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

[j4remi]

Lee was the one to call out islam repeatedly. That fight still hasn’t manifested. When it does, they can pop off at the mouth. For now; khabib did everything he could to fight a different opponent. Islam had a chance to fight his highest profile opponent for two years but keeps claiming no one with a name will fight him. These dudes only take these fights when there’s zero excuses to avoid them available.

There's video of Islam consistently calling out Kevin Lee going back 3 years now. And he's been vocal about it lately too, not just Lee. Not sure why you're jumping on the "Islam is scared" train of thought when all of the evidence is showing the UFC is behind this. I highly doubt the dude is afraid of Lee, especially after Al and RDA schooled him. Anyways, he's fighting Ferreira now apparently, who has looked like a killer in his own right. If Islam and Kevin both win, it sets them up to co-main a card or headline a smaller card.

I’m not just saying Islam is scared though. I’m saying the whole dagestani team is picking fights strategically and it’s likely a product of Ali managing them as much as anything. It’s a pattern with these dudes saying they’re down to fight people and then the fight doesn’t happen...then they complain when the other guy takes someone else. Khabib isn’t very active even when he doesn’t have health issues. He’s hasn’t fought more than twice in a given year since 2013. Islam hasn’t hit more than two fights in a given year in the ufc period. It’s always an excuse or reason to delay the ish and I’m tired of it.

Khabib after Conor held up the division for some straight BS. Your boys got suspended for jumping in the octagon and sucker punching Conor. You sparked it by jumping into the crowd. Own it and defend your belt in the toughest division in the ufc instead of asking these guys to fight each other and begging GSP to make a weight he’s never fought at.

Islam is a promising prospect but it’s too early to give him an rda or even iaquinta comparison. Arman Tsarukyan gave him hell and he doesn’t have the names to make that claim just yet. Ferreira ought to be a step in the right direction though. He’s just now moving into the set of opponents where you lose on any bad night. That’s where a lot prospects get stuck bc of all the killers.

[j4remi]

It's hard to take Conor seriously if he does this Crawford thing. I mean, good for him for making money I guess but how is that good for the UFC? How is that good for MMA? Seems to me that Dana is turning into the Don King of MMA just caring about his own pockets rather than what's in the best interest of the organization and the sport. Conor fighting this one-on-one spoof with Crawfor isn't good for the UFC. It actually makes a mockery of it imo. Where's the plan here? Is Conor fighting at 170, at 155, in boxing, in MMA? Which combination is it? Fck if I know. Maybe GEO knows?

What I'm really hating on Conor about is that he doesn't appear to me to have an honor or integrity. I don't know if he ever did. But that's my assessment of him.

I’m holding off judgement until we see his next opponent and how it goes from there. It’s possible that the success got to his head, biggest star in the sport and fought one of the GOAT boxers. It’s a lot that can go to your head. Maybe khabib really did humble him and bring him back down to earth, I’m skeptical but maybe. His list of potential opponents is all scary so we’ll find out fast if he’s really back with the hunger he needs to hit top tier.

I do give him credit though. Poirier, Mendes, Aldo, Alvarez and Nate in a pretty short period of time is wild, especially since I’m leaving out some names he fought in that stretch and max who he beat prior to that run. You have to love the sport to survive those match-ups in quick succession.

[Tron Carter]

rare weekend where id argue the bellator card this weekend is more stacked then the ufc.

really looking forward to borics vs caldwell

[HarthorneWingo]

Stephen A. and Joe Rogan are in a Twitter war over the Conor vs Cowboy fight. Stephen A. claimed that Cerrone “might have quit” in the fight. That got the ball rolling. Rogan called out Smith for making claim about things he’s not an expert in. Now Stephen A. is calling out Rogan saying name the time and place. LMAO

[HarthorneWingo]

This is a great breakdown by The Weasel on Conor's style and left hand.

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

Fight Week fam! And it's the return of Jon Jones aka my pick for the GOAT along with the return of a shortlist for best P4P in WMMA champion, Valentina Shevchenko. The card from top to bottom is a mixed bag with some fights that have potential to flop but also could be entertaining and a couple of sleepers. I'll get into more details as the week goes on but first and foremost...Bones vs Reyes...

I think Dominick Reyes is being buried in this match-up when, similar to Thiago Santos, he represents a unique set of challenges. In my book, he has all of the tools to give Jon Jones a tough match-up but so far he hasn't put them together in a performance that's sold me on him being able to win. Reyes has the size and athleticism to counteract Jones', he's a new generation MMA guy so he's got no blatant weaknesses to exploit. The challenger also has great finishing instincts behind some nicely timed counters, Dan Hardy highlighted Reyes' step back counter uppercut and it really is a beauty. Reyes also walked right through current MW contender Jarred Cannonier and former MW champion Chris Weidman.

The best fights to get a load of Reyes are OSP and Oezdemir though. Those fights run long against guys that can match Dom's size but also have way more experience. Volkan arguably won the match and tested Reyes' full skillset. What we could see there was that there weren't any "caught in the water" moments. So Jones will have to probe and find his advantages but I don't think he'll just walk through Reyes which it feels like some people have assumed.

Now, I'm not gonna go off on Jones because if you've read this far, I'm guessing you know his strengths. Dude is one of the smartest fighters in MMA history, his adjustments in-fight are incredible and his game planning has always been fantastic. Jones evolved from beating guys at what they're best at, to mostly taking away their best tools and then breaking them down where they're weak. This shows best in his rematches. Jones forced Cormier to come forward through volume to the body and legs that set up an eventual head kick (one of just two or three he'd thrown in 15 minutes and a gang of strikes). With Gus, he didn't let the big man have counter opportunities often and eventually forced the fight to the mat.

That style though, means more well-rounded fighters like Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos were able to go deep. While Smith didn't find anything that worked, Santos did, namely the leg kicks. Santos would rip leg kicks that helped mitigate Jones' distance work somewhat and whenever Jones pressed past that range, Thiago would throw hard flurries to back the champ up. It wasn't enough to win but Santos was fighting with one knee torn to pieces and the other one hanging by a thread...and still some heads have him winning that decision (Jones 3-2 in my book). So let's circle in how Dom could make this fight really interesting and what I'm most excited to see Jon Jones address (because he always tweaks his game after a tough fight).

Reyes is nuts if he doesn't look to utilize leg kicks. Jones is bound to expect this too but his style is similar to guys like Max and Conor in that it's a long stance where he has to set his weight down to add power behind his volume. I haven't seen that sort of stance and firing really feed into good leg kick defense. Generally these guys have to counter after the kicks to cut their usage. So I'm curious as to how Jones will address is. If there's no easy answer and Jones just tries to catch the kick or follow it with power, that actually leaves Reyes the counter opportunities that he's capitalized on in the past. Will he be able to do the same against the lengthy and brilliant Jones? I probably wouldn't bet on it...but it does give us some strategy to consider and watch for.

Yall know I stan Jones a bit. At least Jones in the octagon. He's unique, gifted and brilliant in my book. But we're at the point in his career where there's a ton of video tape and he's fighting a generation of fighters who grew up watching him as champion. These are dudes who have probably always had Jones in their minds as the pinnacle to prepare for. That means while Santos and Reyes don't have the same aura of a Cormier or a prime Rua; they have a unique advantage to work from that could force Jones into tougher fights. I'm hype fam!

[HarthorneWingo]

Dominic Reyes FTW with a left head kick and KO (or TKO)

[j4remi]

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

So I've been hyping Thailand as the next place to produce a collective of killers for the MMA world. Loma Lookboonme is the first fighter from Thailand in the UFC, she put a clinic on against Aleksandra Albu. Her next opponent was a relative unknown and I like the idea of bringing her on slowly because Thailand's best MMA athletes mostly acknowledge that they need to build up their ground game so far. Well...that fell through a bit, Loma's opponent dropped out and now she's facing a killer.

Angela Hill jumped in to take Loma on. Angie has an awkward but really effective striking style, she actually is similar to Loma in that she came in without the ground game originally. She has now added more to her ground arsenal but in general, it's striking as her edge and then ground and pound if she gets there. This means Loma gets a striking dominant opponent to test her stand up against. BUT...it's Overkill Hill fam. Hill has two straight finishes at 115 where the stoppages aren't as often. She's gone toe to toe with Jessica Andrade for three rounds (one of the best WMMA fights you'll see I swear). She is a MONSTER and has a good amount of experience at this point.

Fun fact I got from Jack Slack, Hill is on her 6th fight in a calendar year. That's more than Cerrone's ever pulled off. She's 3-3 in that span to be fair, but her losses have come to fighters who were able to take her down. If you stand with Hill, you're usually in trouble...but Loma is an incredibly gifted striker. She's much more traditional Muay Thai in her ways but it's elite level stuff. Albu was twice her size and got thrown around in the clinch via trips and drags. Loma's just a really exciting prospect for me. This might be too soon but it's at least one of the biggest names that will actually play into the style Loma likes to fight. So I'm more hype about this one than virtually anything else this month.

Keep your eyes out fam...Lookboonme vs Hill. That's gonna be a show stealer.

[islanders11040]

Reyes putting up a legit fight

[SWYM]

Fix is in...

[Fury]

Wack. garbage ppv

[knicksNOTslick]

There's no way Jon Jones won any of the first three rounds.

[Duke4life831]

That was a clear 3-2 win for Reyes. Jones should be 0-2 in his last 2 fights, but both times the judges saved him.

[Stannis]

I had it a draw.

That judge needs to be fckin fired! 4-1 Jones? What fight was he watching??? And he apparently screwed up a fight before?

[Strick]

I’m a huge Jon fan but I was nervous he won it. I could see him pulling out one of the first three along with 4 and 5 maybe, but that judge that scored it 4-1 is absolutely delusional. Reyes is legit. I only watched him once or twice vs lower comp that he mowed through, but he showed he is a legit contender talent and arguably should be the champ. Really good fight. I didn’t expect that type of takedown D from Reyes. Dude is strong as an ox.

I’d love for them to run it back. Jones is a nightmare to face after he knows what to expect first hand, but that was only Reyes’ 13th pro fight and if he continues to work and improves the 5 round cardio he has a great chance to push Jon again

[GONYK]

Derrick Lewis and Jon Jones calls were extremely suspect, and I love both fighters.

[HarthorneWingo]

Great night. Knicks win and Jon Jones loses.

Btw, I wonder how Jon Jones can go 5 rounds in LHW championship match and not get tired. Very interesting.

Edit: wait, Jones won? That two fights in a row that Jones lost and was handed the decision.

Total strikes: Reyes 119/263; Jones 107/170

Significant strikes: Reyes 116/259; Jones 104/166

[NoStatsGuy]

what the actual F..

One guy scored the mainevent 4-1 for jones... cmon



why are the 1st 2 rounds even printed on these scorecards? Does anybody know? These judges are complete fools..

IDK about the Santos fight, but Jones lost this one for sure. Now i can kinda see the arguments about, you cannot win the belt "running".. but honestly that was what Jones did the 1st 3 rounds, he ran a couple times.

Bullet Valentina is just too good for female flyweight.

Latifi looks solid in HW, if he stays in HW there are some interesting fights for him.

That Giles - Krause fight, was fun to watch. No camp, going all out early, love to see that, especially with the grappling early.

Overall pretty boring card, with terrible judges if you ask me. Jones' time is up pretty soon

[Traveyknicks23]

Sweet sweet victory y’all want Jones to lose so bad! Reminds me of the Mayweather days lol