🇲🇽 🇰🇿 The Final Chapter...Surely?

September 16, 2022

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Fight With Teddy Atlas Newsletter, your one stop shop for all things combat sports related, brought to you by Teddy and The Fight team.

Teddy Atlas and co-host Ken Rideout breakdown UFC 279 with the drama around Khamzat Chimaev missing weight, Nate Diaz fighting and beating Tony Ferguson, Chimaev dominating Kevin Holland, and more on UFC 279. They also discuss news of Jake Paul fighting Anderson Silva, the Claressa Shields vs Savann…

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Fight News From Around The 🌍

Third Time Lucky?

On Sept. 16, 2017, Gennady Golovkin defeated Canelo Alvarez, regardless of how the ringside judges scored the bout. Officially he doesn't have a win over the Mexican, but going into this third fight, he'll be seeing it as a chance to go 1 up.

There's an argument to be made that he beat him in their second fight in 2018, but this result was much less controversial than the first.

4 years later and now in his 40s, GGG gets what will likely be his final chance at revenge.

A win against a much younger Ryoto Murata last time out shows he still carries the same legendary power, but there were also the signs of decline that come with age. These were also evident in his controversial win over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2019.

Alvarez is also older now, but he's very much coming into his prime. Whilst he is coming off a loss, it was at a weight he'd only competed at once before and he was up against an excellent Dmitry Bivol.

Back at his "natural" weight 168 lbs, Canelo will feel a lot more confident of his ability to impose himself on GGG and close out the trilogy in definitive style.

However...should GGG pull one back, we could see a Pacquiao vs Marquez-esque scenario that leads into a fourth fight between the rivals. Whilst unlikely, stranger things have happened in boxing.

Odds (Courtesy of MyBookie.Ag)

Canelo -588

GGG +320

What to look for in the fight:

  1. GGG's counters. GGG had a lot of success in the first fight through walking Canelo down with measured aggression. His older age means this will be tougher to do down the stretch, so he'll need to be more economical and counter the younger, faster Alvarez.

  2. The weight. GGG has spent his whole career at 160lbs. Whilst the difference in weight isn't huge, it could prove to be a significant factor in the later rounds.

  3. Canelo's activity. Expect the younger, fresher Alvarez to be more active than he was against Bivol and look to be first with his punches, particularly the jab and lead hook.

Don't take our word for any of this.

Teddy and Ken did another great breakdown at Trinity Boxing Club in NYC for the fight. Watch to the end for Teddy's prediction!

Enter The Sandman

The UFC brings the heat yet again with a great matchup at bantamweight, with #4 ranked Cory Sandhagen taking on #10 ranked Yadong Song.

Sandhagen has lost two straight and three of his last five. His two victories during that span came over Frankie Edgar and Marlon Moraes, who are a combined 2-8 with seven knockout defeats over their last five. However, his loss to TJ Dillashaw was one of the closest decisions in MMA history and the Petr Yan performance was admirable considering it was late notice. He's due a big, big win given his exciting, dynamic style and unquestionable toughness.

Song is ranked six spots below "The Sandman" despite winning three straight and having a better overall record than Sandhagen under the UFC banner, with a win over Marlon "Chito" Vera under his belt. Unlike Sandhagen, he has never been the 25 minute distance and this is his first main event slot. A lot of fighters struggle to make that transition, at least the first time around, and Song could be of that ilk considering his explosive style.

The winner here gets to really position themselves for a potential eliminator against either Merab Dvalishvili or the aforementioned Vera for a shot at the title, which is being contested in a little over a months time at UFC 280.

What to look for in the fight:

  1. The 5 rounds. Sandhagen is a seasoned 5 round operator whilst Song is not. If the fight is to go the 25 minute distance, look for Sandhagen to pick up the final 2 rounds on the judges scorecards or even push for a late finish.

  2. Song's power. Sandhagen has been in 2 very tough back to back fights and was hurt several times in both. The younger, more explosive Song may take advantage of openings and look to finish the fight within 3 rounds.

  3. Song on the mat. Song's training at the wrestling-heavy Team Alpha Male in California has tuned his grappling skills, and Sandhagen has shown in the past that he can be taken down and controlled on the mat.

Fight ⏰ for this weekend

Boxing: Canelo vs GGG III (Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 8pm Eastern/ 5pm Pacific | Main Event: 12am Eastern/ 9pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 1am | Main Event: 4am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 10am Eastern/ 8am Western | Main Event: 2pm Eastern/ 12pm Western

UFC: Sandhagen vs Song Saturday 17th/Sunday 18th)

  • 🇺🇸 Full Card: 7pm Eastern/ 4pm Pacific | Main Event: 9pm Eastern/ 6pm Pacific

  • 🇬🇧 Full Card: 12am | Main Event: 2am

  • 🇦🇺 Full Card: 9am Eastern/ 7am Western | Main Event: 11am Eastern/ 9am Western

Don't forget to tune in to the latest episode 🎧

Thanks for being with us and see you next week #BANG💥