Don’t forget! This Sunday is UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski!
While many of us are looking forward to UFC 198 and other future events, it’s all to easy to overlook this weekend’s great fight night card. Landing down in The Netherlands for the first time, the UFC will be bringing a lot of great match ups on Sunday. At the top of it all is a pivotal clash between two heavyweight veterans, Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski. Both of these men are exceptional strikers and have had long and illustrous careers in combat sports. Other fantastic fights are also featured on the main card, so let’s take a look:
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Heather Jo Clark
Taking place in the women’s strawweight division is a bout between two promising strawweights. Undefeated Polish fighter Karolina Kowalkiewicz will look to follow up on her impressive December victory with a win here over Clark. Heather was last seen in action at the end of 2014 beating Bec Rawlings via unanimous decision. She’s been out of action for a long time which means she could very well have ring rust upon her return. Kowalkiewicz is a dangerous foe and should be able to have a highlight performance here against an outmatched Jo Clark.
Nikita Krylov vs Francimar Barroso
At light heavyweight, Nikita “Al Capone” Krylov looks to increase his current win streak to four with a victory over Francimar Barroso. Meanwhile the Brazilian, Barroso, will try to move his UFC record to 4-1. The winner of this bout could very well be one of the lone prospects in the 205 lb division. Krylov is a very dangerous competitor who has earned all 19 of his wins via first round finish. He throws his strikes with blistering power, but is masterful on the ground and during transitions.
The term “opportunistic” gets thrown around quite a bit, but Krylov perfectly defines the word. He attacks fight-ending possibilities with aggression and most of the time gets it. Barroso on the other hand has gone to a decision in the last four of his performances. He’s a grindy, smothering grappler who looks to inflict damage with ground strikes as well. While Barroso is a good style match up against Krylov, I see “Al Capone” coming through here as a promising contender.
Germaine de Randamie vs Anna Elmose
In the women’s bantamweight division, Dutch kickboxer Germaine de Randamie meets UFC newcomer Anna Elmose. De Randamie is 2-1 in the UFC, but hasn’t fought since UFC 185. Her opponent, Elmose, is a 3-0 competitor out of Denmark. She’s very inexperienced meanwhile de Randamie is well known in the MMA and kickboxing scene. However, Elmose has power in her hands and is a scrapper. I see this fight being very violent, but I see de Randamie battling through some adversity en route to a late-finish or decision win.
Albert Tumenov vs Gunnar Nelson
If this match up isn’t one of your most anticipated bouts for the night – it should be. Both Tumenov and Nelson represent two future contenders in the welterweight division. Tumenov is on a five-fight win streak in the UFC and possesses some of the most dangerous striking skills in the division. Nelson on the other hand possesses some of the best grappling skills despite being outmatched against Demian Maia in his last outting (no shame in that).
While this may seem like your traditional “striker vs grappler match up,” Nelson has some solid striking of his own. Meanwhile, Tumenov’s grappling skills are still rather untested. Nelson’s striking may lack output, but he has great timing via his karate background which can give more traditional strikers a lot of trouble. At just 24 years old, I see Tumenov being a future contender, but I think he hits a set back against Nelson. Gunnar’s distance management and experience should be enough to keep himself safe on the feet while he outpoints Tumenov.
Antonio Silva vs Stefan Struve
In the co-main event of the night, heavyweights Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and Stefan “Skyscraper” Struve square off in what should be a slobber-knocker. Silva unfortunately has only won one bout in his last six performances with four of those losses coming by way of knockout or TKO. To put it lightly, I’m not sure how much Bigfoot has left in him. Meanwhile, Stefan Struve has lost three of his last five bouts and suffered his own fair share of knockout losses.
Stylistically, I heavily favor Struve. His reach and height is definitely a big weapon of his, and he has slowly been finding more ways to incorporate this advantage. Push kicks and stiff jabs are usually Struve’s go-to weapons, but when he gets into punching exchanges he’s willing to throw heat and stand his ground. Doing this gets rid of his length advantage, but Struve does possess knockout power in his punches. Silva on the other hand likes to stalk his opponents on the feet, and possesses some good punching combinations. However, striking defense has always been an issue for Silva as punches tend to sneak through his guard and connect. I see Struve’s jab and crisp one-two being the weapon to give Silva yet another loss. Struve may not be able to score the finish, but Struve has multiple weapons to defeat Silva whereas I see limited ways for Silva. If the fight comes to a grappling contest, both Silva and Struve have good grappling skills, but Silva is the much more physical fighter of the two and may be able to exploit Struve’s lack of defense off his back.
Alistair Overeem vs Andrei Arlovski
Finally, in the main event, heavyweights Alistair Overeem and Andrei Arlovski square off. The winner here could very well be next in line for the title shot – especially for Overeem. In his last bout, Overeem showcased his high-level striking intelligence against Junior dos Santos and knocked him out in the second round. Overeem is a on a three-fight winning streak and seems to have finally found some consistency in his MMA career. Offensively, Overeem is perhaps one of the most impressive strikers in the sport. However, his defensive skills have been the chink in his armor in the past. Now equipped with a slimmer build, Overeem has been relying on movement and speed for defense as opposed to traditional kickboxing guard.
Arlovski on the other hand is a very meat and potatoes fighter. His fundamentals are impeccible and he doesn’t take too many risks. However he too has had difficulty on the defensive side. Furthermore, his output has sometimes been inconsistent (as seen against Brendan Schaub and Frank Mir). This lack of output could very well let Overeem settle into a rhythm, and if that happens, it’s going to be a difficult night for Arlovski. Look for the step-in knee strike from Overeem to be a potential fight-ender here. However, Arlovski’s right hand is a pistol and could change the tide of the fight if Overeem doesn’t stay mobile and defensively cautious.
