UFC on Fox 23 (1/28): Shevchenko vs. Pena

[AirCanadaMouse]

Main Card (Fox):
Women's Bantamweight Valentina Shevchenko vs. Julianna Peña
Welterweight Donald Cerrone vs. Jorge Masvidal
Heavyweight Andrei Arlovski vs. Francis Ngannou
Featherweight Alex Caceres vs. Jason Knight
Middleweight Nate Marquardt vs. Sam Alvey
Bantamweight Raphael Assuncao vs. Aljamain Sterling

Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1):
Welterweight Li Jingliang vs. Bobby Nash
Light Heavyweight Luis Henrique da Silva vs. Jordan Johnson
Middleweight Alessio Di Chirico vs. Eric Spicely

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass):
Light Heavyweight Marcos Rogério de Lima vs. John Phillips
Flyweight Alexandre Pantoja vs. Eric Shelton
Lightweight Jason Gonzalez vs. J.C. Cottrell


I'm excited for this card, there's a few gems here. Bruce Leeroy vs. Jason Knight and Cowboy vs. Masvidal are going to be very fun fights to watch. I like The Funk Master, and the Assuncao fight has been one I've been looking forward too. Ngannou is well on his way to being a future contender in the HW division so he's definitely someone to watch, Sam Alvey can put on a good showing as well, and of course there's the main event. Maybe people are interested in Eric Spicely now? Idk. Good card nevertheless.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Uh, *when* is this? Could you please consider including the date of the event. Please & thanks.

[NZB2323]

This is pretty good for a free card. It seems like a lot of Fox events are better than PPVs.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Yeah, watching the prelims now. Nash vs Jingliang.

[AirCanadaMouse]

Aljo didn't look particularly good, not sure why he was throwing so many punches inefficiently. That boxing looked terrible lol....Assuancao with great takedown defense though, and did much better at countering all the sloppy punches Aljo was throwing. Not a good fight, but i didn't think it flat out sucked either. It was just disappointing since they're both talented guys.

[Jasen777]

JB said women's BW is one of the deepest divisions in the UFC. Deeper than women's featherweight, I'll grant.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

I expected more/a more exciting, entertaining fight from Alvey & Nate.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Wowowo Ngannou!!

[AirCanadaMouse]

WHAT? I THOUGHT MASVIDAL WON....COME ON! LOL

WAR MASVIDAL LETS GO!

[AirCanadaMouse]

YUP! I picked Masvidal to win this one before. He really sold me during his interview with Ariel on the MMA hour.... and I know that should never be a reason to pick a fighter, but he sounded very committed and motivated during this whole build while Cerrone didn't take him seriously. I am so happy he won, well deserved. This dude is a killer.

[Jasen777]

Should have been stopped at the end of the first. And then I don't think I recall a fight stopped when a guy is standing just taking body shots...

[AirCanadaMouse]

Should have been stopped at the end of the first. And then I don't think I recall a fight stopped when a guy is standing just taking body shots...

It seemed like Herb wanted to stop it but when he heard the horn he decided otherwise. Very weird, I thought it was a stoppage as well.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Wow! Huge upset! Your guys analysis is spot on. But still surprising nonetheless!

I'll pick Pena in the main event.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

Dang! Did not see that coming! Holy moly!

[Jasen777]

Surprised they let Nunes in the octagon after, when they could want her against the 145 winner.

[AirCanadaMouse]

So glad Pena didn't win. She's just generally unlikable, hard to root for her. It makes it that much easier when Valentina is a true mixed martial artist and a class act.

[High 5]

I'm a big Cerrone fan, but part of me is glad Masvidal got the win in the 2nd. It looked like Herb botched the end of the 1st. Sucks Cerrone had to take more punishment because of it, though.

[cowboyronnie]

I watched a recorded version of the Cerrone- Masvidal. Slowing it down, Herb clearly jumps in before the horn. It's a 100th of a second but it's also clear. He moved before the sounding, he stopped the fight. Why he then judged it otherwise, I have no idea.

Cognition is a strange thing, maybe you can mix-up what triggered a reflex? Or, straight-up, you were just motivated to give Cerrone 'another chance'.

[Bernman]

Yeah, I saw it the same way. Jumped in to stop it before the horn sounded and waved his arms in the traditional motion. If he meant it was just the end of the round he would have simply separated them. I think he changed his mind because of a combo of it being durable Cerrone and not wanting to potentially spoil a great fight for fans, the organization, and commission (company man instincts). He's always second guessing his stoppage choices. That's why he alternates between way too late and way too early. In that instance the horn gave him a bailout, but really to those paying attention it just made it another error from Herb, and another egregious one.

I too was rooting for Cerrone, but felt like it was justice that Masvidal just came back and won quickly in the 2nd. And good thing Cerrone didn't take too much more of a beating, especially to the head, in the process. Masvidal displayed good mental toughness. The psychology of the game has been a problem for him before. In spite of being in the game for a long time now, he still seems to be maturing. Moving up to a more natural weight also seems to have helped, although that didn't stop him from choking against guys like Daley in the past. Always had the talent and offense. I think defensively it helps that guys won't move around his static guard at this weight nearly as much.

That Ngannou guy is nasty. I think on one of those missed punches before the ko he started a small tornado in the arena. Between that, his athleticism, and grappling background, he looks like a problem for the division. He's like Ike Ibeabuchi without the Super Male Syndrome and lack of freedom.

I thought Sterling won. Just caught the end of it. Interesting that Alvey-Marquardt was a ud. I thought that could have went either way. Biggest win of his career. Always thought he'd stick because of his power, craft, and ability to neutralize a high majority of fighter's weapons with his counter ability standing and wrestling. If he steps up too high, he'll always get knocked back down though due to limited athleticism and skill-set. Career mid-tier fighter in some entertaining bouts over the years. The UFC needs guys like that to fill cards.

[REDDzone]

Just watched now, Herb jumped in before the bell. WTF is he doing letting that fight continue? Could you imagine if that had happened in bellator? Lol.

Just Herb being Herb I guess.