CONOR MCGREGOR GETS TITLE SHOT
McGregor Will Face Aldo Next
Los Angeles, CA- After almost two years of trash talk, Conor McGregor (17-2) will finally get the title shot he promised. Ever since he first entered the promotion back in April 2013, “Notorious” has said he would bring the featherweight (145) belt back to Ireland. In Las Vegas this May, he will get the chance to back up his talk.
GAME SIVER NO MATCH FOR MCGREGOR
Dennis Siver (22-10, 1 NC) of Russia landed some decent strikes. He even managed to drag Conor to the canvas for a few seconds. Unfortunately, those were the only highlights on Fox Sports 1 for the Russian. He spent most of 7 minutes getting busted up but the power and speed of McGregor’s strikes. After being dropped with a body punch in round two and finished with some ground and pound, referee Herb Dean called an end to the contest at 1:54.
FIGHT NIGHT IN BOSTON A SUCCESS
Despite the National Football League’s Patriots booking their ticket to Super Bowl XLIX in nearby Foxborough, MA during the prelim fights, the UFC was able to draw a massive crowd to the T.D. Garden in Boston, MA. The drawing power of Conor McGregor is clear, and him leaping out of the cage to confront Aldo only builds more hype for their clash. Aldo, to his credit, laughed in McGregor’s face and called him a “jester” as he has in the past. In May, we will see if the jester can become king.
CERRONE MAKES IT 1-2 IN HENDERSON SERIES
The third time was the charm for lightweight (155) Donald Cerrone (27-6, 1 NC), as he finally got a win over former UFC champion Benson Henderson (21-5). “Bendo” won the two previous fights, which took place when both men were under the World Extreme Cagefighting banner. Unfortunately, this fight did not live of to the others. Ever since he joined the UFC, Henderson has been content with fighting for points rather than going for the finish. In fact, he has finished only one foe in 12 fights with Dana White as his boss. In that fight, Ben submitted Rustam Khabliov (17-2) in the 4th round of an unusual 5-round non-title fight. If the fight had been the normal three rounds, Ben may not have gotten that finish either. Henderson was content with mainly throwing side-kicks to the thighs of Cerrone for much of the fight, and was not rewarded with the decision as he has been in the past. Ben has now lost 2 in a row for the first time in his career.
UNDERCARD=UNDERWHELMING
Middleweight Uriah “Primetime” Hall (10-4) finished late replacement Ron “The Choir Boy” Stallings (12-7, 1 NC) with punches in 3:37. Hall opened up two very nasty cuts that forced an end to the bout over a guy who was coming off a loss going in. The UFC signed Stallings just before the event simply to give Hall an opponent. Costas Phillippou (13-4, 1 NC) was oiginally slated to fight Hall but sustained a rib injury. Louis Taylor was booked to replace Phillippou versus Hall, but injured his back. Hall beating Stallings does little to enhance his legacy. It was a stay-busy fight to fill the card and nothing more. The opening fight was a snoozer of a fight between veteran lightweight Gleison Tibau (33-10) and Norman Parke (20-3-1). Despite his nickname, Norman was anything but “Stormin“. I think “Dormant” would be a better nickname. Tibau may has been a split decision winner, but viewers lost unanimously.
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS RESULTS
WELTERWEIGHTS (170):
Cathal Pendred (16-2-1) UD 3 Sean Spencer (12-4)
WELTERWEIGHTS:
Lorenz Larkin (15-4, 1 NC) TKO 1(2:17) John Howard (22-11)
LIGHTWEIGHTS:
Chris Wade (9-1) UD 3 Lipeng Zhang (9-8-1)
BANTAMWEIGHTS (135):
Patrick Holohan (11-1-1) UD 3 Shane Howell (13-9)
LIGHTWEIGHTS:
Johnny Case (20-4) TKO 3(1:54) Frankie Perez (9-2)
FEATHERWEIGHTS:
Charles Rosa (10-1) SUB 3(4:43) Sean Soriano (8-3)
UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS
Sean O’Connell (16-6) TKO 3 (2:11) Matt Van Buren (6-4)
FLYWEIGHTS (125):
Joby Sanchez (7-1) SD 3 Takei Matsuda (10-7)
2015 MMA Picks Record: 11-4
2015 Overall Picks Record: 13-4
Zack “Attack” Young