Official MMA discussion thread pt 2: UFC 268 in MSG Usman vs Colby 2, Rose vs Zhang 2

[GEOLINK]

That was the craziest PPV I have ever seen.

[GEOLINK]

WTF was Herb Dean waiting for?

Should have pulled him off instantly

I think he wanted to make sure Masvidal was out cold. Dude has never been knocked out like that.

That’s a little inconsistent because when McGregor got knocked out he pulled Dustin away immediately.

[HarthorneWingo]

WTF was Herb Dean waiting for?

Should have pulled him off instantly

I think he wanted to make sure Masvidal was out cold. Dude has never been knocked out like that.

That’s a little inconsistent because when McGregor got knocked out he pulled Dustin away immediately.

Dean should've left Dustin work Conor over a little more. Dana probably put in a word to Herb to protect his little leprechaun.

[GEOLINK]

I think he wanted to make sure Masvidal was out cold. Dude has never been knocked out like that.

That’s a little inconsistent because when McGregor got knocked out he pulled Dustin away immediately.

Dean should've left Dustin work Conor over a little more. Dana probably put in a word to Herb to protect his little leprechaun.

You don’t f*ck up the money. Putting Conor away for good would’ve cost them months of him being inactive.

Now he gets to step right back in July and make them even more money.

[HarthorneWingo]

That’s a little inconsistent because when McGregor got knocked out he pulled Dustin away immediately.

Dean should've left Dustin work Conor over a little more. Dana probably put in a word to Herb to protect his little leprechaun.

You don’t f*ck up the money. Putting Conor away for good would’ve cost them months of him being inactive.

Now he gets to step right back in July and make them even more money.

Nobody believes in Conor anymore. Feed him to Gaethje. You'll see.

[GEOLINK]

Dean should've left Dustin work Conor over a little more. Dana probably put in a word to Herb to protect his little leprechaun.

You don’t f*ck up the money. Putting Conor away for good would’ve cost them months of him being inactive.

Now he gets to step right back in July and make them even more money.

Nobody believes in Conor anymore. Feed him to Gaethje. You'll see.

I want to be right about this so bad so I can rub it in your face.

[HarthorneWingo]

You don’t f*ck up the money. Putting Conor away for good would’ve cost them months of him being inactive.

Now he gets to step right back in July and make them even more money.

Nobody believes in Conor anymore. Feed him to Gaethje. You'll see.

I want to be right about this so bad so I can rub it in your face.

But you can't

Anyhow, check this out. DC confronting Jake Paul after the fights. This is getting crazy.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

And this was crazy too. Who does Antny get next?

Watch on YouTube

[Jkam31]

Masvidal can’t beat anyone in the top 5 no idea how he even got this fight

Where is Wonderboy in all this?

I think Usman felt that he owed Masvidal a clean fight for taking their first one on short notice, which was the righteous thing to do. I hope Jorge got paid well. Maybe he could make some money in Bellator or ONE. I think his UFC run is over.

No dude wasn’t owed **** you can’t duck every opponent and get a rematch without winning a fight

[j4remi]

First two fights have had some ugly injuries. That weidman one was really scary, I wish a speedy recovery. The crazy thing is that the only other time I recall witnessing an injury like that is when Weidman checked an Anderson Silva kick. Just a bizarre “cruel fate” thing.

Anderson Silva must have a Weidman voodoo doll.

It's like the theme of the night was "things come full circle." There were so many weird repeats of history.

The Weidman/Silva injury thing.

Rose wins with a first-round flash KO as an underdog for the title...again.

Masvidal, the king of sleeping dudes who talk trash gets put to sleep after he talked a ton of trash about his opponent.

The narratives really carried the day. Through it all...Valentina's dominance will be the least talked about but arguably the most impressive performance of the night.

[j4remi]

Masvidal can’t beat anyone in the top 5 no idea how he even got this fight

Where is Wonderboy in all this?

I think Usman felt that he owed Masvidal a clean fight for taking their first one on short notice, which was the righteous thing to do. I hope Jorge got paid well. Maybe he could make some money in Bellator or ONE. I think his UFC run is over.

Wonderboy is fighting Gilbert Burns on the Conor/Poirier card in July. I've gotta guess that a win would line him up for the winner of Usman vs Colby. Also, Wonderboy was ironically with Weidman's corner since they're brothers-in-law.

I think Masvidal's money fight days are winding down, but the UFC wouldn't give him up that easily. He's got name value and an entertaining style, so even if he's back to Earth, they can use him to build their next guys up or try to rekindle some magic with a Diaz rematch or something. If I'm the UFC, I'm trying to get Masvidal vs the always entertaining Luque. That's got fight of the night written all over it and propels the winner to a top five opponent next. Below that, I'm still looking at Geoff Neal as a scary opponent. If I could get Masvidal to fight him, that'd be flames.

The only thing is that Masvidal has probably made enough money to pick and choose his fights. He has enough chips to avoid those sorts of lesser-recognized names. I don't think he deserved this title shot, but his name value earned it. The UFC still sees a cash cow.

[j4remi]

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[HarthorneWingo]

First two fights have had some ugly injuries. That weidman one was really scary, I wish a speedy recovery. The crazy thing is that the only other time I recall witnessing an injury like that is when Weidman checked an Anderson Silva kick. Just a bizarre “cruel fate” thing.

Anderson Silva must have a Weidman voodoo doll.

It's like the theme of the night was "things come full circle." There were so many weird repeats of history.

The Weidman/Silva injury thing.

Rose wins with a first-round flash KO as an underdog for the title...again.

Masvidal, the king of sleeping dudes who talk trash gets put to sleep after he talked a ton of trash about his opponent.

The narratives really carried the day. Through it all...Valentina's dominance will be the least talked about but arguably the most impressive performance of the night.

Valentina rag-dolled Andrade. Her technique is flawless. Just wow.

Do you think we’ll ever see Rose vs Valentina at a catch weight?

[HarthorneWingo]

Masvidal can’t beat anyone in the top 5 no idea how he even got this fight

Where is Wonderboy in all this?

I think Usman felt that he owed Masvidal a clean fight for taking their first one on short notice, which was the righteous thing to do. I hope Jorge got paid well. Maybe he could make some money in Bellator or ONE. I think his UFC run is over.

Wonderboy is fighting Gilbert Burns on the Conor/Poirier card in July. I've gotta guess that a win would line him up for the winner of Usman vs Colby. Also, Wonderboy was ironically with Weidman's corner since they're brothers-in-law.

I think Masvidal's money fight days are winding down, but the UFC wouldn't give him up that easily. He's got name value and an entertaining style, so even if he's back to Earth, they can use him to build their next guys up or try to rekindle some magic with a Diaz rematch or something. If I'm the UFC, I'm trying to get Masvidal vs the always entertaining Luque. That's got fight of the night written all over it and propels the winner to a top five opponent next. Below that, I'm still looking at Geoff Neal as a scary opponent. If I could get Masvidal to fight him, that'd be flames.

The only thing is that Masvidal has probably made enough money to pick and choose his fights. He has enough chips to avoid those sorts of lesser-recognized names. I don't think he deserved this title shot, but his name value earned it. The UFC still sees a cash cow.

So you see Jorge as a gatekeeper to the top 5 in the division?

[j4remi]

Valentina rag-dolled Andrade. Her technique is flawless. Just wow.

Do you think we’ll ever see Rose vs Valentina at a catch weight?

I don't think so. Rose is a legitimate 115, I don't see her moving up. Valentina is a biiig 125, so I don't see her cutting any further. I think Rose hangs around and takes on some of the more interesting opponents. A rematch with Zhang isn't out of the question, Xiaonan is legit, Tatiana Suarez should be back soon, and Dern has grown a lot. I could see a trilogy fight with Andrade getting hype and god forbid they find a way to give Rose redemption against Carla Esparza. She has a lot of action at 115.

Valentina's kinda screwed. There's no one on her level at 125. I'd take a trilogy fight with her and Nunes at 135 over any of their potential opponents (Pena included).

So you see Jorge as a gatekeeper to the top 5 in the division?

Sort of. I don't think that sort of role will last long since I think Masvidal dips below range. He's probably more 8-15 range once the dust settles. Now that I think about it, though...Leon Edwards vs Diaz will probably lead right into a Masvidal fight. They've both got history with Jorge and the rest of the top five is fighting each other (Wonderboy/Burns, Colby/Usman). Assuming no injury delays, that means Edwards could be sitting on back to back money fights which improve his profile for an eventual title-fight (I think he takes both of 'em out).

[MelosSoreWrist]

I had Covington up 3-1 heading into the 5th round against Usman. It was a great action packed fight and if Usman hadnt broken Colby's jaw, I thought Colby couldve won. I wanted to see the rematch. But now I think Usman dismantles CC. Usman has improved so much in his power and striking technique and acumen. I guess a Wonderboy matchup might be intriguing. I've heard that Usman cant wrestle and shoot for 5 rounds because of his knees which might make Wonderboy a tough matchup. Beyond that, Usman has wiped out the division.

Valentina's kinda screwed. There's no one on her level at 125. I'd take a trilogy fight with her and Nunes at 135 over any of their potential opponents (Pena included).

If I'm Nunes, I am not keen on taking that fight. Nunes is up 2-0 in the record books (VS mightve edged her out on the second bout though). VS is getting better and stronger in wrestling. That is Nunes safety net when she cant overwhelm her opponents in standup. I might pick VS in a slow paced, kind of boring 5 round decision fight.

Nunes is up 2-0 on both VS and GDR. I wouldnt face either of them again. Either can beat her. Not much to gain and more to lose, imo.

Rose was awesome. She is so potent to start the fight with her movement, energy and skill. Girls like Andrade and Zhang have to endure and survive that, get her into the later rounds when she is more stationary and break her down from there. I wouldnt mind Andrade/Zhang or Joanna/Zhang rematches if they are lining up Yan for a title shot next.

[HarthorneWingo]

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[HarthorneWingo]

Alvarez vs Ok

What a first round

[HarthorneWingo]

Auld Lang Syne?

[j4remi]

Alvarez vs Ok

What a first round

Hell of a scrap!

[j4remi]

Apparently this foolishness got Diego cut before his retirement fight with Donald Cerrone. True to form, Big Mouth Kevin Holland has offered to fight at a catch weight. Says he could make 175. That'd be the ultimate irony, Cowboy goes out fighting the guy who has taken his role as "any time, any weight" back-up plan for the UFC.

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