The UFC is in London on Saturday for UFC on ESPN+ 5. Two important welterweight bouts sit at the top of the card.
In the headlining bout, Darren Till looks to bounce back from his first career defeat against veteran competitor Jorge Masvidal, who is coming off a lengthy break and also looking to get back in the win column.
In the co-main event, Leon Edwards, who believes he should be fighting on the main event of this card, faces off against Gunnar Nelson.
There’s also an intriguing light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir and the undefeated Dominick Reyes on the main card.
UFC on ESPN+ 5 takes place at The O2 in London. The card streams on ESPN+.
Inside, check out eight burning questions about the fight card.
1. Darren Till has something to prove. Will that hurt him?
Till is coming off the first loss of his career and that setback was a tough one. Not only did Till lose to then-champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228, but he was shutout on the stat sheets during the 9:19 that the contest lasted. Till rang up goose eggs in significant strikes landed, takedowns attempted and submissions attempted before he tapped to a D’Arce choke. Understandably, the second-round submission defeat has stuck with the 26-year-old.
“I don’t think I’ll ever move past it,” Till told MMA Junkie. “I’m not ashamed to say it still hurts every day if it comes to mind. I’ve watched the fight many times, and it’s just something inside of me. Even if I get the rematch with Woodley and beat him, the first fight will still be a thorn inside of me.”
Till, who is the No. 5 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie MMA welterweight rankings, is looking to remind everyone that he does deserve to be considered a legitimate threat at welterweight when he faces Jorge Masvidal (32-13 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in London. To hammer that point home, Till (17-1-1 MMA, 5-1-1 UFC) said he is looking to score a first-round knockout win over his opponent.
The thing about that is Masvidal has just one knockout loss on his record. That defeat came nearly 10 years ago on what was a questionable stoppage.
We’ve seen fighters coming off an embarrassing loss get overaggressive in the past. Till can’t afford to be one of those fighters against a foe as well-versed as Masvidal.
2. What can we expect from a rested, rehabbed, rejuvenated, reset and refocused Jorge Masvidal?
Jorge Masvidal joined the UFC in 2013. Over the next five years, the former Strikeforce lightweight title challenger fought three times per year. During that stretch, Masvidal put together a record of 9-6. On the heels of consecutive decision losses to Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson, Masvidal decided to take some time off. The 34-year-old ends his 497-day layoff in London with a new mindset, which he said is a direct result of the time he spent filming a reality show during his hiatus from the octagon.
“I got to do that (seclude himself during filming) for 14 weeks,” Masvidal told MMA Junkie. “And then when I come back here I feel the difference… I’ve turned off phones on everybody. (Expletive) that. I want to live that stress-free life.”
Masvidal, who is currently unranked in the welterweight division, has a huge test in front of him in Till, so it’ll be interesting to see what this “stress-free” version of Masvidal will bring to the octagon and how far it will take him at this point in a career that began in 2003.
3. Can Leon Edwards make his case?
If you’ve been paying attention to Leon Edwards, you know that over the past year he has called out both Jorge Masvidal and Darren Till, so you can understand if the rankings honorable mention is a bit miffed that he’s not fighting either of those men on the UFC on ESPN+ 5 fight card.
“One hundred percent, I feel like I should’ve been the main event,” Edwards told reporters, including MMA Junkie at the January press conference for the event. “I called out both guys, Masvidal and Till. They both turned it down. I was going to fight Jorge in December, I think on the Jon Jones card. He said yes, and they had to pull the fight last minute; he said he was going to wait for Nick Diaz, and that didn’t happen. We were going to push for the London card with Till. He didn’t want it, and it didn’t happen. Now we’re here.”
Edwards seems more upset that he is not fighting Till.
“This was the best fight to make,” Edwards said. “This was not the (expletive) main event to make, him and Jorge. It was me vs. him. Who’s the best welterweight in the UK? That fight should’ve happened. Not Jorge.”
Edwards (16-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who is on a six-fight winning streak, faces the unranked Gunnar Nelson in London. Nelson (17-3-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) is 4-2 in his past six fights.
If Edwards was upset that he was overlooked for the main event slot, his anger increased when he learned the UFC was flying Ben Askren to the event.
“I think after beating Gunnar Nelson, I deserve the winner of the main event,” Edwards told MMA Junkie this week. “I don’t understand why they’re bringing Ben (Askren) over to talk (expletive) and to try and slide him in there, you know what I mean?
“I think that’s my next step: June, July, get the winner in a main event, then beating them and getting a rematch with Usman. That’s my perfect plan for this year.”
If Edwards wants to realize his goals for 2019 he needs an impressive and definitive victory over Nelson.
4. Will Dominick Reyes’ plan, six years in the making, work out?
Unlike some of the lower weight divisions (hello there welterweight Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos), a winning streak of almost any length in the 205-pound weight class gets a fighter noticed.
In 2017, Volkan Oezdemir (15-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) went 3-0 and earned himself a shot at light heavyweight gold. At UFC on ESPN+ 5, Dominick Reyes (10-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) puts his 4-0 UFC record on the line against Oezdemir in the hopes of earning a shot at the 205-pound title in 2019.
Oezdemir, who is currently the No. 5 ranked fighter in the light heavyweight division, just might be the man standing between Reyes and a title shot. Oezdemir is 0-2 in his past two fights. He was knocked out by then-champion Daniel Cormier and then followed that with a submission defeat to recent title challenger Anthony Smith. Reyes, who is ranked No. 9 in the division, is coming off a decision win over Ovince Saint Preux.
If Reyes does get a shot at current champion Jon Jones, he feels he’ll be prepared for what the titleholder brings to the octagon, after all, he’s been training to fight Jones since he began his MMA career.
“I would love to be the guy to dethrone Jones,” Reyes told MMA Junkie Radio. “It matters. That’s been the plan all along. I’ve kind of always wanted to fight Jones. I started fighting in 2012 and look at that – Jones was the guy then. So I’ve kind of been training for him the entire time.”
5. Will Nathaniel Wood continue his winning streak?
Nathaniel Wood started his MMA career on an 8-3 run. He began to turn things around in the middle of 2016. Since then he’s run off seven straight finishes while also winning and defending the Cage Warriors bantamweight title. Wood, who trains under retired UFC fighter Brad Pickett, is 2-0 in the UFC with two submission wins.
After his most recent fight, a third-round submission victory over Andre Ewell, the 25-year-old who goes by the nickname “The Prospect” requested a spot on this card. He got his wish. Wood (15-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is matched up against the 28-year-old Jose Quinonez (7-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who is on a four-fight UFC winning streak.
Wood dominated Ewell, but his game plan elicited some boos from the crowd, which he took to heart.
“I feel great to get the win and get the finish,” Wood said. “I was a little bit gutted that I heard some boos. I’m always looking to be an entertainer, first and foremost, so that sucked, if I’m honest.”
It’ll be interesting to see if the pressure of fighting in front of a hometown crowd in London changes Wood’s approach to this bantamweight matchup.
6. Can Claudio Silva make up for lost time?
Claudio Silva has not lost a fight in more than 10 years. The problem with that is his May 2018 submission win over Nordine Taleb was his first trip to the octagon in nearly four years. The 36-year-old Brazilian, who competes out of London, scored a “Performance of the Night” bonus for his upset victory over Taleb.
After his win over Taleb, Silva recalled all that he had been through leading into the contest, which was initially booked for 2015.
“The last four years have been hell,” Silva said. “I was coming from two UFC victories, so that fight was supposed to happen four years ago. I broke my foot in 2015, and then in two months’ time, I broke another one. That’s so emotional for me. This comeback means everything to me.
“My family was telling me, ‘Just give up. What are you doing with your life? You have two UFC victories.’ But man, this is everything to me.”
Silva (12-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) returns to action at UFC on ESPN+ 5 where he faces the 31-year-old Danny Roberts in a welterweight scrap. Roberts (16-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) has won two straight since he was knocked out by Taleb in December 2017.
7. Can Joe Duffy shake the “Guy who beat Conor McGregor” tag?
In 2010, Joe Duffy moved his record to 7-0 when he defeated a young fighter by the name of Conor McGregor. Little did anyone (well, maybe McGregor himself) know that about five years later, McGregor would become the biggest name in MMA.
As McGregor conquered the world, Duffy became known as “the last guy who beat McGregor.” When McGregor lost to Nate Diaz and then Khabib Nurmagomedov, Duffy became “another guy who beat McGregor.”
Is that fair? Of course not. Duffy is a good fighter. He’s 4-2 in the UFC and his two losses with the promotion are to Dustin Poirier and James Vick, two fighters who are ranked in the top-15 of the lightweight division. The problem for Duffy is that fans seem to expect something more than good from someone who holds a submission win over McGregor.
Duffy (16-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who is coming off shoulder surgery following his November 2017 loss to Vick, has the tools to make a run in the lightweight division. If he can get past Marc Diakiese (12-3 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and stay healthy in the process, he should get another opportunity to face a ranked opponent. Diakiese is on a three-fight losing skid.
8. Can Priscila Cachoeira bounce back?
The last time we saw Priscila Cachoeira in the octagon was the first time we saw her in the octagon, and to say it was a memorable few minutes would be an understatement. Unfortunately, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
In one of the worst matchmaking decisions in recent memory, the UFC booked Cachoeira against Valentina Shevchenko, who was the No. 2 ranked women at bantamweight at the time. Shevchenko was coming off a close split-decision loss to 135-pound champ Amanda Nunes. As preposterous as the flyweight booking was, the ineptitude of the matchmaking didn’t hold a candle to the horrific refereeing of Mario Yamasaki, who allowed Cachoeira to take a horrendous beating before she submitted to a rear-naked choke in the second round. To make matters worse, Cachoeira sustained a knee injury during the fight that required surgery.
After more than a year away from the octagon, Cachoeira (8-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) returns to action in London where she faces a more suitable opponent in Molly McCann. McCann (7-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is coming off a submission loss to Gillian Robertson in May.
Cachoeira was unbeaten in eight fights before facing Shevchenko. This matchup should give us a much more realistic view of what to expect from her in the UFC.
THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Local man
You know how the UFC sometimes has fighters who only seem to get booked when the promotion heads to a particular locale? Well, it appears as if Arnold Allen might be in danger of becoming one of those guys. His past three fights have all been in England. He makes that four in a row when he faces Jordan Rinaldi at UFC on ESPN+ 5.
Allen is one of the better young prospects in the UFC featherweight division, but he needs exposure outside of his home country if he wants to become more than a local fighter. If he gets by Rinaldi (14-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC), Allen (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) needs to push to fight outside of England, a country the UFC has visited, at best, twice a year over the past few years.
High expectations
When Diakiese joined the UFC he looked like a future star. At 23, Diakiese had rung up a perfect 9-0 record and had won his two bouts before joining the UFC in a combined 60 seconds. Diakiese won his first three fights in the UFC, but he hit a wall when his opponents started to reduce the amount of time and space Diakiese needed for him to employ his particular style of striking. Now 25, Diakiese is on a three-fight losing skid and staring at a must-win fight against Duffy. If Diakiese hasn’t added at least one more dimension to his game, he might be looking at his last fight with the UFC.
You have our attention
Ian Heinisch caught our attention with the story of his sordid past. A few days later, the former LFA middleweight champion defeated Cezar Ferreira at UFC Fight Night 140 by unanimous decision. At UFC on ESPN+ 5 Heinisch (12-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) looks to keep our attention – and take a few more steps up the middleweight ladder – when he meets Tom Breese in London. Breese (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is coming off a knockout win over Dan Kelly. This is a big test for Heinisch.
And the new guys
The light heavyweight division needs new blood, so when a young fighter with a perfect record shows up on the scene, it’s something to get excited about. When all of that fighter’s wins have come by stoppage, well, that’s all the better. Nicolae Negumereanu, who has six knockouts and three submission victories on his record, makes his UFC debut in London against Saparbeg Safarov. The thing about this fight is that when Safarov joined the UFC in 2016, he too was unbeaten and had earned all his wins by stoppage. The 32-year-old Safarov (8-2 MMA, 0-2 UFC) is 0-2 since then and in danger of losing his spot on the roster with a loss to the 24-year-old Negumereanu (9-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC).
The other fighter who makes his UFC debut on this card is Mike Grundy. Grundy might not have a perfect record, but he does have a noteworthy resume. A bronze medalist in freestyle wrestling at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Grundy has eight submission wins. He’s also a training partner of Darren Till. Grundy received the social media endorsement of the former title challenger in mid-January. Grundy (12-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) faces Nad Narimani in this lightweight bout. Narimani (11-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who ended Paddy Pimblett’s reign as Cage Warriors featherweight champ, is 2-0 in the UFC.
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 5, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
