UFC Columbus
Event Preview

We got more fight nights hitting the road! And it is going to to be tough to top the last event, but we still have a lot of good fights and some serious talent on this card.

The show is headlined by heavyweights, but the card is built on the back of the flyweight divisions. Male and female! And this card is built weird. I alomst like the prelims better than the main card.

Lest dive in!

Matheus Nicolau vs David Dvorak
Flyweight – 125 pounds

Why does the UFC do this. These are two of the highest ranked fighters on this card and they are buried on the prelims. I understand neither of these guys have huge names. But you can’t help but wonder if it would maybe help if they were featured higher up the card!!

Flyweights are always some of the funnest fights on the card, and that is especially true when they are two of the best, which these two are. They are both well rounded with an ability to grapple and have some clean striking. Should be a good one.

Jennifer Maia vs Manon Fiorot
Flyweight – 125 pounds

Manon Fiorot is one of the few legitimate potential title challengers at women’s flyweight. She won her last bout, but she didn’t impress in the way many of her backers expected her to. She will get another chance to make her case for a future title shot against someone who has been in there with the champ in Jennifer Maia.

Manon is a really strong and athletic fighter, which is what is needed to truly challenge Valentina. But she also has an extensive martial arts background, and her strength and athleticism makes her dangerous on the ground. She is one of the few true prospects at this weight class, look forward to seeing how she looks.

Chris Gutierrez vs Batgerel Danaa
Bantamweight – 135 pounds

I absolutely love this fight. Two legit prospects in the sports best division. Chris Gutierrez has quietly established a respectable record of 5-1-1 in the UFC, winning his last 2 in a row. He will try and pick his shots from the outside and has some solid grappling.

Danaa, has been deading people in his last few contests. He will be coming into this contest winning his last 3 fights via 1st round TKO. He has some lighting quick, and powerful striking. He may be someone to keep an eye on.

Big test for both these guys. Should be fun.

Askar Askarov vs Kai Kara-France
Flyweight – 125 pounds

God the UFC drives me crazy! Why is this not the co-main. Why is this not the main event!? This is a legitimate title eliminator!

Kai is 6-2 in the UFC, but one loss came to Brandon Moreno via decision, and his other loss was that crazy fight against Royval where he almost won via TKO! Hard to hold that against him. If there was ever a darkhorse that existed – it is Kai at 125. He has looked so good in his last few outings. The betting lines are really loving Askar and his wrestling, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kai catch his chin.

You can probably guess what kind of fighter Askar Askarov based purely on his name. And you’d be right if you were to make that assumption. But that isn’t meant to take away anything from his ability or his danger to his opponents. It is reasonable to assume once Figgy and Moreno are done fighting for the 7th time, he could be the betting favourite against either of them. Askar is going to be a hard puzzle for anyone in this division to solve.

This is the best fight on the card. I am so annoyed it’s not one of the top two fights.

Matt Brown vs Bryan Barberena
Welterweight – 170 pounds

Do you like violence? Of course you do!

And that is why you, and every other cage fighting fan loves Matt Brown. And – he is making his return to his hometown. Reasonable to assume someone is going to get hurt reeaalll bad..

Curtis Blaydes vs Chris Daukaus
Heavyweight – 265 pounds

This is a fight between two really talented heavyweights, trying to stay relevant in the reinvigorated heavyweight division.

All of a sudden the UFC heavyweight division is full of talent again. And neither of these guys can afford to fall further down the rankings. They need to pull some wins together.

Blaydes has kind of always been earmarked for the top of the division. A big young athletic wrestler who has tough style to beat. But – he fights at heavyweight, where anyone can find a chin and knock you out. And that has been the story of Curtis Blaydes career thus far. Every time it feels like he has some momentum, and is getting close to that title shot, he gets KOd. Now, he only has 3 losses, and he is only 31 years old. He has plenty of time to figure it out. But those KOs to Francis’ and Derrick Lewis have taken him off path. Hopefully for him they are learning experiences and we can see him get to that title.

Chris Daukaus started his UFC career guns blazing. Starting out with 4 straight KO wins. But once he fought his first “test” in Derrick Lewis he suffered the same fate many have before him, including his opponent Saturday, and was KOd.

I like Chris Daukaus, he has some quick hands and there is reason to believe he has some solid grappling (his brother has some slick subs but Chris has no subs on his record). But despite my hypothetical assumption that he can grapple, without a doubt, he will want to stay off his back and try and find Blaydes chin.

Important fight here at heavyweight.

if you do not know, now you do know