UFC 271 Recap + UFC Fight Night 201 “Walker Vs Hill” + Bellator 274 – Weekly Report
The last weekend’s UFC 271 pay-per-view brought many spectacular fights and two very controversial calls. In a tactical back-and-forth main event battle, Israel Adesanya defended his 185-pound strap in the rematch against Aussie fighter Robert Whittaker. Many believed Whittaker won rounds 2, 4, and 5 in this five-round war. In the prelims, Casey O’Neill dominantly outstruck Roxanne Modafferi on the feet (“The Happy Warrior” retired after the bout), but O’Neill won via an extremely weird split decision.
Jared Cannonier and Tai Tuivasa banked an additional 50k for the Performance of the Night awards. Cannonier put wrestling phenom, Derek Brunson, to sleep in round 2, while Tuivasa sandwiched Lewis against the cage and put him to sleep via violent right elbow from the clinch.
Bam Bam with the BIGGEST WIN OF HIS CAREER 👟🍺
[ @BamBamTuivasa | #UFC271 | Tune in LIVE on E+ PPV: https://t.co/K6X32sXlXb ] pic.twitter.com/rqOogLs23P
— UFC (@ufc) February 13, 2022
Those elbows from Jared Cannonier!🤯💣💥 #UFC271 pic.twitter.com/QtNZEORL4A
— Submission Radio (@SubmissionRadio) February 13, 2022
The Fight of the Night award was given to Douglas Silva de Andrade and Sergey Morozov (extra 50k checks). De Andrade was destroyed in round 1, but despite the massive cut, he survived the onslaught and bounced back for a surprising victory.
The next week brings UFC Fight Night 201 event, which is set to go down on Saturday, February 19th, in UFC Apex Center, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Image source: UFC Twitter
The event is headlined by the clash of two tall hard hitters – Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill. Hill recently turned the lights out on New Zealander Jimmy Crute, while Johnny Walker lost his first back-and-forth five-round battle against Thiago Santos. Walker’s gonna have a three-inch reach advantage, but both fighters can turn the lights out with one shot. Don’t expect submissions attempts here, these guys demolish heavy bags!
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance (-400), or Hill to win (-250)
In the co-main event, the rising star and BJJ black belt Kyle Daukaus will try to defeat technical striker Jamie Pickett. Pickett lost two bouts via submission in the past, but his transition and takedown defense significantly improved over the last two years. On the other hand, Kyle’s boxing is put to the next level. He proved it in the bout against Kevin Holland, which was later overturned to no contest.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance (-140) or Daukaus via submission
Check all my predictions in one playlist:
Here is the full fight card, but last-minute changes might happen, check this link too:
MAIN CARD (4 PM ET, 9 PM UK time, 10 PM CET, ESPN+)
Johnny Walker (18-6-0) vs Jamahal Hill (9-1-0)
Kyle Daukaus (10-2-0) vs Jamie Pickett (13-6-0)
Jim Miller (33-16-0) vs Nikolas Motta (12-3-0)
Joaquin Buckley (13-4-0) vs Abdul Razak Alhassan (11-4-0)
Parker Porter (12-6-0) vs Alan Baudot (8-2-0)
PRELIMS (7 PM ET, midnight UK time, 1 AM CET, ESPN+)
Jesse Strader (5-2-0) vs Chad Anheliger (11-5-0)
Chas Skelly (18-3-0) vs Mark Striegl (18-3-0)
Mario Bautista (8-2-0) vs Khalid Taha (13-4-0)
Diana Belbiţă (14-6-0) vs Gloria de Paula (5-4-0)
Jessica-Rose Clark (11-6-0) vs Stephanie Egger (6-2-0)
Gabriel Benítez (22-9-0) vs David Onama (8-1-0)
Jonathan Pearce (11-4-0) vs Christian Rodriguez (7-0-0)
Ah, but there’s another lovely MMA event on Saturday. Bellator 274 will take place in Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Connecticut. You can watch it on Showtime. The event is headlined by the welterweight match-up between the former Pan-American BJJ champion Neiman Gracie and master wrestler Logan Storley.
Image source: @BellatorMMA Twitter
Storley gave a hard time to Ukrainian Sambo specialist Yaroslav Amosov and nearly won the fight. He’s stronger than Gracie, thanks to spending hours in the gym. Yet, Gracie’s technique is on a whole different level, so the bout will probably go to judges’ scorecards.
Prediction: the fight goes the distance or Neiman wins (-150) (lines might change, please check https://bestfightodds.com)
In the co-main event, Alexander Shlemenko’s student Andrey Koreshkov will try to defeat the former UFC Octagon warrior Chance Rencountre. Koreshkov is in top shape, he can jump rope for hours, so his gas tank might play a critical role in this bout.
Prediction: Koreshkov to win (-265), or Koreshkov to win via decision
Check my main card predictions:
You can see the whole card by clicking on this link, as last-minute changes happen very often in Bellator.
There is no UFC PPV event this weekend, but it won’t stop diehard MMA fans to enjoy great scrambles, knockouts, wrestling match-ups, and tactical wars!
[…] The previous weekend brought some of the most entertaining UFC stoppages this year. Jamahal Hill put Johnny Walker in the main event of UFC Vegas 48 to sleep via tricky one-punch KO to cash an extra 50k. […]