HarthorneWingo wrote:Yep. I saw a replay of the fight after I posted that comment. Cody let his emotions get the best of him. With age comes wisdom. Hopefully.
I really hope so, raw talent wise I think he's got more than TJ. He's faster, has more pop on a more concise delivery and a perfect Takedown defense record so far. But honestly, I'm nervous now for the Alpha Male trajectory. Ludwig left with TJ but then they had Justin Bucholz coaching and things were still good. He left not long ago and I don't think they brought an outside replacement this time. Cody really didn't adjust much and made the same exact kind of mistakes that got him KO'ed last time; but more quickly this time. I REALLY hope they aren't moving backward because it's been my favorite team for a long time.
Clyde_Style wrote:For my money, that was one of the best fights in UFC history not because it was a slugfest, but because the drama was so real and it was so close with a contest between equals with a contender pushing the greatest champion in UFC history.
Agreed 100%. The fight was super competitive with one guy rising to the level of competition against a guy that was seen as unbeatable. I think the drama and competitiveness in that fight absolutely defines all of the best fights in my eyes. Gus vs Jones, Lawler vs MacDonald 2, Diaz vs Conor...those are recent examples where two fighters push each other and the result is a fight that's better than just the execution in the octagon. Hell, you could add Cub vs Superboy; Hunt vs Big Foot and Stipe vs JDS 1 to that list when those fights had no title implications. This era of picking opponents carefully to protect rankings has made these kinds of match-ups fewer and farther between except at the top and even there we've had so many injuries that we really haven't gotten the "this one will come down to grit and heart and mindset rather than talent" moments as often.
NoStatsGuy wrote:Cejudo - TJ is not what i wanted, lets see if the UFC wants this, while i think it could generate more people being interested due to cejudo nationality, i think the buzz wont be the same.
Fk man, my man Cub Swanson on 3 fight losing streak now, i think thats it for him. Moicano is a straight up beast, what the fk was that jab? SO powerful
I havent seen this dude fight before, im very impressed. He looks like a real contender in the 145 division.
I usually skip thorugh the prelims and early prelims. Anything in specifc worth watching?
No way do I want to see Cejudo vs TJ. DJ needs an immediate rematch if his injuries aren't too bad, after that he is kinda in no man's land though. He's beaten Pettis, Formiga and Reis; Benavidez just lost to Pettis. That leaves number 4 Borg, who has had an extended absence due to his newborn having medical issues so I'm not sure when he gets back (and prayers out to his family for the stress and battle they've fought btw). Number 6, Moraga who has a soft match this month to maybe sell him as next up. Finally 8 Pantoja and the guy I hyped not long ago Dustin Ortiz at 9. Ortiz is on a little run including beating Pantoja and I'd like to see him face a top 5'er for a shot to leap into the title picture. But looking at all of that, nothing compelling yet and no one in the top 5 makes sense.
Moicano is a REAL ONE. Take a look at Moicano vs Brian Ortega, it's a really good fight. He also played matador and made Stephens chase for 3 full rounds which was nice on the technical tip but not very exciting. His loss to Ortega was so good that I've been gassing him ever since. Never seen Cub dropped by a jab before but Renato fights long man, that jab'll shoot through yuh.
Early Prelims had a couple worth checking, Alex Hernandez threw 170 strikes and landed at a 62% clip...in 4 minutes! Then Weili Zhang debuted in the UFC, she's got a big hypetrain as a 115 lbs prospect and her striking was as advertised. She's one to watch since 115 was fairly shallow and now has multiple women leaving to 125; she could fast track her way to stiff competition quickly and those fast risers in shallow divisions are great for betting men to have a good evaluation on.