UFC Fight Night 120: Poirier vs. Pettis

UFC Fight Night 120 : Poirier vs

Madison Square Garden. | Norfolk, Virginia

MAIN CARD (FS1, 10 p.m. ET)
Anthony Pettis vs. Dustin Poirier
Matt Brown vs. Diego Sanchez
junior Albina vs. Andrei Arlovski
Cezar Ferreira vs. Nata Marquardt Raphael Assuncao
Raphael Assuncao vs. Matthew Lopez
Clay Guida vs. Joe Lauzon preliminary card

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET)
John Dodson vs. Marlon Moraes
Vivian Pereira vs. Tatiana Suarez
sag Northcutt vs. Michel Quinones
Nina Ansaroff vs. Angela Hill preliminary card

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight pass, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Court McGee vs. Sean Strickland jak Collier
Marcel fortuna Karl Roberson
Darren Stewart

So, after that absolutely killer 217 event—which, let’s be honest, had names that actually lived up to the hype and fights that went way beyond what I was expecting—the UFC is jumping right back into it this weekend. Honestly, this might just be the best Fight Night we've seen all year. The lineup is stacked with top-tier talent, and there's a real chance we're looking at some absolute bangers.

The countdown is officially live:

That main event is looking pretty interesting. 🍿

Aha, so we’ve got the main event, but honestly, when you look at the whole card 👍 for just one Fight Night, I mean, it's actually pretty solid, more than good enough, I guess 🙏

Matt Brown is facing his final fight here before he officially hangs it up and heads into retirement. I'm expecting the match against Diego to be absolutely brutal. Personally, I think it’s a great way for him to say goodbye, and who knows, maybe it'll actually live up to the hype

So, I figured I’d put together a little "tale of the tape" for this upcoming main event, just because. We're looking at two guys who are pretty well-known around here and honestly, they both have such an entertaining fighting style that you can't really go wrong watching them. If you dig into the actual stats, though, things look surprisingly neck-and-neck. I guess you could say Pettis has a slight edge since he's about an inch taller, and he's got maybe a tiny bit more reach—just a centimeter or so, which probably doesn't even matter much in the heat of it. And while Poirier is technically two years younger, he’s actually racked up nearly double the number of UFC wins compared to Pettis. But, then again, there's that big catch: out of those seven UFC wins Pettis has, he actually managed to snag the lightweight title and even defended it once, so that definitely changes the math somehow.

I guess Pettis kind of hit a bit of a slump right after that title loss to RDA, and he ended up dropping two more fights following that setback. He eventually decided to make the move down to the featherweight division, which actually started off pretty well with a solid debut against Oliveira, but then things went sideways when he lost to Max Hollaway in a fight that was originally supposed to be for the interim belt. To make matters even worse, Pettis had struggled to make weight, so even if he had managed to pull off a win in that bout, he wouldn't have walked away with the title anyway because of those weight issues.

So, he basically decided to head back down to the lightweight division after that win over Jim Miller, where he kind of signaled that we might actually be seeing the return of the "old" Pettis, I guess.



He’s sitting at number 13 in the UFC rankings right now, which I guess means he’s definitely going to be gunning for that top spot again and doing whatever it takes to claw his way back to where he honestly thinks he belongs.

So, I guess Dustin Poirier is basically that classic fighter who makes the jump from featherweight to lightweight and just looks absolutely natural doing it. It’s like he found his true home, honestly. That move up to the 155-pound division seems to have worked out incredibly well for him, especially considering he managed to string together four straight wins—and three of those were by way of KO or TKO, which is pretty wild if you think about it. But then, man, Michael Johnson comes along and completely shuts things down with some boxing that, I don't know, just seemed way too much for Poirier to handle that night.



So, Poirier finally got back in there and pulled off a win against Jim Miller, which was good to see. It’s a bit of a weird one to look back on, though, because that last fight against Eddie Alvarez was such a mess. I mean, at one point, Eddie landed this illegal knee that basically ruined everything, and the whole thing just ended up being ruled a NC. Honestly, before that knee happened, the fight was easily shaping up to be the Fight of the Night—it had all that energy, you know? It’s just such a massive shame that it went down that way and we lost what could have been an absolute classic.



I mean, if you look at the lineup, it honestly just goes to show that we’re looking at some seriously high-caliber fighters here. They’re all pretty much elite, so I guess you’d have to assume this fight is going to be an absolute banger, assuming both guys actually decide to show up and put on a hell of a performance.

I guess we’re looking at the rankings from the site now... MMA Rankings – MMA Rankings | UFC Rankings | MMA Prospects | MMA News
It’s honestly kind of weird that they haven't put Diego in the rankings yet, isn't it? I guess maybe they just don't see him that way, or who knows, but it feels pretty strange to me.

I mean, this fight is honestly such a massive deal, wouldn't you say? Especially when you consider that it’s likely the last time we’ll ever see Matt Brown step into the octagon. It feels like the end of an era, I guess. 😢 I mean, honestly, it looks like this might just be the end of the road for them—after this one, they’ll probably be heading straight into retirement.

We all know exactly what we’re getting into with Sanchez, so I don't think I even need to go into too much detail here. To start things off, just look at the numbers: the guy has racked up seven Fight Night bonuses, and three of those were actually Fight of the Night honors. He’s basically that guy who never shies away from a scrap and always runs headfirst into a war. Honestly, every time he walks out toward that octagon, he looks like he’s already dialed up to eleven, just completely wired and ready to go.



I mean, obviously, he just isn't the same kind of fighter he used to be. Look, I really don't want to disrespect Lauzon’s power or his ability to land a punch, but honestly, when you start seeing Lauzon getting knocked out, you know things have shifted. Lately, Diego has just been stuck in this weird cycle where it's win, then loss, then win, then loss... it's like he can't catch a break. His last outing was that knockout loss against Iaquint, which wasn't pretty. So, if you follow the logic of his recent patterns, I guess a win should be coming his way soon, but man, that feels like a massive stretch considering he's facing Matt Brown. Brown is going to be incredibly motivated—probably more than we've ever seen—since this is basically the final fight of his career.

If you look at the stats, Brown actually holds a bit of an edge here—he’s about two inches taller and has an 8 cm reach advantage. It’s wild to think about, because there was a point where Matt Brown was basically staring down the barrel of being cut from the UFC altogether; his record was sitting at a shaky 12-11. But then, I don't know, it's like something just clicked inside him or he found a second wind. He suddenly started knocking people out left and right, putting together this incredible seven-fight win streak. One of those wins was against Thompson, who was still pretty green back then, and honestly, that loss probably did him some good in terms of learning what it takes to compete at this level.

I mean, that one stellar performance really did set him up to face Lawler for a title shot, didn't it? But honestly, it all kind of fell apart after that. He just hasn't been able to pull it off, and he's actually lost to pretty much everyone in the top tier lately—his record over the last six fights is a rough 1-5, if you can believe it. And man, that most recent loss to Cowboy... getting caught with that head kick was just brutal to watch.



Maybe it really is finally time to hang up the gloves, but honestly, I think this guy is just going to struggle in the world of MMA because he’s one of those fighters who relies way too much on pure heart. I mean, I guess this fight against Diego might actually be the perfect swan song for his career; he’s got such a massive legacy, and if he can somehow pull off a win here, he could walk away on top and finally go focus on being a dad to his twins.

If this doesn't end in a stoppage, I guess we're looking at an absolute slugfest that’s probably going all the way to the judges' scorecards.

So, here are the weigh-in results:

The main card kicks off on FS1 at 10 p.m. ET, so make sure you've got your snacks ready by then.
So, we finally have the numbers for the main event, and I guess it’s looking like a bit of a heavyweight clash for the lightweight division. Anthony Pettis came in at 155.5, while Dustin Poirier ended up slightly over at 156. It’s pretty much a wash, really—nothing too crazy to report here, just two guys who clearly did what they needed to do to make weight. I suppose we can finally stop stressing about the scales and just focus on the actual fight, which is probably all anyone actually cares about anyway.
So, we’ve got Matt Brown coming in at 171 and Diego Sanchez weighing in at 170. I guess we're looking at a pretty tight margin here, though honestly, it doesn't change much about how this fight might go. It's just one of those matchups where you wonder if anyone actually cares about a single pound when these two start trading leather.
So, we’ve got junior Albina coming in at 265.5 pounds, while Andrei Arlovski is looking a bit lighter at 244. It’s a massive weight gap, honestly, and I guess you have to wonder how that’s going to play out once the bell rings. Maybe it won't be as crazy as it looks on paper, but man, seeing those numbers side-by-side is definitely something.
So, we've got Cezar Ferreira weighing in at 185, while Nata Marquardt comes in just a hair over at 185.5. It’s basically a wash, really—just two guys hitting the scale right where they need to be for the middleweight bout. I guess it doesn't change much about how the fight might go, but hey, at least nobody's making weight by a ridiculous margin this time around.
So, we’ve got Raphael Assuncao facing off against Matthew Lopez at 135.5 pounds, and honestly, I guess I'm just sitting here wondering how this matchup actually plays out once the cage door closes. It feels like one of those fights where you're looking for a spark, but you aren't entirely sure if either guy is going to provide it, though maybe that's just me being overly cynical about the whole thing. Assuncao has his own way of doing things, but then you look at Lopez and you realize this could go either way depending on who dictates the pace, which, let's be real, is always a bit of a gamble in these bouts. I mean, it's probably going to be a technical grind, or perhaps a total mess, I suppose, but I'll be watching regardless. (138.5)*
So, we’ve got Clay Guida versus Joe Lauzon at lightweight, and honestly, I guess you could say this is one of those matchups that feels like a total throwback to a different era of the sport. It’s kind of wild to think about, but seeing guys like Clay Guida and Joe Lauzon lined up against each other again just makes me feel old, I suppose. You have Guida, who basically built his entire career on being an absolute human headache for anyone trying to wrestle him, and then you have Lauzon, who is just... well, he's Lauzon. He’s always been that guy who can find a way to make things incredibly dangerous even when he seems to be struggling. I mean, maybe it's a stylistic clash that actually works, or maybe it's just a bit of a nostalgia trip for the fans, but I can't help but wonder if either of them still has that specific gear required to pull off a win at this stage. It’s probably going to be a gritty, exhausting affair, and I suspect we might see a lot of grappling attempts from Guida while Lauzon tries to find that one opening to land something meaningful. It’s hard to call, really—it could go either way depending on how much gas they both have left in the tank.

The preliminary card kicks off on FS1 at 8 p.m. ET, so you might want to get your snacks ready by then.
So, looking at the scales for this one, we've got John Dodson coming in at 135.5 while Marlon Moraes is sitting at 136. It’s a pretty tight margin, I guess, though maybe not enough to make a massive difference in how they actually perform once the cage door closes. Still, it's interesting to see them both hovering right around that mark.
So, we finally have the weight numbers for the Viviane Pereira vs. Tatiana Suarez matchup, and honestly, it’s pretty much what you’d expect to see. Viviane came in at 114.5, while Tatiana is sitting right at 115. It’s basically a wash, really. There isn't any massive weight drama here to dissect, which I suppose is a relief in its own way, though maybe a little bit boring if you were looking for some pre-fight chaos. It looks like both fighters hit their marks without making too much of a scene about it, so we can just get on with the actual fighting part, I guess.
So, we've got the weight numbers in for the Sage Northcutt vs. Michel Quinones matchup, and it looks like Sage is coming in at 155.5 while Quinones hit the mark right at 155. Honestly, it’s pretty much a wash, though I guess you could say Sage is carrying an extra half-pound of something, maybe just some extra hype or whatever. It doesn't really change much in my eyes, but hey, at least they both made it.
So, we've got Nina Ansaroff taking on Angela Hill in the strawweight division, which I guess means things are about to get pretty interesting at 115 pounds. It's one of those matchups where you really have to wonder how the styles are going to clash, because honestly, neither of them is giving an inch when it comes to their game plans. I mean, maybe Nina can find a way to control the pace, or perhaps Angela's striking will just keep everything too chaotic for her to settle in, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how that actually plays out in the cage.

The preliminary card kicks off on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET.
So, we’ve got Court McGee coming in at 170, while Sean Strickland is sitting right there at 169.5. It’s pretty much a wash, I guess, though I suppose you could say Strickland has that tiny half-pound advantage if you're really looking for something to obsess over. Honestly, it doesn't seem like anyone is particularly struggling to make weight here, which is a nice change of pace, maybe. It looks like a fairly standard matchup on paper, though I'm always a bit skeptical about how these slight weight differences actually play out once the cage door shuts. Regardless, the scales have spoken, and we're all set to see what happens.
So, we've got Jake Collier weighing in at 205.5 against Marcel Fortuna also hitting that 205.5 mark. It looks like they both made weight perfectly, which, I guess, is one less thing for us to stress about, though I suppose it doesn't tell us much else about how this fight is actually going to play out once they're inside the cage.
So, looking at the numbers for the Roberson versus Stewart matchup, we’ve got Karl Roberson coming in at 184.5 pounds while Darren Stewart is sitting right at 184. It's basically a wash, I guess, though Roberson is technically the one carrying that extra half-pound of weight. Not exactly a massive discrepancy or anything, but maybe it matters more than I'm thinking.

So, looks like Lopez missed weight for the bantamweight limit, which means he's going to be slapped with a fine equal to twenty percent of his purse—all of which, naturally, gets handed straight over to Assuncao.

UFC Fight Night 120 weigh-in results : One fighter heavy , but Pettis

Finally caught some of the fights, and man, that main event was absolute fire. Such a bummer it ended on a stoppage like that, though. Honestly, Dustin caught me totally off guard; I was fully expecting Pettis to just run the show, especially once they got standing. But things went sideways fast—he wasn't really finding his rhythm on the feet, and then once it hit the ground, he showed some seriously impressive Jiu-Jitsu. He just seemed to take way too many unnecessary risks in those transitions.

The main event definitely lived up to the hype 🙏 though it’s a bit of a bummer it ended that way, I suppose. That second round was just straight-up brutal, especially with all that blood flying 😲 Matt really put on a hell of a show for his farewell fight, and honestly, Diego is probably right on the doorstep of retirement too.

I feel like Assuncau really needed a fight like this—one of those stoppage wins just to finally get some eyes on him. You have to hand it to him, though, for having the sense to pull his hand back once he realized Lopez was totally out of it 🙏 Guida was just quick and explosive there, kind of reminiscent of how Lauzon countered Diego last year. I'm actually pretty curious to see what happens next with Moraes; that bantamweight division is getting incredibly interesting.