Conor McGregor - Donald Cerrone
Tournament: UFC 246
Date and place: January 18, Las Vegas (USA)
The return of Conor McGregor claims to be the title of not only the main event of January, but of the whole of 2020. Over the past 15 months, he provoked Khabib Nurmagomedov and with all his might sought revenge with the reigning lightweight champion, but did not succeed. The UFC leadership, led by Dana White, did not help, identifying the Russians as rivals first Dustin Porrier and then Tony Ferguson. As a result, the Irishman was forced to go the other way and earn the right to fight Eagle again.
Initially, it might have seemed that McGregor found himself the ideal opponent for the return battle. Donald Cerrone is one of those athletes who have a big name, but have not shown high results for a long time. Peak Cowboy remained in the past, as evidenced by its latest results. In 2019, he spent four fights, but only twice left the octagon in winner status. He prevailed over Alexander Hernandez and Al Yakvinta, after which he suffered two early defeats. At first he could not continue the duel with the same Ferguson, and then was knocked out by Justin Gatzy.
Against the background of all this, coupled with numerous health problems, Cerrone was supposed to be a tidbit for McGregor, but he suddenly decided to fight in the welterweight. The dimensions of the Irish are clearly not enough for a performance in this category, which was perfectly shown by his meetings with Nate Diaz. Due to overweight, he moved slower than usual, and tired much faster. It was this that led to his insulting defeat in the first fight, and also did not allow him to confidently gain the upper hand in the second.
Thus, Conor himself complicated his life and turned the fight with Donald into a lottery. If in lightweight he was very likely to be considered a favorite, then in the category of up to 77 kg his prospects seem more than vague. In Las Vegas, McGregor will have to fight not only with a vis-a-vis, but also with his body, not used to fighting in the conditions of this division.
According to media reports, McGregor expects to defeat Serrone and measure his strength with Masvidal, and then return to lightweight again to meet with Nurmagomedov. Undoubtedly, the battle with the Cowboy will show whether he is able to compete on equal terms with the natural welterweight. Otherwise, his duel with Jorge could turn into a beating, which would deprive him of any chance of a rematch with Habib.
Curtis Blades - Junior dos Santos
Tournament: UFC Fight Night 166
Date and place: January 25, Raleigh (USA)
Another significant event in January will be a duel between two stars of the UFC heavy division. At the moment, Curtis Blades and Junior dos Santos are in the third and fourth places in the ranking, respectively, and their full-time confrontation can determine the future candidate for the belt. True, the chance to compete for the title will have to wait, because the first in line is ex-champion Daniel Cormier.
The leadership of the Absolute Fighting Championship promised Cormier an immediate rematch with Stipe Miocic, but has not yet set a date for the fight. This situation provoked stagnation in the division, which has a number of worthy applicants for the title. With the exception of dos Santos, each of the top 5 representatives has the right to demand a fight for the belt right now and will have every reason for this. However, the UFC could not satisfy the appetites of all athletes, and therefore decided to weed out some of the applicants.
The duel between Blades and dos Santos can safely be considered a kind of semifinal of an impromptu tournament, the winner of which will be the next contender for the belt. In March, Francis Ngannu and Jairzinho Rosenstrike will face off, and the victors of both battles are very likely to converge in the eliminator. Aleksandr Volkov could well have wedged himself into this fight, but a long simple and protracted search for an opponent is unlikely to allow him to timely identify his claims for an honorary title. It is even more offensive that initially it was the Russian who was supposed to fight the Brazilian, but he was injured and was replaced by the shocking, but not the most eminent Greg Hardy.
As for the fight itself, the Blades is a favorite. He has perfect wrestling skills, which can be a key factor. Dos Santos felt rather uncomfortable in battles with rivals of this caliber, which was perfectly demonstrated by his meetings with the same Miocic and Kane Velazquez. If Curtis can transfer Junior to the ground, then he is unlikely to be able to compete with him.
Julia Budd - Chris Saiborg
Bellator Featherweight Title Fight
Tournament: Bellator 238
Date and place: January 25, Inglewood (USA)
Unlike the UFC, Bellator will hold only one tournament in January, the main event of which will be the debut of Christian Justino. The legendary fighter girl, nicknamed Saiborg, left the Absolute Fighting Championship with a scandal, but did not stay out of work for long. Scott Cocker quickly proposed to her and stole one of the most valuable assets from a competitor.
Of course, the defeat of Amanda Nunez spoiled Saiborg's reputation a little, but she remained one of the most stellar female fighters in the history of MMA. Her uncompromising style of conducting fights won her great fame and popularity, and also guaranteed demand until she left the sport. In this regard, Cocker's decision seems completely justified, especially considering the not-so-strong Bellator women's division.
However, this may be the reason that the debut match will remain the highlight of Justino's career in Bellator. The promotion does not have a decent selection of opponents for the Brazilian, and non-competitive fights are not in great demand. Complicating the situation is the fact that the current champion Julia Budd almost “cleaned out” the entire division, taking the upper hand over each of the worthy opponents.
However, the American has almost nothing to oppose the former champion of UFC and Invicta. Budd emphasizes on wrestling, and has fairly average standing skills. Given the power of Saiborg, it will be very difficult for her to pull her into the ground, while spaces in the striking technique will become a serious problem. A Brazilian can easily kill an opponent and win the title in another organization.
Alexey Oleinik - Maurice Green
Tournament: UFC 246
Date and place: January 18, Las Vegas (USA)
Two defeats in a row deprived the Russian athlete of a place in the top ten strongest heavyweights of the UFC, and another one can question his career in the championship. It's no secret that the leadership of the promotion without regret parted with most athletes who are not able to win for three fights. In this regard, Alexey Oleinik needs to make every effort to win the tournament in Las Vegas.
It is worth noting that the opponent is more than suitable for this task. Despite his age, the 33-year-old Maurice Green can hardly be called a sophisticated athlete, as evidenced by his track record of eight victories and three defeats. Moreover, the last of them was inflicted on him by another Russian Sergey Pavlovich. It took the former Fight Nights Global Champion just 2 minutes 11 seconds to knock out the American.
Green has been practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for a long time, as a result of which he received a blue belt, but he is unlikely to be able to oppose Oleinik in this aspect. If Alexey is able to conduct a takedown, then the counterpart will have little chance of resisting him. Nevertheless, the American has a good blow, which may well be the reason for the third consecutive defeat of the Russian in the UFC.
Askar Askarov - Tim Elliott
Tournament: UFC 246
Date and place: January 18, Las Vegas (USA)
At the UFC 246 tournament, another match will take place with the participation of a Russian fighter. Like Oleinik, Askarov will try to improve his position in the largest MMA promotion in the world and win his first victory. In the debut, he did not perform very well and could not break Brandon Moreno's resistance. It is noteworthy that even this did not prevent him from immediately breaking into the rating of the easiest division and immediately finding himself in 12th position.
In the absence of the proper number of strong athletes, a victory over Elliott guarantees Askarov a place in the top 10 and instantly includes him in the fight for the title. In addition to applicants for the belt in the person of Joseph Benavides and Davison Figueiredo, only three representatives of the top 5 won in the last fight, while only Rogerio Bontorin can boast a series of two victories.
Askarov needs to use the opportunity to wedge himself into the belt, and a victory over Tim Elliott can be an excellent confirmation of these intentions. The American is a former contender for the title, and a fight with him will be an excellent test for the Russian.