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Capping of an extraordinary week of UFC action that featured a total of four events will be UFC Fight Night 72. The event will be headlined by a key middleweight division attraction as Michael Bisping clashes with Thales Leites. Also, Ross Pearson faces Evan Dunham and Joanne Calderwood gets a fight in her home country of Scotland.
Main Card
Main Event
UFC Middleweight Division Fight
Michael “The Count†Bisping (26-7-0) vs. Thales Leites (25-4-0)
Bisping has rotated wins and losses in his last nine UFC appearances, with his last bout being a win over CB Dollaway at UFC 186. Leites has been undefeated in his second UFC run, most notably defeating Francis Carmont at UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Dos Anjos. Bisping will be competing in Europe for the first time in five years, his last appearance in the country was a win over Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 120. Leites won five bouts in between his two UFC runs, with four of those five victories coming over UFC veterans. Leites’s improved striking game has made him a more dangerous fighter than he was in his first UFC run, Leites uses that striking to score a decision win over Bisping.
Co-Main Event
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Evan Dunham (15-6-0) vs. Ross “The Real Deal†Pearson (17-8-0)
Dunham has only won just one of his last four under the UFC banner, with that lone win coming over Rodrigo Damm at UFC 182. Pearson has rotated wins and losses in his last four UFC fights, with his last fight being a win over Sam Stout at UFC 185. Dunham has not won two or more bouts in a row in nearly three years, that stretch saw him defeat Shamar Bailey and Nik Lentz. Pearson has seen his last three fights all end in the second round, the last time a fight of his went to a decision was UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov in June 2014. Dunham will do his best to drag Pearson to the ground, but Pearson will stand tall and avoid the ground to get a second round TKO finish.
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Joseph “Irish Joe†Duffy (13-1-0) vs. Ivan “Batman†Jorge (26-4-0)
Duffy is currently undefeated in UFC competition and he is best known as the last fighter to have defeated Conor McGregor. Jorge has won two of three fights under the UFC banner, most notably defeating Keith Wisniewski at UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Bader. Duffy has an underrated ground game and he quickly drags Jorge to the ground to get a first round submission.
UFC Women’s Strawweight Division Fight
Joanne “JoJo†Calderwood (9-1-0) vs. Cortney “Cast Iron†Casey (4-1-0)
Calderwood will be looking to rebound from her first professional MMA defeat, which came to Maryna Moroz at UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop II. Casey will be making her UFC debut in this fight and all four of her wins as a pro came as opening round finishes. Casey would have had a better shot if she didn’t take the fight on a week’s notice, Calderwood smashes Casey into oblivion for a first round finish.
UFC Welterweight Division Fight
Leon “Rocky†Edwards (9-2-0) vs. Pawel “Plastinho†Pawlak (11-1-0)
Edwards is coming off of the biggest win of his MMA career, which was an eight second knockout of Seth Baczynski at UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop II. Pawlak earned his first UFC victory at the very same event, but his win came via decision over Sheldon Westcott. This fight should be nothing short of a slugfest, which will see Edwards get another first round finish to get his second UFC win.
UFC Lightweight Division Fight
Leonardo “Macarrao†Mafra (12-2-0) vs. Stevie “Braveheart†Ray (17-5-0)
Mafra will be looking to build on the momentum of his first UFC victory, which came over Cain Carrizosa at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. LaFlare. Ray is currently undefeated under the UFC banner and he is a former Cage Warriors Lightweight Champion. Mafra is a far better striker than Ray, but that will be negated in the end as Ray grounds and submits him in the second round.
Preliminary Card
Paddy Holohan over Vaughan Lee
Ilir Latifif over Hans Stringer
Mickael Lebout over Teemu Packalen
Paul Redmond over Robert Whiteford
Marcus Brimage over Jimmie Rivera
Daniel Omielanczuk over Chris De La Rocha
