The battered UFC 170 event is here. Remember when Gilbert Melendez versus Khabib Nurmagomedov was supposed to happen? How about that compelling co main event between Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier? It reminds me of 2012 based on all the hits that this card has taken. The main event remains intact and thankfully for the UFC’s sake, one of the their top draws is headlining. Ronda Rousey is back, after beating Miesha Tate nearly two months ago. She has proven to be a team player here taking fight so quickly, when the UFC needed her greatly.
The card arguably has one of the worst cards on paper in quite some time, but I’ve accepted that not all of them can be great. You got Daniel Cormier making his debut at light heavyweight against a guy, who was making frappuccinos two weeks ago. That joke was too easy to make, but I’m still excited to see what Patrick Cummins has to offer. As Dave Doyle said last week, it was only a few years ago when Cormier was relatively unknown replacing Alistair Overeem in the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix. Not many people were giving him much of a chance against Antonio Silva, who had just defeated Fedor Emelianenko. Cormier knocked him down twice, before finishing him off in the first round. How about that for a correlation? Cormier should know to remain focused and not look at Cummins as a pushover.
I’m joined by Ted Gruber, who was recently a new addition to the writing staff. It’s always good to keep rotating different people in this feature. As usual, we discuss the main card through five major questions.
1. Do you expect Robert Whittaker to stand and trade with someone as dangerous as Stephen Thompson? It was surprising to see him try to out-box with Court McGee, while taking a significant amount of damage for most of the fight.
Strk: The accomplishments that Stephen Thompson has earned in kickboxing are incredible. He’s truly one of the best strikers in MMA. Besides Robbie Lawler, Carlos Condit, and Tarec Saffiedine, there isn’t any welterweight who is near Thompson’s level from a striking standpoint. You have to close the distance on a consistent basis and make the fight ugly against him. That’s what Matt Brown did, who is the only fighter to defeat Thompson.
I’m sure that Robert Whittaker will realize that Thompson’s grappling is still a work in progress. He has five submissions on his resume, which shows that he’s capable of making the fight ugly and finishing his opponents on the ground. Thompson’s speed and precision are two elements to his standup that frustrates all of his opponents. After being picked apart by Court McGee, I’m sure Whittaker realizes that he can’t get caught up in a striking battle. Thompson is on another level, which will lead to the classic striker versus wrestler matchup.
Gruber: The thing with Whittaker he is a feisty fighter and goes for the kill every time he enters the cage. He sometimes fights with his heart more than his mind and last fight it got him into some trouble. He managed to take it the judges against McGee and lost a split decision.
Do I think it’s smart to stand and bang with somebody like Thompson? I think that’s a way to find your way to a hospital and ending your night early. I would love to see him go back to his submission abilities on the ground and pull out a win that way. He had his way with many fighters in the Cage Fighting Championships and so far he has had the desire to stand in the pocket than work towards his abilities.
2. According to Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger, there aren’t many fighters better in the gym than Mike Pyle. Why hasn’t he translated his success in the gym to his career?
Strk: It’s always interesting to hear about Mike Pyle because nobody really elaborates on his reputation in the gym. I’d like to hear a full story, with a few references from his success in the gym. As for inside the cage, the story is that he can’t win the big one. He goes on decent winning streaks, before losing to a top-tier opponent such as Rory MacDonald and Matt Brown.
Pyle tends to be a slow starter, which was shown in those losses. We saw MacDonald and Brown pressure him early, before eventually breaking down after taking a significant amount of punches. He was nearly finished in the first round in his last win over Rick Story. While he’s proven to be aggressive and well rounded as a fighter, Pyle needs to start faster in fights. That would be very beneficial towards having more success in the UFC.
Gruber: I think there is not enough urgency when he steps into the cage. Pyle has been a veteran since 2008 and also fought in the WEC but it seems when he’s ready to take that next step in his career he falters. Sure Pyle can be the best in the gym but if that doesn’t translate to fights, does that really matter?
Pyle had a winning streak of 3 and more recently of 4 with the very next fights coming the way of loss. Pyle is a very good fighter and I’m sure he’s excellent in the cage but when it comes time to take that next step I think the mental game begins to play a big part on whether he will succeed.
3. Rory MacDonald has become extremely conservative in his past two fights. Many people are starting to lose interest in him. Do you expect to see a more aggressive MacDonald against Demian Maia?
Strk: On Monday, I wrote about how Rory MacDonald has both progressed and regressed as a fighter over the past few years. I’m not going to give a long answer because it’ll be very reminiscent from the article I posted Monday. What I’ll say is that it would be shocking if he doesn’t come out aggressive or at least at some point within the first three minutes. We know that Demian Maia doesn’t possess much a threat, when it comes to striking. His strengths are grappling and utilizing his BJJ to submit his opposition.
Even though he’s one of the better grapplers at 170, MacDonald is a smart fighter and realizes that he can pick Maia apart with his precise striking. As for the conservative game plan, I’ll bring up again about what he said in an interview with Ariel Helwani last November. You may dislike him greatly, but you have to appreciate that he is always candid in his interviews. He’s made me into a believer that will see the guy, who annihilated Che Mills and picked apart B.J Penn. We’ll see him be more aggressive, hopefully adding a left hook or different knee strikes to his arsenal. We’ve yet to really see that from him.
Gruber: He is in the lay and pray fight camp as the like to call it right? Another great young fighter who in my opinion is still trying to find his place in the Welterweight division. I think there was more pressure on him to be the next coming of GSP, which he bought into that hype.I’m not saying that confidence is a bad thing for any fighter but when you are at Tri-Star gym I’m sure the goals are of what GSP has accomplished. That isn’t a bad thing, but when you are only 24 years old there is still plenty of time to achieve those things. I think we see the old Rory this weekend where he finished Mike Pyle and Che Mills.I think there is a lot of pressure off of Rory now that GSP has “retired” and he can go back to staying aggressive and look for the finishes which I think he will do this weekend.
4. It’s impossible to rate Patrick Cummins fighting ability because he hasn’t faced any top level competition. From an interest standpoint, did his back and forth with Daniel Cormier generate any interest for you?
Strk: If you were a pro wrestling fan growing up, drama is what made you a fan. Sure you had the great technical aspect of a feud, but it needed a storyline for me to have interest in a particular matchup. Whenever there is a lopsided matchup in any fight, I’m hoping there is some animosity to make me intrigued. Why do you think Chael Sonnen continues to be placed in high profile fights? When they first matched up Daniel Cormier against Patrick Cummins, it was nice to see that Cormier was still going to be on the card. Then they went back and forth at one another on Fox Sports 1, where both guys were taking shots at one another. Animosity is still a valuable asset to have, when drawing interest for any fight.
Obviously Cummins is a heavy underdog and has no business being in the co-main event of a UFC event. In a perfect world, Anthony Johnson would be replacing Rashad Evans. That can’t happen, so why not give someone a shot that has trained with Cormier before an opportunity? Now you add in the animosity aspect to this fight, where Cormier wants to shut Cummins up. I was already interested because Cormier still has a lot to prove, despite being undefeated. Now there is actual heat between both men. Sure the fight may not last very long, but I’m very interested to see how Cormier looks at 205 and if Cummins has any potential to be a top light heavyweight.
Gruber: I think Cummins did this for one reason only and that is to build his character. If Cormier beats him easily he will be forgotten but say Cummins comes out and pulls out the upset? He can build off what he said about Cormier and continue to build a brand and image for himself.With this fight being put together on short notice and Cummins literally coming from his coffee shop job, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t try to put together something to put himself into the public eye. Personally, this fight doesn’t interest me and I see Cormier ending this early and with his wrestling. But a tip of the cap to Cummins for taking his 15 seconds of fame and making the best of them.
5. Do you consider Sara McMann to be Ronda Rousey’s toughest challenge yet?
Strk: You can talk about all the tension with Miesha Tate being such a difficult challenge for her. At the end of the day, we are talking about the challenge from a technical aspect. Tate is an incredible fighter, who will always be one of the top female bantamweights in the world. She still matches up terribly against Rousey given her fighting style, which is mainly wrestling and brawling. I’m still waiting for someone to ask her why was she shooting on Ronda in thinking she can actually land a double leg takedown.
Sara McMann is the toughest challenge for Rousey so far, even though I believe Alexis Davis will be Ronda’s toughest challenge when that fight comes to fruition. Even though she doesn’t deserve a title shot (who has she beaten), her credentials in wrestling can’t be ignored. That’s what makes the fight so appealing. We’ve seen Rousey manhandle her opponents on a consistent basis. Can she throw McMann down and lock in her signature arm bar? What happens if McMann takes her down and grounds her out for an extended period of time? These are legitimate questions that you seriously have to wonder in this fight compared to other fights, where you knew her opponent wasn’t going to take her down.
Gruber: I think Sara has some unique approaches that Rousey has yet to see. Rousey is the favorite definitely but to see somebody else besides Miesha Tate intrigues me. Sara has done a lot in her collegiate career and is a great fighter to have in the UFC. But right now do I see her beating her? Absolutely not, but I think her ground game can handle the judo style.
Rousey is a dominant champion right now and has ended all of her professional fights in style and force. But McMann can definitely give her some frustrations like Tate did in her last fight. But when it’s all said and done I think Rousey finishes the fight with another arm-bar and keeps her undefeated record intact.
You can follow us on twitter at @Allen_Strk & @tedgruber
