MMA Fights To Look Forward To In December 2016

MMA Fights To Look Forward To In December 2016
November 27, 2016
By Ryan Porzl



Max Holloway vs. Anthony Pettis (UFC 206, 12/10/16)- This is one of those fights to seek out as it has potential to be exciting with both Halloway and Pettis having exciting styles that make for fun fights. Also, with Jose Aldo now the new champion, this fight is said to be an interim title fight. Holloway will enter this one on an amazing nine fight winning streak which is quite impressive given it's the featherweight and the wins have come off guys like Cub Swanson, Charles Oliveria, Jeremy Stephens, and more recently Ricardo Lamas. A win over Pettis would make it almost impossible to deny Holloway a title shot with ten straight wins. After suffering a three fight losing streak from 2015-2016 including his upset title loss to Rafael Dos Anjos, Pettis has been rebuilding his career by dropping down to featherweight and is on the right track with a win over Oliveria back in August. A win over Holloway would be huge for Pettis and establish him as a top contender at featherweight. A loss though would put his career at a crossroad as he would be 1-4 in his last five.

Donald Cerrone vs. Matt Brown (UFC 206, 12/10/16)- This fight is on here for the potential fireworks. Both are well known for their exciting styles and given everything they have. Both are also finishers with knockout power that can end a fight at any time. This is one that any fight fan should see if you love exciting fights. Cerrone is 3-0 since moving up to Welterweight full time and another win would get him one step closer to a title shot. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Brown but the fight is very important as he could be fighting for his job. Currently, Brown is 1-4 is his last five fights and on a two fight losing streak with a submission loss to Damian Maia and a TKO loss to Jake Ellenberger this year. Exciting fighter or not, another loss could likely see him get cut as three losses in a row is tough to survive.

Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson (UFC on FOX: VanZant vs. Waterson, 12/17/16)- This fight is one to look at for potential title implications. VanZant has been clearly someone The UFC has high hopes for to be a big star while Waterson is a former Invicta champion. With the dominance of Joanna Jedrzejczyk at Women's Bantamweight, this fight could easily be considered a title eliminator with the winner getting the next crack at the title. The interesting thing to look at is both are coming off bouncing back from losses but Waterson has not fought in 17 months back in July 2015 when she defeated Angela Magana in her debut and then went down with a knee injury. It's unknown how the time off along with the injury with affect her. It looks good for VanZant but she has shown she can be upset as seen when she lost to Rose Namajunas a year ago.

Urijah Faber vs. Brad Pickett (UFC on FOX: VanZant vs. Waterson, 12/17/16)- This fight is a big one as Faber has already announced his retirement which makes this the final fight in his legendary 13 year career win, lose, or draw. Faber is one of MMA's pioneers and a legend so this fight is worth seeing just because it's Faber's last fight. However, Faber may not be the only one on his way out. Pickett is 1-4 in his last five fights and 3-5 since 2013. At 38 and clearly on the decline, Pickett may not last much longer either.

Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt (UFC 207, 12/30/16)- This fight is for The UFC Bantamweight Championship. With the exception of 2012-2016, Cruz has ruled the UFC bantamweight division with an iron fist. After recovering from two torn ACLs, Cruz continues to show he's a wrecking ball at 135 pounds as he regained his crown in a close fight against TJ Dillashaw this past January and defeated long time nemesis Urijah Faber in June in a rubber match. Garbrandt is a prospect on the rise at 10-0 with nine wins via knockout with the most recent one being his last fight where he knocked out Takeya Mizugaki in 48 seconds. Another interesting story is Garbrandt is from Team Alpha Male which is the same gym headed by Cruz's former longtime archenemy Urijah Faber. Also, Team Alpha Male hasn't had a UFC Championship since TJ Dillashaw left there a year ago. Does Garbrandt bring the bantamweight title back to Team Alpha Male or does Cruz continue to rule the bantamweight division? Can Garbrandt use his knockout power or will Cruz's well known footwork make it difficult for Garbrandt to hit his target?

Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez (UFC 207, 12/30/16)- This is a rematch from UFC 188 from June 13, 2015 where Werdum became the first to submit Velasquez to become the undisputed UFC Heavyweight Championship. Since then, Werdum lost the championship to Stipe Miocic at UFC 198 in May but rebounded with a win over Travis Browne at UFC 203 in September. Velasquez went down with an injury but later bounced back with his own win over Browne back at UFC 200 in July. Obviously, there's a lot riding on this fight as a win would put them one step closer to a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Championship but there is more. Velasquez would love to avenge his previous loss and put it behind before he pursues the championship again. Werdum would love to prove his win was not a fluke and he is the better fighter especially since they're have been claims Werdum won the last fight because of Mexico's high altitude which affected Velasquez's legendary cardio. Werdum would want nothing more than to prove that high altitude had nothing to do with him winning.

TJ Dillashaw vs. John Lineker (UFC 207, 12/30/16)- This fight has two things to look forward to. One is that it should be exciting as you have two great fighters and both are capable of finishing with both having knock out power especially Linker. A second is the fact that this can be considered a title eliminator. Dillashaw is a former champion and lost the title on a split decision to Cruz but is coming off avenging a controversial loss to Raphael Assuncao. Linker has been streaking since moving up with four straight wins (though his win over John Dodson being a catchweight due to Lineker missing weight) and has a big one as he holds a KO win over Interim Bantamweight Title Challenger Michael McDonald. The winner of this fight has a great chance of meeting the winner between Cruz/Garbrandt in 2017.

Eduardo Dantas vs. Joe Warren (Bellator 166, 12/2/16)- This fight is for The Bellator Bantamweight Championship and a rematch from Bellator 128 which took place on October 10, 2014 where Warren ended Dantas' first reign as champion while making history by becoming the first fighter to win a Bellator championship in two weight classes. Because of this, this should make the fight interesting as Dantas saw one title reign end at the hands of Warren and he doesn't want another one to as well. Obviously, Dantas would also love to avenge his loss and it will be interesting to see how much he's evolved since that last fight. Warren would not only want to be champion again but having just turned 40, this could realistically be his final chance at a Bellator title. If he wants to be champion, now is the time because there may not be a tomorrow.

A.J. McKee vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (Bellator 166, 12/2/16)- This is a fight to look out for as both are looked at as potential featherweight prospects. McKee has spent his whole career in Bellator and has already gone 5-0 since his debut back in April 2015. A win over Sanchez would continue to slow climb to the top. Sanchez is 5-2 in Bellator but his two losses have been to top notch competition including former champion Pat Curran and former title challenger Daniel Weichel. Sanchez is coming off the loss to Weichel so he wants to return to the win column and a win over a young prospect like McKee would be a good way to rebuild. There's also the fact that prior to this loss, Sanchez was on a three fight win streak but all came by split decision. Coming off a split decision loss himself, Sanchez should hopefully do everything he can to not just win but win decisively.

Justin Lawrence vs. John Teixiera (Bellator 167, 12/3/16)- Lawrence is going into this fight subbing for an injured Pat Curran. After going 1-1 in Lightweight, Lawrence dropped to Featherweight earlier this year and scored a knockout win over former Pancrase Champion Isao Kobayashi this past June. A win over Teixiera would be a good boost for his career in Bellator. For Teixiera, this fight is a mixed bag as Curran is higher up the food chain and a win would be huge for him while beating Lawrence doesn't do anywhere near as much. However, Teixiera is coming off a fourteen month layoff and injury (which cost him another big fight against Patricio Freire) so it's probably best to face Lawrence and face Curran when he doesn't have that much rust. Also, Teixiera is like Emmanuel Sanchez in that his recent wins have come by split decision. While being 3-0 is a good place, Teixiera also needs to put an exclamation point in his victories especially if he wants to be noticed in the shark infested Featherweight Division.

Joe Taimanglo vs. Darrion Caldwell (Bellator 167, 12/3/16)- This is a rematch from Bellator 159 back on July 22nd which saw Taimanglo, a 16-to-1 underdog, score one of the big upsets of the year and submissions when he caught Caldwell in a guillotine choke nine seconds into round number three after being down the first two rounds. The loss marked Caldwell's first as he previously was on a medioric rise as one of MMA's biggest prospects but the loss was a big setback for "The Wolf". Sadly, Caldwell wasn't the only loser in the fight as the fight was likely a title eliminator but Taimanglo failed to make weight which cost him his opportunity to challenge for the Bantamweight Championship. Taimanglo will now have to find a way to make lightning strike twice or show vast improvement if he wants to win again. Caldwell is coming off his first loss and it will be interesting to see how that loss affected him and if he'll come in better or if the loss as well as basically pulling out defeat from the jaws of victory will hurt his confidence. Will we see Caldwell go into a slump or was the last fight merely a temporary setback?

Muhammed Lawal vs. Satoshi Ishii (Bellator 169, 12/16/16)- This is a fight between two Heavyweights fighting for momentum. Lawal has been bouncing around weight classes in recent times including a win over Chieck Kongo at Heavyweight and winning the Rizin Fighting Federation Heavyweight Tournament. However, Lawal's recent fight was a return to Light Heavyweight where he suffered a decision loss to the now new Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Phil Davis. With Bellator looking to fill the vacancy of the Heavyweight Championship in 2017, Lawal has a good chance to compete for it given his previous success but he has to get past Ishii to do it. It's been a lifetime ago since Ishii not only won a gold medal in judo for the 2008 Olympics but was considered the man who would save Japanese Mixed Martial Arts. Now, eight years later, Ishii has been a disappointment with his only good wins being against washed up opponents and legends while just about every legend who still had something to offer like Fedor Emelianenko, Rampage Jackson, and Mirko Cro Cop beat him. Ishii also has also been very disappointing in recent outings as he was a favorite in the Rizin Fighting Federation Heavyweight Tournament only to get bounced in the first round in an upset to eventual runner up Jiri Prochazka. He's now coming off a loss in his Bellator debut fight to Jackson. Currently on a two fight losing streak and not having looked good in those fights, Ishii is now fighting for his job. If he wants to still be employed in Bellator going into 2017 then he needs to win.

Justin Gaethje vs. Joao Zaferino (WSOF 34, 12/31/16)- This fight is for the WSOF Lightweight Championship. This will be Gaethje's fifth title defense since becoming the first champion nearly three years ago. Currently 16-0, Gaethje's has been one of WSOF's stars and has shown knockout power by winning thirteen times by either knockout or TKO. However, Gaethje also has wrestling skills by being a former NCAA Division I Wrestler. Zaferino has hit a snag as he entered WSOF last year by participating in their Lightweight Tournament but ended up as the runner up when he lost to Brian Foster. His bad luck continued this past April by moving up to Welterweight to face Jon Fitch for the vacant Welterweight Championship but again came up short. Since then, he's back at lightweight where he scored a win over Jason High. Zaferino will look to get this fight to the ground with fifteen of his 21 wins coming by way of submission. On paper, this doesn't look amazing as this fight seems to be put together because of Gaethje's dominance but Gaethje is a fun fighter to watch and you never know when an upset will occur especially this year with Michael Bisping winning a UFC Title while Shinya Aoki lost his ONE Championship.

Marlon Moraes vs. Josenaldo Silva (WSOF 34, 12/31/16)- This fight is for the WSOF Bantamweight Championship and Moraes fifth title defense since he became the first champ two and a half years ago. Like Gaethje, Moraes is one of WSOF's golden boys and one of their "created stars". Moraes is currently undefeated in WSOF and currently riding a twelve fight win streak. Silva is making his WSOF debut and riding a seventeen fight win streak while coming off title wins in Jungle Fight and Mr. Cage. While he doesn't have any "name" wins, Silva stats make him a guy not to sleep on. Both also have won the majority of their fights by knockout and mostly finish their fights so this could be an exciting one to watch while Silva seems to have the tools to potentially pull off the upset.

Rizin Openweight Tournament (Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix Second Round and Final Round, 12/29/16 and 12/31/16)- This is the 2016 Rizin Openweight Tournament which began on September 25th with the second round taking place on December 29th and both the semifinals as well as the finals taking place on December 31st. The remaining tournament participants are a combination of aging legends and young fighters seeking to make a name for themselves. One of the fights will feature the third encounter between Mirko Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva with the two having gone to a draw in their first fight back at PRIDE 20 in April 2002 while Cro Cop won the second encounter at PRIDE Final Conflict Absolute in September 2006. Both fighters come into this needing redemption and are both hoping to recapture the magic of their PRIDE days. Outside of Cro Cop winning back in September, both have seen better days as their coming off mediocre UFC runs that ended ugly for both in regards to drug testing with Cro Cop admitting to HGH while Silva avoided tests which resulted in a brief lifetime ban in North America.

Another fight see Tsuyoshi Kohsaka take on Baruto. The 46 year old Kohsaka ended a nine year retirement last December 29th by defeating James Thompson. The legendary Kohsaka has been everywhere in MMA and despite being a former Pancrase Super Heavyweight Champion & UFC Heavyweight Championship Challenger, winning the OWGP would be the biggest achevement in his 20 year career. A former Sumo Wrestler, Baruto debuted in MMA a year ago in Rizin by defeating kickboxing legend Peter Aerts and followed up with a win over legend Kazuyuki Fujita back in September. Kohsaka has the experience advantage by far but Baruto has size and age on his side. Kohsaka has 20 years more experience by Baruto is 14 years younger and coming in with a near 200 pound advantage.

A third fight sees former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin take on Amir Aliakbari. Carwin is returning to MMA after a four year retirement and five years of inactivity with his last fight being the loss to Junior Dos Santos back at UFC 131 in June 2011. Aliakbari is a former gold medalist in greco-roman wrestling and like Carwin, he not only has a wrestling background but also shows tremendous power. Currently 3-0, Aliakbari has won all three of his fights by knockout and none have gone beyond three minutes. Going into this fight, it will be interesting to see what happens. Though Carwin is the likely favorite, it may not be so easy giving his 41 years old, coming off a long retirement, is used to fighting in cages instead of rings, and has suffered a number of injuries which led to his retirement in the first place. Aliakbari has little experience but has youth and health on his side.

The final fight sees two up and comers Szymon Bajor & Valentin Moldavsky. Bajor is 16-6 and from Poland where he's competed in the Polish KSW promotion while Moldavsky is 4-0 and from Russia. Both fighters have won the majority of their fights by submission so this could likely be a grappling contest.

Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Kron Gracie (Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix Final Round, 12/31/16)- This will be old guard vs. new blood. Kawajiri will return to Japan after a two year run in the UFC which ended with average results. With that and nearly 40 years old, Kawajiri is hoping to prove he still has something to offer and that his career isn't over yet. Gracie is the latest to enter the sport along with being the youngest son of the legendary Rickson Gracie and the grandson of Helio Gracie. Gracie debuted last year against Erson Yamamoto and has since picked up two more wins with his recent one being against the veteran Hideo Tokoro. A win over Kawajiri would be the biggest win of his young career by far. With "Gracie" being a fighter's last night, it means they'll look for the takedown but the question is does Kawajiri try to prevent going to the ground or does he try to play Gracie's game as he does have good wrestling along with ten submission wins. Kawajiri has also earned his nickname "The Crusher" for the pressure he applies while on top of opponents.

Erson Yamamoto vs. Hideo Tokoro (Rizin Fighting World Grand Prix Final Round, 12/31/16)- Like the previous fight, this is old guard vs. new school. Yamamoto is the nephew of MMA Legend Kid Yamamoto and is coming off his first win back in September over Kizaemon Saiga while losing his debut against Kron Gracie. Tokoro is coming off a loss against Gracie back in September and will obviously not want to suffer a second straight loss against a rookie. Both fighters are mostly grapplers with Yamamoto having a great wrestling pedigree while Tokoro is slick and is capable of catching him with submissions. As is the case with some of these Rizin fights, each fighter has something going for them but something against him. As with the other young fighters, Yamamoto is young at 20 years old and is likely way more healthier but lacks experience as this is only his third fight. Tokoro brings a ton of experience with nearly 65 fights but has a ton of wear and tear on his body from those fights as well as sixteen years of fighting and he's 39 years old. Does pedigree and youth win or does experience.