July 25, 2020 / By mobanmarket
Welcome to wrestlingobserver.com’s live coverage of the UFC 185 weigh-ins at 5 p.m. ET (2PM PT, 4PM CT). As always, we will feature a live stream of the event above, with the result themselves below. Mike Coughlin has an excellent preview of the main-event, and has provided even more below on the deep undercard.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship: Carla Esparza (c) vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk
The first Strawweight Champion in UFC history, Carla Esparza endured not only Rose Namajunas in winning the title but the grind of weeks on end of The Ultimate Fighter tapings. A former Invicta champion, Esparza was also a women’s All American wrestler before she began her MMA journey. Undefeated over her last five professional fights (which does not include her stint on TUF), Esparza steps into the Octagon for the first of what she hopes will be a run of title defenses. She will only need to get by Joanna Jędrzejczyk.
Though perhaps more known for her tough to pronounce name, Poland’s own Jędrzejczyk is dangerous if overlooked. Undefeated in MMA, she has won numerous kickboxing world championships as well. Her striking, keyed off a precise jab and the utilization of excellent reach and length makes her one of the UFC’s best strikers – male or female. Her wrestling defense will certainly be put to the test by Jędrzejczyk but if she passes said test then she may find herself with a new, more pronounceable name on Saturday: champion.
HEAVYWEIGHT: Alistair Overeem vs. Roy Nelson
In some respects, Alistair Overeem and Roy Nelson are slightly askew parallels to one another. Both ranked heayvweights, both former title holders in lesser organizations, and both known as much for their physiques as their talent. Nelson’s Santa Claus-like silhouette betrays his talent as a black belt in jiu-jitsu possessing innate one-punch KO power and a near granite chine. The #8 UFC-Ranked heavyweight carries with him knock-outs of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko CroCop, amongst others.
Opposite Nelson is Overeem, a former skinny light-heavyweight who – ahem – managed to pack on several pounds of pure muscle. And while he looked like a GI Joe action figure, Overeem was still simultaneously the K1 and Strikeforce heavyweight championships at the same time. Both Nelson and Overeem stand at the rare precipice where a win or loss means being either potential headliner or also-ran. For both, a win is a must.
WELTERWEIGHT: Johny Hendricks vs. Matt Brown
Johny Hendricks beat Georges St. Pierre. He knew it. The audience knew it. But the judges did not. And so the former NCAA national champion wrestler saw his first chance at being a champion vanish. However, the subsequent retirement of St. Pierre left a void in the welterweight division that was quickly filled as “Big Rig” became champion last March (almost one year to the day, in fact) when he defeated Robbie Lawler. But, the adage that it’s more difficult to be champion than to become champion held true as Hendricks lost his coveted title last December to Lawler in a rematch. If the past is prologue then Hendricks will rebound in spectacular fashion as he faces Matt Brown.
Matt Brown does not look like a big star. He does not fight like a star. But all he has done is win. One fight after another, Brown was overlooked and underrated by fans and pundits; his grinding style failing to leave an impact. But then he won. And won. And won. Last July, he faced Robbie Lawler in the biggest fight of his career. True to form, Brown fought and did not stop and ground on Lawler. But it was not his night and his win-streak was stopped at seven. Not expected to win one or two, let alone seven, Brown faces Hendricks in a bout likely to produce a title challenger. The man who once survived an overdose of heroin will bring the same never say die attitude to the cage; the same attitude that earned him the nickname “The Immortal.”
PPV MAIN CARD 10PM/7PM ETPT
Lightweight Championship – Anthony Pettis(155) vs. Rafael dos Anjos(155)
Women’s Strawweight Championship – Carla Esparza(115) (Champion) vs. Joanna Jędrzejczyk(115)
Welterweight – Johny Hendricks(170) vs. Matt Brown(171)
Heavyweight – Roy Nelson(254) vs. Alistair Overeem(247)
Flyweight – Chris Cariaso(126) vs. Henry Cejudo(125)
Preliminary Card (FX)
Lightweight – Ross Pearson(156) vs. Sam Stout(156)
Middleweight – Elias Theodorou(186) vs. Roger Narvaez(186)
Lightweight – Daron Cruickshank(157.5) vs. Beneil Dariush(156)
Heavyweight – Jared Rosholt(245) vs. Josh Copeland(264)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Flyweight – Sergio Pettis(126) vs. Ryan Benoit(126)
Lightweight – Jake Lindsey(156) vs. Joseph Duffy(156)
Women’s Bantamweight – Larissa Pacheco(136) vs. Germaine de Randamie(136)
Categories: News