UFC 170 Preview
As the Olympics wind down everyone is looking to get a bit of the action and the UFC is no different as they will host a Pay-per-View with three Olympians on the card. MMA began as a competition between the martial arts disciplines from around the world to find out what the best discipline is. The sport has evolved from there to become its own version of martial arts but it still attracts the best from the multiple disciplines around the world. There is no other place that has more top athletes in martial arts than the Olympics as they count among the best of the best in their sports. For Taekwondo, Wrestling, Judo, and Amateur Boxing the Olympics are the best competition in the world. Only the best athletes in each discipline make their Olympic teams while the best of the best go on to win medals at the Olympics. These amateur athletes work their entire lives to get a shot at the biggest competition in the world but after they are finished many have nothing more to do. Some go on to become coaches while others move into broadcasting but most move on to live relatively normal lives. That is not what many want as they are competitive people who thrive when they are in a competitive environment and that is removed when they are no longer able to participate in the Olympics. For those Olympians who want to continue their competitive life these combat sports can translate to MMA and some make that transition. These Olympians can sometimes find themselves in the top promotion in the world and a handful of them find themselves as big names in the UFC. Three of these Olympians turned fighters will enter the octagon at UFC 170 and all are trying to make an impression on the last weekend of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Two of these former Olympians are also Olympic Medalists as Ronda Rousey won a bronze medal in Judo during the 2008 Beijing Olympics while Sara McMann earned a silver medal in wrestling during the 2004 Athens Olympics. These two Olympians would take their success in the Olympics to a professional MMA career and now sit at the top of the Women’s division in the UFC as they will face off for the Women’s Bantamweight Title. Ronda Rousey is the current champion and for very good reason as she has plowed through the entire women’s fighting world. She would start her MMA career in 2011 and less than a year later would earn the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship. When the UFC added a women’s division it was a clear choice to name Rousey the champion and so far she has proven that decision to be right with two title defences. She has only been in the fight game for a few years but has been one of the most dominant fighters, male or female, in any division in UFC history. She has finished all 8 of her pro fights via armbar and all but one of those fights would not go past the first round. Everyone knows what Rousey is trying to do and yet nobody can stop her from doing it as opponents train armbar defence and yet still get caught in every fight. Sara McMann will try to be the first to not only avoid the armbar but beat Rousey and become the new Women’s champion. McMann would begin her MMA career in 2011 as well but would toil away in smaller promotions like Invicta and ProElite until she joined the UFC last year. Her debut in the UFC would provide enough evidence to show that she deserved a title shot when she beat Sheila Gaff via TKO in the first round. Now the wrestler turned fighter looks to beat Rousey as she hopes to use her wrestling ability and strength to beat her. Unfortunately for McMann it will take a lot more than that to beat Rousey as the champion seems to be unbeatable. Rousey will be fine with fighting on the ground as she has the ability to get that armbar from anywhere on the mat and if McMann takes her down it would be a big mistake. On the feet Rousey has shown that she is much improved and continues to get better every fight which is only bad news for the division and for McMann in this fight. Rousey is just too good for McMann in this fight and although she will try to put up a good fight with plenty of heart Rousey will take the win and the championship with a first round armbar once again.
There will be another Olympian on the card, although he did not win a medal finishing 4th in 2004, as Daniel Cormier will also step into the octagon at UFC 170. His chance to fight on the card was almost lost though as he was originally scheduled to fight Rashad Evans until Evans was hurt during training. Cormier would take to twitter to try to make sure that his training would not go to waste. He would beg the UFC to find a replacement with 10 days’ notice to replace Evans so that he could step into the octagon. The UFC would turn to twitter to find his replacement as a petition would begin to sign undefeated Patrick Cummins to a UFC contract and give him the fight against Cormier. Cummins would add fuel to the fire when the former member of the US wrestling team said that when he trained with Cormier he used to break him and make him cry. Cormier would take exception to that comment and the UFC had themselves a fight between two former teammates that have clearly had a falling out. The comments made by Patrick Cummins have added plenty to this fight but in the end it will be two very good former US National Team wrestlers facing off as both begin their time in the UFC Light Heavyweight division. For Cormier this is a fight that was supposed to help him move into the top 10 of the Light Heavyweight division as the #4 heavyweight fighter gets the chance to beat the #3 light heavyweight fighter. Now it is a chance to possibly move into the top 15 rankings by staying undefeated in his MMA career. For Cummins this is a chance to make an impression in his first ever UFC fight and to show that he deserves a UFC contract by beating one of the best fighters in the UFC. Both fighters have a wrestling base but have the power to end fights on their feet. Cormier is a much more calculated fighter who has fought to many decisions while Pat Cummings has yet to fight to a decision and likes to end fights early. Both fighters may cancel each other out on the mat and the animosity between them may make them want to stay standing as this could turn out to be a slugfest to earn their first bit of respect in the light heavyweight division.
Fight Card
Main Event:
“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann [Women’s Bantamweight Title] (Pay-per-View)
Main Card:
Daniel “DC” Cormier vs. Patrick “Durkin” Cummins (Pay-per-View)
Rory “Ares” MacDonald vs. Demian Maia (Pay-per-View)
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle vs. TJ Waldburger (Pay-per-View)
Robert Whitaker vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (Pay-per-View)
Undercard:
Alexis Davis vs. Jessica “Evil” Eye (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Raphael Assuncao vs. Pedro “The Young Punisher” Munhoz (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Cody “The Renegade” Gibson vs. Aljamain “Funk Master” Sterling (Sportsnet ONE/Fox Sports 1)
Zach “Fun Size” Makovsky vs. Josh “The Gremlin” Sampo (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Rafaello “Tractor” Oliveira vs. Erik “New Breed” Koch (UFC Fight Pass)
Ernest “The Mad Titan” Chavez vs. Yosdenis “The Pink Panther” Cedeno (UFC Fight Pass)
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