UFC 207: Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey Fight Card Preview and Predictions
Saturday's UFC 206 had no name-brand value, and a big reason for that was the thoroughly stacked UFC 207. With Ronda Rousey set to make her long-awaited return to MMA opposite women's bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, the UFC packed this card with talent. Check out the full card here:
- Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey
- Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez
- TJ Dillashaw vs. John Lineker
- Johny Hendricks vs. Neil Magny
- Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tarec Saffiedine
- Mike Pyle vs. Alex Garcia
- Louis Smolka vs. Ray Borg
- Tim Means vs. Alex Oliveira
- Antonio Carlos Junior vs. Marvin Vettori
- Brandon Thatch vs. Niko Price
With UFC 207 just three weeks away, it's worth taking a look at some of the best fights on the card.
So read on and get a quick taste of what awaits on Friday, December 30.
Dong Hyun Kim vs. Tarec Saffiedine
1 of 5
Division: Welterweight
Records: Dong Hyun Kim (21-3-1), Tarec Saffiedine (16-5)
Despite being largely forgotten about, Dong Hyun Kim and Tarec Saffiedine are two of the best fighters at 170 pounds.
Kim has been a fringe top-10 name for years now thanks to the successful conversion of his judo skills into a potent grinding game that has made victims of a number of formidable competitors, including Nate Diaz. Saffiedine, meanwhile, won Strikeforce’s welterweight title in the organization’s final bout with a brilliant display of technical striking and, even in a deep division, remains a unique commodity.
Unfortunately, while both men are excellent fighters, their careers have gone sideways through poorly timed losses and long injury layoffs. That makes this an important matchup for both fighter as they face off with a Top 10 spot on the line...but it's still a matchup with an all but certain outcome.
While Saffiedine is a formidable fighter in his own right, he has a well-established weakness to highly skilled grapplers, and that describes Kim to a T. Kim will keep the action along the cage, score takedowns and either use that to secure an easy decision or possibly do enough damage to earn the stoppage.
Prediction: Dong Hyun Kim defeats Tarec Saffiedine by unanimous decision.
TJ Dillashaw vs. John Lineker
2 of 5
Division: Bantamweight
Records: TJ Dillashaw (13-3), John Lineker (29-7)
John Lineker’s UFC career has been a strange one. He had long been regarded as an upper-tier flyweight, but his consistent inability to make weight dashed his title hopes. In 2015, though, he left that brutal weight cut behind to join the bantamweight division. While he is undersized at 135 pounds, his diverse arsenal of punches and pure power have seen him break off four straight wins and establish himself as a Top 10 fighter as a result.
At UFC 207, he looks to crack into the title picture for the first time in his UFC career at the expense of former bantamweight champ TJ Dillashaw. That’s a tall order, though.
A former champion, Dillashaw took the bantamweight crown with one of the bloodiest coups in UFC history, beating Renan Barao in lopsided fashion at UFC 173. He would defend his throne twice before dropping a narrow split decision to Dominick Cruz, but despite that he is still regarded by many as the best fighter in the division due to his cardio, knockout power and nigh-bulletproof takedown defense.
The odds are stacked against Lineker here, but he does have a window to victory. Dillashaw has, in recent years, been something of a slow starter. In a three-round fight, that could open the door for Lineker to score a decision victory. That isn’t an especially probable outcome, though.
Prediction: TJ Dillashaw defeats John Lineker by unanimous decision.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez 2
3 of 5
Division: Heavyweight
Records: Fabricio Werdum (21-6), Cain Velasquez (14-2)
In 2015, both Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum held the heavyweight title. Exiting 2016, both men are praying for another crack at gold.
There’s little question that both fighters are elite talents in the division. Velasquez’s high-level wrestling and athleticism saw him maul his way to the belt in 2010, capping that run with a steamrolling of Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. Meanwhile, Werdum’s crafty, well-rounded game has kept him a force at the top of the division for almost a decade and has allowed him to dispatch a who’s who of legendary opponents.
These two faced off once before at UFC 188, which saw Velasquez post an uncharacteristically weak performance culminating in a third-round submission loss. For where either man is in his career, however, this fight may be even more important than their last showdown.
Werdum, now 39 years old, is close to retirement and likely has only one run at the title left in him. Velasquez, despite being younger (34), is likely in the same boat due to his extensive injury history (he stated earlier this month he has already scheduled his next surgery) and soon-to-be-frosty relationship with the company.
With the UFC having relatively limited options outside these two, the winner could secure a title shot with a win at UFC 207. Velasquez, despite his previous loss to Werdum, is the safer bet based on his wrestling skills and the three-round length of this fight.
Prediction: Cain Velasquez defeats Fabricio Werdum by unanimous decision.
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Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt
4 of 5
Division: Bantamweight
Records: Dominick Cruz (22-1), Cody Garbrandt (10-0)
Dominick Cruz vs. Cody Garbrandt is the ultimate showdown of polar opposites.
Cruz is a cerebral assassin in and out of the cage. His pre-fight banter is downright savage; he openly tells opponents their every weakness, brags about how he will exploit their deficiencies and laughs as they try in vain to return fire on the mic. Then, more importantly, he backs it up with his elusive style that flusters foes as they catch air on every swing.
Garbrandt is more, let’s say, meat and potatoes. He’ll call opponents names and jaw when they get face-to-face but offers nothing beyond the usual “MMA tough guy” shtick. In the cage, though, he has true one-hit-knockout power, which is complemented by his well-polished defensive wrestling.
The contrast of styles, alongside the contrast of personalities, makes this a tantalizing matchup, and the fact that both men remain somewhat unknown commodities only adds to that.
How far Garbrandt has advanced as a fighter is still unclear at this point, given that he has just 10 professional fights and few of them have lasted long. How Cruz feels physically is, unfortunately, a question that will haunt him for a long time after several long layoffs due to injury.
Cruz is the more established fighter and, as such, is the safer bet to win. Don’t be surprised if one of Garbrandt’s heavy punches slips through Cruz’s guard and turns the fight upside down, though.
Prediction: Dominick Cruz defeats Cody Garbrandt by unanimous decision.
Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey
5 of 5
Division: Women's Bantamweight
Records: Amanda Nunes (13-4), Ronda Rousey (12-1)
The UFC women’s bantamweight division has been defined by its parity. An endless stream of seemingly legitimate contenders have been upended by hot young upstarts time and again. Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm and even the reigning champion Amanda Nunes have, at one time or another, shown glaring holes in their game and been soundly defeated.
The only fighter in the division to have a prolonged stretch of dominance is former champ Ronda Rousey.
Starting with her first victory over Tate, who was then the champion of Strikeforce, Rousey quickly established herself as the best woman in MMA alongside Cris “Cyborg” Justino. Her intense aura, camera-friendly appearance and utter savagery in the cage made her into MMA’s first bona fide A-list celebrity and turned her into something of a cult of personality among the mainstream populace.
That made her UFC 193 loss to Holly Holm a genuine shock. Even more shocking was her retreat from the public eye afterward. In less than 10 minutes, Rousey went from being a force of nature to being tragically human, and that makes her fight with Nunes a complete mystery.
Nunes, at her best, is a lightning bolt. She is powerful and destructive and disappears in an instant. While she has improved technically over the years, she doesn’t last long in fights, with her grappling skills often being the first thing to fade.
That would be a tailor-made matchup for the Rousey who defeated Alexis Davis, Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia in about one minute combined...but does that Rousey still exist? Or has she been replaced by the checked-out, emotionally uninvested Rousey who flailed her way to one of the most stunning losses in UFC history? It's tough to guess, but that’s what will decide this fight.
If Rousey, as the UFC is implying, returns angrier and hungrier than ever, it will likely lead to a fairly dominant win for her. If she doesn’t? Nunes could truck right through Rousey inside a round.
Despite her less-than-graceful response to the loss to Holm, Rousey has historically bounced back from adversity well. Her judo career, after all, culminated with her dusting herself off after a loss and claiming a bronze medal.
Because of that, the prediction here is...
Prediction: Ronda Rousey defeats Amanda Nunes by submission in Round 2.
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