Preview: UFC Fight Night 50
by Dr. Octagon, J.D.
Last week we were pretty down on the UFC’s shitty Pay Per View card for UFC 177. UFC boss Dana White took the time during the free portion of the card to call out the press for saying “disgusting, despicable things” about UFC 177. He also called out Dave Meltzer by name for something that he didn’t actually say.
This is just Dana being Dana . If it is disgusting and despicable for me to tell you that a card probably isn’t worth your money (this was even before Cejudo and Renan Barao dropped off the card) then I guess I’m guilty. I have no qualms about buying Pay Per Views. I’ve bought some terrible events, but this one just felt like a punch straight to the junk from Uncle Baldy McLiar. I could afford to buy the card, as usual, I wasn’t doing anything, but I just wasn’t excited about it.
I also find that it is a little disingenuous of Dana to tell us that we should be supporting the fighters by paying sixty dollars for a Pay Per View when he is paying Shayna Bazler $8,000 to fight on the third to last fight on the card. That’s how much money she got BEFORE TAXES. After Obama takes his cut and she pays her coaches, there can’t be much cash left. So she’s good enough to put on a Pay Per View, but not good enough to make five figures. [[MORE]]
Enough of the negativity though, just had to get that off my chest. I love the sport and it really ticks me off when Dana acts like the media should just be hyping whatever shitty card he puts together. UFC Fight Night 50 is coming up on Friday live from Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut and the card is fucking awesome. This just goes to show what happens when the UFC puts on slightly fewer shows.
The main event was originally scheduled to be Michael Chiesa against Joe Lauzon. When UFC cancelled UFC 176 we got the Mousasi-Jacare fight. They also added two heavyweight fights, which are always welcome. When all was said and done, they have a pretty stacked card and it’s going to be on television for free ( as long as you’re in for watching hours of the same Harley Davidson and MetroPCS commercials). I bought tickets and I’ll be reporting back on how many hands of blackjack I’m able to get in between fights.
For those of you at home, you’ll have the option of flipping back and forth between Bellator’s main event, which is on at the same time as the undercard of the UFC’s event nearby at the Mohegan Sun casino (yep, cutthroat counter-programming). Bellator has some pretty decent fights on the undercard (for Bellator) and the main event of Curran versus Pitbull is definitely worth watching. It will be interesting to see whether Bellator’s superior Spike lead-ins and Bobbie Lashley WWE fans will lead to better ratings than the UFC’s superior fight card.
The main event of Gegard Mousasi against Ronaldo Jacare Souza is actually a rematch of their fight from 2008 from back when Jacare had hair. Mousasi won that fight with a vicious upkick knockout:
Sort of flukey, but effective. Despite the prior outcome, Mousasi is the underdog. Jacare has definitely improved his striking since their prior meeting and is the favorite. This is a striker-grappler matchup. Jacare is really good at getting the fight to the ground and is a really dangerous BJJ practitioner. He also has power in his hands with a few knockouts recently, but hasn’t scored anything against a striker as sophisticated as Mousasi.
Mousasi is one of the most methodical strikers in the UFC, looking positively bored in the cage. He’s coming off a loss against the great Lyoto Machida, whereas Jacare has crushed a bunch of less-than-stellar competition since he lost the Strikeforce championship to Luke Rockhold.
This is a really great matchup that could propel the winner to an eventual title shot in the middleweight division. I think Jacare will be able to work the takedowns early on, but Mousasi has a good chance of picking him apart on the feet and eventually outworking him to a decision. Mousasi is not a bad bet as an underdog.
Alistair Overeem vs. Ben Rothwell: Two heavyweights who have been caught juicing recently, only one of whom looks it. Overeem is basically better at everything except for taking damage. Unfortunately, Overeem does not have the chin to go along with his impressive physique, leading to him being knocked out twice of late.
In his most recent fight, Overeem fought smarter against Frank Mir, so expect him to do that again. But if he goes in for the kill against Rothwell, and ends up eating a punch he could go down. Overeem is the deserved heavy favorite here, but if he gets reckless, Rothwell could put him on his ass.
Matt Mitrione vs. Derrick Lewis: Derrick Lewis has more power, Mitrione is probably the more skilled fighter. Lewis has Carwinesque power, having KO-ed the last five guys he has fought. As always, when a big man with small gloves and this type of power is involved, if he gets a hand on Mitrione’s face, he’s done for. Big test for Lewis to see whether or not he’s legit. Should be exciting.
Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Chiesa: The former main event. Chiesa is a grinder with good cardio. Joe Lauzon is a wiley vet with sick submissions and suspect cardio. No idea what’s going to happen with this one, Chiesa has a knack for eking out a victory.
That’s it for the main card. Also of note, Charles Oliveira missed weight by a mile, coming in over 150 lbs. instead of 146, and blaming a virus. He’ll forfeit 20% of his purse to Nick Lentz and we’ll see how fresh he is. This is a rematch from an earlier fight where Oliveira was declared the winner, but on review the victory was ruled a no contest due to an illegal knee. Oliveira looked like the better fighter before the foul, but we’ll have to see if he’s at 100% tomorrow night.