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

[HarthorneWingo]

Quick preface: Calvin kattar talked a LOT prior to this fight and a vocal but significant minority of experts was picking him to win. Kattar claimed that he is the best boxer in the mma; that he’s a finisher and max isnt; and called max a rookie.

So this is the fifth round, max has the fight in hand and he is zoning out. Max looks at DC and repeats calvin’s trash talk while landing a punch and then bobbing and weaving through 3 or 4 attempts by kattar. Kattar is legitimately one of the best strikers in the division btw...just not on god tier with max.

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[NoStatsGuy]

ive slept on it, rewatched it and im still blown away.. that was some inspiring ****.

the kind of creativity, with volume im just rly still amazed.
when he yelled at DC while ducking punches omg
1st i thought hes calling DC out on the spot to agree to fight, since thats a thing between the two of them. haha

it honestly was one of the best performances i personally have ever seen in the UFC, so beautiful to watch. Im biased af, when it comes to max but no way in hell volk is gonna duck max, he just cant. Volk knows he probably was handed the 2nd fight and if i were volk i would be **** my pants. And also i dont see Ortega winning vs Volk, so im assuming here obviously.

but god damn, that kid is insane WOW

[AmaresKnees]

Anybody got a source for rewatching the fight? Unfortunately I wasn’t available during the afternoon. Glad to see max bounce back in this HUGE way

[Guano]

ive slept on it, rewatched it and im still blown away.. that was some inspiring ****.

the kind of creativity, with volume im just rly still amazed.
when he yelled at DC while ducking punches omg
1st i thought hes calling DC out on the spot to agree to fight, since thats a thing between the two of them. haha

it honestly was one of the best performances i personally have ever seen in the UFC, so beautiful to watch. Im biased af, when it comes to max but no way in hell volk is gonna duck max, he just cant. Volk knows he probably was handed the 2nd fight and if i were volk i would be **** my pants. And also i dont see Ortega winning vs Volk, so im assuming here obviously.

but god damn, that kid is insane WOW

one of the best performance we've seen from one the best guys in the fight game - nothing but love for max.

that 5 combo slip while yelling at the commenters was wild.


bytheway, max should be champ right now. he won that last fight against volk. i'm completely biased as i'm a huge fan. That SAID - he clearly won the first two rounds - had that man on his azz, 3 was his and the championship rounds were close. I just hate that he lost both those fights without ever being hurt or in trouble in either of them. Fight game is cruel.

[HarthorneWingo]

Anybody got a source for rewatching the fight? Unfortunately I wasn’t available during the afternoon. Glad to see max bounce back in this HUGE way

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[j4remi]

UFC on ESPN starts at 9:00. Main card starts at 12:00. These fight island events are weird like.

The big one is chiesa vs magny. They’re both sleepers, guys with nice all around games who have had major bounce backs from losses. Both are long, rangy guys with great ground games (edge to magny). The winner probably gets a big opponent next...or the ufc will throw em to wonderboy to continue his slow motion ascent to the top.

[j4remi]

This prelim is stacked with euro prospect debuts. Khabib’s cousin just bodied a legit opponent. A French striker named fiorot just got a head kick tko. Now we’ve got mason jones who I had no idea is on this card. Cage warriors double champ, really nice prospect and facing a legit opponent.

[HarthorneWingo]

This prelim is stacked with euro prospect debuts. Khabib’s cousin just bodied a legit opponent. A French striker named fiorot just got a head kick tko. Now we’ve got mason jones who I had no idea is on this card. Cage warriors double champ, really nice prospect and facing a legit opponent.

You talking about this Saturday?

[j4remi]

This prelim is stacked with euro prospect debuts. Khabib’s cousin just bodied a legit opponent. A French striker named fiorot just got a head kick tko. Now we’ve got mason jones who I had no idea is on this card. Cage warriors double champ, really nice prospect and facing a legit opponent.

You talking about this Saturday?

That post was for the extremely random day fights we got yesterday. While everyone watched the inauguration, the UFC randomly had a bunch of bright euro prospects fighting. The big news is that chiesa smothered magny in impressive fashion and then called out colby Covington.

I do have a couple of drops for this Saturday though. With FTESWL we had a long convo that went deep on the main event with Conor and poirier which just went up. I think I’ll have a more full card focused discussion the TFP podcast before Saturday as well. Here’s the first podcast

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[HarthorneWingo]

This prelim is stacked with euro prospect debuts. Khabib’s cousin just bodied a legit opponent. A French striker named fiorot just got a head kick tko. Now we’ve got mason jones who I had no idea is on this card. Cage warriors double champ, really nice prospect and facing a legit opponent.

You talking about this Saturday?

That post was for the extremely random day fights we got yesterday. While everyone watched the inauguration, the UFC randomly had a bunch of bright euro prospects fighting. The big news is that chiesa smothered magny in impressive fashion and then called out colby Covington.

I do have a couple of drops for this Saturday though. With FTESWL we had a long convo that went deep on the main event with Conor and poirier which just went up. I think I’ll have a more full card focused discussion the TFP podcast before Saturday as well. Here’s the first podcast

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Chiesa beat Magny? Wow. Magny had been on a win streak if I recall.

[j4remi]

Chiesa beat Magny? Wow. Magny had been on a win streak if I recall.

It’s like a pattern with magny, whenever he seems like he’s on the verge of breaking through...he takes an ugly L. I think Lorenz Larkin was the first time he came in and lost right as he was knocking on the door of top tier competition. Then Maia schooled him on the ground. Then RDA took all the steam out. But between each loss was an impressive winning streak with improvements showing.

Chiesa wet blanketed Magny. Out scrambled and out worked him. There were some fun exchanges but I think chiesa had a strength advantage and just stayed busier.

Chiesa looks like a different animal at 170. He’s 4-0, much stronger, more pop on everything and he’s beaten RDA and now magny. Dude deserves a big test.

[HarthorneWingo]

Chiesa beat Magny? Wow. Magny had been on a win streak if I recall.

It’s like a pattern with magny, whenever he seems like he’s on the verge of breaking through...he takes an ugly L. I think Lorenz Larkin was the first time he came in and lost right as he was knocking on the door of top tier competition. Then Maia schooled him on the ground. Then RDA took all the steam out. But between each loss was an impressive winning streak with improvements showing.

Chiesa wet blanketed Magny. Out scrambled and out worked him. There were some fun exchanges but I think chiesa had a strength advantage and just stayed busier.

Chiesa looks like a different animal at 170. He’s 4-0, much stronger, more pop on everything and he’s beaten RDA and now magny. Dude deserves a big test.

That's interesting because I thought Magny had been beast-like lately. His kicking was really strong. I'll have to watch this one.

[bringbackhoffa]

So pumped for tonight's fights..nothing like a Conor McGregor fight night

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[j4remi]

It sucks that the rest of the card isn't great. JoJo could have a sneaky good one if Eye can't stall her out. Ribas is a fun prospect and Rodriguez is chasing her thunder. I don't get how the UFC could botch this though, they should be promoting some majors and instead they went with a budget card. I guess Conor really hasn't gotten expensive.

The only highlight is Hooker vs Chandler. Chandler was the Bellator champ and a mainstay. He's beaten Eddie Alvarez, KO'ed Benson Henderson, beaten the lesser Pitbull bro...he's got as impressive a resume as you can ask for outside the UFC. He's also extremely short for a Lightweight and facing Dan Hooker...a very tall, rangy lightweight.

Hooker has good anti-wrestling and can be drawn into a brawl. He's got quality striking, pop but not that one hitter power and variety. Chandler is predictable. He has a ton of power in his hands and can outwrestle most opponents. His strength is crazy and he can steal rounds off takedowns. The intrigue of this fight is that Hooker likes to brawl and Chandler has a ton of power. But there's a decent possibility that Chandler gasses and we get some cage stalling or takedowns with not much action as well. I think Hooker's range should help him avoid the wrestling stuff, though Chandler's strength could be the great equalizer there. Either way, the winner is gonna be lined up with the top 3-5 opposition next.

[Clyde_Style]

It sucks that the rest of the card isn't great. JoJo could have a sneaky good one if Eye can't stall her out. Ribas is a fun prospect and Rodriguez is chasing her thunder. I don't get how the UFC could botch this though, they should be promoting some majors and instead they went with a budget card. I guess Conor really hasn't gotten expensive.

The only highlight is Hooker vs Chandler. Chandler was the Bellator champ and a mainstay. He's beaten Eddie Alvarez, KO'ed Benson Henderson, beaten the lesser Pitbull bro...he's got as impressive a resume as you can ask for outside the UFC. He's also extremely short for a Lightweight and facing Dan Hooker...a very tall, rangy lightweight.

Hooker has good anti-wrestling and can be drawn into a brawl. He's got quality striking, pop but not that one hitter power and variety. Chandler is predictable. He has a ton of power in his hands and can outwrestle most opponents. His strength is crazy and he can steal rounds off takedowns. The intrigue of this fight is that Hooker likes to brawl and Chandler has a ton of power. But there's a decent possibility that Chandler gasses and we get some cage stalling or takedowns with not much action as well. I think Hooker's range should help him avoid the wrestling stuff, though Chandler's strength could be the great equalizer there. Either way, the winner is gonna be lined up with the top 3-5 opposition next.

Who you picking: Conor or Dustin?

[bringbackhoffa]

for betting purposes i got Porier in the 3rd or 4th.. but my gut says McGregor in 1st

[j4remi]

Who you picking: Conor or Dustin?

Im rooting for Poirier but my sense is that conor picked this fight for a reason. It plays to all his best attributes so I’m thinking conor, probably early rounds. Poirier changing levels with leg kicks and takedowns could make it interesting though.

[Clyde_Style]

for betting purposes i got Porier in the 3rd or 4th.. but my gut says McGregor in 1st

If Poirier brings what he showed against Holloway it could take a big KO punch by Conor to beat him.

The one thing Conor has done in some fights is soften up guys in the first couple of minutes with side kicks. If he starts off strategically like that I'd favor him more than if he comes out strictly in head hunting mode.

[bringbackhoffa]

I just like the betting odds lol got 41 to 1 for porier by submission in 3rd and 51 to1 for submission in the 4th. Similar bet i had made in khabib v Connor fight that paid out nice.. think conor never wants to ever get knocked out so he will slowly be brought to the ground by punches and get choked out once there

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[Guano]

I'll be rooting for Poirier tonight but I dont think he wins.

He seems takes some heavy shots and its hard to believe one from Conor doesnt end it. That said his chin isnt weak and if he takes it to championship rounds he can win.