FTI Combat Sports prophecy: UFC 202

by Chris Asbrock

The wait is finally over for the much anticipated rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz. This year has been quite the year for the UFC. There was a lot of drama surrounding this fight heading into UFC 200 and when the fight was scrapped due to a few reasons, many wondered if/when these two would meet again in the octagon. All we have to do is wait a few more days and fight fans get what they’ve been wanting. The UFC has dealt with the sale of the company for over $4 Billion dollars and has continued to plug along. UFC 200 was deemed a success, even after dealing with the loss of a main event fight, with two massive names getting popped for performance enhancing substances.

While this isn’t the strongest fight card the UFC has put out this year, this card certainly packs a punch. UFC 201 wasn’t the strongest fight card but saw a surprising title change. This event will be much better than UFC 201 and will certainly have more eyes focused on it. The undercard is loaded with big names and the main card is filled with men who are there to fight. Dana White and the UFC stumbled upon a goldmine with this rematch. Lets take a look at this solid fight card and our picks for what should be a very entertaining event.

Sabah Homasi (10-5) vs Tim Means (24-7-1)

This fight provides a lot of intrigue and is a great way to kick off the main card portion of the event. Homasi is making his UFC debut against a man in Means, who is a seasoned UFC veteran. Both Homasi and Means are coming into this fight with the taste of victory. Homasi has won three straight fights, all finished via KO/TKO. Means is coming off his knockout of John Howard back in December at UFC Fight Night 80.

Both fighters possess the power to knock you out. Means has won 68% fights via the KO/TKO while eight of Homasi’s wins have come via the KO/TKO. This fight should not go the distance as only nine of their combined 48 fights have gone to the judges scorecard. Look for the veteran Means to get the victory here as he comes into this fight the more rested of the two and will take advantage of his height and reach advantage.

Pick: Means

Hyun Gyu Lim (13-5-1) vs Mike Perry (6-0)

This is another fight that features a veteran and a fighter making his UFC debut. Mike Perry is making his UFC debut against veteran Hyun Gyu Lim. Lim is coming off a TKO loss to Neil Magny back at UFC Fight Night 66 in May. Lim has won three of his five fights in the UFC and will look to add another tally in the win column.

Perry, 24, poses a very tough test for the 31 year-old Lim, as he has won all six of his professional fights via KO/TKO. He has yet to make it to the third round in his pro career. Lim has only been finished with strikes once in his career. This will be an interesting fight as both guys will stand there and strike. This fight will come down to who has the tougher chin. Lim has been tested more than Perry and will rebound from his loss to Magny by defeating the newcomer Perry.

Pick: Lim

Donald Cerrone (30-7) vs Rick Story (19-8)

Donald Cerrone is one of the toughest men in the industry and has a reputation for fighting anyone at anytime. Cerrone has had a successful 2016 thus far, defeating Alex Oliveira and Patrick Cote in his two fights this year. Cerrone had been featured on the free Fight Night cards, so this will be his first appearance on a UFC pay-per-view in over a year. With that being said, you know what you are going to get from Cerrone, a fight. He comes into this fight winning 10 of his last 11 fights, including two of his last three. Cerrone hasn’t had a fight go the distance since January of 2015, when he defeated Benson Henderson on just a few days notice.

Rick Story comes into this fight, having fought once in just less than two years. He defeated Tarec Saffiedine, via unanimous decision in May. While Cerrone will look to finish you either by submission or strikes, he will eat his fair share of strikes. Both Story and Cerrone throw a high volume of significant strikes, throwing an average of over 3.5 significant strikes per minute. Cerrone absorbs almost 2 significant strikes more per minute than Story, which could come into play in this fight. I like the tenacity of Cerrone and I can’t see him losing this fight. If this fight goes to the ground, Cerrone gets the slight advantage in my book. Look for this fight to go the distance with Cerrone getting his hand raised at the end.

Pick: Cerrone

Anthony Johnson (21-5) vs Glover Teixeira (25-4)

The co-main event features a light heavyweight battle between two title contenders. Both Teixeira and Johnson are very powerful strikers. The two have combined for 30 KO/TKO victories in their careers. Both have come up short in their title fights as Teixeira dropped a decision victory to Jon Jones in 2014, while Johnson was submitted by Daniel Cormier in 2015 for the vacant title. This is a very important fight for both men, as they look to throw their name back in the hat for a chance at a title shot. This is certainly a fight that either man could win.

You can expect Johnson to keep the fight standing where he can punish Teixeira with strikes. Even though Teixeira can strike, he is much more dangerous on the ground. Johnson has defended approx 79% of takedowns attempted. With that being the case, the striking of Johnson is better than Teixeira’s and will be the difference. Don’t expect this fight to go to the judges, as Johnson will use his striking and will finish Teixeira. The victory will thrust Johnson back into the title picture.

Pick: Johnson

Conor McGregor (19-3) vs Nate Diaz (19-10)

The MMA world was tossed into a frenzy with one rear-naked choke at UFC 196. Nate Diaz came into UFC 196 on extremely short notice to face Conor McGregor and submitted one of the biggest names in the sport, in the second round. When McGregor and Diaz show up, you can expect a fight. McGregor will look to avenge his stunning loss to Diaz and set up what should be a third and final fight between these two. Should Diaz win on Saturday night, the talk of McGregor being one of the top attractions in the UFC will rightfully fade away, putting the Irishman’s career at a crossroads.

At UFC 196, Diaz showed why he is one of the toughest men in the sport. He absorbed some shots from McGregor but continued to push forward. Diaz is one of the toughest men to finish. He has only been submitted once (2006 to Hermes Franca) and knocked out once (2013 to Josh Thomson). For McGregor to finish off Diaz, everything will have to fall his way and he will have to be flawless. One thing is certain, McGregor will be a different fighter than the one back at UFC 196. However, so will Diaz as he will have a full training camp under his belt and will certainly be more conditioned for this fight. That will pose a serious problem for McGregor, who quickly tired out during their first fight. When McGregor fights at 145 pounds, he is the much bigger and stronger guy. That certainly changes with this matchup as Diaz is taller, stronger and tougher than McGregor.

With that being said, it is not out of the realm of possibility that McGregor can knock out Diaz. In his 19 professional wins, all but two have come via the knockout. McGregor is extremely tough in his own right and will certainly punish Diaz in this fight as well. The question is whether or not he will tire out quickly as Diaz fights with a frenetic pace. The motivation is there for McGregor to take care of business in this fight and shut Diaz up. McGregor cannot fight the same fight as he did the first time, otherwise, he will suffer the same fate. He must change a lot heading into this fight, while Diaz has to change very little.

There will be a lot of eyes tuning into this battle. There hadn’t been much publicity surrounding this fight but based off of yesterdays press conference, the hype is there. Check out the full uncensored (NSFW) press conference below. Both McGregor and Diaz are jacked up for this fight. Since Diaz will come in more conditioned and more ready than he did in the first fight, expect much of the same in this fight. Don’t expect this fight to go to the judges scorecards. Diaz, with his toughness, conditioning and unorthodox style, will get the job done once again. The fight won’t end in the second round again because McGregor will learn from his mistakes in the previous fight. Diaz will absorb the punishment and use his pace to finish of McGregor once again, silencing the Irishman and his hype.

Pick: Diaz

Full UFC 202 Pre-Fight Press Conference (uncensored…very strong language)

Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for FTI Sports and can be followed on Twitter Follow @iamchrisasbrock and Follow @hicksyandchris