Official MMA discussion thread pt 2: UFC 268 in MSG Usman vs Colby 2, Rose vs Zhang 2

[j4remi]

I had an eventful weekend that stretched into yesterday, so I literally only got to really sit down and enjoy the main card last night over dinner...and damn, that was probably my favorite PPV of the year. Tuivasa vs Blaganov was a really good HW brawl. I have a ton of respect for both guys, flawed fighters but with upside if they develop and work on their weaknesses...especially Tuivasa.

Yan vs Rivera was also really great. Rivera arguably was leading into the the last minute of the first two rounds but the KD's sealed him losing them (especially the first round). Yan is just a wild combination of toughness, extra sharp hands, strength and size plus IQ. He would make just a small adjustment to a combination that didn't hit on a couple of tries and that would lead to getting a clean shot in. Yan should fight one more time before a title fight imo. Sterling earned his shot and Yan needs one more test (I'd go with Cruz).

Cerrone vs Ferguson was really great while it lasted. I was surprised that Cerrone couldn't use kicks or intercepting knees to get out of range comfortably. The fact that Ferguson works angles and rolls with punches so well just leads into problems for EVERYBODY, the spinning elbow counters were crazy. I had Tony winning both rounds and with the momentum regardless of the blown nose or late punch, though that punch was disappointingly late. I've been beating the drum on Tony as a style counter to Khabib and the Cowboy fight just got a pair of fight heads hitting up to say "okay, I'm not saying you're right but I see your point finally" and that right there is golden.

Shevchenko vs Eye went kinda as expected. I hoped Eye could make it ugly and tough but Valentina is just too good. I'm curious about how Nicco Montano looks when she gets back, she was a promising prospect off of TUF and I have no belief that Chookagian can get it done against Shevchenko but she's prolly next (I missed that fight btw, the stats are for JoJo, so I'm a bit confused but yall let me know if you watched).

Then there was Moraes vs Henry and I think we saw the difference between championship mindset and just elite fighter. The first round went how I thought the entire fight would go. Moraes looked faster, stronger and sharper. But Cejudo got to the midway point of round two and just decided not move backward any more. Dude basically just marched forward and traded his defense for just being tough and throwing back. Then he discovered that he could get those double collar grips and throw knees there that Moraes had no answer for. Moraes wore down quick from there, no real adjustments and he was even forcing kicks off at range way too close to get them off clean. Honestly, Cejudo just commanded respect with this one. You could claim fluke with DJ's knee and TJ's weight cut, not with Moraes. That said, I'm still not completely sure he can hold up against the 135'ers for long. Between Yan, Cruz and Sterling; I don't think he'd last. But even adding 2 of those names to his resume would be huge legacy wise.

Lastly, title pictures. Khabib has Poirier next, I'd have Ferguson wait. He keeps getting screwed, I think he should say screw the UFC and just be ready to make weight in case of injury to the champ or contender. Henry should rematch Benavidez at 125 next, no more logjams, you want both belts than you need to defend both belts. Benavidez gets next shot, he's the last man to beat Cejudo and it was after Cejudo had converted to his more mobile striking (but before he put it all together). Then Sterling at 135 should be the man. Shevchenko's division is still shallow, Chookagian is up next but the rest of the division is wide open. The two I'd keep an eye out to make moves are Montano who I mentioned earlier but has a lot to prove and Andrea KGB Lee. Andrea Lee has the all around game, experience and athleticism to actually be an intriguing challenger for Shevchenko.

[j4remi]

https://mmajunkie.com/2019/06/bellator-222-bout-order-darrion-caldwell-vs-kyoji-horiguchi-title-fight-main-card

This card is pretty stacked. That Horiguchi/Caldwell rematch has me hype.


Rory MacDonald vs. Neiman Gracie – for welterweight title, welterweight grand prix semifinal
Lyoto Machida vs. Chael Sonnen
Dillon Danis vs. Max Humphrey
Ricky Bandejas vs. Patrick Mix
Juan Archuleta vs. Eduardo Dantas
Darrion Caldwell vs. Kyoji Horiguchi – for bantamweight title

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 6:30 p.m. ET)
Adam Borics vs. Aaron Pico
Heather Hardy vs. Taylor Turner
Larkyn Dasch vs. Valerie Loureda
Robson Gracie Jr. vs. Oscar Vera
Mike Kimbel vs. Sebastian Ruiz
Haim Gozali vs. Gustavo Wurlitzer
Rena Kubota vs. Lindsey VanZandt
Phil Hawes vs. Michael Wilcox
Nekruz Mirkhojaev vs. Marcus Surin
Brandon Medina vs. Brandon Polcare
Whitney Francois vs. Kastriot Xhema
John Beneduce vs. Kenny Rivera

[j4remi]

Watch on YouTube

What an epic flashback. I was a Lion's Den STAN as a kid fam. Watched Royce tap Ken Shamrock live when I was extra young...prolly 1st or 2nd grade.

[HarthorneWingo]

Paulie Malignaggi lost by decision to fcking Artem Lobov in a BN fght after promising to demolish him while mocking MMA fans for being stupid enough to purchase the fight! LOL

[newyorker4ever]

Watch on YouTube

[islanders11040]

[j4remi]

Good for Artem. Paulie went in there to jab and be elusive which would have won a boxing match imo but Artem being the aggressor and having much more impact on his punches that did land won him the decision. It was pretty disappointing compared to the hype, but I don't think anyone was actually surprised or disappointed because we kinda knew what to expect.

Artem deserves props for loving the fight game and finding a lane. Paulie went in there and took a big risk, so props for that but the way he carried himself in the build-up was terrible so I'm glad he lost. Did you guys hear Paulie in the post fight too? "I only got hit once" with a face full of cuts from multiple punches...I'm a full believer in the Conor version of that sparring session now after witnessing that delusion from Paulie.

Anyway the real highlights of the weekend were Korean Zombie KO'ing Moicano, Lovato Jr dethroning Mousasi and Daley vs Silva. The Zombie KO came off a flash KO in the last seconds of a fight he was winning against Zair. He Ko'ed Moicano fast as all hell, slip off center and throw a power right. It was picture perfect. He's possibly the most underrated fighter in that division, dude is a threat to everybody. Lovato shocked the world and just outworked and outlasted Gegard. Daley and Silva had a real battle and left it all out there, it's a fight any fight fan can appreciate.

Honestly that UFC card was full of entertaining scraps from lesser known fighters and Bellator was solid top to bottom too. It was a surprisingly entertaining weekend of fights.

[HarthorneWingo]

UFC 239 tomorrow night. Remi!

[Jscratch1200]

UFC 239 tomorrow night. Remi!

I think tomorrow is a fight night and UFC 239 is next Saturday (July 6).

[YouthMovement]

UFC 239 tomorrow night. Remi!

I think tomorrow is a fight night and UFC 239 is next Saturday (July 6).

Yup, a nice card though

[j4remi]

These fellas are correct, we got JDS vs Ngannou tonight and 239 next week. 239 is looking crazy! For tn the other big one is Formiga vs Benavidez. Gotta think that the winner of that has distinguished himself for the next 125 lbs title shot...if Cejudo ever comes back down. Menifeld vs Craig ought to be a first round finish since Craig has terrible striking defense but submissions and Menifeld has amazing striking but no gas tank...it's made for a highlight close.

Flash Gordon and Eryk Anders are on the undercard too which is solid.

There should be some interesting match-ups and hopefully some new heads stand out to me. I also have to watch back the Tuesday Night Contenders fights from this past week. Week one was fairly light imo.

[Jscratch1200]

These fellas are correct, we got JDS vs Ngannou tonight and 239 next week. 239 is looking crazy! For tn the other big one is Formiga vs Benavidez. Gotta think that the winner of that has distinguished himself for the next 125 lbs title shot...if Cejudo ever comes back down. Menifeld vs Craig ought to be a first round finish since Craig has terrible striking defense but submissions and Menifeld has amazing striking but no gas tank...it's made for a highlight close.

Flash Gordon and Eryk Anders are on the undercard too which is solid.

There should be some interesting match-ups and hopefully some new heads stand out to me. I also have to watch back the Tuesday Night Contenders fights from this past week. Week one was fairly light imo.

I really enjoy your insight man. For someone like me who doesn't have the time to watch as many events as I would like, the insight is nice. Helps me track which fights might be worth watching. Thanks.

[j4remi]

These fellas are correct, we got JDS vs Ngannou tonight and 239 next week. 239 is looking crazy! For tn the other big one is Formiga vs Benavidez. Gotta think that the winner of that has distinguished himself for the next 125 lbs title shot...if Cejudo ever comes back down. Menifeld vs Craig ought to be a first round finish since Craig has terrible striking defense but submissions and Menifeld has amazing striking but no gas tank...it's made for a highlight close.

Flash Gordon and Eryk Anders are on the undercard too which is solid.

There should be some interesting match-ups and hopefully some new heads stand out to me. I also have to watch back the Tuesday Night Contenders fights from this past week. Week one was fairly light imo.

I really enjoy your insight man. For someone like me who doesn't have the time to watch as many events as I would like, the insight is nice. Helps me track which fights might be worth watching. Thanks.

I appreciate that fam. I love this ish, so it's great to see new people taking interest and joining the discussion.

[Clyde_Style]

Wait, what?

Paulie fought in a bare knuckles match?

That's insanity. He punched like a powder puff as a boxer, what did he expect would happen to him when he was no longer able to box his way around danger?

That's nuts

[Jscratch1200]

These fellas are correct, we got JDS vs Ngannou tonight and 239 next week. 239 is looking crazy! For tn the other big one is Formiga vs Benavidez. Gotta think that the winner of that has distinguished himself for the next 125 lbs title shot...if Cejudo ever comes back down. Menifeld vs Craig ought to be a first round finish since Craig has terrible striking defense but submissions and Menifeld has amazing striking but no gas tank...it's made for a highlight close.

Flash Gordon and Eryk Anders are on the undercard too which is solid.

There should be some interesting match-ups and hopefully some new heads stand out to me. I also have to watch back the Tuesday Night Contenders fights from this past week. Week one was fairly light imo.

I really enjoy your insight man. For someone like me who doesn't have the time to watch as many events as I would like, the insight is nice. Helps me track which fights might be worth watching. Thanks.

I appreciate that fam. I love this ish, so it's great to see new people taking interest and joining the discussion.

Been a fan of mma since Pride Fighting. Used to watch pretty often till I had my son a few years ago.

I used to do mma and boxing while in the Marines and it just made me appreciate the sport even more. It's nice to see how far the sport has gone since I first started watching.

[j4remi]

Been a fan of mma since Pride Fighting. Used to watch pretty often till I had my son a few years ago.

I used to do mma and boxing while in the Marines and it just made me appreciate the sport even more. It's nice to see how far the sport has gone since I first started watching.

That's awesome, Pride is my golden age. I was a HUGE Shogun Rua fan and I stanned Crocop over Fedor

Also thank you for your service fam! It definitely helps to do a bit of training and get a feel for what goes into some of the situations imo too. I really got a deeper appreciation for the grappling aspects of the sport after learning some submissions from bjj heads. It completely changed how I view things in there.

[Clyde_Style]

My gut says Dos Santos wins by KO

[HarthorneWingo]

Ngannou off steroids?

Never mind

[HarthorneWingo]

My gut says Dos Santos wins by KO

Feelings
Nothing more than ... feelings

[Clyde_Style]

My gut says Dos Santos wins by KO

Feelings
Nothing more than ... feelings

Thank god I don't bet on this chit