UFC 211 is Live This Saturday Night from Dallas Texas and appears to be one of the most stacked cards of the year. It is fresh off of a rabid 210 from Buffalo and is sure to pack in the action all night long! My partner Eli Moon and I both agreed there are six fights that absolutely jump off the card.
It would have been seven but the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling and former UFC Flyweight Championship challenger Henry Cejudo was expected to face Sergio Pettis at the event. However, on May 10, it was announced that Cejudo suffered a hand injury and the bout was canceled. Pettis will receive his show money.
Even with the loss of Cejudo vs Pettis, the card remains strong. Here are my preview and predictions on those Big Six!
Fight – Eddie Alvarez vs Dustin Poirier
Preview – Alvarez is coming off of an embarrassing loss to Conor McGregor at UFC 205 that saw him lose his UFC Featherweight crown. He is still a dangerous man who was on a 3-fight winning streak over the likes impressive likes of Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez and champion Rafeal Dos Anjos before that.
His opponent Dustin Poirier has flirted with the main event picture in the UFC before, but has never really been able to establish himself as a consistent main eventer. He is solid enough to consistently appear on the main card however and will give Alvarez a strong challenge.
Prediction –Alvarez by second round knockout
Fight – Dave Branch vs Krzysztof Jotko
Preview – This fight was bumped up to the main card after Pettis vs Cejudo was cancelled. The UFC has faith in both fighters to put on a good show, and rightfully so as both men can absolutely bring it. Jotko is the real deal and 7-1 in his UFC career. He is fresh off a big win over former Middleweight Title Contender Thales Leites
Branch went 2-2 in his last UFC stint, that was in 2011 and has made a name for himself in WSOF since then. He will have his work cut out for him with Jotko.
Prediction – Jotko by Unanimous Decision.
Fight – Frankie Edgar vs Yair Rodriguez
Preview –Yair Rodriguez is so quick and can beat you a number of different ways. He absolutely destroyed BJ Penn in his last outing in a fight that didn’t even seem fair.
Meanwhile, what can you say about Edgar that hasn’t already been said. He has one of the biggest hearts in the UFC and just refuses to lose time and time again. In my humble opinion, this is one of the best fights on the card, and maybe the most intriguing.
Prediction – I feel Yair Rodriguez continues his rise here with an upset win by Unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar.
Fight – Demian Maia vs Jorge Masvidal
Preview –This is yet another great fight on a card packed with them. Demian Maia is one victory away from a shot at a title, meanwhile Jorge Masvidal is out to prove his decisive win over Donald Cerrone was not a fluke. Both men stand to gain a lot with a win, and suffer an epic fall with a loss.
Prediction – Masvidal by split decision.
Fight – Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Jessica Andrade ( UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship)
Preview –Joanna Jedrzejcyk takes her spot at GOAT in the “UFC” women’s division on Saturday night if she could put away a game challenger in Jessica Andrade. I think she does just that!
Prediction –Jedrzejczyk by submission in the fifth and final round.
Fight – Junior Dos Santos vs Stipe Miocic (UFC Heavyweight Championship)
Preview – Stipe Miocic will look to avenge his last professional loss which came at the hands of Dos Santos back at UFC on Fox in December of 2014. A whole lot has changed since then. Miocic has rattled off four straight wins by knockout, with the last three coming in the first round. He is fresh off a successful knockout title defense over Alistair Overeem in his hometown back in September.
Dos Santos is arguably one of the greatest Heavyweight fighters in MMA history. He won his first 8 UFC Fights on his way to a UFC Heavyweight Championship victor over Cain Velasquez in November of 2011.
Things since then have slowed down a bit, losing both rematches to Velasquez and going just 4-3 overall during that stretch. His win over Miocic in their last clash is highly controversial as a pretty strong case can be made for Stipe winning that bout. Both men will be looking for the decisive victory this time around.
Prediction – Stipe leaves no doubt this time around with a second round knockout over Dos Santos.
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