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

[HarthorneWingo]

If DC beats Miocic again, you think he fights Ngannou?

[matchman]

Ngannou is Saitama sensei or no?

[Mauro Pedrosa]

Hey there friends! I posted on this thread every now and then and I've got something some of ya'll might be interested in. I'm a graphic designer working on a new YouTube project, and would be delighted if you checked it out and gave some feedback. Thanks in advance

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

Hey there friends! I posted on this thread every now and then and I've got something some of ya'll might be interested in. I'm a graphic designer working on a new YouTube project, and would be delighted if you checked it out and gave some feedback. Thanks in advance

Watch on YouTube

Fam I love this. I would be a big fan of a series that tells the stories of legendary fights from build-up to aftermath like you managed here in pretty concise manner. Wilder/Fury was a perfect jump off point and I dug the animation a lot too. For constructive criticism, I'd say that I liked the dialogue but doing a bit more to differentiate the voices of the characters (not the scripting which felt like straight quotes to me but the delivery a bit) could add to the immersion into the story. Just my two cents though, I'm a fan as is and def looking forward to seeing more.

[j4remi]

Ngannou is Saitama sensei or no?

One-Punch man really would be a fire nickname for him.

[j4remi]

Guys, it's fight week and I am excited as all hell. We get the top P4P male and female (arguably the respective GOATS) in the main and co-main. The main card is top to bottom fire with a couple of fights I'm happy about for the prelims. I don't have time to dive in now but def will soon (I'm thinking we may get some podcast content up about it too). For now, the main card sorta speaks for itself. I'll be gassing it and making picks later on, what yall think? I see some upset potential (not Jones though outside of a puncher's chance).

Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones (c) vs. Thiago Santos
Women's Bantamweight: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Holly Holm
Welterweight: Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren
Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Błachowicz
Welterweight: Diego Sanchez vs. Michael Chiesa

[bringbackhoffa]

Guys, it's fight week and I am excited as all hell. We get the top P4P male and female (arguably the respective GOATS) in the main and co-main. The main card is top to bottom fire with a couple of fights I'm happy about for the prelims. I don't have time to dive in now but def will soon (I'm thinking we may get some podcast content up about it too). For now, the main card sorta speaks for itself. I'll be gassing it and making picks later on, what yall think? I see some upset potential (not Jones though outside of a puncher's chance).

Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones (c) vs. Thiago Santos
Women's Bantamweight: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Holly Holm
Welterweight: Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren
Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Błachowicz
Welterweight: Diego Sanchez vs. Michael Chiesa

Jones by TKO round 3
Nunes by KO round 2
Askren by submission round 1
Blachowicz by decision
Chiesa by decision

[Mauro Pedrosa]

Hey there friends! I posted on this thread every now and then and I've got something some of ya'll might be interested in. I'm a graphic designer working on a new YouTube project, and would be delighted if you checked it out and gave some feedback. Thanks in advance

Watch on YouTube

Fam I love this. I would be a big fan of a series that tells the stories of legendary fights from build-up to aftermath like you managed here in pretty concise manner. Wilder/Fury was a perfect jump off point and I dug the animation a lot too. For constructive criticism, I'd say that I liked the dialogue but doing a bit more to differentiate the voices of the characters (not the scripting which felt like straight quotes to me but the delivery a bit) could add to the immersion into the story. Just my two cents though, I'm a fan as is and def looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks for the beautiful words and for checking it out.

I'm a big fight fan but I also love the NBA and Soccer so I'll be doing videos about everything. I tried to do a little Batman raspy voice for Fury hahaha, I need to turn it up next time

[Grinditout]

The Masvidal/Askren is what I'm most hyped for just due to the uncertainty of what'll happen

[waya]

<still waiting patiently for the day Jon Jones gets KTFO>

[j4remi]

Okay fam, lemme dive into this card while I've got some time and plant my flag on a couple of upsets. The exciting thing about this card is that there's a path to victory for the underdogs in every fight and all but the opening bout will have big implications for respective divisions. Also, I'ma throw in the smart money bet vs my own upset picks because I don't want anyone to miss the fact that picking the upset is pretty damned risky for any of these bouts but I'll be putting some money down for the sake of making the card exciting (I have house money accumulated for the occasion, word to draftkings sportsbook). Starting from the top so yall can hit the most interesting names first and the fanatics like myself can read through.

Light Heavyweight: Jon Jones (c) vs. Thiago Santos:

So the reason I love this is because I'm a Santos stan. I've been gassing this dude for a long time through his MW ups and downs for two reasons. One, he is more technically proficient then he gets credited for. His kicks are fast, his hands are good and everything goes for power. The proficiency can be missed though because he's aggressive to a fault. That means explosive KO's and striking but also putting himself into danger. Anthony Smith has beaten Oezdemir and Gustaffson while being the only recent opponent to go to a decision against Jon Jones...Thiago Santos knocked Anthony Smith out UGLY. But the tradeoff is in 6 losses, he's been finished 5 times, aggression leads to mistakes on BOTH sides. You guys know Jones, everyone does. It's not just physical and technical prowess but fight IQ that sets him apart. What works in the first round will flop in the second because he's making reads. Well unlike with some of these other guys, Santos makes this interesting because he's a "go out on my shield" type of attacker. Jones will have to make his reads quicker and a slow read will mean eating something POWERFUL. So this is an elevated puncher's chance fight because we'll see an MMA genius dealing with a wrecking ball.

My pick is still Jones though. The height and length being the biggest issue for Santos. Watch the staredowns or weigh-ins, Santos is going to have to close distance across a long gap. I'm talking Gastelum/Adesanya distance but I also bring that up because well...Gastelum did find a way. It's not impossible. But where Gastellum had footwork and head movement, Santos will rely on explosion which is more dangerous. It'll be fun though regardless. Jones by Sub in the 2nd is my prediction. Smart money? Jones. My money? Also Jones.

Women's Bantamweight: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Holly Holm:

Italics for my pick this time because I'm going against the smart money and honestly my logic is on thin ice. So Amanda Nunes has beaten all of the female greats from the UFC era of female MMA besides Holm at this point. She's emphatically KO'ed them all too besides Valentina. Nunes is faster than the rest, hits harder than them and has a strong base on the ground as well. Her biggest question mark has been cardio but she has really smartened up at conserving energy and pacing herself. That said, she hasn't proven that she can last against someone who can push the pace.

That makes the boxer Holm 2-4 in her last 6 a lot more interesting than she should be. Holm has never been KO'ed in MMA while fighting every other elite striker but Nunes. She also has the best footwork Nunes has ever fought. Holm's losses have also been outside of Nunes' bread and butter styles. Muay Thai fighters have been able to intercept Holm's entries in ways that boxing based strikers haven't figured out so far and that makes sense. Holm was a world class boxer. Miesha Tate won on a hail mary wrestling entry but Nunes has a BJJ base for grappling which hasn't proven effective either. Basically, none of what Nunes does well has actually proven effective against Holm yet. You're counting on the added power and speed to catch Holm AND for the cardio to hold up long enough to get there. So I know it's a high risk bet; but I think Holm's footwork and head movement could elude Nunes' boxing long enough to build up points in the latter rounds. Holm by Split Decision. Smart money though, bet the dominant champ over the woman with 2 wins in her last 6 (including 3 losses to common opponents..honestly I'm crazy here).

Welterweight: Jorge Masvidal vs. Ben Askren:

Ben Askren has proven jack in my book. I'm in the "Robbie gave a thumbs up" camp and also the "world class wrestler damn near gave up his back then got slammed on his head" camp with regards to Askren's debut. Now Masvidal doesn't have a wrestling background but he is a huge fan and has developed into a shockingly effective wrestler. His is the blueprint others have used to beat Demian Maia (Kamaru even gave up a back take like the ones that cost Masvidal the decision). So Askren wins fights by forcing grappling through sloppy reckless forward motion and wearing guys down. We haven't seen Masvidal worn down, his counter wrestling is primo and he's KO'ed some of the most technically gifted strikers in MMA...this isn't just a puncher's chance, Masvidal has a solid road map to the upset. If Masvidal's counter wrestling can create enough separation time to land combinations, he'll have a great chance to steal rounds or even score a KO. Smart money is probably no money on this one, too many unanswered questions. Safe bet is Askren because wrestling wins 3 round fights. But I'm going high risk again.

Light Heavyweight: Luke Rockhold vs. Jan Błachowicz:

Rockhold should be the favorite, but there's AMPLE reason to pick Blachowicz. Rockhold's prime was mostly in Strikeforce but he was a FORCE and it carried over to a UFC title. The problem for Luke has always been sloppy defense in closed quarters and a shoddy chin. We've seen guys move up in weight and suddenly have much better chins which is my hope here. Luke's kicks are vicious and his punching is sloppy but powerful. Where he's really money is on the ground though. He's huge with high level grappling and that means he just imposes his will on guys. Then there's Blachowicz. Blachowicz loses to wrestlers that get him down and elite striking. Luke has a chance to take advantage of both...but Blachowicz is bigger than Luke's typical opponents and proficient enough striking to test Luke's chin. He won 4 of his last 5 fights before Santos finished him and got a title shot. This dude is a legitimate test and no push over, if he keeps the fight standing then it's up to Luke to correct one of his two flaws...shoddy in-boxing or shoddy chin. I'm counting on Luke to find a way though.

Welterweight: Diego Sanchez vs. Michael Chiesa:

I feel like Chiesa went from slightly overrated to completely slept on off the back of losses to Kevin Lee and Anthony Pettis who are both consistent top 10 caliber fighters. Diego Sanchez is riding a bit of good feels off wins over Mickey Gall and Craig White who are barely UFC caliber. Sanchez looks on his last legs though, he's slowed down and he's susceptible to anyone with decent striking. Where he's still a mauler is on the ground. He has 40 fights, around 30 of them in UFC and has never been submitted. That's interesting because Chiesa's bread and butter has been the choke. He has 15 wins and 11 of them are submission wins. So Diego's path to victory appears to be similar to how he beat Marcin Held recently...outlast him and don't get tapped out. But Chiesa has surprisingly solid striking behind a lot of length. When he's on he throws a very crisp, straight line one-two that catches guys because his arms are so damned long. Against a slowed down Diego who is MUCH smaller and has a slipping chin; that should be enough. Chiesa 1st round TKO for me.

The undercard hype:
Not going into too much detail but...
Gilbert Melendez is back and hopefully his leg is back from the damage it took in later fights (and also hopefully he practiced checking leg kicks as well). He's always exciting to watch. He's also fighting a VERY good prospect. Arnold Allen is 14-1 including a win over Makwhan Amirkhani (another very exciting prospect). This is grizzled vet versus fast rising prospect and I can't wait to see Allen fight someone that will drag him into deep water come hell or high water.

Marlon Vera is always fun to watch. I just don't know much about his opponent, so no comment beyond Vera is a fun fighter.

Last Claudia Gadelha is back and like Melendez we all know what she SHOULD have worked on. Her cardio is her weakness. She can outwrestle anybody, even outwrestled the champ Andrade when she was fresh. She was able to strike competently against Joanna Jerdjezcyk (this is a no google attempt at spelling that name fam). But her gas tank seems like it's only gotten worse with Nina Ansarov making her look tired and bad last time out. She's fighting Randa Markos who I always liked but hasn't developed how I had hoped but has two things going for her. She's a grinder who tires opponents out and she's tough as hell, only finished once by submission in her career. So Gadelha's gas tank is once again the deciding factor.

[bringbackhoffa]

love the analysis as always j4remi

[j4remi]

The Masvidal/Askren is what I'm most hyped for just due to the uncertainty of what'll happen

Me too, it's a boom or bust one with Askren but I think Masvidal will make it really entertaining.

love the analysis as always j4remi

Appreciate it fam, I think your picks run right along the lines of what I'd do if I went low risk on my gambling btw, they're on a way firmer foundation than my upset selections
I wonder if we'd be able to get enough people to create a draft kings group to make for fun picks on the bigger events.

[HarthorneWingo]

LMAO! This is epic.

Watch on YouTube

First YouTube comment:

Spoiler:

jhon reckner

Diego goes on an almost 3 minute rant

Ariel: So you feel like he disrespected you?
Diego: No not at all he’s been very respectful

[Jscratch1200]

This whole espn + to watch is garbage.

[swisscheeseD]

This whole espn + to watch is garbage.

Is it worth it? I wanna watch these fights tonight, but I only watch like 2-3 ppv’s a year.

[Jscratch1200]

This whole espn + to watch is garbage.

Is it worth it? I wanna watch these fights tonight, but I only watch like 2-3 ppv’s a year.

Not sure if it's required to watch all fights from now on. Seems like it though. They kinda included the price of this event with the subscription this time.

[waya]

Luke needs to go back to AKA or retire

[swisscheeseD]

Holy fukkkkkkkkkkk

[GEOLINK]

KO of the f*cking year.

I need Dustin to do that to Khabib.