Today’s the day sports fans. After weeks of hype, the UFC is putting on another huge event. With two title fights on the card UFC 196 offers us a night of fantastic fights and over the last two days, GetMoreSports has been taking a look at the event and it’s biggest bouts. Today, we conclude the analysis with our UFC 196 preview.
We’ve already covered the two main events, and so today we’ll be looking at the rest of the card.
First up is a Womens Bantamweight Fight, in which #4 ranked Amanda Nunes faces off with kickboxer and #10 ranked Valentina Shevchenko, who is making her second UFC appearance. The two are both primarily stand-up fighters, who love to get into decent slugging matches. Out of all the main card bouts, this could well be fight of the night.
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Nunes has been on a roll of late, defeating both of her last two opponents in the first round. With those victories, she’s found herself in the the discussion for a title shot, and a win over Shevchenko would certainly continue that momentum.
The two combined have fought 28 times, and only four of their bouts have gone to decision. With such a high output of finishes for both women, it’s likely we’ll see that trend continuing tonight.
Next up, in the Light Heavyweight bout, Tom Lawlor faces off against Corey Anderson.
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Lawlor is something of a veteran in the UFC, having made his debut in 2008. Recently going from Middleweight to Light Heavyweight, Lawlor is coming off a big KO victory over Gian Villante back in July of last year.
In Anderson, the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 19, we have a considerably more inexperienced fighter, with a record of 7-1.
This bout could be something of a snoozer. The two don’t have phenomenal finishing records, and instead could end up being a grinding affair.
Following up Anderson and Lawlor, and still in the Light Heavyweight division, is Gian Villante vs. Ilir Latifi.
Latafi last fought in January, beating Sean O’Connell in under thirty seconds. No doubt the lack of damage he took inspired him to head straight back into the Octagon. In Villante, he’ll be facing off against a product of the Serra-Longo gym, and current ranked #13 at LHW.
Latafi’s last five fights have all ended in the first round, and one imagines he’ll be aiming to come out strong against Villante, who’ll be in possession of the superior wrestling.
Following that will be the two title fights. Click the links above to read our analysis on those. Also, check Miguel Iturrate’s article for the latest odds on UFC 196.
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