UFC FN: 64 – Fight Talk’s Ones to Watch
UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga v Cro Cop 2 takes place on April 11th in Krakow, Poland. The main event features the eagerly anticipated rematch between Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko Cro Cop. The pair met previously at UFC 70 in a heavy weight title eliminator that saw Gonzaga knock Cro Cop out with a sublime head kick reminiscent of many of Cro Cop’s own KO finishes.
As highly as this bout is anticipated there are two other fights taking place on this card that most Scottish MMA fans will be looking forward to equally if not more.
On the main card Joanne ‘Dr Kneevil’ Calderwood (9-0) takes on Maryna ‘The Iron Woman’ Moroz (5-0) in a straw weight bout and on the undercard lightweights Steven ‘Braveheart’ Ray (16-5) and Marcin ‘Bomba’ Bandel (13-3) face off.
Steven ‘Braveheart’ Ray v Marcin ‘Bomba’ Bandel
Ray is a well known commodity of course to all Scottish MMA fans. A true story of perseverance and hard work, all of Scotland is delighted to see him in the UFC, a place he has vowed to stay.
He really arrived on the radar when as a member of small team Edge MMA, he defeated highly skilled DNFT fighter Scott Ward in one of the great domestic fights to happen in Scotland.
From then, his move to DNFT/Higher Level has seen his already well rounded game improve. Dangerous everywhere, Ray really showed that everything had come together with his last two wins over respected UFC Veteran Curt Warburton. He outstruck, and eventually submitted, Warburton and he won’t fear anything Bandel has to throw at him. He will walk into Poland the enemy, but he will be a hero to the legions of Scottish fans who will be willing him on to win.
Bandel is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu brown belt and highly decorated grappler. Prior to his loss in his UFC debut Bandel ran an incredible 12 fight winning streak all by first round submission. 6 of those wins came by heel hook, 4 by arm bar, a rear naked choke and rarely seen in MMA, the omaplata. A one trick submission pony Bandel is not.
Bandel lost his UFC debut against the Russian Mairbek ‘Beckan’ Taisumov and is keen to get back to the norm of winning fights. Originally scheduled to fight Jason Saggo, the late change in opponent does not phase Bandel in the slightest.
“Unfortunately these things happen in fighting, I am ready to fight and come April 11th I’m ready to show the world what I can do.
I honestly don’t know that much about Steven Ray, other than he is the Cage Warriors light weight champion. I know that he is an aggressive fighter who doesn’t back down. I don’t know if he is a tougher opponent than Jason Saggo but I know that I would be able to beat either him or Steven Ray.”
Joanne ‘Dr Kneevil’ Calderwood v Maryna ‘The Iron Woman’ Moroz
For many, Joanne Calderwood is not only the face of Scottish MMA, but the best shot we have at producing a UFC champion. The undefeated Calderwood is the best known Scottish fighter internationally and is ranked #6 in the UFC official rankings.
Her style is one of excitement and striking dominance. A world Muay Thai champion who has destroyed all of her professional opponents with her striking; due to Joannes style, she is already being looked at as a potential contender to fight UFC World Champion Joanna “Champion” and an impressive win on Saturday will be enough most believe to secure that title shot, which is more than enough motivation for Scotland to get behind Dr Kneevil!
Moroz makes her promotional debut against Calderwood and is currently undefeated. The Ukranian fights out of the Fight Nights team from Dnipropetrovsk in her home country training alongside Ali Bagautinov. Moroz has won all of her five MMA fights so far and has one the last 4 straight by first round stoppage, three of which coming by armbar.
In respect of her MMA career Moroz is a verified globetrotter, she has fought in Russia, Brazil, Ukraine and twice in China. Moroz can now have a Polish eagle stamped in her passport to add to her collection. Moroz last fight was on the 1st of November 2014 at XFC International in Brazil. She fought and defeated Karine Silva via first round armbar. Check out the action from her last fight below.
The main event features Gabriel Gonzaga vs Mirko Cro-Cop in an interesting re match. This will be a card were the nationality of the fighters taking part plays as big or bigger a part than the high profile fighters taking part.
The undercard and main card looks as follows
| Heavyweight | Gabriel Gonzaga | vs. | Mirko Filipović | |
| Light Heavyweight | Jimi Manuwa | vs. | Jan Błachowicz | |
| Welterweight | Pawel Pawlak | vs. | Sheldon Westcott | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Joanne Calderwood | vs. | Maryna Moroz | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | ||||
| Welterweight | Seth Baczynski | vs. | Leon Edwards | |
| Middleweight | Bartosz Fabiński | vs. | Garreth McLellan | |
| Welterweight | Sérgio Moraes | vs. | Mickael Lebout | |
| Featherweight | Damian Stasiak | vs. | Yaotzin Meza | |
| Heavyweight | Daniel Omielańczuk | vs. | Anthony Hamilton | |
| Women’s Strawweight | Izabela Badurek | vs. | Aleksandra Albu | |
| Lightweight | Marcin Bandel | vs. | Steven Ray | |
| Featherweight | Taylor Lapilus | vs. | Rocky Lee | |
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