UFC Long Island: Things you should Know about
UFC hosts its first event in Long Island this weekend. Headlined by Kelvin Gastelum and Chris Weidman, the card has enough firepower to keep the fans on the edge of their seats.
A featherweight bout between former UFC Featherweight Championship challengers Ricardo Lamas and Chan Sung Jung was originally in the works to headline or co-headline this event.
The pairing was originally slated to take place in July 2013 at UFC 162, but Jung was pulled from the bout in favor of a title fight against then champion José Aldo at UFC 163. On May 12, the bout was confirmed for UFC 214. Below are some things about the main event and co-main event that you should know.
The Hunger to Win:
his is Weidman’s third attempt to win in his home state of New York, and he’ll be looking to avoid a four-fight losing streak. Gastelum could be a future title challenger at 185, and beating Weidman would be a big deal even on Chris’ current skid
Weidman’s six stoppage victories in UFC middleweight competition since 2011 are tied with Yoel Romero and Ronaldo Souza for most among active fighters in the weight class
Both the fighters are wrestlers so they will find it tough for each other to turn this into a grappling match. Gastelum and Weidman will be forced to strike, which will make this a close matchup
Meanwhile, Gastelum is 1-0 (with one no contest) since he moved up to the UFC middleweight division in December. He’s 3-0 (with one no contest) in the organization at 185 pounds. He suffered both his career losses via split decisions and has won nine of his bouts via stoppage.
The co-main event
Darren Elkins (22-5 MMA, 12-4 UFC) competes in his 15th UFC featherweight bout, the second most appearances in divisional history behind champ Max Holloway (16). He is 11-3 since he dropped to the UFC featherweight division in June 2011 and his 11 UFC featherweight victories are second most in divisional history behind Holloway (13)
Along with this, his four-fight UFC winning streak in featherweight competition is tied for the second longest active streak in the division behind Holloway (10)
Meanwhile, Bermudez (16-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) competes in his 14th UFC featherweight bout, the third most appearance in divisional history behind Holloway (16) and Elkins (15). His nine victories in UFC featherweight competition are tied for fourth most in divisional history behind Holloway (13), Elkins (11) and Cub Swanson (10).
Also, Bermudez is the only fighter in UFC featherweight history to register three knockdowns in a single fight. He accomplished the feat against Jimy Hettes at UFC 171. The 38 takedowns that Bermudez has landed in UFC featherweight competition are the most in divisional history.
UFC fight night New York – Live and Exclusive on SONY ESPN HD - Sunday 05:30 AM 23rd July 2017.
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