Two friends face off to open the main card of UFC 205: Tate vs Pennington

To kick off the main card of Madison Square Garden’s first ever UFC event, two seasoned bantamweights will look to set an example for others to follow in what is a beyond talent-packed event. As former champ, and now #1 contender, Miesha Tate looks to eradicate what was a ‘bad day at the office’ when she lost UFC gold to Amanda Nunes at UFC 200. Number 8 ranked Raquel Pennington hopes to pounce on an opportunity which could extend her three fight winning streak and make a strong claim for a title shot.

Tate suffered a brutal loss at the hands of Amanda Nunes
back at UFC 200 in July.
Credit: The Guardian

 With so many monumental match-ups under the spotlight, it is hard to believe Miesha Tate, who (in a hectic turn of events) headlined what was dubbed to be “the biggest event in company history” back at UFC 200 in July, is fighting on UFC 205. Her bout with Raquel Pennington is the first time in almost 2 years that Tate will not be appearing in a main, or co-main event of the evening, which itself speaks leaps and bounds about the current depth of this New York card.

It’s not often a fighter who has recently lost the belt will face such a low ranked contender in their division, but it was not like Tate had defended the belt several times, it was her first defense, and she fell short. It’s similar to the Werdum v Browne 2 situation. However, I think a re-match with Cat Zingano (who lost to Juliana Pena on the same night as Tate at UFC 200) or a bout against Shevchenko who is ranked third would have made more sense. Pena is out of the question as White recently announced she has been turning down fights.

One big factor that could play into Tate’s favour (and potentially Pennington’s) is that back when she was a coach on TUF 18, she chose Pennington to be on her team. Although they were only with each other for a few months, it obviously gave both competitors a rough idea of each other’s training methods, and fight styles.

Pennington's most recent win came vs Elizabeth Phillips
at UFC 202 in August.
Credit: MMAJunkie

In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Tate credited Pennington as extremely ‘durable’ and very ‘physically strong’ however she was also surprised about the match-up. Not pushing aside Pennington’s abilities, Tate was expecting a potential re-match with either Holm or Zingano, however she acknowledges the ‘great match-up’ with Pennington and was ‘honored’ to take this fight.

Standing with very similar frames, there will be no height or reach advantage for either woman in this fight. Another similarity these women share are their well-rounded fight styles, both have adapted their game to suit wherever the fight ends up, however Tate may hold a slight advantage with her extensive wrestling background. Nevertheless, it will be a fun way to fuel the first ever UFC event in NYC, and will hopefully set up for what is ‘destined’ to be another historic card.

UFC 205: Khabib vs Johnson - As a menace continues his resurgence, an eagle salivates over his next victim.

Freak show? Bullshit? Call it what you want, but Khabib Nurmagomedeov is not getting the title shot in which he felt he had rightfully earned a long time ago. Instead, he will face a revitalized man, fresh off a win at Fight Night Hidalgo, Michael Johnson aims to accomplish what no fighter has been able to do, and that’s defeat “The Eagle.”

When Khabib announced on his Twitter account he had received “a very generous birthday gift” from the UFC, things looked to be set in stone for a title fight at UFC 205 vs. Eddie Alvarez. Not so fast. As we know now, Alvarez will fight McGregor, Khabib will fight Johnson. Not the best birthday present after all.

Johnson recently put an end to Dustin Poirier’s four fight and win streak, and made a great comeback from his loss to Nate Diaz.
Credit: abcnews.com

We hear it all the time, classic striker vs grappler match-up. Johnson often credits himself as the ‘fastest’ in the lightweight division, whereas no such statement is needed from Khabib to advertise his grappling skills, as we all know they are beyond high level. It would be comical to say if Johnson can keep the fight standing, he can trouble Khabib with his sharp 1-2, and swift in-and-out movement. Because so far, no-one has been able to fend off the grittiness of Khabib.

However, it is worth noting that although his record stands at an impressive 23-0, other than his win over Rafael Dos Anjos, Khabib doesn’t hold a win over any high-level fighters in the UFC. For me, the likes of Pat Healy and Gleison Tibau just don’t fall into that upper echelon.

So it will be interesting to see Khabib face some serious competition in Johnson, and dealing with the rapid hand speed adjoined with the fast footwork will by no means be a ‘cruise control’ night for Khabib, like so many of his fights have been.

Khabib outclassed former champ Dos Anjos back when the pair fought in April 2014. 

Credit: fightsday.com

I see this fight panning out to be fight of the night.

That’s a bold statement to make on such a monumental, talent-packed card, but I believe many people will be surprised on how this fight turns out. Much similar to the way McGregor was pushed to the limit for the first-time, in his recent five-round thriller with Diaz, I see Khabib being troubled by Johnson’s athleticism, and the take-down not coming as easy as he may think.

That doesn’t mean that it won’t come, because it will. Khabib’s sambo skills are unlike any we have ever seen, so the fight is undoubtedly going to hit the canvas, and when it does Khabib will be in his element. However, all fights start standing up, so Johnson will have his fair share of success too.

The Al Iaquinta dispute is not an individual issue.

When Al Iaquinta infamously flipped off the crowd after edging out a narrow split decision over Jorge Masvidal last April, no-one thought the road back to the octagon would be such a topsy-turvy tale for “Raging.” Out of his fight on his home soil at UFC 205, it looked like Madison Square Garden would have to wait for Iaquinta, however, it now looks like the pair may never meet.

It was all shaping up so perfect for the New York native. A return to the octagon after a 17-month-layoff, on home soil, potentially sharing the card with team-mate Chris Weidman, it couldn’t have been pictured any better.

Not the case.

Behind the scenes it was a different story, the bout agreement hadn’t even been signed yet, reluctant to put pen to paper, Iaquinta just couldn’t bring himself to sign on the dotted line. Why though? Who cares, he can fight someone else? It’s not quite that simple. Digging into the facts, the opponent, or even the destination is not the issue in this dispute, it’s the one thing that most fighters tend to shy away from discussing. Contracts.

Iaquinta last fought in March 2015 - he won a close split decision
against Jorge Masvidal.
Credit: mmafrenzy

Speaking on The MMA Hour, Iaquinta discussed in detail about the injuries and treatments that have caused him such a lengthy lay off.

Originally, Iaquinta was planning on undergoing an allograft to repair his injured knee, under Dr. Riley Williams in New York. The UFC thought otherwise. Adamant that stem cell surgery would not work to treat his injured ACL, Iaquinta flew out to L.A go ahead with it regardless, much under the UFC’s command. Six months later, there is no progress and he is back at square one.

Iaquinta stated that ironically after this disappointment, the UFC only offered to pay less than half of his $60,000 allograft surgery with Dr. Williams. However, after some time the organization did pay the full cost. It was this, accompanied with the newly instated Reebok deal which left Iaquinta ‘ripping his hair out.’

Iaquinta in action vs Masvidal
Credit: Bloody Elbow

Now we all know about the Reebok deal by now, it’s been in tuition for over a year now. But it wasn’t until this situation with Iaquinta, that I myself realized, how little I knew about it. I had no idea that prior to the Reebok deal, fighters were being paid monthly by their sponsors, I was under the impression it was only per fight. I guess there’s a reason fighters keep this stuff behind closed doors. It’s shocking.

I believe the pivotal point of this situation is not necessarily the fact that Iaquinta signed his UFC contact before the Reebok deal was introduced, because that’s common sense, he hasn’t fought since April of last year, and besides, many other fighters are in that position too. What interests me is looking at where Iaquinta stands, ranking wise, in the company.

Now of course he is not one of the faces of the UFC, or even his division in that case. But this is a guy who is ranked #13 in one of the toughest divisions in the UFC. So what does that mean? It means that if you’re an upcoming fighter, making and breaking your butt off to try and step foot into the UFC, you better buckle up because it will be rougher than a bumpy ride. Not everyone can talk-the-talk like Conor McGregor to build up their persona, and certainly no-one can avoid the ever so present injuries of the sport.

If there was ever a time for a fighter’s voice, it’s now.