By Dan Bogan
UFC 209 is set for March 4, 2017 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada. The Pay Per View has already suffered a casualty as the co-main event has gone south as Khabib Nurmagomedov has spent some time in the hospital suffering the side effects of a weight cut. He’s since been released but not cleared to fight, so Tony Ferguson gets the unfortunate night off.
.@MeganOlivi recaps an eventful #UFC209 weigh-in day ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/S2oWFjSpax
— #UFC209 (@ufc) March 4, 2017
The Main event features Tyrone Woodley VS Stephen Thompson. The Welterweight (170 .lb) battle sees Woodley with a 16-3-1 record battling the 13-1-1 Thompson. Woodley, who goes by “The Chosen One”, and Thompson, “The Wonderboy”, are engaged in a rematch from UFC 205 last November, where they fought to a non decisive five-round draw. Thompson, a formidable striker was stymied the first time out, has the ability to end a fight suddenly. I see Woodley trying to take it to the ground and a similar stale mate as their first encounter, except this time, I predict we’ll see a close, but unanimous decision for Woodley. Now let me make this clear from the start, I am infamous for making terrible predictions…so if you are engaging in a friendly wager with a friend, always go with the opposite of what I say.
Lando Vannata (9-1-0) VS David Teymur (5-1-0) (Lightweight 155 .lbs)
Both of these fighters tend to rely on strikes and kicks. Teymur competed on The Ultimate Fighter 22 in the summer of 2015, but both fighters have fought quite a bit in smaller promotions and this fight could easily go either way. I look for an action packed fight to end in the second round with a TKO for Teymur
Rashad “Suga” Evans (24-5-1) VS Daniel Kelly (12-1-0) (Middleweight 185.lbs)
Both fighters are little older, with Evan at 37 and Kelly 39, so both have slowed a hair. While Evans still has pretty good speed, and deceptive power, he also hasn’t submitted in thirteen years. I look for Kelly, who hails from Australia, to be the one that ends that streak. If he can avoid being knocked out, I look for Kelly to sink a rear naked choke in round two, for the win.
Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt (12-10-1, 1 NC)) VS Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem (41-15, 1 NC) (265 Heavyweight)
These two fought awhile back in Pride and Overeem, from the United Kingdom, made Hunt, a New Zealander tap out. I expect this to be an entertaining, though not what I would call a “pretty fight”. While I’m rooting for Hunt, I expect fatigue to rear its ugly head toward early in the third round and Overeem to land some heavy blows and end up winning by TKO.
* Stats courtesy of www.UFC.com
