UFC FIGHT NIGHT BRAZIL MACHIDA Vs. ANDERS Main Card Preview

jclark (58)in #sports • 7 years ago

The juggernaut that is the UFC continues to roll on following from last weeks event in Charlotte where Brazil legend Jacare Souza knocked out the younger American Brunson we get another aging Brazilian legend taking on a younger American but this time it is in Belem, Brazil the hometown of Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida as he takes on undefeated Eryk "Ya boy" Anders.

There may not be many recognizable names on this card unless you one of the more serious MMA fans and also possess a pretty fantastic memory but there is a lot of hope that there should be some pretty entertaining fights on this card.

The under card commences at 1am GMT Saturday night/Sunday morning and then the main card will begin at 3am GMT.

MAIN EVENT

Lyoto Machida Vs. Eryk Anders

As the great Apollo Creed once said "It's too bad we gotta get old" and it is a sad sight to see so many losses being strung together by Machida who was once one of the most feared strikers in the game. You have to go back to 2014 to find his last win having lost 3 in a row after that 1st round KO of CB Dollaway. Not only that but he was finished in all 3 of his previous fights.

Image SourceThe Dragon

In contrast Anders is undefeated with a 10-0 record on top of a lengthy amateur career, his last fight was a 3 round decision win but he has finished 6 fights via knockout and 1 via submission in his pro career. Anders has previously played American Football and while I don't know much about that sport there is a history of fighters transitioning from there and have all proven to be incredible athletes. He uses the athleticism to fight aggressively and he's shown enough to suggest he is more than just an athlete but also possesses pretty good fighting skills.

Image SourceYa Boy

Anders is a heavy favourite at the bookies and many people are already writing the obituary for The Dragon. However he will have the support of his local fans and it seemed like Anders had quite a rough weight cut only managing to make it after having a second attempt giving hope to those fans that he may not enter the octagon at his absolute best. If Anders makes any kind of mistakes or leaves even a slight opening Machida is still dangerous and could have one last hurrah in front of his home fans.

Betting Tips - Anders by KO odds currently 1.65 also When will the fight end? - Either R2 odds currently 5.5.

Obviously I think it will be Anders in Round 2 but his odds are only 6 so I think it is worth sacrificing the little bit to include Machida in the same just in case he pulls something out of the bag.

Image SourceDodson

John Dodson Vs Pedro Munhoz

At the time of writing it is unclear if this fight will actually take place after Munhoz missed weight by 4lbs earlier.

Dodson has so much going for him, for a guy of his size he actually packs a decent punch as well as blistering speed and energy he has 19 wins with 9 coming via knockout, he also has 9 losses that have all been via decision. Including his latest fight which was a split decision against Marlon Moraes. A common theme in Dodson's fights is that he seems to start great but then give up the rounds in the second half of the fight. This was quite evident when he fought Mighty Mouse for the title, he was so good against one of the best ever for the first 2 rounds but then lost the fight in the next 3.

Munhoz has a record of 15-2 with 1 no contest, 9 of his wins have been via submission and his 2 losses were against pretty elite level fighters Jimmie Rivera and Raphael Assucao. Dodson was almost finished by a guillotine in his fight with Moraes which is how Munhoz beat Font in his last fight.

I will be rather sad if this fight does not go ahead as I fancy Munhoz to get the upset.

Betting Tips Munhoz to win current odds 2.5 and Munhoz via submission current odds 15(small bet)

Image Source8Shevchenko*

Valentina Shevchenko Vs. Priscila Cachoeira

I do not know much at all about Cachoeira who is making her UFC debut here and I am unsure whether her being immediately set to face someone like Shevchenko is a sign that the UFC matchmakers rate her really high and believe she's at this level, or they would just like Shevchenko to pick up an easy victory after the pretty dull fight last time out against Amanda Nunes.

Shevchenko is coming off a failed bid for the title and has a 14-3 record, 2 of those losses are to the champ Nunes. She has shown she's a pretty well rounded fighter with decent submission and counter striking skills but showed against Nunes that if her opponent does not throw much at her and leave openings she struggles to create any for herself.

Cachoeira is undefeated with an 8-0 record with 4 decisions and knockouts apiece. I've never seen her in action so have little else to go on. Reading up on her the general consensus is that she likes to fight aggressively with her hands down, this would be a bad strategy against someone like Shevchenko.

Betting Tips - I usually avoid giving tips when I have little to no knowledge of the fighters involved but the current odds of 3.5 for Shevchenko to win by knockout seem appealing considering what I read about Cachoeira.

Image SourceDesmond Green

Michel Prazeres Vs. Desmond Green

Prazeres has a very impressive record boasting 23 wins with just 2 losses. His main strength is his wrestling and he uses that to take opponents down and grind them out, he does not hit very hard and has just 1 KO win but he does finish fights regularly with 10 submission victories. His only losses have came via decision to notable fighters Kevin Lee and Paulo Thiago. Since the loss to Lee he has been on a 5 fight win streak with his latest 2 being submissions using the North-South choke.

Desmond Green is coming off a loss and has a record of 20-6 before his latest decision loss to Rustam Khabilov he himself had a 5 fight win streak. 14 of his victories were via decision and he had 5 knockouts. He is a decent athlete and despite having wrestling skills he seems to favour his striking and will have a big advantage in this fight on the feet.

Prazeres record is good and his take down statistics are really impressive but he carries so much muscle he tends to gas quickly, if Green can take this fight into the later stages he could very well get the upset.

Betting Tips - Green by Decision current price 3.5

Image SourceGolm

Tim Johnson Vs. Marcelo Golm

Johnson has had a up and down UFC career exchanging wins for losses since he entered the octagon, his latest was a first round loss to Junior Albini and so if he continues the trend then he should come away with a win here. He only had 1 loss before entering the UFC and has a overall record of 11-4.

Golm is unknown to me, he has 1 previous UFC fight which he won in the first round via submission but I did not see it. He is undefeated with a record of 6-0, that decision was his first ever having won his previous 5 by knockout.

Not sure what to expect with this one, if I was putting any money on it I think I'd go for Golm to pick up another knockout win in his homeland but I am keeping my money in my pocket for this one.

Image SourceSantos

Thiago Santos Vs. Anthony Smith

This has the makings to be the most exciting fight of the night on the main card.

Santos has a dangerous striking arsenal with knockout power in his hands and ability to throw a variety of kicks, he has a record of 16-5 with 11 knockouts. He is on a 3 fight win streak with all 3 being knockouts.

Smith has seen plenty of action and boasts a crazy amount of fights on his record of 28-12. 14 of his wins have been knockouts while 11 have been submissions showing that he is dangerous wherever the fight takes place. He used to have a problem with his gas tank but his latest 2 fights have seen him finish his opponents in the final round when he appeared to have been losing the fights.

Betting Tips - Smith to win current odds 3.4

THE UNDER CARD

Tim Means vs. Sergio Moraes
Damir Hadzovic vs. Alan Patrick
Douglas de Andrade vs. Marlon Vera
Iuri Alcantara vs. Joe Soto

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