Enjoy This Great Scorum

Well the Fight Night in Germany was pretty much a complete let down with almost every fight going the distance and the main event not lasting very long showing Shogun maybe has taken too much damage throughout his career. But the events keep coming and the UFC travels to Alberta, Canada. The main card may have just 4 fights but it is pretty stacked with quality and there is hope this one should make up for last weeks dud.

MAIN EVENT

Eddie Alvarez Vs Dustin Poirier

This is a rematch many have been wanting to see since their last fight was stopped without a definitive conclusion. Officially declared a no contest after Poirier was unable to continue as a result of some illegal knees from Alverez it was a entertaining fight while it lasted and one Poirier looked to be winning quite comfortably. Alvarez will point out though that he was having success and had Dustin hurt prior to the illegal blows.

Since the first fight Alvarez went on to knockout Justin Gaethje in a really entertaining fight at UFC 218 last December. He is a former champion with a record of 29-5 and has aspirations of getting himself back into the title picture. Of his wins he has won 16 via knockout, 7 via submission and won via decision 6 times. He has been knocked and submitted 2 times apiece and has 1 decision loss.

Poirier is also coming into this contest on the back of a knockout win over Justin Gaethje after they fight in April, he also has a victory over Anthony Pettis since the fight with Alvarez which was another that ended a bit bizarrely but is officially down as a submission win. His record is 23-5 with 11 knockouts, 7 submissions and 5 decision wins. He has lost via knockout 2 times, been submitted once and has lost via decision 2 times.

Both fighters looked pretty good in their performances against Gaethje as they took advantage of his poor cardio to push him into deep waters and finish him late. Eddie may be the former champion out of the 2 but it was Dustin who looked the more intelligent fighter when they last met as he seemed to have Alvarez' number and could have perhaps finished him in the fight a couple of times. Eddie however is exceptionally tough and can seem to stage miraculous recoveries during fights as he did seem to be doing last time.

It's hard to pick a winner but I think Poirier has better striking and should have learned from the previous fight how he can get the finish this time around.

Prediction - Poirier Win - Knockout - Round 2

Jose Aldo Vs Jeremy Stephens

Jose Aldo is the former featherweight king and was once regarded as the best fighter on the planet, however he comes into this fight on the back of 2 consecutive losses and having only won once in his last 4 fights. It's a spectacular fall from grace for the man who had won 18 straight victories before getting knocked out by Conor McGregor at UFC 194.

His record is 26-4 with 15 knockout wins, 1 submission and 10 decision victories. Of his defeats he has 3 knockout losses, 1 submission loss and has never lost via decision. Which is pretty impressive given he has a known weakness for fading late on in fights.

The recent poor record of 1-3 losses may look bad but it might not means Aldo has dropped off the cliff completely. The 2 most recent defeats were both 3rd round TKO's against Max Holloway who few would argue against being one of the best in the world, the other was a 13 second knockout where he was caught uncharacteristically lunging in after over a year of mental torture from McGregor. And between those he does have a 5 round unanimous decision victory over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200.

Stephens career is going in the opposite direction recently as he comes into this on a 3 fight win streak and producing some of the bets performances of his career. It started with the destruction of Gilbert Melendez last year where he dominated with leg kicks to pick up the decision. He has then got 2 back to back 2nd round knockout finishes over dangerous opposition Doo Ho Choi and Josh Emmett.

Stephens record is 28-14 with 19 knockouts, 2 submissions and 7 decision wins. He has only been knocked out once, has been submitted 3 times and has lost via decision 10 times.

It's an interesting fight which if it was held a few years ago might have been considered a complete mismatch. However with the way their careers have each turned it would be no surprise at all if Stephens was able to knockout the Brazilian. Aldo did have moments of success against Holloway though and I feel could still have plenty left to edge past Stephens.

Prediction - Aldo Win - Decision

REST OF THE CARD

Joanna Jedrzejczyk Vs Tecia Torres

Prediction - Joanna Win - Decision

Alexander Hernandez Vs Olivier Aubin-Mercier

Prediction - Aubin-Mercier - Submission - Round 3


   

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