OT: Official MMA discussion thread pt 3 UFC 319: DDP vs Chimaev, Aaron Pico vs Lerone Murphy

[j4remi]

another terrible card...?

Read on Twitter

Yeah, that's pretty weak. You'd think they could pull some name value off Team Elevation being there. But I guess they've really just let go of the rope.

On the bright side, the next two cards are pretty good. But then UFC 303 is teetering on trash if Conor McGregor doesn't show, and it might suck even if he shows up.

[j4remi]

Here’s one nobody saw coming:

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=c7eg_0vf10KosEyBJaEgQw

How could anyone predict the Masvidal and Diaz teams getting into a press conference scrap?

[j4remi]

The next Fight Night should be pretty good. It doesn't have big names, but it has some really promising prospects against quality veterans in fights that are almost guaranteed to be pretty good.

Jared Cannonier vs. Nassourdine Imavov is a really good fight. Everyone knows Cannonier. I think he'd beat Du Plessis, and he's beaten the former champ, Sean Strickland. But Imavov is a gifted striker with his own unique threats. So this should be a real scrap.

Tatsuo Taira fights are always FUN! He's scrappy as hell and undefeated. He's a young, reckless dude that'll take big risks but always fight to CLOSE. But that makes Alex Perez a perfect test. Perez has been in the UFC for seven years, and challenged for the title. He's past his prime but not by much, and still very good.

Dominick Reyes is trying to make a come back...Idk, we'll see.

But then we get two more very HYPED prospects. Akram Aliskerov has only ever lost to Khamzat Chimaev in 16 fights. He's really good, though I don't know his opponent too well.

Raul Rosas is the youngest fighter to win a UFC fight, but it shows. He's a great grappler but started out with zero standup ability and a bit of ego. Since he lost a fight, his hype died down but he showed signs of growth as a striker in getting back in the win column. He fights Ricky Turcios, who's TOUGH. Turcios shows up to fight, so if he can stuff a few takedowns it'll be a scrap!

In short, we're getting some good fights. Julian Marquez and some other consistently exciting fighters are are on the undercard as well.

[HarthorneWingo]

Are people really paying $$$$ out of their pockets for power slapping?

[HarthorneWingo]

Zach Reese put Marquez’s lights out quickly.

[HarthorneWingo]

Very happy for Dominick Reyes. You could hear his corner telling him to let his left hand go and he had a couple of opportunities to throw it and didn’t. Then Jacoby got aggressive, throwing head shots while he had Reyes against the fence. It was only the that he finally threw the left and it connected. I began to wonder if it was a mental thing.

Excellent finish.

[HarthorneWingo]

Why doesn’t Cannonier drop down for a single or double leg takedown?

[HarthorneWingo]

Bad stoppage but I don’t think it makes any difference.

[HarthorneWingo]

These U.S. UFC fights are turning into MAGA events. I understand that there is some inherent bias build into a pugilistic sport but Dana’s dick-sucking Trump isn’t helping.

You know what? I’d love to see someone put Dana White in an anaconda choke hold for a couple of hours.

Imamov speaking French to the MAGA hicks in Kentucky is after a bad stoppage … priceless!

[HarthorneWingo]

Read on Twitter

?s=46

[HarthorneWingo]

Watch on YouTube

[HarthorneWingo]

I also watched a video reporting that ESPN will be going to a subscription station for full content, including the UFC. $34.99/year.

[HarthorneWingo]

So Conor vs. Chandler is back/still on. What do you folks think? First, I think Conor is roided out of mind. Second, what toll will the layoff and all the self destructive behavior he's clearly engaged in affect his abilities, timing, and reactions? Third, will the leg stand up (pun intended) to the punishment of a 5 round UFC fight? Fourth, what was the issue that caused Conor not being able to appear at the UFC 302 press conference?

Lot's of questions. Where's GEOLINK? LOL.

[j4remi]

Watch on YouTube

This commentary treats all the eye pokes as intentional, which I don't like. When it comes to eye pokes, the UFC doesn't have a cheating problem; they have a glove problem. People have broken down the prevalence of eye pokes in UFC gloves vs other leagues (particularly the old PRIDE gloves), and the PRIDE gloves dramatically reduced them. All you have to do is look at the resting hands in either glove to understand why,



Now, imagine seeing this problem with an obvious solution, and the UFC still doesn't fix it...because that's where I'm at. The UFC unveiled their new gloves and the first fighters to try 'em on were like, "I don't think this solves eye pokes." What a joke?

I also want to differentiate Jones/Stipe/Cormier "cheating" from Leon Edwards (and Islam Makhachev). Jones, Stipe, and Cormier weren't intentionally eye-poking; they were fighting for lead-hand dominance. By trying to intercept opponents with their lead hand, they are continually at risk of an eye poke. The intention is defense, and the eye poke is an accident after.

Leon's groin kicks were similar. His intention was to hit Usman low enough that it deterred the takedown attempt.

But Leon did something along the fence that's just plain dirty. He put his fingers into the wrist opening on Usman's glove to establish wrist-control. That's just plain cheating, and he did it repeatedly.

Islam has turned the same tactic along the fence into a strategy. I've seen him land multiple judo throws, and he set up off the same "fingers in the glove" cheat move (he did it to Oliveira and then to Poirier). Ironically, Conor did the same thing to Khabib to prevent a guard pass. Either way, THAT's a form of blatant cheating. Refs don't catch it, and it should be an automatic point deduction because wrist control is way too important.

[j4remi]

So Conor vs. Chandler is back/still on. What do you folks think? First, I think Conor is roided out of mind. Second, what toll will the layoff and all the self destructive behavior he's clearly engaged in affect his abilities, timing, and reactions? Third, will the leg stand up (pun intended) to the punishment of a 5 round UFC fight? Fourth, what was the issue that caused Conor not being able to appear at the UFC 302 press conference?

Lot's of questions. Where's GEOLINK? LOL.

I think Conor will show, but we'll find out he had a severe injury. The pics of him at the doctor like "I'm fine guys, you see" also showed that he was in a specialist's office. To even need a specialist, it had to be a worrisome injury.

We've also had the UFC show a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage of them negotiating fights, and there's footage of them convincing Aljimain Sterling to fight Sean O'Malley while he's hurt.

Either way, I have zero faith in Conor being good enough to compete with top LW's unless he's juicing. Not at this stage in his career or with the footage we've seen. The guy's partying way too hard, and coming back from a brutal injury that others haven't come back the same from (Weidman and Silva for example).

[HarthorneWingo]

So Conor vs. Chandler is back/still on. What do you folks think? First, I think Conor is roided out of mind. Second, what toll will the layoff and all the self destructive behavior he's clearly engaged in affect his abilities, timing, and reactions? Third, will the leg stand up (pun intended) to the punishment of a 5 round UFC fight? Fourth, what was the issue that caused Conor not being able to appear at the UFC 302 press conference?

Lot's of questions. Where's GEOLINK? LOL.

I think Conor will show, but we'll find out he had a severe injury. The pics of him at the doctor like "I'm fine guys, you see" also showed that he was in a specialist's office. To even need a specialist, it had to be a worrisome injury.

We've also had the UFC show a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage of them negotiating fights, and there's footage of them convincing Aljimain Sterling to fight Sean O'Malley while he's hurt.

Either way, I have zero faith in Conor being good enough to compete with top LW's unless he's juicing. Not at this stage in his career or with the footage we've seen. The guy's partying way too hard, and coming back from a brutal injury that others haven't come back the same from (Weidman and Silva for example).

I watched an MMA youtube video of Conor sparring for this fight. The guy pointed out that Conor's injured leg is not quite the same size as the healthy leg, i.e. that there is still some atrophy there. But Conor didn't look as jacked as some of the videos we've seen over the past 6-12 months.

[j4remi]

I think Conor will show, but we'll find out he had a severe injury. The pics of him at the doctor like "I'm fine guys, you see" also showed that he was in a specialist's office. To even need a specialist, it had to be a worrisome injury.

We've also had the UFC show a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage of them negotiating fights, and there's footage of them convincing Aljimain Sterling to fight Sean O'Malley while he's hurt.

Either way, I have zero faith in Conor being good enough to compete with top LW's unless he's juicing. Not at this stage in his career or with the footage we've seen. The guy's partying way too hard, and coming back from a brutal injury that others haven't come back the same from (Weidman and Silva for example).

I watched an MMA youtube video of Conor sparring for this fight. The guy pointed out that Conor's injured leg is not quite the same size as the healthy leg, i.e. that there is still some atrophy there. But Conor didn't look as jacked as some of the videos we've seen over the past 6-12 months.

The size thing could be just that he’s cycling off all that juice he was on

But either way, he’s definitely not right. Here’s a new update

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=c7eg_0vf10KosEyBJaEgQw

[HarthorneWingo]

I think Conor will show, but we'll find out he had a severe injury. The pics of him at the doctor like "I'm fine guys, you see" also showed that he was in a specialist's office. To even need a specialist, it had to be a worrisome injury.

We've also had the UFC show a bunch of behind-the-scenes footage of them negotiating fights, and there's footage of them convincing Aljimain Sterling to fight Sean O'Malley while he's hurt.

Either way, I have zero faith in Conor being good enough to compete with top LW's unless he's juicing. Not at this stage in his career or with the footage we've seen. The guy's partying way too hard, and coming back from a brutal injury that others haven't come back the same from (Weidman and Silva for example).

I watched an MMA youtube video of Conor sparring for this fight. The guy pointed out that Conor's injured leg is not quite the same size as the healthy leg, i.e. that there is still some atrophy there. But Conor didn't look as jacked as some of the videos we've seen over the past 6-12 months.

The size thing could be just that he’s cycling off all that juice he was on

But either way, he’s definitely not right. Here’s a new update

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=c7eg_0vf10KosEyBJaEgQw

Then why were all these UFC stars and talking heads like DC and The Count talking about how Chandler wouldn't make it past the first round because Conor would snipe him for overextending. Now, it looks like Conor won't even make the press conference. LOL

[HarthorneWingo]

Now I’m thinking that Dana knew that Conor wasn’t going to fight when he took that plane flight to visit with Conor. Dana said the fight’s still on so that it didn’t adversely impact ticket/PPV sales.

[HarthorneWingo]

Bisping just posted a video about how great Conor looks in a sparring video.

Now this

Watch on YouTube