UFC On ESPN 41 “Vera Vs Cruz” + Weekly MMA Report
UFC Vegas 59 was a night to remember, there were ten stoppages in ten bouts. Aside from a controversial submission in the first fight of the night between Stephanie Egger and Mayra Bueno Silva, all the fights were great toe-to-toe wars or high-level submission finishing battles.
Dana White was generous, and all the knockout artists earned an extra 50k. Geoff Neal demolished Vicente Luque with a barrage of powerful fists in the third, while Mohammed Usman countered Zac Pauga with a short left hook and knocked him out cold. Bryan Battle put Takashi Sato to sleep via head kick after only 44 seconds of the match.
HANDZ OF STEEL INDEED 👊 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/DaBzUhbpkK
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 7, 2022
MOHAMMED USMAN WINS THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER WITH AUTHORITY 💥 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/zI9thUfq6b
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 7, 2022
BATTLE PUT SATO TO SLEEP 😴 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/mcNm6HYtoq
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 7, 2022
The Fight of the Night award was given to Thiago Santos and Jamahal Hill (the main event of the evening), where Hill called bedtime via powerful ground and pound elbows in the fourth.
HILL CALLED BEDTIME 😤 #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/YGYDlM4zPP
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) August 7, 2022
This upcoming weekend, the promotion travels to sunny California. The UFC On ESPN 41 will take place in Pechanga Arena in San Diego. It is officially going to get underway on Saturday, August 13th, 2022, with the beginning at 4 PM ET (9 PM UK time).
Image source: @UFCBrasil Twitter
The clash between footwork and cardio specialist, also the former 135-pound world champ Dominick Cruz and the all-time greatest Ecuadorian mixed martial artist Marlon Vera headlines the card. Vera’s known for powerful elbows, very strong arms and violent calf kicks. This could turn into a technical scrap.
Prediction: over 3.5 rounds
The first-ever UFC fighter from Uganda, David Onama, looks to extend his winning streak against very tough Nate Landwehr. Onama hits harder and crisper, and as long as he keeps the fight standing, there shouldn’t be problems for him.
Prediction: Onama to win (-215)
Here is UFC Fight Night: Cruz Vs Vera’s full fight card, but last-minute changes are possible, so please check this link too. https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/89355-ufc-fight-night
Main Card (ESPN, UFC On Fight Pass, 7 PM ET, midnight UK time)
Bantamweight: Marlon Vera (21-7-1) vs. Dominick Cruz (24-3-0)
Featherweight: David Onama (10-1-0) vs. Nate Landwehr (15-4-0)
Middleweight: Gerald Meerschaert (34-15-0) vs. Bruno Silva (22-7-0)
Light Heavyweight: Devin Clark (13-6-0) vs. Azamat Murzakanov (11-0-0)
Flyweight: Nina Nunes (10-7-0) vs. Cynthia Calvillo (9-4-1)
Strawweight: Yazmin Jauregui (8-0-0) vs. Iasmin Lucindo (13-4-0)
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+, UFC On Fight Pass, 4 PM ET, midnight UK time)
Heavyweight: Łukasz Brzeski (8-1-1) vs. Martin Buday (10-1-0)
Lightweight: Gabriel Benítez (22-10-0) vs. Charlie Ontiveros (11-8-0)
Flyweight: Ode Osbourne (11-4-0) vs. Tyson Nam (20-12-1)
Catchweight (120 pounds): Angela Hill (13-12-0) vs. Lupita Godinez (8-2-0)
Bantamweight: Youssef Zalal (10-5-0) vs. Da’Mon Blackshear (12-4-0)
Welterweight: Jason Witt (19-8-0) vs. Josh Quinlan (5-0-0)
Bantamweight: Ariane Lipski (14-7-0) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (11-4-0)
Check out my predictions for the upcoming card:
But that’s not all, we’ve got Bellator 284 this weekend. It airs on Showtime on Friday, August 12th, 2022. The event will take place inside Sanford Pentagon, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The 170-pound clash between two Brazilian ground fighting specialists, Goiti Yamauchi, and Neiman Gracie, headlines the contest. One way or another, this one goes to the canvas. But Neiman is a bit better in the stand-up, he survived five rounds against Rory MacDonald, so he gets a slight advantage.
Image source: @BellatorMMA Twitter
Prediction: Neiman to win (-185)
The next battle is between Fedor Emelianenko’s student Valentin Moldavsky and high-level wrestler Steve Mowry. We might see an upset here, Steve is young and hungry. Unless Moldavsky knocks him out cold in the early stages of the fight, this could be a surprising victory for Steve.
Prediction: Steve to win (+165)
Please check my Bellator 284 main card predictions:
Two great nights of lovely and violent fights are coming up. UFC fans, you can’t miss the upcoming weekend!
[…] UFC on ESPN 41 was a very entertaining card to watch. Unfortunately, Dominick Cruz was up on the scorecards against Marlon Vera but the Ecuadorian caught him with a left high kick in the fourth for a knockout victory. It led to a Performance of the Night Award. […]