HarthorneWingo wrote:Anything going on this weekend?
I saw something that PFL had a tournament or something last week.
It got buried with all the news this week. But we get a good free card from the ufc for a change,
j4remi wrote:Spoiler:We're getting a rare "it's actually good" free card this weekend. It's mostly developing names, but the matchups should make good fights and there's enough talent that a few title challengers could come out of this crop. The fights to watch:
Ian Garry vs Carlos Prates:
Another Fighting Nerds prodigy gets in there with a Euro-Prodigy who has reached the cusp of contention. Carlos Prates has KO'ed his last TEN opponents, including everyone he's fought in the UFC. Ian Garry lost his perfect record to Shavkhat Rakhmonov, but he's the only fighter to make Shavkhat look mortal. I think Garry's standing in the MMA community went up despite losing.
The best part of this matchup is that it's two striking prodigies, who have mostly overwhelmed opponents with speed and power. But they're both high IQ fighters. The fighting nerds are the only camp I've ever seen with an analytics guy; and Garry has trained with every great team that would have him. I think Garry's path to victory is through forcing grappling exchanges, but this is a toss-up.
Anthony Smith vs Zhang Mingyang:
This is kind of cool because Anthony Smith may be on his way out, but he's only fought top-15 talent for years. Mingyang hasn't fought anyone better than Smith's worst opponent in his last ten fights. The styles get even more interesting...
Smith's chin is finally showing holes, but he still looks unKO'able without fighters accumulating damage across rounds. Mingyang is so ridiculously powerful that he's only been out of the first round twice, and he lost those two fights. So, it may be a case where Smith has to survive until Mingyang gases, and I'm not sure how to pick.
David Onama vs Giga Chikadze:
Similar to the last one, Onama's rising talent while Giga is proven talent that's on a downturn. But Chikadze's closer to his prime than Anthony Smith, and Onama is more proven than Mingyang. I edge Giga's striking but Onama's grappling is better from what we've seen.
So it comes down to whether Onama can get in and get takedowns. I'm leaning toward Giga, but it's another toss-up.
Michel Pereira vs Abus Magomedov:
This one's simple...Pereira wants to stay on the feet, and Magomedov wants takedowns. But the fun is that Pereira is a ridiculous athlete and Abus can be KO'ed. I still think the wrestler has the advantage here.
Randy Brown vs Nicolas Dalby:
Simply put, these are two journeymen with exciting striking styles. So, it'll be fireworks. Dalby's toughness is his edge, while Brown's a better striker imo. I lean toward Brown, but Dalby has a way of wearing guys out with his toughness and pressure.
Ikram Aliskerov vs Andre Muniz:
Muniz has a long UFC career of being ridiculously strong but middling skill-wise. Aliskerov was on the verge of contention, but ran into Robert Whitaker. I missed Muniz's last fight (a split-decision win), but prior to that, I felt like age had caught up with him. Ikram is still in his fight prime. So, I edge it to Aliskerov.
Matt Schnell vs Jimmy Flick:
Leaving this here because Matt Schnell is famous for having great offense and absolutely no defense. I almost always bet the under for fight-length on his fights, and recently, betting on him getting stopped has by his opponent. Flick has good chokes, Schnell just got stopped by a Cody Durden choke. I might put some light money on Flick by submission and parlay it with the under.
