|
UFC 239 GDT It’s international fight week! Whatever that means. This year’s flagship card for the UFC is UFC 239: Jones vs Santos. In terms of star power it’s a bit weaker than 4th of July weekend cards in past years. This time around we have no golden mats or Lesnars Brock. We just have two title fights and a solid supporting card. The Main Event – Light Heavyweight Championship  Jon “Bones” Jones (c) Vs  Thiago “Maretta” Santos Jon Jones has a possibly-deserved reputation as the greatest fighter in the UFC’s history. He’s never been defeated except on a technicality*, and really he’s never looked like he was in that much trouble in any of his fights. This fight is the second in a new phase of Jones’s career. First, we had Jones the prospect, who flamboyantly smashed up fighters such as Stephan Bonnar, all the way to a short-notice title shot against Shogun Rua. Second, we had an era of Jones as the killer of the old guard, in which he defended his new title against 5 consecutive former champs. Then Jones had a few high-stakes defences against rivals Alexander Gustafsson and Daniel Cormier, who he defeated convincingly in rematches, and for whom retirement is in the conversation. The Cormier bout was also the first in the “garbage hot mess” phase of his career, in which his record for most consecutive UFC Light Heavyweight defences was displaced by his record-setting I can’t even remember how many failed drug tests streak. Jones closed this era with a third-round TKO of Alexander Gustafsson amid a “pulsing metabolites” controversy. This new phase is one in which he is quietly facing a series of new contenders while trying to avoid another toothless USADA sanction. In March, he defeated streaking former middleweight journeyman Anthony Smith by a convincing, though not necessarily impressive decision, in a fight which he really could have lost on a technicality (see * above) when Smith declared he was able to continue after a disqualification-worthy foul. Tonight he faces Thiago Santos, known as “The Hammer.” Like Anthony Smith, Santos is a middleweight also-ran (10-5) who revitalized his career by moving up to 205. Since that move, Santos has put away Eryk Anders, Jimi Manuwa, and Jan Blachowicz in performance bonus earning fights. Smith’s contendership also says a lot about the state of 205: right now he’s on a three-fight three-stoppage streak to a title shot, while twice at 185 he put together more impressive streaks without so much as a suggestion of a #1 contender fight. The UFC thread regulars are going to roll their eyes when I repeat my assessment of this matchup: Thiago Santos has an optimized puncher’s chance against Jon Jones. Jones is handily the better all around fighter, but Santos presents a set of particular challenges that Jones has yet to face in his title run. First, Santos is a terrifying kicker, with 6 UFC finishes credited to them specifically. The best kickers Jones has faced – Machida and Belfort – only really started putting guys away with kicks after they fought. Second, Santos’s kicking game is particularly effective against the lower half of the body. He has four body kick finishes, including consecutive ones against Anthony Smith (the same) and middleweight contender Jack Hermansson. Jones’s long body and legs present an attractive, perhaps even vulnerable, target for Santos in this respect. Third, Santos is an extremely high-pressure high-pace fighter who has demonstrated a willingness to absorb damage and make fights extremely ugly, which again, Jones has not really faced at this level. Jones is good at controlling the pace of a fight, and is by an extremely wide margin the better grappler, so expect to see Jones take a submission or ground and pound victory in the middle rounds, but don’t sleep on Santos’s kicks. Co-Main Event – Women’s Bantamweight Championship  Amanda “Leona” Nunes (c) Vs  Holly “The Preacher’s Daughter” Holm This is really a keep-busy fight for Nunes, who is coming off a first-round destruction of Christiane “Cyborg” Santos in a 145 lb champ vs champ superfight. Holm is coming off of a win over prospect Megan Anderson at 145, and her last win was a cool but rather meaningless KO of Bethe Correira. Nonetheless, Nunes is cool, and Holm is a game, durable opponent with good defense. Holm’s path to victory is probably a point fighting one with the ever-looming threat of a head kick KO. Nunes has in the past shown a tendency to fade in later rounds (see esp. vs Cat Zingano, but also vs Valentina Schevchenko), so look for Holm to exploit this with lots of circling and long outside punches. Nunes is likely going to try to put Holm away quickly with heavy punches and/or grappling, with a backup plan of “win three, survive two.” It’s likely that whoever wins the third round will win the whole fight. The Hardcore Main Event Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal Vs “Funky” Ben Askren Masvidal is one of the best all-around fighters in the history of the sport, and a true veteran who appeared even in some Kimbo Slice Miami backyard videos back in the day. He’s coming off of a really scary KO of welterweight washout Darren Till. Askren is a goofy looking motherfucker who talks poo poo, has a bad twitter feed, but is also arguably the best example of MMA wrestling we’ve seen yet. Askren spent a long time in the MMA hinterlands, talking poo poo about Dana White and the UFC’s welterweights from afar, before finally signing last year. He’s coming off of a controversial t-sub bulldog choke win over Robbie Lawler. It’s probable that the winner of this fight will get a title shot. BJJ Scout loves both of these fighters and posted a good breakdown. The tl;dw is that Askren is going to try to wrestle Masvidal, and Masvidal is going to try to counter-wrestle and box up Askren. It should be a good fight and lots of people are quite excited. Light Heavyweight Bout Luke Skyler Rockhold Vs Jan Blachowicz Rockhold is the former middleweight champion, moving up to test the waters at 205 and repeat Anthony Smith’s and Thiago Santos’s success in the shallower division. He’s coming off of a KO loss to Yoel Romero and a year’s layoff (though a year’s layoff is not uncharacteristic for Rockhold). Jan Blachowicz is a beneficiary of the shallow waters at 205. He’s a largely forgettable Euro fighter who manages to pull off some wins before losing. He’s not a can, but this is definitely an opportunity for Rockhold to show that he’s still an elite fighter late in his career, in a new weight class. Welterweight Bout Diego “The Dreammare” Sanchez Vs Michael Chiesa Another veteran vs contender spot. Diego is the original ultimate fighter, and if I’m not mistaken the fighter with the current longest tenure in the UFC. He has had something like 30 UFC fights in four weight classes. Chiesa is the winner of The Ultimate Fighter Live (that’s TUF 20). Diego has been extra weird lately, having hired some kind of personal life coach and leaving his former permanent home at Jackson-Wink. Diego can do it all, but he can’t do it all well. He’s actually on a win streak, too, believe it or not. Chiesa is a former lightweight, and a grapple specialist. He’s a real whiner in a lot of cases, but he has an extremely high finishing percentage from back control. He has never demonstrated any kind of significant punching power, which is good for Diego. Preliminary Card (ESPN) Featherweight – Gilbert “Giblert” Melendez vs Arnold Allen Bantamweight – Marlon Vera vs Nohelin Hernandez Women’s Strawweight - Claudia Gadelha vs Randa Markos Bantamweight – Alejandro Perez vs. Yadlong Song Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+) Middleweight – Edmen Shabazyan vs Jack Marshman Welterweight – Ismail Naurdiev vs Chance Rencountre Women’s Bantamweight – Julia Avila vs Pannie Kianzad Snack Rating Three piece and a soda: 
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 18:32
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 06:39 |
|
|
heckums yeah, i'm moderately (some might say stupidly) excited for these fights e: side note, the earliest prelims are on fight pass in the US, i believe At least, that's what fight pass is telling me
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 18:39
|
|
|
peremptory RIP to thiago santos
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 18:52
|
|
|
I wanna believe but have very little reason to actually do so.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:03
|
|
|
LobsterMobster posted:heckums yeah, i'm moderately (some might say stupidly) excited for these fights same - I am irrationally pumped for the first three fights on the main card
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:04
|
|
|
ELI PORTER posted:peremptory RIP to thiago santos I don't think he'll win, but I don't think Jones will starch him.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:05
|
|
|
This is a good-rear end card and I cannot wait to still be sort of disappointed in Jones/Santos going exactly the way it has to.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:07
|
|
|
Here's the Embedded with the weigh-in's if anyone wanted to see it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnjMGesM-JE
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:20
|
|
|
Isn't that Holm / Nunes fight five rounds?
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:28
|
|
|
Best Friends posted:Isn't that Holm / Nunes fight five rounds? It is. CommonShore posted:Nunes is likely going to try to put Holm away quickly with heavy punches and/or grappling, with a backup plan of “win three, survive two.”
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 19:41
|
|
|
Kragger99 posted:Here's the Embedded with the weigh-in's if anyone wanted to see it. lmao every single person weighing in for as long as I can remember has a bottle of whatever bullshit hydrating cocktail their camp makes for them, Luke Rockhold has a loving piece of watermelon. I don't know if he's an idiot or a genius.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 20:07
|
|
|
for whatever reason I thought yesterday was saturday and i was hoping to start my day off with the news of jones' kicking this santos fella's head clean off his shoulders then pissing hot for turpentine and whatever steroids dolph lundgren was on for Rocky 4 but here we are.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 20:57
|
|
|
Brut posted:lmao every single person weighing in for as long as I can remember has a bottle of whatever bullshit hydrating cocktail their camp makes for them, Luke Rockhold has a loving piece of watermelon. I don't know if he's an idiot or a genius. not a bad choice tbh.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:05
|
|
|
Jon Jones is going to utilize insanely powerful clothesline and power bomb techniques to physically dominate his opponent
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:09
|
|
|
Brut posted:lmao every single person weighing in for as long as I can remember has a bottle of whatever bullshit hydrating cocktail their camp makes for them, Luke Rockhold has a loving piece of watermelon. I don't know if he's an idiot or a genius. He is also cutting a lot less weight than most after moving up to lighttrashweight
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:28
|
|
|
Naw, watermelon is a legit good choice in those circumstances.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:30
|
|
|
yeah i mean, theres like 20 lbs he no longer has to cut, so he's probably feeling great and like he deserves some watermelon
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:30
|
|
|
Cyber Dog posted:yeah i mean, theres like 20 lbs he no longer has to cut, so he's probably feeling great and like he deserves some watermelon I mean this is post-weigh in, obviously all the fighters go on to have big meals and I'm sure some of those include watermelon, it's just funny watching him walking out with a slice in his hand immediately after weighing in. I have some watermelon in the fridge I'll make sure to eat a slice in his honor when he's waking up and grappling with the ref.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:39
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/mma_vegeta/status/1147517349311860736
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:42
|
|
|
CommonShore posted:Snack Rating this is a good idea, thank you
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:43
|
|
|
https://twitter.com/smoogymma/status/1147585844208951301
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 21:51
|
|
|
diego sanchez is a straight up nutter it's amazing
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:07
|
|
|
how did hollys clit look like at the weigh ins
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:09
|
|
|
BaggySteve posted:how did hollys clit look like at the weigh ins Wtf kind of pervy poo poo is this?
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:18
|
|
|
I really want Diego to win
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:19
|
|
|
Nystral posted:Wtf kind of pervy poo poo is this? When Holly KO’d Rousey people on Sherdog or whatever studied her undies during weigh in and determined that she was probably on steroids due to having a big clit
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:27
|
|
|
Nystral posted:Wtf kind of pervy poo poo is this? It’s a callback to ancient internet times when holly was accused of peds and internet nerds were going on and on about how you could tell from weigh in pics.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:28
|
|
|
How is ESPN+ streaming quality?
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:31
|
|
|
mem posted:How is ESPN+ streaming quality? First event was a little Rocky but I'm otherwise cool with it.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 22:55
|
|
|
I am watching the whole thing through FP but I think the first 3 fights aren't on ESPN+ at all as far as I can tell.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:10
|
|
|
Brut posted:I am watching the whole thing through FP but I think the first 3 fights aren't on ESPN+ at all as far as I can tell. they are per the espn schedule edit: its live on espn+ now
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:11
|
|
|
G-Hawk posted:they are per the espn schedule Oh ok good. FP has it as starting at 6:30, what are they showing right now?
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:21
|
|
|
Brut posted:Oh ok good. it's just showing a placeholder graphic that says 'event about to begin' on ESPN+ rn
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:22
|
|
|
Soothing Vapors posted:it's just showing a placeholder graphic that says 'event about to begin' on ESPN+ rn Oh ok I'm getting a bunch of Thiago Santos promos showing how he's teaching kids for free in his home town and poo poo, "the live event will begin shortly" in the corner Thought maybe they're doing some kind of ESPN-specific preshow that just wouldn't make sense broadcasting to FP
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:25
|
|
|
And here we go 
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:31
|
|
|
I want it on record that the term "Goat" for "Greatest Of All Time" is unfathomably stupid.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:33
|
|
|
I would have thought Masvidal was favourite. Askren was getting beat to poo poo by Robbie until the ref hosed up.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:34
|
|
|
Oh a hybrid new/old ruleset. That won't cause any problems.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:34
|
|
|
time for the ol face punch'ums
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:34
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 06:39 |
|
|
I dimly remember thinking Avila was cool in Invicta but I don't remember any of her fights
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2019 23:35
|
|