As the new year swings into full effect with UFC Brooklyn, so does a new era. The ESPN era.
Since 2011, Fox Sports held the reigns to the UFC’s television appearances with a heavyweight slugfest between a Brazilian knockout artist, Junior Dos Santos and Mexican-American, AKA product Cain Velasquez. As new viewers watched eagerly to see what this “bloodsport” was all about, Cigano wasted no time blasting Velasquez with an overhand right that sent the wrestler crashing to the canvas in just under a minute.
Now, just over 8 years later, a bout between two kings will headline the next step in the UFC’s venture to become a household name. Current bantamweight champion, TJ Dillashaw, who is fresh off of two violent KO finishes over rival Cody Garbrandt and is 8-1 in his last 9 will meet newly crowned flyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist, Henry Cejudo. Whether you are a casual or die hard MMA fan, this is a must see fight.
The co-main event features the UFC debut of former Dallas Cowboy, Greg Hardy. What about the rest of the card though? What fights aren’t getting enough attention?
The underrated fights at UFC Brooklyn
The first ESPN card is absolutely stacked. TJ Dillashaw has the chance to make history and become the UFC's next double champ. Paige VanZant makes her return to the Octagon and Joseph Benevidez takes on Dustin Ortiz. With so many great matchups, there are often awesome fights that get overlooked. We wanted to take a look at a few of those for you. Take a look at our underrated fights for the upcoming UFC Brooklyn card.
Alonzo Menifield vs Vinicius Alves
A battle between two light heavyweight Contender Series winners will take place on the undercard of UFC Brooklyn. This bout is exciting because it’s guaranteed someone is getting finished and likely getting finished quickly as all of these men combined 17 pro fights have concluded before the end of round 3. Menifield is fresh off a blistering 8 second KO on Dana White’s Contender Series and prior to that has finished all of his opponents, 6 of them in the first round. The Saekson Muay Thai product is built like a truck and hits like such with a decent ground game to go with it. On the other side of the octagon, there is Vinicius Alves who at 6’4 will likely have the size advantage and the grappling advantage, as 8 of his 9 pro wins have come by submission. I don’t know how long this fight will last but I know it’ll be violent.
Gregor Gillespie vs Yancy Medeiros
This bout is crucial for both men, but for different reasons. Gillespie is undefeated in his pro career with all but one of his octagon appearances ending before the final horn. He is an outstanding wrestler whose boxing has come a long way since his debut in 2016. This is big step up in competition for “The Gift” as he hasn’t really fought anyone that is close to the level of Yancy Medeiros. With a win, it could catapult him into a fight with a top-10 opponent. For Medeiros, this is an opportunity to get back on the horse. He’s been inactive for almost a year as a bout with Mike Perry was cancelled due to a rib injury and in February of 2018 he lost an exciting battle with Donald Cerrone in the first round. Medeiros is one of the more exciting fighters with incredible striking, tricky submissions and loads of notable competition including fights with Dustin Poirier, Erick Silva, Jim Miller and Alex Oliveira. The big questions here are, can Gillespie get Medeiros to the ground? If he does can he hold him there without getting caught with something sneaky? Medeiros will enjoy a reach advantage and will have the striking edge as well. Can he keep Gillespie at bay with his punches to ward off any takedown attempts? This is a classic striker vs grappler bout that has promising implications for both men. Should Medeiros win, it could set up an extremely exciting matchup with Mike Perry.
Donald Cerrone vs Alexander Hernandez
When you hear the name “Cowboy” in reference to a fight, you know it’ll be wild. Fresh off a slick first-round armbar finish over Mike Perry, Donald Cerrone became the winningest fighter in UFC history surpassing Michael Bisping and Georges St. Pierre with 21 career UFC victories. One thing you may not be surprised to hear is that 15 of those 21 victories came by stoppage. Cerrone will be making his way back down to 155 pounds after a stint at welterweight which saw him take on the likes of Darren Till, Jorge Masvidal, Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown. Cowboy will have the clear experience advantage in this as Hernandez has nearly half the career bouts as Cerrone has UFC appearances. “The Great” is no pushover though, we last saw him grind out a decision victory over Olivier Aubin-Mercier in July and nearly decapitated Beneil Dariush in March. This seems to be similar to the Darren Till matchup as Hernandez has relatively nothing to lose as where Cowboy has a lot on the line. He’s coming into his first fight back at 155-pounds in two years against a relatively unknown killer. Cowboy is looking to reassert himself back into the mix and Hernandez is looking to make a name for himself. Where the Till comparison fades is Hernandez is much smaller than Cowboy and his strongest asset is his wrestling, where the Denver native is very hard to takedown and if you get him down, he is an absolute nightmare. On the feet, Cerrone has a wicked kickboxing background and is long, but sometimes lacks head movement which is where Hernandez can capitalize with his powerful hands. I shouldn’t have to convince you tune into this fight but just in case, this will be fight of the night.
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