If you are wondering if UFC FIght Night 71 deserves your attention let me lay out three reasons why you should be watching.
Advertisement
Frank Mir is a legend of the sport. All of his nine victories have been by knockout and he is looking to extend that streak tonight.
Is Holly Holm For Real? “It shows Marion Reneau is a very, very tough and ready opponent”. “I fought hard with a young bull, but I’m still the matador”.
It will be the second UFC fight for Holm, who has yet to lose as an MMA fighter, but she wasn’t completely satisfied with her last win.
Dwyer (8-2, 1-1 UFC) is a towering welterweight, standing six-foot-four, who uses his length to keep opponents outside of reach. Thomson himself has been on a skid, losing a controversial decision to Benson Henderson followed by an uninspired performance against Bobby Green.
A bout between top-15 lightweights, this contest between Ferguson and Thomson may have a significant impact on one of the UFC’s deepest divisions. He’s an exciting fighter, and if he wins here, we may get that fight against Anthony Pettis we should have seen before Pettis got hurt. Look for Duffee to add another KO win to his resume.
The third UFC event in a week’s span took place on Wednesday evening in San Diego and featured a decent fight card with a fair amount of action worthy of post-fight performance bonuses. “Some of the accomplishments they’ve had this year, I’ve showed way more emotion”, said Mir, who has two sons and a daughter with wife Jennifer, along with a son from a previous relationship of hers. “Holly is prepared to fight any style”.
Mir has been teetering on the edge of retirement for a while now and a defeat against Duffee might push him over the edge, particularly if it’s decisive. He’s performed well at times, and people say, “Well, he’s had a bunch of first-round knockouts, ‘ and I’m just like, Against who?'”.
In 11 career fights, Todd Duffee has either been on the receiving end or the recipient of a knockout, the former occurrence much more often than the latter.
And while Dwyer will land some knees and strikes in close distance, Jouban will eventually unload his power and take a late TKO.
Duffee called out Mir a few months ago and the fight didn’t seem likely to happen based on where they are in the rankings.
Advertisement
I’m actually a fan of the occasional mid-week card, but this felt like maybe the worst possible time to throw a Wednesday night card out there. Seeing Holy Holm make her next step towards a fight with Ronda Rousey will be interesting, and Scott Jorgensen vs. Manvel Gamburyan should be fun. The co-main event is Josh “The Punk” Thomson vs. Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson. “Then I can start thinking [title contention]”.
