UFC Fight Night 111: Holly Holm vs Bethe Correia
Date: Saturday 17th June 2017, 1pm (BST)
Location: Kallang, Singapore
Venue: Singapore Indoor Stadium
Holly Holm vs Bethe Correia
Holm moves back down to bantamweight after losing against Germaine de Randamie for the inaugural featherweight title. It was a close fight in the brand new division, but it was Holm’s third loss in a row, piling on the pressure going into this bout with the Brazilian, Correia. Holm became an overnight hero after spectacularly knocking out the most dominant female champion in UFC history; Ronda Rousey. However, the former boxing champion failed to defend her title against an exceptional grappler in Miesha Tate, and then went on to lose against fellow decorated strikers Valentina Shevchenko and Germaine de Randamie, so a fourth loss in a row could be terminal to her UFC career.
In more favourable form, Correia beat Jessica Eye and drew against Marion Reneau in her most recent fights, and she is going into this bout in her usual loud and aggressive manner. She is intent on retiring Holm, whom she believes is overrated and should hang up her gloves if she loses again. Strong words that will only motivate Holm.
Holm is the larger fighter with an important height and reach advantage, and will naturally use these attributes to keep Correia at a distance and attempt to pick her apart with the precision she displayed against Rousey. Correia is also a formidable striker and will believe she can match the former champion, utilising high volume jabs and leg kicks, but will have to rely on efficient movement to close the distance. Correia is a tough assignment for any fighter in the division, but a tremendously difficult task for somebody with three losses on the bounce, which will make this bout extremely tense.
See below for a statistical breakdown:
Andrei Arlovski vs Marcin Tybura
Two sizeable gentlemen take up the co-main, with full intention to end the fight as quickly as possible. Arlovski is a veteran of the UFC, making his debut all the way back in 2000 at UFC 28, and will welcome a man for only his fourth UFC fight. Tybura is a natural finisher with only two losses to his name, but Arlovski is a giant step-up in competition and will test the calibre of the Poland native.
On paper, this fight promises to be an incredibly close contest. The confidence sides with Tybura but you cannot quantify the value of experience the Belarusian possesses, regardless of four straight losses. This is a fascinating contest with complete unpredictability of when the fight could finish.
See below for a statistical breakdown:
Dong Hyun Kim vs Colby Covington
Two welterweights face off with a combined tally of 33 wins and only four losses. The South Korean has shown real promise throughout his UFC career and would be closer to a title shot if it wasn’t for various injuries to himself and his opponents, limiting him to fight only four times in three years. He is extremely well-rounded with excellent striking complimented by a black belt in Judoka, and has only lost to championship level fighters such as Carlos Condit, and current champion and number one contender, Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia.
However, although the favourite, Kim faces a very tough challenger in the form of Covington, who has only one loss to his name. Although he hasn’t fought the calibre of opponents Kim has fought, he will be carrying a great deal of confidence and believes his world class wrestling can grind Kim to defeat.
See below for a statistical breakdown:
Tarec Saffiedine vs Rafael Dos Anjos
A fight worthy of a pay-per-view card, Saffiedine and Dos Anjos kick off this main card looking to bounce back from two straight losses. The two losses of Saffiedine came against top welterweights in Dong Hyun Kim and Rick Story, both in close decisions. Suffering crippling injuries in the last few years has made it difficult for him to display the form that made him the Strikeforce champion, and he now faces a slightly different challenge as he welcomes the former lightweight champion for his welterweight debut.
Dos Anjos peaked triumphantly in a stacked division to earn the lightweight strap, but failed to defend it against Eddie Alvarez. He then suffered another loss, this time to the number one ranked contender, Tony Ferguson. This will be another tense and high-pressure fight with two top calibre fighters looking to prove their class.
See below for a statistical breakdown:
