UFC Fight Night 59 Preview
The UFC has started the year off a little rocky with UFC 182 opening up a new year of fights only to see the biggest star on the card enter rehab after the fight. Jon Jones defended his light heavyweight belt and a day after voluntarily entered a drug rehab facility. This all coming after a drug test revealed that Jones had trace amounts of cocaine in his system. The shocking revelation about one of the biggest stars in the UFC was a shock to many and may very well lose him a lot of fans and the favour of the UFC. They will try to support him through the difficult time but after spending only one day in rehab he may be going down the wrong path. As the UFC looks to see what Jones does next they look for a star for fans to follow and a good story to get the year back on track for the new year. That could come at UFC Fight Night 59 when one of the most exciting fighters in the UFC tries to take a step towards the title shot many thought he would have already received. Conor McGregor came into the UFC in 2013 with plenty of hype as he was immediately considered one of the best lighter weight fighters in the UFC before even getting a fight. Then he entered the octagon and showed why the hype had been built up so much. McGregor has run through the Featherweight division only moving out of the first round once in four fights. Every other fight saw McGregor get an easy win in the first round of the fight earning knockouts in three fights. The run through the division gave the momentum that McGregor had coming into the UFC an extra boost. Those wins along with McGregor’s gift for talking and getting fans excited has made him one of the biggest prospects in the UFC. He has shot up the rankings in the featherweight division and now has a chance to move into the title fight. UFC President, Dana White, has already stated that UFC Fight Night 59 will be McGregor’s shot to earn a title shot. If McGregor can win in his headline fight in Boston he will earn the title shot he has been waiting and calling for since he entered the UFC. The one thing lost among all of the hype of McGregor and his now title contender fight is his opponent. McGregor will go up against Dennis Siver, a 31 fight MMA veteran and one of the toughest lighter weight fighters in the world. Siver has never been considered the greatest fighter in the UFC but he is far from an easy out. He has seen just about everything that a fighter can throw at him and has not lost too often. He will be the most experienced fighter that McGregor has faced since entering the UFC and is sure to provide a few issues that McGregor may not have seen yet. The German striker is a strong scrapper that uses his kicks perfectly. He unleashes great impact on his kicks and has the hands to back them up. His one issue has always been his wrestling though as he has never been considered a good ground fighter. That may be where McGregor takes this fight, especially if he wants the win. As much as McGregor loves to stand and knockout opponents he is a very well-rounded fighter with a legitimate ground game. If he is smart about this fight he will take the fight to the ground and either grind out a win or earn the submission. There is no doubt that McGregor is the better fighter on the ground and he looks better standing but when two fighters stand and trade anything can happen. That is even more true when the fighter across has knockout power, which is exactly what Siver has. If McGregor can be smart about this fight he should get the win but Siver will not be an easy out. Expect McGregor to take the win and a title shot with a round two submission as Siver’s wrestling ability will not stand up to the jiu jitsu of McGregor.
As the great string of fights continues in the UFC one fighter is trying to make 2015 his and he is doing everything in his power to assure that will happen. Donald Cerrone has been one of the more exciting fighters in the lightweight division but in the best division in the UFC it can be hard to work your way up. One loss can drop a fighter so low that they need to string together a big winning streak to get to the title. That is what Cerrone has done as he took some losses at bad times but continues to rebound with winning streaks. That includes a six-fight win streak after a loss to Rafael dos Anjos in 2013. Stringing together that many wins has put him in the title conversation. A big part of that winning streak and his #3 ranking was his latest win against undefeated Myles Jury, a win that came just over two weeks ago. Cerrone was a big part of the UFC 182 card and earned a unanimous decision victory over one of the fastest rising fghters in the division. As he prepared for a layoff until his next fight, Eddie Alvarez was forced to drop out of his fight against Benson Henderson and with Cerrone notoriously willing to fight in as many fights as possible the UFC gave him the fight. Now he will continue his training from two weeks ago to take on a former champion and prove once again that he is one of the best fighters in the UFC. It won’t be easy as Henderson is a former champion and a fighter that many thought might never lose the title. After a loss to Pettis, Henderson continued on his path to a rematch but a loss to #1 contender dos Anjos prevented him from that title shot. Now he is looking to get back on track and has been given a much bigger potential win that he had before. Alvarez was a good fighter but Cerrone is #3 and a win against him can boost Henderson into the title conversation once again. The matchup will be a good one between two of the better lightweights in the UFC. Either fighter is comfortable wherever the fight goes as two great jiu jitsu artists and two great, creative fighters. With Cerrone fighting his second fight in two weeks and Henderson surprisingly getting a chance to beat one of the top three fighters in the division there is plenty on the line for both fighters as they face-off in the co-main event.
The Sport Addiction 