Another fight weekend is here, baby, and we love to see it. This week features another loaded few days of action, headlined by a UFC card from the Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, a Bellator show Thursday night and an offering from ONE on Friday.
As always, here’s a look at the three fights I’ll be watching closest over the next couple days:
Thiago Santos vs. Glover Teixeira, UFC Vegas 13
It’s FINALLY here. Light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz may be heading towards an ill-advised champion vs. champion showdown with middleweight king Israel Adesanya – I really, really think they’re jumping the gun on this one, but whatever – but the next challenger for the 205-pound title will almost undoubtedly be decided on Saturday, when top contenders Thiago Santos and Glover Teixeira finally step into the cage.
It’s a sign of the times that this fight is only taking place now, in early November: the bout was originally scheduled to take place on Sep. 12 but has been postponed twice, one when Santos tested positive for COVID-19, and once when Teixeira tested positive. They’re supposedly clean and ready to go, giving us one of the biggest light heavyweight scraps of 2020.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 16 months since we saw Thiago Santos in the cage. “Marreta” was last seen giving then-champion Jon Jones one of the tests of his life back in July, absolutely fighting his heart out with a blown-out knee and becoming the first fighter ever to take a judge’s scorecard against the greatest light heavyweight of all time. You could have made a strong case that Santos should have left with the belt – he came out Jones hard and made him feel his power. Instead, all he left Las Vegas with was *unfurls scroll* a torn LCL, torn PCL, torn MCL, torn meniscus, partially torn ACL, and a cracked tibia.
We don’t know how the major injury will affect Santos going forward. We only know what we’ve seen out of him over the last few years. And he’s submitted one of the best highlight reels of any fighter in the UFC – Santos is an absolute terror on the feet, and explosive Muay Thai powerhouse who brings the fight to you and has all kinds of ways to remove you from consciousness.
Santos is so built and so strong that it’s almost hard to conceive that up until Sep. 2018, he was fighting at middleweight. His career has ignited since he moved up to 205, and he can secure another look at the title he so narrowly missed out on Saturday night – let’s not forget, Santos knocked Blachowicz the hell out just last year, before the Polish powerhouse went on the win streak that ended in a world championship win.
But for a guy coming off a long layoff and a traumatic injury, the UFC has tossed him one hell of a test. 41-year-old Glover Teixeira has been a top light heavyweight seemingly forever – he’s been a professional mixed martial artist since 2002, and he’s been near the top of the UFC rankings for almost a decade – and while he’s no spring chicken, he’s got plenty left in the tank.
Teixeira is on a four-fight win streak of his own, most recently beating recent title challenger Anthony Smith so badly, and for such an extended period of time, that Smith’s teeth were falling out of his mouth by the fourth round. Teixeira has plenty of punching power of his own, but his bread-and-butter lies in his strong submission wrestling game – he thrives the most when he can take a fighter down, use his considerable strength and BJJ acumen, and either ground-and-pound a fighter out or find a submission.
Teixeira is an excellent all-around fighter who’s looking for his first title opportunity since 2014, when he was summarily outclassed over five rounds by a prime Jones. But when I think about this fight, I can’t help but think about his tangle with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson in Aug. 2016. Johnson was a similarly powerful stand-up fighter who wanted to come straight at you – Teixeira lasted 13 seconds.
I’m not trying to say that I think that’s definitely going to happen again. But knowing what we know of Santos, he’s going to be aggressive and hunt a KO. And knowing what we know of Teixeira, he’s a 41-year-old man fighting someone younger and more powerful, and he’s struggled at times with hard-charging bomb throwers.
I expect to see Santos walk away a winner. But who knows! It’s been so long since we’ve seen him fight, that we don’t know exactly what we’re going to get. That’s an exciting prospect in a crucial main event.
Ian Heinisch vs. Brendan Allen, UFC Vegas 13
There are a few other UFC fights that have my interest. Mulleted Canadian laser-thrower Tanner Boser has what appears to be a star-making platform against former heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski, we have an appearance from unchained King Kong monster Moldovan suplex freak Alexander Romanov, while Giga Chikadze is quickly back in the cage coming off the most impressive performance of his unbeaten UFC career.
But in the middle of the main card we have what could be a real treat in the middleweight division, between two of the promotion’s best rising fighters at 185. 24-year-old Brendan Allen may be one of the world’s top middleweight prospects, and at 3-0 in the UFC, he’s looking to break into the top 15 rankings with a win over Ian Heinisch.
Allen has established himself as one of the real gems to come out of Dana White’s Contender Series over the last couple years, and now he’s trying to really get the needle moving. Allen’s official UFC debut came against Kevin Holland, himself one of my favorite prospects at 185 and, in my mind, a potential big-time star – Allen got busted open with a hard elbow early but still made Holland fight his fight, overcoming adversity to score a second-round choke submission. It is, to date, Holland’s most recent defeat.
The South Carolinian is an excellent pressure grappler who comes after you from the opening bell and forces you to constantly defend – he gets on you and either pulls out a submission or ground-and-pounds you until you’re done, as he did to Tom Breese in February.
Ian Heinisch was in Allen’s position just a year and a half ago. Heinisch – who immediately preceded Allen as the LFA middleweight champion – came through the Contender Series and started his UFC career with two impressive wins, before having the gate slammed in his face by Derek Brunson and Omari Akhmedov.
Heinisch is still tenuously holding onto the No. 15 spot in the middleweight rankings, but he needs to rebuild his status. He got that effort off to a good start in June, with a one-minute KO win over Gerald Meerschaert, and he has a skillset that could give Allen plenty of problems. Heinisch has showcased remarkably inventive grappling defense during his UFC career – he rolls out of clinches like a Dark Souls character – and he’ll be tremendously difficult for Allen to get down and hold down. And on the feet, Heinisch is precise and powerful. He’ll put Allen to the test.
It’s a great grappler against one of the best anti-grapplers in the UFC, with a lot of career momentum on the line. Can’t wait for this one.
Corey Anderson vs. Melvin Manhoef, Bellator 251
Bellator has made a habit of attempting to lure away UFC contenders who feel dissatisfied with their place in the organization and with their pay. And a couple of months ago, Scott Coker landed a relatively big fish when he signed 31-year-old Corey Anderson, universally regarded as one of the top light heavyweight contenders in the world, to further legitimize his 205-pound division.
Realistically, you knew that at the jump Anderson was at most one win away from a shot at Bellator’s new light heavyweight champion, 28-year-old sambo master Vadim Nemkov, who is in my opinion one of the best young 205-pounders anywhere in the world. Anderson can get that win on Thursday night, when he main events in his first Bellator show.
The guy handpicked to face Anderson in his Bellator debut? Oh boy, let me tell you… it is a CHOICE! It’s Melvin Manhoef of all freaking people, the 44-year-old Dutch kickboxer who has spent much of career at middleweight – and has even fought as low as welterweight – and hasn’t had a really meaningful MMA win in at least five years.
But still, it’s Melvin Manhoef! Manhoef currently stands, in my book, as pound-for-pound perhaps the single most powerful striker in the history of this sport. Short and jacked at 5-foot-8, Manhoef has absolutely horrifying thump in his punches. The Dutchman has 29 KOs in 32 pro wins, and I still to this day marvel at his performance on New Year’s Eve 2008, when he moved up to heavyweight and blasted Mark Hunt, a 265-pounder with one of the most uncrackable chins in combat sports history, completely out cold.
Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, did that to Mark Hunt. This is a man who took a prime Mirko Cro Cop‘s left high kick directly on the side of the head and barely even grunted! That’s how scary Manhoef is, and his reputation is still a fearsome one at 44 years old.
You would figure that Anderson, an accomplished wrestler, will try to stay away from that power. Anderson was on a four-fight win streak that had elevated him near the top of the UFC light heavyweight division, until he ran into Jan Blachowicz in February – the now-champ knocked Anderson unconscious with one of his mammoth punches in what turned out to be Anderson’s final UFC fight.
Still, Anderson had appeared to grow more comfortable relying on his developing striking game over the course of that winning run, although he may not want to test it with a guy with Manhoef’s highlight reel. Manhoef has never been a truly elite MMA fighter because of his weakness to grapplers: the stage could be set for Anderson grinding out a decision win.
Bellator main events so often are snoozers anyway. But still, even at 44, Melvin Manhoef could always be just one shot away from producing some absolute madness. If he does, I bet Dana White will be the first guy laughing his ass off.
The Big Fight 