Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson 2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson making his seventh title defense, this time in a rematch against top contender John Dodson. The two met in January 2013, a bout Johnson won by unanimous decision. In the co-main event, former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir meet as both men put their win streaks on the line. The action kicks off with preliminary card fights at 7 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass. The action moves over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary fights before the main card kicks off at 10 PM eastern time on pay-per-view. We are looking for your thoughts on the show, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle as well as a best fight and worst fight to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
Coverage provided by Ryan Frederick, who is cageside at the event.
With Destruction now over, we focus on the next big New Japan show, King of Pro Wrestling, the last big show of the year before the Tokyo Dome show on January 4. The right to the IWGP title match at WrestleKingdom 9 will be defended on tonight’s show as Kazuchika Okada will face Tetsuya Naito in a rematch of sorts from the 2014 WrestleKingdom show. Okada beat Naito that night, but during the G1 Naito had Okada’s number by beating him in an excellent match. Tonight’s show is the culmination of their year long feud; will fresh, babyface Tetsuya Naito pick up the win here on tonight’s show, or will Okada prove he’s one of the top dogs in New Japan?
First up we have Ryusuke Taguchi taking out El Desperado for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight championship. Taguchi started to introduce the hip attacks here as his new gimmick. It’s such a mid card comedy act thing to do here, but he didn’t harp on it as much as he did once he dropped the title, so it’s not as bad here. Desperado is fine but given that he was in New Japan for just a year under this gimmick before jumping over to NOAH, I didn’t gain any real thoughts on him as a single during this run. In this match, he was fine. Taichi freely interferes, but the ref sees Taichi helping Desperado and kicks his hand away, giving Taguchi the opportunity to hit the dodon then apply the ankle lock for the submission. It was a solid, perfectly acceptable match but nothing I would call memorable.
Katsuyori Shibata & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yoshi-Hashi is next. I wonder who is taking the fall here. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Yoshi-Hashi is a good example of someone who could go to NOAH and get over there because he’s stuck in the midcard here in New Japan. Considering how many people they bring in here in New Japan, he’s going to be lost in the shuffle, even though he’s pretty good when put in certain situations. This was clipped, but was pretty good and the crowd was heated. Yoshi Hashi looked good with his interactions with Shibata, but one penalty kick later he’s facing the ring lights.
Shibata and Nakamura have a staredown after the match, meaning things aren’t done here yet. Nakamura cuts a promo, basically challenging Shibata to a match down the line.
Okada does his reflective interview. He reflects on the Tokyo Dome match from 2014, then mentions how he lost to Anderson and Naito in the G1. He wasn’t looking forward to fighting him, but this match was just a match for payback in his opinion.
The match aired. From what I remember the G1 match was just as good as this match. But it was really great. The crowd was hot and they worked a really great match with lots of false finishes and great reversals. The wheelbarrow into the German suplex towards the end was really great. Okada, of course, pins him with the rainmaker. There’s so many great matches in New Japan I don’t know if this would crack the top five, but it would probably be around the top 10 mark in terms of main events this year. Naito’s an excellent babyface worker and so is Okada, and they had a terrific match here.
Naito said it’s great Okada won, New Japan Pro Wrestling will e safe now. He heard so many fans chanting his name, he felt very happy about that. The more people chant for him, the more people will give back. What will be interesting to see on these shows is how Naito eventually transitions into his new heel persona.
Okada says he’s curious about the next match. Upon reflection, he realized how strong he was during the match. The stamina he had at the end of the match even surprised him. Not a lot to say here at the end. Overall, a pretty good show highlighted by a great main event. There will be more coverage of King of Pro Wrestling next week, so tune in then!
Smackdown last night, going against college football, did 1.98 million viewers last night, the lowest audience since the show has been on Syfy with the exception of a July 4th airing.
Welcome to WrestlingObserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 191: Johnson vs. Dodson weigh-ins from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada kicking off at 7 M eastern time. The event airs on Saturday on pay-per-view at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 7 PM eastern time before moving over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time.
The event is headlined by UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson making his seventh title defense, this time in a rematch against top contender John Dodson. Johnson defeated Dodson by unanimous decision at UFC On FOX 6 in January 2013, and Dodson has won three straight fights since to earn another shot at winning gold. In the co-main event, former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir put their win streaks on the line and try to potentially earn a title opportunity with a win. Also on the card is number-one ranked light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson, and rising UFC women’s strawweight star Paige VanZant making her pay-per-view debut.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT):
Demetrious Johnson () vs. John Dodson () (UFC Flyweight Championship) Andrei Arlovski () vs. Frank Mir () Anthony Johnson () vs. Jimi Manuwa () Jan Blachowicz () vs. Corey Anderson () Paige VanZant () vs. Alex Chambers ()
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT):
Ross Pearson () vs. Paul Felder () Francisco Rivera () vs. John Lineker () Jessica Andrade () vs. Raquel Pennington () Clay Collard () vs. Tiago Trator ()
George Hackenschmidt defeated Tom Cannon for the European Greco-Roman Heavyweight Title in Liverpool, England 1911
In their second meeting, Frank Gotch defeated George Hackenschmidt in two straight falls to retain the World Heavyweight Title before 30,000 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park. 1935
Waterloo, Iowa; Ed (Strangler) Lewis beat Lou Plummer, Earl Wampler beat Louis Thesz and Dell Guthrie beat Stanley Mayslack 1941
George Wagner (Gorgeous George) defeated Billy McEuin for the Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Title in Eugene, Oregon 1944
Bill Ludwig defeated Billy Williams to win the Florida Junior Heavyweight Title in Tampa, Florida. 1947 Kansas City, Kansas at Memorial Hall; In a tournament final with winner getting an MWA Title shot; Warren Bockwinkel beat Antone Leone. Semifinals; Warren Bockwinkel beat Jay Steele and Antone Leone beat Dick Trout. First round; Warren Bockwinkel beat Lee Wykoff dq, Jay Steele beat Roberto Pico, Dick Trout beat Cardiff Giant dq and Antone Leone beat Sockeye Jack McDonald 1951
Ray Gunkel defeated Duke Keomuka for the NWA Texas Heavyweight Title in Dallas, Texas. 1963
Georgia Championship Wrestling held a 12-man tournament in Columbus, Georgia to determine the first Georgia NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion. Joe McCarthy defeated Marco Polo to become the first Georgia NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion. 1964
Dick the Bruiser and Wilbur Snyder defeated Angelo Poffo and Nicoli Volkoff to win the WWA World Tag Team Champions. 1965
Verne Gagne & Tex McKenzie beat Haru Sasaki & Mad Dog Vachon to win Nebraska Tag Team title in Omaha, Nebraska. 1968
Bob Kelly defeated Bobby Fields to win the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 1969
– In Kansas City, Kansas; The Viking defeated Jack Armstrong, Stan the Mad Russian fought K.O. Cox to a double countout and Danny Little Bear & Big Luke defeated Tarzan Tyler & The Great Kojika via DQ in three falls
– Bob Kelly defeated The Blue Yankee for the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title in Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1970
– Buddy Colt defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title in Atlanta, Georgia
– Bobby and Jerry Christy won the Stampede International Tag Team Title in Calgary, Alberta, defeating Bud and Ray Osborne. 1972
– Jerry Brisco defeated Rip Hawk for the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Title in Greenville, South Carolina.
– Bob Brown and John Quinn defeated Steven Little Bear and Dutch Savage for the Vancouver NWA Canadian Tag Team Title in New Westminster, British Columbia. 1975
In Kansas City, Kansas; Bob Geigel fought Ed Wiskowski to a double-DQ, French Martin defeated Paul Perschmann,Oki Shikina & Jesse Ventura & Sharon Brooks defeated Don Wayt & Scotty Campbell & Jean Antone, Tank Patton & Mr. Seki defeated Akio Sato & Prince Tapu, Jerry Oates defeated Baron Von Raschke via DQ and Jack Brisco defeated Danny Little Bear in three falls 1976
Dusty Rhodes defeated Ric Flair in Richmond, Virginia to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. However, the title change was nullified because Rhodes had his feet on the ropes during the pin. 1978 David and Kevin Von Erich defeated Bruiser Brody and Gino Hernandez to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Title in Fort Worth, Texas 1979 In Raleigh, North Carolina; Ric Flair & Blackjack Mulligan & Ricky Steamboat beat Paul Jones & Baron Von Raschke & Nick Bockwinkel, Dewey Robertson vs Johnny Weaver and Mr Wrestling Tim Woods vs The Scorpion 1980
– Giant Baba defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Title in Saga, Japan
– Roddy Piper defeated Buddy Rose to win the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Title 1987 The WWF held its third-annual “King of the Ring” event at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Randy Savage defeated King Kong Bundy to win the King of the Ring tournament. 1989
– Cuchillo defeated Yoshihiro Asai (Ultimo Dragon) for the UWA World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico. – Texas Dirt (Dutch Mantel) defeated Black Bart to win the CWA Heavyweight Title in Memphis, Tennessee 1990
Danny Collins defeated Richie Brooks for the British Heavy-Middleweight Title in Croydon, England 1991 Alex Porteau defeated Ricky Santana to win the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Title reign in Cataño, Puerto Rico. 1992 Bestia Salvaje defeated El Dandy for the CMLL World Middleweight Title in Mexico City, Mexico. 1994
Pierroth, Jr. defeated Vampiro in Monterrey, Mexico to win the Federación Internacional de Lucha Libre Heavyweight Title. 1995
WCW Monday Nitro debuted on TNT, live from the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The American Males (Marcus Bagwell and Scott Riggs) defeated WCW World Tag Team Champions Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater (with Col. Robert Parker) in a non-televised match. Brian Pillman defeated Jushin Liger, WCW United States Heavyweight Champion Sting defeated Ric Flair by disqualification to retain the title. During this match, Lex Luger made his surprise return to WCW and WCW World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (with Jimmy Hart) defeated Big Bubba Rogers to retain the title. 1996
Vance Nevada defeated JT Atlas to win the Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title in Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1998 Adam Pearce defeats Billy Joe Eaton in West Allis, Wisconsin to win the Mid American Wrestling Heayweight Title 1999
Blade Boudreaux defeated Don Bass to win the NWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title in Brownsville, Tennessee 2004
Nuevo Gran Apolo defeated Ray Gonzalez for the IWA World Heavyweight Title in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
Welcome to this morning’s coverage of the New Japan Pro Wrestling show, taking place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. We kick off the Road to Destruction tour as a eight man tag featuring the Bullet Club headlines, as well as the debut of former NXT star CJ Parker, now going under the name Juice Robinson.
David Finlay vs. Jay White
Very good, technical match. Crowd was quiet for a lot of it but were into the big spots. Both guys had a back and forth match with a lot of mat wrestling and counters. Very different that what you would normally see, which is nice. Finlay hit the rolling senton. White tried to reverse but Finlay caught White with the stretch muffler and he had to tap out.
Good match. Komatsu and Tanaka continue to look like they’re far beyond ready to move beyond the young lion stage and Nagata did his part well. There was one point in the match where Tanaka teased a deadlift on the immobile Nakanishi but he blocked it. Nagata and Komatsu had a nice exchange at the end with Nagata drilling him with a great belly to belly overhead suplex then pinned him with the backdrop hold.
Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshi Hashi and Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Captain New Japan and Tomoaki Honma
Another good tag team match. They didn’t work it entirely like a standard New Japan six man as they have a formula, and that’s what I liked about the match. Everyone looked good and had their moments. Liger and Ishii had a cool exchange, as well as Ishii and Honma. They did a spot where Liger laid out Ishii and Honma hit the kokeshi, then CNJ splashed him on the top rope but he kicked out. Sakuraba came in and put him in a sleeper, then Yoshi Hashi helped Ishii set up the sliding D but CNJ kicked out of that. Ishii followed with a brainbuster and pinned him.
Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Juice Robinson vs. Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe and Katsyuori Shibata
Looks like Tiger Mask is back after being out for most of the G1 with a neck injury. This was good but it’s clear that some people didn’t fit here. People were into it whenever Shibata and Naito interacted, and were also into Ibushi and Makabe, but crowd was dead whenever Robinson and Tiger Mask were in. Of course it’s not a main event so putting in junior heavyweights was a given, but still. Shibata cleared the ring with a big boot to Naito that sent him to the floor as Tiger Mask pinned Robinson with a roll up variation. Both Ibushi/Makabe and Shibata/Naito got into it after the match and had to be repeatedly seperated.
Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga and Cody Hall
Just a match. Not bad, but nothing memorable at all. Most of the highlights involved Toru Yano being afraid of Tama Tonga whenever he got creepy and doing his trademark spots. Okada pinned Hall with the rainmaker.
Roppangi Vice and Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi and Mascara Dorada
Good match. Nakamura and Goto worked together and so did RPG Vice, Taguchi and Dorada. Taguchi is doing this gimmick where he imitates Nakamura and it gets on Nakamuras nerves as he laid him out with a kick before the bell rang. At one point in the match Goto helped Taguchi land a sliding hip toss onto Nakamura and scored a near fall there. Good back and forth match from here as everyone has good chemistry with one another. Dorada and Beretta were the ones in the ring as Dorada tried to hop over Beretta but he grabbed him and hit the dudebuster as Romero hit the dropkick for the win.
Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima
This was a good main event. Lots of action and everyone worked well against one another, and the crowd was very much into it which helped as well. They did every New Japan multi man tag trope in the world with barricade spots, brawling out into the crowd, everyone pairing off with their rivals, etc. But the action was good enough that it turned out to be fine. The finish came after Gallows landed the Gallows Poll but Kojima kicked out. Gallows went to the corner to hit something but Kojima blocked and blasted him with a lariat for the win, setting up a future title program with them. It’s not the most interesting feud of all time, but considering the division is stale and uninteresting, and New Japan doesn’t have any plans to fix that, this is what we’ll get.
UFC announced three fights Thursday night, including two for the 12/12 UFC 194 show which is among the most loaded in recent years.
– Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit, originally scheduled for mid-November in Melbourne, Australia, has been rescheduled as the main event for UFC 195 on January 2nd, 2016, in Las Vegas. Lawler suffered a thumb injury that caused the delay.
– The December 12 UFC 194 event headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo and Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold got even deeper with the additions of Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Saenz at bantamweight and Max Holloway vs. Jeremy Stephens at featherweight.
The card for that show also includes Yoel Romero vs. Jacare Souza, Demian Maia vs. Gunnar Nelson, Tecia Torres vs. Michelle Waterson, and more.
Labor Day Weekend is upon us, and the UFC returns to Las Vegas this weekend for their next pay-per-view offering as UFC 191 comes to us on Saturday from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. While the MGM Grand will be hosting what is being billed as Floyd Mayweather’s final fight next weekend, the September fight action gets started with a solid card featuring UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson defending the championship against his top rival and top contender, John Dodson, in a rematch of a January 2013 bout won by Johnson. The action takes place on pay-per-view with a main card start time of 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary action kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 7 PM eastern time before moving to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time.
In addition to the headline bout between Johnson and Dodson, the UFC 191 card will feature a heavyweight co-main event that could have title shot ramifications as former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir do battle in a fight that has been ten years in the making. Also on the card is the return of UFC light heavyweight contender Anthony Johnson, coming off of his title fight loss in May, and the pay-per-view debut of rising women’s strawweight star, Paige VanZant. Let’s dive deeper into the action and find five storylines to keep our eye on as we take a closer look at Saturday’s UFC 191 event.
1. Will the rematch between Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson go any differently?
UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson makes his seventh title defense in the main event of UFC 191, and this time it will be in another rematch, against the man he made his first title defense against, John Dodson. Johnson and Dodson fought at UFC On FOX 6 in January 2013, going the full 25-minute distance in the main event that night in Chicago. It was a hotly-contested battle, and a close fight at times, but Johnson won the fight by unanimous decision on scorecards of 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47. It was Johnson’s toughest challenge since winning the championship in the inaugural title bout against Joseph Benavidez at UFC 152 in September 2012, and Johnson has gone on to make tremendous strides in becoming arguably the best fighter in the world since then.
Johnson hasn’t lost a round since that fight, dominating his string of opponents. He has scored finishes of John Moraga, Benavidez in a rematch, Chris Cariaso and Kyoji Horiguchi, and a dominant decision win over Ali Bagautinov in his five fights since the first Dodson fight. Dodson has had injuries limit him to just three fights since then, but he has won all three, scoring knockout wins over Darrell Montague and Moraga, and a decision win over Zach Makovsky in his most recent bout, at UFC 187 in May. While Dodson’s win over Makovsky was uninspiring to some, it came after he was out of action for close to a year due to major knee surgery, and he still showcased the speed and power he has against a tough opponent.
Dodson has proved he is ready for a rematch with Johnson, and it is the best fight the division can make as young prospects like Henry Cejudo, Dustin Ortiz and Ray Borg get more experience in their climbs up the rankings. Both men are extremely fast fighters, but Johnson has stepped up his game since the first fight with Dodson. Both have shown power, and Johnson has excellent takedowns, but Dodson has good takedown defense and was able to get up every time he was taken down in their first bout. Johnson is more technical and versatile on the feet, but Dodson has more power. This will be two men showcasing their speed and technique at the highest level, but I see Johnson’s strides in his all-around game being the difference in this fight. It will likely go the distance again, but I don’t see it being as close as it was the last time. Johnson takes this by decision.
2. Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir are enjoying career resurgences. Who keeps it going on Saturday?
When you think of title contenders in the UFC’s heavyweight division in the year 2015, former UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir are the two names you would find to be most surprising. That is what makes the sport fun at times in that you can see fighters like Arlovski and Mir (and current champions Fabricio Werdum, Robbie Lawler and Rafael Dos Anjos) have early success, suffer through a down period, make a few adjustments, and then with a bit of skill and luck, they are right back in the hunt. It comes to a head on Saturday night in the co-main event of UFC 191 as Arlovski puts his five-fight win streak on the line against Mir’s two-fight win streak.
Many thought Arlovski was headed for the next title shot against Werdum, but when the UFC needed a co-main event for this card, he was called upon to fight Mir, who is coming off a first-round knockout win over Todd Duffee just over seven weeks ago. This is a fight that has been a long-time in the making as they were expected to fight in 2005 when Arlovski and Mir both held versions of the heavyweight crown, but Mir’s recovery from a motorcycle accident took longer than expected. Arlovski was king of the division for a short while, but his career eventually saw him leave the UFC and have mixed success, but he has had tremendous success in his return. His win over Travis Browne in May at UFC 187 could be the fight of the year for 2015, and it was one of the best one-round fights in UFC history. Mir’s two straight knockout wins have broken a stretch where he lost four straight fights, so he is enjoying the best success of his career in almost four years.
Both men have power and suspect chins. Arlovski survived some big punches from Browne, coming back from close to being finished, to finish Browne with punches. Mir survived big shots from Duffee to score the one-punch knockout. Arlovski’s footwork will make the difference on the feet, and he is still a good counterstriker. Mir may want to take this fight to the ground, but recent history has shown he wants to stand with his opponents. That will be a mistake here. Arlovski has good takedown defense if Mir tries to take this fight to the mat. I don’t expect the fight to go out of the first round, though, and it will come down to who lands the bigger punch. Arlovski mixes his striking attack better, and it will probably throw Mir for a loop, as Mir is just someone who looks for one big punch. That one big punch can finish Arlovski, but I don’t see it happening this time.
3. Can Anthony Johnson overcome the outside of the Octagon controversy to get back into the win column?
Anthony Johnson has been in the news leading up to UFC 191, but for all of the wrong reasons. He recently got into a heated confrontation with a woman at his gym, detailing all of it via social media. For a man with a history of domestic abuse allegations, it came at a bad time and caused the UFC to investigate. There was the possibility that Johnson could have been pulled from the card, but after agreeing to some conditions, Johnson remains on the card in a fight against Jimi Manuwa. It will be interesting to see if Johnson lost some focus due to the incident, and he has always had some issues with the mental side of fighting, but he is coming into Saturday night a big favorite against Manuwa, who will be fighting for the first time in the United States, and for the first time on pay-per-view.
Johnson is looking to bounce back from a loss to Daniel Cormier in his chance to become the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and Manuwa is a perfect opponent for a bounce back fight. Manuwa is a very good striker and is dangerous on his feet, much like Johnson is. Johnson has been very aggressive in the past, but over recent bouts has shown some good counter striking. Manuwa likes to mix his combinations and has good movement, but he will need to be careful for counters from Johnson. Johnson has gigantic power and could probably knockout anyone if the right punch lands, but if you can get him out of sync, his mind begins to wander around. Manuwa should remain calm, but doing that will leave him open. This will probably end up being short with a lot of punches getting thrown, and one strike landing to end it all. I like Johnson being the one to end it all, but Manuwa will put up a great fight.
4. Will Paige VanZant continue to impress in her pay-per-view debut? Paige VanZant makes her pay-per-view debut on Saturday night in the main card opener, and a lot of eyes will be on her. She is being groomed to be the next big star in the sport, and she is being brought a long slowly. She just turned 21 and still has only just six fights in her career. She steps inside the Octagon for the third time, and has been impressive in each of her two prior showings. While her rise and push towards the fanbase has been met with some backlash by some, she is very talented and has a lot of skills. Being that she is just 21, and with the level of talent she has shown, it is easy to see why she could be a future champion. She is pretty and marketable, and her fights have shown she is capable of dealing with pressure. She scored a solid win over Kailin Curran in her debut and followed it up with a dominant win over Felice Herrig in a showcase on FOX in front of a large audience.
She gets the pay-per-view treatment on Saturday night when she takes on Alex Chambers. Chambers is much older but has only fought one more time than VanZant has in her career. When it comes to experience, this is the perfect match-up for VanZant. Chambers is coming off a come-from-behind win over Curran in May. Chambers trained for this fight with American Top Team, which has produced a lot of recent success. Chambers struggled with the pressure of Curran, and pressure is what VanZant brings. VanZant comes forward, walking through strikes, and likes to clinch and take the fight to the mat. She is excellent at scrambles and good at establishing top position and keeping it. VanZant is the biggest favorite on the card, and for good reason. This is the continuation of her coming out party, and she will get the job done on Saturday night.
5. There are two solid fights highlighting the preliminary card. Who wins each?
While not a major card on star power, the UFC 191 card has a lot of solid fights, including two preliminary bouts that could have easily been main card bouts on a lot of fight cards. Headlining the preliminary action is a lightweight bout between Ross Pearson and Paul Felder. Both men are making quick turnarounds coming off losses. Pearson dropped a decision to Evan Dunham on July 18 in Scotland, and Felder lost a decision to Edson Barboza on July 25 in Chicago. It was the first career loss for Felder and he is looking to get back in the win column in a big way. He is very talented, and Pearson will be a tough foe, though Pearson’s best days are likely behind him. Both men are very good strikers, but Felder is quicker and more versatile on the feet. He should take the win in what should be an action-packed bout.
In another featured prelim bout, John Lineker makes his bantamweight debut when he takes on slugger Francisco Rivera. It will be interesting to see how Lineker fares in the move up in weight as he will no longer be draining himself attempting to make 125 pounds, which he missed making more often than making it. He has won six of his last seven fights, and with a win over Rivera, he could become an instant contender at 135 pounds. Rivera is a tough test for Lineker’s bantamweight debut as he is a more well-rounded striker with his attacks. Lineker punishes the body, though, and a boxing match would likely go Lineker’s way while an overall striking fight likely goes to Rivera. It will probably remain on the feet and be an exciting slugfest. I do like Lineker to get an impressive win in his bantamweight debut.
Full UFC 191 Fight Card, Betting Odds and Predictions
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
UFC Flyweight Championship: (C) Demetrious Johnson vs. (#1) John Dodson) Betting Odds: Johnson (-550), Dodson (+425) Prediction: Johnson by decision
Heavyweights: (#4) Andrei Arlovski vs. (#10) Frank Mir Betting Odds: Arlovski (-155), Mir (+135) Prediction: Arlovski by knockout in round 1
Light Heavyweights: (#1) Anthony Johnson vs. (#7) Jimi Manuwa Betting Odds: Johnson (-650), Manuwa (+475) Prediction: Johnson by knockout in round 1
Light Heavyweights: (#12) Jan Blachowicz vs. Corey Anderson Betting Odds: Blachowicz (-150), Anderson (+130) Prediction: Anderson by decision
Women’s Strawweights: (#7) Paige VanZant vs. Alex Chambers Betting Odds: VanZant (-1450), Chambers (+950) Prediction: VanZant by knockout in round 3
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Lightweights: Ross Pearson vs. Paul Felder Betting Odds: Pearson (+350), Felder (-440) Prediction: Felder by knockout in round 2
Bantamweights: (#12) Francisco Rivera vs. (#8 FLY) John Lineker Betting Odds: Rivera (+115), Lineker (-135) Prediction: Lineker by decision
Women’s Bantamweights: (#13) Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington Betting Odds: Andrade (-210), Pennington (+175) Prediction: Andrade by decision
Featherweights: Clay Collard vs. Tiago Trator Betting Odds: Collard (-135), Trator (+115) Prediction: Trator by decision
Remember how Nattie’s sister moved in to help them out with their new house? And how it was Nattie’s idea? Well, now Nattie’s regretting the decision and wants her to move out so she and TJ can have space. She tries to set her up with Mark From Talent Relations, which doesn’t work – Mark just no-sells her. But her sister hits it off with Big E, so there’s something. Eventually TJ just asks when she’s leaving, leading to hurt feelings and sulking, leading to Nattie’s sister deciding (on her own) to move in with her parents rather than stay there. Nattie ponders joyfully how nicely things worked out. It’s because TJ took care of the dirty work, Nattie.
Brie Dresses Too Sexy
Bryan’s concerned that Brie’s dressing too sexy, so he goes out and gets a composting toilet and installs it in their shed. And turns off the water to the indoor toilets. The ultimatum is made: he’ll turn the water back on if she agrees to dress less sexy. Brie’s mom agrees with him that she dresses too sexy and she relents. Everyone is happy not to have to use the composting toilet.
Paige Is Young And Impulsive
Paige has a rough episode. She tries out motorcycles with Alicia and Rosa and crashes, leading to Mark from Talent Relations scolding her. She gets asked to coach Ariane, but Ariane works stiff as heck. So Paige gets mad (rather than trying to coach Ariane into working softer) and gets stiff back at her, leading to a big argument at the Performance Center – complete with a Sara Del Rey cameo. Mark From Talent Relations calls and scolds her again.
She gets to the building for a show and discovers she’s not booked on the show. She asks Road Dogg if it’s about the Ariane altercation, which leads to him scolding her too. At the end of the episode she drinks and vents to Nattie and Nikki, who tell her to chill out and pick her battles. Life’s sure tough when you’re young and impulsive.
Nikki Bella vs. Charlotte might be happening before Night Of Champions, and Cesaro lost again.
Show Recap:
The New Day came out to start the show holding up protest signs reading “Booty!”, “#SaveTheTables”, “#GivesTablesAChance”, and “Breaking Wood is No Good”. They said the pilgrims sat around a table and the Declaration of Independence was signed at at table. New Day even signed their contracts at a table, which gave everyone their current Tag Team Champions.
Big E implored the crowd to chant “Save The Tables” to the tune of “New Day sucks” and it seemed like they did. The Dudleys interrupted. D-Von reminded them of another great tables moment, when they put Xavier Woods through a table last week. Bubba said history repeats itself and they would beat the New Day and become 10-time tag team champions.
Prime Time Players came out. Titus O’Neil said you have to earn a title shot. Titus said PTP earned their shot and told the Dudleys to go to the back of the line. Bubba said they’re the Dudleys, they win championships and put people through tables.
Titus and Darren threatened to send the Bubba and D-Von to Dudleyville. And then a match started.
Dudley Boyz beat Prime Time Players via pinfall
New Day joined commentary and Woods complained about Titus screaming for no reason when he’s on commentary. New Day took over commentary completely and Big E spoke like a generic sports play-by-play guy/Tom Phillips/Rich Brennen.
The Dudleys used a back suplex/neckbreaker combo and Brennan called it a German into a neckbreaker. Woods immediately corrected him, screaming “That’s not a German suplex, that’s a back suplex!”
Dudleys had the heat on Darren until he made the hot tag to Titus, who hit a big boot and scoop slam. Dudleys cut him off and hit a 3D pretty easily for the win. Different finish you’re used to see with two babyface teams. Dudleys basically outclassed PTP here.
After the match, Kingston ran in the ring, slapped D-Von in the back of the head, and ran out with New Day as they carried away their bubble-wrapped table.
They pushed that The Rock would be on Total Divas. I mean, there are clips of him with Eva Marie, so I guess that counts.
Backstage, Renee Young caught up with New Day as they celebrated with their trombone. Renee told them they had a match, but they didn’t think so. She told them it was against Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose and they stopped celebrating, and Woods did the sad trombone.
Stardust vs. Neville
The match never happened. Stardust came out first, but as Neville made his entrance, The Ascension attacked him from behind. They tossed Neville into the ring, Stardust told him he’s flying too close to the sun, and Ascension finished him off with Fall of Man. “Welcome to the Cosmic Wasteland.” So this team is a thing now.
Backstage, Cesaro told Jo-Jo he would bounce back from his loss to Kevin Owens but he was interrupted by Sheamus. Sheamus said Cesaro was good, just not good enough. He said all the fans want to see Cesaro reach the next level but he keeps letting them. Cesaro told Sheamus he looks stupid.
Sheamus beat Cesaro via pinfall
Sheamus grabbed the mic to tell the crowd they look stupid. Cesaro’s ribs were taped after slamming into the announce table on Raw. As Sheamus worked over Cesaro, the commentators discussed Night Of Champions as a good opportunity to cash in MITB since Seth Rollins has matches against both John Cena and Sting.
Cesaro came back with uppercuts, alternating between both arms. He used a jumping uppercut with Sheamus sitting on the ropes and then dropkicked him out of the ring. Cesaro followed that with a running uppercut on the outside into the barricade.
Sheamus came back with a shoulder thrust to the mid-section and a backbreaker. Sheamus used a cloverleaf but Cesaro rolled him up for a nearfall. Cesaro followed with a crossface and double foot stomp. He beat up Sheamus in the corner and the ref kept backing him off. Sheamus then popped out of the corner with a Brogue kick for the win.
Good match. Cesaro looked good despite the loss, but he shouldn’t be losing, and this is three in a row in singles matches.
Miz was out for MizTV and compared the situation with Dolph Ziggler, Lana, Summer Rae and Rusev to Days of Our Lives. Ugh. He showed a replay of what happened on Raw and brought out Summer who he called the real victim. Summer had a bruise the left side of her face, which Miz (eventually) attributed to the brawl on Monday.
Summer said more happened in Ziggler’s locker room than she originally let on — that Ziggler kissed her. The crowd chanted “We want Lana.” Summer said it went from passion to guilt and she started crying. She called Rusev the most amazing man in the world but Ziggler seduced her and that’s why she ran.
Ziggler and Lana came out. The graphic read “Dolph Ziggler with Lana” (instead of Dolph Ziggler and Lana) even though they were both guests on the show and Ziggler wasn’t coming out for a match.
Anyway, Ziggler said he and Lana trust each other. Before Lana could say anything, Summer said herself and Dolph have been into each other for a while and showed a clip from June 2014 of Summer and Dolph making out after Summer ditched Fandango.
Lana attacked Summer but Ziggler pulled her off and Lana left. Summer yelled “You bitch!” twice at Lana. It wasn’t on the mic but it definitely made TV. Summer and threw her shoe at Lana. This is all pretty dumb, but Summer has been pretty good this week. And I’m glad Rusev wasn’t really involved in any of this. Hopefully there’s a good pay off.
Bo Dallas beat R-Truth via pinfall
They showed a replay of Brock Lesnar tossing Bo around two weeks ago and the crowd chanted “Suplex City” at him. Bo eventually won with a rolling cutter variation with Truth hanging off the ropes. Meh. Bo Dallas beating anybody is hard to believe.
They did a video package recapping the Beat the Clock stuff from Raw.
Backstage, Renee introduced Charlotte and Team PCB to which Charlotte responded, “Thanks, woman.” Charlotte said that she couldn’t have gotten this shot without Paige and Becky Lynch. Paige said even though herself or Becky couldn’t get the shot, they were happy for Charlotte. Becky said they all won when Charlotte did. Charlotte said she would beat Nikki and do it with style and flair.
Team Bella interrupted. Nikki said something. Charlotte said she asked The Authority to move their match to before Nikki is set to break the record. Nikki freaked. I’m glad they did this.
Charlotte (w/Paige & Becky Lynch) beat Tamina (w/Naomi & Sasha Banks) via pinfall
Tamina had control using power moves and the worst chop ever. Charlotte came back with a big boot, chops, neckbreaker, spear and Natural Selection for the win. Brennan made sure to call her finisher by name. After the match, Team Bella came out on the stage so Nikki could pose in front of the Bellatron 5000.
They recapped the Sting/Seth Rollins/John Cena angle from Raw.
Backstage, Kevin Owens said he silenced the Cesaro Section by beating him at SummerSlam and on Raw. Owen said he now wants to silence all of the wrestlers, fans and commentators who make fun of him for the way he looks. He’s been looked down on for 15 years but he still made it there on talent. Owens finished by saying “Feed me more,” and winked at Renee.
Non-Title: Dean Ambrose & Roman Reigns beat WWE Tag-Team Champions Kofi Kingston & Big E (w/Xavier Woods) via DQ
Reigns tagged himself and and they hit Big E with a double vertical suplex. Big E came back with a belly-to-belly. Big E and Kofi tagged in and out while stomping on Reigns in the corner and Woods played the trombone in unison.
Reigns hit a flying clothesline and tagged in Ambrose who used a bulldog on Big E. Ambrose nailed all three New Day members with a flying clothesline to the outside.
During a commercial, they plugged the final 10 episodes of Monday Night War on the Network including a new interview with Eric Bischoff.
After a break, New Day worked over Ambrose, but he came back with headbutts and a missile dropkick. Reigns made the hot tag and hit Kingston with a Samoan drop, clotheslines in the corner and side slam.
Reigns used a one-armed powerbomb but Big E broke it up. Ambrose took out big E with a rebound clothesline and suicide dive. Reigns had the match won with a superman punch on Kingston but Woods broke up the cover for the DQ. Ambrose and Reigns took out the New Day, finishing it off with the assisted powerbomb spot on Woods.
Ambrose grabbed the mic and said they’re not done yet and wanted another shot at Wyatt’s black sheep. Reigns asked the Miami crowd if they want to see more and called out the Wyatts.
The Wyatts appeared on the screen. Bray said this was his game and he makes the moves. He said Reigns and Ambrose were outnumbered and wanted to have a match at Night of Champions. Bray said it would be their doomsday. The camera zoomed in on Braun Strowman’s face and he told them to run.
Final Thoughts:
This show was perfectly fine save for the DQ in the main event, which assured us that the match had no bearing on anything whatsoever.
