UFC Fight Night 211 “Dern Vs Xiaonan” + Bellator 286 + Weekly MMA Report
There was no UFC last week, but Bellator 285 brought a lovely night of fights. We’ve seen a great knockout victory of Yoel Romero in the co-main event of the evening, who knocked Melvin Manhoef out cold with a tremendous elbow on the ground.
𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗛! 🔥
Devastating ground and pound from @YoelRomeroMMA to score a huge win in Dublin! 🇮🇪#Bellator285 | 🇺🇸 @SHOSports | 🇬🇧 @BBCThree pic.twitter.com/ATGkohqPNP
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 23, 2022
The main event opener Karl Moore surprised the dangerous Swede Karl Albrektsson with a superb choke win.
.@KarlMoore91 kicks off the #Bellator285 main card with a thrilling comeback win!
🎥: @BellatorMMA pic.twitter.com/qSNg46EcVL
— MMAFighting.com (@MMAFighting) September 23, 2022
And we’ve seen the first-ever Lucinator choke in the history of this competition, as Luca Poclit finished Dante Schiro with a modified arm-triangle choke which later got its spectacular name.
Have you 𝑬𝑽𝑬𝑹 seen anything like this?! 👀
Luca Poclit submits Schiro to open #Bellator285 with a bang 💥#Bellator285 is LIVE on YouTube & @BBCiPlayer now!@MonsterEnergy Prelims, fueled by Vallarta Supermarkets pic.twitter.com/lycZOrH0HG
— BellatorMMA (@BellatorMMA) September 23, 2022
After a weekend without the UFC, the promotion stays in Las Vegas, Nevada, for another lovely UFC Fight Night 211 event, headlined by the clash between the BJJ black belt and submission specialist Mackenzie Dern and tricky, tough Chinese stand-up artist Yan Xiaonan.
Image source: @UFCBrasil Twitter
Mackenzie is extremely dangerous on the ground thanks to her Brazilian jiu-jitsu background, but her boxing also rocks, which we’ve seen in the match against Virna Jandiroba. There are many modified punches in her game and don’t be surprised if she keeps the bout standing. It seems she invested a lot into boxing gloves in the last few years.
Yan Xiaonan is no stranger to the ground game, but she prefers keeping the bout standing and weathering the storm with great combinations of powerful punches, knees, and kicks. She should be fine as long as the bout remains standing, but it is so hard to survive Mackenzie on the canvas.
Prediction: Dern to win (-230), or the fight will not go the distance
The co-main event brings the battle between Jamaican powerful knockout sensation Randy Brown and the Brazilian powerhouse Francisco Trinaldo. Both guys are known for big shots and spending hours in the gym lifting weights. One way or another, somebody might go down like a wrecking ball here.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
Here is the full fight card but last-minute changes might happen, so please check this link too.
Main Card (7 PM ET, midnight UK time, ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass)
Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern (12-2-0) vs. Xiaonan Yan (15-3-0)
Welterweight: Randy Brown (15-4-0) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (28-8-0)
Bantamweight: John Castañeda (19-5-0) vs. Daniel Santos (9-2-0)
Bantamweight: Raoni Barcelos (16-3-0) vs. Trevin Jones (13-8-0)
Featherweight: Sodiq Yusuff (12-2-0) vs. Don Shainis (13-3-0)
Lightweight: Mike Davis (9-2-0) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (6-2-0)
Preliminary Card (4 PM ET, 9 PM UK time, ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass)
Bantamweight: Randy Costa (6-3-0) vs. Guido Cannetti (9-6-0)
Middleweight: Brendan Allen (19-5-0) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (24-5-0)
Catchweight: Julija Stoliarenko (10-6-1) vs. Chelsea Chandler (4-1-0)
Lightweight: Joaquim Silva (11-3-0) vs. Jesse Ronson (21-11-0)
Light Heavyweight: Maxim Grishin (32-9-2) vs. Philipe Lins (15-5-0)
Heavyweight: Aleksei Oleinik (60-16-1) vs. Ilir Latifi (15-8-0)
Strawweight: Jessica Penne (14-6-0) vs. Tabatha Ricci (7-1-0)
Here are my predictions for the upcoming card:
Image source: @BellatorMMA Twitter
But that’s not all our lovely fans, as there is a Bellator 286 coming up too, headlined by the 145-pound belt clash between an explosive counter specialist Adam Borics and a violent Brazilian knockout artist Patricio “Pitbull” Freire. Both of these guys have the knockout power, so one way or another, this shouldn’t last for five rounds.
Prediction: the fight will not go the distance
The co-main event of the evening brings the battle between the former UFC name Spike Carlyle and an all-around fighter AJ McKee. McKee lost only once in his career, and he should get the advantage in this one, especially thanks to better angling, lateral movement, and counters.
Prediction: AJ McKee to win (-450)
Here are my predictions for the main card:
This is going to be a lovely holiday, another superb weekend for diehard fans fastest-growing sport in the world. Turn on your watching devices at 4 PM ET on Saturday and watch for the next 9 hours, the Bellator main card continues right after the UFC Vegas 61!
[…] many entertaining bouts coming up. But please, slow down a bit! Let’s analyze the last weekend, there were many entertaining UFC and Bellator finishes! That’s why I say never judge the book by its cover, many young guns want to prove […]