Yeah, I saw the comments from Holm's manager... about what I would expect.
Personally I like that she's taking the Nunes fight and I think it may be a tougher match-up for her from a style standpoint. I'm not a huge fan of immediate rematches for champions, this isn't the WWE. In the case where it's a great fight or controversial, yes, but I think Tate won the fight decisively and Holm needs to take another fight to get back into the #1 contender spot. As for Nunes, she's right behind Holm (just lost) and Rousey (not ready) in the rankings and she's on an impressive run. She's very aggressive and actually finishes most of her fights. She's had 1 loss in the last 3 years and that was to Cat Zingano, in a 3 round war... and Cat was destroying everyone at that time.
As for the Khabib fight... I don't hate that choice either. Apparently it was unlikely that Cerrone was going to be able to make weight so that deal didn't get finished. The guy they are bringing in actually has some legit MMA game and isn't a straight up can. With that said, Khabib is going to ragdoll this dude.
Finally... I'm really excited about this Fight Night card on Sunday. It's going to take place very early in the day since it's coming from Croatia. The prelims and main are on FS1.
Here's a quick breakdown:
Ben Rothwell vs JDS
- This fight isn't going to decision. Rothwell has been on a wild tear lately and JDS is looking to reaffirm his spot near the top of the HW division.
Derrick Lewis vs Gabriel Gonzaga
- This one won't see a decision either... partially because Lewis probably can't stand up that long and more so because both are incredibly aggressive.
Francis Ngannou vs Curtis Blaydes
- I've been looking forward to this one since it was announced. I've followed Blaydes since his first pro fight. I saw him in a training video with Jon Jones. The guy is a beast. He has a great wrestling background and has developed some heavy hands. I was shocked to see the UFC match him with Ngannou. Ngannou is a bit of a late bloomer but at first glance, he immediately reminds you of a young and dangerous Cheick Kongo. In 2 years, this is a match that could probably be headlining a Fight Night card.
Timothy Johnson vs Marcin Tybura
- Johnson has shown some power in the past, but I think he's just fighting out his contract. He's a low level HW for the UFC. His last fight was a loss to Jared Rosholt, who the UFC just released (odd move actually). Tybura, like Blaydes, is someone that I've followed for roughly 2 years now. He was part of a prospect watch on Sherdog. He is an absolute machine standing up. He has 1 loss on his record which came in crazy match with another very high level fighter that I'd love to see the UFC sign (Stephan "T-800" Puetz). The downside was that Tybura basically gassed towards the end and started blocking punches with his face... never a good move. With that said, I expect him to dust Johnson.
Igor Prokrajac vs Jan Blachowicz
- This is the regional flavor on the main card. Prokrajac sucked in his last stint in the UFC, but he's Croatian. He gets matched up with Polish fighter Blachowicz here. While neither fighter is even top 10 material, at least Igor has the knack for either knocking someone out or getting knocked out. It's a reasonably even match that could provide a good finish and some good exchanges.
Maryna Moroz vs Cristina Stanciu
- Besides being smoking hot... Moroz has a legit resume. She's the Ukrainian Women's Olympic Boxing coach and she's finished most of her fights via armbar submission. She's very well rounded. She won her UFC debut over Calderwood and lost a decision to Valerie Letourneau. Valerie went on to fight JJ in November and pushed her to the limit, losing a 5 round decision. That gives you some idea of how close she is to the top already. Stanciu is fairly unknown, but does have a 5-0 record on the regional scene and is just 21yrs old. She's probably in over her head, but we'll see how it goes.
The 4 fight prelim card doesn't have many known names, but I believe the fights will be exciting. The UFC looks to have done a great job of finding talent that has thrived on the regional levels in Europe, pitting some great records and guys that tend to finish fights against each other. Hopefully it's not a case of talent neutralizing itself, which sometimes happens.