Dana White said he believed Carlos Condit won the fight 3 rounds to 2. Media scores had 15 for Condit, three for Lawler and two had it a draw.
Every judge agreed that Lawler won rounds two and five and Condit won one and four. It came down to the third round, where Tony Weeks gave it to Condit, while Chris Lee and Derek Cleary gave it to Lawler.
The big surprise post-match is that Condit talked of retiring.
“It’s not an emotional thing,” said Condit, who didn’t appear mad at all about losing the decision, even though he said he felt he won rounds one, three and five. “I’m not really dejected. I have to evaluate, but there’s a possibility this fight will be the last one. I’ve been doing this a long time, over 40 professional MMA fights. I came up short tonight. I don’t know. Tonight was kind of a do-or-die moment for my career. I was all in. If I got the strap, I was going to keep on fighting. If I didn’t, I’d have to see if I can continue to do this.”
White pushed pretty strongly that he agreed Stipe Miocic deserved the next heavyweight title shot, but was noncommittal about whether Condit would get a rematch.
We will have more on this story, UFC 195, the Tokyo Dome and more weekend news on the new Wrestling Observer Radio.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the first event for the UFC in 2016 and airs on pay-per-view as UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler makes his second title defense against former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit in the main event. The co-main event is a heavyweight bout that could secure the winner a title shot as Stipe Miocic takes on former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Follow along with our live coverage of the event beginning at 6:30 PM eastern time with the preliminary action all the way thru the main card.
We are looking for your thoughts on the event, so send a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best fight and worst fight to Dave Meltzer.
WELTERWEIGHTS- SHELDON WESTCOTT (8-3-1, 0-2 UFC) VS. EDGAR GARCIA (14-4, 0-3 UFC)
First round: Wescott with a bodylock takedown Wescott throwing lefts. He’s got the back and working for a choke. Wescott landing all kinds of punchex from back position. Wescott landing a ton of punches. I’m surpised it wasn’t stopped. This is too many punches. It was stopped way too late. Not as bad as the Sakuraba fight, but it was feeling like the same kind of nightmare.
BANTAMWEIGHTS- JOE SOTO (15-4, 0-2 UFC) VS. MICHINORI TANAKA (10-1, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Holy crap does Mario Yamasaki look like he hasn’t slept in a month. Soto using low kicks. Soto tried a takedown, Tanaka blocked and landed punches. Tanaka landed a right. Soto with another low kick. Hard low kick by Tanaka. Nice left by Soto. Low kick by Tanaka and Tanaka took him down. Soto working for a googplata. Elbows by Soto. Tanaka out of trouble. Tanaka escaped and had a huge smile on his face. Soto 10-9, but close.
Second round: Head kick by Tanaka. Tanaka missing punches. Tanaka staring to land now. Knee by Tanaka but Soto back with a punch. Soto with a hard low kick. Body kick by Soto. Tanaka’s left leg is all red from the low kicks. Knee by Tanaka and a judo hip toss took Soto down. Soto working for a guillotine now. Tanaka cleared it and on top. Tanaka landing some elbows. Nice groundwork by Tanaka. Tanaka with some punches and elbows. Tanaka with more punches. Tanaka’s round so 19-19.
Third round: Tanaka landing some punches. Knee by Tanaka. Left by Soto. Left by Tanaka. Tanaka landing more punches and Soto back with a left. Tanaka with a takedown attempt but Soto back up. Left by Soto. Left by Tanaka as Soto taunted him. Tanaka with a takedown. Soto again working for a guillotine. Soto has a body triangle as well. Tanaka escaped and on top. Soto back up. Soto with a left and right. Crowd really into this. Uppercut by Soto. Trading punches but Soto landing more solidly. Nice left by Soto. Tanaka bleeding from the nose and mouth. Takedown by Soto and he got mount and his back and is working for a choke as time ran out. The crowd really liked the fight, 29-28 Soto.
Scores: Tony Weeks 29-28 Tanaka Adelaide Byrd 29-28 Soto, Chris Lee 29-28 Tanaka. Bad call. Not terrible call but bad call.
LIGHTWEIGHTS- (#12) DUSTIN POIRIER (18-4, 9-3 UFC) VS. JOSEPH DUFFY (14-1, 2-0 UFC)
First round: Poirier landing good shots from a clinch. Duffy with punches. Leg kick by Duffy. Body kick by Poirier. Right by Duffy. Big right by Duffy hurt Poirier to the body. Poirier looks out of trouble. Duffy with a body shot. Two right uppercuts by Duffy. Another right by Duffy. Poirier landing shots from the clihch. Both swinging. This is geat. Takedown by Poirier. Duffy bleeding from the nose. Duffy bleeding from the nose Poirier with a shot. Punch and knee by Poirier as Duffy got up. Hard elbow by Duffy. Both landed good rights. Close round, Poirier 10-9.
Second round: Poirier with a takedown. Poirier bleeding badly from the nose. Blood is pouring out of Poirier’s nose all over Duffy, who is on the bottom. The nose looks broken. Poirier just bleeding all over him. Poirier with an elbow from the top. Nice elbows from the top by Poirier. More hard elbows by Poirier. Lots of elbows by Poirier. Hard elbows by Poirier. Now Duffy bleeding badly from the elbows. He’s got a ton of different cuts. Big rights from the top by Poirier 10-8 round I’ve got so 20-17 Poirier
Third round: Poirier with a low kick. Good body shot by Duffy. Poirier took him down again. Duffy tried to roll out. Duffy went for a heel hook. Poirier escaped and back on top. The ref ordered a standup. There was no reason and fans booed that call. Duffy now landing punches. Left and right to the body. Poirier with a punch and takedown. Poirier with an elbow. Duffy with a triangle right as the fight ended. Really good fight. 30-26 Poirier.
Scores: 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27 for Poirier.
Poirier said he’s coming after the strap. Poirier said I don’t get triangled, I’ve got double jointed shoulders and I don’t get tired.
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- SCOTT HOLTZMAN (8-0, 1-0 UFC) VS. DREW DOBER (15-7 1 NC, 1-3 1 NC UFC)
First round: Dober with a left. Body kick by Holtzman. Holtzman tied him up in a clinch. Holtzman has him against the cage. Holtzman trying for a takedown but Dober blocking the attempts. Dober with a takedown. Dober with another takedown. Dober 10-9.
Second round: Elbow by Dober hurt him. Dober shot in for a takedown but Holtzman blocked it this time. Dober with elbows standing. Holtzman with a shin to the face. Takedown by Holtzman. Another takedown by Holtzman. Holtzman with ground and pound. Holtzman with good punches from the top. Holtzman with more punches and elbows from the top. Holtzman’s round for sure so 19-19.
Third round: Dober with a nice left. Dober looking for a takedown and got him down after a struggle. Spinning backfist by Holtzman. Dober took him down again. Holtzman all bloody from an elbow and Herb Dean stopped the fight for the doctor to check on him. Head kick by Hotlzman and Dober back with a punch. Right by Dober. Another right and left by Dobrer. Dober working for a takedown and got it. Hotltzman back up. Another takedown by Dober. He’s got his back. Dober 29-28.
Scores: All three have it 29-28 for Dober. All three rounds were clear.
First round: Ansaroff got poked in the right eye. Kish’s left thumbs went right in the eye. Ansaroff landing punches and kicks. Kish blocked a takedown. Both trading. Kish with elbows. Kish now landing punches. Kish with a knee to the body. Body kick by Ansaroff. Ansaroff with punches. They traded knees to the body. Takedown by Kish. Body kick by Ansaroff and Kish with punches. Ansaroff with some punches. Very close round. 10-9 Ansaroff.
Second round: Kick by Kish. Low kicks by Kish. Both landing hard shots. Ansaroff hurt him with a left hook and a kick. Left jab by Ansaroff. Right by Ansaroff. Kish used a headlock takedown. Kish’s round 19-19, but this round was close as well as Ansaroff was getting the better of the standup before the takedown.
Third round: Ansaroff with a takedown. Kish thought armbar but Ansaroff cleared it. Nice escape by Kish. Kish with punches. Kish with the takedown. Kish with punches from the top. Kish moved to the mount. Now she’s got her back. Ansaroff reversed to the top. Ansaroff’s comeback at the end made it close. I’ve got Kish 29-28 and she should win, but we’ll see.
Scores: 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27 Kish. You could go 30-27 as the first round was close.
WELTERWEIGHTS- KYLE NOKE (22-7-1, 6-3 UFC) VS. ALEX MORONO (11-3, 0-0 UFC)
First round: Morono was taking this fight on 11 days notice. Noke with a kick. Noke with a right. Nice spin kick by Morono. Noke landed a left as Morono was off balance. Big right by Noke. Side kicks by Noke. Morono landed a good right moving in. Noke 10-9.
Second round: Spin kick by Morono. Morono with a Superman punch. Noke missed a kick and Morono landed punches. Morono landing punches. Noke jumped on his back. Morono shook him off. Morono going for a heel hook. Noke out of it and on top. Noke with a knee to the body and punches. Noke 20-18.
Third round: Noke told his corner his nose was broken. Noke kicked the body. Both throwing punches. Morono with a hard right. Trading punches. Noke landing punches. Spinning elbow by Noke. Takedown by Noke. Morono working for an armrbar. Noke escaped. Morono so 29-28 Noke I’ve got. Morono winning would be possible.
Scores: Sal D’Amato has it 29-28 Morono, Patricia Morse Jarman has it 30-27 Noke, Chris Lee has it 29-28 Morono. Morono was shocked he won. Crowd doesn’t like it.
BANTAMWEIGHTS- (#8) MICHAEL MCDONALD (16-3, 5-2 UFC) VS. MASANORI KANEHARA (25-12-5, 1-1 UFC)
First round: McDonald with a big right. Kanehara shot for a takedown and got it. McDonald working for a guillotine with a body triangle. Kanehara out of trouble. Kanehara moved to mount. Kanehara 10-9.
Second round: Left and right by McDonald. Kanehara took him down off a kick. Kanehara moved to side control. Kanehara with knees to the body. Kanehara with a head and arm choke. McDonald escaped and got his back and is working for a choke. Kanehara tapped. Wow. McDonald was losing the entire fight, escaped a submission and then got the win.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT)
LIGHTWEIGHTS- ABEL TRUJILLO (12-7 1 NC, 3-3 1 NC UFC) VS. TONY SIMS (12-3, 1-1 UFC)
First round: Both threw. Sims landed a right. Sims with a left and right. Sims took him down but Trujillo has a guillotine and tapped him out.
FEATHERWEIGHTS- DIEGO BRANDAO (20-10, 6-3 UFC) VS. BRIAN ORTEGA (9-0 1 NC, 1-0 1 NC UFC)
First round: Brandao swinging wildly. High slam and Ortega tried an uma plata, but Brandao is out of trouble. Brandao with a hard low kick. Hard right by Brandao. Takedown by Brandao. Brandao with punches. Right by Brandao. Both landing punches but Brandao’s shots are crisper. Body kick by Ortega. Brandao 10-9.
Second round: Brandao with a left. Body kick by Brandao. Ortega with a right. Big right by Brandao. Right by Brandao. Ortega with punches. Body kick by Ortega. Brandao took this round as well so up 20-18. Ortega looks to need a finish.
Third round: Both out swinging. Ortega went for a takedown but Brando ended up on top. Brandao let him up and took him back down. Ortega working for a choke. Brandao escaped. Ortega went for a triangle for the submission. It was an Anaconda choke and moved to a mount, went for a guillotine, let it go and did a great triangle set up for the submission. That finish was bonus worthy.
WELTERWEIGHTS- LORENZ LARKIN (16-4 1 NC, 3-4 UFC) VS. ALBERT TUMENOV (16-2, 4-1 UFC)
First round: Nothing happening early. Larkin caught the kick. Low kick by Larkin. Another low kick by Larkin. Tumenov moving in with a big flurry. Right and left by Tumenov. Low kick by Larkin. Hard kick by Tumenov. Front kick by Larkin. Big right by Tumenov. Low kick by Larkin. Another low kick by Larkin. Low kick by Larkin. Larkin 10-9. Close round.
Second round: Larkin with a body kick. Larkin with a low kick. Larkin throwing low kicks. Right by Larkin. Tumenov in with punches. Tumenov landing to the body hard. Larkin with a low kick and Tumenov switched his stance. Tumenov landing lefts to the body. Larkin with a right. Both missing big punches. Tumenov landed a head kick. Big left by Tumenov. Left and right by Tumonev. Tumenov’s left leg is hurt. Tumenov’s round 19-19.
Third round: Tumenov with punches. Larkin with spinning low kicks. More low kicks by Larkin. Spin kick to the thigh by Larkin. Right by Tumenov. Larkin destroyed Tumenov’s left leg. Tumenov with a right. Larkin shot in for a takedown attempt. Tumenov blocking. Right by Larkin as Tumeonv went for the takedown. Larkin 29-28. Another close one.
HEAVYWEIGHTS- (#3) STIPE MIOCIC (13-2, 7-2 UFC) VS. (#2) ANDRE
First round: Arlovski kicking the knee. Miocic hurt him with two punches and finished him with punches on the ground. Right to the left ear, a right to the jaw and a left and Arvloski was down and a few punches on the ground and it was over. :54
Miocic is demanding a title shot and with this one, he deserves it.
UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP- (C) ROBBIE LAWLER (26-10 1 NC, 11-4 UFC) VS. (#4) CARLOS CONDIT (30-8, 7-4 UFC)
First round: Condit with a body kick. Low kick by Condit. Lawler landing good punches. Condit landed a left and a push and Lawler went down. Body kick by Condit and a knee. Condit is hurting him. Body kick by Condit. Another body kick by Condit. Lawler with a right. Knee by Condit. Body kick by Condit. High kick by Condit. Condit with a left and kick. Low kick by Condit. Low kick again by Condit. Body kick and left hook by Condit. Condit 10-9
Second round: Slower second round. Condit with some low kicks. Lawler landed a punch but Condit back with punches Body kick by Condit. Lawler blasted him with a left and Condit went down and he’s inn trouble. Condit tied him up. Lawler wanted him to get up. Made sense for him to do so. Left by Lawler. Head kick by Condit. Lawler with a hard left. Lawler missing big punches. Big left by Lawler. Lawler’s round 19-19.
Third round: Condit with low kicks. Body kick by Condit. Both swinging and Lawler getting the better of it. Knee by Condit and hard punch, Both swinging like crazy. Body kick by Condit. Lawler with a hard elbow. Condit missing a flurry. Head kick by Condit but didn’t land hard. Condit with a knee to the body. Body kick by Condit. Low kick by Lawler. Condit 29-28.
Fourth round: Lawler threw a left. Body kick by Condit. Body kick by Condit. Lawler slipped. Lawler landed a left. Both throwing big punches. Lawler threw a kick and Condit with a low kick and Lawler went down. Head kick by Condit. Condit with a right. Jumping knee by Condit short. Front kick by Condit and hard body kick by Condit. Low kick by Condit. Punches and low kick by Condit. Condit hurt him and Condit trying to finish him. Spinning backfist, knee and a flurry of punches by Condit. Condit landing more punches and a knee. Lawler with a big left. Condit 39-37.
Firth round: Lawler rushed in but Condit landed a few punches. Lawler throwing hard punches but Condit out of the way and came back. Front kick by Condit. Lawler landed big punches. Condit in with punches and elbows. Condit landed several punches and a body kick. Condit landing more punches. Condit landing a lot of punches now. Front kick by Condit. Lawler with a left and right. Body kick by Lawler. Condit back with punches. Condit landing a ton of punches. Head kick by Condit more punches. Lawler with a big right. Big left by Lawler. Condit back. Lawler big left rand big right by Lawler. Knee by Lawler. Big left by Lawler. Head kick by Lawler. Condit with a right. Condit back with punches. One of the best rounds of all-time. Condit back with punches and Lawler with punches. Condit with a right and a left. Both throwing as time ran out. Lawler’s round. This was a match of the year and then some. Lawler’s round I’ve got 48-47 for Condit.
Scores: Tony Weeks has it 48-47 Condit, Chris Lee has it 48-47 Lawler, Derek Cleary has it 48-47 Lawler.
They need a rematch.
I just rewatched round three. This could have gone either way. You could go with Lawler in the third, he landed the best shots even though Condit landed far more. I can’t call it a bad decision although I’d go for Condit. A rematch is the way to go.
After a great year in terms of both business and fight action, UFC rings in the New Year with UFC 195. While this show won’t break any business records, it’s quite likely that we’ll get an early contender for Fight of the Year in the main event as welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler defends his belt against Carlos Condit. We’ve also got a de facto #1 contender bout at heavyweight as Andrei Arlovski tries to turn back the hands of time and get another shot at a UFC title in the latter part of his career. But he’ll have to get past the ultra-tough Stipe Miocic, coming off a brutal 5-round destruction of Mark Hunt.
There are some changes to our panel this year and also in terms of the fights we’ll be picking. With UFC putting more emphasis on their Fight Pass streaming service, the biggest fights aren’t always going to be on the main card. In this case, we’ll be looking at three fights from the main card, one from the Fox Sports One prelims and one from the Fight Pass portion.
Here’s the panel this year. With 2015 Champion Jack Encarnacion retiring after a great 2015, Stevie J is the man to beat from this group:
Dave Meltzer – Wrestling Observer founder
Mike Sempervive – Wrestling Observer Live and Big Audio Nightmare co-host
Front Row Brian – MMA newsbreaker, Beloved internet personality, Podcast host
John Pollock – Fight Network analyst, Live Audio Wrestling co-host, MMA Report co-host
Steve Juon – MMA Fighting/Wrestling Observer writer. Angry Marks founder
David Bixenspan – Figure Four Weekly writer, podcast host
Mike Sawyer – Tough Talk MMA
Josh Nason – Host of Josh Nason’s Punch Out; writer/editor WrestlingObserver.com, WON Twitter guy
Ryan Frederick – WrestlingObserver.com UFC reporter
Paul Fontaine – MMADraws.com founder, WrestlingObserver.com writer
*****
> UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler (26-10-0-1) vs. Carlos Condit (30-8)
Lawler won the title after battling former champion Johnny Hendricks in two straight five round wars that most had as a dead heat. He defended the belt against Rory McDonald at UFC 189 in the co-main event underneath Conor McGregor-Chad Mendes in what most consider the fight of the year. Condit is the former WEC welterweight champion and UFC interim welterweight champion who will try to reclaim title glory here. He was last seen knocking out Thiago Alves in a two round destruction back in May upon his return.
> Stipe Miocic (13-2) vs. Andrei Arlovski (25-10-0-1) Heavyweights
Miocic destroyed Mark Hunt in his last fight, a fight that was probably stopped about a round and a half late. He’s seemingly been on the verge of a title fight for years now but with a win here is virtually guaranteed to get it. Arlovski returned to UFC in 2014 and has since rung up four straight wins, last beating Frank Mir in a lackluster three round fight last September. It would be a great story if he were to win, but our panel doesn’t give him much of a chance.
> Brian Ortega (9-0-1) vs. Diego Brandao (20-10) Featherweights
Ortega is an unbeaten fighter who competes for the third time in UFC on Saturday night. He was first seen with a dominant submission win that was later overturned due to a drug test failure in 2014. He returned to KO Thiago Tavares after serving his suspension. Brandao is a former TUF winner who has rattled off two straight early KOs since being knocked out by Conor McGregor in the main event of the first UFC Dublin show.
Ortega(favorite): Stevie J, RFred, Sawyer, Nason, Fontaine, Bix, Pollock, Sempervive, Meltzer Brandao: Front Row Brian
> Michael McDonald (16-3) vs. Masanori Kanehara (25-12-5) Bantamweights
The big story here is that Michael McDonald returns after over 2 years away. The former title challenger is still just 24-years old and could be a player in that division with an impressive win here. Kanehara is not being given much of a chance by our panel or the oddsmakers. He is coming off a decision loss to non-contender Rani Yahya, so perhaps that opinion is not unwarranted. Who knows if the ring rust will be a factor here for McDonald though?
> Dustin Poirier (18-4) vs. Joe Duffy (14-1) Lightweights
This will be the Fight Pass “headliner” and in the eyes of many, it’s the third biggest fight on the card. This fight was originally scheduled to headline the Fight Pass show from Dublin a few months back but Duffy had to pull out due to injury so we get the fight here on Saturday night. Poirier has looked absolutely unstoppable since moving to 155, scoring dominant first round KO’s in both of his fights. Prior to losing his last featherweight fight to current champion Conor McGregor, he’d also rung up two straight KO’s at 145. Duffy is, of course, the last man to beat McGregor (early in both men’s careers) and has looked great in UFC, kicking off his career with 2 straight first round stoppage wins. This fight should be quick and violent.
The show kicks off at 6:30 eastern with the UFC Fight Pass portion of the show. At 8 pm eastern, action moves over to FS 1 for the prelims and the PPV kicks off at 10 pm eastern. Dave Meltzer will have live fight coverage here and Ryan Frederick will provide live Twitter updates throughout the show as well.
The UFC kicks off 2016 on Saturday with UFC 195 from Las Vegas. It also marks the second year of UFC action on DraftKings, and they are celebrating with a big contest. Below are our studs, value plays and fighters to avoid in helping you set your line-ups for this weekend’s big event.
STUDS
Michael McDonald ($11,000)
Michael McDonald is the biggest favorite and has the highest salary of all of the fighters on the UFC 195 card, and for good reason. Despite being out of action for just over two years, McDonald is still one of the best bantamweights in the world, with knockout power and good submission skills. He is still young at just 24-years-old. He gets a fairly beatable test in his return to action in Masanori Kanehara. Kanehara hasn’t shown to be much of a threat at 135 pounds yet, and is a journeyman fighter of 42 career bouts, but just two in the UFC. He also doesn’t have the most impressive record. This fight is set up as a perfect bounce back for McDonald, and we expect him to get the job done quickly.
Brian Ortega ($10,300)
Brian Ortega is a rising featherweight with an undefeated record, and he gets showcased on the main card of UFC 195 as the UFC looks to build his resume. It will be another tough bout for him as he takes on former TUF winner Diego Brandao. Ortega passed a tough test in finishing Thiago Tavares in his last fight, but he was pushed to the limit. Brandao will be a foe that pushes him to the limit too. However, Brandao tends to crack under pressure, and Ortega will bring the pressure. Brandao has never put it together against a top opponent, and while Ortega isn’t there yet, he will be one day. I like Ortega’s chances of finishing Brandao, and he’s a good pick at his salary.
VALUE PLAYS
Dustin Poirier ($8,800)
It is surprising that Dustin Poirier is as big of an underdog as he is to Joseph Duffy, and his salary shows that. I actually think the betting line should be closer, but to his credit, Duffy is 14-1 in his career while Poirier is 6-3 in his last nine fights. Poirier has looked outstanding since making the move up to 155 pounds with two first-round finishes, and his striking has looked crisp. Poirier is a finisher and so is Duffy. It is rare for a higher-ranked fighter to be an underdog, and with Duffy being the one to pull out the last time they were scheduled to fight, that could provide Poirier more motivation to finish Duffy. I like Poirier at his salary.
Kyle Noke ($8,500)
This is one everyone should be taking advantage of. When the salaries were originally released for the event, Kyle Noke was scheduled to fight Kelvin Gastelum. He was a big underdog, and his salary reflected that. Gastelum, however, was forced out of the fight. Noke now fights Alex Morono, and DraftKings policy is to not change salaries after they are released, so Noke retains his low salary. With him fighting an opponent making his UFC debut on short notice, Noke is actually a big favorite in the fight. He is coming off a first-round finish of Peter Sobotta in his last bout. With his salary remaining low, Noke should be a must-play on your roster.
AVOID
Sheldon Westcott ($10,200)
Sheldon Westcott is still in search of his first UFC win, and he finds himself in a must-win situation in the opener of UFC 195. His opponent, Edgar Garcia, is in the same position. The loser of the bout is likely cut from the promotion. Westcott hasn’t been impressive during his time inside the Octagon and isn’t a fighter who racks up a lot of points during his bouts. He may get the win over Garcia, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who will maximize value at his salary. I will be avoiding him in my line-ups.
Nina Ansaroff ($8,700)
Nina Ansaroff has an umimpressive 6-4 record in her career, but she has won five of her last six bouts. She did lose her UFC debut to Juliana Lima, and had her last fight cancelled the day of the fight when she fell ill during rehydration. She missed weight for that scheduled fight against Rose Namajunas. She makes her return against Justine Kish, a 4-0 strawweight making her UFC debut after dealing with a knee injury. Kish is a solid fighter and a big favorite, and she should get the win. With that, I’m fading Ansaroff in my line-ups.
OUR LINEUPS:
RYAN FREDERICK: Michael McDonald ($11,000), Stipe Miocic ($10,500), Brian Ortega ($10,300), Dustin Poirier ($8,800), Kyle Noke ($8,500)
I like Michael McDonald to get an impressive and quick finish in his UFC return. Stipe Miocic has a good salary and I think he finishes Andrei Arlovski. He is also a volume striker with good takedowns and will come at Arlovski a lot while the fight lasts. Brian Ortega should get the finish of Diego Brandao. I like Dustin Poirier against Joseph Duffy at his salary. Finally, I’m going with Kyle Noke. His salary is too good to pass up against a late replacement who will come in overmatched. I’m sensing all five of these guys winning, and winning by stoppage.
PAUL FONTAINE: Joseph Duffy ($10,600), Albert Tumenov ($10,100), Abel Trujillo ($10,000), Robbie Lawler ($9,800), Andrei Arlovski ($8,900)
Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit should have a war with a ton strikes thrown and someone getting KO’d. My money’s on the champion here. Arlovski is a bit of a chance but if he connects, Miocic could get dropped early and Miocic has had a tendency to choke when he gets close to a title shot, as he is now. Tumenov is one of the most underrated fighters in any weight class, although not here by the people that sest the Draft Kings salaries. I like the Russian to ring up his fifth straight UFC win as he marches toward the top 10. Trujillo is either going to get knocked out or knock someone out and I think this is his turn to do the latter. Sims looked good in his UFC debut against Steve Montgomery but not so much in his follow-up fight. I like Trujillo to come out with an early blitz and finish Sims. My last pick may be the fight I’m most looking forward to and that’s Joseph Duffy. I love this fight and I think either guy could win but I think the extra size and power of the Irishman is going to come into play here and end up with a 3rd straight stoppage win for the last man to beat Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor (couldn’t get through this without saying that!).
PEACH MACHINE: Scott Holtzman ($10,400), Albert Tumenov ($10,100), Abel Trujillo ($10,000), Robbie Lawler ($9,800), Dustin Poirier ($8,800)
I love Lawler to light up Condit big time and score mega points en route to a late stoppage. Poirier is gonna waffle this kid. Just because he’s Irish, everyone’s super into Duffy. DP is gonna stick a potato in his ear. Holtzman is a late replacement but he’s been training solidly for a fight since his first tilt in August and actually asked for a match on short notice. I saw him live in August and just saw him train in Glendale. He’s going to be too fast for Dober and get a finish. Tumenov is going to ground and pound Larkin for three rounds. Trujillo will bounce back from a loss and smash Tony Sims. I’m actually feeling pretty good about my picks this week.
Full entrance for R-Trizzle, who thankfully remembers that he is in fact in Washington D.C. tonight. Eden can be seen laughing in the background at 1993’s catchphrase-du-jour, “Whoomp, there it is!” People over there, what’s up, indeed.
Rich Brennan informs me that his opponent, Heath Slater, finished #8 in the Slammy voting for Superstar of the Year. Huh.
Brennan and Byron Saxton hilariously talk about the prospect of The Big Show winning this year’s Royal Rumble, as Truth gets the shine. Our forgetful hero taunts Slater with what Byron calls the “jiggy jiggy” off a failed Irish whip, before dodging Heath and sending him crashing to the outside leading into commercials.
Slater the works the left knee forever when we get back, before we get a quick Truth comeback and a Lie Detector out of nowhere for the pinfall victory. This went over nine minutes (not including the commercials) and I felt every minute of it.
Titus O’Neil def. Adam Rose by pinfall
Adam’s TitanTron reminds me that they’ve mercifully dropped the Rosebush segments on RAW. And by the look of his morose, disinterested demeanour, he ain’t too pleased about it either.
Announcers mention that Titus and Darren have been dipping their respective toes in the singles competition waters of late. At least Titus, a Main Event fixture, has had those exploits televised. Young was reduced to defeating Curtis Axel in a dark match at this particular taping.
Trademark overhand chop in the corner from Mr. O’Neil, followed by the ol’ rib-breaker toss that he’s equally fond of – which I’m reliably informed is called the Pay Check.
Short match here that went just over four minutes. Quick heat segment from Rose after he used a rope break to his advantage, only to get cocky and allow Titus to come back at him with impressive fire.
Big boot, The Meltzer Bark, a stinger splash and a Clash of the Titus wraps it up for the big man. He millions-of-dollarses with a frankly quite befuddled and bespectacled old man afterwards to celebrate.
– Recap of the Vince angle from RAW, entitled “Arrested Developments” by the Main Event producer, in what may or may not be a nod at the greatest sitcom of all time (season four notwithstanding).
Jack Swagger def. Stardust by submission
Swagger dominates leading into an early commercial break. He then takes an impressive bump to the outside when we return, slamming off the ring steps after a failed corner charge.
Work rate disproportionate to a show of Main Event’s standing continues, as Stardust hits a massive superplex off the top rope to highlight the heat portion of the match.
Swagger then starts his comeback by foiling a subsequent Figure Four attempt, before hitting a running clothesline on the outside to get the crowd going.
Back in and Stardust dodges the Swagger Bomb, before hitting a Side Effect for two. A nice series of reversals follows, as Swagger catches ‘Dust off a Disaster Kick attempt, only to find himself sunset flipped. Swagger then avoids the pinfall by countering into the Patriot Lock, which Stardust escapes.
Finishing sequence sees Stardust land on his feet off a Swagger back suplex attempt. He immediately lines up the Queen’s Crossbow, only for Swagger to roll him into another Patriot Lock, which this time gets the tap. Really good effort from these two.
Final Thoughts
A second featured contest in as many weeks for Swagger and he again turns in a surprisingly good bout by C-show standards. Watch that and ditch the rest.
Welcome to F4WOnline.com’s live coverage of the UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit weigh-ins from the Marquee Ballroom at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fighters will hit the scale at 7 PM eastern time. The card airs on Saturday with the main card on PPV at 10 PM eastern time. Preliminary card action kicks off at 6:30 PM eastern time on UFC Fight Pass before heading over to FOX Sports 1 at 8 PM eastern time with additional preliminary bouts. This event marks the first fight card for the UFC in 2016.
The event is headlined by a UFC Welterweight Championship bout as current UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler makes his second title defense, this time defending against fourth-ranked welterweight and former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit. In the co-main event, it will be a potential title eliminator in the UFC’s heavyweight division as third-ranked Stipe Miocic takes on second-ranked former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski, winner of his last six fights. Also on the card, in a highly featured bout on UFC Fight Pass, will be lightweights Dustin Poirier and Joseph Duffy.
MAIN CARD (PPV- 10 PM ET/7 PM PT): Robbie Lawler (170) vs. Carlos Condit (169) – UFC Welterweight Championship Stipe Miocic (241.5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (246.5) Lorenz Larkin (171) vs. Albert Tumenov (171) Diego Brandao (146) vs. Brian Ortega (145.5) Abel Trujillo (156) vs. Tony Sims (156)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX SPORTS 1- 8 PM ET/5 PM PT): Michael McDonald (136) vs. Masanori Kanehara (135) Kyle Noke (170.5) vs. Alex Morono (170) Justine Kish (116) vs. Nina Ansaroff (116) Scott Holtzman (155.5) vs. Drew Dober (155.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC FIGHT PASS- 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT): Dustin Poirier (155.5) vs. Joseph Duffy (155) Joe Soto (135.5) vs. Michinori Tanaka (135.5) Sheldon Westcott (170) vs. Edgar Garcia (170)
This Monday marks the second biggest wrestling show of the year, WrestleKingdom 10. It promises to be a huge show with plenty of awesome wrestling action. It will also attract a lot of people who haven’t watched that much Japanese wrestling, or those who only watch the biggest shows. For those people who are new to watching WrestleKingdom, here are five things that you need to know, or at the very least will help you out in maximizing your fun and decreasing the confusion you might have going into something completely new and different.
1. The show will be pretty darn long if you’re watching live.
With this year’s WrestleKingdom show no longer airing at PPV, New Japan will be less stingy with time this year. Not only will the show more than likely be over four hours (most of New Japan’s big shows are near the five hour mark) there will also be a 90 minute pre-show before the main card. This will feature the New Japan Rumble, which is basically a Royal Rumble featuring all the New Japan guys who are not on the card plus a few legends (last year included the likes of Hiro Saito and The Great Kabuki).
While watching a show that might go over seven hours sounds daunting, most New Japan shows are so well paced the time will fly by pretty fast. Just be prepared to clear your schedule if you’re planning to watch the whole show, including the rumble, live. If not, most PPVs are usually on New Japan World later that day anyway, so you can still watch the show in a timely manner.
For the record, if you are looking to sign up for New Japan World for the first time, you can do so here. There is “select language” feature at the top of the page, and once selecting that you’ll see the sign up button at the top of the page, where English directions to sign up are provided.
2. There will be English commentary.
The big difference between this year’s show and last year’s show, as previously mentioned, is that WrestleKingdom 10 won’t be on PPV. Last year’s show is a joint venture between New Japan and Global Force Wrestling. This year there is no GFW involvement, so the only way to see the show live will be via New Japan World. The good news is that New Japan has brought in ROH announcer Kevin Kelly and widely known color commentator Matt Striker to call the action in English, with inactive NJPW wrestler Yoshi Tatsu being brought back to translate whatever promos and storylines happen on the show. It might not be the best commentary team of all time, but I found their work to be solid at King of Pro Wrestling and I expect there to be improvements for the second biggest wrestling event of the year.
Keep in mind for the future that all big New Japan shows will probably have English commentary. The trend started at King of Pro Wrestling, and it will continue at WrestleKingdom and most likely Invasion Attack and G1 Finals later this year.
3. There will be shows before and after WrestleKingdom.
If you thought 7 hours of New Japan on a Monday morning was just not enough to saite your needs, good news! There will be shows on 1/2 as well as on 1/5 featuring matches between all of your favorite New Japan guys. The ⅓ card will feature the debut of two new rookies making their professional wrestling debut as Kanemitsu Taruaki and Kawato Hirai will compete in singles matches against Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, respectively. It will be interesting to see if this is the swan song for both Tanaka and Komatsu as the rumor is they are soon to be setting out on their excursions. Beyond the rookies making their debut, the ⅓ show will also feature a six man with Jay White, Tiger Mask and Jushin Liger taking on David Finlay, Mascara Dorada and Ryusuke Taguchi.
New Year’s Dash, the show taking place after the Tokyo Dome event on ⅕, currently has no card. Like other years, most likely the card will be announced the day of the show, probably with many tag team matches since everyone will have had their working boots on the day before.
Both shows are scheduled to be broadcast on New Japan World, with the 1/3 show airing at 7 pm PT on 1/2 (I know, time is weird), with the 1/5 show airing at 1:30 am PT.
4. With the exception of one match, every match on the WrestleKingdom card will be for a championship.
You don’t absolutely NEED to know this if this is your first time tuning in, but it’s an interesting fact nonetheless. This year’s show is interesting in that every title in New Japan will be defended. This isn’t a big shock, as most shows in previous years have had many title matches. But this factoid is amazing in that every match on the show, with the exception of the New Japan Rumble and a grudge match between Tetsuya Naito and Hirooki Goto, will be for a championship.
We have the major titles on the line, with Tanahashi/Okada and Nakamura/Styles for the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles respectively. The NEVER title will be defended with Tomohiro Ishii defending against Katsuyori Shibata. It’s weird that the NEVER concept died so quickly, as originally it was supposed to be a title for younger contenders from both weight classes to compete for, which isn’t the case at all now. So it’s even weirder that a new set of six man tag belts are being made, complete with the NEVER name, with The Briscoes and Yano facing off against Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi to determine the first champions.
Even with all of that, there are still four other titles being defended. You have both tag team titles being defended as Bullet Club (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) defends against Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma). The Ring of Honor title will be defended for the first time in New Japan Pro Wrestling as champion Jay Lethal defends against Michael Elgin. And finally, both Junior titles are on the line as Kenny Omega defends against Kushida and reDragon defends in a fourway against the Young Bucks, Roppongi Vice and Matt Sydal/Ricochet.
In other words…if you love title matches, this is the show for you. New Japan title matches are always special, so expect everyone to have their working boots on. You can also take bets on how many titles change hands and how many don’t with your friends!
5. This isn’t Okada and Tanahashi’s first match, and if history proves right it won’t be their last.
One of the best feuds of this decade has been between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. Still considered the true ace of the promotion, Tanahashi has had problems with Okada dating back to Okada’s re-emergence from his TNA excursion in 2012. Ever since then, they’ve faced off seven times, six since Okada’s return, with Okada in the lead with 4 wins over Tanahashi’s 3.
The biggest factor in this match however isn’t the overall number of wins, but the wins in the Tokyo Dome. Okada has been unable to defeat Tanahashi in Tokyo Dome matches twice now, and considering he left their match last year in tears, he is sure to want to gain a measure of revenge by beating Tanahashi where it counts the most, at WrestleKingdom. While this all feels like a culmination of a feud that has now lasted four years, it might not be their last as they’ll more than likely face each other again down the road. It’s just that more than likely, it won’t have the same ramifications as this match does.
Blue Panther Jr. & Esfinge & The Panther vs. Cancerbero & Raziel & Virus
Atlantis & Marco Corleone & Valiente vs. Dragon Rojo & Polvora & Thunder
Maximo Sexy vs. Kamaitachi hair vs. hair
Mistico & Caristico & Rusher vs. Volador Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero & Cibernetico
Negro Casas vs. Super Parka hair vs. hair
UFC 195 AT THE MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA IN LAS VEGAS SATURDAY
FIGHT PASS AT 6:30 P.M. EASTERN
Edgar Garcia vs. Sheldon Wescott
Joe Soto vs. Michinori Tanaka
Joe Duffy vs. Dustin Poirier
FS 1 AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Alex Morono vs. Kyle Noke
Drew Dober vs. Scott Holtzman
Nina Ansaroff vs. Justine Kish
Michael McDonald vs. Masanori Kanehara
PPV AT 10 P.M. EASTERN
Tony Sims vs. Abel Trujillo
Diego Brandao vs. Brian Ortega
Lorenz Larkin vs. Albert Tumenov
Andrei Arlovski vs. Stipe Miocic
Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit for the welterweight title
PRO WRESTLING GUERRILLA ON SATURDAY NIGHT IN RESEDA, CA (Sorry no way to watch it unless you are one of the 400 with tickets)
Timothy Thatcher vs. Drew Gulak
Sami Callihan vs. Trevor Lee
Chris Dickinson vs. Brian Cage
Jack Evans vs. Drew Galloway
Adam Cole vs. Speedball Mike Bailey
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Akira Tozawa
Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero for PWG title
NEW JAPAN FAN FEST LIVE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD 10 P.M. SATURDAY NIGHT FROM DIFFER ARIAKE
Kawato Hirai (pro debut) vs. Yohei Komatsu
Kanemitsu Teruaki (pro debut) vs. Sho Tanaka
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Jay White vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Mascara Dorada & David Finlay
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Juice Robinson
Sunday WWE returns to touring with shows in Hidalgo, TX (Roman Reigns vs Sheamus for WWE title) and Corpus Christi (Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens for IC title; Kane vs. Bray Wyatt).
NEW JAPAN WRESTLE KINGDOM AT 2:15 A.M. LATE SUNDAY/EARLY MONDAY ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
There will be both a English and Japanese language feed for the show
New Japan Rumble
Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly vs. Young Bucks vs. Ricochet & Matt Sydal vs. Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta for IWGP jr. tag titles
Mark & Jay Briscoe & Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga & Yujiro Takahashi & Bad Luck Fale for Never trios championships
Jay Lethal vs. Michael Elgin for ROH championship
Kenny Omega vs. Kushida for IWGP jr. title
Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows & Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma for IWGP tag team titles
Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata for Never Open weight championship
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. A.J. Styles for IC title
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for IWGP heavyweight title
Raw will be Monday night from San Antonio with Roman Reigns vs. Sheamus for the WWE title with Vince McMahon as referee.
NEW JAPAN NEW YEAR’S DASH AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN TUESDAY MORNING ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
No matches have been announced for the “Raw after Mania” show, but Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker will be calling the show in English and there will also be the Japanese feed..
The first Smackdown on the USA Network will be taped on Tuesday night in Laredo. Mauro Ranallo debuts as announcer and John Cena will be on the show.
TNA ON POP TV AT 9 P.M. FROM BETHLEHEM, PA
Matt Hardy vs. Ethan Carter III
Bobby Lashley vs Eric Young
Winners of these two matches meet for the vacant TNA title
We have our annual business year in review as the lead of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week. We cover our awards balloting year from 12/1/14 to 11/30/15 looking at the biggest events and biggest draws, with the year’s biggest crowds, records set in several different companies, Cena compared to those in similar positions on the all-time list, the year’s PPV buys for every wrestling, MMA and boxing show, how this year compared with other years.
Dwayne Johnson returning for WrestleMania, different ideas of where he may fit in, and his recent track record of WrestleMania matches.
The history of New Japan on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. The first New Japan Tokyo Dome show and its main event, what drew the first house, what Lou Thesz said to Antonio Inoki after the show and why Thesz thought the result was a good thing and why it ended up being a waste. We look at how this year’s show will differ from last year as well as a match-by-match rundown and a look at the history of the New Japan big four, Tanahashi, Okada, A.J. Styles and Nakamura, with all of their previous Tokyo Dome matches.
Jonathan Coachman on HGH usage in WWE, why usage is so prevalent in certain types of sports and entertainment.
WWE injury coverage, why WWE stars are doing more NBC media, how movies with Sting are doing at the box office, how the WWE’s head of medical came across in the movie “Concussion” plus a concussion expert on Daniel Bryan situation. Update on Nikki Bella, NXT sellouts, Brock Lesnar’s next match, Cena facing a surprise opponent, Chris Jericho on future, Royal Rumble, Sin Cara injury update, NXT in Dallas, the go-home show for WrestleMania, two international stars about to start with WWE and the Bayley character on the main roster.
The holiday show in Madison Square Garden coverage, Ben Askren talks about One’s possibly revolutionary weight cutting regulations that could be the catalyst for changing MMA. We look at the first Rizin show, the sad spectacle of Sakuraba, the pro wrestlers on the show, the mentality behind why certain people were on the show and match-by-match coverage.
You can also order the print Observer right now and get it delivered to your door via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer
For the United States, it is $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to moonsault@mediaplusint.com For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can get one free classic issue of your choice sent to you today. With a 40 issue subscription, you can get two free classic issues sent to you today.
New Japan has one minute promotional videos for all the top matches for the Tokyo Dome up for free right now Video 1, Video 2, Video 3 and Video 4.
After the Tokyo Dome and the Fantastica Mania tourNew Japan PPV shows will be splitting up the title matches with the New Beginnings in Osaka on 2/11 and the new Beginnings in Niigata on 2/14.
The big news in sports today, even though people are trying to spin it differently, is how the College Football playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve tanked in the ratings. The evening game was down 35 percent from last year and the afternoon game was down 37 percent. There were people who thought New Year’s Eve wouldn’t hurt the ratings all that much because major sports events have been strong this year on television. But this isn’t a New Year’s Eve TV watching culture like Japan is.
From the family, Buddy Wayne, who passed away two days ago was born John Dwayne Peal, not Peale as we reported. This has been a very rough year for the Peal family as Buddy and two of his sisters both passed away.
A story on the person the character in the movie “The Masked Saint” was based upon, that stars Roddy Piper.
WWE
NXT for the first time made the list as one of the most pirated television shows.
I’m told that people who signed up the first day Fight Pass was offered are getting a 50 percent discount on UFC 195.
The second episode of Dana White: Lookin For a Fight will be released on YouTube on 1/11. The first episode was where Dana White, Matt Serra and Nick the Tooth discovered Sage Northcutt working small shows. This time they head to Philadelphia and Atlantic City looking for fighters, eating Cheesesteak and going to the beach.
MISCELLANEOUS
Roderick Strong vs. Masada for the ROH TV title was announced for 1/9 in Concord, NC. This is Masada’s first ROH match in quite some time.
Comcast in South Jersey has picked up COMET TV on Ch. 253, which airs ROH on Wednesday nights. (thanks to Bob Magee)
John Skyler was the latest entrant announced for the ECWA Super 8 tournament on 4/23 in Woodbury Heights, NJ.
Too Cold Scorpio on why he hates Buff Bagwell, what he thinks of Paul Heyman and Bill Watts and saving Arn Anderson’s life
After a big 2015, the UFC kicks off 2016 with three events in the month of January. As the Octagon made more international appearances over the years, this month is special in the sense that all three events will take place on American soil. Kicking things off on January 2 will be UFC 195 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following that will be UFC Fight Night 81 on January 17 in Boston, Massachusetts, and UFC On FOX 18 wraps things up for the month on January 30 in Newark, New Jersey. At this point, there are 37 bouts on the fight schedule for the month, so we are going to take a look at ten fights UFC fans should be on the look out for during a fun month of January.
Honorable Mentions: Michael McDonald vs. Masanori Kanehara- UFC 195 Ben Saunders vs. Patrick Cote- UFC Fight Night 81 Tarec Saffiedine vs. Jake Ellenberger- UFC On FOX 18
10. Sage Northcutt vs. Andrew Holbrook- UFC On FOX 18- January 30
19-year-old rising prospect Sage Northcutt is taking the UFC by storm, garnering a lot of attention and being promoted heavily by the promotion. It may be unjust to some due to his age and inexperience, but there is a lot of marketability to the kid. He will be fighting for the second straight month, and the third time since making his UFC debut in October. This time he will be featured in primetime on the FOX network. He is being slowly built facing opponents near the bottom of the division, but he gets an undefeated opponent in his next fight in Andrew Holbrook. Holbrook is 11-0 and is coming off a win in his UFC debut, a split decision over Ramsey Nijem in July. This will be a test for Northcutt and also will show if coming back seven weeks after his last fight is too quick of a UFC turnaround.
9. Albert Tumenov vs. Lorenz Larkin- UFC 195- January 2
These men throw down with exciting fights and look to finish with every punch and kick they throw, and that is why the fight between Albert Tumenov and Lorenz Larkin is featured prominently on the main card of UFC 195, the first event of the month on Saturday. They are both finishers and both are strong on their feet. They have a chance to provide a lot of excitement and fireworks when they step inside the Octagon across from each other. Tumenov has won four straight fights while Larkin has won his past two since making the move down to welterweight. Unfortunately for them, they may not have the most exciting welterweight bout of the month, but the odds are pretty good they have a good shot at winning “Fight Of The Month”. This should be a barnburner.
8. Travis Browne vs. Matt Mitrione- UFC Fight Night 81- January 17
Travis Browne and Matt Mitrione are both at interesting points in their careers. Browne was thought to be a future title challenger in the heavyweight division, but has always seemed to take a step back when facing a top-five opponent. Mitrione was climbing up the rankings, but made a mental mistake that cost him his last fight against Ben Rothwell. Mitrione now comes into his fight against Browne on January 17 as an impending free agent, and he has been outspoken about a lot of issues in recent months. How will that affect him? Browne has also been in the news a lot, between charges of domestic abuse from his estranged wife and his new relationship with Ronda Rousey. How that all affects him remains to be seen as well. Inside the Octagon, both men throw heavy hands and in a heavyweight bout, a finish seems likely. Both men are at pivotal crossroads in their careers, and both have a lot to prove.
7. Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy- UFC 195- January 2
Originally scheduled to headline the UFC’s event in Dublin in October, a fight week injury to Joseph Duffy caused cancellation of his bout against Dustin Poirier. They were rebooked to fight at UFC 195 on Saturday, and they will be headlining the UFC Fight Pass preliminary card as the UFC makes a big push for their digital network in 2016. Duffy has gotten a lot of attention being the last man to defeat Conor McGregor, and he has scored two impressive UFC wins in his first two UFC bouts. A fight against Poirier is a big step up for Duffy, who fought Ivan Jorge and Jake Lindsey in his first two UFC bouts. Poirier was close to a title shot at 145 pounds, and he has two straight first-round finishes since moving up to lightweight. Both men are trying to break into the top ten in a crowded 155-pound division, and the winner will rocket up the rankings.
6. Josh Barnett vs. Ben Rothwell- UFC On FOX 18- January 30
Ben Rothwell has been looking for a fight for a long time, and it looks like he finally will get one at the end of January. He was supposed to fight Stipe Miocic in October, but Miocic pulled out due to injury. Rothwell tried to get many fights in the meantime, but nothing was materializing. He became even more upset when Miocic was quickly rebooked against Andrei Arlovski, who Rothwell tried to get booked with. In steps Josh Barnett, who will be looking to capitalize following a dominant win over Roy Nelson in September. It is interesting that Barnett took the fight as he talked about taking time away from the sport, again, following the Nelson win. He looked really good in that win, and Rothwell has looked sharp during his three-fight win streak. The winner will move one step closer towards a title shot.
5. Stipe Miocic vs. Andrei Arlovski- UFC 195- January 2
Speaking of title shots in the heavyweight division, the aforementioned Stipe Miocic and Andrei Arlovski square off in the first co-main event of 2016 with a title shot hanging in the balance. Miocic is coming off a dominant win over Mark Hunt and is 4-1 in his last five fights. Arlovski has enjoyed a career resurgence, winning his last six fights, including four straight since returning to the UFC. He was in one of 2015’s most exciting bouts against Travis Browne, but his last win, over Frank Mir, was a disappointment. It set him up for a title eliminator against Miocic, who looks to make a statement and earn that title shot that has loomed him. With many big heavyweight bouts in January, this one will have the most importance on future title challengers.
4. Anthony Johnson vs. Ryan Bader- UFC On FOX 18- January 30
Light heavyweights will close out the month of January as Anthony Johnson and Ryan Bader will meet in the main event of the FOX event on January 30 in Newark. Johnson is looking to get back into a title fight after a second-round knockout win over Jimi Manuwa at UFC 191 in January. Bader can make a strong argument that he deserves a title shot as he has won five straight fights, something that has been very hard to do in the UFC’s light heavyweight division. He is coming off a convincing win over Johnson’s teammate, Rashad Evans, at UFC 192 in October. Unfortunately for both men, current champion Daniel Cormier is going to be occupied by former champion Jon Jones for a while as Jones makes his return. The winner of this bout is almost guaranteed to be next in line, so this is a pivotal bout for both.
3. Anthony Pettis vs. Eddie Alvarez- UFC Fight Night 81- January 17
Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon for the first time since losing the title to Rafael Dos Anjos, and his road back to a title shot begins with a bout against former Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez. Alvarez is looking for his second straight win over a former champion after defeating Gilbert Melendez in June and will be looking to make his case for a title shot. This fight has the potential to be a great clash as we have two top-five lightweights going at it with a potential title shot on the line. Pettis has long been one of the most exciting fighters in the sport and Alvarez is no slouch himself. In a month crowded with potential title eliminator bouts, this one has the best shot at being the best fight of the bunch.
2. Robbie Lawler vs. Carlos Condit- UFC 195- January 2
The first main event of 2016 has excitement written all over it. UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler is coming off his first title defense over Rory MacDonald in 2015’s “Fight Of The Year”. It is the second straight year that Lawler has been involved in the “Fight Of The Year”, and him and former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit are looking to get a jump start on potentially winning that honor for 2016. It is one of the most interesting and compelling match-ups on the horizon for the UFC as it features two welterweights involved in some of the best fights in 170-pound division history. Both men are strong finishers, and both are equally as tough to finish. This one could be an all-time classic.
1. T.J. Dillashaw vs. Dominick Cruz- UFC Fight Night 81- January 17
The man who never lost the UFC Bantamweight Championship inside the Octagon will finally get his chance to get that championship back in our top fight to watch for the month. Dominick Cruz was forced to relinquish the championship after knee injuries kept him out of action for nearly two years. He returned in September 2014 and quickly finished Takeya Mizugaki, showing he hadn’t lost a step. However, another knee injury forced him out of action for all of 2015, but he finally comes back with a chance to win the belt he never lost. That championship is now held by T.J. Dillashaw, who is coming off his second title defense after a dominant win over the man he beat for the championship, Renan Barao, in July. Dillashaw has been in the news more recently for his ugly split with teammate Urijah Faber, who happens to be a big rival of Cruz. Faber is waiting in the wings for the winner, but Dillashaw and Cruz have their work ahead of them first. Their match-up on January 17 in Boston has the chance to be one of the best fights in the history of the bantamweight division, and the winner will be the rightful champion.
We have our annual business year in review as the lead of the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter this week. We cover our awards balloting year from 12/1/14 to 11/30/15 looking at the biggest events and biggest draws, with the year’s biggest crowds, records set in several different companies, every show that did more than 15,000 fans, who headlined the most big shows, where John Cena ranks among all-time draws in a number of categories, a look at Cena compared to those in similar positions on the all-time list, the PPV buys for every show of the past year in wrestling, MMA and boxing, which companies did the last when it comes to live events and how this year compared with other years, UFC PPV business for the year and UFC big show business, as well as a look at every show that topped $2 million and a number of gate records set in different categories this year.
We also look at Dwayne Johnson returning for WrestleMania, different ideas of where he may fit in, and his recent track record of WrestleMania matches.
We also look at the history of New Japan on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome. We look at the first New Japan Tokyo Dome show and its main event, what drew the first house, what Lou Thesz said to Antonio Inoki after the show and why Thesz thought the result was a good thing and why it ended up being a waste. We also look at a number of major characters who debuted on the show including one of the most enduring stars in history, as well as a character in a famous video game. We look at records set the first time New Japan ran on January 4th, which was also a PPV in the U.S., some of the biggest matches during New Japan’s heyday, how things look for this year, the fall of New Japan and how the Dome tradition almost ended, as well as the comeback in recent years. We look at how this year’s show will differ from last year as well as a match-by-match rundown and a look at the history of the New Japan big four, Tanahashi, Okada, A.J. Styles and Nakamura, with all of their previous Tokyo Dome matches.
We also look at what Jonathan Coachman said about HGH usage in WWE, why HGH usage is so prevalent in certain types of sports and entertainment, what it really does and doesn’t do, and why nobody ever seems to get caught.
We also look at WWE injury coverage for talent, why WWE stars are doing more NBC media, notes on how movies with Sting are doing at the box office, thoughts on how the WWE’s head of medical came across in the movie “Concussion” plus a concussion expert talks the Daniel Bryan situation. We also update on Nikki Bella, NXT sellouts, Brock Lesnar’s next match, Cena facing a surprise opponent in two weeks, Chris Jericho talks his future, Royal Rumble notes, Sin Cara injury update, NXT in Dallas for Mania, WWE injuries, the go-home show for WrestleMania, two international stars about to start with WWE and the Bayley character on the main roster.
We’ve got a rundown on the holiday show in Madison Square Garden, Ben Askren talks about One’s new weight cutting regulations that will completely change the promotion and why this could be a prototype for a massive change in MMA. We’ve got a look at the first Rizin show, the sad spectacle of Sakuraba, the pro wrestlers on the show, the mentality behind why certain people were on the show and match-by-match coverage.
We also look at how the WWE ratings have fared in its No. 2 market, te U.K., and how declines and gains compare to what happened in the U.S.
We also look at the Dragon Gate Final Gate show, the last major event of the year.
We also have our 2015 awards ballot as well as our monthly business review of WWE & TNA.
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The Wrestling Observer ranges weekly from 35,000 to 50,000 words covering pro wrestling and MMA internationally. Each issue has coverage and analysis of all the major news, plus every issue breaks major news stories before the Internet sties and has the most complete look at the pro wrestling and MMA business anywhere, plus history pieces available nowhere else.
We’ve also got the weekly coverage of all the ratings of the major shows, results from the major league events held around the world, and the major TV show rundowns.
Also in this issue:
–Christmas cards are almost all forgotten, but the one place they are still around does big business
–More on CMLL’s iPPV problems
–Last Lucha Libre Elite show of the year
–More on Rey Mysterio Jr. in Mexico
–Great mainstream article on AAA with more info on the death of Perro Aguayo Jr.
–Keiji Muto returns to the ring
–Talk of an angle hinted about to save a promotion in rough shape
–More on NOAH’s year-end show
–Another former star comes back to NOAH
–Early year big NOAH shows
–Notes on New Japan’s show before the Tokyo Dome
–Hiroshi Tanahashi talks about being a star in Japanese wrestling
–Mainstream star coming to the Tokyo Dome
–Female star retires
–Major woman’s tilte changes hands
–Huge European tour includes a first-time ever dream match of two of the best American wrestlers of the past 15 years
–Former WCW announcer now working as national news anchor
–Roddy Piper’s last movie
–Honoring a woman’ wrestling great
–Lucha Underground and house shows
–More on ROH contract talks
–Japanese stars coming to the next ROH PPV show
–ROH Top Prospect tournament
–More on TNA’s PPV show next week
–Future of Kurt Angle
–What match does Kurt Angle really want
–Anderson Silva vs. Michael Bisping notes
–Dana White goes off on reporters
–More on decision to put a PPV main event on Fight Pass
–More on Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate
–UFC income in 2015
–Complete gate info from the December shows in Las Vegas
–Why there are problems regarding a stadium show in Dublin
–Daniel Cormier talks about a date he’d like to face Jon Jones
