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

[bringbackhoffa]

Would want to see

Usman vs Edwards.

Colby vs Tyron for number 1 contendership

Masvidal is going to stick with money fights if he knows what's good for business

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

What did you think of The Irishman?

It was good a little long but tough too see many scenes that could of potentially been cut. Thought Pesci killed it even though he said very few words, his facial expressions and mannerisms made every scene he was in awesome. Pacino was a great Hoffa but found him a bit over the top in some scenes but that's to be expected from Pacino.

But still do not believe this to be the true story on Hoffa disappearance.

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[Stannis]

THANK YOU, USMAN

**** MAGA

Usman is more American than Colby will ever be.

[newyorker4ever]

THANK YOU, USMAN

**** MAGA

Usman is more American than Colby will ever be.

Well that's a ignorant thing to say since it's not even close to the truth.

[HarthorneWingo]

THANK YOU, USMAN

**** MAGA

Usman is more American than Colby will ever be.

Well that's a ignorant thing to say since it's not even close to the truth.

"And. Here. We. Go."

Well, when you hate the very people upon whose back this country was built, literally, I would say that there's a point to be made.

[newyorker4ever]

Read on Twitter

[newyorker4ever]

Usman is more American than Colby will ever be.

Well that's a ignorant thing to say since it's not even close to the truth.

"And. Here. We. Go."

Well, when you hate the very people upon whose back this country was built, literally, I would say that there's a point to be made.

Usman raises his Nigerian flag everywhere he goes and Colby is all about America and raises an American flag everywhere he goes.

It's an absolute ignorant thing to even think Usman is more American then Colby and actually quite funny that people hate Colby so much that they'd actually think that to be true.

[HarthorneWingo]

Read on Twitter

I agree that the first two rounds where close but then Usman broke Colby's jaw and his body attack on Covington began addicting up and taking its toll and wearing him down. I will still give Colby credit for fighting like a warrior though. He threw some great combinations even in the championship rounds but Usman was too much for him.

[newyorker4ever]

Read on Twitter

I agree that the first two rounds where close but then Usman broke Colby's jaw and his body attack on Covington began addicting up and taking its toll and wearing him down. I will still give Colby credit for fighting like a warrior though. He threw some great combinations even in the championship rounds but Usman was too much for him.

I saw the fight 2-2 going into the 5th round and until the last minute i had Colby winning the 5th round. Colby hit Usman with more head shots that legit stunned/hurt Usman but Usman beat his body up. I do think the fight should not have been stopped cause Colby was still grabbing for a leg which means he was still working. How you gonna stop such a close championship fight with under a minute left in the 5th round? Either way it was a great night of fights.

[HarthorneWingo]

Read on Twitter

I agree that the first two rounds where close but then Usman broke Colby's jaw and his body attack on Covington began addicting up and taking its toll and wearing him down. I will still give Colby credit for fighting like a warrior though. He threw some great combinations even in the championship rounds but Usman was too much for him.

I saw the fight 2-2 going into the 5th round and until the last minute i had Colby winning the 5th round. Colby hit Usman with more head shots that legit stunned/hurt Usman but Usman beat his body up. I do think the fight should not have been stopped cause Colby was still grabbing for a leg which means he was still working. How you gonna stop such a close championship fight with under a minute left in the 5th round? Either way it was a great night of fights.

Ok, you saw it the way you saw it. I'm not gonna argue with you about it.

[HarthorneWingo]

Watch on YouTube

[newyorker4ever]

I agree that the first two rounds where close but then Usman broke Colby's jaw and his body attack on Covington began addicting up and taking its toll and wearing him down. I will still give Colby credit for fighting like a warrior though. He threw some great combinations even in the championship rounds but Usman was too much for him.

I saw the fight 2-2 going into the 5th round and until the last minute i had Colby winning the 5th round. Colby hit Usman with more head shots that legit stunned/hurt Usman but Usman beat his body up. I do think the fight should not have been stopped cause Colby was still grabbing for a leg which means he was still working. How you gonna stop such a close championship fight with under a minute left in the 5th round? Either way it was a great night of fights.

Ok, you saw it the way you saw it. I'm not gonna argue with you about it.

Yeah there wouldn't be any sense in it cause i think i'm a pretty good and fair judge when i say how i see fights. I think everyone will see it their own way just like the actual judges of the fight all had different opinions on how they saw it. To those 3 the 5th round was gonna decide the winner of that fight.

[Stannis]

I'm not sure how that one judge had it going 3-1 for Usman?

Anyways, I had like 1-3 for Colby, but all close rounds in a very even fight.

You guys think there was a chance the last round was a 10-8 if the ref let it continue?

I think Usman wins anyways if the fight continued. It was pretty even up to that point. Then Usman puts him on the canvas twice. And he would have kept going for that last minute. Colby was done. There's a good chance the last round was a 10-8, which would mean a MD for Usman. If it was just a 10-9, it would still be a SD for him (according to the judge scorecards).

It wasn't a bad stoppage, imo. Colby didn't have any grips on Usman's legs. He was pretty defenseless in a turtle position. But it was just one of those things.... Like "Colby fought this long with a broken jaw, he could have lasted another 1 minute". But people forget refs have a job and responsibility too. Once a fighter allows easy blows and can't defend, it has to be stopped. The ref can't let the fight continue if he thinks a fighter is just going to be taking headshots for another minute.

However, I do feel Colby had reason to be upset about the timeout for the belt-line kick. It wasn't a low blow at all, imo.

[newyorker4ever]

I'm not sure how that one judge had it going 3-1 for Usman?

Anyways, I had like 1-3 for Colby, but all close rounds in a very even fight.

You guys think there was a chance the last round was a 10-8 if the ref let it continue?

I think Usman wins anyways if the fight continued. It was pretty even up to that point. Then Usman puts him on the canvas twice. And he would have kept going for that last minute. Colby was done. There's a good chance the last round was a 10-8, which would mean a MD for Usman. If it was just a 10-9, it would still be a SD for him (according to the judge scorecards).

It wasn't a bad stoppage, imo. Colby didn't have any grips on Usman's legs. He was pretty defenseless in a turtle position. But it was just one of those things.... Like "Colby fought this long with a broken jaw, he could have lasted another 1 minute". But people forget refs have a job and responsibility too. Once a fighter allows easy blows and can't defend, it has to be stopped. The ref can't let the fight continue if he thinks a fighter is just going to be taking headshots for another minute.

However, I do feel Colby had reason to be upset about the timeout for the belt-line kick. It wasn't a low blow at all, imo.

There's absolutely no way that 5th round was a 10-8 round up until the Knock downs. It was a very even 5th round up to that point.

[Stannis]

I'm not sure how that one judge had it going 3-1 for Usman?

Anyways, I had like 1-3 for Colby, but all close rounds in a very even fight.

You guys think there was a chance the last round was a 10-8 if the ref let it continue?

I think Usman wins anyways if the fight continued. It was pretty even up to that point. Then Usman puts him on the canvas twice. And he would have kept going for that last minute. Colby was done. There's a good chance the last round was a 10-8, which would mean a MD for Usman. If it was just a 10-9, it would still be a SD for him (according to the judge scorecards).

It wasn't a bad stoppage, imo. Colby didn't have any grips on Usman's legs. He was pretty defenseless in a turtle position. But it was just one of those things.... Like "Colby fought this long with a broken jaw, he could have lasted another 1 minute". But people forget refs have a job and responsibility too. Once a fighter allows easy blows and can't defend, it has to be stopped. The ref can't let the fight continue if he thinks a fighter is just going to be taking headshots for another minute.

However, I do feel Colby had reason to be upset about the timeout for the belt-line kick. It wasn't a low blow at all, imo.

There's absolutely no way that 5th round was a 10-8 round up until the Knock downs. It was a very even 5th round up to that point.

Even if he continues to pound him for another minute?

[newyorker4ever]

I'm not sure how that one judge had it going 3-1 for Usman?

Anyways, I had like 1-3 for Colby, but all close rounds in a very even fight.

You guys think there was a chance the last round was a 10-8 if the ref let it continue?

I think Usman wins anyways if the fight continued. It was pretty even up to that point. Then Usman puts him on the canvas twice. And he would have kept going for that last minute. Colby was done. There's a good chance the last round was a 10-8, which would mean a MD for Usman. If it was just a 10-9, it would still be a SD for him (according to the judge scorecards).

It wasn't a bad stoppage, imo. Colby didn't have any grips on Usman's legs. He was pretty defenseless in a turtle position. But it was just one of those things.... Like "Colby fought this long with a broken jaw, he could have lasted another 1 minute". But people forget refs have a job and responsibility too. Once a fighter allows easy blows and can't defend, it has to be stopped. The ref can't let the fight continue if he thinks a fighter is just going to be taking headshots for another minute.

However, I do feel Colby had reason to be upset about the timeout for the belt-line kick. It wasn't a low blow at all, imo.

There's absolutely no way that 5th round was a 10-8 round up until the Knock downs. It was a very even 5th round up to that point.

Even if he continues to pound him for another minute?

Yes. You won't get awarded a 10-8 round unless it's a total domination for at the very least 4 minutes of the 5. That fight was very much even for me for the first 4 minutes.

[j4remi]

I had it 2-2 heading into the fifth. I thought Usman was clearly the overall leader thanks to his power but that Colby did enough to take the 4th and had the first two rounds debatable. So 3-1 either way wasn't bad to me, but a stretch. I've gotta see if I can find any comments from Colby or his team about why he didn't even attempt to wrestle, especially once the jaw was broken. But either way, as a sucker for body work, I'm really impressed with how Usman worked the snap kick to the body and those uppercuts. I think the snap kick is especially underrated; it was a staple of early Conor fights (especially the Mendes fight) and one of his most easily replicable techniques imo.

Anyway, if I had to wager, I'm always taking Kamaru. I think DC was spot on in saying Usman was just the better striker technique wise. Colby's volume is tricky and he landed some beautiful punches but he trades power for volume and sometimes his hips just don't lead into the punch. To put it another way, watch Colby's over hands that caught Usman on the jaw and then compare Usman's uppercuts to the body. The weight behind those blows comes down to torque.

On the stoppage aspect, I welcome the stoppage while admitting it was early (not the first time I've been cool with an early stoppage). Colby's jaw was severely damaged and the first knockdown decided the fight, the second one showed that Colby was still reeling. He was intelligently defending himself but he was also sorta in no man's land. I respect a fighter's right to go out on his shield, but cutting your losses could add years to your career and possibly even life (CTE and all). So I'm cool with that.

What's next for Kamaru and Colby? Listen, I've said this 1000 times...I want Wonderboy in the mix with both these guys. So Colby vs Wonderboy would be my ideal fight for Covington. The more obvious choice is Leon Edwards though, a fighter on the verge of a title shot but who already lost to Usman and needs a real exclamation point win. Masvidal would be a huge get for Usman but I could picture Jorge chasing money fights right now. Nick Diaz and Conor Mcgregor are HUGE pay days and Masvidal can't afford to lose if he wants to cash one of those in.

Quick hot takes from the rest of the card:
- I think Max wins a rematch and I realize there's not much evidence to support the assertion from the fight but...Max realized late that he had to close distance to take away the leg kicks and he was finding some success. I also don't think he was prepared for the leg kick frequency, it forced a midfight stance change where Volk looked his best. But even with that, Volkanovski always seems like he's fighting to win rounds not fights. It's a great strategy and can keep you sharp, but I loath fighters that are risk averse to that extent (ironic since I'm always hyping Wonderboy I know, but he has low key finisher sentiments).

- Nunes has now beaten every other female to hold a belt at 135 and 145. Shields would be a nice pay day bu the fights don't make sense in either sport. Shields smokes Amanda boxing and has 6 years less grappling training than GDR who went out without being able to stop a takedown at all. Aldana is basically what's left and I think it might be too soon for her, but that's what a cleaned out division does. We saw this with Mighty Mouse.

- How about the Aldo/Moraes controversy? I actually scored it for Marlon but had a soft bet on Aldo by decision that woulda paid out beautifully. So I'm upset but not for the same reason everyone else was. It wasn't a robbery, just a tough close fight.

- Yan vs Sterling should happen. They're the cream of the crop and I hope my massive hyping of Yan before this one got all of your attention!

- Geoff Neal vs Vicente Luque...tell me you wouldn't love that?

- Also, Gilbert Burns is the most intriguing WW to me right now. He just looks like a new fighter at WW, packs a ton of power in his striking and is truly elite on the ground (ADCC bronze medalist in the 77 kg bracket one year). In a division where the top two are good but not great strikers who look great due to takedown threats, if he can keep climbing he'll become the most interesting skillset test...this isn't Demian Maia, Burns can throw. Maybe a fight with Ponzinibbio for him would be good, set him up to chase Colby or Usman after.

[j4remi]

Side note and full Max stannery admitted, I was massively curious about the reasons why the UFC broadcast kept showing sig. strikes and strikes landed but failed to show totals to head, body, legs; Volkanovski landed 157 of 303 strikes to Max's 134 of 303...BUT...75 of Volk's strikes landed were leg kicks to 17 from Max.

Max outlanded Alex 85 to 67 on strikes to head and 32 to 15 on strikes to the body. That's 117 to 72 on head and body strikes landed.

Look, I'm not bringing this up to say Max won. He lost, that was pretty clear. But I HATE how much gas the mma community is feeding that performance. I've seen a good chunk of mma twitter saying there's no need for an immediate rematch. Max had damn near cleaned out the division before he even won the belt, beat the division's GOAT TWICE, by STOPPAGE and then defended again with an undefeated opponent. Let him have a second shot at it and let's see if he can crowd out the kicks or come up with a counter.

Also, a 45 strike discrepancy to the head and body usually beats out leg kicks but Max lacking the power never gets scored as much as other guys. I felt like people downplayed how competitive the Poirier fight was also.

[HarthorneWingo]

I understand that the punch that broke Colby's jaw occurred while Colby's mouth was open, a big no-no as I understand it. He was probably trash talking when he caught it. lol

Even Colby seemed to know that his jaw would get broken. Look, he's even pointing at it.

[newyorker4ever]

I understand that the punch that broke Colby's jaw occurred while Colby's mouth was open, a big no-no as I understand it. He was probably trash talking when he caught it. lol

Even Colby seemed to know that his jaw would get broken. Look, he's even pointing at it.

The guy still fought and stood up with Usman for 2 1/2 rounds with a broken jaw which is crazy.

I like that in the Usman vs Colby, Max vs Volk and the Aldo vs Moraes fight that any of the decisions could of gone either way and i could agree with the decision. That's of course me only talking about 4 1/2 rounds of the Usman vs Colby fight. I couldn't say how many rounds out of the 12 full rounds in those 3 fights that me and my buddies were saying how that's a tough round to judge cause there were so many close rounds in those 3 fights. Great night of fights. I did think Aldo won his fight cause after the first round, which i do think Moraes won, i thought Aldo took the last two rounds but i don't mind it going to Moraes cause i do think he did enough. Just seemed like Moraes gassed out after that first round. He was still throwing some hard punches and kicks but he definitely slowed down after the 1st round and Aldo was putting some serious aggressive pressure on him.

[HarthorneWingo]

I understand that the punch that broke Colby's jaw occurred while Colby's mouth was open, a big no-no as I understand it. He was probably trash talking when he caught it. lol

Even Colby seemed to know that his jaw would get broken. Look, he's even pointing at it.

The guy still fought and stood up with Usman for 2 1/2 rounds with a broken jaw which is crazy.

I like that in the Usman vs Colby, Max vs Volk and the Aldo vs Moraes fight that any of the decisions could of gone either way and i could agree with the decision. That's of course me only talking about 4 1/2 rounds of the Usman vs Colby fight. I couldn't say how many rounds out of the 12 full rounds in those 3 fights that me and my buddies were saying how that's a tough round to judge cause there were so many close rounds in those 3 fights. Great night of fights. I did think Aldo won his fight cause after the first round, which i do think Moraes won, i thought Aldo took the last two rounds but i don't mind it going to Moraes cause i do think he did enough. Just seemed like Moraes gassed out after that first round. He was still throwing some hard punches and kicks but he definitely slowed down after the 1st round and Aldo was putting some serious aggressive pressure on him.

"I prefer that my fighters don't get their jaws broken, ok? Very disappointed. Sad."