Official MMA discussion thread: UFC 231 Holloway vs Ortega finally!

[newyorker4ever]

End of the 2nd Max realized Aldo couldn't hurt him and he came out in the 3rd going for the kill once he caught the timing of Aldo's punches.

Aldo didn't use any leg kicks either so Max was able to put everything behind his punches.

The KD was beautiful and the finish was awesome.

Not just that he couldn't be hurt, but Holloway had Aldo's timing down really well. He was standing right in the pocket and even landed a Stockton Slap on Aldo, that close to the second was crazy. No one has ever dismissed Aldo's striking in his face like that and followed it up by knocking the man out.

Here's a crazy stat run: Holloway leads UFC Featherweights in Fights, wins, longest win-streak, KO's, Stoppages, Knockdowns AND Significant strikes...He's only 25 years old!

Which i why he's only lost 3 fights in his career which the last one before McGregor was in the early to mid 2000's to L.Azevedo and he's only been knocked out once which was of course McGregor. The Holloway was a TKO and the Azevedo was a submission. It did look like he was out for a second when Holloway hit him with with a straight jab while he was on his back but the next hit woke him up.

[bringbackhoffa]

GOAT Mighty Mouse DJ going off on Dana White. Its about damn time.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2017/6/5/15739394/demetrious-johnson-fires-back-ufcs-mistreatment-and-bullying-has-finally-forced-me-to-speak-out

[j4remi]

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/how-max-holloway-killed-the-king

Great breakdown, I always look to Jack Slack for in depth fight analysis. Jack for striking, Luke Thomas for BJJ.

[matchman]

Watching New Zealand special now

It is amazing to see Ben Nguyen winning over Tim Elliot in such a fast pace, he may need a bigger challenge to prove himself.

But then Ion Cutelaba KO Henrique Da Silva in like 22 seconds, his expression before and after the fight makes me think that he is from military or something special....

[matchman]

Dan Hooker and Derek Brunson both win by KO

[matchman]

Quite amazing to see at age 43, Mark Hunt still have some fights to go;

While it is quite sad to hear the old lower back injury may end Derrick Lewis career

[HarthorneWingo]

Dan Hooker and Derek Brunson both win by KO

Brunson made quick work of Kelly who they portrayed as a monster on the ground. Member of the Aussie Olympic Jiu Jitsu team?

Also Pichel had a nice KO with an upper cut while backing away. I love those backing away KOs. Remind me of Ali's KO of Sonny Liston (@ 2:22 in slow motion).

Watch on YouTube

[HarthorneWingo]

Did The Black Feast really come into this fight with such a bad back? To me, it looked like he was just out of shape. Putting his hands on his hips and sucking wind? LOL. Actually, I kinda felt bad for him. But I didn't see him wincing in pain when he was throwing all those legs kicks the first 2-3 rounds. Sounds like BS to me. But maybe you guys know more about this.

[j4remi]

Did The Black Feast really come into this fight with such a bad back? To me, it looked like he was just out of shape. Putting his hands on his hips and sucking wind? LOL. Actually, I kinda felt bad for him. But I didn't see him wincing in pain when he was throwing all those legs kicks the first 2-3 rounds. Sounds like BS to me. But maybe you guys know more about this.

Lewis wasn't healthy enough to train properly. Travis Browne broke two of his ribs in the first round of their fight before he got the KO. That's why he was talking about needing a break and it meant that as of 3 or 4 weeks ago, he was telling Helwani that he was "almost" 100% to get to training. Even Helwani was like "that's not a lot of time to prepare." I'm hoping he takes a break and heals up but makes a come back. He's a serious problem but that was clearly not the same Beast that took out Browne and Arlovski.

[HarthorneWingo]

Did The Black Feast really come into this fight with such a bad back? To me, it looked like he was just out of shape. Putting his hands on his hips and sucking wind? LOL. Actually, I kinda felt bad for him. But I didn't see him wincing in pain when he was throwing all those legs kicks the first 2-3 rounds. Sounds like BS to me. But maybe you guys know more about this.

Lewis wasn't healthy enough to train properly. Travis Browne broke two of his ribs in the first round of their fight before he got the KO. That's why he was talking about needing a break and it meant that as of 3 or 4 weeks ago, he was telling Helwani that he was "almost" 100% to get to training. Even Helwani was like "that's not a lot of time to prepare." I'm hoping he takes a break and heals up but makes a come back. He's a serious problem but that was clearly not the same Beast that took out Browne and Arlovski.

I remember the rib injury during the Browne fight. But this is back injury, no? Why didn't he just pull out and just wait to heal? If I'm a paying fan I might be a little perturbed that he came in injured.


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[j4remi]

I remember the rib injury during the Browne fight. But this is back injury, no? Why didn't he just pull out and just wait to heal? If I'm a paying fan I might be a little perturbed that he came in injured.


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On pure speculation, I'm guessing the pay was too much to pass up. He had told Helwani that the only reason he took this fight while he was so injured was that he told the UFC a figure they'd have to pay to get him in the octagon and they matched it. He said it was more than he's ever made and that he's probably one of the highest paid HW's now. Add the wedding to the mix and I'm guessing he was gonna fight unless the doctor wouldn't clear him.

Shout outs to Ben Nguyen too. Dude has had some tough match-ups but Tim Elliot is up there with his best opponents and he straight caught one of the trickiest grapplers in the game with a choke. Kelly finally got exposed against better comp which was overdue. Hooker showed a nice bit of growth but I'd like to see him do it against fighter who isn't so one-dimensional.

[HarthorneWingo]

I remember the rib injury during the Browne fight. But this is back injury, no? Why didn't he just pull out and just wait to heal? If I'm a paying fan I might be a little perturbed that he came in injured.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

On pure speculation, I'm guessing the pay was too much to pass up. He had told Helwani that the only reason he took this fight while he was so injured was that he told the UFC a figure they'd have to pay to get him in the octagon and they matched it. He said it was more than he's ever made and that he's probably one of the highest paid HW's now. Add the wedding to the mix and I'm guessing he was gonna fight unless the doctor wouldn't clear him.

Shout outs to Ben Nguyen too. Dude has had some tough match-ups but Tim Elliot is up there with his best opponents and he straight caught one of the trickiest grapplers in the game with a choke. Kelly finally got exposed against better comp which was overdue. Hooker showed a nice bit of growth but I'd like to see him do it against fighter who isn't so one-dimensional.

Right about Nguyen. Elliot took DJ to a decision in his last fight. That was something.

[matchman]

Nguyen should be in top 10 now? I am curious to see how he fares against top 5 like DJ, Dodson etc.
He should be able to match their pace.

[newyorker4ever]

Nguyen should be in top 10 now? I am curious to see how he fares against top 5 like DJ, Dodson etc.
He should be able to match their pace.

He was supposed to fight Joseph Benavidez in that fight but Benavidez got hurt. I think he hurt his knee. That would of been a great test for him.

[j4remi]

Moreno, Pettis and Nguyen are all really exciting prospects. With Moreno and Pettis matched up, I'd love to see Nguyen get an elite grappler (Smolka wore him out). Cejudo needs an opponent and if the UFC was willing to give Nguyen Benavidez then I'd assume they're open to facing anybody. Reis vs Formiga would be a fun grappler clash to rematch too. 125 is finally shaping up with quality match-ups if the UFC markets the fighters right...but instead Dana White is beefing with DJ and threatening to fold the division.

[newyorker4ever]

I'm surprised nobody has talked about John Moraga cause he really looked good in his fight. His transitions were so smooth.

[j4remi]

Moraga's a great gatekeeper. He's only really lost to high level opponents and Sergio Pettis' performance against him was a real revelation imo (from a high potential fighter to a guy who might have realized that potential now). The only thing with him is that he's 33 with losses to MM, Dodson, Benavidez and Pettis. So he's had his opportunities to really crack the top and just hasn't cashed it in. I'd love to see Scoggins get another crack at him.

Edit: Just to throw it in, I'd love to see Scoggins get a push in spite of his inconsistency just because his striking is so damned fun to watch.

[bringbackhoffa]

Looks like Mayweather Vs McNuggets is set for August 26 at the T Mobile Arena...

Look for McGregor to be gassed after 5 rounds. Don't see him landing anything heavy though with Mayweather being 40 and 2 years removed from his last fight you never know.

I see this going to a decision mainly because Floyd doesnt finish, 9 of his last 10 fights have gone to decision, and he probably doesnt want to really dominate as a re-match could potentially generate in excess of $250 million

[j4remi]

Looks like Mayweather Vs McNuggets is set for August 26 at the T Mobile Arena...

Look for McGregor to be gassed after 5 rounds. Don't see him landing anything heavy though with Mayweather being 40 and 2 years removed from his last fight you never know.

I see this going to a decision mainly because Floyd doesnt finish, 9 of his last 10 fights have gone to decision, and he probably doesnt want to really dominate as a re-match could potentially generate in excess of $250 million

It's sounding like this was a bluff but I really just want the fight to happen ASAP so we can get it out of the way and get back to pure MMA. Conor vs the lightweight division's elite is more interesting for pretty much every combat sports fan than the PBF boxing match. I've said it before, but I'm mostly just interested in watching the clinch work. After watching Ward struggle against a superior clinch player, I'd love to see if Conor has responses for Floyd's clinch heavy style.

[bringbackhoffa]

Looks like Mayweather Vs McNuggets is set for August 26 at the T Mobile Arena...

Look for McGregor to be gassed after 5 rounds. Don't see him landing anything heavy though with Mayweather being 40 and 2 years removed from his last fight you never know.

I see this going to a decision mainly because Floyd doesnt finish, 9 of his last 10 fights have gone to decision, and he probably doesnt want to really dominate as a re-match could potentially generate in excess of $250 million

It's sounding like this was a bluff but I really just want the fight to happen ASAP so we can get it out of the way and get back to pure MMA. Conor vs the lightweight division's elite is more interesting for pretty much every combat sports fan than the PBF boxing match. I've said it before, but I'm mostly just interested in watching the clinch work. After watching Ward struggle against a superior clinch player, I'd love to see if Conor has responses for Floyd's clinch heavy style.

I have a really hard time seeing Connor fighting in the UFC ever again, unless the UFC are willing to pay him at least $50 million a fight. If they do pay him that amount I see Connor being showcased once a year as a must see PPV event. In addition, with McGregor Productions co-promoting the boxing match, I can see him pushing that as a stipulation for anything UFC related.

From what i read looks like Conner is getting $75 million with a cut of the PPV. It is believed of that $75 million Conner will see 20% with the remaining going to UFC/managers/training partners/taxes/commission. It will be interesting to see what his cut of the PPV will be.

Also I dont believe he has to be repped by Reebok during this fight so he could really cash in another $20-25 million in marketing endorsements for this 1 time match.

Should he come back I dont really see it clearing up the LW picture right away. I see his first fight being the trilogy vs Nate Diaz and then should GSP beat Bisping, I see GSP relinquishing the 185 pound belt and facing the winner of Maia vs Woodley for the WW belt.

Should GSP win the WW fight and Conner beat Diaz they will likely be off at the same time, which will lead to the super fight of all fights with GSP vs Conner at 170 with Conner going for a 3rd belt. If GSP beats Conner at 170 pounds I see a rematch between the 2 at 155 pounds with GSP now going for a 3rd belt

hence khabib and tony being screwed until 2019 at the earliest