The UFC returns to Texas this weekend with UFC 277 emanating out o the American Airlines Center in Dallas. It’s going to be an incredible night of fights as some of the best in the world can be found up and down this card, headlined by two championship contests.
It was just last year when the MMA world was shaken by the biggest upset in the history of the sport and now the two women who made it happen will meet again in the main event. Plus, two very exciting and incredibly talented flyweights will meet for the interim title and two heavy-handed heavyweights will clash in a bout that is sure to provide some fireworks.
Heavyweight bout: Derrick Lewis vs. Sergei Pavlovich
All of a sudden, the heavyweight division is absolutely stacked with talent and these guys are two of the reasons why. Title contender Derrick Lewis has faced off with the best of them and has hit a bit of a skid recently, dropping two of his last three. However, those losses have comes against Cyril Gane and Tai Tuivasa, two guys who have been tearing through the division en route to the top. The crown still belongs to Francis Ngannou, but Lewis is very much in the mix thanks to his 26-9 record with 21 knockouts. He’s still one of the hardest punchers in the sport and one of the most entertaining people as well.
His opponent is a bit of a knockout artist himself however. Pavlovich comes into this bout on a three-fight winning streak, with all three of those wins coming by knockout, all three in the first round. His record now stands at 15-1 with 12 knockouts and his only loss coming to MMA legend Alistair Overeem. This fight is going to be anything but pretty. Both guys are going to come in looking to smash their opponent and that’s going to mean a whole lot of fun for the fans.
My pick: Pavlovich via 3rd round knockout
Flyweight interim championship bout: Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara France
Fresh off of possibly the greatest trilogy of fights the sport has ever seen, Moreno has a chance to capture the interim title and secure a fourth meeting with the injured champ, Deiveson Figueiredo. The former champ quickly became one of the most popular fighters in the UFC when he shocked the world and submitted Figueiredo to win the crown. He has since handed the belt back, dropping a decision back in January. Now though, Moreno will look to improve his 19-6 record and perhaps add to his 11 submission victories, against a very dangerous and talented striker.
For Kara France, this is a huge opportunity not just to become the interim champion, but also to avenge a loss to Moreno in the first meeting back in 2019. Since then, Kara France has won four of his last five and knocked out former champion Cody Garbrandt, becoming one of the most feared strikers in the division in the process. His record now stands at 24-9 with 11 knockouts, an impressive ratio for a guy who fights at 125 lbs. It will be interesting to see if Moreno is willing to strike with Kara France, who seemingly has the clear power advantage. One way or another, this is going to be a very fun fight to watch.
My pick: Moreno via decision
Women’s Bantamweight Championship bout: Julianna Pena vs. Amanda Nunes
December 11, 2021. Julianna Pena walked to the octagon for a fight which no one gave her a chance to win. In fact, she came in as a +600 underdog to Nunes’ -1100 favorite. Well, this time around, those odds are much closer after the world saw her defeat the long-reigning dominant bantamweight champ and take the title for herself.
Pena matched up surprisingly well with Nunes in their first meeting. The former champ often found her success in overpowering and overwhelming her opponents. Pena proved she could hang athletically and never let Nunes’ pressure get the better of her though and instead she was able to put her on her heels throughout most of the fight. Pena’s record now stands at 11-4 and amazingly, She’s only won three of her last five fights. She wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire before her last meeting with Nunes. But, as the old saying goes, styles make fights and this matchup just happened to line up perfectly for Pena.
The really interesting part of this equation will be across the octagon though. How will Nunes bounce back from a loss. We don’t really have an answer to that question because the last time she lost was in September, 2014. To put that in perspective, at that point Conor McGregor had just three UFC fights under his belt, the number one song was “All About That Bass” and the Avengers hadn’t even met Ultron yet, much less Thanos. A then-26-year-old Nunes ripped off 12 12 straight wins after that and cemented herself as a future UFC Hall-of-Famer. Now though, a 34-year-old Nunes will have to try and bounce back. We’ve seen this before. Older fighters who have epic winning streaks snapped, tend to fade away. Nunes will have to buck that trend and show us that her first meeting with Pena was nothing more than a fluke. Easier said than done.
My pick: Pena via decision
UFC 277 will be held Saturday night, July 30 at 10 PM ET. Fight fans can order the pay per view through ESPN+ and receive a special offer: $99.98 for UFC 277 and an ESPN+ annual plan. ESPN+ subscribers can order the pay per view for $74.99.