UFC Fight Night 167 - Rio Rancho Breakdown & Predictions
When is UFC Fight Night 167? Saturday 15th February, 2020 - 23:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 167? Santa Ana Star Center, Rio Rancho, New Mexico
What channel is UFC Fight Night 167 on? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 167? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ which can you sign up to here!
Are tickets still available for UFC Fight Night 167? https://www.ufc.com/tickets
Corey Anderson vs Jan Blachowicz
Corey Anderson and Jan Blachowicz duke it out again but this time a title shot is within reach.
Anderson took home the spoils with a unanimous decision back in 2015. He has gone 7-3 since bringing his overall UFC record to 10-4. His last losses were violent knockouts against Jimi Manuwa and Ovince Saint Preux but he has responded with four straight wins: three unanimous decisions over Pat Cummins, Glover Teixeira, Ilir Latifi and a brilliant, shock knockout over Johnny Walker.
Blachowicz has also steadily improved. He has also gone 7-3 since, bringing his overall UFC record to 8-5. His only loss in his last seven outings was a knockout to Thiago Santos who went on to challenge for the title. That was a year ago, and he replied with a clean knockout over Luke Rockhold and squeaked a split decision over another former elite middleweight in Jacare Souza.
PREDICTION
Both fighters have evolved a lot since 2015 but Anderson is favourite to bag another decision. Blachowicz is a phenomenal grappler and submission artist but Anderson is a beast of a wrestler and was successful with all four of his takedown attempts in their first fight.
Anderson’s chin has taken some punishment, and Blachowicz has the power to turn off his lights once more, but as we saw in Anderson’s last fight with Walker, his striking has to be respected. However, Blachowicz is the slicker striker and will try to keep the fight on the feet.
So, this is likely to come down to the takedowns of Anderson. Blachowicz will be harder to get down but Anderson’s gas tank is likely to overwhelm the Pole to grind out a decision.
Winner: Anderson via Decision
Diego Sanchez vs Michel Pereira
The co-main features a thrilling match-up as the showman Michel Pereira takes on the veteran Diego Sanchez.
Barring Georges St Pierre, who is inactive, Sanchez is the longest-serving fighter on the roster, making his debut all the way back in 2005 on the very first Ultimate Fighter series which he won by finishing Kenny Florian. He has gone 18-12 sharing the cage with the true greats of the sport. It is an achievement in itself to keep slugging it out at this level but he is still winning. He earned a unanimous decision over Craig White and put on a vintage performance and TKO over Mickey Gall. However, he is coming off a decision loss to Michael Chiesa, where he was completely undersized.
Pereira is experienced but a UFC rookie and it showed in his last outing. After putting on a performance against Danny Roberts that was nothing short of spectacular, short-circuiting him with a flying knee and right hand, he took on Tristan Connelly, who is a lightweight, on short notice. Pereira got too cocky by showboating with unnecessary gymnastics which caused him to gas out quickly, leaving the door open for Connelly who cruised the last two rounds.
PREDICTION
Pereira threw away the fight with Connelly, taking him for granted and emptying his gas tank, and if he does the same again he will be in for a punishing lesson. If he doesn’t conserve his energy and fight smart, Sanchez will school him and suffocate him with relentless grappling. Sanchez has all the experience and is a cardio machine but Pereira’s last performance was a reality check and with a solid game plan he should use his significant power and size advantage to finish the veteran.
Winner: Pereira via KO/TKO
Montana De La Rosa vs Mara Romero Borella
Two flyweights look to get back to winning ways as Montana De La Rosa takes on Mara Romero Borella who will fly the Italian flag all the way to Rio Rancho.
De La Rosa is coming off her first loss in five fights after Andrea Lee earned the decision back in June last year. We first saw De La Rosa on The Ultimate Fighter series that crowned the first flyweight champion. She didn’t make it very far then, but has since established herself in the division with three submission wins over Christina Marks, Rachael Ostovich and Nadia Kassem.
Borella also won her UFC debut with a submission, choking out Kalindra Faria in the first round. She then lost to recent title challenger Katlyn Chookagian, before bouncing back against Talia Santos, but now is coming off a TKO loss to Lauren Murphy.
PREDICTION
De La Rosa is a terrific grappler and she will try to utilize her wrestling to subdue the Italian to avoid her threat on the feet. That said, Borella is dangerous everywhere. She comes from a strong judo background and is also an exceptional, technical striker with black belts in kickboxing and shoot boxing as well.
De La Rosa’s wrestling and cardio could be enough to take the fight away from Borella but we have not seen the best from the Italian yet and with the help of the coaches at American Top Team she should implement a game plan to leverage all her skills and dictate where the fight goes.
Winner: Borella via Decision
Brok Weaver vs Rodrigo Vargas
Brok Weaver makes his anticipated debut and takes on Rodrigo Vargas who is looking for his first UFC win.
After having to pull out of his fight with Thomas Gifford last year, the member of the MOWA Band of Choctaw Indians finally makes his debut. He earned a contract after a unanimous decision over Devin Smyth on Dana White’s Contender Series to go 14-4 but he is far more experienced than his record suggests, with several amateur fights under his belt.
Vargas is Weaver’s first assignment, but he is just as hungry after losing his UFC debut to Alex da Silva Coelho in a unanimous decision. This was the third loss of his career and came after two impressive performances; a unanimous decision over Danny Ramirez and a brilliant head kick knockout over Mike de la Torre.
PREDICTION
Both fighters are well-rounded but are strongest on the feet. Weaver’s bread and butter is his boxing and Vargas is a dangerous southpaw with knockout power, which should create a thrilling contest.
Vargas’ power will be a constant threat, especially with his counter right hand, but Weaver’s size and reach advantage should pay dividends as the fight goes on.
Winner: Weaver via Decision
Rogerio Bontorin vs Ray Borg
Ray Borg is back in action after his emotional win back in July last year but he has a very tough fight in the form of Rogerio Bontorin.
Bontorin has only lost one fight, to Michinori Tanaka via submission back in 2017 for the Grandslam promotion. He has gone on to win his next four including a submission win over Gustavo Gabriel Silva on Dana White’s Contender Series, a split decision over Magomed Bibulatov on his UFC debut, and he is coming off a TKO over Raulin Paiva.
Borg's biggest fight recently has been together with his young son, who has been battling a rare brain disease. However, once ready to compete, he met Gabriel Silva back in July last year and won a unanimous decision which prevented a three-fight skid.
PREDICTION
This is a very intriguing match-up. Bontorin has looked superb, dangerous on the feet, and has 11 submission wins under his belt whereas Borg is a former title challenger who rose the ranks with dominant wrestling.
Bontorin has the skill to earn the win but it may depend on Borg’s mentality. If he is in a good frame of mind, he may have a new fire under his belly and put on a ferocious pace for three rounds to out-wrestle Bontorin to a decision.
Winner: Borg via Decision
Lando Vannata vs Yancy Medeiros
The main card for UFC Fight Night 167 kicks off with one of the most exciting fights on the card – Lando Vannata vs Yancy Medeiros.
Although Vannata has an unflattering UFC record of 2-4-2, he has consistently put on a show with two ‘fight of the night’ bonuses and one ‘performance on the night’ bonus which was a majestic wheel kick knockout over John Makdessi. He fought twice last year - cinching a brilliant kimura on Marcos Rosa Mariano - but he is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Marc Diakiese.
We haven’t seen UFC veteran Medeiros for over a year and not since December 2017 have we seen him win. That was a TKO over Alex Oliveira which was his third finish in a row, but he got a taste of his own medicine against Donald Cerrone and then got dismantled and finished by Gregor Gillespie.
PREDICTION
These guys rarely fail to put on a spectacle and we should not expect anything different in this one. It should be a thrilling stand-up battle and just by looking at the amount of strikes they absorb, this will be violent.
With the skill they possess on the feet and on the ground, if damage forces it there, a finish for either man can happen but despite the long lay-off Medeiros is expected to come out on top with his size and reach advantage making the difference in the exchanges. It would not be a surprise to see Vannata’s toughness just force a decision, though.
Winner: Medeiros via Decision
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.