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What's good fam. You can find the part one thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1490725

For newcomers, we have a nice crew of MMA heads here and this is our spot to talk about the news and upcoming fights; make predictions and talk about combat sports overall (boxing heads, welcomed).

On the docket this week, we've got a potential FotY candidate. Justin Gaethje who has won a performance award every fight out is meeting Edson Barboza who is elite as they come as a striker. These guys are fairly predictable and that's why it's safe to predict an epic bout, highlight reel finish or both. Gaethje presses forward with hands up and chin down (Mike Tyson Peek-A-Boo style). Sometimes we say a fighter plays pitch and catch but Gaethje plays catch and catch. Your strike hit's him while you're moving backwards and with only forehead to hit; Gaethje throws back and closes on a leg kick. Barboza meanwhile is incredibly fast and technically gifted but can be a victim of poor awareness, backing into the cage and being cornered. So we have style foils that should lead to a LOT of exchanges from two of the best in the UFC’s toughest division to survive in. I think Gaethje takes it in another war of attrition but Barboza could catch him…the thing is Gaethje’s chin is so good that to catch him, Barboza will need to hit something epic.

On top of that, Michael Johnson is back and finally finding his footing at 145 with 2 straight wins. He’s up against Josh Emmett who KO’ed Ricardo Lamas and got up to the top 5 in the division before Jeremy Stephens slept him. The winner of this will be in a good place to catch one of the fighters in the top ten since there’s been a lot of movement. With Max moving up, everyone will be jockeying for fights that put them in the title shot short list.

Karate Hottie Michelle Waterson is one of the most likeable fighters in MMA and she’s fight equally beloved Karolina Kowalkiewicz. It feels like ESPN has been getting pretty girl fights on purpose but this one has technical talent through the roof. Waterson’s a bit undersized but a great striker especially when she’s in distance to kick. Karolina is one of the best clinch strikers in the division and has a muay thai ability that saw her knockdown Joanna when she was the unstoppable champion. This ought to be a fun striking match but if Waterson can get it to the ground, she’s got a real edge. That said, to get there, she’ll have to risk clinching with Karolina which is where current champion Rose Namajunas took her last career loss.

And the sleeper is Sheymon Moraes vs Sodiq Yusuff. Two great young prospects but with crazy stopping power and toughness. The winner here should be lining up a top 15 opportunity with a convincing victory.

On the undercard is Pearson vs Green, two vets that we can all respect. While the early prelims have my boy Ray Borg rocking. Borg had to pull out of his last fight because glass got in his eye during the Conor dolly incident. Since then, his newborn son required multiple heart surgeries that kept him out of the octagon. That means his last fight was against Mighty Mouse where he lost to the infamous suplex into an arm bar. But he got to that title fight by being scrappy, great in scrambles and a quality wrestler. Given how much he’s been through, I’m pulling for this guy.

Other news worth discussing, TJ popped…what’s next for the 135 lbs belt and the 155 division is going through some chaos with a champ that won’t fight, a superstar that’s trashing everyone but won’t sign to fight anyone and the guy with the best resume had what appears to be a mental breakdown (potentially CTE related). I want to dive into all of that but Max vs Poirier is going to be key in the direction we go next.

And also; Pettis just KO’ed Wonderboy which Whitaker, Woodley, Till, MacDonald and Masvidal all failed to accomplish to name a few. It was a great show of ring craft from a fighter that was struggling and down. So Welterweight has a lot of interesting developments now with Masvidal and Pettis scoring major knock outs over top five ranked fighters and Usman dethroning Woodley. On that same card Curtis Blaydes made a statement to bounce back from his Ngannou loss as well.

Sidenote: I have a feeling we’ll get a podcast up for the next PPV with Max vs Poirier but that’s a couple weeks out so we’ll focus on the big fights up next.

Jack Slack is CLUTCH for fight break downs and he's started dropping these filthy casual's guides that are quick five minute primers on fighters that I've really enjoyed. All the key habits with some humor mixed in for you. Gaethje vs Barboza hype continues.

And Mcgregor called it an MMA career. @remi Do you think he will come back for a second time?

Conor’s coming back if he’s not in jail. There are those whoho really believe that he’s done. He doesn’t have the anger and drive anymore.

1. He’s set financially
2. He’s got a child with probably more coming
3. His time is occupied now with that piskey he’s peddling; and
4. He's being investigated for sexual assault

matchman wrote:And Mcgregor called it an MMA career. @remi Do you think he will come back for a second time?

I honestly can't make heads or tails of the mess right now. We have the sexual assault allegations and investigation which I haven't seen enough information on to actually speculate on. If he comes out of that innocent, I could see a good chance of him returning for a big pay day fight (Nate basically). He sounded enthusiastic about coming back just last week and some of his training suggested to me that he was prepping to return (rolling with Carneiro a couple of times for example).

So my guess based on the signs from his trash talk, training and public appearances are that he was getting ready for at least a one fight comeback and that the allegations have interrupted that. That would lead me to assuming he'll try for one more return if he comes out unscathed.

Gaethje vs Edson?

I'm a little worried for Justin in this one. Ever since entering the UFC he's had mixed results to put it nicely. The guy loves to be in phone booth fights and just bite down and throw a high volume of punches. The problem is he hasn't been utilizing his wrestling/grappling ability (which is actually very good,) and decides to throw caution to the wind in his fights and go for the KO.

I'm still trying to figure out if he's more of a low IQ /punching bag type at this stage in his career. This is a very dangerous fight for him given Barboza's elite striking ability- he's probably one of the best strikers in any division in the UFC. He's been in some tough wars recently (he got ragdolled by Khabib a few years ago in a one sided drubbing,) but if he has a decent amount left in the tank he should more than likely KO Justin inside 2 or 3 rounds.

If Justin was ever to employ his grappling skills in a fight, this is the fight to do it in. He needs to take Barboza to the mat and sap his energy.

Cookies4Life wrote:I'm a little worried for Justin in this one. Ever since entering the UFC he's had mixed results to put it nicely. The guy loves to be in phone booth fights and just bite down and throw a high volume of punches. The problem is he hasn't been utilizing his wrestling/grappling ability (which is actually very good,) and decides to throw caution to the wind in his fights and go for the KO.

I'm still trying to figure out if he's more of a low IQ /punching bag type at this stage in his career. This is a very dangerous fight for him given Barboza's elite striking ability- he's probably one of the best strikers in any division in the UFC. He's been in some tough wars recently (he got ragdolled by Khabib a few years ago in a one sided drubbing,) but if he has a decent amount left in the tank he should more than likely KO Justin inside 2 or 3 rounds.

If Justin was ever to employ his grappling skills in a fight, this is the fight to do it in. He needs to take Barboza to the mat and sap his energy.

It's crazy to think about how Gaethje's style made him a star but is also probably holding him back since he's always gonna go for the fire fight (kinda like Cody Garbrandt lately). I think the result of this fight comes down to how Barboza responds to leg kicks. If Barboza can counter high, I could see Gaethje getting KO'ed but Edson may go into trading mode because he whips his kicks so fast...I'm rooting for that because I have no clue who folds first. The brute force willpower of Gaethje or the technical marvels of Barboza. Edson's ringcraft though and habit of backing into the cage could become a major advantage for that brute force style. I'm leaning toward Gaethje wearing down Barboza, but Edson fighting smart could tune Gaethje up. Not Dan Hooker beatdown bad, but in a similar vein.

Yeah, this dude Jon Jones is really trying to get himself the best match-ups available is what it looks like. I'm loving this approach. Hopefully we have no more mishaps and get to watch who I feel is the GOAT in action for a long time going forward.



Justin Gaethje is horrifying. Barboza has fought all the sociopaths the division can offer though...he's used to this. Check this madness fam! Testimony from people who've felt the leg kicks from these two.

http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/26366136/morphine-misery-aftermath-barboza-gaethje-leg-kicks?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true

Melendez on Barboza:

A leg kick from someone like Edson Barboza is taking a bat to your leg. Imagine a hard, bony shin from a beast of a man just going right into your thigh and hitting that nerve. That's no good. It's like taking a wooden bat to your thigh. That's what it feels like.

Poirier on Gaethje:

He doesn't care about what's next. He doesn't care about keeping himself safe. Most fighters try to protect themselves or try to set their kicks up with punches or try to get out of the way after. Because you do that, you put 80 percent or you put 50 percent on the kicks or you can have a Plan B after your kick lands. He's only focused on landing that kick and it's 100 percent every time.

My quad is partially torn because of him. I had to do a lot of physical therapy. I didn't know it in the fight, but I knew it the night of and the next morning. He tore my quad. I'm trying to think of another time I've been seriously damaged with kicks. Jim Miller hurt my calf really good, but nothing like that.

Rafaello Oliveira Barboza:

You can take it for the first two, three or four, but after that? Your body can't take it. Everything is just so painful. In all of my fights, that is what hurt the most -- those leg kicks.

Cobb on Gaethje:

Going in there against someone like Justin, whose sole purpose is to dismantle you, attacking something that is one of the weakest parts of your body, is probably not going to work out real well. You're not going to get a workout partner who is going to throw it like he throws it. You're never going to be able to prepare for it until you're actually in there with him.

j4remi wrote:

Read on Twitter

Yeah, this dude Jon Jones is really trying to get himself the best match-ups available is what it looks like. I'm loving this approach. Hopefully we have no more mishaps and get to watch who I feel is the GOAT in action for a long time going forward.

Read on Twitter

Justin Gaethje is horrifying. Barboza has fought all the sociopaths the division can offer though...he's used to this. Check this madness fam! Testimony from people who've felt the leg kicks from these two.

http://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/26366136/morphine-misery-aftermath-barboza-gaethje-leg-kicks?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true

Melendez on Barboza:

A leg kick from someone like Edson Barboza is taking a bat to your leg. Imagine a hard, bony shin from a beast of a man just going right into your thigh and hitting that nerve. That's no good. It's like taking a wooden bat to your thigh. That's what it feels like.

Poirier on Gaethje:

He doesn't care about what's next. He doesn't care about keeping himself safe. Most fighters try to protect themselves or try to set their kicks up with punches or try to get out of the way after. Because you do that, you put 80 percent or you put 50 percent on the kicks or you can have a Plan B after your kick lands. He's only focused on landing that kick and it's 100 percent every time.

My quad is partially torn because of him. I had to do a lot of physical therapy. I didn't know it in the fight, but I knew it the night of and the next morning. He tore my quad. I'm trying to think of another time I've been seriously damaged with kicks. Jim Miller hurt my calf really good, but nothing like that.

Rafaello Oliveira Barboza:

You can take it for the first two, three or four, but after that? Your body can't take it. Everything is just so painful. In all of my fights, that is what hurt the most -- those leg kicks.

Cobb on Gaethje:

Going in there against someone like Justin, whose sole purpose is to dismantle you, attacking something that is one of the weakest parts of your body, is probably not going to work out real well. You're not going to get a workout partner who is going to throw it like he throws it. You're never going to be able to prepare for it until you're actually in there with him.

Let's face it, unless it's Gus or DC, there's nobody at LHW able to challenge JJ and Jones is 4-0 against them (*). It's even worse now because they have these guys moving up to LHW - like Anthony Smith - to fight Jones and it's a complete mismatch due to Jones height, reach, and kicking technique. These types are not strong or long enough to break through Jones's ability to control distance. Jones has to move up to HW. That's where the matches and money are.

So i'm definitely worried that my guy Gaethji is just gonna try to walk through Barboza likes he's been doing in the UFC and not try to protect himself like he should start doing more of. This isn't World Series Of Fighting and you can't do that with this level of fighters and now he's going against a guy that could kick a tree down with his crazy hard and fast kicks. Gaethji also has good leg kicks and i've seen him win fights because of his constant leg kicks but you don't wanna trade kicks with Barboza. I'll be rooting for him to win but he's gotta stop taking so much damage and this would be a great fight to try protecting yourself better and show off your wrestling some.........even though we all know you won't you psycho...

i thought gaethje was gonna knick out barboza in the later rounds.
it was pretty good until it lasted.
but barboza getting the bonus was

Justin Gaethje is a violent man. His leg kicks were more powerful than Barbosa’s.

i really believe gaethje is a bad matchup for khabib and would give him problems.

HarthorneWingo wrote:Justin Gaethje is a violent man. His leg kicks were more powerful than Barbosa’s.

I mean Gaethji has always been good with his kicks but i don't think his are stronger then Barboza's kicks are. I don't think anyone in that weight class kicks harder then Barboza does but Gaethji is close.

newyorker4ever wrote:

HarthorneWingo wrote:Justin Gaethje is a violent man. His leg kicks were more powerful than Barbosa’s.

I mean Gaethji has always been good with his kicks but i don't think his are stronger then Barboza's kicks are. I don't think anyone in that weight class kicks harder then Barboza does but Gaethji is close.

I know that's saying a lot bc Edson has such great kicks. But go back and watch that round. In the beginning, they both are throwing kicks at each other and it looked to me that Justin was winning that battle. Along with Aldo, they could be the best in the sport.

Tron Carter wrote:i really believe gaethje is a bad matchup for khabib and would give him problems.

That would be a very interesting match up of styles.

Tron Carter wrote:i really believe gaethje is a bad matchup for khabib and would give him problems.

I'd love to see them fight for sure.

Conor and Khabib continue to make a farce of the sport with their nonsense. I saw someone say the line in MMA trash talk is thick and Conor still manages to cross it way too often.

Also, Romero vs Jacare has been cancelled because of a serious illness for Romero. I had Jacare winning rounds 2 and 3 against Romero, though I'm a HUGE Jacare fan and haven't watched it back in a very long time. So this is massively disappointing. Of all the fighters to not get a title shot yet, I think Jacare has a great case for most deserving. Yall can chime in with suggestions too (would we count Ferguson?) Equally disappointing is that the co-main on that card is another Greg Hardy fight with a HW that wouldn't cut it in Bellator typically. It's another insult to the whole "this is a sport" concept in my eyes.

In other news, if yall missed Paulie slapping Artem while Rumble both broke up the fight and filmed...that's out there and pretty funny. The Bareknuckle crew seems to be going for that ish, so I'm not mad about it like I am with UFC. That's their lane.

Lastly...some good news. Masvidal vs Askren sounds all but signed for International Fight Week. I think I might save my vacation cash for a trip out next year because this year, I'm sad I can't go be there. Here's the card so far:

Jones vs Santos (best P4P male defends title)

Nunes vs Holm (best P4P female defends title)

Ngannou vs JDS (gotta suspect it's a number one contender fight with who both have just beaten)

Masvidal vs Askren (another number one contender fight is my guess)

Rockhold vs Blachowicz (Should be a great match-up)