UFC 242 Card Recap

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We’re closing in on a what should end up being a total blast of a UFC card peeps. With such a huge main event it’s easy for the rest of the card to get lost in the shuffle. That’s not gonna happen on my watch as there is some potential for real violence all over the place. Let’s take a deep dive into why this UFC 242 card has me all kinds of fired up. 

Lightweight Championship- Khabib Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Dustin Poirier (ic): Since whooping Conor McGregor’s ass back in October 2018 the talk of the lightweight division has been “When will Khabib fight again?” He took some time off to kick it back in Russia leading the UFC to hold an interim title match between Dustin Poirier and Max Holloway. Poirier dominated the fight leading to him getting this tippy top fight with Khabib. We all known that the Russian is gonna come in looking to ground and pound Poirier out but it may not be that simple. Dustin Poirier is the best he’s ever been and maybe more importantly he is as tough as they come. Outside of Tony Ferguson, who will face the winner down the road, I think Dustin is the next biggest challenge for Khabib. Dustin has legit ‘fuck you up’ hands along with a sheer will to win that can only be described as Herculean. On the flip side Khabib has hinted that retirement is coming sooner rather than later a win over Poirier followed by the showdown with Ferguson could be the perfect cap off. Snoop Dogg level of high stakes here y’all. 

Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder: This one needs no hype as the two went to war back in 2015 in a MOTN winner. Barboza won the initial fight via unanimous decision but no doubt both men will be looking for a finish this go around. Felder has won four of his last five including an impressive win over James Vick in his return to lightweight this past February. Barboza is on the other side of the coin as he’s lost three of his last four including getting knocked out by Justin Gaethje in March. Beyond all that these two are just straight savages looking to kick(Edson) and punch(Paul) the other to complete oblivion. 

Islam Makhachev vs. Davi Ramos: Both men are coming in confident as they each are coming in on solid win streaks. This one is gonna be a fun as both bring in really high level of grappling along with submission game. They each hold seven wins by submission across their career so expect a real battle on the mat when this one gets kicked off. Islam is currently ranked #15 in the UFC lightweight rankings so an impressive win on Saturday could go a long way for the Russian judoka. 

Curtis Blaydes vs. Shamil Abdurakhimov: The only fight that isn’t at lightweight on the main card as the big boys at heavyweight throwing down. Of their combined 31 wins we’ve seen 17 end by way of knockout. Throw in the fact that both men are ranked in the top 10 HW rankings and are looking to climb that ladder fast it’s probably best to not blink in this one. 

Mairbek Taisumov vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira: Since getting knocked out by Dusitn Poirier back in 2015 Carlos has won four in a row including two super impressive TKO victories. He’ll be facing off with a man that’s not hear to fuck around. Mairbek Taisumov has finished five of his last six including three POTN bonuses along the way. He did miss weight in his last fight which will absolutely be something to pay attention to when it comes to weigh in time. If he’s wanting to make some noise in a division with so many killers that’s gonna have to be nipped in the bud starting with this fight. 

Prelim Highlights

Joanne Calderwood vs. Andrea Lee: I love JoJo y’all! She always comes to fight and she’ll need to as Andrea Lee is riding high right now. Since signing with the UFC Lee is 3-0 and that includes a FOTN win over Veronica Macedo. Calderwood is coming off a decision loss just a couple of months ago at UFC 238. A win over Andrea would have JoJo back on track in a division that’s looking for stars. 

Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Lerone Murphy: It’s been over three years since we’ve seen Zubaira in the octagon. He was riding high on a nine fight winning streak before losing a tough split decision to Renato Moicano back at UFC 198. Since, he’s sat through a two year ban due to failing an out of competition drug test then was out right pulled from a fight night card because of his role in the infamous post fight melee between Teams Khabib/McGregor at UFC 229. He’s facing off with a young man that comes in 5-0 and is making his UFC debut. There’s a lot going on here y’all. 

Belal Muhammad vs. Takashi Sato: Another underrated fight that could be straight fireworks. Sato had a hell of a debut in April with a vicious TKO victory over Ben Saunders which pushed his record to 15-2. Muhammad sits at 15-3 and has been a UFC staple over the past three years with nine appearances inside the octagon since July 2016. This one has the makings of a fire fight. 

Teemu Packalen vs. Ottman Azaitar: Two badass names for two badass dudes. Another UFC debut as Ottman brings his 11-0 record with 10 finishes into a humdinger of a matchup with Teemu. Packalen has had some growing pains since entering the octagon with a 1-2 record for the UFC after starting 6-0. Teemu is coming off a knockout loss in his last contest which may not be a great sign heading into a matchup with a man nicknamed “Bulldozer.” 

UFC 242 kicks off Saturday September 7 from Abu Dhabi with the prelims getting started with the Prelims getting started at 9am with the main card popping off at 1pm. 

John Mosley is the independent wrestling correspondent of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose.

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