Ricardo Ramos takes on Aiemann Zahabi in an early fight.
The UFC returns to Madison Square Garden for its biggest card of the year including three title fights headlined by the return of a future Hall of Famer. New York City hosts what the UFC has set up as the most stacked card this year. The card has 3 title fights on it including Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0 Women’s Strawweight Champion) looking to tie the female title defense record held by “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (12-2 #5 Ranked Women’s Bantamweight) as she takes on “Thug” Rose Namajunas (7-3 #4 Ranked Women’s Strawweight). In the Co-Main Event a grudge will be settled between former teammates Cody “No Love” Garbrandt (11-0 Bantamweight Champion) and former champion TJ Dillashaw (15-3 #2 Ranked Bantamweight). Only to be capped off by the return from a 4-year layoff of Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (25-2) who will be attempting to become a title holder in a second weight class as he takes on Michael “The Count” Bisping (31-7 Middleweight Champion). The night is packed with action from UFC Fight Pass-through FS1 and on to Pay Per View with 12 fights let’s take a look at them.
Kicking off the UFC Fight Pass prelims highly touted prospect Aiemann Zahabi (7-0) takes on Ricardo Ramos (10-1) at 135lbs. Aiemann Zahabi made his UFC debut back in February and looked very good in a tough 3 round decision. The brother of famed MMA trainer Firas Zahabi has an unblemished record including finishes in every fight outside of his 1 UFC appearance. Zahabi has a solid ground game and has gotten it done standing as well. The 29-year-old has had the luxury of training at Tristar with some of the best of the best the MMA world has to offer. This may be a step up in competition, but Zahabi has shown he has serious potential. Ricardo Ramos also debuted back in February with the UFC with a decision victory of his own. The 22 year old Brazilian has been a submission machine in his 10 victories finishing 6 of his opponents via tap out. The Legacy Fighting Championship veteran will have his hands full with Zahabi, but if his grappling is on point he could make his way out of New York City with the victory. Prediction: Ricardo Ramos via Submission.
Fresh off yet another Von Flue choke victory just over a month ago Ovince Saint Preux (21-10 #6 Ranked Light Heavyweight) returns to take on Corey “Overtime” Anderson (10-3 #7 Ranked Light Heavyweight). Ovince Saint Preux has essentially taken naming right to the Von Flue choke from the originator UFC veteran Jason “Livewire” Von Flue (14-12) after his third finish with it over Yushin “Thunder” Okami (34-11) in late September. He has now finished 2 straight opponents with the technique and is looking to build on that success. Since dropping 3 in a row to three top 5 opponents Saint Preux has responded with 2 straight victories. His power is such a great compliment to his ground game that has gotten him back on track. While he can take the victory on the mat from most guys, his hands need to be paid attention to by his opponent. The Ultimate Fighter Season 19 winner Corey Anderson suffered a knockout loss in his last appearance against Jimi “Poster Boy” Manuwa (17-3 #4 Ranked Light Heavyweight). Anderson’s wrestling background has gotten him far in the UFC since his days in the Ultimate Fighter house, and he will need that to stay away from the power of Saint Preux. The question will become is he able to stay out of Saint Preux’s unorthodox striking range and take the fight to where he wants it. This should be one of the cannot miss undercard fights. Prediction: Ovince Saint Preux via TKO.
Closing out the UFC Fight Pass Prelims a Heavyweight showdown between Aleksei “The Boa Constrictor” Oleinik (52-10-1 #9 Ranked Heavyweight) takes on Curtis “Razor” Blaydes (7-1 1NC #12 Ranked Heavyweight). Aleksei Oleinik has found a groove over his last 2 fights with 2 submission victories. This submission got him up to 45 career submission victories, which is an astonishing number. The 40 year old Russian, is one of the most prolific submission finishers in the Heavyweight ranks. He has the willingness to stand on the feet, but if he gets the fight to the ground it is almost a foregone conclusion that the fight is going to end. He is 4-1 in the UFC and holds over MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (35-11). Another win here would continue a magical run and could find him with a top 5 opponent. Curtis Blaydes came out in February of 2017 and looked like a completely different fighter in a dominating win over Adam “The Prototype” Milstead (8-1) despite it being moved to a no contest for a positive Marijuana test. Blaydes came back from that and scored a decision win in July to push his streak to 3. Blaydes is a skilled wrestler, who had finished all of his victories via TKO prior to his last outing. He will most likely need to stay off the mat in this one however and try to use his knockout power to vault his way to victory. Prediction: Aleksei Oleinik via Submission.
The return of one of the most interesting stories in the UFC currently Mickey Gall (4-0) will happen to kick off the FS1 Prelims as he is set to take on Randy “Rudeboy” Brown (9-2). Mickey Gall took advantage of a situation where he was a fighter on Dana White’s Looking for a Fight. He called out former WWE wrestler turned MMA attempter Phil “CM Punk” Brooks (0-1). That turned into a mauling in only 2 minutes and 14 seconds for Gall. Gall added his 3rd straight UFC victory of UFC poster boy “Super” Sage Northcutt (8-2) in December of last year. Gall is a Jiu-Jitsu Brown belt who has finished all 4 of his professional fights via rear naked choke. The real question becomes with 3 of his opponents having a combined record of 0-3 and Sage being unproven, just how good is Mickey Gall? He showed off some of his striking in the Northcutt fight, and he has some power. With a decent veteran like Brown across the cage from him, it will be a new challenge for the intriguing prospect. Randy Brown suffered a decision loss in February of 201, but before that had 2 straight finishes. The 27-year-old has knocked out 5 opponents in his career but has also gotten 3 opponents out of the cage via submission. Brown has a chance to put a stop to the Mickey Gall hype train very quickly in New York. This is one of the most intriguing matchups of the evening. Prediction: Mickey Gall via Submission.
We head back to the 205lb division as ion “The Hulk” Cutelaba (13-3 1NC) welcomes the only debuting fighter of the night Poland’s Michael “Lord” Oleksiejczuk (12-2). Ion Cutelaba has gone 2-2 in the UFC and every single fight has had fireworks. The 23-year-old Moldovan fighter has knocked out 10 opponents in his career including a 22 second knockout in his last appearance in June. Cutelaba has been an entertaining fight each time in the Octagon, and his chin has kept him in each fight that turned into wars. He will be looking to get in and out of the Octagon against a debuting fighter as fast and efficiently as possible and potentially set up a shot at a Top 15 guy. The Polish-born Michael Oleksiejczuk comes to the UFC riding a 9 fight win streak. The former Thunderstrike Fight League Light Heavyweight Champion has finished all but 1 of those 9 opponents with 7 being by knockout/TKO. While the 22-year-old will have his hands full with Cutelaba he has the chance to make an impression on one of the biggest stages when he walks into Madison Square Garden. This is a fight that almost has no chance at getting to the judges’ scorecards. Prediction: Ion Cutelaba via TKO.
In a matchup that was just recently scrapped from the UFC 216 card Heavyweights Walt “The Big Ticket” Harris (10-5) will take on Mark “The Hand of” Godbeer (12-3) Walt Harris chose to step up at UFC 216 to take on former Heavyweight Champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (21-7-1 #2 Ranked Heavyweight) on 3 hours’ notice after Werdum’s initial opponent Derrick “The Black Beast” Lewis (18-5 1NC #6 Ranked Heavyweight) was forced to pull out due to injury. Harris stepped up on that occasion but was promptly dispatched via armbar in just over 1 minute. Now that is not a real display of Harris and what he has in the tank considering he took on one of the best Heavyweights of all time at the drop of a hat. Harris is a power puncher whose 10 career wins are all via knockout. He will need to get his hands out their early to make sure he gets back in the win column. For Godbeer UFC 216 was a nightmare. A payday with a chance at a win bonus was pulled from him with the late cancellation of his matchup with Harris. However, the UFC made it right and paid him his show money for arriving and making weight in Las Vegas. The 33-year-old British Heavyweight will be looking to prove something however in this one. He is building off his first UFC victory back in March, and the added fuel from the cancellation will certainly be there. Who knows maybe Godbeer took something from Werdum and will try to get this fight to the mat and exploit the ground game of Harris. This also could be a heavyweight slugfest early and result in a fast knockout for either participant. Prediction: Mark Godbeer via TKO.
In the FS1 Featured Prelim of the night Lightweights James “The Texecutioner” Vick (11-1) will be taking on “Irish” Joe Duffy (16-2) in what may result in a Top 15 ranking for the winner. The Ultimate Fighter Season 15 semifinalist James Vick has looked very good since joining the UFC following the show. He has tallied a 7-1 record including an impressive 1st round knockout in May of 2017. The only blemish on his UFC record is to Beneil Dariush (14-3-1 #12 Ranked Lightweight). Vick also has a decent ground game which has scored him 3 submission victories in the UFC. Vick is looking to make a statement with another victory to get to 3 in a row and another shot at the Lightweight Rankings. Joe Duffy is 4-1 in the UFC and his only loss is to Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier (21-5 1NC #8 Lightweight). Since then he has rattled off 2 victories including 25 second first-round submission of Mitch “Danger Zone” Clarke (11-5). Duffy has 10 career submission victories including a 2010 submission victory over “The Notorious” Conor McGregor (21-3 Lightweight Champion). Duffy certainly has his hands full with Vick, but he has the abilities to get the job done. This one has the potential for a performance of the night bonus to close out FS1. Prediction: James Vick via Decision.
The Pay Per View begins with the former 170lb champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (18-7) against Paulo Borrachinha (10-0) in a Middleweight clash. Johny Hendricks has lost 4 of his last 5 matchups and his run at 185lbs has not been what he expected. His debut at 185lbs went alright with a win over Hector “Showeather” Lombard (34-8-1 1NC), but his last loss to Tim “The Barbarian” Boetch (21-11 #14 Ranked Middleweight) was tough to watch. Since the loss, Hendricks has joined Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque to see if he can rekindle the magic he had that took him to the 170lb title just 3 years ago. His left hand has always been his most dangerous strike and ended the night of multiple fighters in his rise to UFC glory. Mixing that with his NCAA wrestling pedigree, and Hendricks has the chance to give anyone problems. Paulo Borrachinha has made a statement with 2 TKO victories in his 2 UFC appearances. The former Jungle Fight Middleweight Champion has finished all 10 of his opponents with 9 career knockouts. That is what Borrachinha will be looking to do in this one and get in and out early while taking down a former champion. Prediction: Paulo Borrachinha via TKO.
In what could be a number 1 contender eliminator matchup Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (13-1-1 #2 Ranked Welterweight) will take on Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (32-12 #4 Ranked Welterweight). Stephen Thompson is 0-1-1 in his last two fights, which were both title shots against Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley (18-3-1 Welterweight Champion). Thompson looked great in the first matchup, and then in one of the weirdest title fights in UFC history, he struggled to find a home for his striking in the loss to Woodley. Thompson, however, is one of the most dangerous strikers in the UFC. He holds victories over Rory “The Red King” MacDonald (19-4), Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger (31-13), Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (18-7) and Robert Whittaker (20-4 Interim Middleweight Champion). Thompson’s karate style has seen him out strike basically every opponent he has stood across from in the Octagon. He needs to fins early success versus a guy like Masvidal to make sure he walks away back in the win column. Jorge Masvidal suffered a split decision loss to former title challenger Demian Maia (25-8 #3 Ranked Welterweight) which just added to his run of split decision losses. There is never a fight that Masvidal is not in. His knockout of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (32-10 1NC #9 Ranked Welterweight) was really the coming out party for Masvidal as a real deal contender at 170lbs. He hung with Maia for the entire fight in the grappling world, and escaped multiple grappling positions Masvidal is always in close fights, and this one should be no different. Prediction: Stephen Thompson via Decision.
The first of our 3 championship fights is in the Women’s Strawweight Division as Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-0 Women’s Strawweight Champion) looks to tie the female title defense record held by “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey (12-2 #5 Ranked Women’s Bantamweight) as she takes on “Thug” Rose Namajunas (7-3 #4 Ranked Women’s Strawweight). Joanna Jedrzejczyk has been one of the most successful Women’s Champion in UFC history. On Saturday night she will go for her 6th straight title defense and cement herself in history. Since getting her hands on the title in March of 2015 she has done nothing but improves and impress in bout after bout. Her world class Muay Thai striking has done most of the work, but as time has gone on her wrestling defense has improved making her nearly impossible to get to the ground. When she has been taken down she has found a way to get right back to her feet without any issue. Joanna Champion has the chance to become an even bigger star than she is now with a win in this one. Rose Namajunas was one of the two first challengers for the Women’s Strawweight division when it was introduced on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter. She lost in the finale to the first ever Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza (13-8 #8 Ranked Women’s Strawweight). Since then Rose has gone 4-1 in the division including a dominating decision over
12 Gauge” Paige Van Zant, and a very impressive submission victory over Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson (14-5 #6 Ranked Women’s Strawweight). Rose is a very skilled grappler who will certainly put Joanna to the test. The question will become is Rose ready to step into such a high profile spot here against what has been a dominant champion. Prediction: Joanna Jedrzejczyk via Decision.
In the Co-Main event of the evening, we get a grudge match between former teammates Cody “No Love” Garbrandt (11-0 Bantamweight Champion) taking on TJ Dillashaw (15-3 #2 Ranked Bantamweight). Cody Garbrandt had a meteoric rise in the UFC on a 5 fight winning streak that included 4 knockout victories. That was capped by a dominating performance over long time division top guy and then UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz (22-2 #1 Ranked Bantamweight) at UFC 207. He now takes on another big test and another former champion in Dillashaw. They used to train together at Team Alpha Male, and there is serious bad blood after Dillashaw left the team to follow a new coach. The dysfunctional relationship was on full display as the two-coached head to head on Season 25 of The Ultimate Fighter. Garbrandt is heavy-handed and showed just how elusive he is with his movement in the fight that won him the title. If he can keep that type of pace up again for 5 rounds he has a great shot at remaining champion. TJ Dillashaw dismantled a top 5 pound for pound champion in Renan “The Baron” Barao (36-5 1NC) who at the time was widely heralded as basically unbeatable. Dillashaw went on to lose in one of the closest split decisions in a title fight to Dominick Cruz. Since then he has done nothing but continues to prove that he is the at the absolute top tier of the 135lb division. He had two very impressive wins over top 5 guys on the way to earning this title shot with what has now turned into a bitter rival. The pace of this fight is going to be something that no one has seen if it goes the distance. Dillashaw’s movement and his striking style can confuse the best of the best on the feet. This was easily the best chance to be the fight of the night, and one could argue it should be the main event of UFC 217. Prediction: Cody Garbrandt via Decision.
Finally, the main event of the evening and it features Michael “The Count” Bisping (31-7 Middleweight Champion) defending his belt against the returning of sure-fire Hall of Famer and arguably the best Welterweight in UFC History Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (25-2). Michael Bisping is a UFC staple at this point. The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner finally achieved UFC glory at UFC 199 when he reached the final mountaintop and claimed the Middleweight Title. He has gone on to defend his title once and avenge one of the most famous knockouts in UFC history when he defeated Dan “Hendo” Henderson (32-15) at UFC 204. Michael Bisping is not necessarily a knockout artist despite winning the title that way, he is simply a guy that goes out there and performs. He has the heart of a champion and it got him to UFC gold. It is hard to put an exact pinpoint on exactly what style Bisping has, outside of him preferring to stand versus grapple. Bisping has beat the who is who in the UFC and fought pretty much every one of them. This will be a very tough test, but he has the significant weight advantage being a career Middleweight as he takes on a guy who spent his entire career a weight class 15lbs. lower. Bisping will be ready to go on Saturday night, which is a guarantee in any of his fights he’ll be moving forward and ready to strike as soon as the bell rings. Georges St. Pierre retired4 years ago after 9 straight welterweight title defenses. The 2-time Welterweight champion walked away at the top of the division having defeated all comers over the course of 5 years. He defeated the best the division had to offer including Jon Fitch (30-7-1 1NC), BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (16-12-2), Thiago “Pitbull” Alves (22-11), “The Outlaw” Dan Hardy (25-10 1 NC), Josh “Kos” Koscheck (17-11), Jake Shields (32-9-1 1NC), Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit (30-10 #7 Ranked Welterweight), Nick Diaz (26-9 2NC), and former champion Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (18-7). GSP used his wrestling and grappling ability to take down his opponents and punish them with ground and pound. The question will become can he still do it after 4 years away from the Octagon. The weight difference is what will be the biggest question he is moving up a weight class and going up against a guy who has competed as high as even a weight class above that. GSP will make his return and vowed to retire the first time he loses in his comeback bid. GSP will need to work his takedown game with Bisping, the question is will he years away and the weight difference plays a big role. Prediction: Michael Bisping via Decision.
The UFC seems to be starting a trend of stacking the Madison Square Garden cards. For the second November in a row, they filled out the card with 3 title fights on the bill. This is going to be a fun Saturday with a nice undercard, and just an action-packed main card. There is a lot of history in the balance with Joanna and the defense streak, Dillashaw having a chance to become only the second 2nd two-time champion in UFC Bantamweight history or Cody starting a real run at the top, Georges St. Pierre becoming only the 4th multi-division champion, and Michael Bisping cementing his legacy in shutting down an all-time great. Saturday is filled with storylines, which really helps this card, and it is at a time where the UFC really needs a big card coming off two duds from a pay per view buy rate standpoint. UFC 217 is a must buy for almost every UFC fan, and the casual fan should get pulled in with a number of commercials that have been going. This card is hopefully going to really jumpstart the last two months of 2017 for the UFC, and with all the fights on deck, it certainly should.
