The Bryan & Vinny Show is back tonight with tons to talk about including a full review of NXT from Full Sail, a very fun Granny contest this week trying to figure out what Bryan changes all the time and Vinny does not, and then the most boring Raw ever from Monday in Manchester. A fun show as always so check it out~!
WWE officially announced that the next live NXT Network special will air on Wednesday, December 16th from London’s SSE Wembley Arena at 3 p.m. Eastern time and 12 PM Pacific, featuring a 30-minute pre-game show.
While the lineup has not been announced, it appears the key matches will be NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe, Baron Corbin vs. Apollo Crews, and Asuka vs. Emma. Joe turned heel on Balor on NXT TV two weeks ago after Corbin cost Crews the NXT title in his match with Balor. Asuka vs. Emma is a continuation of a storyline that began at the last TakeOver event where Asuka destroyed Emma’s partner Dana Brooke.
The December 16th Wembley show will likely also include both tag team title matches (champs are Dash & Dawson) and a women’s title match (Bayley is the champ). That should become clear on November 19th when the final TVs leading to the show are taped at Orlando’s Full Sail University.
The most recent NXT TakeOver show, titled Respect, took place on October 7th at Full Sail and featured Finn Balor & Samoa Joe beating Rhino & Baron Corbin to win the Dusty Rhodes Invitational Tag Team Tournament, as well as an outstanding main event Bayley beating Sasha Banks to win the NXT women’s title in a 30-minute Iron Man Match.
Subscribers can hear Bryan & Vinny review the last NXT Takeover special here.
We’re looking for reports on today’s WWE shows in Newcastle, England, Bologna, Italy, yesterday’s WWE show in Rome, tonight’s NXT show in Winter Haven, FL, as well as tomorrow’s shows in Leipzig, Germany, Nottingham, England and NXT in Orlando to Dave Meltzer
SMACKDOWN TONIGHT ON SYFY AT 8 P.M.
Fandango vs. Braun Strowman
Neville vs. Barrett in first round of WWE title tournament
Ryback vs. Kalisto in first round of WWE title tournament
Alberto Del Rio vs. Stardust in first round of WWE title tournament
Usos vs. Luke Harper & Erick Rowan
Figure Four Weekly:
Figure Four Weekly (10/2/15): WWE 2K16 Review
2K Sports and Yuke’s turnaround WWE video game series with a reinvigorated title boasting huge roster.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
Exclusive news on WrestleMania, how SummerSlam has changed due to the Seth Rollins injury, updates on Rollins, notes on the WWE title tournament and what key stars besides Rollins and Randy Orton are now unlikely to wrestle at WrestleMania is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We also look at the different potential finishes of the WWE title tournament, how it looks to be progressing, a look at the Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock fight and look back 20 years to their two previous fights, lots of notes on the fight, and the back story.
We also look at WrestleMania tickets, the Wayne Rooney angle, Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista update, More on Alberto Del Rio’s outside business and his angle in Puerto Rico, Undertaker week, WWE make more network predictions, notes from the next Madison Square Garden show, notes on Raw this week, Ronda Rousey talks WWE Divas division, what WWE star is ready to return from surgery, plus notes on all the WWE & NXT arena events of the past week and business note.
We also look at the retirement of Genichiro Tenryu this week, the career of Mirko Cro Cop, the UFC show headlined by Vitor Belfort vs. Dan Henderson and all the business notes, plus we’ve got details of two different pro wrestling groups that are looking at starting up, with major name involvement. We look at who is behind one group that is calling talent for a January start, and the different vision of pro wrestling that a legendary promoter looking to come back is working with.
We also have our monthly business rundown of WWE and TNA, to see how both groups are doing as compared to the same period last year, as well as a breakdown on how every different WWE main event is drawing over the past month.
CLICK HERE FOR A FULL WRESTLING OBSERVER PREVIEW
The latest Wrestling Observer: November 16, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Seth Rollins injury, Wrestlekingdom 10 matches
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THURSDAY DAILY UPDATE
The Iowa vs. Oklahoma State wrestling meet outdoors on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at Kinnick Stadium has now sold 34,000 tickets, meaning it will be the largest crowd ever to witness a college wrestling match, and for that matter, a legit wrestling match, ever in the U.S. In fact, it will double the all-time dual meet record. It will air on TV Sunday at about 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
Insane Championship Wrestling in Glasgow this weekend with Grado vs. Drew Galloway is expected to draw the largest crowd from a U.K. based promotion since 1982, with a sellout of 4,000 fans.
Genichiro Tenryu, one of the biggest stars in the history of Japanese wrestling, has his retirement match late Saturday night on New Japan World. Full details on this are in the new issue of the Observer.
Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion is doing an iPPV tomorrow night from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. Eastern at www.RFVideonow.com
La Sombra vs. Rush, longtime tag partners, headline Arena Mexico tomorrow night. This may or may not air live at www.ClaroSports.com
New Japan World tomorrow night on AXS features a crazy high flying match with La Sombra vs. Mascara Dorada
Lucha Underground has its first TV tapings of the new season on Saturday and Sunday of this week in Boyle Heights
12/11 lineup
Roderick Strong vs. Matt Sydal for PWG title
Young Bucks vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa for PWG tag titles
Michael Elgin & Brain Cage vs Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards
Mark Andrews vs. Chuck Taylor
Ricochet vs. Marty Scurll
Will Ospreay vs. Trevor Lee
Kenny Omega vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
12/12 lineup
Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. Michael Elgin & Brian Cage
Matt Sydal vs. Trevor Lee
Chuck Taylor vs. Kikutaro
Ricochet vs. Mark Andrews
Timothy Thatcher vs. Marty Scurll
Chris Hero & Speedball Mike Bailey & Joey Ryan & Candice LaRae vs Young Bucks & Super Dragon & Roderick Strong in a Guerrilla Warfare match
WWE
UFC
Weigh-ins are at 5 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow on FS 1
Prefight show is at 7 p.m. Saturday on FS 1
Prelims are at 8 p.m. Saturday on FS 1
Post-fight show is scheduled for 1:30 a.m. late Saturday on FS 1
Ultimate Insiders on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. with John Dodson, Luke Rockhold and Aljamain Sterling
The Rafael dos Anjos vs. Anthony Pettis fight will air on FS 1 on Sunday at 9 p.m. This is the fight where dos Anjos won the lightweight title.
MISCELLANEOUS
ON THIS DAY IN PRO WRESTLING HISTORY INTERNATIONAL (thanks to Graeme Cameron)
1976 – Marty Jones beat Rollerball Rocco in Wovlerhampton to win the British lightweight title
1982 – Sangre Chicana beat Fishman at El Toreo in Naucalpan to win the UWA light heavyweight title
1983 – Mocho Cota beat Talisman in Mexico City to win the Mexican national welterweight title
2007 – Yoshito Sasaki beat Daisuke Sekimoto in Tokyo to win the Zero-One United National title
Wrestling Observer Live is back today with special guest Dave Meltzer to talk some of the main stories in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter! WrestleMania plans, why it appears both Rock and Ronda Rousey won’t wrestle on the show, Mirko Crocop’s drug test failure and tons more! Plus, your phone calls, text messages and more!
This is a FREE SHOW so please spread the word! Wrestling Observer Live airs daily at noon PT/3 ET on Sports Byline USA, available free through TuneIn Radio, iHeart Radio and more. A full affiliate list is available at sportsbyline.com Subscribers have full access to commercial-free downloads plus over 7,000 new and archived shows! Dave and Bryan do minimum three shows per week in addition to as many as 20 other weekly members-only shows. Sign up at wrestlingobserver.com for all of this new audio content, plus over 7,000 archived shows dating back to 2005!
In this free-for-all edition of Josh Nason‘s Punch-Out, Josh brought in UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa to put on his analyst hat and talk about this weekend’s UFC 193: Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm spectacular.
This is a free edition of #JNPO, so please share with any MMA fans you know!
In their 45-minute chat, the guys also talked about:
– Michael’s purchase of his first home, and what it signifies for him
– Why he hasn’t been as active as other UFC lightweights
– His frustrations about his 2014 doctor’s stoppage loss to Joe Lauzon
– His December 10th fight against Jim Miller and who he’s brought into camp to help him train
– What questions MMA media can ask fighters to be better informed
– His thoughts on last Saturday’s UFC Fight Night Brazil including his fellow lightweight victors
– A look at UFC 193 and what Holly Holm has to do in order to beat Ronda Rousey
– The one main card fight he’s really looking forward to.
– Josh’s ‘Opening Round’ on Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie III…and plenty more!
*****
Simply click the link below to share, or right click to download.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns today to talk all the news in wrestling and MMA including Raw ratings from Monday, the slow and steady collapse, the WWE Title tournament and Survivor Series, Seth Rollins update, latest tournament brackets, Smackdown spoilers, UFC Saturday with Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm, Mirko Crocop retires and then gets popped by USADA, questions and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
– Air Date: November 12, 2015 (Nov 11 in Canada)
– Location: Manchester Arena in Manchester, England
The Big News:
Undertaker did not actually appear on Smackdown, but did accept Bray Wyatt’s challenge for a tag team match at Survivor Series. Also, Kalisto beat Ryback clean.
Show Recap:
The show started with a recap of Seth Rollins’ injury and they plugged tonight’s tournament matches.
The Wyatts interrupted and a video recap was shown of the angle with Undertaker and Kane from Raw. They piped in some crowd booing as the Wyatts stood in the ring. Luke Harper said they would sacrifice “dem Uso boys” to honour Bray Wyatt. Erick Rowan said Bray brings sorrow to those who oppose him and they would do the same tonight. Braun Strowman said “Look at my face… and see your annihilation.” Strowman added that he would pile bodies to the sky for Bray.
Bray said Kane and Undertaker may have escaped the pits of hell but they’ll never be the same again. He’s taken pieces of them and now they are apart of him. Bray challenged the Brothers of Destruction to a tag match at Survivor Series against two of his men, and gave them until the end of tonight to accept.
Bray said we would remember Survivor Series as the night Kane and Undertaker were buried forever. Usual lame Wyatt segment. The crowd chanted for Undertaker a few times through the segment. The highlight was the unintentional comedy of Strowman yelling, “Look at my face.”
Braun Strowman (w/Wyatt Family) beat Fandango via submission
Some of the crowd did the Fandango dance and he danced too until he got into the ring, saw the Wyatts and resigned himself to his fate. He started with a dropkick but Strowman tossed him around and won with the head-and-arm choke in less than 2 minutes. Fandango actually tapped instead of merely passing out.
WWE Title Tournament First Round Match: Neville beat King Barrett via pinfall
They showed a clip of Neville from earlier tonight saying Barrett was embarrassed on Raw and he would finish what Wayne Rooney started with a Red Arrow. This was not an inset promo, but rather a clip from what looked like a sit-down interview. This is a much better idea than the usual inset promos.
They did a dangerous spot early in the match where Barrett hung Neville’s feet over the top rope and then just slammed him head first into the mat. Neville rolled to the outside selling his head and Barrett followed him out, slammed his head into the announce table and launched him into the barricade.
After a break, Barrett used a pump handle slam and continued working over Neville. Barrett slid Neville to the outside and he crashed into the barricade. Barrett took some time to tell the announcers that he would be the next champion. Neville ran along the top of the barricade (a la Jeff Hardy) and hit a flip dive on Barrett. He used kicks and a standing shooting star press in the ring for a two count.
Barrett hit a back kick for a two count and argued with the referee that it was a three, accusing him of taking a pay off from Neville. Neville came back with a German suplex but Barrett followed with a swinging side slam. Neville countered Wasteland into a DDT and landed Red Arrow for the win. This was good. It went about 14 minutes and Neville took a beating. They announced Neville vs. Kevin Owens for Raw.
Backstage, the Usos told Renee Young that they have a rivalry with the Wyatts and weren’t about to be sacrificed. Jimmy was taken out by Strowman two months ago and they weren’t going to forgive and forget.
WWE Title Tournament First Round Match: Kalisto beat Ryback via pinfall
Kalisto said he respects Ryback but he shouldn’t be underestimated. He then spouted some cliches about being an underdog. This was another sit-down interview, but the material sucked. Ryback did an inset promo. I’m not really sure what Ryback said, because he spoke quietly as his music played in the background and his fireworks went off. He thinks he’ll be champion, probably.
They shook hands to start but Kalisto quickly began kicking away. He hit Salida Del Sol a minute into the match but Ryback kicked out aggressively at two, sending Kalisto to the outside. After a break, Kalisto used more kicks, but Ryback just picked him up and hit a spinebuster followed by two hard powerbombs. This presumably could have been a finish but Kalisto rolled to the outside. Ryback took control until Kalisto dropkicked him to the outside. Kalisto tried an Asai moonsault but Ryback slammed him into the mat (they messed this up).
Kalisto countered a shell shocked into a rollup for a near fall. Ryback hit a meat hook clothesline but Kalisto got his foot on the rope. Ryback tried a backdrop off the top rope, but Kalisto countered into Salida Del Sol for the pinfall win. Ryback kicked out just after the three count.
The match was good, not great, but Kalisto really got over well here and this might’ve been the highlight of the show. The crowd popped and the commentators put this over as a big upset win. Ryback shook Kalisto’s hand afterwards.
WWE Title Tournament First Round Match: Alberto Del Rio (w/Zeb Colter) beat Stardust via pinfall
Alberto Del Rio and Zeb Colter did a promo on the stage. Colter said the United Kingdom was really the Divided Kingdom because all the countries hate each other. He called the people haters, but him and Del Rio have eradicated hate in MexAmerica. Del Rio said the fans of the two “soccer” teams hate each other but they should be united. Colter said they would unite the MexAmerica Title (U.S. Title) with the World Title. This really sucked. The crowd chanted “What” at Colter and Del Rio was greeted by silence.
Stardust did an inset promo calling himself the dark horse in the tournament and would become champion. Del Rio worked him over a while but he came back with a Side Effect and reverse DDT. Del Rio went for an armbar but Stardust countered with a disaster kick for two. Stardust went to the top, so of course Del Rio knocked his legs out and used a tree of woe double foot stomp for the win. This was uninspiring to say the least.
They showed a replay of the Paige/Charlotte/Becky Lynch angle from Raw.
Backstage, Roman Reigns told Renee that his journey to become WWE Champion has been like climbing Mount Everest. The closer he gets to the top, the harder it gets. On Monday, he meets an avalanche in the form of Cesaro, but Cesaro can’t stop him because “Nothing at this point can stop me now.” They replayed a clip of Triple H’s offer, but Reigns said he wasn’t a sell out and would be standing on top of the mountain as the sole survivor of this tournament. Reigns delivered his lines well but it was heavily scripted and it was hard not to notice.
The Usos beat Luke Harper & Erick Rowan (w/Bray Wyatt & Braun Strowman) via DQ
This was the main event. Harper and Rowan attacked the Usos before the match started. The Usos fought back and one Uso took down the two Wyatts with a dive outside the ring. The Usos jumped back in the ring and challenged Harper and Rowan to get in. Rowan jumped in and the match officially started.
Harper and Rowan worked over Jey until he made a hot tag to Jimmy. He hit an enzuigiri and a crossbody for nearfalls. Rowan took out Jey outside the ring as Jimmy used a Samoan drop and running hip attack on Harper. He tried a dive to the outside but was caught by Rowan, and Harper followed with a superkick.
Back in the ring, Harper hit a sitdown powerbomb but Jey broke up the cover with a splash. Jimmy hit Harper with two superkicks, and both Usos hit Rowan with superkicks, sending both bad guys to the outside. Usos took them out with dives, and Bray had seen enough. All four Wyatts attacked the Usos for the DQ.
Bray mocked Taker’s throat slash as Harper and Rowan gave Jey a double chokeslam. Strowman followed by doing his stupid slam on Jimmy and Bray finished him off with Sister Abigail. Bray was about to do it again but the Undertaker’s dong sounded and the lights went out. Undertaker’s voice played over the speakers. He said the Wyatts would be dragged through the gates of hell and they would rest in peace. So I guess he accepts.
Final Thoughts:
This show felt more important than the usual Smackdown thanks to the title tournament. The first two tournament matches were good and it was refreshing to see Kalisto beat Ryback, even if he is just being set up for Del Rio. The rest of the show was lackluster, as it was laid out very much like Raw. The tournament took up most of the time and the show concluded with an angle for the Undertaker. Except, unlike Raw, he didn’t show up, so it felt pretty flat.
It should also be noted that there was no women’s segment on this show outside of the one Raw replay (unless they add something for the Thursday airing in the U.S.). No match or interview. So there’s that.
The Big News: Samoa Joe not only explained why he laid out Finn Balor last week, but he did it again this week.
The Medium Sized News: Dash & Dawson became either the 8th or 9th NXT Tag Team Champions (more on the number confusion below)
The Little Beaver Sized News: Eva Marie and Nia Jax may be forming the oddest pairing in wrestling history.
— The match between Tye Dillinger and Baron Corbin never got started.
It is time for NXT and it is time for the Perfect 10! Tye Dillinger to kick things off this week in singles competition. I hope Sawyer Fulton and Angelo Dawkins are sitting somewhere, realize that Tye Dillinger is not better off once he broke up with Jason Jordan and find a way to keep the team together. Baron Corbin was introduced as from Kansas City. I don’t know if he has always been announced from Kansas City, but it doesn’t sound appropriate.
Before the match could even start Apollo Crews ran in and attacked Baron! Crews is quite upset that Corbin cost him the championship last week and tore apart Baron! Corbin tried to make a comeback, but Apollo tore him apart and Corbin fled.
— NXT Women’s Champion Bayley & Hype Bros defeated Alexa Bliss, Blake & Murphy
It’s time for a nice, random, 6-person tag team match. Bayley got a healthy reaction coming out, but not quite the same level she had a month ago. It didn’t help that the Hype Bros got some pity applause, which is at least better than silence. It’s hard to believe that it was almost a year ago when Blake and Murphy were the designated jobber tag team on NXT.
Just as the match began a fire got lit under the butts of the audience as they got very loud in their chants for the babyfaces. The babyfaces ran wild for quite a while until the heels cut off Zack Ryder and got the heat. Mojo got the hot tag and went crazy on both Blake and Murphy. He had the match won, but Alexa broke up the pin, so Bayley attacked her. Alexa then stole the NXT Women’s Championship and ran off with it. Blake and Murphy tried cheating and using the ropes for leverage, but Bayley kicked their hands apart. Murphy had a problem with this, so Bayley gave him the Bayley to Belly and the faces won with the Assisted Rough Ryder.
-The Ascension were backstage and accepted Jason Jordan & Chad Gable’s challenge to a tag team match.
-Nia Jax was walking backstage when Eva Marie walked up and pulled her aside for a meeting.
-They showed the cover of Weekly Pro Wrestling in Japan, which had Asuka on the cover.
-Apollo Crews cut a promo and was quite irate about what happened. He wants to get his hands on Baron Corbin and vows to break him.
— Nia Jax destroyed Deonna
Deonna is one of those girls that looks exactly the same, so they are completely interchangeable. You could tell me it’s the same girl every single week doing jobs with different names and I would believe you. Nia Jax got to NXT for the third time in six weeks after being unable to find the arena for 2 months.
Nia destroyed Deonna with a bodyslam into a Samoan Drop, which would make a much better finisher than her actual finisher. Deonna then got destroyed with a corner splash and a running hip attack before being beaten with the standing spinebuster and legdrop. Seriously why does Nia Jax use set up moves that are much cooler than her actual finish?
During the commercial break, I assume someone came out with a shovel to get Deonna off the mat.
-Next week: Nia Jax vs Carmella. Poor Carmella.
-They made note of the neck surgery of Mr. Regal. I hope he gets better.
-Bayley caught up with Alexa Bliss, who was taking photos with her championship. Alexa ran away, so Bayley got her belt back. However when Bayley left the area she walked into Nia Jax. Nia just stared at her, which gave Alexa the chance to attack Bayley from behind and lay her out!
Alexa bent over to take the championship, but instead Nia picked it up. Alexa ran away and Nia…dropped the belt on Bayley and walked away smiling.
— Dash & Dawson became the 8th NXT Tag Team Champions by defeating The Vaudevillians.
To be fair, Dash & Dawson is either the 8th or 9th Tag Team Champions depending on if you consider Adrian Neville & Bo Dallas a different title reign than Neville & Oliver Grey. What happened was Grey got injured (credited to the Wyatt Family) and Bo took over as champion for about 2 weeks, before they lost the belts. This was also only the second title change on a “normal” NXT show since the Network started.
So about two weeks ago I was reading the results of an NXT house show and it not only listed Samoa Joe as a heel, but Dash & Dawson as champions. Since this was before this match was even booked I was all “What the what is this person talking about?”
The challengers scored an upset win in the 2nd round of the Dusty Rhodes Classic back in September and they were poised to win 2 in a row. They got the heat on Aiden English by working on the knee, including slamming the knee into the ring post.
English went to the Ricky Steamboat School where he kept doing something to show he was still in it, but he just couldn’t drag himself to the corner for the tag. Dawson hit a really nice Slingshot Suplex, but it was just for a 2 count. Somewhere Tully Blanchard is smiling.
Gotch got the hot tag and went all gentlemanly on his foes. He made the foolish move of tagging English in too quickly, but Aiden got chop blocked and sending Gotch out of the ring and into the steps. Dash & Dawson Pillmanized Aiden’s knee just without a chair. Finally Gotch slapped on a kneebar. Aiden scratched and clawed to get to the ropes….but he just couldn’t get there and he had to tap out!
The kings are dead! Long live the new kings of NXT!
-After a commercial break. Dash & Dawson cut a promo saying they have been fighting for this for 12 years. Interesting since they have been teammates for barely a year.
-Next week is the Jordan & Gable vs The Ascension match, as is Bayley vs Alexa for the Women’s Championship.
-The actual main event of the show was a Samoa Joe promo!
Last week, Joe appeared to make the save for Finn Balor, but instead he stabbed the NXT Champion in the back! Joe said that he did things like a man. He had earned a title match for being undefeated for 3 months, but instead of going for the belt, he agreed to be Finn Balor’s partner in the Dusty Rhodes Classic. Joe proved he was a man of action by destroying the competition by winning the tournament.
Joe then asked for a title match and he was insulted by being put in a battle royal. Finn had agreed to the match, but allowed Mr. Regal to make a battle royal and, thus, put no action behind his words. Samoa Joe stated that when he entered NXT he was such a star that he should have been automatically given a title shot.
This brought out Finn Balor and a bunch of referees. The refs kept them apart until Joe literally threw one of the referees into Finn and in the confusion Joe got through and choked Finn out with the Koquina Clutch. Joe dropped the NXT Championship belt on his foe before walking out.
That does it from NXT — another good show on the way to London. Until next week, remember to say your vitamins and take your prayers!
The UFC heads back to Australia this weekend for the third stadium show in company history, headlined by the two most dominant women in the UFC today each defending their championships in front of a potential record-setting crowd. UFC 193 takes place on Saturday night on pay-per-view with the main card airing at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:15 PM eastern time before heading on over to FS1 at 8 PM eastern time for more prelim action.
The most dominant woman in MMA today, UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, defends her title in the main event against undefeated challenger, Holly Holm, in a fight that could end up being the toughest test to date for Rousey. In the co-main event, the most dominant woman at 115 pounds, UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, defends her title against Valerie Letourneau, winner of four straight fights. Also on the card is a heavyweight bout between Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva, who meet in a rematch of their epic encounter from December 2013. Let’s take a deeper look into the action and give you five storylines to keep an eye on at UFC 193 on Saturday night.
1. Can Holly Holm be the woman to dethrone Ronda Rousey?
Ronda Rousey has been, arguably, the most dominant champion in UFC history, or at the very least, of the last couple of years. She is undefeated in her career at 12-0, and she has only been out of the first round once in her career. She has scored eight wins in less than a minute, three wins by knockout, and nine wins by submission, with all nine coming by her signature move- the armbar. She has amassed just under 26 minutes of total fight time in her twelve career fights. Everything about her fighting has been dominant. She has become a mainstream star unheard of in the sport, due not just to the attention she has received from being a fighter, but also due to her new-found status in Hollywood. She may not be long for the sport at this rate, but every time she steps foot inside the Octagon, you get the feeling you are about to see something special yet again.
Holly Holm is 9-0 since moving over to MMA from boxing, where she won 19 world titles in her career while putting together a 33-2-3 career record. She also has some professional kickboxing experience. She was impressive early in her MMA career, winning six of her first seven fights by knockout, leading to negotiations with the UFC. It was a long process, but she finally signed in July 2014. Injuries kept her from debuting for a while, but she was coming into the UFC with a lot of hype. She also works with one of the best fight camps in the world, the Greg Jackson camp in New Mexico, and under a lot of great coaches and with some of the best training partners in the world. She has been somewhat underwhelming in her two UFC bouts, scoring solid, yet overall unimpressive, wins over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau. She was selected as Rousey’s next opponent, likely before she was fully ready, because it was what Rousey wanted. Holm now has the chance to show she is the one that can dethrone the champion.
Holm’s two UFC bouts have almost been like walk throughs in anticipation of a chess match with Rousey. Holm moves around a lot on her feet, and she picks her attacks rather nicely. She throws a lot, but doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. She’s methodical in her approach. Rousey is much the same. Rousey doesn’t make mistakes, and she is much better on her feet than she has gotten credit for. She is also a master of gameplans. Holm’s coach, Greg Jackson, is also a gameplan master. Holm has shown good takedown defense, and it is going to need to be on point against Rousey. Both women fight very smart and Holm isn’t going to rush in right after Rousey. This fight may be different than any Rousey fight we have seen to this date, but it is hard to envision the outcome being any different. It’s not a matter of if Rousey will win, but how long will it take. We are in store for another special moment on Saturday, but Holm will be a very tough test for Rousey to pass.
2. Does Valerie Letourneau have a chance against Joanna Jedrzejczyk?
Valerie Letourneau enters UFC 193 on Saturday night challenging Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship. She is doing it on the heels of four straight wins and is coming off a win over Maryna Moroz in August. She has been declared an undeserving challenger by most, but at the same time, they needed someone to challenge Jedrzejczyk, and she was likely the best option available at the time due to injuries and bookings to others. She enters as the biggest underdog in a title fight in history, and a simple $100 bet on her would win you $1,335 if she were to pull off the upset. Quite frankly, she is being counted out before the two women even step foot inside the Octagon. The big question is does she even stand a chance against Jedrzejczyk?
Letourneau has some solid striking and comes from a good camp in the American Top Team camp. The only losses in her career have come to Alexis Davis, Sarah Kaufman and Claudia Gadelha. Two of those have won and fought for titles, and the other, Gadelha, is next in line when she returns from the injured list. Jedrzejczyk is a different beast, though. She is undefeated in ten career fights, and she is likely the best striker in women’s fighting, no matter the weight class. She tees off on opponents, and her dominant win over Jessica Penne in her first title defense in June shows how great her attack is. She has overwhelmed both Penne and Carla Esparza in their title fight, and Gadelha has been the only one to give her a tough fight. Gadelha arugably beat Jedrzejczyk. Letourneau is going to need to be on the offensive and use her reach advantage. She won’t be able to outstrike Jedrzejczyk, so she should mix in some grappling. However, the champion is strong there. This is all set up for a showcase win for Jedrzejczyk, and it’s only a matter of how long it takes the champion to win.
3. Can Mark Hunt and Antonio Silva recapture the magic of their first fight?
Depending on who you ask and when you ask them, Mark Hunt and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva were involved in the greatest fight in UFC history when they met each other in December 2013. It was an amazing heavyweight battle that surprisingly went 25 minutes, with over 320 strikes landed between the two of them. They were bloodied and battered, and when all was said and done, the fight ended without a winner. It ended in a draw, in one of those rare occurences where a draw is determined without a point deduction to factor in. It was a magical moment on that December night in Australia, and the two big heavyweights will step back into the Octagon again on Saturday night in Australia looking to recapture the magic of their first encounter. More importantly, after a draw, they, and fans alike, want a definitive winner.
When you are involved in one of the best fights in history, if you try it again with the same components, rarely does it ever live up to the first fight. Both men are different since that war. Hunt is coming off two straight losses, one of which was a brutal beating at the hands of Stipe Miocic. Silva lost his next two fights in bad fashion, but is coming off a big win over Soa Palelei. At this stage in their careers, it is unsure if either man has much left to give to the top contenders. Both still have that power that can make a difference in the heavyweight division, but their days of challenging for titles are likely long gone. That is why this is a perfect moment for a rematch. Hunt has the biggest difference maker in his right hand, but the beating he took at the hands of Miocic may be the beginning of the end for him. Silva’s chin can hardly take a punch these days, as his last five losses have all been first-round knockout losses. They are only going three rounds this time, and I sense a different outcome this time, with a winner truly decided. Who will that be? I like Hunt getting a knockout win.
4. Will Uriah Hall continue his surge up the UFC’s middleweight rankings?
Uriah Hall steps into the Octagon for fifth time on Saturday night, and he does so for the second straight time on short notice against a dangerous opponent. Last time it was Gegard Mousasi, and most thought Hall was headed to Japan to collect a paycheck and a beating. In the first round of their bout, it was looking like it was going to be a long night for Hall. However, in the second round, Hall pulled off a highlight-reel finish that he became known for during his time on “The Ultimate Fighter”. A spinning back kick landed to Mousasi’s face, then a flying knee, and before you know it, Hall finished Mousasi in a stunning upset to collect a performance bonus, a huge win, and the number ten ranking in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. It finally looked like Hall was going to start to live up to his potential as he has now won five of his last six fights.
He gets another tough foe on Saturday night as he steps in to fight Robert Whittaker, who has been looking great himself since moving up to 185 pounds. Whittaker is a former TUF winner, but after winning his first two UFC bouts, he dropped his next two. He has since won three straight, including two straight knockout wins after deciding to make the move up from 170 pounds. He has established himself as a formidable threat in the middleweight division, and he has moved to number 14 in the UFC’s middleweight rankings. He has a lot of power in his hands and can finish fights quickly with his punches. He doesn’t have the overall striking prowess of Hall, and when Whittaker faced a similiar striker when he took on Stephen Thompson, it was Thompson finishing Whittaker. Hall has a lot of momentum, and with taking another short notice fight, while it’ll be his third fight in three months, he has a lot of confidence after the win over Mousasi. It’ll likely be a highlight-reel win in either direction, but Hall gets the job done here.
5. What else on the card is there to look out for?
The UFC 193 main card on pay-per-view rounds out with a heavyweight bout between Stefan Struve and Jared Rosholt. It will be Struve’s 16th appearance inside the Octagon, and after a long list of setbacks, he got back into the win column in scoring a decision win at UFC 190 in August over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, which will be notable in history as the last fight in the legendary career for Nogueira. For Rosholt, it will be the first pay-per-view appearance for him as he looks to extend his two-fight win streak and move into the heavyweight rankings. He is 5-1 during his stint in the UFC, but it hasn’t been an overly impressive five wins as four of them have come by decision, and in not-so-pretty fashion. If there is one thing about Struve, it is that he can be finished, as all five of his UFC losses have come by knockout. It is the chance for Rosholt to score an impressive win, or for Struve to pick up his 11th triumph inside the Octagon.
In preliminary card action, each fight will feature a fighter hailing from Australia. It is not the most-stacked preliminary card in terms of name value, but features some solid fighters. One of the big names to watch is Jake Matthews, a 21-year-old lightweight looking to bounce back from the first loss in his career. He has been impressive in his short career, scoring seven of his eight wins by stoppage, but he gets a durable opponent in Akbarh Arreola, who has 22 wins by stoppage. In welterweight action, Kyle Noke looks for his second straight win against Peter Sobotta, holder of a seven-fight win streak. UFC veterans Anthony Perosh and Gian Villante will meet in a light heavyweight bout as both men look to rebound from setbacks in their previous bouts. A fight on the UFC Fight Pass portion to keep an eye on is the night’s opening bout, a flyweight contest between Ben Nguyen and Ryan Benoit. Nguyen has won seven straight fights, while Benoit is coming off an impressive second-round TKO win over Sergio Pettis at UFC 185 in March.
Full UFC 193 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship: (C) Ronda Rousey vs. (#7) Holly Holm
Betting Odds: Rousey (-1900), Holm (+1200)
Prediction: Rousey by submission in round 1
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: (C) Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. (#8) Valerie Letourneau
Betting Odds: Jedrzejczyk (-2150), Letourneau (+1300)
Prediction: Jedrzejczyk by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#8) Mark Hunt vs. (#11) Antonio Silva
Betting Odds: Hunt (-265), Silva (+225)
Prediction: Hunt by knockout in round 1
Middleweights: (#10) Uriah Hall vs. (#14) Robert Whittaker
Betting Odds: Hall (-130), Whittaker (+110)
Prediction: Hall by knockout in round 2
Heavyweights: (#14) Stefan Struve vs. Jared Rosholt
Betting Odds: Struve (-125), Rosholt (+105)
Prediction: Struve by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Lightweights: Jake Matthews vs. Akbarh Arreola
Betting Odds: Matthews (-900), Arreola (+600)
Prediction: Matthews by submission in round 1
Welterweights: Kyle Noke vs. Peter Sobotta
Betting Odds: Noke (+145), Sobotta (-165)
Prediction: Noke by decision
Light Heavyweights: Anthony Perosh vs. Gian Villante
Betting Odds: Perosh (+325), Villante (-400)
Prediction: Villante by knockout in round 1
Flyweights: Richie Vaculik vs. Danny Martinez
Betting Odds: Vaculik (-105), Martinez (-115)
Prediction: Vaculik by decision
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT)
Middleweights: Dan Kelly vs. Steve Montgomery
Betting Odds: Kelly (+230), Montgomery (-270)
Prediction: Kelly by submission in round 2
Welterweights: Richard Walsh vs. Steve Kennedy
Betting Odds: Walsh (-330), Kennedy (+270)
Prediction: Walsh by decision
Welterweights: James Moontasri vs. Anton Zafir
Betting Odds: Moontasri (-320), Zafir (+260)
Prediction: Zafir by decision
Flyweights: Ben Nguyen vs. Ryan Benoit
Betting Odds: Nguyen (-145), Benoit (+125)
Prediction: Nguyen by knockout in round 2
There’s never a good time for a champion to go down, but the knee injury to WWE champion Seth Rollins (Colby Lopez, 29) on the first night of the company’s European tour exposed just how little depth the company has on top.
With Daniel Bryan out due to concussion issues, Randy Orton out due to shoulder surgery and John Cena on sabbatical, believed to be hosting a network reality television show, the company, on one of its biggest house show tours of the year, was left with one star babyface–Roman Reigns, and with Kevin Owens as the closest thing to a main star heel.
Rollins was wrestling Kane for the WWE title in the main event on 11/4 in Dublin. Rollins did a spot where he came off the top rope with a sunset flip that was to continue into power bombing Kane off the top rope through a table. However, on landing, Rollins’s right knee gave out and he collapsed. He did get up and followed by power bombing Kane through the table, and finished the match, winning with a pedigree.
He was diagnosed with a torn ACL, a torn MCL and a torn medial meniscus. He underwent reconstructive knee surgery on 11/10, performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas of the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center, in Birmingham, AL. He’s expected out of action for six to nine months, putting him out of WrestleMania and making SummerSlam 2016 as a likely return period.