UFC 195 featured several exciting finishes and many exciting, competitive fights. The main event between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit for the welterweight title is also the early frontrunner for 2016’s “Fight of the Year.” So what will be some repercussions from the first fight card of the year? Let’s find out.
UFC 195 took place on January 2, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dustin Poirier vs. Joseph Duffy took place on the preliminary card which aired on UFC Fight Round 1 – Poirier with a low kick as he circles on the outside. Duffy fires out a quick jab. Dufy’s hands look quick early, but Poirier tags him with a counter. Poirier pushes inside. Quick elbow and they reset. Good pace to start. Both men look sharp. Poirier kicks the body. Duffy with his hands low. Duffy with a right hand. Poirier with a jab and a right. Duffy scores a big right, and Poirier is hurt. He covers on the cage and tries to recover. Duffy just misses a big high kick, and Poirier comes off the fence. He seems OK for now. Uppercut for Dufy. He looks very relaxed, still handing his hands low. Another right for Duffy. Poirier moves into the Thai clinch and delivers a few big shots before wrapping the body and taking the fight to the floor. Duffy gets to a seated position. Poirier steps over the legs to keep him trapped on the floor. Duffy with a few short right hands from the bottom. Poirier postures and wants the guillotine. He punches instead, and Duffy crawls to his feet. Poirier stays tight to the body and looks for the takedown. Duffy fights it off and pulls free. Poirier bleeding from the nose. Duffy with a nice jab. He’s bleeding a bit, too. Big punches from both to close, and a smile at the bell. Round 2 – Duffy opens with that crisp jab. Poirier circling and looking to counter. Poirier blocks a high kick. He shoots in for the takedown, but Duffy defends and backs up to the cage. Poirier bleeding a bit more from the nose, but he pulls Duffy to the floor. Duffy looks to push down the head and get back to his feet. Poirier not striking a ton but controlling the position. He briefly threatens to take the back, so Duffy settles to the floor to prevent it. Poirier really bleeding, but it’s not impacting his vision. Short shots from Poirier as he controls the position and presses Duffy back to the floor. Duffy active on his back, but he can’t get free. Poirier landing big shots when he can, but it’s really about control. But he is seizing openings when they’re available. Duffy tries to bring the legs high, but it’s not there. Poirier a bloody mess, but he’s winning this round, no question. Final minute. More elbows from Poirier. Duffy with hammerfists from his back. Poirier with more elbows. He’s teeing off. Duffy covered in Poirier’s blood. Big right hands from Poirier to close. Round 3 – Duffy’s left eye is a mess, but he’s looking to strike to start the third. He’s still dangerous on the feet. Poirier with a low kick. Poirier on the outside. Duffy with a nice shot to the body. Poirier with a left hand and then a drive in for the takedown. It takes some effort, but he gets the action to the ground. Duffy again in a seated position and trying to post. Poirier happy to control the body. Duffy tries desperately to get to his feet, but Poirier steps over and teases the back. Duffy counters and looks to take the right leg, and Poirier has to abandon his attack to defends the hold. He tries to stand and pull free. Eventually, Duffy lets go, and Poirier alertly dives back inside and presses into his opponent’s guard. Less than two minutes, and Duffy is running out of time. He controls the right wrist from his back. Not a lot there, and referee Chris Tognoni calls for a restart. Crowd boos a bit. Duffy has one more chance to end this. Poirier wants a takedown. He can’t get it. Duffy with a big body shot and powerful uppercut. Poirier stunned a bit but gets through it and scores another takedown. Duffy rolls into a triangle in the final seconds. It’s tight, but it’s not there. Bell sounds. Result: Dustin Poirier def. Joseph Duffy via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) Dustin Poirer is now 19-4 in MMA. Duffy dropped only his second bout, leaving him at 14-2.
The UFC have had their fair share of superstars in Europe this year from ”Notorious” to Joanna. In today’s episode of Across The Pond, you will meet a fighter who is looking to add another win to his resume at UFC 195. A professional since March 2008 and fighting out of Tristar Gym in Canada, 27 year old Joseph Duffy owns a 14-1 record consisting of four knockouts, nine submissions and one decision. Duffy is the only man to defeat UFC stars Norman Parke and ”Notorious”. He is best known as having fought for Cage Warriors and is currently 2-0 in the UFC. In his MMA debut, he defeated Mick Broster. At Cage Warriors 39, Duffy defeated ”Notorious” via submission in just 38 seconds. Duffy won his next three fights for the promotion that included a first round knockout of Oriol Gaset at Cage Warriors 42. Following an almost three year hiatus from the sport, Duffy returned at Cage Warriors 70 to face Damien Lapilus in Dublin and submitted him in the third round. At Cage Warriors 74 in London, he won via knockout in just 36 seconds. Duffy is 2-0 so far in 2015, knocking out Jake Lindsey at UFC 185 in Dallas and submitting Ivan Jorge at UFN 72 respectively. Duffy will tangle with Dustin Poirier at UFC 195 in Las Vegas on January 2, 2016. Good Luck Joe! Duffy At Cage Warriors 70- 2. Duffy At Cage Warriors 74- 3. Bonus Fight- 4. Interview with MMA UK’S Jade Morris at UFN 72-
UFC 195 could be getting its second Womens title fight as UFC president Dana White told Los Angeles Times it was likely Joanna Jedrzejczyk will defend her women’s strawweight title against Claudia Gadelha in the co-main event January. 2 in Las Vegas, Jedrzejczyk’s co-manager Tiago Okamura also confirmed with MMAFighting.com that the UFC wants Jedrzejczyk at UFC 195, but nothing has been made official yet. White said the fight hinges on Gadelha’s recovery from a broken finger. The undefeated Jedrzejczyk (10-0) has won all four of her fights in the UFC, including a second-round TKO of Carla Esparza to win the title at UFC 185 in March. The Poland native is coming off a third-round TKO over Jessica Penne in June. Gadelha (13-1) is coming off a dominant unanimous decision win over Jessica Aguilar at UFC 190 earlier this month. Her lone career loss came against Jedrzejczyk last year. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt is 2-1 in the UFC and has been thought of as one of the top two or three women’s 115-pounders in the world for a few years. UFC 195 is headlined by by Ronda Rousey putting her women’s bantamweight belt on the line against Holly Holm, no other bouts have yet been confirmed though White also said he’d like Miesha Tate to meet Amanda Nunes that night.
It looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer to see Rousey Vs. Tate III after all as Holly Holm (9-0) leapfrogs the vetern to a title fight. Rousey (12-0) spoke to “Good Morning America” and confirmed she is slated to fight the former pro boxer Holm at UFC 195 on January 2. “She’s definitely my biggest challenge to date, so I’m super excited about it,” Rousey said. UFC officials have now confirmed the event takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. However no reason was given for Tate (17-5) to miss out on the fight. Womens Bantamweight champion Rousey recently made short work of Bethe Correia for her sixth consecutive title defense, shortly after UFC officials said Rousey would fight Tate but apparently they’ve taken a swift u-turn. Holly Holm began her MMA journey in 2011 after an impressive 33-2-3 pro-boxing career. She quickly won a title with Legacy FC in 2014 before signing with the UFC and scored decision victories over Raquel Pennington and Marion Reneau.