GDT: UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez

[Avs_19]

Date: February 17, 2019
Venue: Talking Stick Resort Arena
City: Phoenix, Arizona
Time: 9pm ET/6pm PT
Viewing: ESPN, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (ESPN, TSN 5)

Heavyweight bout: Francis Ngannou vs. Cain Velasquez
Lightweight bout: James Vick vs. Paul Felder
Women's Strawweight bout: Cortney Casey vs. Cynthia Calvillo
Featherweight bout: Alex Caceres vs. Kron Gracie
Welterweight bout: Vicente Luque vs. Bryan Barberena
Featherweight bout: Andre Fili vs. Myles Jury

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, TSN 5)

Bantamweight bout: Jimmie Rivera vs. Aljamain Sterling
Bantamweight bout: Benito Lopez vs. Manny Bermudez
Women's Flyweight bout: Ashlee Evans-Smith vs. Andrea Lee
Lightweight bout: Scott Holtzman vs. Nik Lentz

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass)

Women's Strawweight bout: Jessica Penne vs. Jodie Esquibel
Bantamweight bout: Renan Barão vs. Luke Sanders
Women's Strawweight bout: Aleksandra Albu vs. Emily Whitmire​

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[member 51464]

One thing I will never forget is James Vick being too scared to look directly at Gaethje at the bell in their last fight and then getting knocked into oblivion. It'll be interesting to see if he can put that behind him and have a better showing.

 

[m9]

Kind of underwhelming for the first ESPN card, though obviously that's a great main event.

Surprised they didn't find a way to get Albu some ESPN time..

 

[Jasper]

One thing I will never forget is James Vick being too scared to look directly at Gaethje at the bell in their last fight and then getting knocked into oblivion. It'll be interesting to see if he can put that behind him and have a better showing.

I think Vick will show up. I'm a little more concerned about Ngannou against an obviously very tough & favoured opponent.

 

[torero]

Cain is my chosen one, i always was fan of him, but i am honestly scared against Ngannou, after 2,5 yrs of non-activity, it will be tough. What i noticed is that Cain's body has changed. I cannot say if it is good or bad or ... but he seems more bulky than he use to. Could it be that his cardio is inferior to him 3 yrs ago ?
i hope not. Go Cain Go

 

[Avs_19]

The main event is so interesting. I have no idea how either guy will look and what will happen. Cain was a slight favourite the last time I looked at the odds.

There are no other big fights but there are interesting matchups. Co-main could be an exciting stand up fight. There's some hype around Gracie because of his name and BJJ skills but I mostly just want to see how his striking looks. Rivera should be a good test to see if Sterling really has turned the corner.

 

[pistolpete11]

Kind of underwhelming for the first ESPN card, though obviously that's a great main event.

Surprised they didn't find a way to get Albu some ESPN time..

I guess it's a little weak for ESPN, but it's a pretty good card for free, IMO.

Main Event is awesome. I'm excited for Felder-Vick. I think that could be a great fight. Caceres is an exciting fighter and seeing how a Gracie will do is always interesting. Rivera-Sterling is a solid fight as well.

 

[Bologna 1]

gonna be a rough monday morning wakeup, but definitely staying up to watch cain. just started following UFC within the past 2 years so havent ever seen him fight aside from YouTube clips.

 

[Sheppy]

You know Cain is going to press the issue with Ngannou, but I'm not so sure that's smart in the early rounds. I can see Ngannou taking his head off his shoulders if he tries to close the gap on him.

Also, Barao sure as hell fell off. Good god. I remember thinking he was a P4P king years ago.

 

[YNWA14]

This is a sneaky good card. All the fights should be pretty good, and it'll be interesting to see how Cain looks in his return. Once upon a time he looked destined to be the first true UFC heavyweight kingpin, but eh...if he is close to as good as he was he should take Ngannou no problem; if not it'll be a nice win under Ngannou's belt and will probably give him more confidence going forward.

Hoping for a big showing from Kron. His stand-up looks pretty stiff to me but there's always room for improvement.

 

[Neutrinos]

You know Cain is going to press the issue with Ngannou, but I'm not so sure that's smart in the early rounds. I can see Ngannou taking his head off his shoulders if he tries to close the gap on him.

Also, Barao sure as hell fell off. Good god. I remember thinking he was a P4P king years ago.

Did his drop off coincide with USADA's arrival?

 

[pistolpete11]

Did his drop off coincide with USADA's arrival?

Wow, I didn't even realize he was on the card. How the mighty have fallen.

I think USADA was a part of it, but he's had a loooooong career, too. He's somehow only 32, but he's had over 40 fights. That's crazy.

 

[dss97]

Prime Cain was such an animal. His ass whooping of Browne was so impressive.

Really hoping we see him get back on track after this layoff

Did his drop off coincide with USADA's arrival?

I think a lot of it was talents like TJ, Garbrant, and Moraes not arriving yet.

 

[BGDDYKWL]

Cain looks to be in good shape but man Ngannou dwarfs him. I'm afraid he's gonna be rusty after the long layoff and Ngannou is gonna catch him.

 

[bov]

Today I learned that Scott Holtzman used to play for Knoxville of the SPHL. Got me thinking of any other hockey guys who made the transition to MMA, Steve Bosse is probably the most notable.

As for this event, can't wait to see how Cain looks. When the fight was first announced, I favored Ngannou heavily, but Velasquez looks pretty good recently compared to some stuff I saw just a few months back. Still, that layoff is just too much imo but I hope I'm wrong.

This event may not have the biggest names, but there are some great matchups. Rivera/Sterling should be a good one too.

 

[Avs_19]

Barao missed weight again today. That's the second straight fight that has happened and against Sterling the commission didn't let him cut to 135 because of his previous issues. I think he's pretty much done regardless of whether he wins or loses tomorrow. I don't know if there's any high level fighter who has fallen off as quickly as he did while still in his athletic prime.

 

[Avs_19]

Good first round for Barao and then he gets dropped and finished in the second. Damn.

 

[I am not exposed]

Good first round for Barao and then he gets dropped and finished in the second. Damn.

Great adjustment by Luke in the second round. Listened to his coaches!

 

[Know Your Enemy]

Lee looks pretty good

 

[m9]

Lee and Burmudez both looked great.

 

[m9]

Not the most exciting fight, but nice win for Sterling. Did a good job using his range and Rivera did nothing.

 

[Avs_19]

Good win for Sterling. The striking looks odd at times but I think he has improved in that area. That was a great second round.

 

[pistolpete11]

Good win for Sterling. A little confusing on the mic.

 

[dss97]

Solid, close fight to start the main card.

 

[darko]

Cejudo sitting ringside with his belt. Lol really?