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

[HarthorneWingo]

I need all of that, I'm so damn eager to bet on something that's not a sim

I feel you. The card is honestly fire, it's like they took nothing but finishers and stacked them all together on one card. The only complaint I have is their still trying to forcefeed us Greg Hardy on main cards.

Gaethje vs Ferguson (Gaethje's seen 2 decisions in 23 fights and earned a performance award in every single UFC fight so far; Ferguson is on the longest win streak in division history 9/12 wins by stoppage)
Andrade vs ??? (Namajunas pulled out)
Hardy vs De Castro (De Castro is 5'11 which means there are middleweights taller than him, but he does hit hard as hell)
Luque vs Price (Luque is technically nice but always finds himself brawling anyway and Price is a brawler who KO's dudes off his back)
Stephens vs Kattar (ironically, I think Stephens leg kicks are the most important strike in this fight)

Ngannou vs Rozenstruik ("everyone gets KO'ed by this guy" applies to both fighters)
Hall vs Jacare (Highlight reel KO or a Submission finish)
Vera vs Borg (I stan Ray Borg, Vera is a scary dude though)

Hernandez vs Morales (cusp of being ranked in the UFC's toughest division for two young prospects)
Johnson vs Worthy (MJ KO's people at 155 and Worthy has a kill or be killed approach)
Eubanks vs Moras (Moras has 5 finishes in 6 career wins, Sijara has tools to be a finisher both on the feet and grappling)
Spann vs Alvey (Spann has 15 finishes in 17 wins and 7 straight wins, Alvey's left hand has touch of death power)

Rose pulled out bc of COVID?

[HarthorneWingo]

UFC 249 canceled

[j4remi]

UFC 249 canceled

It's pretty wild. In a couple of days span we had the main event challenger admit that the circumstances behind even fighting are terrifying; a fighter in the co-main event pulled out because two of her family members died due to COVID; and Gavin Newsome made phone calls to get Disney to stop the event. When Dana White said the call came from the top, I thought he meant at Disney not the governor of California

[HarthorneWingo]

UFC 249 canceled

It's pretty wild. In a couple of days span we had the main event challenger admit that the circumstances behind even fighting are terrifying; a fighter in the co-main event pulled out because two of her family members died due to COVID; and Gavin Newsome made phone calls to get Disney to stop the event. When Dana White said the call came from the top, I thought he meant at Disney not the governor of California

True. Newsom answers to Disney. What a world and what a crazy bunch of twists and turns. I listened to Luke Thomas's say that all efforts are now to get financial help to the fighters. The ones slotted for 249 just lost a lot of money spent on training camps.

So was it Rose who lost two members of her family?

[j4remi]

True. Newsom answers to Disney. What a world and what a crazy bunch of twists and turns. I listened to Luke Thomas's say that all efforts are now to get financial help to the fighters. The ones slotted for 249 just lost a lot of money spent on training camps.

So was it Rose who lost two members of her family?

Yeah it was Rose. That's especially sad because the moment the news came out that she was out, a lot of people took to attacking her for past comments about mental hurdles. The poor girl was mourning.

[HarthorneWingo]

UFC putting together a mega-card for May 9th in Florida. They think they'll get clearance from Florida's dopey governor to stage the fight there. I'm sure a lot can and will happen between now and then .. or maybe not? Remi, help us out here.

According to The Weasel, we're getting 3 championship fights

1. Ferguson vs. Gaethje (Interim Lightweight belt)

2. Cejudo vs. Cruz, (Bantamweight belt_

3. Nunez vs. Felicia Spencer (Women's Lightweight belt)

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

UFC putting together a mega-card for May 9th in Florida. They think they'll get clearance from Florida's dopey governor to stage the fight there. I'm sure a lot can and will happen between now and then .. or maybe not? Remi, help us out here.

According to The Weasel, we're getting 3 championship fights

1. Ferguson vs. Gaethje (Interim Lightweight belt)

2. Cejudo vs. Cruz, (Bantamweight belt_

3. Nunez vs. Felicia Spencer (Women's Lightweight belt)

Watch on YouTube

The card's pretty stacked but a lot of the fights feel like back-up plans including the main and co-main. Nunes vs Spencer is only interesting in so much as Spencer ate a ton of punches from Cyborg and kept coming forward, so she'll have the Homer Simpson hope of tiring Nunes out and finishing her when she's gassed. I'm still more hype for Ngannou vs Rozenstruik and Luque vs Price than most of the other fights.

The big question of, "is this one really happening" is up in the air to me. It seems like that's more politics than anything with DeSantis being pretty nuts about what is essential business, I'd say there's a real shot. Then again, with the way the numbers work on COVID spread, it's pretty unpredictable until we get closer to the fight date.

I'll say this...this is a better strategy than trying to get on Tribal Land under a governor's nose or trying to figure out the logistics of owning an island and putting on a show.

[HarthorneWingo]

UFC putting together a mega-card for May 9th in Florida. They think they'll get clearance from Florida's dopey governor to stage the fight there. I'm sure a lot can and will happen between now and then .. or maybe not? Remi, help us out here.

According to The Weasel, we're getting 3 championship fights

1. Ferguson vs. Gaethje (Interim Lightweight belt)

2. Cejudo vs. Cruz, (Bantamweight belt_

3. Nunez vs. Felicia Spencer (Women's Lightweight belt)

Watch on YouTube

The card's pretty stacked but a lot of the fights feel like back-up plans including the main and co-main. Nunes vs Spencer is only interesting in so much as Spencer ate a ton of punches from Cyborg and kept coming forward, so she'll have the Homer Simpson hope of tiring Nunes out and finishing her when she's gassed. I'm still more hype for Ngannou vs Rozenstruik and Luque vs Price than most of the other fights.

The big question of, "is this one really happening" is up in the air to me. It seems like that's more politics than anything with DeSantis being pretty nuts about what is essential business, I'd say there's a real shot. Then again, with the way the numbers work on COVID spread, it's pretty unpredictable until we get closer to the fight date.

I'll say this...this is a better strategy than trying to get on Tribal Land under a governor's nose or trying to figure out the logistics of owning an island and putting on a show.

Haha, yeah. I’m also very interested in those same fights you mentioned. With Vince McMahon and Dana White, now top advisors to the President of the United States, I have more faith it will happen this time. I’m sure Florida Gov. and part-time epidemiologist, Ron DeSantis, will throw his hat in the ring for the right price.

On the card, does Spencer have any shot by getting Nunez to the ground?

[j4remi]

Haha, yeah. I’m also very interested in those same fights you mentioned. With Vince McMahon and Dana White, now top advisors to the President of the United States, I have more faith it will happen this time. I’m sure Florida Gov. and part-time epidemiologist, Ron DeSantis, will throw his hat in the ring for the right price.

On the card, does Spencer have any shot by getting Nunez to the ground?

Honestly, I don't see it happening. But it's worth mentioning that Cyborg hit the woman with everything she had for 3 rounds and couldn't get a stoppage. Spencer makes up for technical holes with pure toughness and really has looked slick on the ground. I'm not the biggest Megan Anderson fan, but she's no pushover either and Spencer got a choke inside of one round vs Megan.

The thing is, Amanda Nunes vs a fighter who has poor striking defense? I'm still shell shocked from Irene Aldana taking off Ketlen Vieira's head to see a power puncher vs poor striking grappler match-up and get excited. The very slim shot requires Spencer to maintain pace and pressure without getting KO'ed. Nunes' gas tank is average at best because of her explosive movement, so she has to pace herself or finish. If Spencer can survive 2 rounds without being completely punch-drunk, then it has a chance to be interesting.

That's hard to predict with a fighter who has never been knocked out fighting at 145...partially because we don't know her limit and partially because 145 is too limited to really glean all that much. Cyborg for 3 rounds is impressive though.

[j4remi]

We got a MMA focused episode of my podcast up with frequent guest and Muay Thai instructor Joe from 8 Venoms Muay Thai on the line. It's broken into three parts, 20 minutes or so each.

Part One - We talked to Joe about what he's doing to make ends meet while the school is closed. What the outlook is for 8 Venoms when they get back (lots of cancelled memberships right now after 6 straight months of growth). Then we talked about whether or not all this craziness will inspire more people to take a few classes and learn to defend themselves.

Part Two - We were supposed to do a mini-game but a technical issue left us talking UFC for this whole section. We started on Anthony Smith's break-in experience and what it must be like to realize you just broke into a UFC title contender's home. Then we discuss Ferguson vs Gaethje for a good chunk of Joe's evaluation. We move to the fights that were supposed to happen; Ferguson/Khabib and Conor/Gaethje. We ask how much can you really evaluate Conor off the Cowboy fight?

And then after getting Joe worked up with his frustration over Cowboy, I bring up Cejudo vs Cruz. That's a fight we're both pissed about and then we discuss what the state of the division would be for Cruz to come in to a title fight with his last fight being a loss in 2016.

Part Three - Still on the martial arts kick but on a fun tip. We got the technical issues fixed and played a game of "name that action movie" based on the movie theme songs. Joe goes up against Jhan to see who can name the movie first. We close out on a segment that our listeners like, Movie-Director-Cast. One person picks a movie to remake, next guy picks a new director for it and the last guy picks a new cast for our remake. We start off with a remake of Double-Team the Van Damme and Rodman movie

I think it's a dope episode for MMA heads and action movie fans too.

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-fans-perspective/e/68909708?autoplay=true

[HarthorneWingo]

Nunes-Spencer is canceled. Nunes wants a full camp and is taking Spencer very seriously. Knows she has a strong chin and great cardio. Hmmm? Anyhow, not a good start.

[j4remi]

Nunes-Spencer is canceled. Nunes wants a full camp and is taking Spencer very seriously. Knows she has a strong chin and great cardio. Hmmm? Anyhow, not a good start.

That's the one thing Nunes has to worry about, the chin and cardio. I respect her decision not to do a short camp and I'd respect anyone who refuses to fight for fear of the COVID situation. Did you see this story just drop? UFC's first positive for Corona fighter came forward and it's Lyman Good.

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/04/lyman-good-first-active-ufc-fighter-coronavirus-diagnosis

Ironically, since this is the Jersey scene, I know people that have kicked it with these guys and even gone by the gym. So when I say this story hits close to home, I mean literally.

[HarthorneWingo]

Nunes-Spencer is canceled. Nunes wants a full camp and is taking Spencer very seriously. Knows she has a strong chin and great cardio. Hmmm? Anyhow, not a good start.

That's the one thing Nunes has to worry about, the chin and cardio. I respect her decision not to do a short camp and I'd respect anyone who refuses to fight for fear of the COVID situation. Did you see this story just drop? UFC's first positive for Corona fighter came forward and it's Lyman Good.

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/04/lyman-good-first-active-ufc-fighter-coronavirus-diagnosis

Ironically, since this is the Jersey scene, I know people that have kicked it with these guys and even gone by the gym. So when I say this story hits close to home, I mean literally.

Wow. Aren't Jimmy Rivera and Frankie Edgar also from North Jersey?

I hear you on the short camp. I want to see championship fights with both fighters at their best with full training camps. I can wait. I heard that congressman Ro Khanna (Dem. CA) is putting together legislation for a $2,000/mo. UBI to every adult until this is over.

Did Rose back out due to her family members getting COVID or did she?

[j4remi]

Wow. Aren't Jimmy Rivera and Frankie Edgar also from North Jersey?

I hear you on the short camp. I want to see championship fights with both fighters at their best with full training camps. I can wait. I heard that congressman Ro Khanna (Dem. CA) is putting together legislation for a $2,000/mo. UBI to every adult until this is over.

Did Rose back out due to her family members getting COVID or did she?

Rivera's North Jersey, same gym I believe (a girl I dated back in college hit me up years later because she'd known him since high school and he was gaining traction, so I was ahead of the curve on recognizing he'd make some noise).

Khanna and Ryan proposed 2K a month; we also have Tlaib and Jayapal who propose the same but also include one year of 1K a month after the crisis has passed. Unfortunately, I don't think Pelosi would even force the Republicans to block an idea like that but I like those proposals a lot.

As far as I know, Rose didn't catch it but she did lose 2 or more family members to COVID. I haven't followed up on the story since her team put an explanation out on instagram.

[j4remi]

Watch on YouTube

Main take aways:
- May 13th and 16th cards are pretty damned good. I'm still in "believe it when I see it" mode, but some of the fights they have booked are really hype.

- Yadong vs Vera and Hill vs Gadelha are my favorites of the bunch. Ige vs Barboza is pretty crazy too. OSP vs Rothwell...kinda weird, could be a lot of fun.

- I'm also looking forward to Walt Harris' return, hard not to root hard for the guy after what his family's just been through and he was on the verge of breaking through when he left. Overeem is a really big test though.

- Woodley is likely to headline May 23rd's card according to White. Very interesting because he has been going at it with a bunch of fighters recently, my pick of the bunch would be Covington.

- The other really interesting future reference was Masvidal. Dana White said they have something interesting that he wants to talk to Masvidal's team about and it would have to be bigger than a title shot to justify the booking...I can count those opponents on one hand with fingers to spare.

[HarthorneWingo]

Watch on YouTube

Main take aways:
- May 13th and 16th cards are pretty damned good. I'm still in "believe it when I see it" mode, but some of the fights they have booked are really hype.

- Yadong vs Vera and Hill vs Gadelha are my favorites of the bunch. Ige vs Barboza is pretty crazy too. OSP vs Rothwell...kinda weird, could be a lot of fun.

- I'm also looking forward to Walt Harris' return, hard not to root hard for the guy after what his family's just been through and he was on the verge of breaking through when he left. Overeem is a really big test though.

- Woodley is likely to headline May 23rd's card according to White. Very interesting because he has been going at it with a bunch of fighters recently, my pick of the bunch would be Covington.

- The other really interesting future reference was Masvidal. Dana White said they have something interesting that he wants to talk to Masvidal's team about and it would have to be bigger than a title shot to justify the booking...I can count those opponents on one hand with fingers to spare.

Any news on Thug Rose? Also, will all of these be PPVs? I'm dying for some live sports.

[j4remi]

Any news on Thug Rose? Also, will all of these be PPVs? I'm dying for some live sports.

I believe these two will be free. 249 that kicks things off is PPV, but everything after that is ESPN up until June 6th. No updates on Rose yet, unfortunately.

[HarthorneWingo]

Any news on Thug Rose? Also, will all of these be PPVs? I'm dying for some live sports.

I believe these two will be free. 249 that kicks things off is PPV, but everything after that is ESPN up until June 6th. No updates on Rose yet, unfortunately.

Ha, Rose knows

She's not taking any chances with this thing until she sees how things work out first. That's what mindfulness and meditation will do for someone. Patience.

I wonder if Dana will retaliate against her or any other fighter who is trepidatious about human contact until tests are perfected and done.

[j4remi]

Ha, Rose knows

She's not taking any chances with this thing until she sees how things work out first. That's what mindfulness and meditation will do for someone. Patience.

I wonder if Dana will retaliate against her or any other fighter who is trepidatious about human contact until tests are perfected and done.

I really hope Dana plays it cool on this. One promising thing from that interview is that he said, there are some fighters who have been asking for fights but admitting they'll have trouble with weight cuts. Dana said he's telling them to wait until they can get a camp together that can at least help them not have to fight at catch weights (paraphrasing). Considering how badly this could blow up if it backfires, I'll put my hopes in the UFC practicing extra caution and holding no grudges...but we'll see.

[j4remi]

Watch on YouTube

Great way to capture why I stan the guy. He does things that are completely unorthodox and sometimes plain reckless but there's a method to the madness. Everything, no matter how wild it looks, is done with intention. I also think the notes on his ground game illustrate the main reasons that I feel like he could give Khabib problems. He doesn't rely on the cage for stand-ups; if you hang on to a takedown attempt, he forces you off balance with chokes; and his ability to grapple with his legs should make Khabib's grapevine and wrist control combination more challenging to set up or hold.

I said it on the last podcast I posted, but I actually think Gaethje has a more troublesome skillset for Ferguson's style of fighting than Khabib. The way Khabib imposes his will run head on into Tony's counter tactics and it'll be a lot of fun finding out whose style wins out. Gaethje could be the guy to ruin that because of his combination of cardio, wrestling and power striking...On a style basis, I think Gaethje matches up better with Khabib and Tony than he does a sniping power puncher like Conor or Dustin.