The UFC big show comes to Dallas this weekend, with Britain’s own Darren Till challenging Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley for the Welterweight title. This was supposed to be a unification fight between Woodley and interim champ Colby Covington, but due to the latter recovering from nose surgery, he is not available and will be stripped of his belt as soon as this match is over. Covington’s loss is Till’s gain, with the 25 year old jumping to the head of the queue. Also appearing on the card are some fan-favourite veterans such as Jim Miller, John Dodson and the always entertaining Diego Sanchez. Nicco Montano also defends her Flyweight belt from the very dangerous Valentina Schevchenko in the co-main. Let’s get it on!
Tyron Woodley (C) vs Darren Till (2)
Tyron Woodley won the belt from Robbie Lawler in 2016. He defended it four times in the following year, but he has not fought for the last 12 months while a shoulder injury heals. This layoff was apparently enough time for Dana White to decide that an interim title was necessary, but with Covington now out of action, it’s clear that it really wasn’t. Woodley made his name in the Strikeforce promotion before it was bought out by the UFC, and has accumulated an impressive 22 fight, 18 win record. A pure mixed martial artist, Woodley has a mixed bag of KO stoppages and points decisions in his record. Kamara Usman, the number 6 ranked Welterweight, has placed himself on standby in case something happens, but Woodley (quite sensibly) has said that he won’t fight him. He is concentrating solely on Till and Till alone.
Odds: 23/20
Darren Till is his own worst enemy. Shortly after his demolition of Donald Cerrone, he stated that his methodology for weight-cutting was both simple and ‘should be illegal’. In his very next fight against Stephen Thompson (which he won by decision, just like Woodley), he failed to make weight and had to give up 30% of his purse. He is already suffering this time around, to the extent that another fighter is on standby in case he doesn’t make it. The reason why this is such a problem is that Till is a very big Welterweight. It is expected that he’ll move up a weight class in the near future, but he’s prepared to suffer through the pain for this title shot that many (including Stephen Thompson) don’t believe he should be getting.
After getting stabbed in a Liverpool nightclub, Till made the move to Brazil where it was safer and he studied Muay Thai for three and a half years. He managed to put together 12 victories, eight of them in 2013 alone. Weight issues aside, his move to the UFC has been similarly successful. “The Gorilla” absolutely crushed Donald Cerrone in a Performance of the Night win and won a controversial decision against Thompson. Like Woodley, he will be seeking an emphatic victory this time around.
Prediction: The classic battle of youth vs. experience. Till is three inches taller and provided the weight cut is successful, is likely to be the heavier man on the night. It’s for this reason that he is the slight favourite in what should be a close fight.
Nicco Montano (C) vs Valentina Schevchenko (1)
It’s surprising how rarely the Champ faces their number one contender, but inaugural champion Nicco Montano will do just that on Saturday. A southpaw, her background is in boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Her route to the title came via The Ultimate Fighter: A New World Champion, where she defeated Lauren Murphy, Montana Stewart and Barb Honchak to reach the final. Her opponent in the final, Sijara Eubanks was forced to pull out after falling ill while trying to make weight and defeated Roxanne Modafferi to win the belt. All of these fights were decision victories, and while she is a well-rounded and competent fighter, her opponent is something else entirely.
Odds: 8/1
Thirty-year-old Valentina Schevchenko has one of the most impressive records of any fighter, male or female, competing in MMA today. Let’s run some numbers, shall we? She has won 56 out of 58 kickboxing bouts, 2 professional boxing matches and 17 gold medals for her Muay Thai. Her MMA record boasts 15 wins out of 18, against such opponents as Amanda Nunes (who she lost to on points) and Holly Holm (who she beat on points). She has black belts in both judo and taekwondo, as well as numerous awards for her kickboxing, Muay Thai and boxing skills. She is a devastating counter-striker, able to deliver punches, back-fists or even a spinning wheel-kick to anyone foolish enough to come into range. This will be her second fight in the Flyweight division, having moved down at the end of 2017.
Odds: 1/30
Prediction: Schevchenko is obviously a massive favourite here, and no one really expects the outcome to be anything other than a victory for Valentina. If Montano pulls off an upset, it will be huge.
Zabit Magomedsharipov (15) vs Brandon Davis
Zabit Magomedsharipov’s previous three fights in the UFC have been either Fight or Performance of the Night, so we should be in for a good show this weekend. Hailing from Dagestan, he has a record of 15 wins out of 16, evenly split between knockouts and submission victories. He has a background in Wushu and freestyle wrestling, and with legs that are three inches longer than his opponent, expect the feet to fly from all directions.
Yair Rodriguez was supposed to face Magomedsharipov at UFC 228 but was replaced by Brandon Davis when he pulled out in August. The American has nine wins in 13 fights, with one win out of three in the UFC. He has belts in Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai, and a degree in Biological Sciences. None of this is likely to help him on Saturday night.
Odds: 31/4
Prediction: We’re confident that Magomedsharipov will win, we just don’t know exactly how. Could be kicks to the body, it might be an armbar or a choke, or there’s a chance that he’ll pull off an Anthony Pettis-style highlight KO by jumping off the fence.
Jéssica Andrade (2) vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz (4)
Brazilian Jéssica Andrade is absolutely relentless, very much of the wind-her-up-and-watch-her-go school of boxing. Once she starts swinging, she does not stop, constantly pushing forward with a barrage of punches and seemingly inexhaustible reserves of energy. Her aggression has won her several Fight of the Night bonuses, and her one loss in the last six fights came at the hands of former champion Joanna Jędrzejczyk. She has 18 wins out of 24, including victories over Angela Hill, Tecia Torres, Cláudia Gadelha and Jojo Calderwood.
Odds: 2/11
Entering the ring to the strains of Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’, Karolina Kowalkiewicz is deceptively calm. She stands against the cage, perfectly still, with her hands behind her back and a small smile upon her face. But when the bell rings, it’s on. She’s been in some massive wars, particularly her victory over current champ Rose Namajunas and her loss to Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Primarily a Muay Thai specialist, she is lethal with her knees if she gets her hands behind her opponent’s head. At 32, there are signs that she is slowing down a bit, but she’s still the fourth ranked Strawweight in the division, and this may be her last run at the title.
Odds: 33/10
Prediction: This is sure to be a violent encounter as both women stake their claim for a shot at the belt. Karolina has the slight reach advantage, but if Jéssica feels that the boxing isn’t going her way, she can take it to the ground, where she is likely to have the upper hand. Andrade should take the decision after a bloody battle.
Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Niko Price
Quite what these two are doing on the main card is a bit of a mystery. Abdul Razak Alhassan is a sweet guy. He got into MMA by accident, initially getting involved in training for what he expected to be a judo career. But his overzealous manager started booking fights and Alhassan was just too polite to refuse. After several victories, he switched to MMA and has enjoyed some success. He doesn’t use his judo too much, preferring to use his fists to down opponents. The Ghanaian has nine wins out of 10, all by way of KO.
Odds: 10/13
Niko Price made an immediate impression against Brandon Thatch in his debut at UFC 207, submitting Thatch with a choke in the first round. Since then, he has won a couple of Performance of the Night honours and has victories over Alan Jouban and George Sullivan. His last victory over Randy Brown is notable for the fact that he managed to KO his opponent from the bottom. He has the advantage over Alhassan in terms of height and reach, and has a nasty takedown game, but how this will fare against a judo black belt is another story.
Odds: 20/21
Prediction: Price is a slight underdog here and might be worth a flutter if you think his chin can withstand Alhassan’s assault. But the Ghanaian throws more punches, is more accurate and can defend well against any attempts to take him to the ground. It should be a close fight, but we think Alhassan adds another KO to his record in the second round.
Preliminary Fights
Former Strawweight Champion Carla Esparza (6) takes on unbeaten Tatiana Suarez (9) in what is likely to be a close-fought wrestling match. Despite having a higher place in the rankings, Esparza is the underdog here and could pull off a shock. Aljamain Sterling (9) faces Cody Stamann (10), with both men hoping to rise up the Bantamweight rankings. Both are wrestlers but “Funk Master” Sterling has some wild and unpredictable tricks in his bag which should be the key to victory. Veteran John Dodson (7) takes on Jimmy Rivera (5), two more Bantamweights. With a combined 53 fights between them (still less than Valentina Schevchenko), these two have huge experience but Rivera is the younger man and has outstanding takedown defence. Rounding out the undercard we have two Middleweights, Charles Byrd vs Londoner Darren Stewart. Stewart is younger and taller than Byrd, but is a slight underdog in a fight that could go either way.
Early Preliminary Fights
Because the UFC likes to keep the early prelims on their streaming service, Fight Pass, there are some big names stuck down here when they should be higher up. Another Brit, Craig White, faces fan favourite and professional maniac, Diego Sanchez. White has one fight in the UFC, a loss to Neil Magny, while Sanchez was on the receiving end of one of the nastiest elbow KOs in MMA history during his bout with Matt Brown. White is the slight favourite here due to age and wear on Sanchez. Jim Miller is another popular veteran who faces Alex White in what is sure to be one of Miller’s last matches. Irene Aldana (12) and Lucie Pudilova (13) face off in the Bantamweight division, with the odds favouring Aldana. Jarred Brooks has just been announced as a last-minute replacement for Ryan Benoit, and meets Roberto Sanchez, with the latter likely to win this meeting of Flyweights (let’s hope Brooks does better than his last fight – at UFC Fight Night 131, he knocked himself out). Finally, Geoff Neal will be looking to continue his two-fight winning streak against veteran grappler Frank Camacho.
