UFC 216: Ferguson vs. Lee tonight in Las Vegas will have two title fights. Just days after the horrific tragedy in Vegas, this UFC event should be very emotional for everyone involved.
The main event of the night is for the interim Lightweight belt, which Conor McGregor has been holding the undisputed championship hostage for a year. Tony Ferguson will be fighting Kevin Lee for the belt. Tony Ferguson has been on an absolute tear and has been deserving and waiting for a title shot for a year now. Finally he will get his shot at the strap. Kevin Lee, who, to some, was a bit of a surprise pick to be in this fight, is looking to come out and shock a lot of people in this fight. He’s trying to make the most of the opportunity he has been given.
Tony is great wherever the fight should go, great striking, great jiu-jitsu, and good endurance. He has proven over the years to be one of the top guys in the division and is just now getting to validate everything he has been saying for the past two years. Kevin Lee on the other hand is a fairly newcomer on the scene. Some casual fans may not even not who he is. Just a year ago, he was fighting on the fight pass prelims. This will be his first time on a main card on a PPV, and he gets the main event. He’s a strong wrestler who will be looking to get the fight to the ground, use ground-and-pound, and get a submission. He’s won his last three fights all by rear-naked choke. He’s an outspoken young fighter who likes having the camera on him. It would be interesting to see him get the chance to fight McGregor. Although, I see Tony being too much for Kevin at this time in his career, I see Tony taking Kevin into the later rounds into waters he hasn’t been in before and finishing the fight in the fifth round.
The co-main event will be featuring the #1 pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world today, Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson who will be looking to break Anderson Silva’s record of consecutive title defenses. He will be looking to get his record-breaking eleventh title defense against Ray Borg. The two were scheduled to fight last month, but due to an illness Borg had to drop out. Borg is really the last guy in line at this weight class before Mighty Mouse has destroyed everyone at 125.
Borg deserves respect, but it’s almost hard to give him any in this fight. His record isn’t that impressive. Yes he’s 11-2, but both of the loses came in the UFC in just seven fights since he joined the roster. He lost to Justin Scoggins just a year ago. I mean, Justin Scoggins, most people reading this won’t even know who that is. Scoggins wouldn’t even deserve to be in the same arena as Mighty Mouse, and Borg lost to him not that long ago. Yeah, fighters get better quickly when they hit their prime but Justin Scoggins?
I just don’t see how the UFC can give us this fight and expect us to get excited about it. Mighty Mouse needs a serious challenger for fans to get up for it. He’s the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, and he’s not even the main event. That should tell you something. After this fight, he needs to move up to fight the 135 champion or maybe give Cejudo one more shot, because he actually really impressed me in his last fight. Johnson will run through Borg in this fight. I expect a first or second round finish for the champion.
The third big fight of the night is a big heavyweight clash between two of the top contenders in the division right now, Derrick Lewis and Fabricio Werdum. It could possibly be a title contender match. It’s hard to pick a winner. Concept would say pick Werdum, because he has all the experience, and he’s good wherever the fight will go. But there is a part of me that thinks it’s hard to pick against a hungry up-and-comer. I think in the end though, Werdum will be the more conditioned athlete and will win a decision over Lewis.
My “must watch” fight of the night is going to be free on FX and is the second fight of the prelims. The fight is one of my personal favorites, Lando Vannata vs. Bobby Green. These two lightweights will be sure to give the fans in Vegas a show they will remember. Both fighters are high-action fighters who don’t stray from brawls. Get ready for a bloodbath, unless there’s a quick first round knockout. I’m picking my man Lando by TKO.
Let’s hope we get a great night of fights. It seems we haven’t had a really good one in a while.