Anyone that knows me or listens to Sportscall on a regular basis knows that I’m such a big fight fan, whether it’s MMA or boxing. Boxing was my first love and I’ll always follow that a little bit closer than MMA, but I still follow MMA well enough to have more than a few thoughts on tonight’s UFC 120 fight card in London, England. (BTW: The fights are actually on this afternoon here in Canada…)
A local note before we get into the main fights. Ottawa’s own Mark Boots” Holst will be on the undercard as he takes on undefeated English prospect Paul Sass. Holst is 8-2 and coming off a disappointing unanimous decision loss to John Gunderson at the Ultimate Fighter finale in June. Meanwhile, Sass comes in at 10-0 with 9 wins by way of submission. Two of his ten fights have made it past the first round, so he likes to work quickly. Holst goes in as a 2-1 underdog. My heart hopes that he pulls it out ‘cause he was an awesome guy to talk MMA with over the summer, but it looks as though the UFC is using Holst as an opponent to build up Sass.
The main event pits England’s own Michael “The Count” Bisping up against Japan’s heart-throb Yoshihiro Akiyama. I think the key to this fight is Akiyama’s ability to avoid takedowns. If he can successfully sprawl time and time again against Bisping’s attempted takedowns, it will go a long way to him pulling off the road win.
Problem is that I don’t see him being able to do that over three rounds. Bisping will eventually take him down with his superior wrestling skills and make it a ground and pound affair. It won’t be the most exciting fight, but the rules in MMA are set up right now for wrestlers to grind out wins and make things boring. No value in taking Bisping straight up, but look to the props. You get even money to bet Bisping to win by decision. I would go ahead and do that.
The co-main event sees Dan Hardy make his return to the octagon after a humbling loss to GSP. His opponent will be WEC and UFC veteran Carlos Condit. This will be a tough fight for both men since there really isn’t too much of a gap in talent. The biggest difference to me comes in experience. Hardy has been in bigger fights and his 5-round experience with GSP will go a long way to helping him win tonight and also get another shot at the belt.
Finally, look for Chieck Kongo to get himself a KO victory against Travis Browne. Kongo has a distinct advantage in striking and experience. Browne will have to try to get him down to the ground to neutralize him or get the fight into the third round and hope that Kongo runs out of gas. But expect this one to end early. On most betting sites, you’ll get Kongo to win by KO at even money.