April 10, 2016
Zagreb Arena
Zagreb, Croatia
Main Card on FS1:
#6 Junior dos Santos (17-4) -130 vs. #7 Ben Rothwell (36-9) +110
The "Dark Lord" has traveled across the globe to the Sava river near the mystic Medvednica mountain on a 4 fight winning streak. Big Ben has cast an evil spell upon the Heavyweight division finishing all the aforementioned foes. Rothwell has never been hotter backed by a new and deadly "gogo" choke. Ben may be slow as molasses but he's been highly effective while threatening to vie for a title shot.
"JDS" however, has been struggling in recent years alternating wins and losses ever since losing the Heavyweight strap to Cain Velasquez in '12. "Cigano" has taken horrific beatings from Cain and then a year later from Stipe Miocic. They were some of the most gruesome violent assaults seen in modern MMA. Dos Santos' great boxing skills remain, but Junior looked pedestrian last out against Alistair Overeem while getting finished in the 2nd round. The Brazilian may have accumulated too much damage over his career and looks to be on the wrong side of 30 early.
For as much as we worry for the sweet gentle giant that is dos Santos, he is a phenomenal boxer and Ben is easy to hit. Perhaps Rothwell gets this fight to the floor and submits Junior with his now scary submission maneuver, but it is unlikely. Dos Santos has great takedown defense and both men tend to enjoy the stand up game more. We envision "Cigano's" power catching Benny by surprise and let's face facts. Rothwell has been over achieving like a mother fucker. He's just not that good of a Heavyweight and has to come crashing down hard to Earth at some point. Of course, MMAFO has wrongly predicted him to lose 3 of his 4 recent bouts and we have love for the kind hearted dos Santos so take it how you will.
WINNER-Junior dos Santos by Rd.2 TKO
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| Follow Derrick Lewis on Twitter @thebeastufc for more hilarity. |
Derrick Lewis (14-4, 1) -140 vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (17-10) +120
Besides becoming hilarious on the social media circuit, the "Black Beast" brings the power of a supernova. The guy has insane punching prowess which should be quite effective against Gonzaga who has been slept 8 damn times in his career.
Gabe's chin and body are shot. He may be able to defeat the Konstantin Erokin's (his last opponent) of the world, but not savage strikers.
Derrick's only true foe will be endurance after the 1 minute mark.
WINNER-Derrick Lewis by Rd.1 KO
Francis Ngannou (6-1) -125 vs. Curtis Blaydes (5-0) +105
Ngannou is on a 5 fight streak backed by his power. Francis has porous takedown defense and must get the KO early to survive.
Blaydes is primarily a wrestler who will need a takedown and hope to ride for 15 minutes.
Ngannou is going to land sooner or later and he has 1-punch knockout power. That will spell the end.
WINNER-Francis Ngannou by Rd.2 KO
Timothy Johnson (9-2) +155 vs. Marcyn Tybura (13-1) -175
TJ looks like Ben Rothwell if he were a 70's porn star. Just enjoy that image a moment. Johnson is an awkward kickboxer getting main card play simply because he's a heavy.
Tybura would prefer to avoid the boxing match and make this into a grappling battle. Marcyn doesn't have the greatest means of getting a foe to the floor, but once there he is effective.
The worry here is that Tybura can't secure a takedown and eats a finishing punch in the process. This is just a nothing fight though so we slightly side with the favorite to at least control Tim in the 2nd terrible Heavyweight tilt in a row.
WINNER-Marcyn Tybura by Decision
Igor Pokrajac (25-12, 1) +300 vs. Jan Blachowicz (18-5) -360
Igor lost 4 in a row during his last UFC run, but "The Duke" went out and won 3 on the minor league circuit since. Being from Croatia, it's not real surprising that he was brought back for this card especially with Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipova having retired. Pokrajac is a serviceable Light Heavy but at 37 he's not getting any better.
The Pole isn't setting the world on fire either going 1-2 for Zuffa but he's 4 years younger than his opponent and is a sturdy striker.
Jan is light years faster than Igor and should have little trouble taking this on the judges cards provided there isn't some home cookin' in Zagreb.
WINNER-Jan Blachowicz by Decision
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| maryna_moroz_fn (Instagram) |
Maryna Moroz (6-1) -185 vs. Cristina Stanciu (5-0) +160
Moroz shot out of the gate like a woman possessed upsetting MMAFO's beloved Joanne Calderwood last April but then lost in a valiant effort against former #1 contender Valerie Letourneau. "The Iron Woman" from the Ukraine is a fearless attacker who brought some nice striking with her to America along with her fierce submission skills.
Stanciu is undefeated and making her promotional debut with a 3 inch reach disadvantage. Cristina will need a strong "gong & dash" to surprise and get the win here.
Stanciu's undefeated record is against horrible competition and we've already seen what Moroz can to at the elite level. Maryna should run game easily here.
Stanciu's undefeated record is against horrible competition and we've already seen what Moroz can to at the elite level. Maryna should run game easily here.
WINNER-Marnya Moroz by Decision
Prelims on FS1:
Nicholas Dalby (14-0-1) -170 vs. Zak Cummings (18-4) +150
Zak has been out of action for almost 9 months with various injuries but at 31, the Missouri native is coming into his prime. Cummings is a "jack of all trades" with a crushing left hand. Zak has done alright for himself amassing a 3-1 record for Zuffa only stumbling against Jiu-Jitsu ace Gunnar Nelson. Cummings is a good grappler against anyone not Icelandic and is massive for the 170 division. He is coming in on short notice to replace Bartossz Fabinski on about a month's notice though.
Denmark's "Sharpshooter" is undefeated but did have the unfortunate Draw last October which nobody likes to see. Dalby is a fun fighter to watch and likes to get down in a good scrap.
Cumming's has more tools to get this done and should be better in both the grappling and boxing departments. Could be a fun fight though.
Upset Pick WINNER-Zak Cummings by Decision
Ian Entwistle (12-2) -145 vs. Alejandro Perez (16-6) +125
"Enty" is going to do 1 of 2 things. He's either going to submit you with a leglock or allow you to beat the snot out of him.
Perez was the 1st TUF: Latin America winner which means jack shit. This guy has not impressed us and has been tapped 3 times in his career. It's about to be 4.
WINNER-Ian Entwistle by Rd.1 Submission
Mairbek Taisumov (24-5) -300 vs. Damir Hadzovic (10-2) +250
Taisumov is crushing Russian, da? "Beckan" has only seen the judges a single time in his career backed by crushing power whether it be from kicks or punches. Mairbek can wrestle a bit as well and it's going to be a tough slog uphill for Hadzovic for the time he does spent conscious in the cage. Visa issues have been the only thing to hinder Taisumov as of late as he rolls in this "showcase" fight.
WINNER-Mairbek Taisumov by Rd.2 TKO
Filip Pejic (10-1-1) +105 vs. Damian Stasiak (8-3) -125
Upset Pick WINNER-Filip Pejic by Rd.3 TKO
Prelims on UFC Fight Pass:
Robert Whiteford (12-3) -105 vs. Lucas Martins (15-3) -115
Whiteford is also .500 in the UFC and shares a loss with Martins to Darren Elkins. The Dinky Ninja fighter will be happy to engage in the stand up scrap even though he will face around a 3" disadvantage.
This is a close one but we like the viciousness of Martins to carry him through the close moments of what should be a rather eventful bout.
WINNER-Lucas Martins by Decision
Jared Cannonier (7-1) -155 vs. Cyril Asker (7-1) +135
It's gorilla warfare here between 2 Heavyweights and we're not being racist (besides Cyril is a whitey).
Asker the "Silverback" is the EFC Heavyweight Champion making his debut from Franceland.
Well this is a couple of garbage fighters placed here as card filler. Our guess is that Jared gets the win but who really cares?
WINNER-Jared Cannonier by Decision
Alessio Di Chirico (9-0) +145 vs. Bojan Velickovic (13-3) -165
Bojan is our 1st look at someone other than TJ Dillashaw fighting in the UFC out of the newly formed and growing Elevation Fight Team. "Serbian Steel" is on a 4 fight bounce and is the RFA Welterweight Champion.
Di Chirico is the undefeated Italian who has only met the judges a single time while evenly dispatching opponents (4 by sub & 4 by TKO).
Upset Pick WINNER-Alessio Di Chirico by Rd.2 Submission
UFC Fight Night 86 Start Times
Main Card on FS1: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
Main Card on FS1: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
Preliminary Card FS1: 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT
Preliminary Card on UFC Fight Pass: 10:30 a.m. ET / 7:30 a.m. PT
Preliminary Card on UFC Fight Pass: 10:30 a.m. ET / 7:30 a.m. PT
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