UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs Cruz

Event Preview:

, ,
Author:Ryan Cambridge

UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs Cruz

January 17th 2016

TD Garden

The Fights I am Previewing for this unbelievable Fight Night card consist of fights between:

Francimar Barroso vs Elvis Mutapcic

Rob Font vs Joey Gomez

Ilir Latifi vs Sean O’Connell

Charles Rosa vs Augusto Mendes

Paul Felder vs Daron Cruickshank

Maximo Blanco vs Luke Sanders

Chris Wade vs Mehdi Baghdad

Tim Boetsch vs Ed Herman

Patrick Cote vs Ben Saunders

Ross Pearson vs Francisco Trinaldo

Travis Browne vs Matt Mitrione

Anthony Pettis vs Eddie Alverez

(c) TJ Dillashaw vs Dominick Cruz

 This is the second fight card of the year and the UFC have not disappointed, this is an unreal card for a Fight Night card and I for one cannot wait for this to start, now I am going to tell you about the fighters and what my personal predictions are for the card, I hope you enjoy this preview and it makes you a little more excited for such a fantastic event.

UFC Fightpass Prelims

Francimar Barroso vs Elvis Mutapcic

In the first fight of this card brings together 35 year old Brazilian Francimar Barroso facing of against 29 year old American making his UFC Debut Elvis Mutupcic in this Light Heavyweight fight, Barroso will be looking to make a second win in a row after a decision win against Ryan Jimmo at UFC Fight Night 67 while Elvis will be wanting to make a start to his UFC career with a win since fighting in many other organisations defeating the likes of Sam Alvey at MFC 36 so he has the credentials to be a great fighter but as we know the UFC is the biggest organisation in the world with the best fighters so it will be interesting to see if he can handle the pressure of the spotlight and if he can compete with the elite guys in the UFC,

Barroso has a all time record of 17 Wins and 4 Losses while Elvis has a record of 15 Wins and 3 Losses, both fighters have no Draws on their record and they will not be looking to add one to their resume come January 17th. Francimar Barroso has won 8 of his fights by KO/TKO and has won 6 by Submission and 3 Wins by Decision, training at Nova Uniao with the likes of Jose Aldo and Renan Barao it is no surprise that his a exciting fighter with a wide range of skills and he can finish the fight regardless where it ends up, Elvis has won 5 fights by KO/TKO and 7 by Submission and 3 have gone to the judges where they declared him the winner.

I think Barroso will emerge from this fight with his hand raised, although they have similar records Barroso has fought tougher guys and has been in the UFC since UFC 163 so he won’t have the pre fight nerves as badly as Elvis will have, I feel that having the help from Jose Aldo and Renan Barao will have boosted his confidence and they will have taught him a thing or two and he will not be afraid to show this come the evening of the fight. A 2nd round KO/TKO will be about right for this fight but don’t be surprised to see Elvis back though I just think he has been dealt a bad hand for this fight. So just to clarify a 2nd round KO/TKO Win for Francimar Barroso.

Rob Font vs Joey Gomez

The second fight on the card is between 28 year old American hard hitter Rob Font facing off against unbeaten 29 year old knockout artist Joey Gomez for this Bantamweight clash. Rob Font will be looking for a second successive victory after knocking out George Roop in the first round on his debut in the first round after only just 2 minutes and 19 seconds living him in a good position for this fight, Joey Gomez will want to keep his unbeaten run going on his UFC debut and get his name in the press for a good reason this time after being in the press quite regularly after his bust up split with ex-girlfriend porn star Christie Mack.

Font has a record of 11 Wins and 1 Loss while Joey Gomez has a record of 6 Wins and 0 Losses. Font has earned his wins with 4 Wins by KO/TKO, 3 by Submission and 4 have been earned by Decision while Gomez has won all 6 of this fights by straight KO/TKO so this has a great fight written all over it.

I think we will be in for a surprise and I think Joey (War Machine) Gomez will emerge victorious after another K.O win over Rob Font, Although its Gomez’ debut I think he will be coming into this fight with a massive point to prove and he will knock Font out in the first round leaving Font wandering what hit him growing Joey Gomez’ ego even more. So just to clarify 1st round KO victory for Joey Gomez.

Ilir Latifi vs Sean O’Connell

The third fight on the card brings together a clash at Light Heavyweight between Swedish 32 year old Ilir Latifi against 32 year old American Sean O’Connell in this Light Heavyweight battle, Ilir will want to make to earn a second victory in a row after a impressive K.O win against Hans Stringer inside one minute in the first round at UFC Fight Night 72: Bisping vs Leites while Sean O’Connell will want to earn a third straight win after beating Anthony Perosh at UFC Fight Might 65: Miocic vs Hunt.

Ilir Latifi has a overall record of 10 Wins and 4 Losses and since coming into the UFC his got a record of 3 Wins and 2 Losses, after losing by unanimous decision to Gegard Mousasi on his debut back in 2013 he came back to beat Cyrill Diabate and Chris Dempsey. He then lost to Jan Blachowicz by TKO then beat Hans Stringer as I already stated, so Ilir is yet to find his feet in the UFC and will hope a second win in a row will push him in the right direction to doing just that. Sean has a overall record of 17 Wins and 6 Losses, since being in the UFC he has a record of 2 Wins and 2 Losses, after losing his first 2 fights in the UFC questions were asked if he had the skills to compete at the level required to succeed, then he silenced these questions with epic wins over Matt Van Buren and Anthony Perosh proving he is not just a comic in his weigh ins but he is also a great fighter at 205lbs.

I Think Sean O’Connell will earn his third win in a row here I feel his experience and punching power will see him through, Latifi will come out swinging to try and make a bigger name for himself and will get caught with a lethal punch in the process. Second round K.O win for Sean O’Connell.

Charles Rosa vs Augusto Mendes

On the forth fight on the card brings together 29 year old American Charles Rosa against Brazilian 32 year old Augusto Mendes Featherweight match up. Charles will want to silence the doubters after losing 2 of his 3 UFC fights, after winning 9 straight fights in organisations like CES and CFA he signed to the UFC and has his first fight against Dennis Siver where he lost by decision, he went on to beat Sean Soriano by Brabo choke in the third round he then when and lost to Yair Rodriguez by decision again at UFC 188 so he will want to earn a win and even out his UFC record and get some regular wins in to prove his not a force to be reckoned with, Augusto Mendes will want to earn a win on his UFC debut and by beating Charles Rosa that will start his UFC career off nicely. Mendes is also unbeaten winning all 5 of his fights in other organisations.

Charles Rosa has a professional record of 10 Wins and 2 Losses and he’ll hope that training at American Top Team and training with the likes of UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler, Antonio Silva and Dustin Poirer that they will give him all the credentials he needs to see of the UFC debutant, Augusto will not be doing down without a fight though, earning 4 out of his 5 wins by Submission Augusto has proven himself to be more than capable in BJJ and will not think twice about trying to break a arm and will do whatever he deems necessary to earn the Win.

I think Charles Rosa will earn the win in this fight, I think it will go all the way and the judges will have to decide the fighters fate, Rosa will avoid the ground at all costs, there’s no way he will want to get involved in a BJJ fight with Augusto, and as long as Rosa stays on the feet and initialises his boxing he should be ok, so to clarify Rosa to win by Decision,

Paul Felder vs Daron Cruickshank

Five fights into the card and this fight is next, and what a hell of a fight this is going to be bringing together 30 year old hard hitting martial artist Paul Felder facing off against 30 year old American Daron Cruickshank in this Lightweight clash. Felder will be looking to earn a victory after losing his last 2 fights against Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson both by decision, its argued that Felder took the fight against Pearson to soon after his loss to Barboza but both where epic fights as always when Felder steps into the cage. Daron will want to earn a victory after not earning a win in his last 3 fights where he lost 2 fights and had a no contest due to an accidental eye poke against K.J Noons at UFC TUF 20 Finale so a win for both of this guys is quite vital and its going to be a war.

Felder has a professional record of 10 Wins and 2 Losses, his very much like Diego Sanchez in the way of the more you hit him the harder it will come at you but he keeps his stature and professionalism more than the mentioned Diego Sanchez, Felder is famous for a crushing spinning back fist K.O on his second fight in the UFC against Danny Castillo. While Daron Cruickshank has a professional record of 16 Wins and 7 Losses and this is his 13th fight in the UFC since bursting onto the scene with a win against Chris Tickle at UFC TUF 15 Finale.

I Think Felder will earn the victory in this fight, Although Daron is quite well known for not being easily knocked out with his granite chin i think Felder is just the better martial artist and this wil show on the night, I think Felder will be able to keep at a distance where Daron cant execute his game plan and he will still be able to get his shots away on Daron and return to a safe distance without getting caught and there’s only so many powerful shots someone can take, Third round K.O for Paul Felder

Prelims

Maximo Blanco vs Luke Sanders

As we start the Prelims now we’re into the sixth fight on the card it’s a fight between Venezuelan 32 year old Maximo Blanco facing off against 30 year old American Luke Sanders in this Featherweight fight, Maximo will be looking to extend his winning streak to 4 after impressive wins over Andy Ogle, Daniel Hooker and most impressive a 14 seconds into the first round TKO win over Mike De la Torre last July at UFC TUF 21 Finale, Luke Sanders will be looking to start his UFC debut off with a win and is undefeated in his professional career.

Maximo Blanco has a professional record of 12 Wins and 6 Losses and this will be his 7th fight in the UFC and Luke Sanders has a undefeated professional record of 10 Wins and 0 Losses so he has well and truly earned his shot in the UFC and it will be interesting to see how he copes under the spotlight of the biggest organisation in the world.

I Think Luke Sanders will get his hands raised by the end of the fight, he will win this fight by TKO the same way he has finished 6 of his 10 professional wins, Although Blanco has never been knocked out I feel he will be caught by surprise here and Luke Sanders will cement his place on the UFC Roster, so to clarify Luke Sanders to win by second round K.O.

Chris Wade vs Mehdi Baghdad

Seventh fight on the card brings together 28 year old American Chris Wade facing off against French 30 year old Mehdi Baghdad for this Lightweight matchup, Chris Wade will be looking to extend his win streak to 6 while Mehdi Baghdad will be looking to earn his first UFC win after his time on TUF 22 where he proved his a fighter who won’t back down from anyone making this one hell of a fight,

Chris wade has a professional record of 10 Wins and 1 Loss, Since joining the UFC Wade has a record of 3 Wins and 0 Losses so he wont be giving up being undefeated in the UFC easily and Mehdi Baghdad has a Professional record of 11 Wins and 3 Losses but is on a 7 fight Win streak and a win against Wade will be a fantastic start to his UFC Career and leave him with a very bright future in the organisation.

I feel Mehdi Baghdad will pull out a win here with a K.O victory, his made of very tough stuff and I feel nothing will stop him from earning a win, Chris wade’s chin is going to be tested and I feel it will fail under the intense pressure that Mehdi Baghdad will be applying. This is going to be a fight that will be remembered without a doubt. Second round win for Mehdi Baghdad.

Tim Boetsch vs Ed Herman

Two UFC Veterans square up for the eighth fight on tonight’s card with 34 year old American Tim Boetsch is fighting 35 year old American Ed Herman for this clash in the middleweight division, Both fighters are looking to earn wins after both losing in their previous fights, Tim Boestsh has lost his last 2 fights one to Dan Henderson and the other to Thales Leites, while Ed Herman lost his last fight to Derek Brunson at UFC 183.

Tim Boetsch has a professional record of 18 Wins and 9 Losses, this is his 16th fight in the UFC while Ed Herman has a professional record of 22 Wins and 11 Losses and this is his 19th fight for the UFC meaning that between them they have accumulated 35 fights for the UFC so putting them together in the same cage surely worlds will collide making this a extremely exciting fight.

Herman wins this fight in my opinion, I’m sorry to say it but I feel Tim Boetsch should of hung up his gloves after losing to Dan Henderson and I think he will after losing this fight, I feel Ed Herman still has some fight in him and this will show clearly on the night of the fight, It will be a third round TKO win for Ed Herman.

Patrick Cote vs Ben Saunders

In the ninth fight on the card brings together Canadian 35 year old Patrick Cote facing off against American 32 year old Ben Saunders in this Welterweight division clash. Patrick will want to earn his third win a row after wins over Joe Riggs and Josh Burkman while Ben Saunders will want to carry on his 3 fight win streak, He will be beaming with confidence after a Submission win over Chris Heatherly, a TKO win over Joe Riggs and a decision win over Kenny Robertson.

Patrick Cote has a professional record of 22 Wins and 9 Losses where his accumulated 9 Wins by K.O/TKO 3 Wins by Submission and 9 Wins by decision and 1 where his opponent (Alessio Sakara) was disqualified from punching Cote in the back of the head while Ben Saunders has a record of 19 Wins and 6 Losses and 2 Draws, in them wins Ben has 9 KO/TKO’s, 6 Submissions and 4 Decisions.

Patrick Cote will win this fight in my opinion, I Think he is the best fighter and this will show once again come fight night, I think Cote will knock Saunders out in the second round. I think he has beaten better fighters than Saunders has and this has gave him more experience and he’ll be ready for Saunders come January 17th. So to clarify Cote to win by K.O in the second round.

Main Card

Ross Pearson vs Francisco Trinaldo

Tenth fight on the card and it’s a great fight between England’s own 31 year old Ross Pearson facing off against 37 year old Brazilian Francisco Trinaldo in this Lightweight clash, Ross Pearson will want to make winning a habit tonight and earn a second fight in a row after a impressive win against Paul Felder at UFC191 but Ross has been very hit and miss recently in his last 6 fights his won 3 and lost 3 and its gone Loss Win Loss Win Loss Win so he needs a win to break this horrible pattern. Francisco will want to earn a victory to keep his 4 fight winning streak alive after beating Leandro Silva, Akbarh Arreola, Norman Parke and Chad Laprise.

Ross has a professional record of 18 Wins and 9 Losses and 1 No contest, While Francisco Trinaldo has a professional record of 18 Wins and 4 Losses. Ross is known for his heavy hands and he won’t be pulling any punches on the night of the fight as he will want to be the first guy to ever knock Trinaldo out, while Trinaldo has a wide range of ways of winning his fights, in his 18 Wins he has won 6 by K,O 5 by Submission and 7 by Decision and Ross has won his 18 fights with 7 K.Os 5 Submissions and 6 have gone to the judges so both guys are very well rounded.

Ross Pearson will win this fight by Decision, its going to be very close, I feel both guys are going to get rocked, both guys are going to have some control on the ground and threaten each other with Submissions and some great wrestling and critical grappling is going to take place, one things for certain this fight wont be for the faint hearted as there will be blood! So to recap Ross Pearson to win by decision a unanimous 29/28 decision.

Travis Browne vs Matt Mitrione

Heavyweight fight now for 33 Year old American Giant Travis Browne facing off against 37 year old American Matt Mitrione, Travis will want to earn a win after losing in his last fight to Andrei Arlovski while Matt Mitrione will want to earn a win after losing in his last fight to Ben Rothwell, So Winning this fight is quite crucial for both of these guys as the winner will be chucked back in the mix of things at the top of the heavyweight division while the loser will have to take a step back in the rankings and start over, and at their ages this wont be a easy task if they want to have their hands on UFC gold again.

Travis Browne has a overall record of 17 Wins and 3 Losses and his one of the most exciting fighters in the heavyweight division earning 13 of this 17 Wins by KO/TKO while Matt Mitrione has a record of 9 Wins and 4 Losses so both guys know exactly what the sweet taste of success is like and they will want to have that feeling back after both suffering defeats in their last fights.

Travis Browne will win this fight in my opinion, a first round K.O sounds about right, Travis will be more than aware of Matt Mitrione’s Knockout power and will use his reach advantage to stay away from Matt at all costs and will just place his punches carefully, I feel Travis’ jab could prove vital in this fight. First round K.O for Travis Browne.

Anthony Pettis vs Eddie Alverez

In the Co Main Event of the evening brings together 2 very exciting Lightweight Fighters who are ready to fight, 28 year old American Former UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis is fighting 32 Year old American Eddie Alverez, Pettis will want to get a win here and be ready to reclaim his belt from either Dos Anjos or Mcgregor after they fight on the 5th of March at UFC 197, While Eddie Alverez also has his eyes on UFC gold after a impressive win over Gilbert Melendez at UFC 188. Eddie spent most of his career at Bellator before signing to the UFC where he lost his first fight against Donald Cerrone then the UFC gave him Gilbert Melendez where he proved he is a force not to be reckoned within the lightweight division and is willing to fight anyone  in his path to get his hands on the belt.

Pettis has a record of 18 Wins and only 3 Losses and he looked unbeatable for a long time defeating massive names in the division such as Benson Henderson twice, Gilbert Melendez, Donald Cerrone and Joe Lauzon so it was a massive surprise when Dos Anjos came in stripped Pettis of his title and Pettis will be praying for revenge and he will want to get his hands back on the belt he thinks is rightfully his, Eddie Alverez has a record of 26 Wins and 4 Losses, he has been the Bellator Lightweight champion twice and he will be hoping that training at Blackzillians will give him the credentials to raise the roof in the UFC’s Lightweight division.

Pettis will win this fight, Pettis is the better fighter in every aspect, no matter where the fight ends up Pettis will win, would love to see his famous “showtime” kick aswell, Pettis’ determination will also play a big factor in this fight, he’ll fell so aggravated after losing his title when he was feeling untouchable that it doesn’t matter who is standing in front of him his going to be so fired up he will win. Second round TKO win for Pettis.

(c) TJ Dillashaw vs Dominick Cruz

In the Main event is a fight for the Bantamweight title between 29 year old American UFC Bantamweight Champion T.J Dillashaw facing off against 30 year old American Dominick Cruz, T.J Dillashaw wont be letting his belt go easily and a win would make it his 3rd title defence and his 5th win in a row, While Dominick Cruz will want to win and finally get his handsback on UFC Gold after being a top name in the UFC for many years but being plagued with injury has made it impossible for him to get his hands back on the title he wants back so badly seeing as he was the first ever Bantamweight champion. TJ Dillashaw’s “Best” friend Uriah Faber is the only man to ever beat Cruz but Cruz avenged that defeat in July 2011 to be the first Champion.

TJ Dillashaw has a record of 12 Wins and 2 Losses since coming onto the scene from TUF 14 where he lost in the Finale to John Dodson by first round K.O at that moment no one could envisage what a fighter he has become,  his unrecognizable from the fighter we saw back then, After beating Mike Easton Dillashaw was handed a shot at Renan Barao where Dillashaw was a bigger underdog than you can ever imagine and a very different TJ Dillashaw stepped into the octagon that night, The best display you can ever imagine be formed in front of our very eyes as Dillashaw smashed Barao around the cage and made the title his, Dillashaw then beat Joe Sato in convincing fashion and then Barao stepped in for another beating and Dillashaw gave him just that, seems like leaving Team Alpha Male was a good move and Elevation Fight Team must be doing something right when it comes to Dillashaw,

Dominick Cruz really has a incredible record of 20 Wins and only 1 Loss which he avenged as i already mentioned, He was Champion in WEC until WEC paired with UFC and then he straight away become the first champion at Bantamweight in the UFC and he had to give the belt up due to injury so in theory Cruz has been champions of 2 organisations but has never been beat for his title, Injury and companies merging have cost him his belts, His beat fighters like Demetrious Johnson, Joseph Benavidez and Takeya Mizugaki and he will be ready to bring a war on the night of the fight.

But Personally I cant see anyone beating TJ Dillashaw in this prime, Although Cruz is a fighter of the highest calibre I cant see him beating Dillashaw in this fight, I think Dillashaw will come out straight away and catch Cruz being to light on his feet and leave him seeing stars, In my Eyes at his moment in time Dillashaw is not going to be beaten by anyone in the Bantamweight division as long as he keeps fighting the way he did against Barao both times. 1st round K.O win for TJ Dillashaw.

So that’s it, there’s your preview for UFC Fight Night 81: Dillashaw vs Cruz. I Think you have to agree the card is amazing, could easily be a numbered event and we are getting it as a Fight Night event, and thank you for taking the time to read this and more will follow.

Ryan Cambridge

 <

Article views: 333
» Donate to this author