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

[Strick]

Zhang vs Joanna was legitimately one of the best fights I’ve ever seen. It was insane how they were able to sustain that pace and absorb the amount of damage they did. Tough that someone has to “lose” fights like that.

Stylebender vs Romero was a bit underwhelming with the talk leading up. Don’t get me wrong I completely understand why both may have been “hesitant”. Plus a lot of them capitalize off counter striking and when their opponent makes mistakes. Izzy fought it smart and didn’t get put in range of that left hand often. I wish there were more spurts. I was surprised Yoel wasn’t able to hold Izzy on the ground longer when he did kind of take him down. Izzy’s takedown defense has been much better than I imagined. I was lowkey hoping it would kind of like a Stylebender vs Gastelum fight but getting in a war like that with Yoel is risky as hell especially when you are pretty new to having the belt and defending your belt. Stylebender will be even more polarizing after this I think. I love watching him fight and will definitely tune into him for Costa but I am a bit surprised seeing how he fought this one after walking through someone as feared as Whitaker.

Overall the card had a lot of good fights. All of the fights before the main and co main were entertaining. That crowd really did get spoiled after Zhang vs Joanna but I can’t blame some restlessness after that fight and then going to Stylebender vs Romero

[HarthorneWingo]

Adesanya better stop that Jon Jones talk after this fight.

[HarthorneWingo]

I never knew that avian Ortega was a punk ass bitch.

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[waya]

I never knew that avian Ortega was a punk ass bitch.

Read on Twitter

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Smh that kid barely said anything. And going after him when Zombie goes to the bathroom

Ortega is overrated anyway. fck him

[NoStatsGuy]

Adesanya better stop that Jon Jones talk after this fight.

izzy faught yoel exactly like jones faught santos? JBJ just attacked the legs, just as izzy did. you cant just run at yoel and throw random puches?

it takes two to dance like everyone already said.

twood got trashed for fighting cautious, etc.. in izzys words "you dont put everything on the line to please some drunken buffoons in the crowd" thats exactly right if you are a champion.

[j4remi]

Adesanya better stop that Jon Jones talk after this fight.

izzy faught yoel exactly like jones faught santos? JBJ just attacked the legs, just as izzy did. you cant just run at yoel and throw random puches?

it takes two to dance like everyone already said.

twood got trashed for fighting cautious, etc.. in izzys words "you dont put everything on the line to please some drunken buffoons in the crowd" thats exactly right if you are a champion.

I'd been thinking of using Woodley vs Thompson as the best comparison, but Thiago vs Jones is almost perfect. Thiago loaded up outside whenever Jones looked to engage with anything inside, Santos countered with heavy combos. It forced Jones to play a point fight from the outside. Yoel did the exact same thing. The one difference is that Thago Santos threw leg kicks on the outside that forced Jones to engage more often. Yoel waited outside, loaded up and didn't throw anything at distance. So Izzy could take the leg kicks and point fight for a guaranteed win or risk losing by doing exactly what Romero wanted.

Zhang vs JJ was the best WMMA fight of all time. That's the fight of the year until further notice.

Sean O'Malley is gonna be a stud. Both Magny and O'Malley came back from extended healthy breaks with massive improvements.

[HarthorneWingo]

Adesanya better stop that Jon Jones talk after this fight.

izzy faught yoel exactly like jones faught santos? JBJ just attacked the legs, just as izzy did. you cant just run at yoel and throw random puches?

it takes two to dance like everyone already said.

twood got trashed for fighting cautious, etc.. in izzys words "you dont put everything on the line to please some drunken buffoons in the crowd" thats exactly right if you are a champion.

Fck Jon Jones too.

[NoStatsGuy]

Zhang vs JJ was the best WMMA fight of all time. That's the fight of the year until further notice.

Sean O'Malley is gonna be a stud. Both Magny and O'Malley came back from extended healthy breaks with massive improvements.

oh yea that co main event was insane!

it was one of most exciting fights i've seen period, regardless of gender. I thought after the 2nd thats it for Zhang, she looked like she was gassing heavily in the corner. i was so suprised she was still there in the championship rounds and both of them were going after it from the 1st to last second. really, really awesome

i also couldnt say who won that. if joana woulda gotten the nod,i'd be completely fine with it as well. Man she can take a punch, what the heck?

it was on a really high technical level and both of these girls have the heart of a champion, id watch a rematch every day of the week.

[HarthorneWingo]

Adesanya better stop that Jon Jones talk after this fight.

izzy faught yoel exactly like jones faught santos? JBJ just attacked the legs, just as izzy did. you cant just run at yoel and throw random puches?

it takes two to dance like everyone already said.

twood got trashed for fighting cautious, etc.. in izzys words "you dont put everything on the line to please some drunken buffoons in the crowd" thats exactly right if you are a champion.

I'd been thinking of using Woodley vs Thompson as the best comparison, but Thiago vs Jones is almost perfect. Thiago loaded up outside whenever Jones looked to engage with anything inside, Santos countered with heavy combos. It forced Jones to play a point fight from the outside. Yoel did the exact same thing. The one difference is that Thago Santos threw leg kicks on the outside that forced Jones to engage more often. Yoel waited outside, loaded up and didn't throw anything at distance. So Izzy could take the leg kicks and point fight for a guaranteed win or risk losing by doing exactly what Romero wanted.

Zhang vs JJ was the best WMMA fight of all time. That's the fight of the year until further notice.

Sean O'Malley is gonna be a stud. Both Magny and O'Malley came back from extended healthy breaks with massive improvements.

But Bender (I left off the "Style" bc he didn't bring any last night) talked all this crap before the fight about how he was going to take the fight to him ... until he got popped with Yoel's left in the first. Izzy had the length and he used it to his advantage but let's not put lipstick on a pig. Izzy was fearful of Yoel's power and decided to stay way rather than exchange.

I'm just not a fan of these kinds of fights. I can understand a strategy where you want to tire out the bigger/stronger fighter so that you can pummel him in the championships rounds (e.g. Ali vs. Foreman is the most obvious to comes to mind). But these point scoring strategy in no bueno when I'm judging the hype of a great fighter. If you the champion, fight like you are the champion.

[newyorker4ever]

izzy faught yoel exactly like jones faught santos? JBJ just attacked the legs, just as izzy did. you cant just run at yoel and throw random puches?

it takes two to dance like everyone already said.

twood got trashed for fighting cautious, etc.. in izzys words "you dont put everything on the line to please some drunken buffoons in the crowd" thats exactly right if you are a champion.

I'd been thinking of using Woodley vs Thompson as the best comparison, but Thiago vs Jones is almost perfect. Thiago loaded up outside whenever Jones looked to engage with anything inside, Santos countered with heavy combos. It forced Jones to play a point fight from the outside. Yoel did the exact same thing. The one difference is that Thago Santos threw leg kicks on the outside that forced Jones to engage more often. Yoel waited outside, loaded up and didn't throw anything at distance. So Izzy could take the leg kicks and point fight for a guaranteed win or risk losing by doing exactly what Romero wanted.

Zhang vs JJ was the best WMMA fight of all time. That's the fight of the year until further notice.

Sean O'Malley is gonna be a stud. Both Magny and O'Malley came back from extended healthy breaks with massive improvements.

But Bender (I left off the "Style" bc he didn't bring any last night) talked all this crap before the fight about how he was going to take the fight to him ... until he got popped with Yoel's left in the first. Izzy had the length and he used it to his advantage but let's not put lipstick on a pig. Izzy was fearful of Yoel's power and decided to stay way rather than exchange.

I'm just not a fan of these kinds of fights. I can understand a strategy where you want to tire out the bigger/stronger fighter so that you can pummel him in the championships rounds (e.g. Ali vs. Foreman is the most obvious to comes to mind). But these point scoring strategy in no bueno when I'm judging the hype of a great fighter. If you the champion, fight like you are the champion.

Yeah i feel the same way about Adesanya that he talked so much about i want to fight the best and nobody wants to call out Romero cause they're scared of him but you just showed that you were also so scared of him that all you wanted to do was use your advantages in the fight, which is obviously your reach with your arms and legs, and keep your distance and throw kicks to his leg for 5 rounds. I don't understand how the thing of saying it takes two to fight is helping him because he's one of the two and he didn't fight either. He stayed back and protected his belt. Both fighters had equal fault in giving the fans a lame championship fight.

Thank god we have two absolute beast of women fighting and throwing violent punches like men do in the co-main event. I even said to my buddies before the main event started that i could of been satisfied if there wasn't another fight after that battle. Now i didn't really mean that cause i was looking forward to the main event thinking we would get a great fight but those ladies gave their all in the fight and definitely the best UFC Women's fight i've ever seen.

That fight could of gone to either lady for me but on my personal scoring i actually had JJ winning by the slightest edge, but again i could of seen it going to either lady and have zero issues with it going to Zhang since she was the champ.

[j4remi]

But Bender (I left off the "Style" bc he didn't bring any last night) talked all this crap before the fight about how he was going to take the fight to him ... until he got popped with Yoel's left in the first. Izzy had the length and he used it to his advantage but let's not put lipstick on a pig. Izzy was fearful of Yoel's power and decided to stay way rather than exchange.

I'm just not a fan of these kinds of fights. I can understand a strategy where you want to tire out the bigger/stronger fighter so that you can pummel him in the championships rounds (e.g. Ali vs. Foreman is the most obvious to comes to mind). But these point scoring strategy in no bueno when I'm judging the hype of a great fighter. If you the champion, fight like you are the champion.

Yeah i feel the same way about Adesanya that he talked so much about i want to fight the best and nobody wants to call out Romero cause they're scared of him but you just showed that you were also so scared of him that all you wanted to do was use your advantages in the fight, which is obviously your reach with your arms and legs, and keep your distance and throw kicks to his leg for 5 rounds. I don't understand how the thing of saying it takes two to fight is helping him because he's one of the two and he didn't fight either. He stayed back and protected his belt. Both fighters had equal fault in giving the fans a lame championship fight.

Thank god we have two absolute beast of women fighting and throwing violent punches like men do in the co-main event. I even said to my buddies before the main event started that i could of been satisfied if there wasn't another fight after that battle. Now i didn't really mean that cause i was looking forward to the main event thinking we would get a great fight but those ladies gave their all in the fight and definitely the best UFC Women's fight i've ever seen.

That fight could of gone to either lady for me but on my personal scoring i actually had JJ winning by the slightest edge, but again i could of seen it going to either lady and have zero issues with it going to Zhang since she was the champ.

There's no doubt that Adesanya played it safe, but Romero really did just shell up to play catch and pitch which made most option high risk. He's no-selling your feints because what he wants to do is take your strike and power through it with his counter. You can chip him up outside where he's always gonna be late, or you can play right into his gameplan. Sorta like taking jumpers when a defense consistently ducks under screens and packs the paint. Sure you could drive on that defense, but if they're gonna let you shoot, you've gotta take what they're giving you.

So for me, generally these sorts of stalemates are always on the guy that's losing the rounds. I felt Romero was pretty clearly giving up those rounds and Izzy didn't have enough margin of error to take many more risks. So Adesanya sticks with what's working and now the onus is on Romero to adjust.

But I definitely agree that the women carried the show. Props to Magny/Jiangliang and Dariush/Klose too because both those fights had great energy. It sucks that Romero and Izzy couldn't bring it home with another epic. We'd have had one of the best events in recent history with a real closer.

[NoStatsGuy]

izzy said all of that in expectations of yoel actually tryin to win a belt.

yoel expected izzy to go at him non stop apparently. both of them had kinda the same gameplan, to counter the opponent. im on izzys side here. if you want that strap, come get it. Yoel cant honeslty be thinking, him pointing at the ground in the last seconds of the fight would make izzy slug it out and then also be mad about it.. lmao the audacity haha

im a fan of both of them, i didnt really had a dog in this one (is that the actual saying?). But they are trying to sell mma and the UFC as a legit sport just like the NBA or NFL. Teams use strategies to win games/chips and i cant blame twood, jones, izzy or whoever has a belt for not risking everything just to make it an entertaining fight for the crowd. Obvioulsy i would've loved a slugfest like the co main was, but i cant be mad at these champs playing it smart.

You dont tell Dame or Steph to dunk it everytime just because you like dunks more than you like 3 pointers.

Next PPV is the fight guys, the fight we've been waiting for for years. Lets all pray that nothing happens to either of these guys. cant wait for tony to slice khabib up with crazy elbows from his back and then put him to sleep with a Darce or triangle.. hypeeee

//Edit

also a thing to watch out for.. tony did what conor couldnt. He actually made khabib mad, kicking the oldschool belt. was pretty surprising to see. Even though i think khabib doesnt fight emotional or at least isnt drastically influenced by his emotions during a fight, i think its going to be real spicy

[j4remi]

While almost everything else is cancelled, the UFC will go on just without a crowd and in the Contenders arena. The UFC has been running the Contenders series for a while now and it's small crowd fare. But that has meant they're in good shape to continue holding events with little to no live audience and they already have everything in place to broadcast. That means, if they're really on top of things, they can actually continue to throw events which appears to be the plan for at least the next 4 cards...and tomorrow's card is fire. Here's notes for what might be the only sport we have this weekend, MMA (Bellator is tonight and it's pretty good featuring Pitbull btw).

Main Event is epic:
Kevin Lee just KO'ed Gregor Gillespie aka a guy that nobody was willing to fight. He fought neck and neck with Tony Ferguson despite having staph infection (and I've got Tony beating Khabib). Lee has a 2-3 record in his last 5 but one loss was at Welterweight, one was to Ferguson and the third was to one of his worst style match-up. Lee is top tier as a wrestler with imposing but not elite striking. He's also just shifted to Tristar recently, getting a good coach for the first time in his career.

He fights Charles Oliveira who has won 6 straight fights, all by stoppage before the third round started. He's split 3 KO's and 3 Subs. Dude is a great striker with scary submissions, lots of nice chokes and sweeps. All of that comes from his aggression both standing and on the ground. Oliveira has crazy elbows, vicious work on the feet and a better gas tank than Lee.

I'm nervous for my guy Lee in this one. I think Lee is a huge threat to the Russian Wrestlers, he's the most aggressive American Wrestler with elite chops. I'm DYING to see the Dagestani Sambo crew face an elite American Wrestler. Lee's weaknesses play into some of Charles' best traits though. Oliveira hits hard and is the better striker without having to worry about the fight hitting the ground. Lee will still want to hit the mat and work from top position but has to be extra cautious. If he wins, expect a callout of Islam Makchaev. I'm rooting for Lee, leaning slightly toward Charles Oliveira with the upset.

The Co-Main is dope too:
Yall probably know Demian Maia, I view him as the best MMA BJJ practitioner ever. His striking has hit a respectable level which is all he needs against anyone but wrestlers. Give him an inch and he'll take you down and keep you there. He's famously known for the backpack, he takes your back and stays there either choking you out or gassing you with his attempts.

Gilbert Burns also has ADCC and grappling chops. He's a physical specimen and has been a murderer since moving up to 170. He's won 4 straight against all tough competition at Welterweight. He hits hard, has a good tank and usually has the advantage on the ground should he need to go there.

But Burns ain't Maia. I think this is a typical Maia fight in so much as he needs one takedown per round and he'll take that round. Burns is strong, which could disrupt that, but Maia is crafty as all hell. I like Maia to win this one and compare it to the Lyman Good fight. It's my favorite bet on the card.

Also Johnny Walker is fighting another LHW I really like:
Johnny Walker is well known. He's huge and athletic, dude scores insane KO's with flare and power. But he's always risky and a little sloppy, which got him KO'ed the first time he stepped to elite competition. He's been looking at better coaches, including Tristar which could really help. Right now Walker is more physical attributes and natural talent than refined technique, but the gifts he has could threaten even a Jon Jones should they be honed properly.

Nikita Krylov had me hype in 2013 as a 21 year old LHW prospect. He has flashy striking, especially his kicks and was a hyped prospect. But like a lot of guys who hit the UFC young, he struggled a bit and his old hype has gotten forgotten. DO NOT SLEEP. This dude shoulda got the nod over Glover Texeira last fight and beat OSP before that. He's still only 28 years old which is approaching fighting prime imo (maturity goes a long way in this sport). His biggest hole had always been his ground game, 5 of his 7 losses were submissions. But he's improved there.

Walker is unpredictable because he still has a ton of growth to show. He's some tweaks and improvements away from being a huge problem. Krylov is much better technically though and might just have the physical attributes not to get overwhelmed by Walker. I could easily see an upset for Krylov but I've stanned this guy and have been waiting for him to turn the corner for more than half a decade. I'm biased.

Best of the rest:
Renato Moicano is back and he was promising at 145 but ran into some buzzsaws. His fight with Brian Ortega was really good and competitive until the choke.

Makdessi vs Trinaldo is two aging fighters but they're both always game to put on a show.

Formiga vs Moreno should be another high paced 125 fight between two of the division's better fighters.

And keep an eye out for Kunchenko, came from M1 which is a fun league. He's 20 and 1 with a few good wins. Gilbert Burns from the co-main is the one guy that has beaten Kunchenko. He's newish to the UFC with a lot to prove, but he's intriguing.

[tjumper78]

kevin lee missed weight by almost 4 pounds. he even showed up late to weigh-in, after the weigh-in was closed.

for now, the fights are scheduled to take place without audience. we dont know whats going to happen with lee vs aloevera.

[Clyde_Style]

Adesanya better stop that Jon Jones talk after this fight.

izzy faught yoel exactly like jones faught santos? JBJ just attacked the legs, just as izzy did. you cant just run at yoel and throw random puches?

it takes two to dance like everyone already said.

twood got trashed for fighting cautious, etc.. in izzys words "you dont put everything on the line to please some drunken buffoons in the crowd" thats exactly right if you are a champion.

I'd been thinking of using Woodley vs Thompson as the best comparison, but Thiago vs Jones is almost perfect. Thiago loaded up outside whenever Jones looked to engage with anything inside, Santos countered with heavy combos. It forced Jones to play a point fight from the outside. Yoel did the exact same thing. The one difference is that Thago Santos threw leg kicks on the outside that forced Jones to engage more often. Yoel waited outside, loaded up and didn't throw anything at distance. So Izzy could take the leg kicks and point fight for a guaranteed win or risk losing by doing exactly what Romero wanted.

Zhang vs JJ was the best WMMA fight of all time. That's the fight of the year until further notice.

Sean O'Malley is gonna be a stud. Both Magny and O'Malley came back from extended healthy breaks with massive improvements.

This is probably the best fight I've ever seen.

Anyone who has never watched this fight, make the time to sit down and watch it from beginning to end, it is really that good. These guys are in the phone booth the whole way and the drama in the last rounds is insane

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

This is probably the best fight I've ever seen.

Anyone who has never watched this fight, make the time to sit down and watch it from beginning to end, it is really that good. These guys are in the phone booth the whole way and the drama in the last rounds is insane

Watch on YouTube

Great share fam! I love the realness from Corrales’ corner as they hand him the mouth piece. Something about those gritty, forehead to forehead in-fights is always so damned special.

[Clyde_Style]

This is probably the best fight I've ever seen.

Anyone who has never watched this fight, make the time to sit down and watch it from beginning to end, it is really that good. These guys are in the phone booth the whole way and the drama in the last rounds is insane

Watch on YouTube

Great share fam! I love the realness from Corrales’ corner as they hand him the mouth piece. Something about those gritty, forehead to forehead in-fights is always so damned special.

As someone who was a fan during the golden era, who saw Ali live, this fight simply floors me.

The rematch was not so good. They probably beat each other up too much and Castillo's cheat was missing weight and being the bigger guy in the 2nd fight.

Sadly, Corrales died not long after in a MC accident

[HarthorneWingo]

Oliviera is unbelievable and Kevin Lee is not.

[waya]

Lmao always satisfying seeing Lee humbled

[GEOLINK]

Lee is weak minded. He throws out the game plan as soon as the bell rings.