D. Johnson (left) defends the flyweight belt against Japanese K. Horiguchi (right)
It's not news to anyone that Ultimate experiences several problems with its cards, which has already led to the cancellation of two pay per view (UFC 151 and UFC 176), but you can consider that UFC 186, which takes place this Saturday (25th) in Montreal (Canada), carried with it a “curse”, which it ended up overcoming.
First, there were injuries that plagued the construction of the card, which was originally to be headlined by a bantamweight belt dispute between TJ Dillashaw e Renan Barao. However, the American was injured during preparation and the title rematch ended up being postponed. Furthermore, Abel Trujillo and Claudius Hannibal also ended up being cut from fights against Nordine Taleb and John makdessi due to physical problems and were replaced, respectively, by Shane Campbell and Chris Clements.
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Another problem that is currently in vogue, the use of illegal substances in sport, also did not spare UFC 186. Scheduled to face the Canadian darling Rory McDonald, the Cuban Hector Lombard was cut from the event after being caught in an anti-doping test. MacDonald would later be announced as the next challenger for the welterweight title, in a fight to be held in July, in the United States.
Finally, a legal dispute between the two biggest MMA organizations today, UFC and Bellator, almost prevented the re-debut of Quinton Rampage Jackson in the octagon. Alleging breach of his agreement with Bellator, Rampage terminated the event and signed again with Ultimate. Upon his return, he was selected to face Brazilian Fábio Maldonado.
However, just a few weeks before the duel, an injunction obtained by Bellator annulled the termination of Rampage and forced him to leave the fight. To replace the former champion, Ultimate confirmed the name of Steve Bossé, an athlete who had recently retired. However, in a new twist in the case, the injunction unfavorable to the athlete was suspended and Quinton jackson returned to the card to face Maldonado, this time in a catchweight duel, as he would not have enough time to complete the entire weight cut process.
Main fight will feature Johnson's sixth title defense
D. Johnson (photo) is the only flyweight champion in UFC history. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
With all the problems mentioned, the main fight of UFC 186 ended up falling into the champion's lap Demetrious Johnson, who will make his sixth title defense of the night. Johnson's opponent will be Japanese Kyoji Horiguchi, one of the biggest promises in Japanese MMA.
Quite complete and capable of knocking out, submitting or even controlling his opponents for five rounds, Johnson, whose professional record is 22 wins, two losses and one draw, is one of the most dominant UFC champions today and has been undefeated since he went down to the flyweights, with seven wins and one draw.
Horiguchi, just 24 years old, has an impressive record of 15 wins and just one defeat. “Supernova”, as he is known, made his career in the Japanese event Shotoo, where he was bantamweight champion before moving to Ultimate. In the octagon, there were four victories for Kid Yamamoto's pupil.
Promise of Brazil, Thominhas debuts in pay per view
Thomas (photo) is undefeated as a professional. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook
At just 23 years old, the São Paulo native Thominhas Almeida is one of Brazil's main hopes for the future in the Octagon. The Chute Boxe athlete is undefeated in professional MMA in 18 fights and is coming off a victory in his Ultimate debut, over Tim Gorman in November last year. In Montreal, Thominhas will have his first fight on a pay-per-view (from the numbered series, the most important in the organization).
The Brazilian's opponent in the fight that opens the main card of the night will be the experienced Yves Jabouin, 35 years old. The Haitian-born Canadian has a professional record of 20 wins and nine losses and played for the now-defunct WEC before arriving at Ultimate in 2011. In the biggest organization on the planet, his record is five wins and three losses.
Check out the complete UFC 186 technical sheet below:
DATE AND TIME: 25/04/2015, from 1915mh (Brasília time);
PLACE: Bell Centre, Montreal (Quebec), Canada;
STREAMING: Combate Channel (complete card).
MAIN CARD
Flyweight (up to 57 kg): Demetrious Johnson x Kyoji Horiguchi.
Average weight (up to 84 kg): Michael Bisping x CB Dollaway;
Married weight (97,5kg): Fábio Maldonado x Quinton “Rampage”Jackson;
Catchweight (up to 70,3 kg): Shane Campbell x John makdessi;
Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Thomas almeida x Yves Jabouin.
PRELIMINARY CARD
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Patrick Cote x Joe Riggs;
Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Alexis Davis x Sarah Kaufman;
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Bryan Barbarena x Chad Laprise;
Lightweight (up to 70,3 kg): Olivier Aubin-Mercier x David Michaud;
Welterweight (up to 77,1 kg): Chris Clements x Nordine Taleb;
Bantamweight (up to 61,2 kg): Valerie Letourneau x Jessica Rakoczy;
Straw weight (up to 52,1 kg): Randa markos x Aisling Daly.
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