It’s “International Fight Week,” y’all – meaning the UFC is blessing us with what is usually their best card of the year and hot damn has Dana out done himself this year! I’m not sure this UFC 226 card, top to bottom, can be topped from a ‘potential violence and mayhem’ standpoint.
UFC 226 Prelims
Uriah Hall vs. Paulo Costa: Costa is 11-0 and has finished every single fight with 10 of those wins coming by way of knockout. His most recent victim opponent was the always spry Johny Hendricks, who retired from the sport a few months after said fight. Yikes. In the opposite corner we have Uriah Hall who has showed flashes of unabashed violence over his tenure. From his TUF 17 knockout of the season to his highlight finishes of Gegard Mousasi and Krzysztof Jotko, he’s got the ability to be the baddest man in the cage. He’s just not been consistently aggressive. This may be the dark horse for ‘fight of the night.’
Mike Perry vs. Paul Felder: I almost can’t even with this fight, y’all. Rarely does re-shuffling of opponents for matchups treat us as well as it has with this bad mamma jamma. Both men are straight savages, but Felder gets a shout out for going up in weight to throw down with Platinum Perry. Writer’s Note: I was there in Bridgestone when Mike Perry took Jake Ellenberger’s soul, and to this day, is the sickest shit I ever saw live. Guaranteed banger, peeps.
Raphael Assuncao vs. Rob Font: Raphael is a guy that’s always hovering around a title shot, but he can never seem to cross over and actually sniff the gold. He’s on a three fight win streak since losing to TJ Dillashaw at UFC 200 (so close yet so far from the title), but is fighting a guy in Rob Font that’s coming to town ready to scrap. Of Font’s fifteen wins, eleven have been finishes with two ‘performance of the night’ bonuses. So, I’m looking for Font to make a statement with his performance Saturday night.
Curtis Millender vs. Max Griffin: I’m really interested to see how Millender looks in his second UFC appearance. He’s on a seven fight win steak BUT he’s won his last three by knee and head kick knockouts. Griffin is also fluent in hands as half of his fourteen wins have come by knockout. I don’t hear a lot of talk about this matchup but trust me this could be a lot of fun.
Dan Hooker vs. Gilbert Burns: I still have nightmares of the Dan Hooker knee that melted Jim Miller back in April. That kind of win over a guy as tough as Jim Miller has to bring a new level of confidence which Hooker will be looking against a game Gilbert Burns. Fact: Gilbert is 14-2 and has back to back second round knockouts coming into this fight. This card is too much.
Lando Vannata vs. Drakkar Klose: I’m starting to sound like DJ Khaled but here’s another one that you’ll want to keep your eyes on. These dudes are always game so the combustion that comes from them fighting each other could be all world level. For anyone that doesn’t know every one of Lando’s UFC fights have either netted him a ‘performance of the night’ or ‘fight of the night’ bonus. Wouldn’t be shocked to see that streak continue.
Jamie Moyle vs. Emily Whitmire: Our lone ladies scrap of the night gets the show started on the UFC Fight Pass Prelims. Whitmire was on TUF 26 (she lost in the quarterfinals to Roxanne Modafferi) before making her octagon debut at the TUF finale for that season. Jamie Moyle rose up through Invicta where she posted a 3-1 record before making the jump to the UFC. The two combine for only a single UFC victory (Moyle beat Kailin Curran in her UFC debut) so both will hopefully be motivated to set the tone for a fun night of fights.
Check out Mose’s coverage of the UFC 226 main card here.
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor – Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose
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