Jon Jones is always a must-watch fighter, so expect all eyes to be on him when he takes on Thiago Santos in another title defense. That fight is hardly the only one in the main card of UFC 239 worth watching though, as Dana White’s company has prepared a solid mix of talented fighters for this event that’s’ set to happen in Nevada. Read on for a complete rundown of all the main card fights at UFC 239.
Sure, he’s controversial, but Jon ‘Bones’ Jones is one hell of a fighting machine that has suffered just one loss so far in his career. He has not lost this decade, though, with the sole blemish on his record occurring 10 years ago at the hands of Matt Hamill. Jones, who is 24-1-0, is looking to extend his reign atop the light heavyweight division. He has won all 13 of his title defenses, the last one against Anthony Smith, whom Jones beat via unanimous decision. Jones is excellent both standing up and on the ground. He has won 10 matches via knockouts and six via submissions. His chin and overall defense is just as exceptional as his offense, as he’s neither been submitted nor knocked in his career. Santos (21-6-0) has zero plans of being just a sacrificial lamb to Jones. He’s an aggressive fighter who is going to push for action to happen against Jones. He is averaging 5.01 significant strikes landed per minute. He is a very busy fighter on his toes and has 15 knockout wins, but needs to show up with a much better defense, as he’s been knocked out three times before and submitted twice. Santos is a on a four-fight winning streak.
Writer’s prediction:
Jones finishes the fight in the second round with a knockout.
Nunes (17-4-0) will make another defense of her title this July, which will be her fourth since taking the belt away from Miesha Tate in 2016. Over that span, Nunes has recorded three wins via knockout. He finished Ronda Rousey in the first round then scored knockouts in her last two fights, stopping Cris Cyborg in the first round last December and Raquel Pennington in the fifth round back in May of 2018. Nunes is an efficient striker, which seems already unfair, considering her punching power. Nunes has 12 wins via knockouts and also knows her way on the mat, as she has three submission wins. She defeated Tate via rear-naked choke. Holm doesn’t seem to be as adept on the ground as Nunes is, but if the latter wants to bang, Holm is definitely going to give it to her. Holm, who keeps a 12-4-0 record, is a former champion herself and has eight knockout wins. All it takes for Holm to win this fight is to find her spot and land the shots she knows are heavy enough to rattle the champion. Nevertheless, she must be very careful and mindful of Nunes’ power and ability to bring the fight to the canvas.
Masvidal was losing his ground in the welterweight division when he lost back-to-back fights to Demian Maia and Stephen Thompson in 2017. Then he didn’t fight at all the following year. He’s back to being relevant now, though, after coming back to score an impressive knockout win over Darren Till last March. Masvidal is an entertaining fighter who always look for open spots in his opponents’ defense to land potential knockout blows. Askren made his UFC debut last March, albeit in a controversial submission win over Robbie Lawler. That kept Askren’s MMA record immaculate to date, as he enters his fight with Masvidal with a 19-0-0 slate. He’s won six via knockouts and six by way of submissions. Askren appears to be the more well-rounded fighter than Masvidal, but Masvidal’s power is seemingly more devastating than Askren’s. In any case, this is going to be an intriguing fight to watch.
Błachowicz had his four-fight winning streak end last February when he lost via technical knockout to Thiago Santos. Still, he’s going to be not an easy opponent for Rockhold. Błachowicz (23-8-0) is a solid striker. After all, his base is kickboxing. He’s won five fights via knockouts, but he’s arguably even more dangerous on the canvas. Błachowicz has nine wins against one loss via submissions. Rockhold will return to the Octagon after a long layoff. He last fought in the UFC in February of last year, when he got knocked out in the third round by Yoel Romero in a title fight. The 34-year-old MMA veteran is a volume striker with 4.91 significant strikes landed per minute. But he also knows his way on the ground, as he owns eight submission wins against zero losses.
The Nightmare is riding some momentum after stitching consecutive victories in his last two fights. Sanchez demolished Mickey Gall with a second-round knockout in last March. Before that, Sanchez scored a unanimous win over Craig White last September. Sanchez, who is 30-11-0, boasts of a sturdy chin, as he’s been knocked out just twice in his career, though, both occurred inside the past two years. If anything, Chiesa isn’t likely to look to land strikes on Sanchez. Instead, he’s expected to lure Sanchez into the ground, where the Maverick is at his best. Chiesa has zero knockout wins but has 11 by way of submissions. Overall, he is 15-4-0 in his MMA career. He defeated Carlos Condit in his last fight by applying the kimura technique on the Natural Born Killer.
