UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie will air on February 11, 2017, in Brooklyn, New York.
HOLLY “THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER” HOLM (10-2-0) vs GERMAINE “THE IRON LADY” DE RANDAMIE (6-3-0)
This is a five-round main event for the inaugural women’s featherweight championship. Holm brings boxing, kickboxing, karate, jiu-jitsu and wrestling giving her intense striking power and speed that lead her to become a former bantamweight champion. De Randamie brings kickboxing and Muay Thai giving her intense striking power. Since both fighters contain striking power, the fight looks to be an all-out brawl, but looking closer at the numbers I see Holm taking this bout with ease as her striking power has proven time and time again to be deadly. She not only uses her fists, but hides kicks with them to leave her opponents out cold. De Randamie I don’t think will be able to take the kind of power Holm will lay upon her and unless she can bring the fight to the ground and try to get top control I really don’t see this fight being anything more than just another one-sided beating. My prediction: Holm wins via knockout in Round 1.
#7 ANDERSON “THE SPIDER” SILVA (33-8-0, 1 NC) vs #8 DEREK BRUNSON
This is a three round co-main event in the middleweight division. Silva brings boxing, taekwondo, Muay Thai, judo, jiu-jitsu and wrestling that have lead him to twenty wins via knockout as well as being the former middleweight champion and longest reigning champion in the history of the UFC. Brunson brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him striking power and grappling. With both fighters possessing great striking and grappling techniques. In this fight it looks to be another bout decided on who uses them to the fullest, which in that case I would give the fight to Silva with his speed he has been able to catch his opponents off guard and perform surprise sneak attacks that Brunson might not take well. Though Brunson is a rising star for the moment and with his career still in his prime as Silva is beginning to deteriorate and that could very well be what Brunson needs in order to make a name for himself in this fight and find the weak spot in his chin like Chris Weidman did. However, Silva is not a fighter to mess around with and if Brunson does not keep his defense up then he will not have a fighting chance against the GOAT of mixed martial arts. My prediction: Silva wins via knockout in Round 1.
#3 RONALDO “JACARE” SOUZA (23-4-0, 1 NC) vs #13 TIM “THE BARBARIAN” BOETSCH (20-10-0)
This is a three round fight in the middleweight division. Souza brings Muay Thai, judo, and jiu-jitsu that has made him a hardcore grappler as well as a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion. Boetsch brings striking and wrestling giving him knockout power and grappling control. With both fighters bringing standing and ground game to the fight it looks to be even in that aspect, but in reality Souza is by far the more skilled fight as he not only is much more efficient in his striking and grappling he finishes his fights more easily than Boetsch along with being able to take far worse punishment. With that in mind, Boetsch really will have his hands full unless he somehow figures out how to use his wrestling more aggressively. I really see this fight being nothing more than just a bloody beating. My prediction: Souza wins via knockout in Round 1.
#3 GLOVER TEIXEIRA (25-5-0) vs JARED “THE KILLA GORILLA” CANNONIER (9-1-0)
This is a three round fight in the light heavyweight division. Teixeira brings boxing, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling making him one of the deadliest knockout strikers in the division. Cannonier brings boxing and jiu-jitsu giving him striking power and grappling control. With both fighters being mainly strikers the fight will boil down to who is the better of the two, which I see Teixeira as he has 15 wins via knockout proving he is a dangerous man that Cannonier might not be able to handle. The only way Cannonier could possibly take the win is to bring Teixeira to the ground where he is weakest, but at the same time, he will have to overcome Teixeira’s striking power putting him in jeopardy of being finished. My prediction: Teixeira wins via knockout in Round 1.
#10 DUSTIN “THE DIAMOND” POIRIER (20-5-0) vs JIM MILLER (28-8-0, 1 NC)
This is a three round fight in the lightweight division. Poirier brings boxing and jiu-jitsu giving him striking power and grappling control. Miller brings boxing, taekwondo, jiu-jitsu, and wrestling giving him grappling control and cardio. As both contenders bring their own techniques I believe Poirier has much better striking and defense than Miller and will most likely keep the fight on their feet where he shows great game plan. On the flipside, Miller’s ground game is far more superior to Poirier’s and if he turned the fight into a grappling match then Poirier would have difficulty in defending himself as he is not as well with ground game as Miller. But at the same time, Poirier will be defending himself with takedown defense making it harder for Miller to try and get a submission hold on him along with Poirier’s striking power that could be too much for him to handle. My prediction: Poirier wins via knockout in Round 3.
