UFC 165 PREVIEW JONES VS. GUSTAFSSON
MATCHUPS
Nandor Gueimino vs. Daniel Omieianczuk
Two mid-range Heavyweights with a combined 15 submissions. Nandor is coming off a first round submission loss to Josh Barnett and I think this will motivate him to come out aggressive. He will catch the Warsaw Poland native off guard early to a snatch a submission after catching Daniel with punches.
Roland Delorme vs. Alex Caceres
This should be a fun fight. Alex has been looking better and better with each outing. Roland is the better all-around grappler I believe. Alex will keep the fight high paced, but I think this will ultimately lead to Roland Locking up some kind of choke mid-way through the 2nd round.
Michel Prazeres vs. Jess Ronson
Michel gets to welcome Ronson to the UFC. Both fighters are well rounded Michel records almost his wins by submission. Ronson is more of the striker. Ronson will make Michel fight but the Trator will take the unanimous decision.
John Makdessi vs. Renee Forte
John Makdessi will look to make his winning streak 3 in a row against the team Nogueira member. Renee should look to cut the cage off and put Makdessi up against it. There Renee can look to wear him down then take him to the canvas to ground and pound or set up a submission. John’s footwork will be too much and Forte won’t be able to get ahold of the bull. Forte will start to fade then Makdessi will overwhelm Renee with strikes toward the end of the 2nd round.
Mitch Gagnon vs. Dustin Kimura
A battle of fighters with the knack for the submission finish. Dustin has good straight punches and has weakness for hooks and uppercuts. That is one thing Mitch does well that is throw powerful hooks. Mitch also has great top control, submissions and ground and pound. Dustin on the other hand has a great grappling from his back and can take a shot. This leads me to believe they will trade a few shots standing, but whether it be a knockdown or takedown. Mitch will end up on top unable to finish Dustin but taking the UD.
Chris Clements vs. Stephen Thompson
The wonder boy Stephen meets a fellow striker in Clements. Clement is the shorter of the two and uses short power punches to set up spinning back fists and kicks. Stephen will look to stay on outside using his lead side kicks and straight punches to do so. I think Chris’s spin strikes and short punches will get him in close to muscle Thompson in the clinch. Both men will show top notch striking but Chris controlling the fight more to take a split decision.
Mike Ricci vs. Myles Jury
Mike Ricci looked a lot better at lightweight while besting Colin Fletcher. Everyone seems to know Ricci’s potential but his weakest area is his wrestling. This is good
news for Myles. Myles has a great mix of aggression and the ability to shift gears between striking, grappling and submissions. This is be a tough fight for Ricci as I think Myles will always be one step ahead. This will be the reason Jury takes the unanimous decision
Pat Healy vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Pat Healy is the perfect example of a grinder. He will move forward till he gets ahold of his opponent and pushes him up against the cage till he breaks you down. Khabib is an ultra-talented young prospect who is 4-0 in the UFC. Khabib is a great counter puncher with many good slams, trips and suplexs. Pat has great submission defense so I think this will either be a Ko/Tko or decision. The test will be how Khabib is going to handle Pat’s constant forward movement. I see a lot of clinch work from both men with Pat landing in top and grinding out a unanimous decision. The fight will be a lot closer than the score cards will read.
Constantinos Philippou vs. Francis Carmont
Constantinos and Francis are both trying to establish themselves as contenders. Constantinos looked at his best against Tim Boetsch in his last fight. As for Francis has looked a little flat in his last two fights. Both men know the more impressive the win the more their names will be brought up when the middle weight belt is being talked about. If Francis wants to win this he will have to neutralize Constantinos’s striking with some grappling. Philippou’s striking will be too quick and accurate. The tide will sway in Constantinos Favor early in the third for the TKO win.
Brandon Schaub vs. Matt Mitrione
This fight has everything you need to be a co if not main event fight. Both men competed on the Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights. On the show since they both played pro level football they bonded and became good friends. Since the fight has been announced their trash talk to build a fight became a monster of its own. Leading to many heated twitter exchanges. Matt is the bigger of the two men but Brendan being a little bit quicker. Schaub should look to use his speed to get in and out or range when standing and mix in takedowns with his combinations. Matt is really good and drawing opponents into his punches and kicks. This will be harder with a experienced boxer such as Schaub. When it comes to ground work I would go with Brendan in this department. He has a newfound desire to really revamp his ground game, and even without this new focus Brendan was the more versed grappler. Matt has a punchers chance with that being said he is a very talented striker, and could very well take home the win. For Brendan this fight is his to lose. I think he is more technical standing than on the ground. So all he has to do is not take any big risks and that will lead to a late 2nd round TKO or submission.
Renan Barao vs. Eddie Wineland
This fight is for the interim Bantamweight title. Barao is not only able to do it all, but he does it all very well. Barao also mixes everything he has up. Like adding whipping leg kicks on the end of his punch combinations, or shooting just to transition to different submissions. Wineland on the other hand is more of a old school. He uses all the other martial arts to make his dominate skill more dominate. Eddie’s dominate skill is his stand up more accurately his hands. Eddie has great power, accuracy and timing. He is constantly using punches to set up bigger ones. If Eddie wants to win he will have to use his jab to keep his distance and disturb Barao’s offenses. If Eddie can land something big he has a chance. If not Renan will mix it up too much and wear Wineland down to a submission win. I think Barao will get the sub somewhere in the mid-3rd or early 4th round.
Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Jon Jones takes on Alexander Gustafsson for the light heavyweight championship. Not only is the belt on the line for Jones but the chance to set a new record for the light heavyweight title defenses. Jones is at the top of the p4p lists of everyone and for good reason. He has beat the best of the best and since being in the UFC the fans have only got to see a few moments where he was in trouble. Alexander has something none of Jones foe has had before. That is a equal height and reach close to Jones. Both men know how to use their reach. Jones uses his striking while moving backwards and alexander moves forward for the most part. Moving backwards and cutting angles will really open opportunities for Jones to counterpunch. It is almost impossible to kick while moving backward so I think you’ll see Jon counterpunch while alexander is moving forward. Then when he sets up a striking rhythm he will switch it up to takedowns and keep Gustafsson guessing. If Alexander has a chance he will need to use angles while moving forward and put a lot of effort in early. The more time Jones has the better he gets. My thought is Gustafsson will give Jones a few difficult moments in the 1st round. Then Jon will slowly takeover in the second and build on it to a 4rth round rear naked choke.
UFC 165 Start Times
Preliminary bouts online- 6:15 p.m. ET /3:15p.m. PT
Preliminary bouts on Fox Sports 1- 8 p.m.ET/ 5p.m. PT
Main Card Pay-Per-View- 10p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT
Order: www.ufc.com/event/UFC165#howToWatchModule
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