UFC Fight Night 107 takes place live from the O2 Arena tomorrow night, Saturday, March 18th.
Every time the Ultimate Fighting Championship comes to the UK, we get a watered down card, sometimes with lesser known names, and a lot of the time, it ends up being a poor event. Hopefully that trend changes tomorrow night though, as there is an abundance on talent, more specifically British talent on the card.
The card features twelve British fighters, and pretty much all of them could have a bright future ahead. Let’s talk about a few of the fighters who I am looking forward to watching tomorrow.
Jimi Manuwa headlines the card as he faces Corey Anderson. The 37-year-old will likely call for a title shot after this one, but he has already fallen to some of the top tier fighters at 205lbs, but we’ll have to wait and see what is next for “Poster Boy” if he wins on Saturday.
Also on the main card, UK MMA pioneer Brad “One Punch” Pickett steps foot in the cage for his last dance. Pickett has been on the scene for longer than most UK fans, which really says something. He hasn’t been having as much success as he would like as of late, so it would be a perfect night for him to put things right.
Arnold Allen faces the biggest test of his career in London, when he meets Makwan Amirkhani. Amirkhani, who now fights out of SBG Ireland under John Kavanagh is a very skilled wrestler who doesn’t mind mixing it up on the feet. At 11-1, Allen is promising to be one of the brightest new talents out of England.
On the Fight Pass Preliminary Card, we see an array of UK talent. Joe Duffy headlines the prelims, as he faces Reza Madadi. This is a tough fight for Duffy, but he has shown throughout his career that he is undeniably skilled, and comes prepared for all challenges on fight night. The Irishman has looked phenomenal in the UFC so far, with his only loss coming to Dustin Poirier in a three round war.
Marc “Bonecrusher” Diakiese has made quite the name for himself thus far in the UFC, and heading into his third fight, he has a massive following already. The former Lonsdale Lightweight Champion had a big UK fan base prior to the signing, but has gained a fair few international supporters. Teemu Packalen will stand in his way, and with the drama of the weigh-ins earlier on, when Diakiese took offence to Packalen’s hand shake offer, there will certainly be eyes on this fight.
There’s no way I could do this and not bring up Brett Johns. The Welshman is making his second UFC appearance, and is looking to go 2-0. Being one of the first Welsh fighters in the octagon, Johns carried a country on his shoulders, and did them proud in his last outing. Johns faces fellow Englishman Ian Entwistle.
