UFC 205 rumors and guaranteed fights

Written by Derek Moody, September 8, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. Tweet to: @DerekMoody619

Guarantees

Cowboy Cerrone vs Robbie Lawler

Robbie Lawler vs Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone brings as much appeal as any great UFC main event. Whether this is the main event, co-main or just a main card fight it’s certainly going to sell out the event.

These two have huge fan bases becuase they go to war. Neither guy is known for running or backing down. This is the ultimate test for Cowboy on whether he should stay at welterweight or go back to lightweight. He’s on a three fight win streak at 170 with all finishes.

Lawler is coming off of a first round knockout title loss to Tyron Woodley. In order for Lawler to get his belt back he’ll have to go through Cerrone and possible even a title eliminator contender. Lawler knows Cowboy’s weakness and he’ll look to exploit them thoroughly by attacking the body.

Cerrone hasn’t had the wars Lawler has been through so we’ll find out if he can handle being in deep waters with the former champ. Expect fireworks because this one won’t go to a decision.

Al Iaquinta vs Thiago Alves

Alves a longtime welterweight is making his lightweight debut. He was successful in the division earning a title shot a few years back. He was a powerful welterweight and if he can contain that power in a lighter division he should see success again. Iaquinta has some of the heaviest hands in the weight class and makes sure every opponent knows that.

He’s sort of the Thiago Alves of lightweight, so this should be interesting. The difference is Iaquinta is riding a four fight win streak with three knockouts but this will be a true test for him. Alves has a lot of experience but loves to slug it out. These guys will swing for the fences  similar to the other fights lined up on the card.

Gian Villante vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima

It makes sense that all native New Yorkers would put in their bid to be on the MSG card. So far we have Villante and Iaquinta repping New York which means Weidman whose also in the same camp will follow suit. If the Jon Jones situation were to clear he’d most likely headline the card unless McGregor is on it. McGregor tends to be more reliable even with his shenanigans.

Villante is coming off a loss to Ilir Latifi in March and is looking to get back on track in his own backyard. De Lima is 3-1 in the UFC with first-round finishes over Richardson Moreira, Igor Pokrajac and Clint Hester. Both guys look to finish fights so the judges won’t have to worry about scoring this one.

Rumors

Chris Weidman vs Yoel Romero

Romero was supposed to fight for the title before he was suspended for failing an USADA test. In his defense, the supplement was tainted as were the random ones they also tested to validate that he took a banned substance unknowingly. Weidman can’t wait to remove the image of him getting beat by Luke Rockhold. He’s looking to destroy anyone who enters the cage opposite him.

He also has a chip on his shoulder for known cheaters or doping offenders. Everyone saw the outcome between him and Vitor Belfort as it became personal real fast. Romero is a different kind of animal, Weidman will have his hands full if this fight comes to fruition. The winner would likely have a shot at the middleweight champion.

Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez

Eddie Alvarez vs Conor McGregor is rumored for Madison Square Garden. Also rumored would be Conor McGregor keeping his belt and defending it early next year. He won the belt December 2015 and would go the entire year without defending it. It’ll be his third fight outside of his own division while keeping the division on freeze. Jose Aldo is the interim champ that should be the undisputed champ. There’s no reason why McGregor can’t defend his title, he just doesn’t want to. Defending titles aren’t exactly McGregor’s forte as history has shown.

It seems the UFC is working hard on their McGregor investment gearing him to be the first two division champion simultaneously. Now if McGregor had defended his title at least once then went up and won another title he would have earned that label. Eddie Alvarez wanted this fight by planting the seed a while back calling McGregor the easy fight. Realistically he’s far from the easy fight but he’s definitely the money fight.

Alvarez wanted this fight for the payday and to crush the hype train. McGregor already lost in the UFC and it didn’t hurt his stock at all. Alvarez now has a lot of tape on McGregor seeing him go 25 minutes. Now his team can accurately place a gameplan together to successfully defend his title. Hopefully this fight does take place to cap off an already stacked main card.