Demetrious Johnson is already one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. If he can beat John Dodson in their rematch at UFC 191, Johnson may make a strong case to be the pound-for-pound champion.
Johnson and Dodson headline what should be a solid card Saturday night. UFC 190 seemed to suffer from the sheer volume of fights, a problem that shouldn't be the case with UFC 191, with 11 fights through the UFC Fight Pass preliminaries through the main card.
Below, you can read brief previews and predictions for each of the five main card fights.
UFC 191 Card
Main Card Predictions
Paige VanZant vs. Alex Chambers
This isn't so much a fight as it is a vehicle to make Paige VanZant a bigger UFC star. Alex Chambers' two fights in the company include a defeat to Aisling Daly at the Ultimate Fighter 20 finale and an unconvincing submission victory over Kailin Curran at UFC Fight Night 65.
VanZant should have little trouble putting Chambers away on Saturday, and that's kind of the point. UFC is essentially building VanZant up to be the Ronda Rousey of the women's strawweight division, a point VanZant briefly discussed on America's Pregame:
The 21-year-old will come fast and furious at Chambers, and if her win over Curran is any evidence, that should concern Chambers after she took a ton of punishment before pulling out that armbar out of nowhere.
Maybe Chambers can pull off a similar shock, but this should be an easy win for VanZant.
Prediction: VanZant wins, Round 2 TKO
Jan Blachowicz vs. Corey Anderson
This fight will be a nice measure of Corey Anderson's progression in the Octagon. The 25-year-old looks like a talented, promising fighter, but he's coming off a TKO defeat to Gian Villante at UFC on Fox 18.
Jan Blachowicz is the favorite, which makes sense. He's the far more experienced of the two and looks to be the superior overall fighter as well, at least by what we've seen from Anderson so far.
With that said, Anderson should be able to pull off the upset. He's a patient fighter who will wait for his opportunities to get an advantage on Blachowicz. If he can work the clinch and get Blachowicz down on the mat, Anderson should do enough to convince the judges.
Prediction: Anderson wins, split decision
Anthony Johnson vs. Jimi Manuwa
No matter what happens, this fight should be a ton of fun. Three of Anthony Johnson's last four wins have come by knockout or TKO, while 13 of Jimi Manuwa's 15 career mixed martial arts victories were over in knockout fashion as well.
"He's a beast," Johnson said of his opponent, per Michael Martinez for UFC.com. "He has great power and good stand-up. He's not afraid to stand there and bang. To me, that's what makes this fight so entertaining, because everybody knows I'm going to try and knock your head off and he's trying to do the same thing. We're just guns blazing."
Because of his punch power, you can't completely dismiss Manuwa's chances. All it takes is a split-second for Johnson to let his guard down and get caught with a heavy blow that sends him to the mat.
Still, Johnson is the more complete fighter, and his wrestling ability could be the difference in the outcome.
Prediction: Johnson wins, unanimous decision
Andrei Arlovski vs. Frank Mir
Who doesn't love watching two grizzled veterans throw caution to the wind, especially with a potential title shot up for grabs?
Both Andrei Arlovski and Frank Mir have everything to gain Saturday night. They sit fourth and 10th, respectively, in the heavyweight rankings. They're also each 36 years old, so the loser of this fight may never be this close to title contention again for the rest of his career.
While Mir is coming off back-to-back KO victories in his last two fights, he still relies more heavily on his submission game. Not to mention he continues to struggle when needing to go into defense mode.
That could spell trouble against a fighter like Arlovski. "The Pit Bull" is a very good striker and should end the fight in relatively short order.
Prediction: Arlovski wins, Round 2 TKO
Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson
In a three-round fight, John Dodson might have a chance to upset Demetrious Johnson. Over five rounds, Dodson will have a hard time hanging with Johnson from start to finish. The longer the fight goes, the better off Johnson will be.
Fighting Johnson is a lot like fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. You have a window of opportunity in the first round or two, and once you get past that threshold, you're pretty much toast.
Dodson may own the advantage in Rounds 1 and 2, but Johnson's methodical, deliberate style will pay off in the long run. As long as Johnson doesn't completely fall on his face in the fifth round, he will be the judges' choice.
Far more interesting about this fight is the future of the flyweight division in general. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden foresees a time when UFC does away with flyweights—at least temporarily:
With Johnson at the helm, the 125-pound division has failed to make it out of the blocks to the point a source at UFC says there have been whispers at headquarters about simply shutting the flyweight class down and sending everybody in it back to the house. It wouldn't be unprecedented. When the lightweight class led by B.J. Penn failed to take flight, Zuffa got rid of it for a time. The same thing absolutely could happen with flyweights.
Perhaps a thrilling fight between Johnson and Dodson could energize fans behind the division.
Prediction: Johnson wins, unanimous decision
Note: UFC 191 odds are courtesy of Odds Shark.
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