LIGHTWEIGHT (155) TITLE FIGHT IN MAIN EVENT
Cowboy Being Advertised More Than The Champ
Los Angeles, CA- Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (28-6, 1 NC) fights about a million times a year, and will make his 1,000,001st appearance in the main event of UFC on Fox 17. He will be fighting current lightweight king Rafael Dos Anjos (24-7), who is making the first defense of the title he took from Anthony “Showtime”
Pettis (18-3) in dominant fashion back in March. Cerrone is on an 8 fight win streak, with Dos Anjos being the last one to hand Cowboy a loss back in 2013.
WHO WINS REMATCH?
I think Cerrone gets his revenge here. This will likely set up a third fight down the line. Cowboy has shone a lot of improvement in recent fights, and looks poised to take the crown. If Cerrone wins, there are rumors he will face new featherweight (145) titlist Conor McGregor (19-2), which would be huge. I do not see the UFC risking one of their biggest stars, who lost twice by submission earlier in his career, against a less marketable grappling specialist like Dos Anjos who also happens to be the bigger guy.
FIGHT OF THE NIGHT IS CO-MAIN
If you asked me a few years ago who would win a fight between Junior Dos Santos (17-3) and Alistair Overeem (39-14, 1 NC), I would pick Dos Santos by knockout without hesitation. Flash forward a couple years, and Dos Santos has taken two terrible beatings at the hands of Cain Velasquez (13-2) and has not looked particularly good in a fight since 2013. I think Reem outpoints him, provided he does not get reckless and leave that glass jaw of his out for Cigano to put him out.
RETURN OF NATE DIAZ
Nate (17-10, the younger and smaller of Stockton, CA’s Diaz brothers, has not fought in a year. He takes on Michael Johnson (16-9), who is fighting for the third time this year. Diaz is the more talented of the two, but it is tough to know how much he has left. I see Nate walking away with a competitive decision. I would actually like to see Conor fight Diaz first if he is really planning on moving up. That would be possibly the greatest trash talking fight ever and a good barometer for how McGregor would fare at lightweight. Overall, one of the better cards of the year on paper for the UFC. Tune in at 8PM/5PM ETPT for the main card and 5PM/2PM ETPT on Fox Sports 1 for the prelims.
Zack “Attack” Young