Megan Anderson – JackWannan.com

It’s been a while since UFC fans saw the Middleweight Championship up for grabs. The last time was when Robert Whittaker triumphantly overcame Yoel Romero in a rematch just under 16 months ago. Injury, including a hernia which sidelined the champion from a February fight with Kelvin Gastelum has kept the Aussie on the bench. In that time a lot has changed. Gastelum is no longer the next in line, but instead Israel Adesanya, who has had a meteoric rise since the start of his brief UFC career.

With a main event of an Australian versus a Nigerian born New Zealander, the fight was the perfect one for bringing the UFC to the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. As expected, the show is set to feature many more Oceanic fighters throughout. The evening is set to begin with two bouts on UFC Fight Pass at 7PM EST (9AM AEST).

Bout 1: Khalid Taha (13-2) vs. Bruno Silva (11-3-1) (Bantamweight)

The evening, or if you’re there live, the morning kicks off in the bantamweight division with Khalid Taha and Bruno Silva. Taha has a 1-1 UFC record, recently getting a quick KO victory over Boston Salmon. Silva will be making his promotional debut, being 3-1-1 in his last five MMA bouts before entering the octagon. Khalid Taha missed the bantamweight limit by one pound, giving up 20% of his fight purse due to it.

Bout 2: Nadia Kassem (5-1) vs. Ji Yeon Kim (8-2-2) (Flyweight)

The final Fight Pass bout sees two flyweights coming off of losses collide. Kassem recently took a loss to Montana de La Rosa via armbar. Ji Yeon Kim fell to Antonina Shevchenko via decision. Kim is one of the only Korean fighters in the UFC that doesn’t come from Team MAD, who is the biggest gym in the country. When the weigh-ins were livestreamed, Kim weighed in at 128 lbs, two pounds above the flyweight limit.

Bout 3: Megan Anderson (8-4) vs. Zarah Fairn Dos Santos (6-2) (Featherweight)

After an hour of the early prelims, the broadcast will flip to ESPN 2 (TSN 5 in Canada) as Megan Anderson will face Zarah Fairn dos Santos. Anderson is one of the more prominent fighters in the very thin division. She will try to spoil Dos Santos’ entrance into the UFC. Anderson lost to Felicia Spencer in her last outing, being bettered by a rear naked choke in under four minutes.

Bout 4: Brad Riddell (6-1) vs. Jamie Mullarkey (12-2) (Lightweight)

The fourth fight sees the first New Zealander on the card in Brad Riddell appear against Australia’s Jamie Mullarkey. Neither fighter has been in the UFC before. Riddell trains at Adesanya’s gym “City Kickboxing,” with appearances at Tiger Muay Thai in Thailand as well.

Bout 5: Callan Potter (17-8) vs. Maki Pitolo (12-4) (Welterweight)

Three months ago, Maki Pitolo literally fought his way to a contract, defeating Justin Sumter in just over 90 seconds on “Dana White’s Contender Series” to get signed to the UFC. Pitolo’s first fight on the “big stage” will also be quite literally on a big stage, as Marvel Stadium seats 56,000. He will face Australia’s Callan Porter, who is attempting to come back from his debut loss to Jalin Turner this year.

Bout 6: Jake Matthews (14-4) vs. Rostem Akman (6-1) (Welterweight)

The preliminary portion of the card will wrap up with Jake Matthews and Rostem Akman. Both coming off a loss, Matthews is the favoured fighter in the exchange due to more experience, especially within the UFC. Matthews lost to Anthony Rocco Martin recently, ending his three fight winning streak from before. Akman’s last loss was his first one as a pro, as Sergey Khandozhko ruined his debut.

Bout 7: Yorgan de Castro (5-0) vs. Justin Tafa (3-0) (Heavyweight)

UFC will go live on pay-per-view at 10PM EST (Noon AEST), beginning with Yorgan de Castro versus Justin Tafa. Neither heavyweight has fought in the UFC before. De Castro earned his spot through the Contender Series, defeating Alton Meeks in one round to convince UFC’s scouts to sign him. Tafa has been undefeated in his three fights, competing in the Australia-based MMA promotion Xtreme Fight Championships.

Bout 8: Luke Jumeau (13-4) vs. Dhiego Lima (14-7) (Welterweight)

After a year-and-a-half absence from the octagon, New Zealand’s Luke Jumeau will face Dhiego Lima, who has been active and successful during that same time period. Jumeau’s last win was in early 2018, breaking the undefeated record at the time of Daichi Abe. Lima broke his two-fight losing streak with a win over Chad Laprise earlier this year. He most recently defeated Court McGee via decision.

Bout 9: Tai Tuivasa (10-2) vs. Sergey Spivak (9-1) (Heavyweight)

Back at UFC 226 in mid-2018, Tai Tuivasa won tons of fans with a dominant main card performance over Andrei Arlovski, as well as doing a “shooey” after the fight. Sadly, Tuivasa hasn’t found success since then, losing to Junior dos Santos and Blagoy Ivanov. He will have another chance to return to the win column when facing Sergey Spivak. The Ukranian fighter was undefeated before his UFC debut, getting TKO’d by Walt Harris. Both fighters have yet to win after a loss in their professional career, and one might be able to change that on Saturday.

Bout 10: Al Iaquinta (14-5-1) vs. Dan Hooker (18-8) (Lightweight)

The co-main event of the show features lightweight gatekeeper Al Iaquinta versus teammate of Israel Adesanya, Dan Hooker. Iaquinta is coming off a loss to Donald Cerrone, main eventing a Fight Night in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Hooker is a real up-and-coming lightweight, having a UFC run with only one blemish thus far, that being a painful loss to Edson Barboza. His last fight was against James Hook, making quick work of him, finishing the fight just halfway through the first. No doubt Hooker has had some big tests in the UFC already, but another one, maybe his biggest, is on Saturday.

Bout 11: Robert Whittaker (20-4) vs. Israel Adesanya (17-0) (UFC Middleweight Championship)

The main event of the show sees UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker fight in a unification bout against the Interim Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya. Whittaker’s last fight was a war, going the distance against Yoel Romero, despite a hand injury early on. He has since been on the bench. While he has rested and trained, Adesanya established himself within the division. Already 3-0 in the UFC, “The Last Stylebender” put his name on the map with a one round victory over Derek Brunson at Madison Square Garden last fall. He faced UFC legend Anderson Silva three months later, defeating him in the main event of UFC 234 (which Whittaker would have headlined if not for an injury). His most recent win was against Kelvin Gastelum, which cemented him as the next challenger. The fight, which arguably could be the best 2019 has seen gave Adesanya his interim championship.

Israel Adesanya is often billed as an up-and-comer despite his age contradicting that. His short run in the UFC only tells part of the story. Adesanya has a 75-5 kickboxing record, including appearances in high level promotions like GLORY and Kunlun Fight League. He also has a 5-1 boxing record, all being three-to-four round fights. While 17-0 in MMA isn’t a little, it’s not telling the full story to not mention everything else.

Many questions are brought up heading into this weekend: Can Robert Whittaker return after the absence? Will he be the same? Is it too soon for Israel Adesanya? Is he getting ahead of himself? But, thankfully, these questions will only be asked for a little more time. When the PPV goes down on Saturday night, people will (hopefully) be left with a conclusive answer to all of those questions.

UFC returns with a fight night next week from the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, USA. The card is headlined by ranked strawweights Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Michelle Waterson. The promotion’s next pay-per-view event after this is UFC 244. The stacked show will take place from Madison Square Garden. Headlining the show will be Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal, fighting for the BMF Belt.

In UFC’s sixth consecutive weekly show, they returned to Rochester, New York for a Welterweight clash between Rafael Dos Anjos and Kevin Lee. Both fighters are coming off main event losses, going all 25 minutes in their respective bouts. Will they see another scorecard showdown, or will they see a stoppage? We’ll find out, but first let’s look at the other 12 bouts on the card.

Preliminary Card

Bout 1: Julian Erosa (22-8) vs. Julio Arce (15-3) (Featherweight)

The first fight was a Featherweight showdown between Julian Erosa and Julio Arce. The first few minutes of the bout were slow with neither fighter really showing their skills. They started to heat up in the final minute, with Erosa seemingly falling after getting hit with a left jab. It was hard to score the round. Erosa’s punches proved effective in the second round. Erosa was the one walking down his opponent, but he was the one getting hit as well. The fight seemed to speed up as it progressed. At the start of the third round, both fighters were doing some good striking exchanges. Arce landed a left leg kick to the head after a two punch combo which dropped Erosa and ended the bout. What seemed like a potentially dull bout became a fun one near the end.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Erosa	9	9
Arce	10	10

Bout 2: Trevin Giles (11-0) vs. Zak Cummings (22-6) (Middleweight)

The next bout of the evening was Middleweights Trevin Giles and Zak Cummings competing. Similar to the fight before, the first round was very slow and methodical striking. Cummings got a cut above his right eye in the first. The was a pause in the second after Giles accidentally got Cummings in the groin with a kick. Giles’ striking continued to work for him through the second round. In the final round, Cummings tried to bring the fight to the ground for the first time. He wasn’t successful in doing so. In the final two minutes of the fight, a left hook made Giles fall. Cummings used this chance to bring the fight to the ground, putting in a rear naked choke that made Giles tap out.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Giles	10	10
Cummings	9	9

Bout 3: Ed Herman (24-14) vs. Patrick Cummins (10-6) (Light Heavyweight)

Moving up even further in weight classes, Ed Herman and Patrick Cummins fought in the Light Heavyweight division. From the very start of the fight both of these guys were landing hard blows. Cummins was stunned by a knee in a clinch and then was finished on the ground by Herman.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Herman
Cummins

Bout 4: Grant Dawson (13-1) vs. Michael Trizano (9-0) (Featherweight)

In the fourth preliminary bout, Michael Trizano put his undefeated streak on the line against Grant Dawson. Dawson fought for a takedown up against the cage shortly after Trizano was showing his speedy stand-up. Dawson wasn’t able to land the takedown, despite trying for nearly a minute. Halfway into the round Dawson scored a takedown. He took Trizano’s back while Trizano was standing up. They eventually went back to stand-up. Dawson landed a second takedown as the round came to a close. Dawson had a cut near his right eye after the first round. Dawson got a takedown in the first minute of the second round. He tried for a rear naked choke, with Trizano tapping out after a short amount of time. Dawson extended his record to 14-1, and put the first blister on Trizano’s.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Dawson	9
Trizano	10

Bout 5: Michel Pereira (22-9) vs. Danny Roberts (16-4) (Welterweight)

The next fight had debuting fighter Michel Pereira face Danny Roberts. Pereira had an emotional walkout, crying on the way to the octagon. He’s Road FC alumni, making the rounds online in the past when he has done moonsaults off of a cage. He did breakdancing when announced. Pereira landed a strong overhand right in the first seconds. He jumped off the cage with one foot but didn’t connect anything off of it. He tried to do a front roll kick, but didn’t land it. After doing a weird foot movement, he tried for a superman punch. The fight came to a close after Pereira landed a flying knee and then a right jab which dropped Roberts. This was a real fun one to watch. Pereira seemingly is a perfect mix between goofy and intelligent.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Perreira
Roberts

Bout 6: Charles Jourdain (9-1) vs. Desmond Green (22-8) (Lightweight)

In the next bout, Desmond Green fought in front of his home crowd against Canadian promotion “TKO” alumni fighter Charles Jourdain. The crowd was very alive for when Green landed strikes. Green landed a takedown with a minute and a half left in the first round. He landed some strikes from above until Jourdain got up and ran away. Both fighters slowed down their speed significantly in the second round. They hugged at the start of the third round. Green landed a final takedown in the second half of the final round. Jourdain tried getting up but was thrown back down. This happened again, with Jourdain finally separating on the third attempt. The fight went to the judges scorecards, with all three judges giving it to Desmond Green (30-27, 30-27 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Jourdain	9	9	9
Green	10	10	10

Bout 7: Sijara Eubanks (5-2) vs. Aspen Ladd (7-0) (#6) (Bantamweight)

Finishing off the preliminary portion of the show was Sijara Eubanks and Aspen Ladd battling in a rematch of a Bantamweight bout. Ladd went into the fight undefeated with a 7-0 record. In the first minute of the fight Eubanks slammed Ladd to the ground. Eubanks found herself in a guillotine after trying for a single leg takedown. Ladd was completely dominant in the second half of the round until Eubanks landed a good combo of punches at the end. Ladd landed a takedown after clinching against the cage in the second round. She put in a rear naked choke but couldn’t secure it. Ladd was consistently on the attack for this round. The final round showed nearly four straight minutes of striking, with Ladd putting Eubanks up against the cage during the final minute. They traded strikes for the final time as the bout came to a close. The judges gave to Aspen Ladd in quite dominant fashion (30-26, 29-27 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Eubanks	10	9	9	28
Ladd	9	10	10	29

Main Card

Bout 8: Justin Hubbard (10-2) vs. Davi Ramos (9-2) (Lightweight)

The main card started with Lightweights Justin Hubbard and Davi Ramos competing. A rare moment happened in the first round where seemingly both guys got kicked in the groin. There was also an eye poke from Hubbard later. Ramos looked like he was doing more damage in the stand-up between these two. He landed a takedown in the final minute, trying for a rear naked choke before the bell went. Ramos was the better grappler on the cage and on the ground throughout the second round. After being on the ground for quite some time in the third, both fighters were stood up. This did not please Ramos. A knockdown landed in the final minute of the fight, with Hubbard landing a punch after dodging a spinning kick. The fight went all fifteen minutes. The judges gave Davi Ramos the win, all with matching scorecards (30-27, 30-27 & 30-27).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Hubbard	9	9
Ramos	10	10

Bout 9: Nik Lentz (30-9-2) vs. Charles Oliveira (26-8) (#15) (Lightweight)

In their trilogy fight, Nik Lentz battle Charles Oliveira. The first round had close striking. Oliveira landed a front kick in the final two minutes of the first round which opened a big cut on Lentz’s head. Lentz landed a takedown right after taking the kick. Oliveira tried for a guillotine but couldn’t fully get it. The first round ended with both fighters landing punches. At the start of trhe second round, Oliveira landed a few good strikes and then took the fight to the ground, trying for the guillotine once again. He let go and get fighting but was stopped by the referee after Oliveira did a kick from to the head from the bottom position. Lentz opted to not lose the position, so they went back to the ground. They stood up almost right after the fight resumed. Oliveira dropped Lentz with a right hook, ending the fight with hammerfists on the ground right after. This makes Oliveira up 3-0 in his rivalry against Lentz.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Lentz	9
Oliveria	10

Bout 10: Derrick Krantz (24-10) vs. Vicente Luque (15-6-1) (#15) (Welterweight)

Despite the extensive record, Derrick Krantz made his UFC debut in this bout against Vicente Luque. Krantz came out swinging, but found himself in a standing guillotine shortly after. The brought the fight to the ground and escaped the hold. Krantz tried for a rear naked choke and transitioned into a guillotine, but didn’t find success with either. At the halfway point of the round, they went back to stand-up. Luque landed some punches that had Krantz backing up. He was hit more and more, on all fours until the referee stepped in the end it.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Krantz
Luque

Bout 11: Felicia Spencer (6-0) vs. Megan Anderson (9-3) (Featherweight)

In what was touted as a long-awaited clash between to former Invicta FC Champions, Felicia Spencer battled Megan Anderson next. In the first round, Spencer was dominant, being on Anderson’s back for a long time. She put in a rear naked choke and eventually got a tap from Anderson to end the bout.

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Spencer
Anderson

Bout 12: Ian Heinisch (12-1) vs. Antonio Carlos Junior (11-2) (#12) (Middleweight)

In the co-main event slot of this fight night was Ian Heinisch and Antonio Carlos Junior. After some striking, Carlos Junior landed a takedown in the first round. When Heinisch tried getting up, Carlos Junior made sure he would go back to the ground shortly after. Heinisch was out-wrestled for the whole first round. Carlos Junior took it the to the ground in the second and stayed in control once again, though Heinisch was landing more strikes. Heinisch did land some strikes on the ground in the final minute of round two. There was a stop in the third round after Carlos Junior landed a knee to the groin. A USA chant broke out during this. The third round was Heinisch’s best, showing off better grappling and utilizing striking on the ground. The fight went it’s allotted time, with all three judges giving Ian Heinisch the win (29-28, 29-28 & 29-28).

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
Heinisch	9	10	10
Carlos Junior	10	9	9

Bout 13: Kevin Lee (17-4) vs. Rafael Dos Anjos (28-11) (#3) (Welterweight)

In his Welterweight debut, Kevin Lee faced Rafael Dos Anjos in the main event of the fight night. In the first minute of the scheduled five round fight, Lee got a takedown after dropping Dos Anjos with strikes. Dos Anjos stood up, but Lee was on his back. They went back to stand-up where both guys landed good strikes. Lee tried for another takedown but did not get it. Instead, they fought against the cage in a clinch for a couple of minutes. Dos Anjos landed a takedown in the final minute of the first round. Lee tried for a takedown in the first minute of the second. Dos Anjos tried for a guillotine against the cage, with Lee doing a slam before escaping the hold. Lee was working way harder than Dos Anjos in the first two rounds. This would be a good thing if he got a finish, but since he didn’t it was just rough pacing. Dos Anjos kept trying for a kimura when standing up against the cage. Dos Anjos landed a flying knee at the very start of round three. He landed a takedown attempt in the first minute of the third round too. When Dos Anjos was trying for another takedown, Lee did a good reversal that gave him Dos Anjos’ back on the ground. Lee accidentally kicked Dos Anjos in the groin in the first minute of the fourth round. Shortly after they resumed, Dos Anjos kicked Lee’s left leg, making him drop to one knee. Lee made a face downplaying the strike afterwards. Dos Anjos got top position off of Lee’s sloppy takedown attempt in the final two minutes. He put in a arm triangle choke which made Lee tap out. He did not call out anyone in particular after the fight

My Scorecard:

Fighter	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Total
Lee	10	10	10
Dos Anjos	9	9	9

UFC takes a week off next weekend, but returns on the first of June with a card from Stockholm, Sweden, with Alexander Gustafsson facing Anthony Smith in a five round bout. A week after that, UFC will host UFC 238, with Bantamweights Henry Cejudo and Marlon Moraes fighting for the Championship of the weight class. Under them on the card will also be Valentina Shevchenko defending her Flyweight Championship against Jessica Eye. Although there is not a show next week, there is many big matchups on the horizon for MMA’s top promotion.

Tag: Megan Anderson

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