UFC 223 Nurmagomedov vs. Iaquinta: Fight Card (subject to insane changes), Prognostications, & Odds

April 7, 2018

Barclays Center

Brooklyn, New York

Tony Ferguson insists on wearing his sunglasses indoors, and thus, though it does seems absolutely ridiculous, "El Cucuy" tripped on a cord at Fox Studios and tore his LCL. He did not have weight trouble, and he did not injure himself training. He wore his stupid sunglasses indoors, like a 19 year old frat boy, fell like a toddler, and now will miss what would have been the biggest payday of his life. Thus, he was pulled from UFC 223, stripped of his "interim" title.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Artem Lobov got into an altercation earlier in the week when the "Eagle" took offense to an earlier "pussy" comment, and his boyfriend Conor McGregor flew in to defend his honor. McGregor threw a tantrum around the arena, and then threw a dolly at the UFC fighter's bus shattering the window trying to get at Nurmagomedov. Michael Chiesa (arm injury) and Ray Borg (eye injury) suffered lacerations and were pulled from the card. Rose Namajunas was also on the bus and was "shaken" by the event. "Notorious" Conor McGregor has since been arrested and this card, though it has lost multiple bouts, will be epic for its bizarre last second changes. 

UpdateS: Max Holloway was deemed "medically unfit" (which MMAFO predicted Monday) and is out of the contest.

Anthony Pettis was tapped as the replacements replacement, and then couldn't make weight and wanted too much money.

Paul Felder was next to step in for the replacements replacement replacement, but he is unranked and the NYC commission said no dice.

Lastly (we hope), Al Iaquinta has been named as the replace- never mind, you get it. This is a fucking debacle and the horrible NYC commission isn't making things any easier.

Main Card on Pay-Per-View (9pm/CT):

Faux Interim Intercontinental Interim Title 

#2 Khabib Nurmagomedov (25-0) vs. #9 Al Iaquinta (13-3-1)

MMAFO has broken down multiple opponents and at this point, were spent and there is no guarantee this bout will go down in any form or fashion. Good luck to the competitors.

WINNER- Khabib Nurmagomedov

Strawweight Champion Rose Namajunas (7-3) +100 vs. #2 Joanna Jędrzejczyk (14-1) -110 [Rematch]

Rose showed otherworldly poise in the lead up to the original meeting, and that, along with a possible weight cut disaster for Joanna, let to a massive upset win and a brutal beatdown. Can Namajunas "prove it" and retain?

"Thug" Rose has continually improved in young career and while her Jiu-Jitsu game has always been on point, the striking has advanced greatly thanks to underrated coach Trevor Wittman over at Grudge Training Center. Namajunas now seems like she has put all the tools together and now her confidence is growing as well.

Joanna "Violence" was humbled last November and that is a good thing. Jedrzejczyk was becoming a bully and overconfidence cost her greatly. From the moment the bout began though, you could see something was off with the Pole. As we have learned, Joanna had a disastrous weight cut and even fired the company that had failed at their job. Now leading up to the fight Joanna has looked much healthier and seems not only unrattled, but itching for another shot at Rose.

MMAFO still doesn't believe. Sorry, and all respect to Rose, but we just feel the weight cut, the 1st big punch that landed and rocked Joanna, led to the fall of Jedrzejczyk. If Joanna doesn't get blown out early, she is good at adjusting mid-fight and really has the speed to make things rough. 

WINNER-Joanna Jedrzejczyk by Decision

Renato Carneiro (11-1-1) +110 vs. Calvin Kattar (18-2) -130

"Moicano" has looked decent and held his own against Brian Ortega before getting choked late, and the Constrictor Team fighter wants a Jitz contest.

"The Boston Finisher" finally got a finish in his last bout in January (his 1st since 2010!) and has won 10 in a row. The Sityodtong fighter wants to bang bro and should be able to avoid the ground enough to put hands on Carneiro.

WINNER-Calvin Kattar by Rd.3 TKO

https://www.instagram.com/karolinakowalkiewicz/?hl=en

Prelims on FS1 (7pm/CT):

#5 Karolina Kowalkiewicz (11-2) -170 vs. #8 Felice Herrig (13-6) +150

Dear Lord we have polar opposites here. KK is an adorable quiet sweetheart, while Herrig is a boisterous cunt who never has a nice thing to say and built her career around being a partially nude model. MMAFO doesn't like Felice much.

Karolina needs an impressive win to stay afloat in the title scene. KK's kickboxing game is solid, but her ground game showed glaring weakness when Claudia Gadelha embarrassed her on the mat in June of last year. KK has also never gotten a finish in her UFC career.

Herrig, for all her personal faults and scumbag nature, has really improved her fighting skills. "Lil Bulldog Face" has won 4 bouts in a row against tough competition while growing in all facets of the game, but her wrestling may be the difference maker here.

We loves us some KK. Love her! But, this is a bad match for her. Karolina doesn't have the power to keep Felice at bay, and Herrig will fight her way in before taking Kowalkiewicz to the ground. The Pole will not be finished, but in the end, she'll lose on points in a disappointing outcome.

Upsetting Pick WINNER-Felice Herrig by Decision

#5 Ray Borg versus Brandon Moreno is CANCELLED as Borg got an eye injury from the Conor McGregor Gang attack on the UFC bus! 

Joe Lauzon (27-14) -185 vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (13-3) +160

"J-Lau" still doing the damn thing 41 fights into his career but the wars and brutal beatings have caught up to him. Lauzon has lost a couple in a row but never discount the veteran savvy of Joe who never says die and will go for anything to get that coveted bonus.

"Gritz" has lost 2 in a row both by submission. Hmm. It's awfully tempting to think Chris is being setup for the fall here, but the Arizonan doesn't stop coming.

We loves us some "J-Lau," but let's be brutally honest. Lauzon can only go for about 5 minutes these days, and when he tires, "Gritz" is going to pummel him for the final 10. Dammit.

Upset Pick WINNER-Chris Gruetzemacher by Decision

Evan Dunham (18-6-1) -150 vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier (10-2) +130

Christ almighty, Evan is 36! We didn't realize that but Dunham has turned his career around running off 4 wins (1 Draw) and is trying to fuck around and become a player at 155s. The longtime Xtreme Couture fighter throws at one of the highest clips in all the UFC and though slow, he builds as the fight goes on. Evan can defensively grapple which will be key. 

"The Quebec Kid" is a great wrestler, but that's about it. His striking is irrelevant, but he's got natural power and generally forces his way getting men pregnant.

Evan must, must, must keep off the mat as much as possible because though he may not take damage, he'll be blanketed into uselessness. We see Dunham losing the opening round and really having to dig deep, but he storms back late as Mercier tires and eats a ton of punches that appeal to the judges.

WINNER-Evan Dunham by Decision

Prelims on UFC Fight Pass (5:15pm/CT):

Alex Caceres versus Artem Lobov is CANCELLED! Lobov was removed from the card for participating in the Conor McGregor Gang bus attack.

Bec Rawlings (7-7) +170 vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (5-3) -200

So who wants to remain employed in the UFC? Bec is now on a 3 fight losing streak (2-4 in the promotion) while Ashlee has lost 2 in a row (2-3 for the promotion). 

Rawlings is a disaster of a human being and just can't adapt to the current game. Bec has some grappling and little striking but she's slow.

"AE-S" is a wrestler who seems to think she is a striker which is a mistake she keeps making. 

If Smith were smart, she'd use her superior grappling but who freaking knows? Neither fight to their strengths but Bec is more apt to make egregious errors while at the least, Ashlee will stay slow and steady. Don't expect much.

WINNER-Ashlee Evans-Smith by Decision

Devin Clark (8-2) -125 vs. Mike Rodriguez (9-2) -105

Ugh, not much to care about here. Devin isn't a UFC level fighter but the debuting Mike ain't either. Flip a coin.

WINNER-Devin Clark by Decision

Zabit Magomedsharipov (14-2) -820 vs. Kyle Bochniak (8-1) +560

Magomedogobbldygoo may or may not be associated with psychopath warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, it's hard to tell. If he is with that wretched human filth, fuck him. If not, Zabit is a star on the rise. MMAFO hasn't found proof that "ZaBeast" is associated with such a twat, but coming from Dagestan, it's a distinct possibility. 

Zabit trains at Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu with studs like Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez. 

"Crash" Kyle has been brought in as the sacrificial lamb and Zabit wins by a nose (oh, that was a cheap shot).

WINNER-Zabit Magomedsharipov by Rd.2 Submission