(The Daily Haymaker is a daily series that takes a look back and covers the news, fights being made, and all the other insanity revolving around combat sports. The Haymaker’s purpose is to keep you up to date with the ever changing combat sports world and also provide thought-provoking [hopefully] analysis from yours truly.)
The News
1. The date for Jon Jones’s next Light Heavyweight Championship defense has been set. Jones will face Glover Teixeira at UFC 170 on February 22nd.
2. Ariel Helwani reported Anthony Pettis’s injury that caused him to withdraw from the Josh Thomson fight was a torn PCL. The tear is a complete one on left knee. Pettis will have to undergo surgery. Depending on how long Pettis will be out of action, I think we could see an interim lightweight championship fight between Josh Thomson and TJ Grant.
3. Anton Tabueno of Bloody Elbow reported that Vitor Pinto failed the pre-fight medical test. Pinto was scheduled to fight Adam Kayoom in the main event of ONE FC 12, but now the fight is off. Adriano Moraes vs Yusup Saadulaev is now the main event.
4. UFC has signed middleweight Drew Dober (13-4) to fight on The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale card against an opponent that has yet to be announced. The only experience Dober has had with the UFC was being eliminated in the first round of the fifteenth season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the first episode of TUF: LIVE, Dober lost a decision to Daron Cruickshank. Since being on the show, Dober has won three consecutive fights, two of them by way of submission.
5. Bloody Elbow reported that the bout between Matt Riddle vs Nathan Coy at Bellator 109 has been canceled. Coy told Bloody Elbow that it was Riddle who pulled out of the fight, but he has not received a reason as to why. Coy also told the Bloody Elbow that he’s been promised a slot in next season’s Bellator welterweight tournament.
Fights Made
UFC 170 – February 22nd
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones (19-1) vs Glover Teixeira (22-2)
Background: Jon Jones is the best Light Heavyweight in the world, although his last title defense was a close contest against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165. Jones’s last three title defenses have seen him TKO Chael Sonnen, submit Vitor Belfort, and beat Rashad Evans via decision. A 5-0 start to Glover Teixeira’s UFC career has earned him a shot at Jones’s strap. In his UFC tenure, Teixeira has beaten Ryan Bader (TKO), James Te Huna (Sub), Quinton Jackson (UD), Fabio Maldonado (TKO – Doc. Stoppage), and Kyle Kingsbury (UD).
Excitement Level: 7 out of 10. I believe that Teixeira has received his title shot a bit too soon. For one, Teixeira hasn’t had enough exposure to become a name casual fans know, and his resume isn’t out-of-this-world impressive. With that being said, a title fight is always exciting, and Jon Jones looked human in his last outing.
One FC 13 – December 6th
Lightweight Bout
Eduard Folayang (12-4) vs Vincent Latoel (14-13-2)
Background: A 10-2 start to Eduard Folayang’s career has been spoiled by two straight losses to Kamal Shalorus and Lowen Tynanes. Vincent Latoel has lacked any consistency as of late, trading wins and losses, but he did win his last fight at ONE FC 10 against Willy Ni.
Excitement Level: 2 out of 10. Neither fighter excites me too much, but Folayang is a Filipino that I believe ONE FC would like to build upon. This fight adds solid depth to the card.
Bantamweight Bout
Leandro Issa (11-3) vs Koetsu Okazaki (8-3-1)
Background: Issa has won eight of his last nine fights, with his last victory coming against Yusup Saadulaev. Okazaki is a 34 year-old fighter from Osaka, Japan. He lost his ONE FC debut to Bibiano Fernandes.
Excitement Level: 4 out of 10. Leandro Issa interests me as a bantamweight prospect, and Okazaki will present a nice challenge.
Bantamweight Bout
Dae Hwan Kim (8-0-1) vs Thanh Vu (3-2)
Background: Kim is a 26 year-old South Korean that has amassed an unbeaten record in Spirit MC, KAMMAA, DMMAF, Gladiator, and Road FC. Vu is an Australian that has gone 1-1 in the ONE FC with a win over Mohd Fouzein and a loss to Kevin Belingon.
Excitement Level: 3.5 out of 10. Kim has produced an intriguing resume. It’ll be nice to see him on a platform like ONE FC and figure out how talented he is.
Must Reads
1. T.P. Grant of Bloody Elbow continued his MMA Origins series with a piece on how Frank Shamrock changed Mixed Martial Arts. Read it here: http://bit.ly/17oRnAv
2. Chuck Mindenhall took a look back at the years 1996 and 1997 in the UFC here: http://bit.ly/17pJ3Ap
3. On MMARatings.net Adam Martin makes a case for Vitor Belfort as the fighter of the year. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/1fDeX1V
That’ll do it for today’s Haymaker. Thanks for reading, and I’ll leave you with a quote from Robert Kennedy.
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”
-Dan can be reached at [email protected] or @danielgal.
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