We're Back!!! Let's Catch Up and Move Forward

Let's catch up on what has been going on outside of GET THE KO! First thing I have finished college officially and I am graduating with my Master's Degree in Sports & Health Science. We have had a lot of news going on with fighters all over the place.

RDA

Let's not worry about what happened last night, we witnessed another defeat of RDA. Though I was pulling for the man himself, he did not come through at all. He has had some tough losses and, hopefully next year we see him get back in the win streak.

THE RETURN OF GSP

We have to talk about the possibility of Georges St. Pierre to return to the octagon. He is officially a free agent and can sign with any promotion, however I do not see the UFC letting him go without a fight (pun intended). Names like Nick Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Stephen Thompson have been thrown around as possible opponents. Hopefully we see him back within the next year, it would be amazing to see Rush back in the octagon fighting.

THE ROWDY ONE

It has almost been a full year since we have seen Ronda Rousey in the octagon, in fact the last fight he had was November 15, 2015. She will be back in the octagon fighting Amanda Nunes in UFC 207 on December 2016. She has not had it easy since her last loss, and has been pretty open about her countdown to retirement. If she is wanting to get back Amanda she is going to have to utilize that judo game that made her so dangerous. Nunes loves to start fast, most of Amanda's wins have come in the first round. However Rousey is going to have to be careful Nunes is quick on the ground and will look for submissions, 3 of her 13 wins have come through submissions all coming in the first round. 

New York City And How We Got Here

It goes without saying we are getting ready to witness history in the making; after several attempts to bring MMA to the Big Apple, we are finally going to get it. Since the UFC started in Denver, Colorado, the UFC has been all over the world. We have seen events in Dubai, Mexico City, Boston, Baltimore, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Las Vegas...so why was it, it took so long to get it to New York City. Well it seemed the panel for MMA was ran by some corrupt politicians; and when a scandal broke out about a couple members on the panel, we saw the UFC get welcomed. 

Dana White understood how big this event was going to be and decided to unload the talent pool attached to this card. This card is loaded with so much talent by the end of the night the only thing a person could want is a heavyweight fight (which this fight card is missing, but i digress). There are 3 HUGE title fights, while the other three fights on the main card will have big ramifications for the title picture. Every fight on this fight card could be on the main card of another event, some of these fights on the under card could be Main Event fights on another card. There are 8 former or current champs on this fight card from bottom to the top. 

UFC 205 And The Fights To Look Forward To...

Now let us break down this card and talk about what we expect from the fights people are not talking about. We also know the Alvarez VS McGregor, Woodley VS Thompson, Tate VS Pennington, and Jedrzejczyk VS Kowalkiewicz. But there are some other fights on this card I want to talk about, and are not as hyped as some of the other fights, I want to talk about three of those fights:

FRANKIE EDGAR VS JEREMY STEPHENS

We have to talk about how a former champion in the lightweight world is on the undercard for this event. It is amazing to see Frankie again in the octagon though the last time we saw him he lost to Jose Aldo at UFC 200. He still has the endurance and drive to fight through championship rounds. He has great boxing and still can take any person down at will. However he is getting older and though it has not shown, he is stale in his talents. MMA is continuing to evolve and though every fight starts on their feet, Edgar has not shown his evolution in the game. 

Jeremy Stephens is coming off of a tough victory over Renan Barao, he is going to continue to try and utilize his advantages over Edgar. Jeremy has had trouble with fights who can throw serious hands. Max Holloway can throw with the best of the UFC and even beat Jeremy in a unaimous decision. However Jeremy does have youth on his side and can push a tempo further to see how Edgar can do. This will be a tough match-up for Stephens if he does not utilize his ability to push the fight in his favor. 

LIZ CARMOUCHE VS KATLYN CHOOKAGIAN

In the last five fights Carmouche has not faired so well, she has lost 3 of her last 5 fights to include losses to Rousey and Tate. But she is coming off a victory over Lauren Murphy in a decision, Liz is known for taking fights to the ground and either submitting them or finishing them in TKO. This is a fight I believe she is going to be able to boost herself back up and into title contention, if she can utilize her ground game and control the fight. 

Katlyn is by far going to be a tough test for her, she is currently undefeated at 8-0 but has not faced someone like Liz before. Katlyn has 5 wins by decision, 2 by KO, and 1 by submission. She is a well rounded fighter and it will be good to see her in the octagon. If people have not noticed yet, the women's division is loaded with talent. It is getting thick and if you think Ronda is the face that runs the place (a John Cena phrase), you are not really looking at the entire roster. 

DONALD CERRONE VS KELVIN GASTELUM

The Cowboy is returning to the octagon since UFC 202, where he punished Rick Story. Cowboy is a crazy dude who likes to throw punches from all angles. He loves his submission game as well, he is one of the few fighters who is well rounded at 170 but he wants the title at 155. I think with a win over Kelvin, he should definitely get the opportunity after the Alvarez VS McGregor fight. 

But, let us not get too far ahead of ourselves Kelvin Gastelum is no push over either, he has won 3 of his last 5 fights. Those victories are coming over Jake Ellenberger, Nate Marquardt, and Johny Hendricks those are no push overs and he had no issues with those individuals. Those are true test for Kelvin and getting an opportunity at Donald will strengthen a resume for a championship fight with a victory over the Cowboy. 

COME AND CATCH UP WITH ME

Since I had to put down the site for a while some new things have come through. If you want to hear my predictions for the UFC 205 event coming up, you can catch me on 1570 AM WNST on Thursday, November 10th between 3PM to 5PM or you can go here www.wnst.net and stream it live. Also during the fights you can follow me on twitter @cm_miller85 or @getthekoblog. Also for the first time you can follow me on Snapchat as well @icendaveins. My friends and I will be talking about each fights and going through round-by-round. Hope to hear from you all and it is great to be back!

We Have To Catch Up On The UFC!!!

What is going on my readers, it is great to have you back visiting the page once again. We have a lot to talk about since last week I was working for the Washington Redskins. So let us dive in and talk about the amazing things around the UFC. We are going to talk about the highlights for the last two weeks. I do have to advise one of the pictures is very graphic, so parents beware.

Michael Johnson vs Dustin Poirier

What a return for Michael Johnson to the Octagon, Dustin Poirier is a tough opponent for to stop him in the first round is not easy. Johnson came out set his game plan and finished the fight, maybe this is a step in the right direction for him. Hopefully next year we can see him further set himself up for a great shot at the title, but for now its too early to tell.

Derek Brunson vs Uriah Hall

If you are a big fan of Uriah Hall, then you will probably not be a fan of me. When I first saw Uriah Hall and his unbelievable skill set on the Ultimate Fighter, I thought to myself there is a person who is going to bang with anyone. So far he has not been afraid to throw punches with anyone, the problem is the competition level is much higher than the Ultimate Fighter and Uriah Hall is having problems keeping pace. He needs to have a better plan when matching up in the Octagon. He is going to be on the brink of being replaced in the UFC, and it is a shame because so many people have referred to him as the next "Andersen Silva."

Chas Skelly vs Maximo Blanco

Chances are you have already seen this fight, it only lasted 19 seconds. Skelly came out with a huge push kick that set Blanco on his backside and from there it was a swarm of looking for the submission victory. Credit to Blanco, he fought as much as possible but in the end he passed out. It is too early to see what Skelly has in his arsenal and I am excited to see where he goes from here. Here is another look at this finished:

Francsico Trinaldo vs Paul Felder

What a great fight for Francsico, he pushed the pace of the fight and made Felder come to him. Unfortunately for Felder this fight ended up being stopped because of a nasty cut. The cut started small and eventually grew "three times that day"...by the end of the fight. If you did not see what the cut looked like at the end of the night, there is a picture of it here. Be reminded it is pretty graphic, so proceed with caution.

Roy Nelson vs Antonio Silva

The biggest controversy with this fight was not the finish so much but what happened afterwards. Now Roy finished the fight, but proceeded to give the bird to John McCarthy and even kicked him at the end of the fight. Nelson understood the fight was over, and felt that McCarthy was trying to set him up to injury Bigfoot further. Nelson does possess one punch power, but to the extent of him saying he has walk off power like Mark Hunt, is simply not true. But Respect to Nelson for not destroying the face of Silva like some fighters would.

Cristiane Justino vs Lina Lansberg

I want to talk about this fight for one reason, the domination Cyborg had on Lina. Cyborg went out against a Muay Thai fighter and finished her in the second round. It was an amazing set and she did not hesitate to finish the fight. Though I am sure Lina would be a problem for other fighters Cyborg is on a whole level above most fighters. Cyborg wants to put on "Superfights" and I do not blame her, she did not call out any one opponent but, for someone who cuts from 170 pounds down to 140 in a week...anyone can be on her list of people to beat down. I am sure the next fight for Cyborg will come next year, but with the rumor of Ronda coming back at UFC 207, we will see if May they will finally get locked in the cage together.

I know this is quick but, I wanted to make sure we hit a few of the fights as we have UFC 204 and UFC 205 coming up soon. I know you are excited about the first ever event in New York City at Madison Square Garden. We also have the much anticipated rematch of Henderson vs Bisping. I am excited are you guys excited yet?

Let me know what you guys think? What fights are you looking forward to?

Was it disappointing? Depends on who you ask? UFC 203

Well now it came and it went so quickly, but was UFC 203 all it was hyped to be? In my opinion...No, but I am one person and that is my opinion. Other people may have thought the fights were great. If you follow me on twitter, a bunch of friends were talking about the fights and enjoying for the most part. However I feel like they were missing something from it. Sure the championship fight was exciting, and maybe if Werdum fought Rothwell instead of Browne it might have changed things. Overall I felt the card was slow and mundane at best. The undercard fights I felt were the best part of the card, usually they are. The guys on the undercard want to show they belong on the maincard and they have worked just as hard. But let us get into these fights and talk about what happened (Spoiler Alerts):

Jessica Andrade vs Joanne Calderwood

Interesting match up with these two, I felt that Calderwood was doing a great job at first trying to keep Jessica away. However once the fight was taken to the ground Jessica showed everyone why she is so dangerous on the ground. I felt she controlled the fight and swarmed all over Joanne, letting her know there was nothing she could do to get away. When she finally was able to tighten in the Guillotine Choke, Calderwood has no choice but to tap.

Jimmie Rivera vs Uriah Faber

At one time Uriah was considered the bench mark of the UFC, it seems though those days have finally past him. Uriah looked sluggish in the fight, while Rivera looked like a future contender. Now I am not saying Rivera will beat Cruz, but what I am saying is he was scary good against Faber. Faber was being out wrestled, out stuck, and was dominated in the fight. Though I do like the California Kid and I was rooting for him, he might be heading down and slide after dropping to both Cruz and now Rivera. Hopefully the UFC can get him a fight that he can win and Faber can get his confidence back.

Mickey Gall vs CM Punk

There are two parts to this story, 1. CM Punk knew this was going to be an uphill battle and 2. Mickey Gall is the real deal. So let us start with the first point...CM Punk was in an uphill battle from the jump. He stepped out looking to strike with Gall, but Gall was not having any of it. He instantly took him to the ground and began to grind him out. Now I do have to commend CM Punk for having so much heart in this fight, he was fighting out of numerous submission attempts but Gall never let up. I think for me once I saw CM Punk take a shot to the face, it almost looked like a light bulb went off in his head and he knew this was bad. I had mentioned numerous times about CM Punk saying he was a white belt for life, and it seemed that showed against the brown belt Gall.

But we should not take anything away from Mickey Gall at all. This was a man who waited patiently for CM Punk to be ready, and when it came down to it...dominated a fight. It did not matter to him what anyone else thought, he put his game plan to work and made CM Punk tap out. A lot of people did not like what Mickey Gall had to say after the fight, but I am one of those who actually did. I like that he called out Sage Northcutt, I like that he is going to say what is on his mind, I like he is calling out whoever he wants. He is hungry and he is ready to take on the world, and I think he wants to grow as a fighter. I would like to see how fast this kid can rise to the top.

Fabricio Werdum vs Travis Browne

Have to be honest, this was a disappointing fight for me as a fan of Hapa. I am not sure what happened in the first round with him and his finger, but it was pretty severe to have him want to stop the fight. Now I am sure Travis was waiting for him hand to go numb so he could start landing some bombs, but this is not boxing. He was going to need a few more rounds till it happened. Now reports are coming out that he actually dislocated his finger and put it back in place during the fight. He is a tough but that would be pretty gnarly if it is true.

Now the fight itself was pretty boring due to the injury but, what happened after the fight was uncalled for. There were some kind of word exchange between Fabricio and Browne's coach, which ultimately led to Werdum push kicking the coach away and fights began to break out, it seem Browne was pretty chill though. It will be interesting to see what the UFC does about it, but I think the UFC needs to get Travis back in the win column and help him get his confidence back as well, after dropping the last two he is going to need it.

Stipe Miocic vs Alistair Overeem

Apparently there is some controversy to this fight, Alistair had Stipe deep in a chokehold and said he felt Stipe tap out. However after looking over numerous replays Stipe never showed a tap anywhere. Once they stood up and began to battle Overeem got caught and went down, ultimately getting TKO'd.

What made this fight so much fun was all the knockdowns that happened. I know most of my friends were calling out thinking the fight was going to be over with Alistair on top, but Stipe showed a lot of heart and kept holding on till the end. You have to love fighters who refuse to lose and want to put on a great show for their fans. Stipe is one of those guys who you not only have to beatdown to win, but you are going to feel like you have to kill him to win.

I feel Cain Velazquez is going to have a lot of his plate when he gets ready to fight Stipe, but Cain's wrestling could be the X-factor in this fight. Cain has excellent stand-up, and world class wrestling behind him. Stipe is going to have to be ready on all fronts to win this fight, especially with the Spinning wheel kick Cain has put in his bag of tricks.

I think the UFC has some work to do with UFC 206 going forward. It could also be that we have been spoiled with the last few events, that we needed to have a break. With UFC 204 (possibly the last fight for Dan Henderson win or lose) and 205 coming up we could see some fun times. I know for myself I am looking forward to next year with the anticipation of Ronda returning and Conor back in the Octagon.

What was your thoughts on the fights? You can leave comments here or tweet me out at cm_miller85 or getthekoblog.

UFC 203

As much as I would like to talk about UFC Hamburg, we have to talk about the big fight card coming up this weekend. That's right I am talking about UFC 203. Now it was great to see Ryan Bader, Alexander Gustafsson, and Josh Barnett all get wins, UFC 203 will be a monster card to watch.

You have it all in this fight card: Heavyweights who like to throw bombs, the return of the California Kid, the debut of a Pro Wrestler, and the kid who wanted to fight the Pro Wrestler turned MMA fighter, also you have the hometown heroes battling to defend their land.

So let us dig into this event and talk about a couple of fights:

Jessica Eye vs Beth Correia

This is one of two match ups where there is a hometown hero battling to defend Cleveland (I guess you could say LeBron did it as well). Beth Correia was regarded as one of the baddest women to throw down in the UFC, after getting beat by Ronda Rousey she took another fight in Raquel Pennington and lost in a split decision. Beth is going to need to get a win to keep herself relevant among the UFC Elites, but she is going against a tough opponent in Jessica Eye.

Jessica is coming off of 3 fight losing streak and is 1-4 in her last five fights. Normally the UFC will cut fighters like this, but with Cleveland coming up it made sense to keep her to showcase her. One more loss and you can expect her to get cut from the UFC.

Both fighers need this win or face being pushed out of the UFC world.

Urijah Faber vs Jimmie Rivera

Faber returns to the Octagon a few months after losing to Dominick Cruz. In the last six fights Faber is 3-3 overall. He has the ability to beat most opponents but has trouble trying to grab the brass ring and become champion in the UFC. He continues to be a bench mark in the UFC, which makes you wonder how much longer can he be that mark.

Jimmie Rivera is an interesting fighter in himself. He lost his second professional fight ever, and since then is 19-1, he is 3-0 since his debut in the UFC. Most of his wins have come off decisions, Faber loves to grind out fights as well. This fight will be interesting to watch and could be a possible "Fight of the Night" both fighters will throw down and should be fun.

 Fabricio Werdum vs Travis Browne

This will be a fight that could end quickly, but the time before this fight went to decision. I do not expect this fight to go that far again but it could. Both fighters know each other well and should be ready to throw all the bombs in the world to KO the other.

Fabricio Werdum is coming off of lost to the Champion Stipe Miocic. It was by KO and Werdum showed his hands are not as good as he thought. He is going to have to work on his defense especially with an unpredictable Travis Browne coming through Cleveland.

Travis Browne is also coming off a lost to Cain Velazquez. Who would have thought Cain would be throwing wheel house kicks, made me 100% unpredictable. Eventually a few combos would land and out would go Travis. In his last 6 fights Travis is 3-3, with this win should put him in the hunt for a title shot especially with knowing the fight in the main event is a Heavyweight Championship fight.

Stipe Miocic vs Alistair Overeem

Here is the second of two Hometown fights. I would expect the winner of this fight go on to fight Cain Velazquez or the winner of Werdum/Browne.

Stipe is a monster who finished Fabricio with no problem. However he is running into to a buzzsaw known for throwing nasty kicks and has some deadly hands. Stipe is going to have to focus on getting inside on Overeem and go for the KO. He is also going to have to grind out Alistair, he does not have the endurance to bang for five rounds. Stipe has great hands and most of his wins have come from KO or TKO.

When it comes to Alistair you can not help but think about the year suspension due to PEDs, however 3 of his last 4 victories have come VIA TKO or KO. Alistair still has heavy hands and deadly kicks. If Stipe wants to win this fight, he is going to have to pressure Alistair and take away his advantage.

CM Punk vs Mickey Gall

I chose to showcase this fight last for a few reasons. This will be the first time in the UFC a fighter will debut with a 0-0 record, but Mickey Gall has only 2 professional fights in his career (both ended by submission). Now this fight goes one of two ways: 1. CM Punk loses his debut and the UFC becomes a laughing stock for putting so much time into him; 2. CM Punk wins his debut and Mickey Gall is always the guy who lost to a Professional Wrestler. Sure you can make the argument CM Punk has trained in BJJ for most of his life...but even he says he will always be a "white belt for life." CM Punk has the advantage in this fight due to being able to look at video of Gall's last two fights and making a game plan around him. How do you game plan for CM Punk? He has 0 amateur fights and 0 professional fights. It is not like you can go back to his WWE days and game plan him. I am interested to see how this fight goes and we will find out in 6 days.

What do you guys think? Let me know and we can chat it out.

Also, you can tweet me at cm_miller85 or getthekoblog. You can also email me at getheko@gmail.com

Check me out on WNST 1570AM  on Thursday to get my fight prediction with Sunday Sports Voice.

UFC Vancouver and Looking Toward The Future

Let's dive right into what we saw last night at UFC VANCOUVER, shall we? Four fights big anticipation and I would have to be honest, it did not disappoint. Depending on who you are, and what level of Mixed Martial Arts you have, you may have seen it differently. But, I felt for this card and these fights you got a bit of everything to watch. From the big slugfest to brazilian jiu-jitsu competive match. To the debut of Pettis at 145, to the return of Paige VanZant.

Jim Miller vs Joe Lauzon

If you are looking for two guys who want to go to war with each other, then look no further than these two at Lightweight. You would think, these two guys have a mutual hate for each other but it is quite the opposite. These two fighters know what they are getting into the moment they walk into the ring against each other. This is the second time they have faced each other, with Jim winning the first match up.


Jim and Joe came out of the gates throwing some serious bombs, and at one point in the fight they both had the other in serious trouble of being submitted. Jim and Joe are both great at their ground technique and have a solid wrestling to help defend.

Jim seemed to have the endurance to hold the pace at which they were fighting and landing:

But Joe is tough and can take a punch as well; for three rounds we looked at a fight which started on top, but would move to the ground and the passing game was phenomenal. In the end it would be Jim Miller who would get his hand raised in a split decision. Expect these two to throw down one more time next year.

  

Paige VanZant vs Bec Rawlings

It has been a long time since Paige had been in the Octagon. In fact the last time anyone had seen her take the stage she was on Dancing With The Stars. Rawlings was beginning to make a name for herself as she riding a two win fight streak, and was ready to get at the "NEW FACE" of the UFC. Paige was assumed to have a some ring rust, seeing how the last time she fought was in December of 2015 (really does not feel like it was that long ago, seeing how it is only August...then again it is August). 

Paige came out swinging as she ran into the center of the ring and threw a quick kick. Paige likes to throw a bunch of "junk" to see what will connect, which was one of the reason Rose Namajunas was able to tap her out. It seemed like Bec Rawlings was expecting anything to get thrown at her, but probably not at the pace which Paige threw it at. 

In the corner Bec was warned to look out of "junk" Paige might throw at her. Sure enough in the 2nd round it came. A standing switch kick which ended the night for Rawlings and gave the victory to Paige:

After the knock down Paige would throw mini-hammerfist and end the fight. It was a great match up for Paige and she took full advantage of it. 

Anthony Pettis vs Charles Oliveira

This was the debut of "Showtime" Pettis at 145, and I have to admit he looked rather comfortable at this weight. He went a very tough opponent in Oliveira and made him look like he was an average fighter.The striking from Pettis was excellent and I felt he could have called his shot and landed anything he wanted to throw:

Oliveira who last fought in December as well, had a difficult time getting out of the blocks. He landed some shots on Pettis, but in the third round I felt that Pettis had taken over the fight and found the finish. 

Damian Maia vs Carlos Condit

If you are a fan of Condit and you have bet on him the last couple of times, you may have forked out a lot of cash (as one of my friends, recently admitted). Condit has been slowing down in his fights and it is hard to imagine the UFC is going to be keeping him around much longer. 

Maia went in and made quick work of Condit with a submission victory. Getting in and taking Condit to the ground rather quickly and moved right into the rear naked choke. Condit seemed to be disappointed with the results for the fight, but Maia should definitely be getting the next title shot.  

SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE FIGHTS

We have a lot of great fights coming up and with the events coming up I will put my predictions up the week before:

Andrei Arlovski vs Josh Barnett

Talk about two heavy hitters who will be ready to drop the next person if they get the chance. Josh Barnett has no fear and chooses to throw bombs with anyone. On the flipside Andrei, may have a glass chin, but he has hands of stones and is not afraid to use them. I can not wait to see to see these two juggernauts go at it. 

Alexander Gustaffson vs Jan Blachowicz

In the last four fights for Jan he is 2-2, while Gustaffson is 1-3. Now one can argue Gustaffson has lost to: Bones Jones, Rumble Johnson, and DC. He has a lot to prove and needs to get back in the win column. Jan wants to show the world that he has what it takes to an elite fighter as well. These two will be a great size match up for each other and I am excited. 

CM Punk (Phil Brooks) vs Mickey Gall

Mickey called out this fight when he heard Dana White was in the crowd. CM Punk wanted this fight because he was not afraid to fight anyone. CM Punk, yes the wrestler from the WWE, has been training since December of 2014. He has been trying to make his debut for a long time and finally will be against Mickey Gall. It will be interesting to see these two go at it, as Mickey Gall did win his first fight in the UFC and is ready to fight CM Punk. 

Fabricio Werdum vs Travis Browne

It is good to see these two will be going at it again. I have made it clear, Travis is one of my favorite fighters in the UFC. I think he deserved a second shot at Fabricio. The biggest thing is Werdum needs this win just as bad as Browne. They both want to get into the title shot contention and with this win, it may help get them there. 

There are so many good fights that are getting ready to happen, barring any kind of injury. I think for me the fight I am looking forward to is the debut of CM Punk at UFC 203. I was at the last Smackdown CM Punk was at, before the Royal Rumble and ultimately his departure. I can not wait to see Mickey Gall and Punk. 

What fights are coming up that you are excited about. Let me know in the comments. Remember you can find me on twitter at cm_miller85 or getthekoblog, also you can email me at gettheko@gmail.com. Also, you guys thank you for the views and reading the stories we have over 1,000 and it is amazing. 

If you guys are looking for mats two either wrestle on, or even to train make sure you guys are looking at Tiffin Mats. Yes, they are still making mats and yes, they are working to supply the best products to customers. 

Don't for get to check out the Middle Flipper as well. Cat is out doing amazing things at Baltimore National Aquarium and you can read about her adventures there. 

Have a good one!

UFC 202 Review

What a night of fights happened last night. I just want to talk about four of the fights because I felt they were the most significant fights of the night. Now before I begin, I thought the women's fights were great and some tough battles going on in their respective weight classes. So let's begin

Atrem Lobov defeats Chris Avila 

This was a fight that I felt set the tone for what could be going down. I mean seriously look at this picture:

If you are wondering why I am showing you a picture of this, it is simple. Avila is the protege of Nate Diaz, you can clearly see in just this photo he takes after his mentor. With that being said, Avila had a lot of trouble with the best friend of McGregor. Avila opened himself up to a lot of leg kicks eventually slowing him down, and causing him to get tagged a few times from a stronger opponent in Lobov. Lobov was obviously more experienced than Avila but the fighting styles between these and McGregor and Diaz spoke volumes about what could happen in the upcoming fight.

Donald Cerrone defeats Rick Story

Cowboy Cerrone needed to get this win at 170 over Horror Story, but Story would not go patiently into the night. It was pretty obvious that Story wanted to make sure Cerrone knew he was in a fight. But, it was good to see Cerrone at a healthy weight class beating Story to the punch and walking through his punches. Now I will say this Cerrone definitely put his combos together well and this one was the beginning of the end:

After the fight Joe Rogan talked about how well Cerrone looked at 170 but Cowboy had other plans, he wants the belt that Eddie is holding at 155 and I think he has the skills to go get it. I hope we get to see this fight at UFC 205 if not, then lets get it on next year.

Anthony Johnson defeats Glover Teixeira

Imagine if you will, you are the number 2 fighter in your weight class. Imagine you wanting to prove to the world you should be number 1. However, imagine the number 1 guy is Anthony "Rumble" Johnson and he has scary knockout power. That is what Glover learned last night, I mentioned it last week about the KO ability to Rumble and in 13 seconds he showed the world again what he is capable of doing. Sort of looked like this:

Also after this fight Anthony then called out DC and says he wants the belt. DC and Rumble fought once before with DC dominating the fight. Let's see if he can do it again. Again this would be a fight I would like to see happen at UFC 205, especially because Rumble took no damage in this fight.

Conor McGregor defeats Nate Diaz

Let's go ahead and call it, what it was last night. It was a redemption for Conor McGregor. He needed to win this fight and it happened.  But, the judges on the cards went to show their was so much money that could be made if a third fight happened. However, Conor did show why he was not to be taken lightly. Yes, he had a full camp; yes, he was able to make adjustments that he was not able to make in the first fight; Yes, he utilized his leg kicks tons more than he did in the first fight. These were things that ultimately ended up helping McGregor win the fight.
In the first two rounds McGregor was able to knock down Diaz three times.

Now all of the leg kicks Diaz was eating, may have been the reason why as he could not continue to put weight on his lead leg.

McGregor has a bigger problem to deal with and that is his stamina. McGregor fights at a pace his body can not handle. At the end of the second round, all of the third round, and the first half of the fourth round McGregor was gassed and just hoping for a second wind to kick in, which he got. Diaz was able to capitalize on the moment and almost put away McGregor at the end of the third round:

McGregor stayed as composed as he could but, would eventually turn his back to Nate Diaz and walk away from the fight to get some air, Diaz would laugh and point at him but, I do not think Diaz could have ran up on him because of all the damage his lead leg took.

To me though I felt that Nate Diaz had won rounds 2,3,5 especially with McGregor being pushed on the cage and almost finished in round 3 and taken to the ground in round 5 and the ground and pound game almost put him out. Here is the punchlines for the fight:

I am curious to see if there will be a Rubber Match between these two, McGregor said he would do it again but only at 155 and when Nate is ready. Nate said he is ready anytime and is willing to fight anywhere. I am curious to see where the suspensions lie on Monday. McGregor did break his foot last night with the volume of kicks he threw at Nate. Also, Nate is going to need some time to heal because his face got dominated last night. What I think should happen is McGregor let's the belt go and moves up to 155 and begins his new quest if he wants to fight Diaz at that weight class. Also wasn't it McGregor who demanded a rematch at 170? I was curious to see why he asked Diaz to move down to 155 when this whole time they could just do another match at 170. Oh well.

Let me know what you thought of the fight and remember you can follow me on twitter @cm_miller85 or @getthekoblog. Also if you want to write me an email and ask him questions getthekoblog@gmail.com. Hope to hear from you and we have some great fights getting ready to gear up, to include my favorite heavyweight makes his return to the UFC after losing at UFC 200 TRAVIS "HAPA" BROWNE!!!

UFC 202 Preview

Let's talk about what to expect at UFC 202, and just for kicks lets talk about the two big fights for the night: Glover Teixeira vs Anthony Johnson and Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor 2. We four heavy bangers getting ready to throw down in the center of what could be a massive war. Now Rick Story and Donald Cerrone are on the card as well and it will be a fun fight to watch, but I would like to focus on how the main event and co-main event could stack up.

Glover Teixeira vs Anthony Johnson

Remember when Anthony "Rumble Johnson was at 170, struggling to make weight but still had the power to do this:

Pretty scary to think that is just pure power in the kick he can deliver. Well a few years ago he was shacking so bad from cutting so hard he was cut by the UFC. They pulled him from the card and released him because he could not stay healthy. Then he decided he wanted to fight for himself and not for someone else. A couple of years ago he made he return to the UFC and was weighing 205, closer to his bodyweight at what he walks around at. He is healthier and just destroying those who gets in his way. Don't believe me:

That is Alexander Gustafsson (you may remember him as the guy who sent Jon "Bones" Jones to the hospital), a former title contender and to many as the man who still can win a championship. Anthony dominated this man and finished the fight. Now Anthony is still struggling with this take down defense game and Daniel Cormier was able to exploit that. Since UFC 197, Johnson has been on a two fight win streak. It is still insane to see the way Anthony can throw punches and connect:

It is almost as if Anthony can predict where you want to try and block and rip through your guard. But, that does not mean he is not running into a wall. Glover is clearly no push over as well, and to have a person training you like Chuck Liddell, you must have something special.

Glover has some dirty hands to throw as well, remember:

Glover has beaten his fair share of people as well. People who at one time were considered to be title chasers, Ryan Bader can attest to the power and defense of Glover:

Glover is riding a 3 win fight streak coming into this fight with Rumble. His last three fights have ended with a submission of OSP, TKO of Cummins, and KO of Sugar Rashad Evans.

Something is going to give in this fight. Both fighters have endurance issues but tons of heart and refuse to lose, I expect to see some good punches to counter punches going on in this fight. But I am curious to see how Glover's chin will be versus the bombs from Rumble. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how long Rumble can throw punches for versus some one who can endure punishment like Glover can.

In this fight I have to take Anthony "RUMBLE" Johnson by TKO in the 1st Round.

Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor 2 

"He had 11 days to prepare for Nate"; "He didn't have a proper gameplan"; "He could have beat him with a full training camp"...these were some of the excuses I have heard from McGregor fans. These were the same fans who said "Diaz is a stoner and can't win this fight"; "Diaz is a loser who can't match the boxing of McGregor". Listen when you go up two weight classes in boxing, yes you can make that same claim but this is Mixed Martial Arts and there are a lot of weight to give up, especially in the UFC. McGregor has a lot of work to do, he has a limited take down game, very limited ground game, and even more limited submission defense game. These are still factors you have to figure in this fight, remember the fight ended this way:

And what made things worse was the fight prior, we watched Holly Holms fight with everything in her body not to tap out. But, McGregor gave up his back and a "fighting champion" tapped out immediately. So let us look at this fight in a different manner, yes Conor now has a full fight camp, can learn from his mistakes, can clean up his boxing, and even bring in some help to defend in a submission world. On the flip side you can see Diaz learning from his fight as well, taking the fight on 11 days notice (while training for a Triathlon), working on his boxing, and ground game.

The way McGregor wins this fight is by keeping the fight close and utilizing his kicks, yes McGregor was able to hit and cut open Diaz; but to anyone who heard me on WNST 1570AM during the Sunday Sports Show, that is like winning a toy in a happy meal. Diaz has so much scar tissue in his face that it would be an anomaly if Diaz wasn't bleeding. If McGregor can use his kicks and keep his boxing clean with enough punches, yes he can win the fight. Now McGregor was working on lowering his body to fight RDS, so this might be his chance to show people he can battle with any fighter. However the exchanges between Diaz and McGregor did not favor McGregor at all:

Diaz has an ability to bring fighters to his level and finish them. If you get involved with the trash talking that Diaz throws out, you have already lost the fight. He is an expert and manipulating the field to his advantage. Only a handful of fighters have been able to ignore him and win the fight. Diaz is now ready for anything McGregor has to throw at him, in the previous match up Diaz was at the same disadvantage that McGregor was at. I still have this fight in the same respect as the last time I called this fight. Diaz is going to win this fight, and he is going to do it in a fashion that most people are not going to know what McGregor was thinking demanding a rematch. It also seems as if McGregor is taking his eye off of Diaz and focusing on the WWE a little bit too much and should be focus up.

Diaz by TKO.

What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments section below, also you can follow me on twitter @cm_miller85 or @getthekoblog. Also catch me on WNST 1570AM Sunday Sports Voice (www.wnst.net), Thursdays between 3PM to 5PM Eastern Standard Time. You can also email me your questions or your ideas for what I should cover at getheko@gmail.com

Don't forget to also check out Cat on "The Middle Flipper" fun stories from her about her aquatic career.