Showing posts with label mixed martial arts news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mixed martial arts news. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Sunday, July 21, 2019
UFC on ESPN 4 Recap & Reflections: Harris Sleeps Oleinik, Edwards Delivers, Pennington Cruises...
I tuned in for a fair bit of the prelims and part of the main card, caught up on 'tings from the main card today.
I rarely bet on HW fights for the exact reason Harris clipped Oleinik in 12 seconds. Big dudes, someone might get slept. Meanwhile Arlovski and Rothwell about beat one another into retirement. Both guys were exhausted at the close of three very hard fought rounds. Arlovski is 40, still dangerous, and has shored up some of the defensive holes in his game, but this fight has me worried about his ability to fight 5 rounds in a title fight, especially with the likes of the gas tank of guys like Stipe or DC. Anyhow, the former champ is still dangerous, and is now on a 4 or 5 fight win streak, which is more than a lot of guys ever put together in the HW division. Rothwell for his part is still always dangerous, his awkward Frankenstein lurching stand-up style notwithstanding and is a tall order to beat for everyone on any given day, and even the more experienced vets in the division as he took Ivanov to a 5 round decision, beat Barnett and has faced my competent fighters in his career.
Pennington won, but despite her win streak, she poses no threat whatsoever to Nunes. Her post fight speech about working on her hands sounds good, but she will get picked apart with straight jabs and crosses by Nunes as he comes forward square, has no level changes to any takedown options, and offers virtually no threat to the champ or any other competent striker who circles off the cage or chains together striking with takedowns from the clinch.
Edwards did a lot of semi subtle things well against RDA: he stayed just out of range of RDA's low kick at virtually all times, ate very few of them, he kept RDA slightly out of punching range as he was the shorter/stockier man, landed errant high kicks that RDA checked but look good to judges, controlled the clinch by pressing RDA against the cage, picked up the first round on the scorecards with that duck under/well-timed takedown, would set in one hook as RDA would look for the kimura and cage walk to try and peel him off. Edwards never seemed interested in pouring it on, but he fought a much smarter fight than I would've given him credit for. I kept finding myself fast forwarding to how this fight would look against a true welterweight with a similar style (Masvidal). Masvidal also is content to counter, cirlce, pot shot and occasionally has he dials in your tells/style, pour it on in later rounds 3-5. Both men have a resume of work worthy of a title shot, and frankly, I'd like to see Masvidal get the title shot, then Edwards afterward. Masvidal has collected the bigger scalps and deserves a title shot after fight practically everyone else in the division over the past however many years.
I think Masvidal beats him most of the times they fight (in or out of a cage) as Edwards showed a real lack of ability or wherewithal to lead the fight with RDA. When he punches first, it's a very state, reaching/pushing jab/cross combo, feet planted and heavy, and his gameplan to plant just beyond range and counter will simply not work against Masvidal who is much more fleet of foot, sticks out his jab and hook with speed and pop, and has a less predictable set of tools he'll be using which Edwards will have to counter.
Hardy picked up another stoppage win but given the stuff you've read, I'm not gonna spend any time belaboring what that means or doesn't mean. It's hard to tell if his opponent was out or staying deep on the single leg, but the ref stopped it so yet again we're left with some uncertainty as to a Hardy finish/ability et cetera.
I rarely bet on HW fights for the exact reason Harris clipped Oleinik in 12 seconds. Big dudes, someone might get slept. Meanwhile Arlovski and Rothwell about beat one another into retirement. Both guys were exhausted at the close of three very hard fought rounds. Arlovski is 40, still dangerous, and has shored up some of the defensive holes in his game, but this fight has me worried about his ability to fight 5 rounds in a title fight, especially with the likes of the gas tank of guys like Stipe or DC. Anyhow, the former champ is still dangerous, and is now on a 4 or 5 fight win streak, which is more than a lot of guys ever put together in the HW division. Rothwell for his part is still always dangerous, his awkward Frankenstein lurching stand-up style notwithstanding and is a tall order to beat for everyone on any given day, and even the more experienced vets in the division as he took Ivanov to a 5 round decision, beat Barnett and has faced my competent fighters in his career.
Pennington won, but despite her win streak, she poses no threat whatsoever to Nunes. Her post fight speech about working on her hands sounds good, but she will get picked apart with straight jabs and crosses by Nunes as he comes forward square, has no level changes to any takedown options, and offers virtually no threat to the champ or any other competent striker who circles off the cage or chains together striking with takedowns from the clinch.
Edwards did a lot of semi subtle things well against RDA: he stayed just out of range of RDA's low kick at virtually all times, ate very few of them, he kept RDA slightly out of punching range as he was the shorter/stockier man, landed errant high kicks that RDA checked but look good to judges, controlled the clinch by pressing RDA against the cage, picked up the first round on the scorecards with that duck under/well-timed takedown, would set in one hook as RDA would look for the kimura and cage walk to try and peel him off. Edwards never seemed interested in pouring it on, but he fought a much smarter fight than I would've given him credit for. I kept finding myself fast forwarding to how this fight would look against a true welterweight with a similar style (Masvidal). Masvidal also is content to counter, cirlce, pot shot and occasionally has he dials in your tells/style, pour it on in later rounds 3-5. Both men have a resume of work worthy of a title shot, and frankly, I'd like to see Masvidal get the title shot, then Edwards afterward. Masvidal has collected the bigger scalps and deserves a title shot after fight practically everyone else in the division over the past however many years.
I think Masvidal beats him most of the times they fight (in or out of a cage) as Edwards showed a real lack of ability or wherewithal to lead the fight with RDA. When he punches first, it's a very state, reaching/pushing jab/cross combo, feet planted and heavy, and his gameplan to plant just beyond range and counter will simply not work against Masvidal who is much more fleet of foot, sticks out his jab and hook with speed and pop, and has a less predictable set of tools he'll be using which Edwards will have to counter.
Hardy picked up another stoppage win but given the stuff you've read, I'm not gonna spend any time belaboring what that means or doesn't mean. It's hard to tell if his opponent was out or staying deep on the single leg, but the ref stopped it so yet again we're left with some uncertainty as to a Hardy finish/ability et cetera.
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
BJJ Scout's BJJ Digest: Ryan Hall Talks Kron, Dubious Dom does Judo, Gunnar Nelson Eyes Funky Town
A lot to unpack here. Gabi Garcia *fought a woman old enough to be my grandmother and was a retired pro wrestler* is willing to fight Julia Budd who she outweights by 40 lbs or more. I'd hope so, I mean she's been beating up women old enough to be her mom and undersized for her entire career. Ryan Hall's at #14 in the rankings after his one sided win over Elkins.
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Bellator Announces Featherweight Grand Prix First Round Match-Ups With a Twist.....
In an additional twist, they'll be rebracketing after the first round, which, oddly enough, kinda refutes the purpose of a y'know...bracket. Why redo the whole bracket after first round if not to have some control over the outcome throughout the process?
It's a bit suspicious to me frankly if not also simply against the spirit of having a bracket in the first place. It leads to questions about influence over who will face who when beyond just the initial draw which is always the achilles heel of how a bracket is done unless totally randomized by a lottery draw.
Via MMAJunkie.com:
"On Monday, Bellator announced the field for its 16-man featherweight tournament, which gets underway in September with four opening-round bouts each at Bellator 226 and Bellator 228.
It's a bit suspicious to me frankly if not also simply against the spirit of having a bracket in the first place. It leads to questions about influence over who will face who when beyond just the initial draw which is always the achilles heel of how a bracket is done unless totally randomized by a lottery draw.
Via MMAJunkie.com:
"On Monday, Bellator announced the field for its 16-man featherweight tournament, which gets underway in September with four opening-round bouts each at Bellator 226 and Bellator 228.
They are as follows:
Bellator 226
- Pedro Carvalho vs. Sam Sicilia – featherweight tournament opening round
- Derek Campos vs. Daniel Straus – featherweight tournament opening round
- Adam Borics vs. Pat Curran – featherweight tournament opening round
- Tywan Claxton vs. Emmanuel Sanchez – featherweight tournament opening round
Bellator 228
- Champ Patricio Freire vs. Juan Archuleta – for featherweight title, featherweight tournament opening round
- Georgi Karakhanyan vs. A.J. McKee – featherweight tournament opening round
- Darrion Caldwell vs. Henry Corrales – featherweight tournament opening round
- Saul Rogers vs. Daniel Weichel – featherweight tournament opening round"
Monday, July 15, 2019
BJJ Scout's BJJ Digest: Kayla Harrison Smashes, Gabi Confirms IBJJF Roid Testing not Random....at al
Interesting to hear Gabi confirm that the testing at IBJJF is in fact not random.
That being said, some of the guys can't even pass a test one day per year, so y'know....whatevs.
That being said, some of the guys can't even pass a test one day per year, so y'know....whatevs.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Face-Punching Weekend: Forgettable Bellator, Stoppages at UFC, OneFC Realness
A lot to unpack this weekend. Despite the early start time, I managed to fall asleep mid UFC. Le sigh. That being said, it was a solid night of stoppages and fights overall.
I didn't watch the Bellator card because other than Rickels and Strauss I wasn't enticed.
Yusuff with creepin' Master Lloyd Irvin laying low in his corner (hoping #metoo doesn't come to JiuJitsu, along with some other problematic famous guys doing things like sliding up in women's DMs despite their squeaky clean family/honor/respect/loyalty IGram image.....).....I digress. Yusuff wobbled Sheymon in the 3rd round in a largely uneventaul and tactical stand-up affair with some clinching. Yusuff talks a big game about his work rate and the like, but doesn't really fight with any urgency even if/when he hurts an opponent in the 2 UFC fights I've seen. He called out Kron whom I think he figures he can stuff the takedown and pick Kron apart at range and pick up a decision.
Craig picked up a 3rd round submission after some atrocious wrestling that his opponent couldn't stop despite multiple fence grabs and eye pokes. For F*ck's sake Craig, I like watching your JiuJitsu for MMA but hire a F*CKING wrestling coach.
Waterson as I predicted had too much variety in her toolbox for Kowalkiewicz.
Emmett slept Johnson in a fight he was probably losing on scorecards to show that he really is capable of sleeping folks even late in the fight.
Hermannson pulled off what was in my opinion an upset with a quick guillotine of David Branch.
Gaethje prevented a prolonged fight with a single punch that put Barboza away, all the more impressive having seen some of the gritty fights of which Barboza has been a part in his career. There were already throwing heavy punches, knees, and kicks by the time the stoppage came as Gaethje lept into a hook and Barboza pulled away to circle out and away from the cage.
Mixed results for the American contingent over in OneFC. Alvarez was stopped in pretty devastating fashion, Mighty Mouse won and Tonon won as well in a decisive takedown/leg kick catch to head outside single leg to finish via TKO/strikes. Aoki got Folayang a step or two/shuffle from the cage and shot in to get his hands locked/body lock then hip lifted him over and down and from there advanced position to finish with a head+arm triangle choke. Mighty Mouse hit a slick high elbow grip guillotine against a scrappy opponent.
I didn't watch the Bellator card because other than Rickels and Strauss I wasn't enticed.
Yusuff with creepin' Master Lloyd Irvin laying low in his corner (hoping #metoo doesn't come to JiuJitsu, along with some other problematic famous guys doing things like sliding up in women's DMs despite their squeaky clean family/honor/respect/loyalty IGram image.....).....I digress. Yusuff wobbled Sheymon in the 3rd round in a largely uneventaul and tactical stand-up affair with some clinching. Yusuff talks a big game about his work rate and the like, but doesn't really fight with any urgency even if/when he hurts an opponent in the 2 UFC fights I've seen. He called out Kron whom I think he figures he can stuff the takedown and pick Kron apart at range and pick up a decision.
Craig picked up a 3rd round submission after some atrocious wrestling that his opponent couldn't stop despite multiple fence grabs and eye pokes. For F*ck's sake Craig, I like watching your JiuJitsu for MMA but hire a F*CKING wrestling coach.
Waterson as I predicted had too much variety in her toolbox for Kowalkiewicz.
Emmett slept Johnson in a fight he was probably losing on scorecards to show that he really is capable of sleeping folks even late in the fight.
Hermannson pulled off what was in my opinion an upset with a quick guillotine of David Branch.
Gaethje prevented a prolonged fight with a single punch that put Barboza away, all the more impressive having seen some of the gritty fights of which Barboza has been a part in his career. There were already throwing heavy punches, knees, and kicks by the time the stoppage came as Gaethje lept into a hook and Barboza pulled away to circle out and away from the cage.
Mixed results for the American contingent over in OneFC. Alvarez was stopped in pretty devastating fashion, Mighty Mouse won and Tonon won as well in a decisive takedown/leg kick catch to head outside single leg to finish via TKO/strikes. Aoki got Folayang a step or two/shuffle from the cage and shot in to get his hands locked/body lock then hip lifted him over and down and from there advanced position to finish with a head+arm triangle choke. Mighty Mouse hit a slick high elbow grip guillotine against a scrappy opponent.
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
This Weekend's Softball Bellator Card & Thompson vs Pettis UFC - The ESPN+ Era?
Bellator:
I'm usually a big fan of Bellator and it's linear approach to belts with the grand prix/tournament bracketing, but this card feels like total fluff with only the headliner of Kharkanyan remotely being worht tunning in. Gerald Harris also fights on the card and that's basically all I can say. We're all just basically waiting for the next welterweight bracket fight to take place.
UFC Thompson vs Pettis:
I'm concerned for Pettis because he's been starched by guys at 155, and I suspect Thompson will look a solid 2 weight classes bigger than Pettis. If this isn't the guy for Thompson to do less hopping and fencing and circling away from then there will never be another chance. Thompson has said much of finally learning that he can't fight on the backfoot and win close fights (you're telling me there's a chance Dumb & Dumber reference) but the likelihood of him abandoning something as ingrained as that I find...well, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn or a tower in Paris to sell you.
Pettis must really just have resigned himself to not fighting for the belt again if this is the fight he's taking at 170 rather than someone in one of the other weight classes suited to his frame. I've wondered if it is his refusal to leave Roufus Sport to blame, or did becoming the champ lead to him spending time distracted, or the opening of a gym with his brother, or simply does he not have the style in the current ether or talent to win the belt again? It's hard to say for a guy with the level of striking and JiuJitsu that he possesses. Is it just the accumulation of training camp and fights? I don't know and I can't really lean toward any one puzzle piece. Thompson had become one of the guys I absolutely loathe to see in a 5 round fight. I know I'm going to get 4 rounds of hopping time and about 1 round of fighting time, if that. Call it many things: tactical, strategic, sport, karate, point fighting, cerebral....whatever. It's maddening to see the volume output that low in the fighting sport with the lease restriction on legal attacks.
I honestly hope Pettis outworks Thompson en route to a decision because I simply can't stand seeing Thompson fight anymore.
Blaydes will attempt to rebound from his title shot trajectory after a stoppage loss in the first round to always dangerous Ngannou. I expect Blaydes to get the win over Willis via decision via repeated takedowns.
Violent Bob Ross looks to rebound from a loss last November with his return fight. I expect him to win another decision and get back on track. His opponent is 1-1 in the UFC and I think is a gifted rebound fight for Pena who made the most of this time on his TUF season and has likable persona for casual fans and hardcore fans alike.
Frankie Saenz vs Marlon Vera in what will be a back and forth high energy fight. Marlon Vera will gut this one out in a close decision.
Overall the card is pretty underwhelming but we've had a slew of solid events since the ESPN arrival and we're all actually just killing time with events until the March 30th card with Barboza vs Gaethje in a definite CTE/brain damage scrap at the end of the month.
Elsewhere on that main card with get David Branch vs Hermansson in a fight I expect he'll win as he's beaten a bevy of tough guys already and fought former title holders & contenders in competitive fights.
We also get Josh Emmett vs Michael Johnson as Emmett looks to pick up some of the steam he lost by losing to Jeremy Stephens after beating Ricardo Lamas.
The rest of that card is pretty underwhelming as well as the UFC/ESPN flagship fights have been mostly made to get us into the ESPN fold/app world and a shortage of meaningful fights until we hit some PPV's in April.
April 13th we get Holloway vs Poirier for an Interim belt & Gastelum vs Adesanya for an Interim belt on a card that should be fireworks. After and between all that is pretty much few and far between PPV cards which is a bummer, because somehow, it feels like the cards are accordingly midling level events. But, we are into a new era so we'll see how this all unfolds.
I'm usually a big fan of Bellator and it's linear approach to belts with the grand prix/tournament bracketing, but this card feels like total fluff with only the headliner of Kharkanyan remotely being worht tunning in. Gerald Harris also fights on the card and that's basically all I can say. We're all just basically waiting for the next welterweight bracket fight to take place.
UFC Thompson vs Pettis:
I'm concerned for Pettis because he's been starched by guys at 155, and I suspect Thompson will look a solid 2 weight classes bigger than Pettis. If this isn't the guy for Thompson to do less hopping and fencing and circling away from then there will never be another chance. Thompson has said much of finally learning that he can't fight on the backfoot and win close fights (you're telling me there's a chance Dumb & Dumber reference) but the likelihood of him abandoning something as ingrained as that I find...well, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn or a tower in Paris to sell you.
Pettis must really just have resigned himself to not fighting for the belt again if this is the fight he's taking at 170 rather than someone in one of the other weight classes suited to his frame. I've wondered if it is his refusal to leave Roufus Sport to blame, or did becoming the champ lead to him spending time distracted, or the opening of a gym with his brother, or simply does he not have the style in the current ether or talent to win the belt again? It's hard to say for a guy with the level of striking and JiuJitsu that he possesses. Is it just the accumulation of training camp and fights? I don't know and I can't really lean toward any one puzzle piece. Thompson had become one of the guys I absolutely loathe to see in a 5 round fight. I know I'm going to get 4 rounds of hopping time and about 1 round of fighting time, if that. Call it many things: tactical, strategic, sport, karate, point fighting, cerebral....whatever. It's maddening to see the volume output that low in the fighting sport with the lease restriction on legal attacks.
I honestly hope Pettis outworks Thompson en route to a decision because I simply can't stand seeing Thompson fight anymore.
Blaydes will attempt to rebound from his title shot trajectory after a stoppage loss in the first round to always dangerous Ngannou. I expect Blaydes to get the win over Willis via decision via repeated takedowns.
Violent Bob Ross looks to rebound from a loss last November with his return fight. I expect him to win another decision and get back on track. His opponent is 1-1 in the UFC and I think is a gifted rebound fight for Pena who made the most of this time on his TUF season and has likable persona for casual fans and hardcore fans alike.
Frankie Saenz vs Marlon Vera in what will be a back and forth high energy fight. Marlon Vera will gut this one out in a close decision.
Overall the card is pretty underwhelming but we've had a slew of solid events since the ESPN arrival and we're all actually just killing time with events until the March 30th card with Barboza vs Gaethje in a definite CTE/brain damage scrap at the end of the month.
Elsewhere on that main card with get David Branch vs Hermansson in a fight I expect he'll win as he's beaten a bevy of tough guys already and fought former title holders & contenders in competitive fights.
We also get Josh Emmett vs Michael Johnson as Emmett looks to pick up some of the steam he lost by losing to Jeremy Stephens after beating Ricardo Lamas.
The rest of that card is pretty underwhelming as well as the UFC/ESPN flagship fights have been mostly made to get us into the ESPN fold/app world and a shortage of meaningful fights until we hit some PPV's in April.
April 13th we get Holloway vs Poirier for an Interim belt & Gastelum vs Adesanya for an Interim belt on a card that should be fireworks. After and between all that is pretty much few and far between PPV cards which is a bummer, because somehow, it feels like the cards are accordingly midling level events. But, we are into a new era so we'll see how this all unfolds.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
UFC UK Till vs Masvidal Recap, Nelson Flat, Oezdemir Fades, Wood Submits....Silva Picks Up Disputed Submission Win
Crowd. Goes. Silent. Masvidal started the fight by running clear across the cage and hitting a flying *($% kick on Till. After a restart, got dropped, and put on his butt. Recovered but struggled with the reach, and feinting of the clearly much larger Till. Masvidal shortened the range, and clipped Till with good punches in 2-3 combos, and this would be Till's undoing, as he fades back in a straight line at times. Masvidal used and advancing step into a switch stance and blasted Till with an overhand left and 2-3 punches bobble head style as Till crashed to the canvas.
Amazing performance that showcased when Masvidal is on, he has many tools in his tool bag.
Edwards retreated most of the fight, and let Gunnar Nelson extend himself. Nelson also looked uncharacteristically non-committal in the clinch and got reversed against the cage, mat returned, and lost the first round in a wrist ride style position, got floored with a big elbow as he separated from the clinch with Edwards, then got Edwards down with a minute left in the final round, knowing he must be down on points, didn't really unload or press for the finish. It was a relatively flat performance that showed he can be taken down, hit off the break, and doesn't do great leading the striking exchanges against someone who hands back in a long stance much like he does. I say all this as a huge Gunnar Nelson fan.
Wood picked up a nice submission after an outside trip to back control and an RNC.
Oezdemir I thought edged out Reyes, but perhaps they want someone different to face Jones? Reyes looked good in his first truly high profile former contender opponent match-up, but Oezdemir gave the third round away rather than Reyes convincingly won the fight.
Silva was on his way to losing the fight but according to the ref while escaping an armbar, Roberts cried out in some fashion or another and the ref ruled it a verbal submission win for Silva. Silva looked for submissions continually but also got reversed from some pretty basic positions like head/arm triangle et cetera. Concerning as he was then punished repeatedly with his head on the canvas when he was on his back.
Amazing performance that showcased when Masvidal is on, he has many tools in his tool bag.
Edwards retreated most of the fight, and let Gunnar Nelson extend himself. Nelson also looked uncharacteristically non-committal in the clinch and got reversed against the cage, mat returned, and lost the first round in a wrist ride style position, got floored with a big elbow as he separated from the clinch with Edwards, then got Edwards down with a minute left in the final round, knowing he must be down on points, didn't really unload or press for the finish. It was a relatively flat performance that showed he can be taken down, hit off the break, and doesn't do great leading the striking exchanges against someone who hands back in a long stance much like he does. I say all this as a huge Gunnar Nelson fan.
Wood picked up a nice submission after an outside trip to back control and an RNC.
Oezdemir I thought edged out Reyes, but perhaps they want someone different to face Jones? Reyes looked good in his first truly high profile former contender opponent match-up, but Oezdemir gave the third round away rather than Reyes convincingly won the fight.
Silva was on his way to losing the fight but according to the ref while escaping an armbar, Roberts cried out in some fashion or another and the ref ruled it a verbal submission win for Silva. Silva looked for submissions continually but also got reversed from some pretty basic positions like head/arm triangle et cetera. Concerning as he was then punished repeatedly with his head on the canvas when he was on his back.
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
UFC on ESPN+ in Wichita this Weekend: Lewis vs Dos Santos: Picks and Thoughts
Can Derrick Lewis survive 5 rounds with Dos Santos? Will be pull of yet another miraculous hail mary KO in the closing seconds of a fight he's totally lost? We'll find out.
Elsewhere on the card we've got some semi meaningful if not at least entertaining stylistic match-ups plus if nothing else, the Main Card starts at 8pm, thank God, because I was dying staying up to see that FIXED if I've ever seen one Jones/Smith fight last weekend.
Should be an entertaining slobberknocker for as long as it does or does not last. Anything has to be better than that Lewis/Ngannou non fight that happened, am I right? People keep picking against Lewis and he almost always pulls off the upset but this is very hard to not pick against him. I guess I'm gonna say Dos Santos is the pick, but I don't bet on HW fights.
Zaleski dos Santos finally gets co-main billing after a slew of entertaining AF bouts that I've seen of his and will face Curtis Millender. Millender has 3 wins in the past year or so of fighting against Thiago Alves, Max Griffin, and Siya Bahadurzada. Zaleski is a tier above those guys and should pick up an exciting stoppage win here in the 3rd round as he pours it on each of the 3 rounds wearing guys down even as he slows a tad from his impressive workrate. I love watching Zaleski fight. Each fight is what I want to see in MMA. Zaleski has only fought twice in the past year beating Vendramini and Strickland, neither entirely impressive names, but also had a deeper UFC win list of Nakamura, Akhmedov, Griffin (also), and Lyman Good before he got exiled for ye olde steroid pop. Zaleski will win this one in an entertaining scrap whether it goes the distance or not.
Beneil Dariush will face Drew Dober. Dariush after a promising start has seen him lose fights he was winning and get blown out in early goings against unknowns. It's been a rocky road as a fan of his because like Gunnar Nelson he has all the tools and the right camp to take him to the title. Dober has lost only 2x in the past 3-4 years, a guillotine loss to Efrain Escudero and an RNC loss to Oliver Aubin-Mercier. This suggests if Beneil doesn't stand too long trying his burgeoning Muay Thai skills he's honing at Kings MMA, he'll get to his neck and put Dober to sleep. Dober has a couple KO win's in fights over his UFC tenure but no one who's of high repute in their division.
Boetsch returns to face Akhmedov. Boetsch last fought coming up on a year ago against Antonio Carlos Jr. in a losing by submission effort. Before that it had been nearly a year since be beat up on a faded, still managed to miss weight in a weight class up Johnny Hendricks who must have an eating disorder with the way he's unable to now make weight regardless of weight class. Akhmedov has lost to anyone of note he's faced in the UFC (Zaleski dos Santos, Serginho Moraes, and Gunnar Nelson and decisioned anyone he's beaten. Boetsch is extremely durable (yes, I know, extremely overused in MMA parlance, but truly accurate for this guy). I see Boetsch beating him up 2 out of 3 rounds.
Means vs Price - Price was picking up steam before getting a win overturned due to those damn, derelict pesky marijuana metabolites. Price is coming off a loss to Abul Alhassan which was a fight he looked slow to start and got flattened. Prior to that he had 2 stoppage wins over Randy Brown & George Sullivan. I've always liked Niko's set of skill since his UFC debut and I'm hoping the Alhassan loss was an off night. I'm a say Price by submission.
Rothwell returns from steroid suspension to face Ivanov who debuted in about as tough as UFC debut as you can against Dos Santos. Talk about jumping into the shark tank of the UFC HW division. Ivanov lost about a year of his prime after getting stabbed by gangsters and nearly bleeding to death. Meanwhile in Russia....anyway, Rothwell has always had the size and reach to give many men trouble, as evidenced by his 10 finger tummy squash strangle of Josh Barnett awhile back. Ivanov has a mix of skills and I expect him to not BS around with Rothwell and force him to the mat 2 out of 3 rounds despite the danger that puts him in. Ivanov will get back on track here with a Decision win over another very tough HW contender.
Sergio Moraes is getting back on track after a KO loss to Usman (which seems less terrible given his title ascension). Moraes picked up a flawless submission win over Ben Saunders & Tim Means. He's also got wins over Ramos, Akhmedov, and Magny amongst others. He'll pick up a submission win here over this guy.
Elsewhere on the card we've got some semi meaningful if not at least entertaining stylistic match-ups plus if nothing else, the Main Card starts at 8pm, thank God, because I was dying staying up to see that FIXED if I've ever seen one Jones/Smith fight last weekend.
Should be an entertaining slobberknocker for as long as it does or does not last. Anything has to be better than that Lewis/Ngannou non fight that happened, am I right? People keep picking against Lewis and he almost always pulls off the upset but this is very hard to not pick against him. I guess I'm gonna say Dos Santos is the pick, but I don't bet on HW fights.
Zaleski dos Santos finally gets co-main billing after a slew of entertaining AF bouts that I've seen of his and will face Curtis Millender. Millender has 3 wins in the past year or so of fighting against Thiago Alves, Max Griffin, and Siya Bahadurzada. Zaleski is a tier above those guys and should pick up an exciting stoppage win here in the 3rd round as he pours it on each of the 3 rounds wearing guys down even as he slows a tad from his impressive workrate. I love watching Zaleski fight. Each fight is what I want to see in MMA. Zaleski has only fought twice in the past year beating Vendramini and Strickland, neither entirely impressive names, but also had a deeper UFC win list of Nakamura, Akhmedov, Griffin (also), and Lyman Good before he got exiled for ye olde steroid pop. Zaleski will win this one in an entertaining scrap whether it goes the distance or not.
Beneil Dariush will face Drew Dober. Dariush after a promising start has seen him lose fights he was winning and get blown out in early goings against unknowns. It's been a rocky road as a fan of his because like Gunnar Nelson he has all the tools and the right camp to take him to the title. Dober has lost only 2x in the past 3-4 years, a guillotine loss to Efrain Escudero and an RNC loss to Oliver Aubin-Mercier. This suggests if Beneil doesn't stand too long trying his burgeoning Muay Thai skills he's honing at Kings MMA, he'll get to his neck and put Dober to sleep. Dober has a couple KO win's in fights over his UFC tenure but no one who's of high repute in their division.
Boetsch returns to face Akhmedov. Boetsch last fought coming up on a year ago against Antonio Carlos Jr. in a losing by submission effort. Before that it had been nearly a year since be beat up on a faded, still managed to miss weight in a weight class up Johnny Hendricks who must have an eating disorder with the way he's unable to now make weight regardless of weight class. Akhmedov has lost to anyone of note he's faced in the UFC (Zaleski dos Santos, Serginho Moraes, and Gunnar Nelson and decisioned anyone he's beaten. Boetsch is extremely durable (yes, I know, extremely overused in MMA parlance, but truly accurate for this guy). I see Boetsch beating him up 2 out of 3 rounds.
Means vs Price - Price was picking up steam before getting a win overturned due to those damn, derelict pesky marijuana metabolites. Price is coming off a loss to Abul Alhassan which was a fight he looked slow to start and got flattened. Prior to that he had 2 stoppage wins over Randy Brown & George Sullivan. I've always liked Niko's set of skill since his UFC debut and I'm hoping the Alhassan loss was an off night. I'm a say Price by submission.
Rothwell returns from steroid suspension to face Ivanov who debuted in about as tough as UFC debut as you can against Dos Santos. Talk about jumping into the shark tank of the UFC HW division. Ivanov lost about a year of his prime after getting stabbed by gangsters and nearly bleeding to death. Meanwhile in Russia....anyway, Rothwell has always had the size and reach to give many men trouble, as evidenced by his 10 finger tummy squash strangle of Josh Barnett awhile back. Ivanov has a mix of skills and I expect him to not BS around with Rothwell and force him to the mat 2 out of 3 rounds despite the danger that puts him in. Ivanov will get back on track here with a Decision win over another very tough HW contender.
Sergio Moraes is getting back on track after a KO loss to Usman (which seems less terrible given his title ascension). Moraes picked up a flawless submission win over Ben Saunders & Tim Means. He's also got wins over Ramos, Akhmedov, and Magny amongst others. He'll pick up a submission win here over this guy.
Saturday, March 2, 2019
UFC 235 - Should've Gone Home Before the "Title" Fights Edition: Jones Fixes Fight, Askren Almost Dies, Woodley Wilts, & Zabit Looks Human
Woodley said it best, "it was like a bad dream." From the moment he sat back on that half-assed guillotine in the first round, to him virtually doing nothing to scramble from bottom, it was a wrap. He looked distant, like he'd rather be rapping in a studio or driving a nice car, basically anything other than fighting the pressure forward style of Usman. Woodley had literally no spirit in the fight, and as someone who's fought before, I might be a critic, but I rarely desire nor wish to vocalize questioning a fighter's heart, especially at that level. But the lack of response to almost anything Usman did by Woodley was tough to watch. He threw few punches (which comes as no surprise). He backed up, put his back on the cage willingly, almost never circled off the cage, and paid for habits he's formed in his last 3 of 4 title fights against Thompson, and Maia. Made little effort to scramble from bottom once taken down. Made small effort to escape when mounted minus locking his hands from bottom and a few single bridges. For all the wrestling work he claimed to do with Askren, he countered no clinching from Usman with his own takedowns, couldn't stop Usman's takedowns....it was like Askren coming to join him left him less prepared to grapple than in any of his previous fights I've seen.
Perhaps it was Rocky 3 come to life: champ begins to enjoy what fighting allows him to do elsewhere and loses his taste for the preparation necessary to stop every hungry challenger coveting what you have. Usman came in as he said he would and Woodley looked to fade as soon as that first round guillotine attempt failed. Woodley took little damage but seemed to honestly wilt under the top game of Usman who wasn't exactly devastating from top nor did he land much face/head punishment in terms of strikes/punches/elbows. It was a hard performance to understand nor anticipate happening frankly. I feel bummed that my brain seems obsessed with determining why Woodley did so little rathern than what all Usman did, but that's where I'm at.
Munhoz gave me my wish and KO'd Garbrandt who now should take quite awhile off from fighting. 3 violent stoppage losses in a row is no good for anyone's brain, regardless of dumb @$$ traits like "grit" "heart" et cetera that people who don't fight don't understand are terrible for a fighter's long term health and career. Garbrandt came across as the same one-dimensional fighter who predictably goes into kill mode when hurt but now lost to an even less vaunted power puncher in Munhoz. Munhoz had to really land quite a few punches to put the hurt Garbrandt down. The ever increasing evidence of a fading chin that once gone will not and does not return.
Diego Sanchez trashed Mickey Gall who has squandered a gimme situation of a UFC career start by fighting CM Punk and beating Sage Northcutt but this fight looked incapable of dealing with even the most basic MMA situation like cross body/side mount with your feet walked up the cage but unable to even escape from there. He did virtually nothing while Sanchez circled to his back, cleared the whizzer and mat returned him. Sanchez is by no means a real 170 lber, and it's time for Gall to switch camps, pick up wins on the regional circuit and decide if this is really what he wants to do for a living after that "performance." IF he wasn't smart enough to take Sanchez serious as a veteran he should go to the smaller shows and hone his craft. If he's really that incapable in those basic mma situations with obvious go to responses and escapes then he should also go to the smaller shows and hone his craft.
Zhang fought to another lackluster decision. Torres is a much much much more competent opponent than the opponent faced in her debut, but still barely pulled out a win relying on that trash Women's MMA head-arm takedown that almost twice got her back taken and cost her top position. Zhang looked hittable on the feet and barely able to advance position on the ground despite Torres doing little more than figure-four'ing the leg in lockdown and keeping an underhook. Zhang's inability to deal with this low grade resistance is not inspiring much confidence in her alleged BJJ brown belt they touted in the commentary.
Askren....well....what to say? For all his talk about Kron's debut being unimpressive, Askren got head to toe ceiling end over end slammed by Lawler and very nearly finished. The unfortunate stoppage by Dean was that...unfortunate. It's interesting how they'll let you take insane punishment from all manner of attacks to the skull but will stop a choke a few seconds in....out of fear? Protection? It doesn't seem consistent to be honest. They'll let you get slammed literally vertical spike tombstone piledriver style then repeatedly hit in the skull and face but oh no! You're maybe being choked, better stop is early to be safe....I don't get it.
Walker landed his first strike attempt of the night and lights out'd Cirkunov who now has lost to the 3 dangerous strikers he's faced (Oezdemir and Teixeira, and LHW is a dangerous division even with the "non" dangerous strikers, am I right? They all hit hard at that weight class).
Stamann picked up a super boring win after being unwilling to shoot or chain wrestle for much of the fight.
Zabit could've had a coming out party over upper tier opposition but chose to Babe Ruth the win in the closing seconds by raising his hand/finger, and looked decidedly human in this fight. I don't think he ever really wobbled Stephens, seemed winded at the start of the third round despite it not being an overly taxing fight, but he's kept a busy schedule so perhaps repeated weight cuts in short turn arounds are to blame? I wanted a better showing as a real leap frog up the food chain for him, but this fight also made him look more human so perhaps he won't have as much trouble getting another top 10 opponent booked.
Shabazyan made use of the Travis Browne downward elbows that seem borderline illegal as they're supposed to be defined but clubbed in the area near the ear/temple of his opponent for a stoppage off the first shot as he turned his opponent's takedown attempt into a single leg.
Chiasson put a nice 3 piece combo with some accurate punching to put down Mazany who was bereft after the stoppage in the cage. For having only 3 pro fights, looked good at her new home at bantamweight. She should ignore the dumb@$$ women at 145 telling her to stay at 145 because they need contenders. That's not her problem. Now that she's coming into her pro career, she's probably found her professional weight class. It's not her problem 145 basically has almost no actual real 145 lb fighters and instead has been puffed up 135'ers and the like imported into the UFC as cannon fodder for Cyborg...and surprise, Cyborg lost as soon as she faced a woman remotely her size and level of tenacity.
At any rate, what an odd event overall. From the inexplicable performance to Woodley whereby it was hard to tell if Usman is that dominating or if Woodley just didn't do anything to stop him, to the most obviously fixed outcome fight I've seen in a very long time in what was Jones vs Smith where Smith spent portion of the fight (EXTENDED PORTIONS) in complete control of an opponent refusing to do almost anything, but Jones REFUSED to land any strikes to his head of even lock up a submission.
It looked fake. It seemed fake. It looked almost nothing like any Jones fight I've ever seen.
Anyway, somehow this double title fight night felt anything but, but that's the fight game: mercurial, unpredictable, often ugly, sometimes majestic, and at times wildly unpredictable for just those reasons.
Who's next for Usman? No one wants to see Woodley get an immediate rematch and after all the rigamarole with Woodley over various perceived slights, I don't think he will, nor is it compelling by any way shape or form. Not to mention despite Woodley mentioning how dominant he was at champ (was he? he had a draw, barely beat Thompson, had an atrocious fight against Mai, and stopped Till who no one gave much shot at due to a complete lack of a ground game and barely being able to make weight in his own weight class).
Jones - who does he fight? There's really no one. Other than Santos. The good thing is...Santos will absolutely not fight whatever the &*^% that was that Smith did. Santos will literally hit every video game combo button mashing nonsensical move that comes to him on the fly and perhaps after so many static, xyz paced fights Jones has been used to fighting on his terms, that is the most dangerous style for Jones to face now - a fighter who will simply not allow him to fight at the pace and timing and range that he wishes to.
Garbrandt should take quite awhile off from fighting. He's had 3 violent stoppage losses in a row.
Walker now needs a top 10 opponent to see where he fits with the other mainstays of the division. Zhang continues to uninspire but do to the lack of depth of the divisions will get a title shot by year's end if she continues to win.
Askren - I guess you give him Darren Till? He won't fight Woodley. He beat Lawler. I hope they give him Maia, because for us hardcore fans it's a dream wrestling vs JiuJitsu match-up, and after the near death experience Lawler gave him, Askren would prefer a punch averse opponent I'm sure. I'd really like to see Askren fight Rory MacDonald to be honest, but that's a no go. Askren's bend at the waist lock hands for double leg nearly cost him the fight, as Lawler stunned him with that knee to the point that he Daniel Cormier style tossed Askren like no one ever has before. Askren vs Usman down the road is an interesting fight. Perhaps you give him Covington. It's interesting because this is a grappling centric time for the welterweight division and Askren arrives having to face either very dangerous one-dimensional strikers like Lawler or Till or pressure forward grinding grapplers like Usman and Covington. I pray to God they don't pair him with Thompson because that would literally be the most boring fight of all time in any era of MMA. Fun fact, I won my first MMA fight by bulldog choke, so I have something in common with the Troll King Askren.
Perhaps it was Rocky 3 come to life: champ begins to enjoy what fighting allows him to do elsewhere and loses his taste for the preparation necessary to stop every hungry challenger coveting what you have. Usman came in as he said he would and Woodley looked to fade as soon as that first round guillotine attempt failed. Woodley took little damage but seemed to honestly wilt under the top game of Usman who wasn't exactly devastating from top nor did he land much face/head punishment in terms of strikes/punches/elbows. It was a hard performance to understand nor anticipate happening frankly. I feel bummed that my brain seems obsessed with determining why Woodley did so little rathern than what all Usman did, but that's where I'm at.
Munhoz gave me my wish and KO'd Garbrandt who now should take quite awhile off from fighting. 3 violent stoppage losses in a row is no good for anyone's brain, regardless of dumb @$$ traits like "grit" "heart" et cetera that people who don't fight don't understand are terrible for a fighter's long term health and career. Garbrandt came across as the same one-dimensional fighter who predictably goes into kill mode when hurt but now lost to an even less vaunted power puncher in Munhoz. Munhoz had to really land quite a few punches to put the hurt Garbrandt down. The ever increasing evidence of a fading chin that once gone will not and does not return.
Diego Sanchez trashed Mickey Gall who has squandered a gimme situation of a UFC career start by fighting CM Punk and beating Sage Northcutt but this fight looked incapable of dealing with even the most basic MMA situation like cross body/side mount with your feet walked up the cage but unable to even escape from there. He did virtually nothing while Sanchez circled to his back, cleared the whizzer and mat returned him. Sanchez is by no means a real 170 lber, and it's time for Gall to switch camps, pick up wins on the regional circuit and decide if this is really what he wants to do for a living after that "performance." IF he wasn't smart enough to take Sanchez serious as a veteran he should go to the smaller shows and hone his craft. If he's really that incapable in those basic mma situations with obvious go to responses and escapes then he should also go to the smaller shows and hone his craft.
Zhang fought to another lackluster decision. Torres is a much much much more competent opponent than the opponent faced in her debut, but still barely pulled out a win relying on that trash Women's MMA head-arm takedown that almost twice got her back taken and cost her top position. Zhang looked hittable on the feet and barely able to advance position on the ground despite Torres doing little more than figure-four'ing the leg in lockdown and keeping an underhook. Zhang's inability to deal with this low grade resistance is not inspiring much confidence in her alleged BJJ brown belt they touted in the commentary.
Askren....well....what to say? For all his talk about Kron's debut being unimpressive, Askren got head to toe ceiling end over end slammed by Lawler and very nearly finished. The unfortunate stoppage by Dean was that...unfortunate. It's interesting how they'll let you take insane punishment from all manner of attacks to the skull but will stop a choke a few seconds in....out of fear? Protection? It doesn't seem consistent to be honest. They'll let you get slammed literally vertical spike tombstone piledriver style then repeatedly hit in the skull and face but oh no! You're maybe being choked, better stop is early to be safe....I don't get it.
Walker landed his first strike attempt of the night and lights out'd Cirkunov who now has lost to the 3 dangerous strikers he's faced (Oezdemir and Teixeira, and LHW is a dangerous division even with the "non" dangerous strikers, am I right? They all hit hard at that weight class).
Stamann picked up a super boring win after being unwilling to shoot or chain wrestle for much of the fight.
Zabit could've had a coming out party over upper tier opposition but chose to Babe Ruth the win in the closing seconds by raising his hand/finger, and looked decidedly human in this fight. I don't think he ever really wobbled Stephens, seemed winded at the start of the third round despite it not being an overly taxing fight, but he's kept a busy schedule so perhaps repeated weight cuts in short turn arounds are to blame? I wanted a better showing as a real leap frog up the food chain for him, but this fight also made him look more human so perhaps he won't have as much trouble getting another top 10 opponent booked.
Shabazyan made use of the Travis Browne downward elbows that seem borderline illegal as they're supposed to be defined but clubbed in the area near the ear/temple of his opponent for a stoppage off the first shot as he turned his opponent's takedown attempt into a single leg.
Chiasson put a nice 3 piece combo with some accurate punching to put down Mazany who was bereft after the stoppage in the cage. For having only 3 pro fights, looked good at her new home at bantamweight. She should ignore the dumb@$$ women at 145 telling her to stay at 145 because they need contenders. That's not her problem. Now that she's coming into her pro career, she's probably found her professional weight class. It's not her problem 145 basically has almost no actual real 145 lb fighters and instead has been puffed up 135'ers and the like imported into the UFC as cannon fodder for Cyborg...and surprise, Cyborg lost as soon as she faced a woman remotely her size and level of tenacity.
At any rate, what an odd event overall. From the inexplicable performance to Woodley whereby it was hard to tell if Usman is that dominating or if Woodley just didn't do anything to stop him, to the most obviously fixed outcome fight I've seen in a very long time in what was Jones vs Smith where Smith spent portion of the fight (EXTENDED PORTIONS) in complete control of an opponent refusing to do almost anything, but Jones REFUSED to land any strikes to his head of even lock up a submission.
It looked fake. It seemed fake. It looked almost nothing like any Jones fight I've ever seen.
Anyway, somehow this double title fight night felt anything but, but that's the fight game: mercurial, unpredictable, often ugly, sometimes majestic, and at times wildly unpredictable for just those reasons.
Who's next for Usman? No one wants to see Woodley get an immediate rematch and after all the rigamarole with Woodley over various perceived slights, I don't think he will, nor is it compelling by any way shape or form. Not to mention despite Woodley mentioning how dominant he was at champ (was he? he had a draw, barely beat Thompson, had an atrocious fight against Mai, and stopped Till who no one gave much shot at due to a complete lack of a ground game and barely being able to make weight in his own weight class).
Jones - who does he fight? There's really no one. Other than Santos. The good thing is...Santos will absolutely not fight whatever the &*^% that was that Smith did. Santos will literally hit every video game combo button mashing nonsensical move that comes to him on the fly and perhaps after so many static, xyz paced fights Jones has been used to fighting on his terms, that is the most dangerous style for Jones to face now - a fighter who will simply not allow him to fight at the pace and timing and range that he wishes to.
Garbrandt should take quite awhile off from fighting. He's had 3 violent stoppage losses in a row.
Walker now needs a top 10 opponent to see where he fits with the other mainstays of the division. Zhang continues to uninspire but do to the lack of depth of the divisions will get a title shot by year's end if she continues to win.
Askren - I guess you give him Darren Till? He won't fight Woodley. He beat Lawler. I hope they give him Maia, because for us hardcore fans it's a dream wrestling vs JiuJitsu match-up, and after the near death experience Lawler gave him, Askren would prefer a punch averse opponent I'm sure. I'd really like to see Askren fight Rory MacDonald to be honest, but that's a no go. Askren's bend at the waist lock hands for double leg nearly cost him the fight, as Lawler stunned him with that knee to the point that he Daniel Cormier style tossed Askren like no one ever has before. Askren vs Usman down the road is an interesting fight. Perhaps you give him Covington. It's interesting because this is a grappling centric time for the welterweight division and Askren arrives having to face either very dangerous one-dimensional strikers like Lawler or Till or pressure forward grinding grapplers like Usman and Covington. I pray to God they don't pair him with Thompson because that would literally be the most boring fight of all time in any era of MMA. Fun fact, I won my first MMA fight by bulldog choke, so I have something in common with the Troll King Askren.
Wednesday, February 20, 2019
OneFC March 31st Event feat. Mighty Mouse & Eddie Alvarez
Askren says Gracie Win Unimpressive...
I guess by his rationale, it’s also unimpressive that he fought against a bunch of nongrapplers in his career, took them down (he’s wrestled his entire life) and couldn’t finish them. A number of the guys Askren fought don't even have wikipedia pages. I hate to be "that guy" in pointing that out but it says a lot about the strength of your resume that a bunch of your opponents literally probably had white belt level grappling. I like Askren, the semi serious back and forth between him and the UFC is hilarious to me, but he acts like he faced all the best guys and is returning to Rome in Triumph when in reality...Bellator was glad to see you go elsewhere because your fights were death by a thousand paper cut style boring, and even there, you struggled to finish guys with laughable grappling and wrestling.Monday, February 18, 2019
UFC on ESPN 1 - A Night of Adjustments & Looking Ahead to the Next Few Weeks
A number of guys made exactly the adjustments necessarily to beat guys that their resume suggests they might not otherwise.
I expected Jury to win based on the strength of his resume but Fili utilized crisper boxing, less jumping/flailing/craziness to systematically pick apart Jury.
I expected Rivera to win based on his only having lost to Moraes in the UFC, but Sterling utilized aggressive/deep shots with kicks at range to keep Rivera on the backfoot from almost the beginning of their match.
Velasquez, coming off of a super long layoff claims his knee gave out as the fight began in the first 20 something seconds and you can see as he plants, pivotes, and rolls his body, his knee appears do give out. It's unfortunate timing, but also historically predictably as he's lost his previous fights that fit this scenario/coming off of a long layoff and he's in the most unpredictably division in the UFC: Heavyweight.
I expected that at 20 UFC fights to his credit, Caceres would opt to use more straight line kicks/push kicks and lead leg kicks to the quad to thwart Kron walking him down, but instead, Caceres kicked big/wide/circular and basically offered his back/bodylock to Kron. Kron strikes me as Demian Maia Lite, as he doens't have the deep shot/half-guard to pack transition backed chain wrestling that Maia does, nor the time spent honing his Muay Thai, so it remains to be seen when his game is thwarted by someone diligent enough to fight the correct/winning gameplan. Along the way though, I expect to see some great submission finishes and some solid JiuJitsu for MMA fighting.
Overall, a solid debut for UFC on ESPN. We had a submission, crisp striking at points, a last second stoppage by Luque over Barbarena (get those guys some $$) for some thrills, and a quick stoppage/injury or otherwise in the main event. I suspect the UFC wanted/was hoping for a quick/violent KO for a good HL reel afterward to start hyping Ngannou as a KO machine et cetera to lure in casual/previously uninitiated MMA fans, but whatevs.
This coming weekend we have the effort to bounce back from a stoppage loss by Gallagher, the Irish submission hunter in an otherwise forgettable Bellator card, and Blachowicz vesus Santos in another CTE/brain damage inducing bout for a UFC on ESPN headliner. On the same UFC card we have Gian Villante facing someone, and Struve vs Rogerio de Lima as well for all the brain cell sacrificing fighting styles.
March 2nd we have the reaaaaal deal double title fight UFC 235: "Picogram" Jones vs "Lionheart" Smith & Woodley vs Usman. The main card also features the UFC debut of Ben Askren vs Robbie Lawler, Tecia Torres, and Cody Garbrandt fighting someone not named TJ Dillashaw. On the prelims we have a real possible contender match (this is what I hate about the UFC...there's no linear sense of what this fight means...Zabit could win with impressive fashion and literally maybe fight for the belt in 18 months or.....not).....with Stephens facing Zabit Magomedsharipov, and Cirkunov vs Johnny Walker. Cirkunov has thus far only lost in the UFC to the names of Oezdemir & Teixeira, so it remains to be seen if Walker is amongst that upper echelon of dangerous strikers or is a guy who busts open lesser fighters for HL reel finishes and falters as the skill level rises. There's a big jump between the 10-20 level ranked guys of LHW and the guys ranked 5-10...and then there's the gap between the top 1, 2, and 3 guys. All in all, we'll plod along the next 2 weeks into the start of March for 2019.
I expected Jury to win based on the strength of his resume but Fili utilized crisper boxing, less jumping/flailing/craziness to systematically pick apart Jury.
I expected Rivera to win based on his only having lost to Moraes in the UFC, but Sterling utilized aggressive/deep shots with kicks at range to keep Rivera on the backfoot from almost the beginning of their match.
Velasquez, coming off of a super long layoff claims his knee gave out as the fight began in the first 20 something seconds and you can see as he plants, pivotes, and rolls his body, his knee appears do give out. It's unfortunate timing, but also historically predictably as he's lost his previous fights that fit this scenario/coming off of a long layoff and he's in the most unpredictably division in the UFC: Heavyweight.
I expected that at 20 UFC fights to his credit, Caceres would opt to use more straight line kicks/push kicks and lead leg kicks to the quad to thwart Kron walking him down, but instead, Caceres kicked big/wide/circular and basically offered his back/bodylock to Kron. Kron strikes me as Demian Maia Lite, as he doens't have the deep shot/half-guard to pack transition backed chain wrestling that Maia does, nor the time spent honing his Muay Thai, so it remains to be seen when his game is thwarted by someone diligent enough to fight the correct/winning gameplan. Along the way though, I expect to see some great submission finishes and some solid JiuJitsu for MMA fighting.
Overall, a solid debut for UFC on ESPN. We had a submission, crisp striking at points, a last second stoppage by Luque over Barbarena (get those guys some $$) for some thrills, and a quick stoppage/injury or otherwise in the main event. I suspect the UFC wanted/was hoping for a quick/violent KO for a good HL reel afterward to start hyping Ngannou as a KO machine et cetera to lure in casual/previously uninitiated MMA fans, but whatevs.
This coming weekend we have the effort to bounce back from a stoppage loss by Gallagher, the Irish submission hunter in an otherwise forgettable Bellator card, and Blachowicz vesus Santos in another CTE/brain damage inducing bout for a UFC on ESPN headliner. On the same UFC card we have Gian Villante facing someone, and Struve vs Rogerio de Lima as well for all the brain cell sacrificing fighting styles.
March 2nd we have the reaaaaal deal double title fight UFC 235: "Picogram" Jones vs "Lionheart" Smith & Woodley vs Usman. The main card also features the UFC debut of Ben Askren vs Robbie Lawler, Tecia Torres, and Cody Garbrandt fighting someone not named TJ Dillashaw. On the prelims we have a real possible contender match (this is what I hate about the UFC...there's no linear sense of what this fight means...Zabit could win with impressive fashion and literally maybe fight for the belt in 18 months or.....not).....with Stephens facing Zabit Magomedsharipov, and Cirkunov vs Johnny Walker. Cirkunov has thus far only lost in the UFC to the names of Oezdemir & Teixeira, so it remains to be seen if Walker is amongst that upper echelon of dangerous strikers or is a guy who busts open lesser fighters for HL reel finishes and falters as the skill level rises. There's a big jump between the 10-20 level ranked guys of LHW and the guys ranked 5-10...and then there's the gap between the top 1, 2, and 3 guys. All in all, we'll plod along the next 2 weeks into the start of March for 2019.
Sunday, February 17, 2019
UFC on ESPN 1: Ngannou vs Velasquez Picks & Predictions
Recipe for this card marketing-wise: Put a Gracie on the card and fill the rest with more or less stand-up fighters. Headline it with Heavyweights because the standard logic for non-hardcore fans is they want to see Heavyweights. Either Cain gets violently knocked out, or outworks Ngannou impressively and we have a title contender, but not really, because his teammate DC has the strap. The rest of the bouts are stylistically designed to please non hardcore fans with a lot of kickboxing et cetera.
On to the picks!!
The last time Velasquez came off of a long layoff and faced a dangerous KO artist he lost his belt to Cigano. The other time he came off of a lengthy layoff, he got caught in a guillotine by Werdom. Ngannou is only like one of those fighters to be sure. He avenged that Cigano loss two times/later, but I'm never one to bet on HW fights and certainly not one to bet when a fighter is coming off the longest layoff of his career. I'd like to see Velasquez do to Ngannou what Miocic did but with a higher workrate, more punches, and less just laying on him crouched against the cage, but in no way shape or form would I bet on this fight.
Kron said he asked for someone better than Caceres, which is a bit concerning. Caceres has gone from being a guy no one took seriously to still having a job in the UFC, where are are few easy fights. He's managed to basically alternate wins with losses 1-3 at a time, but never lose so many that he gets the pink slip. For sure, he's lost to better fighters than Kron, but Kron, to me, is still an unknown quantity. Time and again we've seen guys not adjust to the changes of fighting in the cage, coming from fighting in a ring/ropes. Caceres if he's smart will stick and move and make Kron plod after him. Kron at times will move on his feet, but unless major changes have been made to his game, I don't see that lasting more than part of one round. I would love to see Kron jump to guard and work his way to the back as he did in his previous two fights, but Caceres for all his glib demeanor is also no idiot. He knows the one way that Kron takes this fight. Kron has preferred to clinch, by walking forward, dirty boxing, and jump to guard. A guy like Caceres who is fleet of foot doesn't really have to fall into this game plan if he doesn't want to. I'm curious to see how this one goes. The likely choice is Kron by RNC in the 2nd round, but I could honestly see Caceres sticking and moving and winning 2 of 3 rounds as Kron complains that he's unable to cut off the cage and force Caceres to stand in front of him long enough to be sucked into fighting in the ground. It's called mixed martial arts, not "fight the kind of fight I want you to fight that benefits my lack of wrestling".
Felder vs Vick: Felder has a complete set of tools, but sometimes falls into the habit of admiring his own work/combos after throwing them. I don't see Vick weathering the storm for a full 15 minutes. Felder by 3rd round stoppage/TKO.
Barbarena vs Luque
Luque is 7-2 in the UFC, dropping a decision to Leon Edwards and a decision to Michael Graves. Barbarena is 5-3 in the UFC. They share a common loss in that Barbarena also lost to Leon Edwards via by decision. Luque has a higher finish rate and I see as a slightly more polished, more athletic, slightly more well-rounded fighter based on the variety of finishes I see on his record. I don't think Luque gets the finish here as Barbarena is tough, but I also don't see Barbarena beating Luque. Luque by unanimous decision.
Rivera vs Sterling
Rivera was on his way to a title shot (if anyone ever is in the backed bantamweight division), but a starching within a minute or 2 by Moraes changed all that. It's easy to forget that prior to that, Rivera had beaten literally everyone he's faced professionally and that list includes names like: Faber, Alcantara, Almeida, and Munoz. Sterling, who I like, and who pulled off a Suloev stretch in his last fight, has lost to guys like Moraes (also by stoppage), Assuncao, and Caraway. Sterling has some names on his hitlist as well, but not quite the tier that Rivera does. At any rate, this is a tough fight to call, but unless Rivera has become overly gunshy, I see this as a very close fight. Sterling throws greater variety of strikes, and if Rivera doesn't vary his punches with wrestling, I can see Sterling's kicking causing him a lot of problems. I don't see this becoming a grappling match. If Rivera can land cleaner punches it will sway this judges. I think Rivera wins a split decision.
Jury vs Fili
Fili has always felt like a solid kickboxers who's scrappy but not good enough to put away the mid-top level guys in his division. He'll fight to a close decision and lose against most of the top 5-10 guys. Jury's only UFC losses are guys with the last names Mendes, Oliveira, and Cerrone. Fili has managed to lose to names slightly less impressive and I think Jury is the obvious pick by unanimous decision.
On to the picks!!
The last time Velasquez came off of a long layoff and faced a dangerous KO artist he lost his belt to Cigano. The other time he came off of a lengthy layoff, he got caught in a guillotine by Werdom. Ngannou is only like one of those fighters to be sure. He avenged that Cigano loss two times/later, but I'm never one to bet on HW fights and certainly not one to bet when a fighter is coming off the longest layoff of his career. I'd like to see Velasquez do to Ngannou what Miocic did but with a higher workrate, more punches, and less just laying on him crouched against the cage, but in no way shape or form would I bet on this fight.
Kron said he asked for someone better than Caceres, which is a bit concerning. Caceres has gone from being a guy no one took seriously to still having a job in the UFC, where are are few easy fights. He's managed to basically alternate wins with losses 1-3 at a time, but never lose so many that he gets the pink slip. For sure, he's lost to better fighters than Kron, but Kron, to me, is still an unknown quantity. Time and again we've seen guys not adjust to the changes of fighting in the cage, coming from fighting in a ring/ropes. Caceres if he's smart will stick and move and make Kron plod after him. Kron at times will move on his feet, but unless major changes have been made to his game, I don't see that lasting more than part of one round. I would love to see Kron jump to guard and work his way to the back as he did in his previous two fights, but Caceres for all his glib demeanor is also no idiot. He knows the one way that Kron takes this fight. Kron has preferred to clinch, by walking forward, dirty boxing, and jump to guard. A guy like Caceres who is fleet of foot doesn't really have to fall into this game plan if he doesn't want to. I'm curious to see how this one goes. The likely choice is Kron by RNC in the 2nd round, but I could honestly see Caceres sticking and moving and winning 2 of 3 rounds as Kron complains that he's unable to cut off the cage and force Caceres to stand in front of him long enough to be sucked into fighting in the ground. It's called mixed martial arts, not "fight the kind of fight I want you to fight that benefits my lack of wrestling".
Felder vs Vick: Felder has a complete set of tools, but sometimes falls into the habit of admiring his own work/combos after throwing them. I don't see Vick weathering the storm for a full 15 minutes. Felder by 3rd round stoppage/TKO.
Barbarena vs Luque
Luque is 7-2 in the UFC, dropping a decision to Leon Edwards and a decision to Michael Graves. Barbarena is 5-3 in the UFC. They share a common loss in that Barbarena also lost to Leon Edwards via by decision. Luque has a higher finish rate and I see as a slightly more polished, more athletic, slightly more well-rounded fighter based on the variety of finishes I see on his record. I don't think Luque gets the finish here as Barbarena is tough, but I also don't see Barbarena beating Luque. Luque by unanimous decision.
Rivera vs Sterling
Rivera was on his way to a title shot (if anyone ever is in the backed bantamweight division), but a starching within a minute or 2 by Moraes changed all that. It's easy to forget that prior to that, Rivera had beaten literally everyone he's faced professionally and that list includes names like: Faber, Alcantara, Almeida, and Munoz. Sterling, who I like, and who pulled off a Suloev stretch in his last fight, has lost to guys like Moraes (also by stoppage), Assuncao, and Caraway. Sterling has some names on his hitlist as well, but not quite the tier that Rivera does. At any rate, this is a tough fight to call, but unless Rivera has become overly gunshy, I see this as a very close fight. Sterling throws greater variety of strikes, and if Rivera doesn't vary his punches with wrestling, I can see Sterling's kicking causing him a lot of problems. I don't see this becoming a grappling match. If Rivera can land cleaner punches it will sway this judges. I think Rivera wins a split decision.
Jury vs Fili
Fili has always felt like a solid kickboxers who's scrappy but not good enough to put away the mid-top level guys in his division. He'll fight to a close decision and lose against most of the top 5-10 guys. Jury's only UFC losses are guys with the last names Mendes, Oliveira, and Cerrone. Fili has managed to lose to names slightly less impressive and I think Jury is the obvious pick by unanimous decision.
Friday, February 15, 2019
Countdown to Kron UFC Debut Part 4: Recent MMA Fights
A solid analysis/recap of his two most recent MMA bouts which were both against seasoned MMA veteran fighters.
Interesting to recap that Kron utilized guard pulls, nuanced close guard, to eventually finish his opponents. I'm not gonna lie, I'm concerned about his ability to nullify wrestling as he moves up the upper echelon of UFC fighters. We've seen time and again guys who looked amazing over in Japan come and get punished on bottom by far less competent wrestlers than you'd expect.
I'm rooting for Kron as I love seeing the grappling get gotten to early in the match rather than sloppy kickboxing matches that go on ad nauseum, so we'll see.
Reminds me of watching Neiman's fights in Bellator with a truly solid mix of stand-up, clinch/dirty boxing, takedowns, and submission hunting leading to a finish.
Interesting to recap that Kron utilized guard pulls, nuanced close guard, to eventually finish his opponents. I'm not gonna lie, I'm concerned about his ability to nullify wrestling as he moves up the upper echelon of UFC fighters. We've seen time and again guys who looked amazing over in Japan come and get punished on bottom by far less competent wrestlers than you'd expect.
I'm rooting for Kron as I love seeing the grappling get gotten to early in the match rather than sloppy kickboxing matches that go on ad nauseum, so we'll see.
Reminds me of watching Neiman's fights in Bellator with a truly solid mix of stand-up, clinch/dirty boxing, takedowns, and submission hunting leading to a finish.
Thursday, February 14, 2019
Bellator Double Header and Kron's UFC Arrival
I kinda just wished Bellator folded these two cards together because Friday night is basically just worth tuning in for Mitrione (coming off get wrestled-f*cked by Bader) facing the always dangerous but also incredibly hit or miss Kharitonov. Must see TV because I find both guys normally fun to watch.
Dantas is lower down on the card and that's frankly about it.
I've been watching LFA friday nights when there's no Bellator on, and the rest of this card feels like an LFA card. Not a read, but just a fact.
Saturday, we get a follow-up Bellator card with an MVP vs Daley fight, that I honestly don't know will be fireworks. I've seen both guys put on atrocious fights are talking a big gay and hyping it up, and both guys have fought laughably boring "stand-up" affairs with little to no risk taking at times. I think, predictably, MVP's length will give Daley trouble, and a frustrated Daley can put on laughable performances at times. Saturday night we get snoozer 3/4 of the time these days Kongo vs Minakov which I'm interested to see if Kongo can force him into this over/under clinch along the fence and throw knees for 3 1/2 minutes of each round gameplan.
CroCop faces Big Country who's already throwing shade his way for being a known steroid cheat (never served his UFC suspension) and hasn't been tested in 11 previous fights.
Ah, joy.
Sunday, we get a semi-early ESPN card, which part of me may be rethinking my disdain for moving to ESPN because with this streaming service, anything that gets it on before those 10pm start times is welcome.
The real story is not Velasquez finally returning to face a very dangerous puncher off a lay off (he did that and lost his belt to Cigano, but rather the entrance of Kron Gracie into the UFC. I'm a fan of both Kron and Neiman's grappling skills for MMA as they both hunt for the finish, use old school get to the clinch, get to the mat, and work to finish JiuJitsu. I am curious how Kron will do with 5 min rounds (as opposed to how much better he looked with the 10 min first round format in Japan. He's fought 5 min rounds before, but he's also not faced the cage. We've seen guys come over like Aoki and others struggle with the cage. I have no doubt Kron has prepared in a cage with the scrap pack, and in all honesty, any time a grappling centric style is on display, I'm happy, but we've seen plenty of guys not translate it as effectively with the common denominator wrestling pedigree of the UFC. Hoping for an awesome fight. I can see Caceres fighting an ugly disengaging fight with a lot of probing kicks and the like and Kron plodding around trying to clinch from standing and Caceres taking 2 rounds. I hoooooope I'm wrong AF.
Felder vs James Vick: Felder should hand Vick another stoppage loss. Coming off a stoppage loss to Gaethje (a ton of guys have) and now facing a more measured approach from Felder who likes to fall in love with his Thai styling mid fight and admire his work and finesse will give Vick more of a chance to stay in this fight, but Felder overall has fought the stiffer competition with a win over Oliveira, though interestingly, Felder lost to Trinaldo and Vick beat him. Fun fact.
With Vick picking up wins over solid guys but faltering when facing guys like Gaethje & Dariush.
Barbarena vs Luque, Fili vs Jury, Rivera vs Sterling, Lentz vs Holtzman, Barao vs someone who's 1-3 in his 4 UFC fights.
A bunch of fun scraps, unfortunately, a lot of these ESPN cards starting out stylistically look like sloppy kickboxing match-ups (even that Australia card last weekend). So, we'll see. What's a grappler laid up from ACL/Meniscus surgery to do?
Dantas is lower down on the card and that's frankly about it.
I've been watching LFA friday nights when there's no Bellator on, and the rest of this card feels like an LFA card. Not a read, but just a fact.
Saturday, we get a follow-up Bellator card with an MVP vs Daley fight, that I honestly don't know will be fireworks. I've seen both guys put on atrocious fights are talking a big gay and hyping it up, and both guys have fought laughably boring "stand-up" affairs with little to no risk taking at times. I think, predictably, MVP's length will give Daley trouble, and a frustrated Daley can put on laughable performances at times. Saturday night we get snoozer 3/4 of the time these days Kongo vs Minakov which I'm interested to see if Kongo can force him into this over/under clinch along the fence and throw knees for 3 1/2 minutes of each round gameplan.
CroCop faces Big Country who's already throwing shade his way for being a known steroid cheat (never served his UFC suspension) and hasn't been tested in 11 previous fights.
Ah, joy.
Sunday, we get a semi-early ESPN card, which part of me may be rethinking my disdain for moving to ESPN because with this streaming service, anything that gets it on before those 10pm start times is welcome.
The real story is not Velasquez finally returning to face a very dangerous puncher off a lay off (he did that and lost his belt to Cigano, but rather the entrance of Kron Gracie into the UFC. I'm a fan of both Kron and Neiman's grappling skills for MMA as they both hunt for the finish, use old school get to the clinch, get to the mat, and work to finish JiuJitsu. I am curious how Kron will do with 5 min rounds (as opposed to how much better he looked with the 10 min first round format in Japan. He's fought 5 min rounds before, but he's also not faced the cage. We've seen guys come over like Aoki and others struggle with the cage. I have no doubt Kron has prepared in a cage with the scrap pack, and in all honesty, any time a grappling centric style is on display, I'm happy, but we've seen plenty of guys not translate it as effectively with the common denominator wrestling pedigree of the UFC. Hoping for an awesome fight. I can see Caceres fighting an ugly disengaging fight with a lot of probing kicks and the like and Kron plodding around trying to clinch from standing and Caceres taking 2 rounds. I hoooooope I'm wrong AF.
Felder vs James Vick: Felder should hand Vick another stoppage loss. Coming off a stoppage loss to Gaethje (a ton of guys have) and now facing a more measured approach from Felder who likes to fall in love with his Thai styling mid fight and admire his work and finesse will give Vick more of a chance to stay in this fight, but Felder overall has fought the stiffer competition with a win over Oliveira, though interestingly, Felder lost to Trinaldo and Vick beat him. Fun fact.
With Vick picking up wins over solid guys but faltering when facing guys like Gaethje & Dariush.
Barbarena vs Luque, Fili vs Jury, Rivera vs Sterling, Lentz vs Holtzman, Barao vs someone who's 1-3 in his 4 UFC fights.
A bunch of fun scraps, unfortunately, a lot of these ESPN cards starting out stylistically look like sloppy kickboxing match-ups (even that Australia card last weekend). So, we'll see. What's a grappler laid up from ACL/Meniscus surgery to do?
Monday, January 28, 2019
Combat Sports Weekend: Kasai Super Series Dallas & UFC+ Moraes vs Assuncao 2 in Brazil
Well, the UFC on ESPN era has begun. Remember when ESPN pretended the UFC didn't exist and wouldn't even cover results but would show Poker and Hot Dog Eating contests? Ah...fond memories.
Well, now Gordon Ryan is on Ariel Helwani's show, Agazarm and Danis are vetted as pro fighters, and submission grappling has it's own 3 ring circus of hype and call outs dominating the "media".
At any rate, this weekend is a solid offering of UFC with the likes of Demian Maia, Moraes, Lyman Good, Assuncao, Aldo, & Moicano.
Aldo can perpetuate his fade into retirement with a loss here to Moicano who is picking up steam after disappearing due to a Roid test for a good while. Demian Maia looks to stay relevant with a win, but frankly, unless Woodley loses the belt, no one's interested in seeing him face the champ again. Moraes will look to build off of his quick head kick stoppage of Rivera, and overall, it's a solid card for a weekend non PPV offering. It remains to be seen how ESPN numbers look with the UFC. I'm curious what the valuation was in buying it from FOX and what the larger perspective/objective was in doing so, perhaps as an effort to challenge the NBC move to carry MMA programming with PFL? Curious.
Out in Dallas, Kasai hits the road with a solid offering with a titular match-up of Gordon Ryan versus another IBJJF name in Rocha. Gordon proves his IBJJF merit/chops by winning double gold at Pans & World NoGi, so we'll see how Rocha as the bigger man does. I actually met Rich, the head of Kasai this past weekend at Rise Invitational after my match with Rey from 10th Planet HQ.
Canuto faces Andre in what will be a boring AF match-up with Canuto dancing around and shucking and jiving and Andre pulling guard. Expect some nonsensical cartwheel passes from Canuto and probably not much else. Dante Leon faces Lutes in a battle of two guys built like fire hydrants and looking all kinds of cartoon-like character muscles on their muscles on their muscles popping through their rashguards. #teamhardworkandnothing else, am I right?
Tex Johnson will look to rebound off of a points drubbing by Keenan Cornelius at that very long and hard to watch confusing format event Third Coast Grappling event.
DeBlass and Bastos will either hand fight and collar tie til someone pulls half-guard then maybe a guard pass but probably not will occur.
Well, now Gordon Ryan is on Ariel Helwani's show, Agazarm and Danis are vetted as pro fighters, and submission grappling has it's own 3 ring circus of hype and call outs dominating the "media".
At any rate, this weekend is a solid offering of UFC with the likes of Demian Maia, Moraes, Lyman Good, Assuncao, Aldo, & Moicano.
Aldo can perpetuate his fade into retirement with a loss here to Moicano who is picking up steam after disappearing due to a Roid test for a good while. Demian Maia looks to stay relevant with a win, but frankly, unless Woodley loses the belt, no one's interested in seeing him face the champ again. Moraes will look to build off of his quick head kick stoppage of Rivera, and overall, it's a solid card for a weekend non PPV offering. It remains to be seen how ESPN numbers look with the UFC. I'm curious what the valuation was in buying it from FOX and what the larger perspective/objective was in doing so, perhaps as an effort to challenge the NBC move to carry MMA programming with PFL? Curious.
Out in Dallas, Kasai hits the road with a solid offering with a titular match-up of Gordon Ryan versus another IBJJF name in Rocha. Gordon proves his IBJJF merit/chops by winning double gold at Pans & World NoGi, so we'll see how Rocha as the bigger man does. I actually met Rich, the head of Kasai this past weekend at Rise Invitational after my match with Rey from 10th Planet HQ.
Canuto faces Andre in what will be a boring AF match-up with Canuto dancing around and shucking and jiving and Andre pulling guard. Expect some nonsensical cartwheel passes from Canuto and probably not much else. Dante Leon faces Lutes in a battle of two guys built like fire hydrants and looking all kinds of cartoon-like character muscles on their muscles on their muscles popping through their rashguards. #teamhardworkandnothing else, am I right?
Tex Johnson will look to rebound off of a points drubbing by Keenan Cornelius at that very long and hard to watch confusing format event Third Coast Grappling event.
DeBlass and Bastos will either hand fight and collar tie til someone pulls half-guard then maybe a guard pass but probably not will occur.
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