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UFC 220: Miočić vs. Ngannou (1/20/2018) - Boston, MA (TD Garden)


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UFC 220: Miočić vs. Ngannou 
January 20, 2018
Boston, MA (TD Garden)

UFC Heavyweight Championship: Stipe Miočić © (246) vs. Francis Ngannou (263) (third defense) - Miočić, DEC (unanimous)
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Daniel Cormier © (205) vs. Volkan Oezdemir (205) (fourth defense) - Cormier, TKO (punches), R2 (2:00)
Calvin Kattar (145.5) vs. Shane Burgos (146) - Kattar, KO (punches), R3 (0:32)
Gian Villante (206) vs. Francimar Barroso (205) - Villante, DEC (split)
Thomas Almeida (135.5) vs. Rob Font (136) - Font, TKO (strikes), R2 (2:24)

Fox Sports 1 Preliminary Card:
Kyle Bochniak (146) vs. Brandon Davis (146) - Bochniak, DEC (unanimous)
Abdul Razak Alhassan (170) vs. Sabah Homasi (171) - Alhassan, KO (punch), R1 (3:47)
Dustin Ortiz (125.5) vs. Alexandre Pantoja (126) - Ortiz, DEC (unanimous)
Dan Ige (145.5) vs. Julio Arce (146) - Arce, DEC (unanimous)

Fight Pass Preliminary Card:
Enrique Barzola (145.5) vs. Matt Bessette (146) - Barzola, DEC (unanimous)
Islam Makhachev (156) vs. Gleison Tibau (155) - Makhachev, KO (punch), R1 (0:57)

Event Bonuses ($50,000):
Performance of the Night: Abdul Razak Alhassan
Performance of the Night: Daniel Cormier
Fight of the Night: Calvin Kattar vs. Shane Burgos

Attendance: 16,015
Gate: $2.45 million
Buyrate: 380,000

Cancelled Fights:
Charles Rosa vs. Dan Ige - Injury to Rosa (Neck)
Arnold Allen vs. Enrique Barzola - Allen Visa Issues
Maryna Moroz vs. Jamie Moyle - Injury to Moyle

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You know UFC is hurting for star power when Calvin Kattar vs. Shane Burgos is third from the top in a big PPV. Top heavy card though I want to see Almeida.

Wait, whut?! Islam Makhachev vs. Gleison Tibau is the first fight on the card?! I guess they really want hardcores to sign-up for Fight Pass.

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I was so caught offguard by seeing Tibau's name on the bout sheet. I think he is the second fighter coming off a long ass USADA suspension coming back. The other was Matheus Nicolau.

Burgos is a good prospect and Kattar is a local guy coming off an upset win over Andre Fili. So I'm not surprised that got on the main card. Probably should be the FS1 headliner because it's splitting hairs determining  who is the biggest name out of Burgos, Kattar, Kyle Bochniak, and Brandon Davis.

Also, I'm hoping that Font doesn't fight the same fight he did against Lineker and goes toe-to-toe with Thominhas because that can be a crazy good opener.

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I can't complain about a top heavy card when the top is this good. You've got the absolute pick'em in Miocic/Ngannou and the feel good story of 2017 Volkan in the co-main event.

If I had to make a pick in the main, I'd go with Miocic being a bit sharper and finishing Ngannou in the first or second but I'm not surprised Ngannou is the favourite going in. It's hard to bet against a guy with that much power in his hands.

Has Francis ever been in trouble in any of his past fights? All I can remember is him sending heads into orbit.

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Jesus, the main event is just like the one for Fight Night over the weekend. 

No way this goes the distance.  It is just a matter of who will knock who the fuck out in which round.

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5 hours ago, Setsuna said:

I can't complain about a top heavy card when the top is this good. You've got the absolute pick'em in Miocic/Ngannou and the feel good story of 2017 Volkan in the co-main event.

If I had to make a pick in the main, I'd go with Miocic being a bit sharper and finishing Ngannou in the first or second but I'm not surprised Ngannou is the favourite going in. It's hard to bet against a guy with that much power in his hands.

Has Francis ever been in trouble in any of his past fights? All I can remember is him sending heads into orbit.

KLB (Luiz Henrique) got a takedown on him in his UFC debut but that's about it. It looked like your standard fare HW fight until Ngannou got comfortable and went to work on KLB.

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I've never picked against Stipe. He's been one of my favorite fighters since he debuted and he's probably my current favorite fighter. He's a solid dude and a hell of a fighter. We talked about it before though, and this matchup doesn't look good.

If Stipe wins, he needs to grind it out to round 3 or 4 and then put Ngannou away. My fear is that this is going to be a repeat of Silva/Franklin 1. 

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Most of Ngannou's KOs have been punches he's been able to step into as he throws them. 

Normally that would mean that you stick to clinches and dirty boxing as far a striking goes, but that uppercut that killed 'Reem says otherwise.  No way do you want to give Ngannou space enough to land heavy blows, even if it is coming out of a clinch. 

Stipe is going to have to find a way to get Ngannou to fight off of his back foot and take that big fucker down to the ground and make him use up his gas tank trying to get to his feet..  Stipe can't let Ngannou get comfortable in the pocket and find a rhythm.

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I don't know how good Ngannou's footwork is, but I think Stipe's is good enough. Maybe he doesn't need to get Ngannou to fight off his back foot and instead gets Ngannou to chase him for a couple rounds.

Fuck, I'm so fucking excited for this fight. Excited and worried. 

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The problem with getting Ngannou to chase you is that he's pretty good at cutting off the cage once he has you hurt since he's tall and has a really long stride.

Mihajilovic found that out the hard way.

Ngannou's footwork is very kickboxery.  He stutter steps when he head feints and he likes to strike in rhythm, so Stipe needs to find a way to mess with Ngannou's timing and mobility. 

That plan probably starts off with lots and lots of leg kicks while trying to stay at the edge of Ngannou's jab.  Good luck with that shit.

 

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Ngannou is going to be considerably stronger than Miocic, there's an almost 20 pound difference here. My guess is he would be able to take down Stipe from the clinch if he wants to, even if he doesn't have the better technique. He's ragdolled opponents in the past with ease. I also wouldn't want to be in the vicinity of taking an Ngannou elbow either. Nor would I want to throw any sloppy, one off leg kicks that aren't expertly set-up in the chance of getting my block knocked off with one counter punch. Stephens did it to Choi on the weekend.

If you can't take him down after setting up the shot with some straight combinations, I honestly think trying to just outlast him in a boring fight may be the best opportunity for victory even if you run the risk of always being one punch away from a face melting.

I just hope neither guy gets seriously hurt, particularly Stipe. Seems like a solid human being and Francis has hospital type power.

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I like Miocic, and I'm sticking with that pick.  I like Ngannou.  He's really athletic and clearly hits like a truck, but he's never had to deal with another opponent who is also as strong and as athletic with good wrestling like Stipe Miocic.  Not to mention, all the good wrestlers are pretty much gone at heavyweight anyway.  Barnett's career is basically over.  Cain Velasquez's career has been waylaid by injuries.  The chances of Lesnar fighting again are next to nil.  

I don't think Miocic is going to do what Ngannouw ants him to do.  

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I know it's Anthony Hamilton and all, but the way Ngannou straight up powered on that kimura was scary. If you don't get that guy down with the quickness, you're fucked.

And I think Stipe does have a chance because his spatial awareness is probably his best asset. I think that comes from his boxing background because you can't just charge at him like a madman (Werdum) and you can't circle around the boundary of the cage (JDS) to evade him. The problem with this matchup is how close do you really want to get to Francis Ngannou. If you don't get the takedown, you better be ready to fire away when you disengage. I think somebody like DC had a sturdy enough chin and was strong as an ox (along w/ the wrestling pedigree) to make up for the fact that Rumble was going to hit him really, really fucking hard. The thing about DC is he has a natural inclination to go in and start trading whether it's against Rumble or Jon Jones. Stipe is a very smart fighter, but is he smart enough to play it by ear and not rush to get into this boxing match? Because I can't imagine the bitching and complaining Saturday night after the fight if Stipe loses and he didn't attempt a takedown. I'm not saying he will get too emotional, but I think it's in his mind to prove that he's the more dynamic fighter of the two and can beat Ngannou on the ground or standing. I  don't think he has the obligatory flow chart in his mind where he has to show his wrestling prowess against fighters who have true knockout power. Therefore, he can end up the GOAT or the goat w/ no middle ground to speak of.

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I am dying at the look in DC's eyes when Francis reaches for his pocket, and you can tell DC's thinking he might have to fight Francis Ngannou in the middle of the lobby. I dunno how people get down in France and Cameroon, but where Cormier's from that means it's go time.

Also a recurring theme of the Embedded that can now be adding to Holly Holm getting a mani/pedi, Weidman and Gian's bromance, and Holloway's cupcake hoarding is Stipe tormenting his wife. How has she not gotten an attempted murder charge for trying to smother him with a pillow while he's sleeping? She's married to a grown twelve year old.

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Okay, I went on Fight Pass and watched Burgos' 3 UFC fights and fuck yeah, that dude is great. I think his constant baiting with his hands down will probably catch up to him if he keeps it up against stiffer opposition, but he is so good with his hands. 

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