UFC Fight Night 204 – Weekly MMA Report
The previous weekend was stacked with top-notch MMA events. The UFC Vegas 50 card was headlined by a tactical five-round battle between 205-pound title contender Magomed Ankalaev and the man who almost beat legendary Jon Jones, Thiago Santos. Yet, there were so many great submissions and knockouts.
The recovery of the night was seen in the bout between Terrance McKinney and Drew Dober. McKinney rocked Dober and came close to finishing the bout but Drew survived the early storm and stopped him with a clinch knee.
HUGE comeback for @DrewDober at #UFCVegas50 🤯
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/EbxXNLDywu
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 13, 2022
Unfortunately, Dana White oversaw this, and the Performance of the Night awards went in the hands of Song Yadong, Azamat Murzakanov, Khalil Rountree, and Cody Brundage. Yadong stopped the former WSOF champ, Marlon Moraes, by a violent punch-combo.
Flawless finish for @SongYaDongMMA against Marlon Moraes 💯 #UFCVegas50
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/obZPWTjlLC
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 13, 2022
Khalil Rountree soccer-kicked and punched his way through Karl Roberson. This modified PRIDE FC technique was never seen in the UFC ring before.
That body kick was vicious #UFCVegas50 pic.twitter.com/zLsY3spNM1
— Fight Scout (@FightScoutApp) March 13, 2022
.@khalilrountree just unloaded on Karl Roberson for the finish 😳 #UFCVegas50
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/4sNoWxqIwu
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 13, 2022
Murzakanov was down on the scorecards against Tafon Nchukwi. Yet, a surprising flying knee turned the lights out on Tafon in the third round. Brundage guillotine choked powerful striker Dalcha Lungiambula after eating massive bombs in the first round.
WHAT A COMEBACK 😱
After getting bombed on, Cody Brundage jumped the gilly and got the finish at #UFCVegas50
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/ELoLXOgp7e
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 12, 2022
Azamat Murzakanov got #UFCVegas50 started with a nasty flying knee KO 🦵💥
(via @espnmma) pic.twitter.com/StGtbqPW7I
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 12, 2022
Bellator 276 main card was stacked with striking battles, but all the Octagon warriors demonstrated great chins as all four bouts went to judges’ scorecards or decisions. The best stoppage of the night was seen in the preliminary bout between Cody Law and James Adcock.
Savage stuff from @codylaw_160 at #Bellator276 😳
(via @BellatorMMA) pic.twitter.com/oY92YtLkj3
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) March 13, 2022
This weekend, the UFC travels across the pond, returning to O2 Arena, London, England for UFC Fight Night 204 event. It airs at ESPN+ / UFC on Fight Pass. The fight card is headlined by the 265-pound five-round clash between BJJ black belt Tom Aspinall and mighty stand-up specialist Alexander “Drago” Volkov. Yet, the main event is in jeopardy due to Volkov’s current visa status, so you can expect last-minute changes.
Aspinall should get the advantage on the ground, and his punches are way faster due to his amazing boxing background. Yet, Volkov’s takedown defense rocks. One can explain Alexander’s superb clinch/defensive wrestling power – a lot of multi-gym drills with a small number of repetitions and long rest periods between the sets are a regular part of his everyday routine.
Alexander turned the lights out on Alistair Overeem, he’s got power in his hands, so this is a very hard match-up for the Brit. This is such a pick’em fight, Aspinall should be cautious or he might get caught with a big counter punch.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance (-195), or Aspinall wins (-105)
Image source: @ufc Twitter
The co-main event of the evening brings the stunning featherweight battle between dangerous knockout artists Arnold Allen and Dan Hooker.
Someone will probably go down here. Hooker moved one division below, so it might affect his power. Yet, Hooker’s leg kicks and violent hooks are powerful. On the other hand, Arnold Allen is very dangerous in the third period of the match. Dan should look for an early finish because Allen loves cardio workouts, he can skip ropes for hours!
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance (+125), or Allen wins (-105)
Check all my predictions in one playlist:
Here is the whole card, but as I have already said, get ready for potential changes.
MAIN CARD, ESPN+, 4 PM ET (9 PM UK time)
Alexander Volkov (34 – 9 – 0) VS. Tom Aspinall (11 – 2 – 0)
Arnold Allen (17 – 1 – 0) VS. Dan Hooker (21 – 11 – 0)
Paddy Pimblett (17 – 3 – 0) VS. Kazula Vargas (11 – 5 – 0)
Gunnar Nelson (17 – 5 – 1) VS. Takashi Sato (16 – 4 – 0)
Shamil Abdurakhimov (20 – 6 – 0) VS. Sergei Pavlovich (14 – 1 – 0)
Paul Craig (15 – 4 – 1) VS. Nikita Krylov (27 – 8 – 0)
PRELIMINARY CARD, ESPN+, 1 PM ET (6 PM UK time)
Jack Shore (15 – 0 – 0) VS. Timur Valiev (18 – 2 – 0)
Luana Carolina (8 – 2 – 0) VS. Molly McCann (11 – 4 – 0)
Cody Durden (12 – 3 – 1) VS. Muhammad Mokaev (4 – 0 – 0)
Makwan Amirkhani (16 – 6 – 0) VS. Mike Grundy (12 – 3 – 0)
Cory McKenna (6 – 1 – 0) VS. Elise Reed (4 – 1 – 0)
Vince Morales (11 – 5 – 0) VS. Nathaniel Wood (17 – 5 – 0)
Jai Herbert (11 – 3 – 0) VS. Ilia Topuria (11 – 0 – 0)
There will be many top-notch bouts. Topuria and Hooker changed weight classes, hype-train Paddy Pimblett will try to touch the sky, high-level prospect Muhammad Mokaev officially makes his UFC debut. This weekend gonna be fireworks!
[…] White was extremely generous last weekend. UFC Fight Night 204 took place in London, the UK, the greatest promotion got back to Europe after a long […]