Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is in the news again, as the suspended superstar went head-to-head with the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) over a failed drug test following his UFC 214 bout against Daniel Cormier. The CSAC revoked Jones’ fight license and also fined him $205,000. Jones still will have to face USADA for his infractions, as well, and he’s facing a possible four-year suspension at the worst. MMAFighting.com has the full details of the hearing.
UFC Chile Announced A new UFC card has been announced, as the promotion will makes its debut in Chile for UFC Fight Night 129. The event takes place May 19 at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile, and the UFC has announced the first five fights for the card. Note that while there has been no main event announced yet, it’s expected welterweight stud Santiago Ponzinibbio of neighbouring Argentina will headline the card.
Vicente Luque vs. Chad Laprise, UFC Fight Night 129
A fun welterweight bout sees Vicente Luque take on Chad Laprise. Luque (5-2) has been very impressive in the UFC with five finishes including a submission over Niko Price his last time out. He’s an awesome fighter to watch and could be a future contender at 170. Laprise (6-2) is on a three-fight win streak and is coming off of three straight knockout wins. The former Ultimate Fighter winner has looked great since moving up to 170 and a win over Luque would be huge for his career. Both guys are fun fighters to watch but I think Luque is more well-rounded so I’d favor him ever so slightly
Diego Rivas vs. Guida Cannetti, UFC Fight Night 129 A pair of bantamweights duke it off when Diego Rivas fights Guida Cannetti. Rivas (7-1) is 2-1 in the UFC and coming off of a decision loss to Jose Quinonez. I’m still not sure if moving to 135 was the right move for him but we’ll see. The fact he’s from Chile should give him a huge boost here regardless. Cannetti (7-3) is 1-2 in the UFC and coming off of a submission loss to Kyung Ho Kang. I haven’t been too impressed with him and considering he’s 38 I don’t see him improving. Rivas is the better fighter and he’s from Chile so he should be favored to win this fight.
Alexa Grasso vs. Tatiana Suarez, UFC Fight Night 129 An important women’s strawweight bout will see intriguing prospects Alexa Grasso and Tatiana Suarez square off. Grasso (10-1) is 2-1 in the UFC and coming off of a huge win over Randa Markos. She has long been viewed as a future title contender and the win over Grasso cemented her as top-10 in the 115 division. Suarez (5-0) is 2-0 in the UFC and won The Ultimate Fighter. She is extremely big for this division and in my opinion she could be a future champion. Though I expect Grasso to be favored as she always is, I am definitely leaning towards Suarez here. I’ve been super impressed with her so far in the Octagon and I feel like she has championship potential.
Veronica Macedo vs. Andrea Lee, UFC Fight Night 129 Two more additions to the women’s flyweight division are Veronica Macedo and Andrea Lee and they’ll fight at this event. Macedo (5-1) is from Venezuela so she was an easy addition to this card. She lost her UFC debut to Ashlee Evans-Smith but perhaps will find more success at 125. Lee (8-2) will finally make her UFC debut after serving a USADA suspension. She has a ton of experience fighting in LFA and Invicta FC and makes an intriguing addition to the UFC. Based on name value alone, I’d peg Lee as the favorite to win the fight, though I fully expect it to be quite competitive.
Poliana Botelho vs. Syuri Kondo, UFC Fight Night 129 Another women’s strawweight bout will see Poliana Botelho take on Syuri Kondo. Botelho (6-1) had a successful UFC debut with a decision win over Pearl Gonzalez. The Brazilian is an intriguing prospect at 115 and another win could see her jump into the top-15 rankings. Kondo (6-0) also won her UFC debut with a split decision win over Chan-Mi Jeon. She has a very interesting martial arts background and is an intriguing addition to 115. This looks like a pretty good fight on paper but I’d have to give the slight lean to Botelho based on what I’ve seen so far.
