THE UFC TOUCHES down in Sweden this weekend and with it brings a last-minute main event change as well as an Irishman promising to shake things up in the featherweight division.
The news that headliner Alexander Gustafsson had to pull out of his scheduled bout with Gegard Mousassi may have taken the shine of the event slightly but that blow should be well and truly softened by the debut of Dubliner Conor McGregor.
Elsewhere, Ross Pearson takes on Ryan Couture, son of UFC legend Randy, while Matt Mitrione, Brad Pickett and Diego Brandao are all in action on a strong main card for a European event.
Notorious Mc G
If the outcome of a fight was determined on self-confidence alone, Irishman Conor McGregor would be vying with Chael Sonnen for the number one spot in the pound-for-pound rankings.
The John Kavanagh-trained MMA phenom has proved his mettle on these shores by becoming a two-weight Cage Warriors champion and has been called up to the big league to test himself against the sport’s elite. Aside from talking the talk, McGregor has already proven that he walk the walk. Eleven of his twelve wins have come via KO or TKO (including a sub five second KO), the other coming via submission. He is extremely strong for his size and couples a flamboyant and unpredictable stand-up game with a solid and underrated ground game.
His opponent, Marcus Brimage, is a sturdy, compact southpaw who is unbeaten in his UFC tenure winning all three of his fights through decisions and he is by no means a soft touch, if McGregor is to win, he is going to have to earn it. But earn it he should. McGregor has come across as very affable but seriously determined in his recent media outings and he seems very focussed on winning while still being aware of all the pressure he is under as the new face of MMA in Ireland.
His exuberant self-confidence is matched only by his talent for fighting and a Conor McGregor win will help Irish MMA no end. Here’s hoping he catches Brimage with a shot like this:
YouTube credit: John Kavanagh
McGregor’s fight will air live on Facebook around 6pm this evening. Simply go to the UFC page, “like” it, and see all the prelim fights for free.
Best of the rest
Gegard Mousassi makes his long-awaited UFC debut but instead of facing Alexander Gustafsson, he takes on his training partner and late stand in Ilir Latifi. Latifi stepped in on a weeks’ notice after Gustafsson was pulled and is really up against it in his home country.
Mousassi has talent to burn and seems to have got over his motivational issues by winning his last three fights on the bounce. He has previously been a champion at both light heavyweight and middleweight and while Latifi must be applauded for stepping up at such short notice, it could be a debut to forget for the imposing Swede.
Another man making his UFC debut is Ryan Couture and he faces Ross Pearson in the lightweight division. Despite his famous dad, Ryan is here purely on his own merit winning six of his seven Strikeforce fights and this could be a tight affair.
Brad Pickett’s scrap with Mike Easton is the early favourite for “Fight of the Night” honours as both men set a relentless pace, with the Englishman looking to edge out Easton with his superior boxing skills.
Diego Brandao is one of the most ruthlessly aggressive fighters in the UFC and he has Pablo Garza in his sights while Matt Mitrione will be looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats as he faces Phil De Fries in the heavyweight division.
YouTube credit: lantz1222
