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Date: Saturday, May 12th
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass): 22:30 BCT / 3:30pm PST / 6:30pm EST
Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1): 00:00 BCT / 5pm PST / 8pm EST
Main Card (PPV): 2:00 BCT / 7pm PST / 10pm EST
Live Streams: http://www.fìrstrow.eu/


https://i.imgur.com/5EPVXdI.jpg

Main Card (PPV)

https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Amanda Nunes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Nunes) (15-4) vs. https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Raquel Pennington (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raquel_Pennington) (9-5) (Women's Bantamweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Ronaldo Souza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldo_Souza) (25-5) vs. https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Kelvin Gastelum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelvin_Gastelum) (14-3) (Middleweight)
https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Mackenzie Dern (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackenzie_Dern) (6-0) vs. https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Amanda Cooper (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Cooper) (3-3) (Women's Strawweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif John Lineker (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lineker) (30-8) vs. https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Brian Kelleher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Kelleher) (19-8) (Bantamweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Vitor Belfort (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitor_Belfort) (26-13) vs. https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Lyoto Machida (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyoto_Machida) (23-8) (Middleweight)

Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1)

https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Cezar Ferreira (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cezar_Ferreira) (12-6) vs. https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Karl Roberson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Roberson) (6-0) (Middleweight)
https://i.imgur.com/X1kAVPE.gif Oleksiy Oliynyk (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleksiy_Oliynyk) (55-11-1) vs. https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Junior Albini (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BAnior_Albini) (14-3) (Heavyweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Davi Ramos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davi_Ramos) (7-2) vs. https://i.imgur.com/8PvkFk4.gif Nick Hein (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Hein) (14-2) (Lightweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizeu_Zaleski_dos_Santos) (18-5) vs. https://i.imgur.com/TNaFXPM.gif Sean Strickland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Strickland) (19-2) (Welterweight)

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)

https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Warlley Alves (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warlley_Alves) (11-2) vs. https://i.imgur.com/X1kAVPE.gif Sultan Aliev (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_Aliev) (14-2) (Welterweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Thales Leites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thales_Leites) (27-8) vs. https://i.imgur.com/S1w8SqT.gif Jack Hermansson (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Hermansson) (16-4) (Middleweight)
https://i.imgur.com/1M3a7Pb.gif Alberto Mina (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Mina) (13-0) vs. https://i.imgur.com/X1kAVPE.gif Ramazan Emeev (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramazan_Emeev) (16-3) (Welterweight)

Thanks to the Puertorican for letting me use this content (https://www.liquidpoker.net/poker-forum/1156871/UFC_224:_Nunes_vs._Pennington.html).

Inital notes.

-Racquel Pennington, Nick Hein and Alberto Mina haven't fought in near to 2 years.  Their fights could be difficult to predict. Sometimes fighters who are out for awhile come back stronger. Other times they return only to look like shadows of their former selves.

-I seem to remember Racquel Pennington training out of the olympic training center awhile ago. I think somewhere along the line, Racquel and her girlfriend Tecia Torres both made a move to train out of Elevation Fight Team. It could mean that Racquel's skills have improved drastically over the last time we saw her fight, depending on when they made the move(I haven't 100% kept track). Either way the main event isn't the best betting option on this card.

-People often quote Mackenzie Dern's lack of experience saying "she only has 6 fights". Amanda Booby Cooper (ABC) also appears to have 6 pro fights. That breakdown could be a bit misleading. ABC has two more fights on the ultimate fighter and she has 11 amateur fights. Don't know if it will make a difference but ABC could have more experience than she's being credited for having.

This event is still 2 weeks away. Hopefully no one is injured.

^  Lol.  UFC 224 can now be captioned 'The Battle of the Lesbians'.  ;D

I think this fight could be closer than what the bookies lines show, and I might even make a bet for Pennington.  But we'll see as the event gets closer...  I could bet on Nunes if her line improves.

Sure i do expect some improvement in Raquel Pennington but the only problem is she is fighting after an year lay off as she last fought in 2016 and Amanda Nunes hits really hard, if Raquel could take a punch and put pressure then she could have a chance, i expect another TKO victory for Amanda Nunes and next she will be challenging Cyborg. :)

Sure they could advertise this main event fight as the first LGBT championships . ;D

@eaLiTy. Raquel Pennington's chin is strongly good, she also throws more strikes per fight and she has better cardio than Amanda Nunes. If Raquel tries to take the fight to rounds 4 and 5 when Amanda is tired, then maybe she has a chance.

Bellator 198 Fedor Emelianenko vs Frank Mir is scheduled for later today.

Fedor Emelianenko   vs.   Frank Mir            
Emmanuel Sanchez   vs.   Sam Sicilia            
Rafael Lovato Jr.   vs.   Gerald Harris            
Neiman Gracie   vs.   Javier Torres            
Dillon Danis   vs.   Kyle Walker

This will be Dillon Danis' pro MMA debut. He has been talking a lot leading up to this.

Would anyone be in favor of the UFC scheduling things so that Amanda Nunes and Racquel Pennington fought. And Tecia Torres versus Nina Ansaroff was on the same card? Then it could be a couples battle. Maybe that would be too much. Too controversial. Too many emotions. Nate Diaz and Conor did something similar with their team battle awhile back. Artem Lobov vs Chris Avila being on the undercard.

The fight was really short, they were swinging for the fences, Fedor got clipped but got up and started swinging and won in just 48 seconds and he will be facing Chael Sonnen, i was impressed with his performance against Quinton Jackson but then Jackson is just a reflection of what he was as he lacks discipline and his cardio sucked. Expecting more theatrics from Chael leading up to this fight. ;D

Is he the person hanging with team Conor, no wonder he is trying to get fights with the help of talking, the problem is that he has a great ground game but his standing game sucks.


They could have made this match up, but the problem with this is that, they wont actually accept the fight in the same card, because it strains their preparation and both wont be having time to look after each other, over all the fight game is half mental and half physical .

I wasn't able to see the fight live but I found some YouTube videos and damn, they really started swinging from the opening bell and Fedor was tagged by Mir early but he quickly recover an put down Mir himself. I was impressed how Fedor dodge Mir punch and stick with a bitch slap, hahha until he caught Mir again (I have to look at the slow mo to see the punch), and its over after 48 seconds. Just watch Joe Rogan Reacts to Fedor KO'ING Frank Mir (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVpTr92g51o).

I reckon the UFC should have included Francis Ngannou versus the Black Beast as the comain event. All the fights scheduled in the main card are so dry and uninteresting except maybe for the oldies, Lyoto Machida versus Vitor Belfort hehehe.

I miss watching Lyoto's style.

Yep love watching the oldies like Lyoto, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, Matt Hughes and Chuck Liddell but only if they fight the same way on their prime. We have to accept it that in this kind of sport age is a factor. Notice that those who were released by UFC like Sonnen and Mir are picked up by Bellator. Age maybe a factor why there are released but Bellator is still giving them a chance to fight. They are still crowd drawers.

Good thing UFC gave Amanda Nunes another chance after refusing to fight last UFC 213. It was stated that she is medically cleared and fit to fight but she just doesn't want to because she just don't feel like fighting.

It was fun to watch Lyoto's during his prime and his "Karate Kid" stance. And who would forget his KO over Rashad Evans? hhahaha.

Do you think that Nunes, who uses to train together with Tecia Torres (Pennington fiancee), will give some advantage to her opponent? I mean it could possibility the Tecia knows Nunes pretty well that she will tell Nunes strengths and weaknesses to Racquel Pennington? Do you think it will be a factor for this fight specially if the fights goes to championship rounds?

Another chance to be the headliner, you mean? Yes, but Amanda will not be as big as Ronda Rousey like how Amanda thought she would be after winning the belt and winning versus Ronda.

I wish Ronda transferred to another training camp and became a better MMA fighter. It would be better for the sport.

Also I wish Raquel wins hehehe.

Interesting point. I didn't consider whether Tecia Torres and Amanda Nunes training out of american top team florida would be a factor. I don't think it will make a difference, everyone knows Amanda Nunes fighting style, what she's good at and how she lost fights in the past.

I think Nunes has to slow the pace of the fight down to avoid tiring and being dead on her feet, late. Nunes can't do a lot of wrestling and grappling (the most tiring and energy consuming things in MMA) or her body will fail on her. If Racquel can make the fight fast paced that would in her favor, unfortunately for Racquel, many of her past fights were are slow paced, she isn't really known for being someone who brawls all the time like Jessica Andrade.

Looking at Nunes' losses they were fights where she wrestled and grappled a lot and her cardio didn't hold up. Its hard to say how good Racquel's wrestling and grappling is (she hasn't shown much of it in her figths) and whether she'll want to pursue that type of fight with Nunes.

Those were different times, back when not many women were competing and those who were got a lot of attention due to being the first, especially when years back they were reluctant to create a female division thinking that nobody would want to watch it :D
Ronda was a decent fighter for that era and she also liked the spotlights and looked stunning in dresses ;) It was just a matter of time before some tougher girls with iron jaws that aren't afraid to take a punch started to emerge. Ronda vs Nunes makes me think of Gina Carano vs Cyborg.

Well Gina Carano was the first women to put the women's in the MMA circle. She is very easy to market, just like Rousey, however, she was defeated by Cyborg and she went into hibernation and even appears on TV and movie.

As for Rhonda, yeah, its time to make changes. Looks like she was really exposed in her last 3 fights. If she wanted to bring her re-ignite her career, she needs to shift training camps or let go of  Edmond Taverdyan.

Yes but Ronda had the special attractiveness and the charm that brought women's MMA to the spotlight. If it was not her, I reckon women's MMA would not be as popular today.

Fair enough, it just dawn on me remembering both Tecia and Amanda training out together. So I'm just thinking if could be a factor but yeah you can't teach old dogs with new tricks and we have seen how she lost a fight.

I guess when Racquel can hit that one haymaker on her, the complexion of the game might change and all strategy they have put up will not come to fruition. We all know that once you got hit, all you want is to bang with your opponent. Let's see how tough Nunes is.

If the fight goes to the championship rounds, then Raquel has the chance to win the fight as Amanda Nunes does not have the best cardio and i would like to see Raquel winning the belt but it is highly unlikely to happen.

Francis Ngannou and Black Beast is battling it out at UFC 226, it is going to be a huge card with super fights in heavy weight and feather weight title on the line.
When Lyoto burst into the MMA scene i was really in awe as he was undefeated at one point with 16 fights until Maurício Rua smoked him in the first round of their rematch and i lost that bet handsomely. If you like his fighting style watch out for Michael Page and i wish UFC signs him as he is a crazy fighter and he is fighting this month in Bellator. Stephen Thompson also resembles his fighting style and i am just waiting for the Darren Till fight

First episode of the UFC 224 embedded series is out.

https://youtu.be/TTloPxHYPoc

Almost forgot this UFC event is hosted in brazil. If I remember right, brazilians won nearly every fight the last time the UFC was in brazil. There is a chance that brazilians train harder and take their fights more seriously when they're fighting in their home country. Could be yet another factor to consider. Although sometimes, fighting in brazil seems to work against some fighters.

Betting wise, I'm not certain about this card. There are a lot of names who haven't competed in near to two years and its difficult to determine what effect that could have. Racquel Pennington's near two year layoff was due to injury. Could ring rust be a factor for her? Who knows...

Bellator 199: King Mo vs Ryan Bader @ heavyweight is also scheduled for may 12th.

^  Before USADA, yes.  But with the UFC being strict on PED's use even at home, I think the Brazilians haven't been as dominant as before.  I would love to see the Brazilian win ratio before and after USADA...  Anybody know where I could find that data?

Yes, gonna be interesting to see those stats as well. But I'm thinking that they will used the argument that those brazilians who lost post USADA are somewhat old like Anderson, JDS, Machida or even Texeira and to an extend Jacare LOL. And players beating them like Whitaker looks elite.  ;D

^  That's maybe cos the young Brazilians are unable to get to the highest level without the 'Brazilian juice'?  ;D

But seriously there's a huge difference between a fighter who's on PED's and the one who isn't.

UFC and USADA partnership started on 2015 so that's a good start. However, I can't find anything that have collated that data though. The closest thing I got is from the USADA website:

https://www.usada.org/testing/results/athlete-test-history/

Probably we need to put let say Anderson Silva's name and see how many times he was tested from 2015-2018 and deduce the fight he lost 2015 onwards and make a conclusion about those "Brazilian juice" effect.  :)

Here is a break down:

Win   34–8 (1)   Derek Brunson   Decision (unanimous)   UFC 208   February 11, 2017

Loss   33–8 (1)   Daniel Cormier   Decision (unanimous)   UFC 200   July 9, 2016   

Loss   33–7 (1)   Michael Bisping   Decision (unanimous)   UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Bisping   February 27, 2016   

NC   33–6 (1)   Nick Diaz   NC (overturned)   UFC 183   January 31, 2015   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anderson_Silva

So out of the 4 matches he fought ever since USADA started testing UFC athletes, 1 win, 2 lost and 1 NC (Originally a unanimous decision win for Silva; overturned after he tested positive for drostanolone and androsterone. Diaz also tested positive for marijuana metabolites.)

Sure there is an unfair advantage when you are undergoing a medical magic.  :D In PRIDE marijuana was illegal but they approved using PED which is crazy.

I am not sure whether Anderson used performance drugs in his prime because he never looked muscular, his skills and fight IQ and his movements made him defeat his opponents and he might have started these medicines after the horrible leg injury he sustained against the second fight against Chris Weidman and i really never thought we would see Anderson back again.

Anderson Silva used to train out of a gym known as blackhouse. Several fighters from that MMA gym tested positive for steroids: Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Kevin Casey, Brian Ortega and maybe a few others whose names I can't remember right now. After Anderson Silva tested positive for steroids he left blackhouse MMA and went to train with Jacare Souza out of X-Gym in brazil. Maybe Silva was searching for a cleaner gym with less PED users, I'm not certain.

USADA is one explanation for Anderson Silva not doing as well. Another possibility is Silva no longer training with Rafael Cordeiro who was his striking coach up until the fight with Yushin Okami, if I remember right. Around that time, Anderson Silva released a book about his life claiming he once came close to shooting Rafael Cordeiro with a shotgun(awkward huh) because he felt disrespected by something Cordeiro did and I think the two never worked together again after that.

After Rafael Cordeiro and Anderson Silva split, that could be when Silva started to regress. Rafael Cordeiro trains many good fighters with good kickboxing. If someone tried to mention them all, the list would be long.

Allow me to point out that Anderson Silva's fight versus Derek Brunson was a very close one, and the win was inclined towards Derek. But the judges scored it for Anderson to everyone's and also to his surprise.

I reckon Derek had him, but Dana White might have had comeback plans for Anderson during that time hehehe.

I thought Nick Diaz beat Anderson Silva. Athletic commissions sometimes rule in favor of big name fighters who pull tourists and increased tax revenues into the state. There could be other motives for it. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one name who has a lot of pull when it comes to exaggerated compustat numbers and judging decisions.

Looks like Mackenzie Dern missed weight by 7 pounds. She also might have missed her flight into brazil and a lot of people are criticizing her accent as it is different from what it used to be:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npfa4i8ws5M

Everyone else made weight. I hope Amanda Bobby Cooper worked on her jiu jitsu and sub defense, she has been subbed more than once in her career in situations where she didn't look to be in danger. There's a chance ABC really doesn't like chokes and she could be one of those who defend improperly due to being unable to relax and think clearly in those types of situations.

I do not know for sure between the two fighter, but I see the nunes are bigger and possibly win the game.  ;D

I agree. It was a close fight and Anderson was taken down multiple times in that fight and he was hit multiple times in the face in round 1. But I don't know about Dana's plan though. hahahaha

@Hydrogen, I had to re watched the fight between Silva and Diaz, it clearly a Silva win. However, it was ruled a NC because he tested positive for steroids and Diaz for marijuana metabolites.

@peter0425. Yes Dana's comeback script planned for Anderson will not be realized because Anderson is simply too old. There are other fighters better for that script, like Jon Jones and Ronda Rousey.

In any case, the main card will start in 15 minutes.

Amanda Nunes is heavily favored in the bets. Almost all the experts are predicting that Nunes is going to win. CBS Sports have given betting odds as the following: Amanda Nunes (c) -850, Raquel Pennington +525. I am thinking about making a bet in favor of Pennington, but I feel very nervous right now.

Edit: I didn't made any bets favoring Pennington. Nunes won the fight. 

I didn't see the fight and but I was reading that Nunes has won the fight. But it looks like there are controversies as Pennington wanted to quit by the end of the 4th round.

Kevin won a split decision against Jacare which wins its a very very close fight.

And Lyoto Machida won with a beautiful front-kick KO over Vitor Belfort.

Lol...  So when will we see Cyborg vs Nunes?  I think Women's BW has dried up now.  There's literally no opponent for Nunes that's gonna make money imo.

That is the fight to make, i would like to see how both these strikers match, i do not think Amanda will be able to beat the best fighter in the world and that too a destructible force in a higher weight division, i really would like to see how Amanda and Holly Holmes fight would be and i wanted to see Holly back at bantamweight rather than shuffling around.
The fights were good and the retirement of a legend in Vitor Belfort, i like seeing Lyoto Machida knockouts, there was a time when he was knocking out everybody and the flurry of Vitor Belfort, i used to think whether it is possible to throw that much punches in a short period  :).
Mackenzie Dern surprised me with her missing weight by seven pounds and then was shocked to see the knockdown punch as i never expected it from her and then went on to submit her. I would like to see Amanda Nunes face Holly Holmes before calling her the undisputed queen. ;D

Holly Holm is overrated imo.  Beating Rousey was the only thing that got her UFC career on another level.  But before and even after that...  Nothing.

I'd like to see Megan Anderson win vs Holm at UFC 225.  She has the potential to become the face of Women's MMA.

It is true that the only big accomplishment of Holly Holm in MMA was to beat Ronda Rousey but do not forget that she was a multiple division world boxing champion and Kick boxing champion before entering MMA.
For Megan Anderson to be the face of MMA she needs to defeat Cyborg and i do not see anyone defeating her.

I agree. But I don't think that even though she has the physical advantage on Cyborg, I don't think it will be enough to defeat her. The quality of Megan's opponent is not even close to let's say Holly Holm. So she needs to get past Holly first because this will be a good test for her if she is ready to face Cyborg. As far as being the new face, yes, I believe she has is marketable, however, its going to be tough for her to overcome Cyborg at this point.

But frankly I would preferably have Megan Anderson than Cyborg to watch on every featherweight women's championship fights hehehe. Cyborg is very hard to look at. She looks like a man!

Megan Anderson is very tall for the 145 lb woman's division @ 6'0.

Its been said by many weight cutting experts that women have a more difficult time cutting weight than men for biological reasons. I'm not certain if Megan Anderson will have enough physical strength to cut weight and compete with the better athletes in the UFC. Its possible Cyborg's frame and body type at 5 foot 8 are ideal for that weight division.

Invicta fighters usually aren't paid enough to train to their full potential. Megan Anderson should face an increase in competition when she steps into the UFC. I'm very interested to see how that goes for her.

Too bad Leslie Smith will never likely fight in the UFC again. I thought she might have a chance at contending for the title if she worked on a few things.

Meh...  I just noticed that Holm vs Anderson was in an undercard, not the in the main card.  That sucks, can't watch it on PPV.  I guess I'll have to look for a decent stream without AIDS if there's one.  Lol.