Official MMA discussion thread pt 3 UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill, Zhang vs Xionan, BMF Gaethje vs Holloway

[j4remi]

If you haven't had a chance, hop on ESPN Plus and search for Marlon Vera vs Rob Font...that's a hell of a fight, shortlist for FOTY and also one of the best examples of the numbers not telling the whole story about a fight.

[j4remi]

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Barbarena vs Lawler and Omalley vs Munhoz have been confirmed.

Nate Diaz vs Khamzat is the one everyone's waiting for though...

[HighRyzer83]

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Barbarena vs Lawler and Omalley vs Munhoz have been confirmed.

Nate Diaz vs Khamzat is the one everyone's waiting for though...

I love that Nate is being fed to khamzat after that video where he talks about how he's too good to fight somebody ranked so low and even throws his buddy under the bus. Now khamzat is ranked 2nd, let's hear the excuse now.

[HarthorneWingo]

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Barbarena vs Lawler and Omalley vs Munhoz have been confirmed.

Nate Diaz vs Khamzat is the one everyone's waiting for though...

I love that Nate is being fed to khamzat after that video where he talks about how he's too good to fight somebody ranked so low and even throws his buddy under the bus. Now khamzat is ranked 2nd, let's hear the excuse now.

I dunno. A Khamzat fight vs Nate doesn’t really excite me. Nate is on the downside of his career.

[j4remi]

I love that Nate is being fed to khamzat after that video where he talks about how he's too good to fight somebody ranked so low and even throws his buddy under the bus. Now khamzat is ranked 2nd, let's hear the excuse now.

I dunno. A Khamzat fight vs Nate doesn’t really excite me. Nate is on the downside of his career.

If it was a five-round fight, I'd be more curious. I think Khamzat can win by fighting smart and to his strengths...but even against Gilbert, he admitted to getting dragged into a scrap and forgetting the gameplan. His boxing is good, but mechanical and Idk how comfortable he'd be rocking with Nate on the ground after seeing him avoid it with Burns. That means Nate might be able to weather the storm and drag Khamzat into real deep water in the later rounds where punchers get sloppy and volume can be overwhelming.

All that said...Khamzat wins a three-round fight now doubt, and would be a favorite in five too...it'd just be a lot more interesting to see if Nate could get dirty boxing and clinch work off. The latest rumor is that Holloway vs Volkanovski 3 will be added to that card, which would bump Nate vs Khamzat to third fight...that means three rounds and a much safer bet for Khamzat.

[HighRyzer83]

It will test khamzats cardio that for sure. Nate is very durable even now.

[j4remi]

It will test khamzats cardio that for sure. Nate is very durable even now.

That's where I think it gets interesting. He should still win, but I want to see him in a drawn-out match because that's probably how a fight with Usman goes.

[ellobo]

If you haven't had a chance, hop on ESPN Plus and search for Marlon Vera vs Rob Font...that's a hell of a fight, shortlist for FOTY and also one of the best examples of the numbers not telling the whole story about a fight.

Great fight. It was like Vera was protected by some kind of voodoo spell where every time Font landed a punch, the damage would appear on Font's own face.

But I thought Vera squandered chances to end it in the 3rd, and especially the 4th.

[j4remi]

If you haven't had a chance, hop on ESPN Plus and search for Marlon Vera vs Rob Font...that's a hell of a fight, shortlist for FOTY and also one of the best examples of the numbers not telling the whole story about a fight.

Great fight. It was like Vera was protected by some kind of voodoo spell where every time Font landed a punch, the damage would appear on Font's own face.

Although I thought Vera squandered chances to end it in the 3rd, and especially the 4th.

I had a few friends over that don't watch so much MMA. When Font was landing way more early, I was telling them "look at Font's face though...he's wearing way more damage." After watching so many Chito fights, I've just come around to the fact that he's got a weird style like that.

My theory: His high guard just seems to make it hard for guys to land in the sweet spots. Vera's also just insanely tough. Sean O'Malley was WHIPPING power kicks early that he marched right through when they fought, and Aldo landed all sorts of strikes but couldn't get a knockdown.

I do agree that Vera kinda missed some finishing opportunities. I was wondering if the 4th/5th he started to let up a bit because Font was so beat up. It was kinda like he hoped the ref would step in without making him go extra because Font was BATTERED (I thought this of Volk with Zombie too...did more harm than good by letting up instead of going for the true finish).

[ellobo]

If you haven't had a chance, hop on ESPN Plus and search for Marlon Vera vs Rob Font...that's a hell of a fight, shortlist for FOTY and also one of the best examples of the numbers not telling the whole story about a fight.

Great fight. It was like Vera was protected by some kind of voodoo spell where every time Font landed a punch, the damage would appear on Font's own face.

Although I thought Vera squandered chances to end it in the 3rd, and especially the 4th.

I had a few friends over that don't watch so much MMA. When Font was landing way more early, I was telling them "look at Font's face though...he's wearing way more damage." After watching so many Chito fights, I've just come around to the fact that he's got a weird style like that.

My theory: His high guard just seems to make it hard for guys to land in the sweet spots. Vera's also just insanely tough. Sean O'Malley was WHIPPING power kicks early that he marched right through when they fought, and Aldo landed all sorts of strikes but couldn't get a knockdown.

I do agree that Vera kinda missed some finishing opportunities. I was wondering if the 4th/5th he started to let up a bit because Font was so beat up. It was kinda like he hoped the ref would step in without making him go extra because Font was BATTERED (I thought this of Volk with Zombie too...did more harm than good by letting up instead of going for the true finish).

I was kind of suspecting the opposite -- that Vera wanted to keep him in there so he could punish him some more. Just a vibe I was getting from Vera body language.

[j4remi]

I was kind of suspecting the opposite -- that Vera wanted to keep him in there so he could punish him some more. Just a vibe I was getting from Vera body language.

Definitely possible...he mighta been pissed about all those punches Font landed in the early portions of the rounds

The other thing is it may have just been that his hands/elbows were so damned sore from everything he'd thrown that he couldn't throw consecutive power as easily. But that one I kinda doubt since he grits his teeth through a ton of opponents' damage regularly. He's a really interesting fighter...there aren't a lot of guys like him that can hold that style even against high-ranking competition. The images of his most recent opponents after fights remind me of when Tony Ferguson was on his tear and left everyone looking mauled.

[j4remi]

Yall ready for drama?

Charles Oliveira missed weight today by .5 lbs and was stripped of the belt. If Gaethje wins he'll win the title but Do Bronx cannot win the belt.

The thing is...multiple fighters missed weight on their first tries, and they are all claiming that the scale they use in the back to verify their weight before going for the official was wrong and reading .5-.8 lbs lower than the official scale.

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By the time Oliveira tried his second weigh-in an hour later, Gaethje already rehydrated 10 lbs...which is fairly normal but a big advantage in a huge fight. So Do Bronx gets robbed of his belt and fights at a disadvantage because of a logistical error. If we assume the fighters are all telling the truth. So far three fighters have had the same complaint, I think Ovince Saint Preaux also missed so I wonder if he'll comment.

[HarthorneWingo]

Yall ready for drama?

Charles Oliveira missed weight today by .5 lbs and was stripped of the belt. If Gaethje wins he'll win the title but Do Bronx cannot win the belt.

The thing is...multiple fighters missed weight on their first tries, and they are all claiming that the scale they use in the back to verify their weight before going for the official was wrong and reading .5-.8 lbs lower than the official scale.

Read on Twitter

By the time Oliveira tried his second weigh-in an hour later, Gaethje already rehydrated 10 lbs...which is fairly normal but a big advantage in a huge fight. So Do Bronx gets robbed of his belt and fights at a disadvantage because of a logistical error. If we assume the fighters are all telling the truth. So far three fighters have had the same complaint, I think Ovince Saint Preaux also missed so I wonder if he'll comment.

I just saw The Weasel’s clip on YT. This is FUBAR. He said that it’s possible that the fight doesn’t go on. Possible?

[HarthorneWingo]

Can't they just agree to fight at a catchweight for the belt? I obviously know nothing about the rules.

[j4remi]

Can't they just agree to fight at a catchweight for the belt? I obviously know nothing about the rules.

That’s a good question, I actually was learning how this works on the fly via Twitter updates lol. They technically are at the same weight. Gaethje weighed 155 and Oliveira 155.5 so no need for a catch weight. They’ll fight as is, but only Gaethje can win the belt. If Oliveira wins, he’s not the champ and will fight someone else in a title match (gotta be islam).

This technically just falls to the UFC’s discretion. It’s their promotional belt and they could easily blame the Arizona commission (they’re a sloppy commission to begin with), and let Oliveira keep the title if he wins. They didn’t do that though.

It’s worth noting too that only title fights require fighters to make 155 exactly. Non-title fights allow the fighter to be .5 over so Oliveira would have qualified. I’m reading that 20/30 fighters were .5 over but it’s not a problem bc they’re not all in title fights. It really screws over Do Bronx and no one else.

[HarthorneWingo]

Can't they just agree to fight at a catchweight for the belt? I obviously know nothing about the rules.

That’s a good question, I actually was learning how this works on the fly via Twitter updates lol. They technically are at the same weight. Gaethje weighed 155 and Oliveira 155.5 so no need for a catch weight. They’ll fight as is, but only Gaethje can win the belt. If Oliveira wins, he’s not the champ and will fight someone else in a title match (gotta be islam).

This technically just falls to the UFC’s discretion. It’s their promotional belt and they could easily blame the Arizona commission (they’re a sloppy commission to begin with), and let Oliveira keep the title if he wins. They didn’t do that though.

It’s worth noting too that only title fights require fighters to make 155 exactly. Non-title fights allow the fighter to be .5 over so Oliveira would have qualified. I’m reading that 20/30 fighters were .5 over but it’s not a problem bc they’re not all in title fights. It really screws over Do Bronx and no one else.

That’s crazy. Who came up with that rule? How is .5 lbs. an advantage at weigh-in when the fighters get to replenish before the before the fight?

[HarthorneWingo]

Loved the Tracy Cortez/Michelle Gatto fight. High level ground work. Both were very impressive.

[ibraheim718]

I would take Olivera over any lightweight in history. He's just so lethal and he recovers so fast from big shots.

[ibraheim718]

Olivera would mangle Mcgregor.

[HarthorneWingo]

I would take Olivera over any lightweight in history. He's just so lethal and he recovers so fast from big shots.

Khabib?