It. Could. Be. Rotterdam, The Netherlands that becomes the centre of the MMA universe this week as the UFC straps on a set of clogs and heads to the low country on Sunday as UFC Fight Night 87 goes down at the Ahoy Rotterdam arena.
In the main event, Dutch superstar Alistair Overeem predictably gets top billing as he fights Andrei Arlovski in what could very well determine the next man in line for a shot at the heavyweight title being contested between Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic at UFC 198.
Having both debuted way back in 1999 this fight really is the quintessential meeting of wily old veterans.
In Overeem you have a nomadic, charismatic bruiser who has seen and done it all in his career. Having already fought around the globe, “The Reem” shot to fame during his early 2000’s PRIDE stint. Fights against Chuck Liddell, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Shogun Rua, Mark Hunt, Vitor Belfort and more all went down in Japan before he became a more regular fixture in American promotions around the turn of the decade.
First, Overeem became the Strikeforce heavyweight champ, a belt he defended against current UFC champion Fabricio Werdum, and then he signed on the dotted line with the UFC in 2011. Since then he’s had an up-and-down time with a failed drug test bisecting his 5 wins out of 8 fights. But with three of those wins in his last three outings he’s now on the verge fighting for the UFC heavyweight strap.
And fighting for the UFC heavyweight strap is something his opponent on Sunday night, Andrei Arlovski, knows all about.
Having made his UFC debut in just his 5th professional fight in 2000 Arlovski quickly rose up the ranks and won an interim title, which later became undisputed, with a win over Tim Slyvia at UFC 51. Two title defences followed that before he firstly, lost the title in a rematch with Sylvia, and secondly, lost the rubber match between the pair.
Soon after that Arlovski’s contract was up and he left the UFC to have a largely unsuccessful stint fighting in other promotions like Strikeforce and Affliction. Having been written off by many, Arlovski had a huge career resurgence after signing for WSOF in 2012 and was back in the UFC 2 years later. In his five fights since re-signing “The Pit Bull” had won four on the spin against Brendan Schaub, Antonio Silva, Travis Browne and Frank Mir before losing badly last time out to Stipe Miocic.
As a fight this one can really go one of two ways; it’ll either be a war for the ages with bombs flying everywhere and end in a big finish or an absolute stinker.
After such long and hard careers both men have plenty of wear and tear on their bodies – especially the chin. We know that, they know that and Greg Jackson, who coaches both men, knows that too.
In his last few match-ups, Overeem has been especially cognisant of that fact. Against Junior Dos Santos, last time out, he was very controlled and defensive on the feet so as to avoid the big power shots. Against Stefan Struve he looked for the takedown very early. Expect a mixture of that on Saturday.
Arlovski, too, has felt the need to change up his game (at times) of late. In fights with Brendan Schaub and Frank Mir he has fought in a very safe manner, going to a decision on both occasions. But, his in fights with Travis Browne, Bigfoot Silva and Stipe Miocic that kind of got thrown out the window for one reason or another as they all ended in first round KOs.
From the start I’d expect this one to be very cagey. If one person is caught hard that could all change very quickly, which is very possible in heavyweight MMA, but it’s likely we see prolonged periods of lulls throughout this fight.
In Arlovski you have a man who can come forward and attack but prefers to draw his opponent in and land counters. Whereas Overeem will walk forward, look for openings and attack in more of a predatory fashion. If both men can draw the other out, that could mean fireworks, but if they can’t, we’re in for a long night.
For me, I expect this one to end in the 2nd or 3rd round with one man’s chin not holding up to maybe the first heavy punch landed. That could go either way but after their last performances, I’m picking Overeem here.
Outside of the main event the big Irish interest on the night is atop the fight pass portion of the card as Dubliner Neil Seery takes on Japan’s Kyoji Horiguchi in what could be a great fight.
Fighting out of Team Ryan in the capital city, Seery is one of the true pioneers of modern day professional MMA in Ireland. Having made his debut way back in 2005, Seery fought all the way up through the weights and had as low a record as 7-8 before starting his late career revival after the introduction of his natural flyweight division. Over the next three years, Seery won 6 of his 7 fights, picked up the Cage Warriors flyweight title and was signed to the UFC. After losing his short notice Octagon debut to Brad Pickett, Seery has won 3 out of 4 and gets a big step up on Sunday night.
A native of Japan, Horiguchi kicked off his professional MMA career with 12 straight fights (11 of which he won) in Tokyo in under 3 years. That run earned him a shot in the UFC and he immediately hit the ground running. In his debut, Horiguchi knocked out Dustin Pague before taking out Darrell Montague, Jon Delos Reyes and Louis Gaudinot to follow it up. That run earned him a title shot against Demetrious Johnson which he lost via armbar in the very last second of the fight but he did bounce back since with a win over Chico Camus in September.
As a fight, this one is very likely to deliver with both men having very attractive styles. Although they are both very well rounded, striking is definitely the preferred realm for both men.
Serry is a kick boxing orientated fighter who likes to get in his opponents face to mill them with his clean hands and drive in kicks when he sees fit. Horiguchi, on the other hand, is a rapid karate specialist who is light on his feet and attacks with a high percentage of kicks behind his opening punches.
With 6 career submission wins, Serry is probably the more dangerous of the two on the floor but, even with much improved wrestling of late, it will be very hard to take Horiguchi down although I’m sure he’ll try.
Therefore I’d expect this to be a very exciting stand-up fight which will have Seery looking to get in close to land big and Horiguchi sniping in from the outside with his best techniques. And even though I wouldn’t rule Seery out, that should favour the quicker, more accurate Horiguchi over three exciting rounds.
Also featured on the card is SBG Ireland trained Icelander Gunnar Nelson who takes on hugely touted Russian prospect Albert Tumenov in the middle of the main card.
Now at 14-2-1 in his career after 2 losses in his last 3 fights, this is an absolutely huge fight for Gunnar Nelson if he has any aspirations of climbing towards the title in the near future. In his way is a 17-2 fan-favourite in Albert Tumenov who has won 5 on the spin since losing his UFC debut to Ildemar Alcantara in 2014.
On the face of it, this one very much looks like a striker vs. grappler match but that is slightly deceptive with the qualities both men hold in all areas.
Tumenov, a master of Russian hand-to-hand combat, is one of the most technically gifted boxers in the game today. He has a beautiful jab, wicked combinations and a left hook which is the pick of a perfect arsenal of shots; all of which are backed up by an extremely strong takedown defence.
Nelson, on the other hand, is very much a karate practitioner on the feet and a legitimate jiu-jitsu monster on the floor. As a striker he throws nice leg kicks and concussive combinations with his hands while on the ground he passes through guards like a machete through butter and can submit anyone once given half an opening.
Put that all together and you have the makings of a very intriguing fight. Personally, I think it all comes down to where the fight takes place. If Nelson can get it to the floor, even a single time, he will have a high possibility of getting the finish but if he can’t, it will be very hard to live with Tumenov’s distance control and boxing technique. For me, I think Nelson is a good wrestler and has good trips but I don’t think he’s a great one and that makes this one Tumenov’s fight to lose.
FIGHT PICKS
Alistair Overeem vs. Andrei Arlovski – Overeem wins with one big shot
Antônio Silva vs. Stefan Struve – Struve finds Bigfoot’s chin
Albert Tumenov vs. Gunnar Nelson – Close three round decision goes to Tumenov
Germaine de Randamie vs. Anna Elmose – Decision to GDR
Nikita Krylov vs. Francimar Barroso – Krylov head kick
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs. Heather Jo Clark – Should be a handy night for Special K
Rustam Khabilov vs. Chris Wade – Khabilov
Magnus Cedenblad vs. Garreth McLellan – Cedenblad
Yan Cabral vs. Reza Madadi – Madadi
Kyoji Horiguchi vs. Neil Seery – Horiguchi
Leon Edwards vs. Dominic Waters – Edwards
Yuta Sasaki vs. Willie Gates – Gates
Josh Emmett vs. John Tuck – Tuck
BET OF THE WEEK
This week I’m going with a 7/2 accumulator of Khabilov, Kowalkiewicz, Struve and Overeem
START TIMES
Early Prelims – Fight Pass at 3.30pm
Prelims – Fight Pass at 5pm
Main Card – BT Sport 2 at 7pm
Like this:
Like Loading...
0 comments