UFC 197: Rumored to Feature McGregor/RDA and Holm/Tate

Who wins in a potential fight?

Rafael dos Anjos

Conor McGreggor

polling

Who wins in a potential fight?

Holly Holm

Miesha Tate

Quiz Maker

The MMA world is buzzing about the news of a possible headliner and co-headliner between some of the UFC's biggest stars.  It has been rumored that the UFC soon be announcing title fights between UFC Lightweight Champion, Rafael do Anjos, and UFC Featherweight Champion, Conor McGregor at UFC 197 in March.  Rumors are also spreading that Holly Holm will be defending her UFC Womens' Bantamweight Championship against longtime contender and former Strikeforce Champion, Miesha Tate.  The fight has yet to be confirmed by the UFC, but sources are confident that these two title fights will be happening.  Stay posted to Tough Spar MMA for the latest news regarding this fight on our Facebook Page Tough Spar MMA and our Twitter @Toughsparmma.

UFC 195 Results

UFC 195 Complete Results
Pay-per-view

UFC Welterweight Championship: Robbie Lawler def. Carlos Condit via Split Decision
Heavyweight: Stipe Miocic def. Andrei Arlovski via KO Round 1
Welterweight: Albert Tumenov def. Lorenz Larkin via split decision
Featherweight: Brian Ortega def. Diego Brandao via Submission Round 3
Lightweight: Abel Trujillo def. Tony Sims via submission Round 1

Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Bantamweight: Michael McDonald def. Masanori Kanehara by submission Round 2
Welterweight: Alex Morono def. Kyle Noke via split decision
Women's Strawweight: Justine Kish def. Nina Ansaroff via unanimous decision
Lightweight: Drew Dober def. Scott Holtzman via unanimous decision

UFC Fight Pass Prelims
Lightweight: Dustin Poirier def. Joe Duffy via unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Michinori Tanaka def. Joe Soto via split decision
Welterweight: Sheldon Westcott def. Edgar Garcia via TKO Round 1.

UFC 195 Weigh-in Results

Who wins at UFC 195?--Tough Spar MMA

Robbie Lawler - Decision

Robbie Lawler - KO

Robbie Lawler - Submission

Carlos Condit - Decision

Carlos Condit - KO

Carlos Condit - Submission

Poll Maker

Below is the Weigh-in video for UFC 195:

Main card:

Robbie Lawler (170) vs. Carlos Condit (169)

Stipe Miocic (241.5) vs. Andrei Arlovski (246.5)

Albert Tumenov (171) vs. Lorenz Larkin (171)

Diego Brandao (146) vs. Brian Ortega (145.5)

Abel Trujillo (156) vs. Tony Sims (156)


Undercard:

Michael McDonald (136) vs. Masanori Kanehara (135)

Kyle Noke(170.5) vs. Alex Morono (170)

Justine Kish (116) vs. Nina Ansaroff (116)

Drew Dober (155.5) vs. Scott Holtzman (155.5)

Dustin Poirier (155.5) vs. Joseph Duffy (155)

Joe Soto (135.5) vs. Michinori Tanaka (135.5)

Edgar Garcia (170) vs. Sheldon Westcott (170)

UFC 195 Preview

The UFC has released two fights for us via YouTube to get us hyped for the upcoming UFC 195 showdown in Las Vegas.  The main event features a showdown between two fan favorite fighters.  Carlos Condit challenges Robbie Lawler for his UFC Welterweight Championship on January 2, 2016.

The challenger, Carlos Condit, is not a stranger to championship gold, as he is a former Interim UFC Welterweight Champion and former WEC Welterweight Champion.  Condit defended his WEC title in three battles before jumping over to the UFC to face greater competition.  He would eventually work his way to an interim title shot and eventual clash with then champion, Georges St. Pierre.

Robbie Lawler is a UFC veteran that most early fans of the sport remember for his wild, yet effective striking and knockout power from the early years of the UFC.  Lawler would eventually part ways with the UFC in 2004.  He would go on to fight for Elite XC as well as Strikeforce (at 185lbs) before returning to the UFC in 2013.  Lawler got a chance to fight for the vacant UFC Welterweight title in 2014 against Johnny Hendricks after Georges St. Pierre stepped away from competition.  Lawler would lose the bout to Hendricks, but eventually get a rematch with Hendricks and earn the victory the second time around.

Both men have evolved tremendously over the years, but one could argue that Lawler has had the greatest evolution in MMA that we have ever seen.  Both men are warriors and don't back down from a fight.  Both men a well rounded and possess the ability to finish a fight.  MMA fans, we are in for a treat!  Not to mention - Andre Arlovski vs. Stipe Miocic.  Enjoy the fights!

Here is the Countdown video for the Main Event:

Here is the Countdown video for the Co-main event:

Who wins at UFC 195?--Tough Spar MMA

Robbie Lawler - Decision

Robbie Lawler - KO

Robbie Lawler - Submission

Carlos Condit - Decision

Carlos Condit - KO

Carlos Condit - Submission

Poll Maker

TUF Latin America PLUS Velasquez vs. Werdum Announced

UFC fans, I am pleased to report that the UFC is finally trying it's hand at the Latin American community as the will finally be hosting a season of the Ultimate Fighter Latin America.  This season will feature fighters from various countries in the Latin America region.  The show will beginning filming very shortly with May 12th as the estimated date to begin filming.  UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez and #1 Contender, Fabricio Werdum are going to be coaching against each other and are expected to face off against each other at UFC 180 in Mexico City, Mexico on November 15.  This will be the UFC's first fight card taking place in Mexico in the company's 20 year existence.  This TUF season will feature fighters from smaller weight classes as featherweights and bantamweights will compete for a coveted spot in the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster. 

The Latin region is a hot bed for talented fighters in combat sports especially boxing.  Though boxing is the largest combat sport in Latin America, MMA is growing at a rapid speed and we are beginning to see more Latin fighters competing with the best in the world in MMA.  Latin fighters tend to have a in-your-face exiting style that always leaves fans wanting more.  If you don't believe me, go watch a Erik Perez, Roger Huerta or Leonard Garcia fight and you'll thank me.  I think that this season will be a great move the UFC and will offer more talent for two the UFC's weakest divisions in my opinion.  The Featherweight Division has a decent talent pool, but there is nothing exciting about the UFC's bantamweight division if you mention it without the name Renan Barao.  Hopefully this season is able to bring two fighters that can give Jose Aldo, Renan Barao and Nova Uniao a run for their money.

I have a great deal of optimism for this season of the Ultimate Fighter and hope that it will be as successful as the Ultimate Fighter Brazil and similar TUF foreign spinoffs.  I can't wait to see the title fight between Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum in November.  I like the idea of seeing a huge fight between Cain and someone who is as dynamic as he is.  Before a loss to dos Santos during his first run, Werdum was so close to a title shot and we could have possibly seen he and Velasquez possible fight earlier in their careers.  I feel that Werdum presents probably the biggest challenge to the Heavyweight Champion to date.  He has faced hard-hitting strikers such as Junior dos Santos and Cheick Kongo and great wrestlers like Brock Lesner and Ben Rothwell, but he has never faced a fighter with a high-level BJJ pedigree such as Werdum.  Not only great jui jitsu is possessed by Werdum, but a scarily improving stand-up game that proved to be too much for a KO artist in Travis Browne.  Also it has been about 3 1/2 years since we saw Velasquez face a  fighter that is named Junior dos Santos or Antonio Silva and it is refresshing to see him face a new  challenge.

I feel that Cain Velasquez can beat Werdum, but I think that he will truly be challenged for the first time in his career as the champion.  I am thrilled at the announcement of the new season of TUF and the announcement of the coming title fight in November.

UFC 172: Event Results

Main Card:

Jon Jones def. Glover Teixeira via unanimous decision
Anthony Johnson def. Phil Davis via unanimous decision
Luke Rockhold def. Tim Boetsch via submission (kimura)
Jim Miller def. Yancy Medeiros via submission (guillotine choke)
Max Holloway def. Andre Fili via submission (guillotine choke)

Preliminary Card:

Joseph Benavidez def. Tim Elliott via submission (guillotine)
Takanori Gomi def. Isaac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision
Bethe Correia def. Jessamyn Duke via unanimous decision
Danny Castillo def. Charlie Brenneman via second-round KO (0:21)
Chris Beal def. Patrick Williams via second-round KO (1:51)

UFC 172: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Jon Jones (205) vs. Glover Teixeira (205)
Phil Davis (205.5) vs. Anthony Johnson (205)
Tim Boetsch (185.5) vs. Luke Rockhold (185.5)
Yancy Medeiros (155.5) vs. Jim Miller (155)
Andre Fili (145) vs. Max Holloway (145)

Preliminary Card:

Joseph Benavidez (125.5) vs. Timothy Elliott (125.5)
Takanori Gomi (155.5) vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg (155.5)
Bethe Correia (135) vs. Jessamyn Duke (135.5)
Charlie Brenneman (155.5) vs. Danny Castillo (156)
Chris Beal (135) vs. Patrick Williams (135)

Velasquez Returns Before End of Year;Faces Werdum/Browne Winner

UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez, is expected to make his return back to action before the end of this year according UFC President Dana White.  We haven't seen Velasquez in action since UFC 166 in November 2013.  It was expected that Velasquez was to make his next defense against Fabricio Werdum in Mexico in April, but a shoulder injury has caused the champion to stay sidelined since November.  There was also a TUF Mexico/Latin America that was expected to be coached by Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum before there title fight that was also haulted due to the injury.  Fabricio Werdum didn't want to sit around and wait for the title fight, so he now faces Travis Browne this weekend and the winner of that bout will get Velasquez when he returns.  If everything goes as planned, the UFC wants Velasquez to return before the end of the year and face this weekend's winner in Mexico for the UFC's first show in Mexico.

Alexis Davis Meets Ronda Rousey at UFC 175

The UFC has announced that top contender, Alexis Davis will be competing for the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship at UFC 175 on July 5th.  Davis currently has a 16-5 record in her MMA career and is currently 3-0 in the UFC.  She holds significant over some of WMMA's best fighters including Julie Kedzie, Amanda Nunes, Shana Baszler, Rosi Sexton, Liz Carmouche and most recently Jessica Eye.  Alexis Davis is a very well-rounded fighter with amazing striking and grappling.

The current UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey has been an unstoppable force since arriving to WMMA.  She is undefeated and has been competing on a high-level since she began her career.  Ronda Rousey has been able to finish all nine of her opponents.  She has 8 submission wins and 1 TKO win with 8 of 9 fights ending in the first round.

It will be an interesting fight for Rousey seeing as Davis is truly the most well-rounded opponent that Rousey has faced.  Seeing how easily Davis beat Liz Carmouche in their fight is truly a testament to her skills.  She is a master at technical striking and a genius on the ground.  Though I might not be a huge fan of Ronda Rousey, I can't deny how talented that she truly is.  I feel that in a few years we will be talking about her in a similar way that we talk about Anderson Silva, Fedor and Big Nog.  She has been a true superstar in not only WMMA, but in MMA in general.  Ronda Rousey has the ability to overwhelm her opponents with her inhuman Judo abilities and her signature armbar.  She has already beaten some of the best in the world and Alexis Davis will be no exception.

UFC 172: Extended Preview

UFC: Demetrious Johnson Faces Ali Bagautinov in Fourth Title Defense

The UFC has made it publict that UFC 174 now has a main event.  UFC 174 will be headlined by a title fight between UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson and Ali Bagautinov in Vancouver.  This will be the fourth title defense since Johnson won the title at UFC 152 in 2012.  Demetrius Johnson has been able to go undefeated since dropping down to 125 lbs from 135lbs.  The UFC first introduced the Flyweight division in early 2012 when Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall fought to a draw in the first ever flyweight match up.

Ali Bagautinov is on an 11-fight win streak coming into his title fight with Demetrious Johnson at UFC 174.  The former Fight Nights Flyweight champion, Bagautinov has a 3-0 record in since making his debut in the UFC at UFC Fight Night 28.  Bagautinov has shown technical striking as well as elite grappling.  Not many contenders are available in the Flyweight division now that Demetrious Johnson has defeated Joseph Benavidez in December.

Bagautinov is the only worthy opponent since Johnson has already defeated John Dodson and Joseph Benavidez.  Bagautinov will present a challenge for Johnson as he is just as well-rounded as Johnson, but Johnson has made all of the stand-out flyweights just look average against him in the UFC and I see things remaining the same even against Bagautinov.

TJ Dillashaw Gets a Shot at Barao at UFC 173

UFC 173 on May 24th was originally scheduled to showcase a title fight between UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman and Lyoto Machida, but an injury has forced that match to be postponed until UFC 175 .  Now the UFC has put the undisputed Bantamweight Champion Renan Barao in the main event spot against T.J. Dillashaw.  Dillashaw is 9-2 in his professional career and 5-2 since joining the UFC. Dillashaw is a technical fighter with enough skills to put on a decent fight against Barao but I see Barao coming away with the victory.

Bellator 114: Event Results

Main Card:

Alexander Shlemenko def. Brennan Ward via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2
Daniel Weichel def. Matt Bessette via unanimous decision
Desmond Green def. Will Martinez via unanimous decision
Brett Cooper def. Kendall Grove via knockout (punches) – Round 2

Preliminary Card:

Rad Martinez def. Edson Berto via unanimous decision
Justin Wilcox def. Jason Fischer via unanimous decision
Bubba Jenkins def. Sean Powers via unanimous decision
Linton Vassell def. Trevor Carlson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2
Gavin Sterritt def. Mike Estus via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1
Joe Rodriguez def. Eric Wahlin via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2

UFC 173: Main Event Rescheduled to UFC 175 in July

It seems that UFC Middleweight Champion, Chris Weidman, has suffered a knee injury and has been forced to pull out of his second title defense against Lyoto Machida. The match has now been moved to UFC 175 on July 5th.  This now leaves the UFC 173 card without a main event.  They could make the heavyweight clash between dos Santos and Miocic the main event, but that is doubtful.

Dan Henderson, who is coming off of a TKO win in Brazil this weekend, has petitioned for a rematch with Machida to fill in for the main event card.  I also find this rematch unlikely to replace the main event, though I wouldn't mind seeing that fight.  We will have to wait and see the fate of UFC 173.

UFC 171: Are You Not Entertained? Hendricks and Lawler Deliver!

UFC fans and MMA fans, we had a show last night.  I must say that I was absolutely entertained by the events from last night.  We saw the undefeated stay undefeated.  We saw a new UFC Welterweight Champion crowned in one of the most entertaining main event fights in a while.  I won't keep you long, for full event card results click here.


Saturday night we witnessed a slugfest in the UFC 171 main event for the UFC Welterweight Division.  We saw a fight in which both men literally gave everything and stood their ground when the bell rang for the fight to begin.  It was a back and forth fight in which both men looked like winners as they put their heart and skills to the test against each other.  In the first round, both men came out strategic, but hungry as they traded shots.  Both men stood right in front of each other with Hendricks gaining the round by a very small margin due to his diversity of strikes.  Hendricks not only threw his excellent hands, but we saw him actually attacking Lawler with leg kicks that threw off Lawler's defense.  In the second round Hendricks continued with more of the same.  Lawler continued to trade with him and land shots of his own, but it wasn't enough to earn the round.

In the third round of the clash, we saw Robbie Lawler fire some of the best blows that I've ever seen landed on Johny Hendricks in the UFC. He was able to halt the offense of Hendricks when he rocked him on a few occasions. Hendricks was in trouble for the first time in his UFC career.  There was a moment in which the crowd that was partial to Hendricks during the first two round, began to cheer for Lawler. In the fourth round, Lawler continued to rain down left and right after left and right. Johny Hendricks also came out more composed in the fourth and was able to regain his rhythm  and composure and go blow for blow with Lawler.

When the fourth round was over you knew that the fight even going into the fifth.  Hendricks took the first two rounds and Lawler taking the third and fourth.  Both men came out swinging and standing toe-to-toe.  Both men exchanged blows and didn't back down.  Neither man was willing to let the other man what they had worked so hard for.  The fight was close and hard to call all the way untile Johny Hendricks landed a successful takedown that would inevitably secure the victory.  Had Hendricks not landed the takedown, it would've been a tough round to judge.

No matter who would have won, it couldn't have been a bad decision as both men put forth their best work.  It was an amazing fight that I recommend everyone watch if you missed it.  You will not be disappointed.  It was a battle between two of the best in the UFC's Welterweight Division.

UFC 171: Event Results

Main Card:

Johny Hendricks def. Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision
Tyron Woodley def. Carlos Condit via TKO injury Round 2
Myles Jury def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision
Hector Lombard def. Jake Shields via unanimous decision
Ovince St. Preux def. Nikita Krylov via Von Flue Choke Round 1

Preliminary Card:

Kelvin Gastelum def. Rick Story via split decision
Jessica Andrade def. Raquel Pennington via split decision
Dennis Bermudez def. Jim Hettes via TKO Round 3
Alex Garcia def. Sean Spencer via split decision
Frank Trevino def. Renee Forte by unanimous decision
Justin Scoggins def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision
Sean Strickland def.  Bubba McDaniel via rear naked choke Round 1
Daniel Pineda def. Robert Whiteford via unanimous decision

Bellator 112: Event Results

Main Card:

Pat Curran def. Daniel Straus via submission (rear naked choke) Round 5
Andrey Koreshkov def. Nah Shon Burrell via TKO at 0:41 of Round 1
Sam Oropeza def. Cristiano Souza via KO Round 1
Adam McDonough def. Jesse Juarez via unanimous decision

Preliminary Card:

Nathan Coy def. Paul Bradley via unanimous decision
Belal Muhammad def. A.J. Matthews via unanimous decision
Darrion Caldwell def. Lance Surma via submission (guillotine choke) Round 1
Derek Loffer def. Bobby Reardanz via unanimous decision
Anthony Gomez def. Jason Guida via unanimous decision
Daniel James def. Erick Correa via submission (due to strikes) Round 2

UFC 171: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Robbie Lawler (170)
Carlos Condit (170.5) vs. Tyron Woodley (170)
Diego Sanchez (155) vs. Myles Jury (156)
Jake Shields (171) vs. Hector Lombard (170)
Ovince St. Preux (205) vs. Nikita Krylov (205)

Preliminary Card:

Kelvin Gastelum (171) vs. Rick Story (170.5)
Raquel Pennington (135.5) vs. Jessica Andrade (135)
Dennis Bermudez (146) vs. Jimy Hettes (145.5)
Sean Spencer (170) vs. Alex Garcia (170.5)
Renee Forte (157) vs. Frank Trevino (155)
Will Campuzano (125.5) vs. Justin Scoggins (125)
Robert McDaniel (184.5) vs. Sean Strickland (185)
Daniel Pineda (145) vs. Robert Whiteford (145)

Bellator 112: Weigh-in Results

Main Card:

Daniel Straus (145.5) vs. Pat Curran (144.7)
Nah-Shon Burrell (171) vs. Andrey Koreshkov (170.7)
Cristiano Souza (170.8) vs. Sam Oropeza (170.2)
Jesse Juarez (170.7) vs. Adam McDonough (170.5)

Preliminary Card:

Paul Bradley (170.8) vs. Nathan Coy (170.5)
A.J. Matthews (170.5) vs. Belal Muhammad (170.7)
Lloyd Carter (136.1) vs. Diego Marlon (136.6)
Darrion Caldwell (145.7) vs. Lance Surma (146)
Derek Loffer (169) vs. Bobby Reardanz (169)
Jason Guida (213.5) vs. Anthony Gomez (214) Catchweight bout
Erick Correa (263.5) vs. Daniel James (265)

UFC171: Countdown to UFC 171

Below are the two major portions from the UFC's Countdown to UFC 171.  The event features a battle of two great knockout artists Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks clashing for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship.  Also in the co-main event, Carlos Condit faces rapidly rising star Tyron Woodley.  With a win, Carlos Condit has been guaranteed a title shot.