UFC 172 has been shaping up to be one of the more entertaining pay-per-view events they’ve put on as of late. Eleven of the eighteen fighters on the card are ranked and the match-ups all look like they have the potential to be extremely competitive.
Below, is a breakdown of each match, courtesy of UFC.com and Tapology.
UFC Fight Pass 7:30 PM ET :
Bantamweight Bout 3 Rounds: Patrick Williams 7-3-0 vs Chris “The Real Deal” Beal 8-0-0
Williams 68 in,135 lbs / Beal 67 in, 135lbs
Fox Sports 1 Prelims 8:00 PM ET:
Lightweight Bout 3 Rounds: Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman 19-6-0 vs Danny “Last Call” Castillo 16-6-0
Brenneman 70 in, 155 1/2 lbs / Castillo 69 in, 156 lbs
Women’s Bantamweight Bout 3 Rounds: Bethe “Pitbull” Correia (12) 7-0-0 vs Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke (14) 3-0-0
Correia 65 in, 135 lbs / Duke 71 in, 135 1/2 lbs
Lightweight Bout 3 Rounds: Isaac Vallie-Flagg 14-4-1 vs Takanori “The Fireball Kid” Gomi 34-9-0
Vallie-Flagg 68 in, 155 1/2 lbs / Gomi 68 in, 155 1/2 lbs
Flyweight Bout 3 Rounds: Timothy Elliot (8) 10-4-1 vs Joseph Benavidez (2) 19-4-0
Elliot 67 in, 125 1/2 lbs / Benavidez 64 in, 125 1/2 lbs
Main Card 10:00 PM ET:
Featherweight Bout 3 Rounds: Andre “Touchy” Fili 13-1-0 vs Max “Blessed” Holloway 8-3-0
Fili 71 in, 145 lbs / Holloway 71 in, 145 lbs
Lightweight Bout 3 Rounds: Yancy Medeiros 9-1-0, 1NC vs Jim Miller (9) 23-4-0, 1NC
Medeiros 70 in, 155 1/2 lbs / Miller 68 in, 155 lbs
Middleweight Bout 3 Rounds: Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch (13) 17-6-0 vs Luke Rockhold (5) 11-2-0
Boetsch 72 in, 185 1/2 lbs / Rockhold 75 in, 185 1/2 lbs
Light Heavyweight Bout 3 Rounds: Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (14) 16-4-0 vs Phil ” Mr. Wonderful” Davis (4) 12-1-0, 1NC
Johnson 74 in, 205 lbs / Davis 74 in, 205 1/2 lbs
Main Event:
Light Heavweight Title Bout 5 Rounds: Glover Teixeira (2) 22-2-0 vs Jon “Bones” Jones (Champion) 19-1-0
Teixeira 74 in, 205 lbs / Jones 76 in, 205 lbs
Personally, the Anthony Johnson/Phil Davis bout will be the one to see. Of course, like everyone else I am looking forward to the championship main event, however, the battle of the pure power of Johnson vs the speed, quickness and athleticism of Davis will be particularly entertaining to me. Two athletes, who at this time, are in the best shapes of their careers. Especially Johnson, who failed to make weight in the middleweight division class and is now fighting comfortably as a light heavyweight. His weight struggles almost cost him his career, as one more missed weight would’ve gotten him banned for life from UFC competition.