This coming Sunday Morning (Korea Time) we have one of the biggest MMA events ever and one of the biggest sporting events of year, UFC 200 “Tate vs. Nunes”. Of course Modern Seoul isn’t known for UFC coverage, however we’ve been fans for many years and cover live events via our twitter page.
UFC 200 has had a number of ups and downs from the losses of firstly Conor McGregor and then shockingly Jon Jones. To the highlight ups with the return of Brock Lesnar and now Middleweight great Anderson Silva. As many people have said already this is the best fight card ever and although you only have one title fight (plus one interim) is will be a great night (morning here) of action.
The prelims should start at around 10am (Korea Time) with the main card around midday (maybe a little sooner). It will be on SPOTV and online via the Naver Sports Network, so you shouldn’t miss it. Now lets look at the fights;
UFC 200 Preliminary Card Fights
For the preliminary card fights we’re going to keep it simple with just predictions;
Jim Miller vs. Takanori Gomi
(Lightweight Division)
Prediction: Jim Miller via UD (Unanimous Decision)
Gegard Mousasi vs. Thiago Santos
(Middleweight Division)
Prediction: Gegard Mousasi via 2nd Round TKO
Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Lauzon
(Lightweight Division)
Prediction: Diego Sanchez via UD (Unanimous Decision)
Sage Northcutt vs. Enrique Marin
(Lightweight Division)
Prediction: Sage Northcutt via 1st Round TKO
T.J. Dillashaw vs. Raphael Assunção
(Bantamweight Division)
Prediction: T.J. Dillashaw via 3rd Round TKO
Johny Hendricks vs. Calvin Gastelum
(Welterweight Division)
Prediction: Calvin Gastelum via UD (Unanimous Decision)
*Hendricks missed weight by .25lbs
Cat Zingano vs. Julianna Peña
(Women’s Bantamweight Division)
Prediction: Cat Zingano via 2nd Round TKO
UFC 200 Main Card Fights
Moving onto the main fight with the 5 main event level contests, here are our previews and predictions for each fight;
Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne
(Heavyweight Division)
Former champions Cain Velasquez has an impressive record of 13-2 and has the honor of beating the beast Brock Lesnar back in 2010. He hasn’t fought in a year since losing his title.
The tall Hawaiian Travis Browne stands 6 foot 7 has a similar record to Cain with 18-3. His biggest win to date was against Alistair Overeem.
Prediction: Both fighters focus more on standup but can complete on the ground. Honestly the power of Cain Velasquez might be a little much for Travis Browne.
Cain Velasquez via 1st Round KO
Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar
(Featherweight Division) – Interim Title
Jose Aldo is one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, his record stands at 25-2. It was a shock loss against Conor McGregor which people might remember now, but before that he cleared out the division and previous beat Frankie Edgar.
Former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar has a record of 20-4-1, with 3 of those loses coming in championship fights. Along with Aldo and McGregor he is one of the top 3 featherweights. He also has never lost via knockout or submission.
Prediction: It will be a super close and honest fight which might come down to one round or even one takedown. We see Frankie edging this one on the score cards.
Frankie Edgar via UD (Unanimous Decision)
Daniel Cormier vs. Anderson Silva
(Light Heavyweight Division) – 3rd Round Non-Title Fight
Daniel Cormier is the current champion, former Strikeforce Heavyweight champ and Olympic Wrestler. His record stands at 17-1, the only defeat coming to Jon Jones. He was preparing for Jone and now has to deal with the Spider Silva.
Anderson Silva is the former Middleweight world champion, and although his best years are now maybe gone he’s always dangerous. Kicks, Punches and on the ground he’s dangerous.
Prediction: Cormier is a heavyweight and Silva is a middleweight, if it goes to the ground Cormier will over power Silva like he did against Dan Henderson. On the feet it maybe more even and maybe Silva has the edge.
Daniel Cormier via 2nd Round TKO
Brock Lesnar vs. Mark Hunt
(Heavyweight Division)
The beast is back, former UFC and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar returns to MMA after a 5 year break. He record isn’t great 5-3, but he was fighting the elite almost from the beginning. He’s a big guy and strong both on the feet and on the ground.
Mark Hunt is a former K1 kickboxing world champion and just like Lesnar has an average record 12-10-1, but isn’t ever giving an easy fight. Also most of his defeats came in Pride via Submission, these days he’s a more well-rounded fighter.
Prediction: This is so difficult to call because Brock hasn’t fought in such a long time, you don’t know what type of fighter you have. Mark Hunt is predictable and powerful, he could knockout Lesnar and he doesn’t go the distance often.
Mark Hunt via 2nd Round TKO
Miesha Tate vs. Amanda Nunes
(Women’s Bantamweight Division) Title Fight
Current Champion Miesha Tate holds a 18-5 record dating back to 2007, she’s one of the original Women’s MMA fighters. She’s only recently been beaten by Ronda Rousey and Cat Zingano. Her win over Holly Holm was a shock and came late in the 5th round, showing her heart and focus.
Brazilian Amanda Nunes started fighting back in 2008 and has a record of 12-4. Her only loss in the UFC was against Cat Zingano, and she’s won the 3 since then. She has 9 wins via KO and doesn’t go the distance often.
Prediction: Amanda Nunes is a dangerous striker who could knockout anyone in the division. However Miesha Tate survived over 4 round with a Boxing World Champion, and has a better ground game.
Miesha Tate via 3rd Round Submission
UFC 200 Links
Sherdog UFC 200 Link
UFC YouTube Channel
UFC 200 Live Stream Link – Naver Sports (only in Korea) – Coming Soon
Naver Media Player App Link – Stream also Here (only in Korea)
Finally
As always if you have anything you’d like to add please let us know. We will try and keep things updated as best as possible via Twitter (and little via Facebook).
Tim
Modern Seoul
tim@modernseoul.org