The final UFC event of 2016 features some strong matches and big names to close out an impressive year.
UFC 207 features a killer card to end what was an amazing year in MMA. Ronda Rousey returns and wants her belt back. Dominick Cruz defends his title against power-puncher Cody Garbrandt, and announcer Mike Goldberg will be calling his final UFC event. Here is your UFC 207 Preview.
The Main Event: Ronda Rousey Returns
Ronda Rousey is back and she’s looking to reclaim the title she held since the inception of the women’s bantamweight division back in 2013, through her loss last year to Holly Holm.
Rousey has been mostly invisible to the public eye for the last year, making very few appearances. Here’s what she told TMZ recently: “I don’t care how this Pay Per View does. I don’t care how much money I make. I don’t care about interviews and I don’t care how I look. All I care about is winning my belt back on Friday night, and that’s it.”
She’ll need to beat the most dangerous opponent she has ever faced in Amanda Nunes to get the strap back. Nunes is indeed a knockout specialist, but she can also batter you, take you down, and finish the job on the ground. Two of her last three wins have come by submission, one against former champ Miesha Tate and the other against former Olympian Sara McMann. Rousey enters as the favorite at -140, and she posted this picture on Instagram with the hashtag #FearTheReturn.
The belt has changed hands several times over the past year, from Rousey to Holm to Tate to Nunes. If Rousey can avoid the big shot early, she’ll take the title back.
Co-Main Event: Cruz vs. Garbrandt
Last week, we showed you the bizarre exchange between UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and challenger Cody Garbrandt, and they were back at it again this week.
Garbrandt is the latest rage in the UFC, undefeated at 10-0 with nine knockout finishes. But he’s only been to the third round once in his career and he’ll be facing one of the best defensive fighters in the game in Cruz. Garbrandt swears if Cruz takes him to the deep waters of rounds 4 and 5 that he will be able to swim, but talk is cheap.
Cruz makes his opponents spend an incredible amount of energy, frustrating them in the process. He’s incredibly hard to hit and features some of the most unique footwork in MMA. If Garbrandt does knock out Cruz, expect a Conor-like media and promotion run in 2017.
Your UFC 207 Nickname Battle of the Week
Your UFC 207 Nickname Battle of the Week features a matchup between two ranked flyweights: No. 12 Louis “Da Last Samurai” Smolka and No. 13 Ray “The Tazmexican Devil” Borg. But this isn’t just a cool nickname fight. It’s an important match in the UFC flyweight division between two young fighters.
Borg is just 23 and Smolka only 25. Smolka lands at a torrid pace of almost five significant strikes per minute, while Borg is a submission specialist who has made his opponent tap in six of his nine career wins. There is a ton of star power on this card, but don’t be surprised if these two steal the show and collect post-fight bonuses.
Five For Fighting
Five other fighters you’ll want to watch at UFC 207:
- Tim Means. Now in his second stint in the UFC, the “Dirty Bird” is a joy to watch in the cage. Means has gone 6-2 since returning to the promotion and has four finishes in his last four wins. Means loves the grindy, all-out wars, and “Cowboy” Oliveira will oblige him. Means uses elbow strikes as well as anyone in MMA, and he can finish opponents in a variety of ways, all of them exciting.
- Dong Hyun Kim. “Stun Gun” was initially scheduled to face Gunnar Nelson in the main event of UFC Fight Night 99, but that fight was canceled due to Nelson’s injury. Matt Brown was supposed to fight Tarec Saffiedine at UFC 207, but he was moved to UFC 206 to fight Donald Cerrone. So Kim got the call to replace Brown, and Kim vs. former Strikeforce champ Saffiedine is an excellent matchup. Kim has lost just once since 2012 and that was to current champion Tyron Woodley. A win on Friday night moves Kim into contender status.
- John Lineker. Lineker made the move to bantamweight after repeatedly having difficulty making 125 lbs. Some thought his power wouldn’t transfer against bigger fighters but “Hands of Stone” remains a deadly force at 135. He’ll fight former champion T.J. Dillashaw in a matchup between the top two contenders in the division. The winner will most likely get the next title shot.
- Neil Magny. No. 8 Magny will get to test himself against former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. Magny dropped his last fight to Lorenz Larkin, but knocked out Hector Lombard in his previous bout. He’s going to take it to Hendricks on Friday, and a win gets him a top-5 opponent for his next bout. He entered the UFC in 2013 and already has 11 wins to his credit.
- Brandon Thatch. Thatch had all the makings of the next big UFC star after scoring two knockout wins within his first three months in the promotion. The hype went off the charts with pundits proclaiming him to be a top contender for the welterweight title. But then Thatch went out and lost three consecutive fights after missing all of 2014. He’ll welcome undefeated Niko Price to the UFC.
- Marvin Vettori. Vettori is being called the best-ever prospect from Italy, and rightly so. He has 10 first-round finishes in his 11 wins, including a submission win in his UFC debut in August. Before that, he tapped out former UFC fighter Igor Araujo in Italy. Look for him to put on a show against Antonio Carlos Jr.
And It Is All Over!
UFC 207 will be the final UFC event called by Mike Goldberg, who has been with the company since 1997. This was confirmed by Dana White at the UFC 207 media scrum. Earlier this month, we told you about former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen accidentally breaking some news on his podcast.
“Is Jim Rome going to join Joe Rogan? Is Jim Rome going to take that offer? Did I just say something that is not public information? Let’s move on,” Sonnen said.
White told Sportsnet’s Tim and Sid he was putting together an amazing team. “This has been my dream to assemble this dream team of commentating and I’ve wanted this guy for years and I’m working on it and it’s going to happen,” White said.
Pairing Jim Rome with Joe Rogan will be nothing if not interesting. A whole new set of dynamics has to be worked out and that only comes with working together for an extended period of time. Expect the first few broadcasts of 2017 to be a bit sore-thumby if Rome gets the gig. I think another JR would be a better choice — former WWE announcer Jim Ross.
True, Goldy has done a lot of fine work for the UFC, but it’s more fun to check out his blooper reel. Godspeed, Mike Goldberg. We’ll miss you.
https://youtu.be/dsiD_GDFY-M
How to Watch UFC 207
UFC Fight Pass is the place to watch the first prelim fight, a matchup between Tim “Dirty Birds” Means vs. Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira. That begins at 7:30 p.m. ET. The prelims move to FS1 at 8 p.m. ET, and then the main card can be seen on pay-per-view beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
