UFC Shenzhen was this past weekend and featured a bigtime title victory. Let’s get right to the rundown.
UFC Shenzhen
GOOD- Mizuki Inoue vs. Wu Yanan
Lots of striking in this one, with Inoue getting the nod from the judges by split decision. This was a solid fight. Good win for Inoue.
GOOD- Song Kenan vs. Derrick Krantz
Lots of back and forth in this fight. I kind of thought Krantz won but Kenan got the decision. Maybe I scored the fight wrong in my head but this wasn’t a good enough fight to rewatch. Nice win for Kenan.
GOOD- Mark De La Rosa vs. Kai Kara-France
There was some nice action in this fight, though to be honest I’m getting a little tired of these decisions. I guess it’s the casual in me, and some of it is the early hour, but things are getting a little tedious. It’s wrong to say that, though, because this was actually the best fight so far. Or at least the one I’ve enjoyed the most. Kara-France won with his striking. Good win for Kara-France.
GOOD- Li Jingliang stops Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos
Back and forth action here, with Li getting the advantage in the striking. He dropped dos Santos a few times before finishing him off with strikes late in the third round. Good win for Jingliang.
GOOD- Weili Zhang stops Jessica Andrade
Zhang hurt Andrade early with a big right, followed up with elbows and knees, then finished her off with another big right hand. Zhang is the new UFC Strawweight Champion, the first ever Chinese UFC champion. I underestimated Zhang and looked bad. I won’t be making that mistake again, Zhang looked incredible here. Huge win for Zhang.
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Looking ahead to UFC 242
UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov has said that after he beats Dustin Poirer at UFC 242 next weekend that he’ll only face Tony Ferguson next. I do think Nurmagomedov wins against Poirier but in no way do I think it’ll be easy. Not that I think Nurmagomedov is underestimating Poirier but he is looking past him a bit. Those things are similar but not quite the same. I think Nurmagomedov knows that Poirier is tough and will be a challenge but he also is supremely confident that he’ll beat him, as he’s beaten everyone else he’s faced.
My gut is telling me that Poirier finishes Nurmagomedov late in the third or fourth round, but my brain says Nurmagomedov finishes Poirer in the fourth round by TKO. I’ll go with my brain here and pick Nurmagomedov to win and set up a fight with Tony Ferguson. I just hope that fight actually happens this time, if it gets booked.
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank
More from MMATorch:
- Cris Cyborg signs with Bellator
- MMA Talk for Pro Wrestling Fans – Robert Vallejos talks title victory of Zhang Weili, previews UFC 242 and Bellator 226
- UFC 242 Free Fights: Watch Nurmagomedov vs. Iaquinta, Poirier vs. Gaethje more
- UFC Shenzhen results
- Who wins between Jessica Andrade and Weili Zhang?
- UFC SHENZHEN PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS 8/31: Grocke’s updated odds & predictions for every fight
- TAKE-ING IT BACK: A look back at our takes before and after Jessica Andrade’s KO of Rose Namajunas
- Is Conor McGregor showing contrition, or is he doing PR?
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