UFC 215: Johnson vs. Borg Preview & Predictions

Former world title challengers Henry Cejudo and Wilson Reis go to war on the preliminary card of UFC 215, looking to maintain their relevance in the flyweight division. Cejudo enters the fight with a record of 10-2. The former Pan American gold medalist comes in on a career low two fight losing streak. Wilson Reis, on the other hand, will try to bounce back from a one sided loss to Demetrious Johnson. These two lock horns in hopes of staying on the short list of title contenders in the flyweight division and will likely try to make a case for another shot at the title.

Henry Cejudo is a former Olympic Gold medalist in wrestling and is the best wrestler in the flyweight division. His muscular 10-2 resume includes wins over the likes of Jussier Formiga and Chico Camus. “The Messenger” last stepped into the Octagon back in December 2016, to face former two time title challenger Joseph Benavidez. The fight was very closely contested. That bout saw Cejudo dominating the action, but due multiple low blows, he was deducted a point, which left most confused about who actually won the fight. The judges gave Benavidez the split verdict. The result left a bad taste in Cejduos’s mouth. On the MMA hour he later stated that “I counted every round, all the significant strikes, and I feel like it was just a complete robbery”.

With an experienced career of over 10 years, decorated BJJ artist Reis has competed in some of the best MMA promotions, including Bellator, the UFC and Elite XC. The 32-year-old has a solid resume which includes names like Dustin Ortiz, Hector Sandoval and Ulka Sasaki. The former Elite XC bantamweight champion will now try to bounce back from losing to king of the flyweight division, Demetrious Johnson, earlier this year. He faced Johnson back in April at UFC on FOX 24, losing via submission (arm-bar) in the third round. Reis owns a strong submission game of his own, and had never been submitted prior to Johnson loss. The BJJ black belt is known for taking the game to ground where he controls the action.

As both fighters come from a grappling background, it will not be surprising if the majority of Cejudo vs. Reis is competed on the ground. Cejudo is a healthy favorite, given his track record and prior accolades. The fact that Reis likes to keep the action on ground also helps Cejudo, who himself is an accomplished grappler. However, one can’t ignore the fact that Reis has the ability to lock in submissions from various angles. Cejudo has at times shown recklessness while charging towards his opponent, a flaw which also cost him the title as he simply ran into Johnson’s strikes; this leaves a major hole in his grappling defense which can be used by opponents to catch him. An accomplished BJJ artist like Reis could use this flaw to great advantage. That being said, you can still expect Cejudo to take the win; his wrestling attack and cleaner striking will let him likely get him a decision win.

Olympic Silver Medalist in Wrestling Sara McMann will face off against undefeated Brazilian hot prospect Ketlen Vieira in a battle of two top title contenders. Both women will enter the fight at 3-0 in their last three and will look to cement their position in the division. Both will also be facing a significant step up in competition when they face each other. Ketlen will be facing the toughest opponent of 4 year career; meanwhile Sara will be facing the first seasoned opponent in since losing to Amanda Nunes. The winner of the match will either be the next on line for title, or perhaps get a title eliminator match against Raquel Pennington.

Sara McMann is easily the best wrestler at women’s bantamweight today. A former Pan American wrestling champion, McMann over a professional career of seven years has amassed a record of 11-3, with wins over the likes of Shayna Baszler, Alexis Davis, Jessica Eye, Lauren Murphy, Sheila Gaff and many more. McMann has an iron fist command on her ground game; she displayed her amazing submission skills against Alexis Davis when she forced the accomplished grappler to tap to a tight arm-triangle choke. The former title challenger can make another case for the title if she manages to win at UFC 215. Since losing to Nunes, McMann has improved greatly in just about every aspect of the fight game. She very recently changed her training camp to team Alpha Male, and expressed her desire to fight for the title again in an interview with Stuff.co.nz as she said “I’m not sitting around going at this lax pace. I’m pushing the pace, maybe my fate will be a little sealed because of my losses, or maybe some fights that were less exciting, but I turned a corner in my career. And I’m just asking for them to invest. Invest now in me, and I will fulfill my end of the bargain.”

Ketlen Vieira enters the fight with a perfect record of 8-0. The Judo black belt has in the span of three years defeated the likes of Kelly Faszholz and Ashlee Evans-Smith to earn herself this position. Vieira started her career back in 2014 and went on an undefeated run of 6-0 before being signed by the UFC in 2016. She then faced prospect Kelly Faszholz in her debut, whom she defeated by dominating the early two rounds earning a clear unanimous decision victory. She then faced fellow rising contender Ashlee Evans-Smith at UFC on FOX 24. She won the back and forth contest by unanimous decision. Despite being a grappler by training, Vieira has decent striking. She usually goes for counter shots in the hope of finding space for takedowns. Once the game hits the ground, Vieira knows exactly what to do.

The majority of this match will likely be fought out either in clinch or on the ground. This will be a serious test for both competitors as both nullify each other’s strengths and weaknesses. However, given the experience Sara has and the drastic improvement she has shown, it’s expected that she should take the fight. Ketlen so far has not been tested against someone as experienced as Sara. Sara on the other hand has demolished fighters with similar backgrounds, the best examples being Raquel Pa’aluhi and Alexis Davis. Also, given Sara’s age and the fact that she holds a finish loss to the current champion, she will have to give her 100% in the fight to make a case for the title shot. Losing isn’t an option for her.

Former Strikeforce lightweight world champion Gilbert Melendez meets featherweight stand out Jeremy Stephens in a featherweight match up to open the UFC 215 main card. Melendez moves down from lightweight to featherweight in hopes of finding success in the division and resurrect his falling career. Jeremy Stephens has also had his share of bad fights. Since shocking the world back at UFC 198 by defeating the legendary Renan Barao, Stephens has not won a fight. The two enter the bout with a lot of pressure as they both are in a must win situation.

Stephens currently holds a record of 25-14, which includes wins over the likes of Renan Barao, Darrin Elkins and Dennis Bermudez. He’s on a two fight losing streak, which includes a one sided loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 205. Stephens is known for his knockout power and his explosive exchanges. He is also known for making his fights entertaining because of his charging nature. His free fighting style has been awarded handsomely by the UFC in the form of the fight of the night bonus, an honor which he has won 3 times. Stephens enters the fight on a career low note given his last two performances however. In his fight against Renato Moicano, Stephens did not look good at all. The 6-time-post-fight-bonus-award winner couldn’t make use of his explosive knockout power against Brazilian. The BJJ artist refused to engage with Stephen and forced him to chase him across the cage; this allowed him to rack up points to get the decision win.

Gilbert Melendez enters the fight with a record of 22-6, with wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Josh Thompson and Diego Sanchez. The former Strikeforce lightweight champion is however not looking good in his last three fights and has hence decided to move down to the featherweight division in hopes of reviving his MMA career. Melendez is currently on a career low three fight losing streak. He has not won a fight since October 2013 and has also been tested positive in a post-fight drug test. For him this is a must win situation. However, Melendez has lost only to elite competition. The 35-year-old in his last three has faced the most decorated competition available in the form of former UFC lightweight champions Anthony Pettis and Eddie Alvarez. His third loss came to hot contender Edson Barboza. Hence, one can-not simply discard the former WEC lightweight champion from the list of toughest people in MMA today.

In the main card opener, you can expect Jeremy Stephens to rack up the win. The reason is pretty simple, Melendez is in decline. When it comes to a sport like MMA, comebacks from a period of decline is very rare, and the fact that Melendez being 35-years-old isn’t helping. However, one cannot ignore the difference between the fight IQ of the two. Stephens is known for getting into explosive exchanges with his opponents, when the fellow fighter refuses to do so he starts making careless mistakes out of simple frustration. If Melendez can capitalize on that point, it could change the tide of the fight. That being said, Stephens will get the job done and get his hand raised.

Light-heavyweights Tyson Pedro and Illir Latif will look to smash each other to pieces in the second fight of the main card. Tyson Pedro will enter the fight with a lot of momentum behind him. The undefeated titan has finished all of his wins and has become one of the few prospects in the light-heavyweight division. Illir Latifi, meanwhile, will try to bounce back from his loss to Ryan Badder when he faces off against Pedro. The fight is easily going to be the most explosive fight on the card.

Illir Latif holds a record of 12-5, which includes wins over Gian Villante and Hans Stringer. Latif is one of the most experienced light-heavyweights in the UFC today. In his four year run with the company he has faced the likes of former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi and former title challenger Ryan Bader. An accomplished wrestler, Latifi uses his wrestling to capitalize on his opponents. He is a former Swedish Greco-Roman national wrestling champion and has also competed in the ADCC submission grappling tournament. Latifi has a great striking for someone who spent majority of his combat sports career in grappling; he displayed his developed striking game against Villante.

Lesser known to casual fans is Tyson Pedro, an undefeated Australian rising prospect. He currently holds a record of 6-0, with wins over Paul Craig and The Ultimate fighter 23 finalist Khalil Rountree. Pedro started his combat sports training at the age of three. In an interview with Pro MMA Now Pedro said “I have been training in martial arts since the age of 3. I started in Japanese Jiu Jitsu and Kempo Karate. Around 13 I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and at 16 I moved into amateur boxing.” With this win Pedro will cement his arrival in the list of rising contenders in the light-heavyweight division.

As stated above this is easily the most explosive fight on the card. The two are very well rounded fighters and like to finish their opponents. They both have the opportunity to rise in the name of the short list of contenders available in their division.  Here, expect Pero to take the win. He may not be as experienced as Latifi but he is more skilled. Pedro has looked amazing in his fights so far and has outclassed his opponents brutally in every dimension. That being said, it must also be noted that Latifi is the most experienced and dangerous opponent Pedro has faced. He is also the most well rounded fighter Pedro has competed against. So it shouldn’t be surprising if Latifi enters the fight as a favorite, but Pedro should pull off the upset.

Former UFC lightweight champion Rafael Dos Anjos will meet Neil Magny in a welterweight encounter in the third fight of UFC 215. The two will lock horns with positive performances in their last fights. The main aim of for these two will be to build momentum behind them as they both have bounced back from very recent losses.

Rafael Dos Anjos enters the fight with a record of 26-9, which includes wins over Nate Diaz, Cowboy Cerrone and Anthony Pettis. After going on a disappointing two fight losing skid in the lightweight division, RDA decided it will be a better decision for him to move up a weight class and fight at welterweight. In June 2017, he fought his first fight at welterweight against Tarec Saffiedine. He won the fight via unanimous decision after dominating the entire fight. RDA is one of the most accomplished fighters in the UFC and has a decorated lightweight run to add immense credibility to his name. If he manages to pick up a win here, he will find himself closer to list of top contenders in the welterweight division, which surprisingly is going through a period of absolute vacuum.

Neil Magny enters the fight with a record of 19-5, which includes names like the Ultimate fighter winner Kelvin Gastelum, former welterweight world champion Johnny Hendricks, Alex Garcia and former Bellator middleweight champion Hector Lombard to name a few. Magny recently bounced back from loss to Lorenz Larkin at UFC 202 by defeating Johnny Hendricks by a unanimous decision. A brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Magny uses his ground game skills to capitalize on opponents. He has displayed his amazing skills against Kelvin Gastelum and Hector Lombard, winning fight of the night and performance of the night for his performances against the two.

This fight should be a fun one, with two rising contenders locking horns definitely adding some action in an otherwise dull division. The pick here is Rafael Dos Anjos. Of the two, Dos Anjos is more skilled in almost every field. He looked very good against Saffiedine, who happened to be a former Strikeforce welterweight champion. It must also be noted that RDA is a 3^rd degree black belt in BJJ, whereas Magny is a brown belt. The difference in skill set is visible. That being said, it is very stupid to consider a fighter like Magny out. He has a decorated record in his own right. However, RDA will most likely walk out with his hand raised.

Amanda Nunes will put her UFC bantamweight title on the line against multiple time Muay Thai world champion Valentina Shevchenko in the co-main event of the evening. Both enter the fight with explosive momentum behind them and are bound to give one hell of a show to the audience. This a rematch between the two; the pair first met at UFC 196, which saw Nunes walk out with a unanimous decision victory. Nunes then went on to defeat Miesha Tate at UFC 200 to capture the bantamweight world title and successfully defended it against Ronda Rousey at UFC 207. Valentina meanwhile defeated Holly Holm weeks after Nunes won the world title and then began a campaign to get a title shot. She faced Juliana Pena in a title eliminator match at UFC on FOX in January which has earned her her first ever MMA world title match.

Nunes enters the fight with a record of 14-4, with wins over former UFC champion and Olympic Bronze medalist Ronda Rousey, former UFC champion and pioneer Miesha Tate, Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann and many more. The Brazilian is currently ranked 2^nd in pound for pound ranking by Sherdog. She is one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA today. Nunes has on point striking. She put on a display of her chiseled punching power against Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate; both were finished in the very first round by “The Lioness.” Nunes also happens to be a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a Brown belt in Judo. She has shown her submission skills and command over her ground game against Pan American wrestling Champion Sara McMann, whom she submitted, and multiple-time kickboxing world champion Germaine De Randamie. Nunes also happens to be a pan American BJJ gold medalist.

Valentina Shevchenko enters the biggest fight of her life with a super solid resume of 14-2, which includes wins over first ever Strikeforce bantamweight champion Sarah Kaufman, former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm, rising contender Julianna Pena and many more. Valentina is a multiple time Muay Thai world champion and in her career of 13 years as a Muay Thai fighter, she has racked up three wins over current pound for pound number one female fighter Joanna Jędrzejczyk. Shevchenko has displayed fantastic striking in all her matches in the UFC Octagon, most notably against Holly Holm. She used her superior technique to outclass the multiple-time boxing world champion. She also put on a display against Amanda Nunes in the third round of their encounter; she was winning most of the exchanges before time expired. Despite being a kickboxer for a majority of her combat sports career, Valentina has an amazing submission game. She happens to be a black belt in Judo and has always used her takedown game to beat her opponents in the Octagon. She used takedowns to outclass Sarah Kaufman and Holly Holm, while utilizing her submission game when she defeated Julianna Pena, a BJJ practitioner, by arm bar submission.

This fight is going to be very evenly matched. The two are exceptionally well rounded fighters. Ultimately, expect Nunes to take the win. She may face cardio issues and has hence found it difficult to maintain a constant attack in later rounds, but her size advantage will allow her to overpower Valentina in early on. However, if Valentina survives the early offense and manages to take the fight to later rounds, she can clearly walk out with her hand raised.

This is easily the most one sided fight on the UFC 215 card. Demetrious Johnson will put his UFC flyweight title on the line against Ray Borg in hopes of breaking Anderson Silva’s title defense record. The two are currently tied at 10.

Demetrious Johnson is one of the best MMA fighters of this generation. With a record of 26-2, Johnson has sealed his position in the MMA hall of fame. Johnson has a muscular resume which includes wins over Olympic Gold Medalist Henry Cejudo, BJJ world champion Wilson Reis, decorated flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez, bantamweight standout John Dodson, Japanese flyweight stalwart Kyoji Horiguchi and many more. He is one of the most well rounded fighters in MMA today. “Mighty Mouse” has forced BJJ world champions to tap out, knocked out decorated strikers and outclassed wrestlers while grappling.

Ray Borg is one of the rising contenders in the flyweight division. He holds a record of 11-2, which includes wins over Luis Smolka and Jussier Formiga. The 24-year-old has finished eight of his twelve wins with six being submissions. However, Borg is known for missing weight. So he will not only be facing Johnson he will also be facing scale on UFC 215. In his seven fight UFC career he has missed weight twice. This will be something to worry about; even if his weight is on point, there may be questions about how difficult a cut he has endured.

Johnson easily beats Borg in every aspect of this fight. He has better striking, clinching, grappling, wrestling, dancing and any other -ing you could possibly think of. Johnson will likely take the win in a dominating fashion and break the record currently held by Anderson Silva. After that? Maybe a superfight, maybe he tries to build on that record, but this will be Johnson’s night.