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It's not often that non-fighting related accidents cause fight cancellations. But there were two this week and they happened to fighters both in the same division. We also got news of two different cases of former fighters turning... or potentially turning to the pro wrestling world. Let's get to it, shall we? Here's your weekly MMA round-up.
#1 Nunes vs Pennington appeared to be greenlit for UFC 219
Raquel Pennington has impressively climbed her way into title contention with a four-fight winning streak since her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 184. She currently sits at #4 in the UFC's official rankings and last fought at UFC 205 where she defeated her former Ultimate Fighter coach as well as the former champion, Miesha Tate.
It had seemed like all systems were go for Rocky to get her first crack at gold with the organization, but then disaster reared its ugly head.
Pennington has had eight fights under the UFC banner and gone 6-2 since debuting. She had been preparing for a return sooner than now but shoulder surgery prevented that from happening. This unfortunate news further postpones her comeback.
Author's take
Amanda Nunes vs Raquel Pennington is a very interesting title fight and it is the one to make for Nunes' next title defence. Rocky is one of the toughest and most durable fighters in the division and has only ever been finished once in her career(five losses).
Her boxing and tenaciousness make the matchup fun whether fans initially realize it or not. Hopefully Rocky can heal up quickly and healthily so we can see it sooner rather than later.
Outside of Pennington, there aren't too many good options for Nunes at the moment. Most logically next in line after Pennington would have to be the former and inaugural Featherweight champion, Germaine de Randamie who has now returned to the division after defeating Holly Holm. After GDR would be Ketlen Vieira who is quickly making her presence felt after upsetting Sara McMann at UFC 215.
Then we have a possible super fight between Nunes and Cris Cyborg at 145 lbs. But both have stated they have no interest in fighting one another so that option remains least likely... though Pennington's absence strengthens its initial chance.
#2 Will Brooks vs Nik Lentz re-scheduled for UFC Fight Night 121 in Australia
Lightweights, Nik Lentz and Will Brooks were supposed to meet in the Octagon back at UFC 216 earlier this month but during weigh-ins, Lentz came down with "medical issues" and was forced out of the bout.
The former Bellator Lightweight champion, Brooks is coming off the first two-fight losing streak of his twenty-two fight career. So as you could imagine, he was a little upset when the opportunity to get back on the horse was taken away from him just a day before fight night.
Since returning to Lightweight from Featherweight, Nik Lentz has gone 2-1 with his most recent outing being a loss to Islam Makhachev.
Author's take
A clash between two strong wrestlers, this fight may actually cancel out in that area and turn into a striking match which will favour Brooks. But Lentz is one of those fighters who constantly tries to force his game on you which is that grinding wrestler beatdown. I have trouble seeing him successfully employ his style on another strong wrestler in Brooks.
But that's why fights are made: so that we can get answers to these kinds of things.
#3 After big win at UFC Gdansk, Karolina Kowalkiewicz finds herself with a target on her back
Karolina Kowalkiewicz put on a show at UFC Fight Night 118 in her homeland of Poland last weekend. She earned a much-needed win after dropping two straight when she defeated Invicta FC veteran, Jodie Esquibel.
The #1 ranked UFC Strawweight contender happened to be watching Karolina's performance that night and made her thoughts known:
Will @ufc give me this fight? I already asked and I come here to reinforce, I really want this fight, come on @karolinakowalkiewicz
Jessica Andrade is riding high off the biggest victory of her career when she dominated perennial division #2, Claudia Gadelha to a unanimous decision.
The matchup between the two could definitely be next for each. Especially now that Tecia Torres and Michelle Waterson has been made official. We'll see how things shake out at 115.
Author's take
Personally, if I were the matchmaker, Andrade vs Torres was the fight to make to see who gets the next title shot against Joanna Jedrzejczyk or Rose Namajunas (though obviously, Rose winning would mean we would get an instant rematch). But that was prior to both Karolina's win and the Torres vs Waterson fight being made.
Karolina vs Andrade is now more sensible to determine the next contender since Karolina has won again and a win over Andrade would be title shot worthy. The only other problem here is that either victor creates a rematch(assuming Joanna beats Rose) whereas if it was Torres vs Andrade, Torres winning would create a new fight we haven't seen yet.
That's not to say I don't want to see an Andrade vs Joanna rematch. I think it could be very interesting and more competitive a second time around if Andrade makes the proper adjustments. Karolina though, she got a good win but not over anyone ranked and she hasn't really given us a reason yet to believe she could alter a result against Joanna.
#4 Diakiese ready to rebound
Last time we saw Marc Diakiese, he was on the receiving end of his first career loss to fellow prospect, Drakkar Klose.
Diakiese upon entering the UFC was one of the hottest prospects and showed why with the performances he put on afterwards. Kicking his UFC career off with a 3-0 start, Klose's wrestling and aggression were too much for Diakiese in their meeting.
Now the man coined as the "Bonecrusher" finds himself taking on the long and tough striker, Dan "the Hangman" Hooker. A better matchup stylistically for Diakiese, Hooker is coming off of a big win over Ross Pearson in his home of Auckland, New Zealand.
Hooker's UFC career has been a roller coaster ride so far as he has alternated wins and losses in his last seven bouts.
Author's take
This should absolutely be a fun scrap between young, lengthy strikers. I don't really have much to say about it other than that. The fight should primarily take place on the feet and if there are any submissions being attempted expect them to be from Hooker.
#5 Former and current UFC fighters take matters to the squared circle
Matt Riddle has become a pro wrestling sensation on the indie scene since retiring from MMA, and now he'll find himself bringing another UFC veteran from the cage to the ring when he and "Filthy" Tom Lawlor battle it out in Major League Wrestling's main event on December 7 in Orlando, Florida.
Most MMA fans may remember Riddle from his time on season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter or more recently his failures to test cleanly due to frequent advocation and usage of marijuana. Riddle went 8-3 with 2 no contests during his MMA career with all but one of those fights coming in the UFC. He may not have been the best fighter in the world, but he always did his best to put on a good show...and now he's doing it to the fullest potential.
As for Tom Lawlor, this should come as no surprise to see him stepping into a wrestling ring. Just look at how he used to dress up for weigh-ins before Reebok came in and ruined everything.
Any die-hard pro-wrestling fan knows exactly what he was referencing during that weigh-in.
Tom Lawlor is currently suspended from competition until next year due to the usage of banned substances.
Lawlor also happens to be a product of The Ultimate Fighter as he appeared on season 8 which directly follows Riddle's season. Both fighters lost in the elimination round, Lawlor losing to eventual winner, Ryan Bader, and Riddle to Tim Credeur.
Entering the UFC with a 4-1 record back in 2008, Lawlor has been with the promotion ever since and now holds a 10-6 record.
Author's take
I couldn't tell you if this is Tom Lawlor's first pro wrestling match because I don't follow wrestling anymore (outside of the Hardys...).
But I know that Riddle has transitioned perfectly into the world of sports entertainment and has grown very popular so I imagine that he'll end up winning. If it were an MMA fight, I would have to go with Lawlor who, despite his record, has had a better career and has fought more recently.
#6 Rousey moving on from fighting
Sticking with the theme of fighters turning pro wrestler, apparently, Ronda Rousey may not be done taking her place under a spotlight. The former UFC and Strikeforce Bantamweight champion has reportedly begun training at the WWE's performance centre and may be in line to headline the next Wrestlemania event.
Former training partner and MMA fighter Shayna Baszler has already very successfully made the crossover into the wrestling business. Baszler is a close friend of Rousey's and we've already seen some set up for an in-ring debut during the Mae Young Classic which Baszler competed at.
Now, it's all speculation whether or not Rousey will start a career in the WWE and headline Wrestlemania... But the groundwork seems to be getting laid out. Nothing is set in stone, but we will know more as the year comes to an end in the coming months.
Author's take
Don't even care.
#7 Bethe Correia loses fight before it's even announced
January was the month that both Bethe Correia and Irene Aldana had expected to make their returns to the cage. But unfortunately, that will no longer be the case.
Correia announced on Wednesday that she got into an accident and will no longer be able to compete at the undisclosed date.
We at Sportskeeda wish Bethe a speedy and healthy recovery.
Correia last fought as one half of the UFC Fight Night 111: Singapore headliner back in June when she lost to Holly Holm. Her last win came via split decision at UFC 203.
Irene Aldana has had a rough start to her UFC as she's gone 0-2 with losses to Leslie Smith and Katlyn Chookagian.
Author's take
For Aldana, this was a perfect stylistic matchup. She has strong strikes and great overall boxing and kickboxing. Bethe doesn't move as quickly or have much head movement which would give Aldana many opportunities to display her skills to the fullest over a higher ranked opponent.
The problem for Aldana in her first two UFC bouts were just styles making fights against her. She debuted against the always aggressive and durable, Leslie Smith who was on the attack non-stop as she usually is thus giving Aldana no room to breathe.
Then in her second fight, it was the opposite. The fast footwork and feint heavy style of Chookagian made her very hard to find for Aldana. Despite that, she still made things close enough to arguably get her the win.
#8 Hard-hitting Welterweight prospects set to do battle
The "Nigerian Nightmare", Kamaru Usman has proven to be borderline unstoppable in his run with the UFC so far and he hopes to get one step closer to a title shot by taking out Emil "Valhalla" Meek at UFC 219.
Meek, who really put himself on all fans radars when defeating Rousimar Palhares in just forty-five seconds, hasn't fought since UFC 206 when he defeated Jordan Mein in his UFC debut. Meek was supposed to fight Nordine Taleb at UFC Fight Night 109 but was forced out due to injury. He now finds himself running into the red-hot, Usman who is 11-1 and has not lost since his second professional bout.
Now that UFC Sao Paulo has come and gone, it appears directions may be shifting already. Usman posted this on Sunday:
So for one reason or another, Meek may not be able to make it to fight night. Or perhaps the UFC just wants to scrap the match-up altogether as Usman vs Colby Covington is a more sensical fight.
We will just have to wait and see what does or doesn't happen in regards to this fight as time goes on.
Author's take
The fact that the UFC gave Meek this matchup really shows what they think of Meek. Especially so soon. Usman is deserving of a top 10 opponent next as I believe he's already established himself as a top 10er in his own right.
Both men are heavy hitters but Usman is just a strong wrestler. No one has really had success avoiding him taking them down and I think Meek will need to knock him out before he can get the chance. Which is indeed possible. Meek hits very hard and the weakest part Usman's game is his striking defence. But Usman is also improving fight by fight so the window for opponent's to capitalize on his weakness gets smaller and smaller as time goes on.
#9 The two best at Flyweight will battle over Gold
The consensus #1 and #2 at 125 lbs are the current Invicta FC Flyweight champion, Jennifer Maia and the young Polish striker, Agnieszka Niedzwiedz. This will mark as Maia's second title defense and Niedzwiedz first shot at gold.
Maia holds a 14-4-1 record and has been one of the very best for a while now but it wasn't until the Summer of 2015 when she started to really get into a grove and show she was championship caliber. Rattling off five straight victories including wins over the likes of perennial top 5 fighters in the division, Roxanne Modaferri and a loss avenging win over Vanessa Porto.
For Niedzwiedz, she has never tasted defeat and will hope to make it stay that way. She comes in with a perfect 10-0 record after earning the biggest win of her career over previously #2 ranked, Vanessa Porto.
Author's take
This should in no way end up being a bad fight and if it does it will be because Maia dominated the younger and less experienced, Niedzwiedz. Niedzwiedz has never fought in a five round fight so that will be a big test for her as well as going up against someone as talented as Maia.
Maia can do it all. Her best weapon likely being her Jiu-Jitsu, she can still mix it up greatly on the feet with her kick heavy aggressive attacks. Niedzwiedz is more technical and light on her feet so she will look to pick her shots. She showed in her last fight that she can do some nice groundwork herself so it will be interesting to see if she tests the waters with someone like the champ, Maia.
#10 Khabib Nurmagomedov signs contract and will face Edson Barboza at UFC 219
As we first reported to you last week, Edson Barboza said he was offered Khabib Nurmagomedov for UFC 219. And so he was. News broke this week that Khabib had signed his bout agreement and all was good to go.
For one these top 3 Lightweight contenders, a title shot will surely be awaiting the winner...assuming that Conor McGregor and Tony Ferguson fight to unify their titles.
Author's take
It's great to see the Lightweight division moving at the top again. Things have been relatively stagnant ever since the UFC gifted Conor McGregor with a title shot against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205.
The matchup between Khabib and Barboza is your classic grappler vs striker. We know what each plans to do and it will be interesting to see who can do there thing to the other. Pressure hasn't been Barboza's friend in the past and Khabib provides a lot of that for his opponents. The Dagestani destroyer has been unstoppable in his 24-0 career and Barboza will need to keep things standing if he hopes to have any chance.
You would imagine that Barboza's lightning fast leg kicks will be huge in this fight as we've never really seen Khabib get leg kicked very much. Probably because of the threat of takedowns... Due to Barboza's speed, he should avoid being able to get timed during one of these kicks but after so much repetition you're bound to get caught. He will definitely want to mix up his attack.
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and follow me on Twitter: @Dre_Kriggs
