands a combo and Bang counters with a spinning back fist. Bang with some nice punches. Kuntz looks for the takedown but eats some knees before he gets it. They break on the feet. Bang with a right hand. They trade punches. Good round. 10-9 Bang.
ROUND 2- They trade right hands and Kuntz landed a big one but ate a big one. Bang with a big right hand and both looking for a knockout. Kuntz goes for a takedown but Bang defends. They break as Kuntz can’t finish the takedown. Bang looks gassed. Bang with a solid combo that lands. Bang with a left hook. Kuntz gets a double-leg takedown straight into side control. Kuntz with punches from the top as he takes the back. Kuntz with punches from the back as he looks for a choke. Bang not defending the choke but somehow scrambles out. Bang on top and lands some punches but Kuntz rolls out from the bottom to the feet. Both men are gassed. Good fight though. 10-9 Kuntz, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Kuntz a little fresher to start the final round. Bang with his hands down. Kuntz goes for a takedown against the fence. Bang with some elbows. Bang has the neck and drops down for the guillotine choke. Bang squeezing tight. Kuntz escapes and Bang looks dejected and extremely tired. Kuntz with some soft hammerfists from the top. Bang tries to work to his feet and they are stood up. I’m not sure about that one. Kuntz misses a takedown. Bang scores a takedown of his own against the fence and goes for the back. Kuntz scrambles to his feet and spins out. Bang with a right hand and they trade punches. Bang with a big right hand. Sloppy fight, but a good one. 10-9 Bang, 29-28 Bang.
Official Result- Tae Hyun Bang def. Leo Kuntz by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- YUI CHUL NAM (18-5-1, 1-1 UFC) VS. MIKE DE LA TORRE (13-5 1 NC, 1-2 1 NC UFC)
ROUND 1- They trade quickly and Nam goes in for a takedown. Torre with some huge right hands and these guys are swinging for the fences. That was a wild brawl as they clinch against the fence. Nam is cut above his left eye. Nam with some knees in the clinch. Another wild brawl as both throw and land punches. They break away from a clinch. Nam misses on a takedown but has the back. Nam really wincing his eye. They are battling hard for position in the clinch. Torre with some heel strikes in the clinch and they are broken apart. Another wild exchange from both men and they clinch again. Good round. 10-9 de la Torre.
ROUND 2- Torre lands a left hook as Nam shoots in for a takedown against the fence. Torre with some knees in the clinch as Nam works for that takedown. They battle for position with a bunch of switches. They break. Another wild exchange. Nam misses a takedown attempt. They break after not much happens in a clinch. Nam lands a nice right hand. Nam whiffs a takedown and Torre makes him eat a left hand. Nam lands a right hand but can’t score a takedown. de la Torre with some short elbows in the sprawl. They are still throwing big punches with one hoping to land the ender. 10-9 de la Torre, 20-18 de la Torre.
ROUND 3- Nam lands a right hand. de la Torre lands a kick but eats another right hand from Nam. Nam misses a takedown. de la Torre with a kick but Nam catches the leg and finally gets a takedown. de la Torre gets right back up. Nam misses another takedown. His gameplan is really obvious right now. They are clinched again. This fight feels on repeat. Broken up by the referee again. Nam misses a big left hand. Nam with two body kicks and his face is showing the counters he has eaten. Nam misses a takedown. He misses another. Torre lands a left hook. 10-9 de la Torre, 30-27 de la Torre.
Official Result- Mike de la Torre def. Yui Chul Nam by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
I don’t see how you can score that fight for Nam, but the right guy got the decision in the end.
MIDDLEWEIGHTS- DONGI YANG (12-3, 1-3 UFC) VS. JAKE COLLIER (9-2, 1-1 UFC)
ROUND 1- This is Yang’s second stint in the UFC. Yang with a big body kick early. They exchange and Yang lands some nice left hands. Collier with a body kick. Collier drops Yang with a right hand and goes into the half-guard. Yang scrambles to his feet. Collier with a leg kick. Yang with a nice combo. Yang with a left hand and then gets poked right in the eye. Yang lands a left hand and they exchange punches. Yang with a takedown and landing from the top. Collier to his feet but eats strikes from Yang. Collier reverses a takedown and goes into half-guard. Yang scrambles to his feet. Collier with another takedown but Yang reverses and lands punches. Back to their feet. Yang with a late takedown. Close round. 10-9 Yang.
ROUND 2- They exchange and Collier grabs the neck looking for a guillotine choke. Yang defends and lands body punches. Yang escapes and lands big punches from the top and looking to finish. Collier rolls for a leg lock but Yang landing big punches. Collier has a leg and looking to extend it. Yang gets out and lands more punches and Collier is eating them and not fighting back and Herb Dean stops it. TKO win for Yang in his UFC return.
Official Result- Dongi Yang def. Jake Collier by TKO (punches) at 1:50 of Round 2
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 8 AM ET/5 AM PT)
FEATHERWEIGHTS- DOO HO CHOI (12-1, 1-0 UFC) VS. SAM SICILIA (15-5, 5-4 UFC)
ROUND 1- Choi is a solid prospect at 145 pounds. Choi lands a combo to start. Choi rocks Sicilia and drops him. Sicilia gets up but is on wobbly legs. Sicilia lands a big right hand. Choi with another big punch. Sicilia goes for a trip but it is defended. Cjoi with a flying knee. Both men landing punches. Choi drops Sicilia with a left hand and some more punches on the ground and this fight is stopped. Choi extends his win streak to 11. Excellent fight while it lasted.
Official Result- Doo Ho Choi def. Sam Sicilia by TKO (punches) at 1:33 of Round 1
Choi called for a fight against Tatsuya Kawajiri next. Coincidence, Kawajiri fights in 13 days in Las Vegas, and doesn’t have an opponent as his opponent, Mirsad Bektic, pulled out due to a torn ACL yesterday.
WELTERWEIGHTS- YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA (14-5 2 NC, 2-4 UFC) VS. ALBERTO MINA (11-0, 1-0 UFC)
ROUND 1- Akiyama is returning to action after 14 months off, still as shredded and as sexy as ever. Huge pop from the crowd when he took his shirt off. Mina with a right hand. Akiyama and Mina trade leg kicks. Akiyama with another big leg kick. Akiyama with a spinning back fist as the crowd chants for him. Mina with a leg kick. Mina lands a right hand. Mina with a leg kick. They trade leg kicks. Mina misses a takedown and a flying knee. They trade right hands. Mina with a late takedown. Close round. 10-9 Akiyama.
ROUND 2- Mina with a leg kick. Akiyama with a leg kick and then a big right hand. Akiyama with a leg kick. Mina misses a takedown. Mina with a front kick. Big uppercut lands from Akiyama. Mina then attacks the legs with kicks. Akiyama with a leg kick. Mina misses another takedown as he telegraphs them. Akiyama with another leg kick. They trade leg kicks and Akiyama stuffs a takedown attempt from Mina. Mina with a combo rocks Akiyama for a moment and they clinch against the fence but break. Mina with a too low kick and we have a timeout. We get back to action and Mina rocks Akiyama with a left hand. Mina goes for a takedown but it is stuffed. Mina with another right hand rocks Akiyama and drops him. Mina going for the finish and Mina rocking Akiyama big time but he is saved by the bell. Mina stole that round. 10-9 Mina, 19-19.
ROUND 3- This fight could be up for grabs. Mina misses a big left hook. Akiyama with a leg kick. Mina whiffing on his punches. Akiyama lands an uppercut. Mina misses a spinning elbow. Akiyama with a left hook as Mina drops for a takedown. Akiyama landing some punches as Mina looks gassed trying for a takedown. Crowd chanting big for Akiyama. Mina misses a takedown and tries to pull guard but Akiyama has none of it. Mina’s leg is badly bruised from the leg kicks. Akiyama with a right hand and then a combo. Mina just getting desperate for takedowns and it could cost him the fight. Mina lands a combo though. Akiyama with a solid combo and both are landing punches. Mina catches a leg kick from Akiyama and gets a takedown but Akiyama reverses. Akiyama in the guard and landing punches. They get up. Akiyama landing the left. Mina gassed out badly with the leg hurting. Akiyama with a left hook. Mina misses a takedown and is laying on the mat and Akiyama capitalizes and nearly finishes him. Akiyama finishes the round with strikes from the top. Good fight, comes down to how the first was scored. 10-9 Akiyama, 29-28 Akiyama.
Official Result- Alberto Mina def. Yoshihiro Akiyama by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Crowd booed the decision as Akiyama is the big crowd favorite, but nothing wrong with it at all.
WELTERWEIGHTS- (#7) DONG HYUN KIM (20-3-1 1 NC, 11-3 1 NC UFC) VS. DOMINIC WATERS (9-3, 0-1 UFC)
ROUND 1- We have the more well-known Dong Hyun Kim up now. Kim with a cartwheel kick and Waters takes advantage and grabs the back. Kim with a kneeto the body in the clinch. Kim with a judo throw and is in side control and the crucifix. Kim with a lot of punches from this position. Kim looking for a shoulder lock. Kim with more punches from the top. Kim with more and more punches. Waters in a lot of trouble as he fights to escape. Kim looking to finish and it is over. Kim has finished Waters and gets the big win.
Official Result- Dong Hyun Kim def. Dominic Waters by TKO (punches) at 3:11 of Round 1
ROUND 1- This is interesting for Henderson as it is the last fight on his current contract. Henderson with a leg kick. Henderson with a nice combo and a leg kick. Masvidal with a body kick. They trade punches. Masvidal with a body kick. They trade punches. Masvidal with a body kick but gets dropped for a moment by a right hand counter from Henderson. He gets back up and they clinch and Masvidal lands a liver punch on the break. Masvidal with a series of body kicks and then a head kick. Henderson with a leg kick. Henderson with a body kick and Masvidal lands his own and a right hand. Masvidal with a flying knee attempt and Henderson tries a takedown but it is defended. Good and close round. 10-9 Henderson.
ROUND 2- Both missing head kicks to start but Masvidal lands a glancing one to the arms of Henderson, who counters with a combo. Masvidal misses on two kicks. Masvidal with a punch and Henderson goes to the mat and Masvidal chases him down. Henderson has the leg but Masvidal defends. They get back up and both land punches in a nice exchange. They clinch and land knees. They break and Masvidal with a high kick. Lots of output from both men, especially Masvidal. Big head kick from Henderson but it is checked. Henderson shoots in for a single-leg but Masvidal has the neck. Masvidal goes for a guillotine but Henderson rolls out and Henderson looks for one of his own. Henderson with knees as the round ends. Another good and close round. 10-9 Masvidal, 19-19.
ROUND 3- Front kick to the face from Henderson. Body kick and then leg kick from Masvidal. They trade punches. Henderson with a body kick. They trade punches and Henderson sets up for a takedown but Masvidal defends against the fence. Henderson landing in the clinch but Masvidal has his tounge sticking out. Masvidal drags Henderson down for a moment and has the back but Henderson spins around. Masvidal has the neck but lets go. Henderson with a knee to the legs. They break and Masvidal got hit in the groin on the break. Masvidal with a body kick. He lands another. Masvidal with a head kick that just misses but lands a right hand. Henderson with a nice right hand and a leg kick. They trade in close range. Big body kick by Masvidal. 3 rounds down, 3 close rounds. 10-9 Henderson, 29-28 Henderson.
ROUND 4- Henderson with an outside leg kick. They trade some punches. Masvidal with a high kick. Henderson goes in for a takedown but Masvidal defends against the fence. They remain clinched against the fence. They break. They trade punches. Masvidal with a wild combo and Henderson grabs the clinch and pushes the fight against the fence. Henderson with a quick takedown but Masvidal slips out and grabs the neck. Masvidal with some elbows off the break. Henderson ducks under a right hand from Masvidal and gets the takedown but Masvidal gets right back up and grabs the back and looks to take Henderson down. Masvidal gets in the guard of Henderson and Henderson looks to set up a triangle. Masvidal gets out and grabs the neck. Masvidal with a combo as Henderson gets off the fence. Henderson lands a flying knee as the round ends. Another close round. 10-9 Henderson, 39-37 Henderson.
ROUND 5- No telling how the scores are in this close fight. Henderson with a left hand to the body. Masvidal misses a big right hand. Henderson misses a flying knee but looks to set up a takedown. Henderson gets Masvidal down for a second but right back up. Masvidal grabs the neck and goes for a choke and Henderson is in trouble as this is tight. Henderson goes to his back to defend but Masvidal still going for it. Henderson defending well. They get back to their feet. Masvidal with a knee in the clinch. Masvidal with a right hand over the top. Masvidal with a body kick and Henderson goes for a takedown but it is stuffed by Masvidal. Henderson with knees to the thighs. Masvidal with a roll and Henderson gets into mount but Masvidal escapes. Nice scramble and Henderson lands a knee. They scramble and go back down to the mat. They get to their feet and Henderson has the back. Henderson trips Masvidal down and looks for the back. Masvidal escapes with 30 seconds left. Masvidal trying a late takedown. Masvidal goes for the neck but the fight ends. Excellent fight, one of the better fights of the year. Every round is close. 10-9 Henderson, 49-46 Henderson.
Official Result- Benson Henderson def. Jorge Masvidal by split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)
It’s a whole new season and Conor McGregor is the reason, as he and Urijah Faber go toe to toe as coaching foes on The Ultimate Fighter. They won’t duke it out after the season is done, but there’s still pride on the line, not to mention Conor’s reputation as the newest badass on the block.
Join us each episode for “The Notorious Quote of the Week” as Conor puts his mouth where UFC’s money is! There will be no “Fighters to Watch” this week though as it’s a two fight episode.
The Notorious Quote of the Week: “Dana recognized that these fighters were getting frustrated, and brought a lot of nice friendly women in to have fun with them.” Hmmmm.
Team McGregor finished the first round 6-3. Chris Gruetzemacher was eliminated because he had the weakest performance, but one of the quarter finalists may be out. Dana White comes out to make an announcement. “Martin (Svensson) has a broken elbow – he’s out.” He brings Gruetzemacher up to the front and has him face off with Artem Lobov. Conor McGregor predicts Lobov will finish him in the first round.
For those not keeping track the rest of the quarterfinals are Saul Rogers (McGregor) vs. Ryan Hall (Faber), Marcin Wrzosek (McGregor) vs. David Teymur (McGregor) and Julian Erosa (Faber) vs. Abner Lloveras (McGregor). Dana White holds a pool party for the fighters at the house, complete with girls in bikinis and alcohol flowing freely.
Faber: “This little reminder about what’s on the outside is going to help them perform and do the things they want.” McGregor: “Dana recognized that these fighters were getting frustrated, and brought a lot of nice friendly women in to have fun with them. And that’s what happened – we had fun today.” The first quarterfinal is five days away, and the camera immediately cuts to “five days later” and the warm-ups.
Lightweight: Artem Lobov (Europe) vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (USA)
Lobov is in the gray trunks and Gruetzemacher the blue. “Gritz” is the aggressor early, pushing the pace and throwing kicks. Of course we know Lobov throws strikes from unorthodox angles and with a ton of power, and we see him land a really nice combo at 1:35. Moments later John McCarthy calls for time due to a knee to Lobov’s cup. McGregor tells Lobov to be a “little more flow-y” but the blood is already flow-ing from Gruetzemacher’s face. Gritz tries to clinch him on the fence for elbows. McGregor: “What’s he got? NOTHIN’.” His blood winds up all over Lobov’s left shoulder. Gruetzemacher is still attacking though, throwing body kicks and leg kicks and getting right in Lobov’s face. Gritz lands a clean hard elbow at 4:20. For the last two minutes of R1 he was the dominant striker, despite what McGregor is saying.
Gritz goes right back to the leg kicks and body kicks to open R2. Lobov is still ripping off power shots but has yet to stun or drop Gritz with any of them. A frustrated Lobov is now throwing kicks of his own. Gritz has started to open up Lobov’s face with his strikes 1:45 in. Lobov is slowing down and not just because his legs hurt – he’s spent all his time swinging for the fences hoping to put Gritz away. He finally drops Gritz with one at 2:46 but Gritz gets back up. McGregor: “Play with him he’s badly hurt!” A left hook drops Gritz at 3:15 and McGregor runs and jumps the fence to hug him and celebrate. LOBOV ADVANCES TO THE SEMIS VIA KNOCKOUT.
Ryan Hall vs. Saul Rogers is up after the commercial break.
Lightweight: Saul Rogers (Europe) vs. Ryan Hall (USA)
Rogers is in the gray trunks and Hall the blue. Rogers opens up with his hands right away. Hall is doing his best to stay at range and he throws a couple of good head kicks, though he gets dumped on his back on one. Rogers doesn’t go to the ground with him. Rogers dumps him again on a body kick at 1:22. The fighters are warned to keep the fingers out of the eyes at 3:10. Rogers goes for a takedown at 3:40 and doesn’t get it. Hall dives for a takedown at 4:05 and doesn’t get it. Hall looks like his right eye may be swelling up from the strikes of Rogers. On to round two!
There are only ten minutes left so this one isn’t going to a sudden death round. They touch gloves and Rogers quickly pops him with a right hand. Faber is calling for Hall to pressure Rogers. Hall goes for a takedown but Rogers ends up on top in full guard. Hall is warned to watch shots to the back of the head. Hall scoots to the fence. Rogers backs off and lets Hall stand at 1:30. Hall shoots and misses, Rogers tags him for a flash knockdown, Hall fails to pull guard and Rogers takes him down at 2:10. He pops his head out of a possible triangle but Hall is still fishing for a submission. Rogers backs out at 2:38. His right hand is landing all day. Hall dives for a leg lock to no avail. Hall pulls guard at3:39. Rogers can run out the clock on top if he wants. He’s warned to get his fingers out of Hall’s eyes. They stand with under 15 seconds left. Rogers should take this. He lands one last uppercut at the bell.
19-19, 20-18 and 20-18 for ROGERS BY MAJORITY DECISION. Two of the four semifinalists are now from Team McGregor. Hall has a big hematoma on his head in the post fight interview. We move on from this week to see if “Mystic Mac” can run the table and have an all Team McGregor finals. Join us next week!
The UFC returns for the fourth straight Saturday for their final event in the month of November. The Octagon heads to Seoul, South Korea for the first time for UFC Fight Night 79, headlined by a five-round welterweight bout between Benson Henderson and Jorge Masvidal. Let’s take a look at some fighters to target for your fantasy line-ups for the event.
STUDS
Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100)
Dong Hyun Kim is the biggest betting favorite and the highest-salaried fighter on the UFC Fight Night 79 card. He fights a short-notice opponent who has yet to taste victory in the UFC. Kim hasn’t scored a lot of points, fantasy-wise, in his recent UFC bouts, but he is coming off of a submission win over Josh Burkman in May. He is a much-higher class fighter than his opponent, Dominic Waters, and he should be able to use his judo skills and striking to get the win. I expect him to finish Waters, and probably early, and he is a very good bet to score you a great amount of points on Saturday.
Fredy Serrano ($10,400)
Fredy Serrano enters just his third official professional MMA bout on Saturday, but he already has a good bit of hype being a member of the Colombian wrestling team in the 2008 Olympics. He has been impressive in his short career, with two wins by finish, and with his wrestling background and power in his hands, he has a very good chance at scoring a lot of points on Saturday. His opponent, Yao Zhikui, is just 2-2 in his career and hasn’t been overly impressive. Serrano is a fighter I like a lot on this card to do some damage.
VALUE PICKS
Alberto Mina ($9,200)
Alberto Mina is a perfect 11-0 in his professional career. All eleven wins have come by finish, and he has been out of the first round just twice in his career. He has power in his hands, feet and knees, and he has a slick submission game. With all of that said, he has a low salary on Saturday. A lot of it has to do with his inactivity having fought just twice in the last four years, and more to do with his opponent, Yoshihiro Akiyama. Akiyama is a good wrestler who tends to rely too much on his striking, and that costs him fights. This is also a reminder that Akiyama is just 1-4 in his last five fights. Mina is a very solid value pick on this card.
Sam Sicilia ($8,900)
Sam Sicilia is looking to score his third straight win as he comes into UFC Fight Night 79. He is a live underdog play at a low salary as he takes on the tough Doo Ho Choi, who has won ten straight bouts. Sicilia has more experience inside the Octagon and these two have been scheduled to fight twice before, with Choi pulling out of the fight both times. Perhaps that will give Sicilia some extra motivation to finish Choi. Choi is a young and rising fighter, but Sicilia has that grittiness to get the job done. He is worth a shot if you are looking for a low-risk, low-salary, high-reward fighter.
AVOID
Jake Collier ($10,000)
Jake Collier has a decent salary as he looks to score his second straight win when he takes on Dongi Yang, who makes his UFC return in his home country of South Korea. Collier hasn’t been overly impressive in the UFC, with a 1-1 record, and his lone win coming by a close split decision. He faces a tough wrestler in Yang, and one who can avoid being hit. Yang will look to land the takedowns on Collier and be the aggressor on the feet. At his salary point, Collier is someone who I will look to avoid rostering.
Seo Hee Ham ($9,100)
Seo Hee Ham is one of the more experienced fighters in the UFC’s strawweight division as she sports a respectable 15-6 record. She lost her UFC debut to Joanne Calderwood, but it was a bout she took on short notice. However, when looking at her 15 wins, 13 have come by decision, and in fights where she didn’t inflict a lot of damage. She fights a tough opponent in Cortney Casey, who has been training with the Power MMA camp in Arizona. She doesn’t have a ton of experience with just six professional fights, but her four wins have all come by stoppage in the first round. It is not a favorable match-up for Ham, so we also recommend to avoid her on your roster.
OUR LINE-UPS
RYAN FREDERICK: Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100), Doo Ho Choi ($10,500), Fredy Serrano ($10,400), Alberto Mina ($9,200), Jorge Masvidal ($8,600)
I like Dong Hyun Kim and Fredy Serrano for the reasons stated above. I see them at a much higher level than their opponents, and I think a finish is likely for both of them, and both of them to win early. I like Doo Ho Choi over Sam Sicilia. Sicilia definitely has the chance to finish Choi, but Choi is a rising prospect with a good bit of hype, and he has some good power and good submissions. Alberto Mina has a chance at scoring the upset over Yoshihiro Akiyama. Mina hasn’t fought anyone really, but he is 11-0 with 11 finishes, and that is something to be accounted for. His salary made it easier to spend up on some bigger fighters. The same goes with Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal is cheap and is an excellent fighter. He has a tough fight against Benson Henderson, but he lands a lot of strikes, has good takedowns and can pull off the upset if Henderson isn’t careful enough.
PAUL FONTAINE: Dong Hyun Kim ($11,100), Mike de la Torre ($9,600), “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim ($9,500), Dongi Yang ($9,400), Alberto Mina ($9,200)
I’m picking both Dong Hyun Kim’s on my team cause it was just too juicy a prospect not to. But seriously, the one we’re all familiar with is a top contender who’s only lost once in his last 7 fights and that was to highly ranked Tyron Woodley. The second one, who will be making his debut, is a bit of an unknown but looking at his record, he’s won 7 of his last 8 fights, all by KO or submission. His opponent, Dominique Steele, lost his one and only UFC fight by KO so that seems like a likely outcome. Both guys will be hometown heroes in their native country so that should help. De La Torre came into UFC with a great reputation and I keep expecting him to finally put it all together so I’m putting him in my lineup with the hope that it happens here. Dongi Yang is returning to UFC after an impressive run outside the company, including a KO of former UFC title challenger Dennis Hallman in his last fight. His opponent Jake Collier has had a loss and a split decision win in his two UFC fights so he’s not exactly setting the world on fire. My final pick is Alberto Mina, the unbeaten Brazilian who has won all of his fights by finish including his one and only UFC fight. His opponent Akiyama is one of the more overrated fighters on the roster with just one win in the last 6 1/2 years.
PEACH MACHINE: Benson Henderson ($10,800), Doo Ho Choi ($10,500), Mike de la Torre ($9,600), Leo Kuntz ($9,300), Alberto Mina ($9,200)
I’m a big fan of Masvidal, but he’s out of his league with Bendo, who looked great his first time out at 170. Bendo has fought in Asia and is part Korean, so he’s got the home field advantage. That’s my only real pick. I selected four other guys I liked, then picked the opposite, because my recent picks have been terrible. It could be a bad night out for me, but couldn’t possibly be any worse. I do like de la Torre to finish but other than that, I’m really picking guys who I think will lose. We will see.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC Fight Night 79: Henderson vs. Masvidal weigh-ins from the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, South Korea kicking off at 2 AM eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on UFC Fight Pass at 8 AM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 5 AM eastern time. This will be the debut of the UFC in Seoul, South Korea.
The event is headlined by a five-round welterweight bout as former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson takes on former Strikeforce title challenger Jorge Masvidal, who took the headline position on short notice as an injury replacement for Thiago Alves. In the co-main event, it will be South Korea’s own Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim taking on Dominic Waters. Also on the card is the return after 14 months off for Yoshihiro Akiyama, who takes on the undefeated Alberto Mina.
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 8 AM ET/5 AM PT): Benson Henderson (170) vs. Jorge Masvidal (170) Dong Hyun Kim (171) vs. Dominic Waters (170) Yoshihiro Akiyama (170) vs. Alberto Mina (171) Doo Ho Choi (146) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 5 AM ET/2 AM PT): Dongi Yang (186) vs. Jake Collier (185) Yui Chul Nam (146) vs. Mike de la Torre (146) Tae Hyun Bang (156) vs. Leo Kuntz (156) Seo Hee Ham (115) vs. Cortney Casey (116) Yao Zhikui (126) vs. Fredy Serrano (125) Ning Guangyou (134) vs. Marco Beltran (136) Dominique Steele (171) vs. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim (170)
NOTES: *Benson Henderson needed the towel to make weight, but he made it at 170 pounds. *Dong Hyun Kim and Yoshihiro Akiyama got the big reactions from the crowd. Akiyama looked every bit as muscular as in the past. He is being billed to the local crowd as Choo Sung-hoon, which is his Korean name. *Yui Chul Nam and Mike de la Torre had an intense staredown with neither man shaking the others’ hand afterwards. *Dominique Steele needed a towel, but he made the welterweight limit of 171 pounds.
The UFC spends Thanksgiving weekend bringing the Octagon to South Korea for the first time for UFC Fight Night 79 on Saturday. The event will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass with an early morning start time, or late-night start time depending on which coast you live in, with an eleven-fight card in Seoul, South Korea. The action kicks off with preliminary card action at 5 AM eastern time heading into the main card kicking off at 8 AM eastern time.
The event will be headlined by a five-round bout in the welterweight division as former UFC and WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson fights at 170 pounds for the second time when he takes on Jorge Masvidal, who replaced Thiago Alves in the headline bout. In the co-main event, it will be South Korea’s own Dong Hyun Kim, looking to score his second straight win, taking on Dominic Waters, who stepped in to replace Masvidal. Also on the card is the return of “Sexyama” as Yoshihiro Akiyama takes on Alberto Mina. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep your eye on for Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 79 event.
1. Will this be Benson Henderson’s last fight in the UFC?
Benson Henderson enters the main event of UFC Fight Night 79 at a pivotal point in his career. This will be the final fight on Henderson’s contract with the UFC, and he will be testing the free agent market following Saturday’s event. Henderson is a former UFC and WEC lightweight champion with a 22-5 record in his career. If you were to rank all of the 500-plus UFC fighters in order, odds are Henderson would be ranked in the top 25. He has been a top-five lightweight in the world for the last six years, and as he has moved up to welterweight for the time being, he has shown he has the chance to be a threat there as well. He has just three losses inside the Octagon- losing the championship to Anthony Pettis, who just has Henderson’s number, a flash knockout to current champion Rafael Dos Anjos, and a close split decision loss to Donald Cerrone in January, the man getting the next title shot.
It all comes down to how Henderson wants to test the market. Times are different these days with the Reebok deal and the opportunities to promote sponsors in the UFC being slim. Bellator has shown that they will go after high-profile fighters, and while the sponsorship issue doesn’t exist there, the exposure there hasn’t been the best, and their top fighters are getting pushed down the card in lieu of the likes of Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Kimbo Slice. Henderson is a bonafide main event fighter, and he is one of the best in the world. He will command a solid contract, but he belongs in the UFC. The competition is the best there, and if he wants to truly show he is the best, he re-signs when all is said and done. Henderson is the biggest name to find himself in this position since the Reebok deal was fully implemented in July, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Win or lose, I see him being back in the UFC, but his position makes for an interesting question heading into Saturday night’s event, when he takes on Jorge Masvidal in the headline bout.
2. Will Jorge Masvidal spoil Benson Henderson’s night on Saturday?
Jorge Masvidal gets his first UFC main event on Saturday night, taking on Benson Henderson in the five-round welterweight headliner, and it is a fight Masvidal is taking on short notice. He was scheduled for the card against Dong Hyun Kim, but it was a three-round bout. He now takes a five-round bout against a much different opponent, and one that he was scheduled to fight in April when both were competing at 155 pounds. Both are now at 170 pounds and looking to establish themselves as contenders. Masvidal has won four of his last five fights, with the lone loss coming in a close split decision to Al Iaquinta, a fight more remembered for Iaquinta’s post-fight tirade. Masvidal moved up to welterweight following that fight, and he had a strong knockout of Cezar Ferreira in July in his UFC welterweight debut.
Henderson will come in as the big crowd favorite being of Korean descent, and with him being in his current position as noted above, Masvidal will be looking to spoil the party in the main event. Masvidal has the tools to be a threat in whichever division he competes in, and he seems more comfortable at 170 pounds as he doesn’t have to make the huge weight cut or worry too much about missing weight, though there were slight issues in his first drop back down. Henderson is one of the best in the world and Masvidal will have his opportunity to prove he belongs in the discussion. Masvidal has very good boxing and power, and Henderson is the better grappler and one who excels in bringing pressure. Henderson is an experienced five-round fighter while Masvidal has had just one over the years, a title fight loss to Gilbert Melendez in Strikeforce. Henderson is the favorite, and for good reason, but Masvidal a solid chance to score the upset.
3. Will Dong Hyun Kim score the win in his home country?
There are actually two fighters named Dong Hyun Kim on the fight card, a first in the UFC, but it is the veteran welterweight, otherwise known as “Stun Gun”, who comes into Saturday’s event as the biggest favorite on the fight card. He competes in the co-main event, and it will be his first fight in his native country of South Korea since 2004. This will be the 16th fight in the UFC career of Kim, who holds an 11-3 with 1 no contest record inside the Octagon, and he remains a top-ten ranked fighter. However, he has always had trouble getting inside the top five, and every top opponent he has fought has ended with him on the losing side. Kim hopes to reverse that curse, and while he doesn’t have a top-level opponent in this bout, the hope for Kim is that a big win in his home country will give him that extra boost towards title contention.
He fights Dominic Waters, a man who took the fight on short notice looking to score the huge upset and get his first UFC win. Waters is an opponent to not take lightly as he comes from a good camp and has solid skills, but Kim is a tough opponent to fight no matter if you take the fight on two weeks’ notice like Waters did, or if you get the full eight weeks of a training camp to prepare for. Kim is an excellent judoka and has been improving his striking. Despite being 34-years-old, Kim doesn’t feel like a finished product, but has some hurdles to still overcome, one being his tendency to start off slow. It would be in Waters’ best interest to come out aggressive and try and catch Kim early, but Kim’s striking and overall suffocating top game will begin to take over the fight in the early stages of the opening round. This is a fight Kim is made to win, and he will get the job done.
4. How much does Yoshihiro Akiyama have left?
Yoshihiro Akiyama is a popular fighter who hasn’t quite lived up to the high expectations given to him when he signed with the UFC in 2009. He has had a tough road, and injuries haven’t helped him at all as he has missed a lot of action over the six years, having fought an average of just once a year during his UFC tenure. He was out of action for nearly 31 months following a February 2012 loss to Jake Shields, but he returned in September 2014 to score a decision win over Amir Sadollah, which ended a four-fight losing streak. He hasn’t fought since that win, having done some acting work since then, but he returns in South Korea, where he has a big following being a Korean descent.
He will be taking on Alberto Mina, who is undefeated with an 11-0 record in his career, but he also has been out of action for a while. He hasn’t fought since a TKO win in his UFC debut over Shinsho Anzai in August 2014, and he actually has the same amount of fights in the last four years as Akiyama has. Mina is heavy-handed and has a solid submission game, so Akiyama will need to establish his wrestling to take Mina down and establish some ground-and-pound from the top. Akiyama looked good in his win over Sadollah, but he still has a tendency to wanna rely on his striking to win fights. Mina will make him pay with a slew of various attacks, from kicks to knees, and Akiyama’s chin has been battered before. Akiyama should use constant pressure and keep Mina out of range with his wrestling. This is a toss-up fight and one that will show if Akiyama has anything left in his tank.
5. What else is there to look out for on the card?
Filling out the main card is a featherweight bout between prospect Doo Ho Choi and “TUF” veteran Sam Sicilia. This is a fight that has been attempted to be made on two separate occasions, but injuries to Choi have caused the delay of the fight both times. They were set to fight at UFC 173 in May and again at UFC Fight Night 71 in July, and Sicilia wound up competing on both cards, winning fights over Aaron Phillips and Yaotzin Meza. Choi has one fight in the UFC, an 18-second TKO win over Juan Puig last November, and he has won ten straight fights and 12 of his 13 professional bouts. He is a knockout artist, much like Sicilia, and this fight has fireworks written all over it and a very good chance at winning “Fight Of The Night”.
Another fighter to keep an eye on, this time in the preiminary card, is Fredy Serrano. Serrano is a former Olympian in wrestling for Colombia, competing in the same weight class that was won by current flyweight contender Henry Cejudo in the 2008 Olympics. Serrano retired from wrestling in 2013 and moved to MMA. He was on the first season of “TUF: Latin America” but lost to eventual winner Alejandro Perez. He made his UFC debut in March, scoring a third-round knockout win over Bentley Syler. Serrano has just a 2-0 record during his professional career, but also wins in two unsanctioned fights. He has the wrestling pedigree and has shown some great knockout power, and is a definite prospect in the growing flyweight division.
Full UFC Fight Night 79 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictios
MAIN CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 8 AM ET/5 AM PT)
Welterweights: (#7 LW) Benson Henderson vs. Jorge Masvidal Betting Odds: Henderson (-260), Masvidal (+220) Prediction: Henderson by decision
Welterweights: (#7) Dong Hyun Kim vs. Dominic Waters Betting Odds: Kim (-750), Waters (+525) Prediction: Kim by submission in round 1
Welterweights: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alberto Mina Betting Odds: Akiyama (-150), Mina (+130) Prediction: Akiyama by decision
Featherweights: Doo Ho Choi vs. Sam Sicilia Betting Odds: Choi (-240), Sicilia (+200) Prediction: Choi by knockout in round 2
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 5 AM ET/2 AM PT)
Middleweights: Dongi Yang vs. Jake Collier Betting Odds: Yang (+115), Collier (-135) Prediction: Yang by decision
Featherweights: Yui Chul Nam vs. Mike de la Torre Betting Odds: Nam (-120), Torre (+100) Prediction: Nam by decision
Lightweights: Tae Hyun Bang vs. Leo Kuntz Betting Odds: Bang (-135), Kuntz (+115) Prediction: Bang by submission in round 2
Women’s Strawweights: Seo Hee Ham vs. Cortney Casey Betting Odds: Ham (+145), Casey (-165) Prediction: Casey by decision
Flyweights: Yao Zhikui vs. Fredy Serrano Betting Odds: Zhikui (+155), Serrano (-175) Prediction: Serrano by knockout in round 2
Bantamweights: Ning Guangyou vs. Marco Beltran Betting Odds: Guangyou (-185), Beltran (+160) Prediction: Guangyou by decision
Welterweights: Dominique Steele vs. “Maestro” Dong Hyun Kim Betting Odds: Steele (-130), Kim (+110) Prediction: Kim by decision
