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Previous thread is here. "February" Events & Dates UFC 258 - February 13, 2021 UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Lewis - February 20, 2021 UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Gane - February 27, 2021 Current Champions Men's Heavyweight Champion - Stipe Miocic(20-3) Men's Light Heavyweight Champion - Jan Blachowicz (27-8) Men’s Middleweight Champion - Israel Adesanya (20-0) Men's Welterweight Champion - Kamaru Usman (17-1) Men's Lightweight Champion - Vacant Men's Featherweight Champion - Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) Men’s Bantamweight Champion - Petr Yan (15-1) Men's Flyweight Champion - Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1) Women's Featherweight Champion - Amanda Nunes (20-4) Women's Bantamweight Champion - Amanda Nunes (20-4) Women’s Flyweight Champion - Valentina Shevchenko (20-3) Women's Strawweight Champion - Zhang Weili (21-1) Other Things to Check Out MMA is not solely restricted to UFC but it is pretty much guaranteed that the UFC will more often than not put on fun cards. There’s a bunch of B, C, and Z tier MMA organizations which you can chat about over at the B-League MMA: Grand Prixs and Untested Pee thread. We have the Let's Watch: Random Old MMA Events! Thread thread which has been great to read about/relive events through other people’s eyes and worth getting in on yourself if you like writing. At some point someone will make the Best & Worst of MMA in 2021 thread and when that happens, it will exist. Finally, shout out to DumbWhiteGuy for providing details for the MMA IRC channel. irc.synirc.net #mma Join your fellow MMA fans in discussing all things MMA in a place probably secure against nuclear armageddon - IRC has been around for so long I'm not convinced anything could kill it. There is also the MMA Goons Discord if you no longer use IRC because you are living in the 21st century.  Please Note: this is not an official Fight Island discord, and is just some of us hanging around to chat and such. Link - https://discord.gg/SkR8ZeC
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Feb 8, 2021 14:24
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Time for the  postSo about that guest recap, I was lazy and forgot to do the February thread and we're about halfway through February. So if you're into doing a recap for the March thread, holla at ya boy. January Recap (and also a bit of February) First in January, UFC did an event for the first time ever on ABC with UFC on ABC: Holloway vs Kattar which last month I thought was just on ESPN+. Anyway this card was really good and had some solid finishes. First up, KO Highlight king Joaquin Buckley got KO'd himself thanks to Alessio Di Chirico's solid head kick. Next Li Jingliang also scored a nice KO victory over meme fighter Santiago "Lemme Just Blatantly Grab Gunnar's Shorts Without Any Penalty" Ponzinibbio. In the co-main event we got an aged dog fight as Carlos Condit out pointed Matt Brown for a decision win, which hopefully means they'll both finally retire. In the main event Max Holloway put on a performance of an amazing magnitured and outschooled Calvin Kattar en route to a decision victory. Seriously, Max is amazing and you need to just appreciate him. Next the UFC held UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs Magny and I frankly didn't watch this one. Going by what I recall of people talking about it wasn't a hugely amazing card. Roxanned Modafferi lost to Viviane Araujo via a decision which is not cool cuz Roxy is so drat cool. Warlley Alves beat a guy I never heard of via a body kick TKO in the co-main event. In the main event Michael Chiesa took a decision victory win over Neil Magny and his stock continues to go up. I honestly would not be too fussed to see Chiesa take on some higher ranked Welterweights let alone possibly see him go for the title later this year if things don't work super well with scheduling. The final event of January was UFC 257: McGregor vs Poirier 2 and while this was a bit top heavy of a card with essentially the two main fights being the only big draw, there were some solid performances. Khalil Rountree Jr got robbed on the undercard and I am still salty about Muay Thai Rountree being derailed yet again. Marina Rodriguez pissed Dana White off by destroying Amanda Ribas and getting a TKO victory over the hyped up bubbly Brazilian. We saw a great flying knee from Makhmud Muradov to shut Andrew Sanchez down and win via TKO. Joanne Calderwood and Jessica Eye had a fight and really we're just watching a lot of lower skilled fighters get somehow title shots vs Shevchenko and I'm not too enthused by a JoJo vs Bullet Flyweight title fight. Are you? In the co-main event Dan Hooker lost pretty quickly to Michael Chandler via TKO and it was even stranger because the UFC announced Chandler as a Bellator Champion which is like the first time they've ever done that despite numerous previous Bellator champions being in the UFC. Chandler looked solid and made a case for him to get a title shot for the vacant Lightweight title. In the main event Conor McGregor suffered a KO, not TKO, loss to Poirier who got his revenge from their Featherweight bout several years ago. Poirier looked great and honestly now that Khabib is gone could be the best Lightweight out there. Then we entered February and I forgot about making a thread, so UFC then held UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Volkov. This card wasn't soo crazy looking to me and that's why I opted to skip it. Beneil Dariush took a split decision win over Carlos Diego Ferreira and Dariush continues to be a silent dark horse in the lightweight division's title hunt. Clay Guida somehow fought and won against Michael Johnson and yeah I'd like both of them to go away now. Johnson was a guy I loved for a while and he had a fantastic fight vs Gaethje but dude is really underperforming for his potential. Cory Sandhagen got an amazingly beautiful flying knee KO win over former Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and yeah Edgar should join Guida and Johnson in the retirement club but I really doubt that'll happen since Frankie thinks he can become a Bantamweight champ and I'm just all kinda confused by that delusion. In the main event Alexander Volkov got a TKO win over Alistair Overeem. I didn't watch this fight but I fell asleep on Sunday and had a weird dream where Overeem's eye was knocked out of his skull and there was a video shot of the referee carrying it around and now I believe that to be cannon and refuse to allow that to risk being disproved. Honestly it could've been because I had Lower Decks on when I fell asleep and that was a scene from that show instead of the actual fight but again, this is my cannon. Overeem lost his eye in that fight. As always after an Overeem loss, we're speculating on if he truly should just retire. UFC events in February (actually starting February 8th) The "first" event of February is on February 13, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and will be UFC 258: Usman vs Burns. This is the lone PPV for the month and seems to be decently set up top to bottom. On the main card we have Pedro Munhoz taking on Jimmie Rivera, Kelvin Gastelum trying to stay relevant in the Middleweight division by fighting Ian Heinisch, Maycee "My Knee Is Hopefully Not Ruined Forever Thanks to My Dumb Dad" Barber taking on Alexa Grasso, and in the main event the long awaited Welterweight championship match between reigning champion Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns. Then on February 20th, the UFC will host UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs Lewis. This is a card that again is comically not finalized from what I can find out but the main event is meant to be Curtis Blaydes vs Derrick Lewis in a Heavyweight tilt. Rumored to beo n the card is Aleksei Oleinik vs Chris Daukaus, Andrei Arlovski vs Tom Aspinall, and a bunch of other people who aren't super very interesting or worth much note. Finally on February 27th, the UFC will have UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Gane. Much like the Blaydes vs Lewis card this one also is comically as usual not able to be finalized due to a loving pandemic that the UFC seems to not really care about anymore. In the main event is Jaizinho Rozenstruik taking Ciryl Gane, the rest of the card is fantastic in its list of "yeah sure I guess" fighters. Alexander Hernandez taking on Thiago Moises, Alex Caceres taking on a fighter with no wiki. Two wikipedialess fighters fighting. Raoni Barcelos taking on TBD, and more are all rumored to be happening but probably wont. So exciting! Current Champions  Men's Heavyweight Champion - Stipe Miocic(20-3) A veteran for 9 years in the UFC, Stipe has amassed quite an impressive resume. After a series of winning streaks halted by a lone loss, Miocic eventually worked his way up to a title fight with then champion Fabricio Werdum and shocked the world with his KO win becoming the new UFC Heavyweight Champion. Miocic would then go on and set the record for the most UFC Heavyweight title defenses at 3 because the UFC Heavyweight Championship must have a curse or something. This would then lead to a Champion vs Champion bout between then UFC Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier which Miocic would lose. He then sat out for a year lobbying for a rematch which he eventually got 13 months after losing the title. While Stipe lost his first match with Cormier via KO, he avenged that loss with a KO of his own and reclaimed his Heavyweight gold. Another year would pass and Cormier and Miocic would face off for the third and final time, which would also presumably serve as Cormier’s retirement fight where Miocic’s clinch control and awareness of Cormier’s game plan would lead him to another title defense beginning a new bid to set the record for most title defense wins.  Men's Light Heavyweight Champion - Jan Blachowicz (27-8) Poland’s Jan Blachowicz pre-UFC career was mainly a string of beating up European MMA fighters until being called up to the UFC. Things didn't go well for Blachowicz losing 4 of his first 6 fights in the promotion. Eventually though he found his groove and would string together wins and even avenging a few of his early losses in the UFC in rematches. It was when he fought and lost to Thiago Santos that things seemed to have changed. Blachowicz admitted the loss made him better and more focused on his fight game. He was relatively not a top end contender when the UFC matched him against the former UFC Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold. The viciousness of Rockhold’s KO loss that night sent the clear message that Jan was not to be overlooked and thanks to a pair more wins that immediately followed, he was clearly a top challenger for the UFC Light Heavyweight championship. When Jon Jones vacated the belt the UFC put Dominick Reyes and Jan against one another to determine the new champion. Many assumed Reyes, who arguably won against Jones in his last outing, would simply claim the vacant belt. Much like the Rockhold fight, Jan’s power and focus made it abundantly clear that he was not to be anyone’s stepping stone. Now the UFC Light Heavyweight champion, Jan’s first title challenger is unclear but there has been talk that Jones’ planned move to Heavyweight may be postponed so the two can finally meet inside the cage. It was announced recently that Jan is going to have his first title defense against reigning Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya.  Men’s Middleweight Champion - Israel Adesanya (20-0) A native of Nigeria, New Zealand’s Adesanya started his career not with MMA but with kickboxing and amassed a significant record of bouts throughout Asia and Australasia. Adesanya even made an appearance in Glory Kickboxing before moving to MMA full time. Debuting as an undefeated fighter, Adesanya simply kept collecting “scalps” (as he puts it) until he was facing off against the Middleweight Division’s best. With wins over Derek Brunson and Anderson Silva within his first year in the UFC, the brass decided he and Kelvin Gastelum would face off for the Interim Middleweight Championship. This was arguably the best fight of 2019, if not the best Round of the Year. With the Interim Belt to his name, he was set to face fellow Kiwi, but Australian based, Robert Whittaker in a showdown. Fittingly in the same arena that Adesanya was in the nosebleeds to see Holm KO Rousey, Adesanya KO’d Whittaker and took the Undisputed Middleweight Championship home. In his first defense Adesanya did not waste time aiming to clear out the division and fought against Yoel Romero. While this fight arguably was lackluster, it was clear that Romero’s prowess for chaos was at least stifled by Adesanya’s awareness and ability to not get caught. Next Adesanya defended his title against a fellow undefeated Middleweight in the form of Paulo Costa. Many believed this would be at least a greater test for Adesanya than before and yet Adesanya put on a picture perfect performance with a 2nd round TKO win. Adesanya is now booked to move up to 205 lbs to fight Light Heavyweight Champion Jan Blachowicz for reasons that are beyond comprehension.  Men's Welterweight Champion - Kamaru Usman (17-1) Debuting in 2015 with The Ultimate Fighter: Blackzilians vs American Top Team, Kamaru Usman quickly showed his belief in his own self and mental toughness was a trait you could easily identify about him. Following the TUF finale, which Usman won, he would then go on to amass more and more wins against the Welterweight division’s top fighters. However Usman’s performances weren’t as eye-catching as others in the division, and yet he was there easily dispatching his opponents. Following wins over Demian Maia and Rafael Dos Anjos, Usman served as a replacement for Colby Covington against Tyron Woodley for Woodley’s Welterweight Championship. This would be Usman’s standout performance of his career, easily controlling and just beating up Woodley for all 5 rounds to earn a lopsided decision. Next Usman was put up against Colby Covington who had already begun a campaign to challenge for the belt. Usman again put on a fantastic performance and shut Covington up by breaking his jaw. He was then expected to face fellow teammate Gilbert Burns but Burns contracted COVID19 and a last minute replacement of Jorge Masvidal was chosen. Again, Usman’s hard work and ability to grind his opponents down served him yet another victory. Usman’s next opponent is still believed to be Burns.  Men's Lightweight Champion - Vacant The shadow of Conor McGregor held sway over the UFC Featherweight and Lightweight divisions for nearly two years. This was the setting for Khabib’s rise to the top and eventual championship. Nurmagomedov debuted in 2012 and simply went on a tear beating ever increasing and different styled opponents with his patented wrestling and clinch control. It wasn’t until UFC 223 that Khabib ever came close to a title, and with UFC 223’s insanity let’s just say Khabib got a lot of exposure and sympathy a lot quicker. Khabib went on to fight several more times going up to a 29-0 record. However with the recent death of his father, his win of Gaethje being his first fight camp without his dad, he decided to hang up the gloves and return home. What most people are probably going to expect is a Dustin Poirier & Conor McGregor rematch being for the vacant title because Conor never actually lost in his mind and thus is still the actual champ.  Men's Featherweight Champion - Alexander Volkanovski (22-1) A former rugby player who pushed 200 lbs, Alexander Volkanovski’s athleticism has been a key factor in his UFC run. The Australian native entered the UFC with a 14-1 record and, much like his fellow champions on this list, just kept winning until he was facing off against former title challengers in the form of Chad Mendes, who he TKO’d, or former champions like Jose Aldo, who he beat via decision. With his winning ways he then saw himself across the Octagon from UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway. In a 5 round tactical battle, Volkanovski earned the upset win and dethroned the surging Holloway who had been undefeated at 145 for a good while. It was only fitting that Volkanovski then give Holloway a chance to win the belt back and the 2nd fight was just as exciting as the first. Suffering an early knockdown, Volkanovski was able to recover and eventually work out another decision victory setting Holloway off the Featherweight mountain for the foreseeable future. There has been no set contender for Volkanovski at this time.  Men’s Bantamweight Champion - Petr Yan (15-1) Russia’s Petr Yan entered the UFC with a bang thanks to a first round KO win. His notoriety had put Yan on some fight fans’ radar but it wasn’t until he had a pair of wins over John Dodson and Jimmie Rivera that people really begun to take notice. With those wins, Yan was paired with former WEC Featherweight Champion and UFC Bantamweight title challenger Urijah Faber in what many believed to be a true test for Yan. Within 3 rounds Yan held a prized KO win over Faber and saw himself become a top contender for Henry Cejudo’s championship. That was until Cejudo vacated the belt and then Yan was paired against Jose Aldo for the championship. Yan’s superb striking against an always game Aldo became more and more a factor and eventually Aldo succumbed to strikes midway through the fifth round. Yan’s next challenger is likely to be Aljamain Sterling but that is not official as of right now.  Men's Flyweight Champion - Deiveson Figueiredo (20-1-1) Deiveson Figueredo debuted with the UFC in 2017 and immediately set the Flyweight division on fire. He picked up 4 wins quickly and then faced off against veteran Jussier Formiga. This would be a losing effort for Figueiredo but an important one which Deiveson learned from. Following the loss he then picked up a win and was pitted against former Flyweight title challenger Tim Elliott who Deiveson quickly tapped in the first round. With the Flyweight Championship vacated by Henry Cejudo, Deiveson saw his name on the marquee opposite former title challenger Joseph Benavidez. However Figueiredo came in over-weight and although he picked up a TKO win was ineligible to win the title. A rematch was then booked 5 months later and this time Deiveson had no issues with his weight. In even quicker fashion Deiveson choked out Benavidez and claimed the UFC Flyweight Championship. After Cody Garbrandt tested positive for COVID, Deiveson faced Alex Perez in November and won easily, so easily the UFC decided to rebook him for December to face #1 contender Brandon Moreno in the main event of UFC 256. The fight was a great back and forth affair that was hard to clearly judge either way, so much so that the ringside judges opted for a majority draw meaning we will see Moreno and Deiveson showdown one more time to determine who is the actual better fighter hopefully some time in early 2021.  Women's Featherweight Champion - Amanda Nunes (20-4) Having claimed the UFC Bantamweight Championship, Nunes would go on a winning streak while the Featherweight division sat under the control of Cristiano “Cyborg” Justino. When the two were eventually paired for a Champion vs Champion bout at Featherweight, many assumed that Nunes likely could win, but it wouldn’t be that easily. Boy did she make us all eat our words on that one. Nunes KO’d Justino in less than a minute and became the first Two Division Champion for the UFC’s women’s roster and also the first female Double Champ. From here Nunes would bounce back and forth defending her Bantamweight and Featherweight titles, most recently in Featherweight where she beat Felicia Spencer. The next title challenger is expected to be Megan Anderson, but that has been delayed.  Women's Bantamweight Champion - Amanda Nunes (20-4) Following her third fight in the UFC, a loss to Cat Zingano, Amanda Nunes seemingly changed everything about her fighting style and went on a tear in the Bantamweight division. She would pick up wins over title challengers like Sara McMann and top title contender Valentina Shevchenko. This thrusted her into a Bantamweight Championship match against reigning champion Miesha Tate at UFC 200 which saw Nunes easily win in just three and a half minutes. Following this she would welcome former champion Ronda Rousey back to the UFC, and simultaneously retire her as well. A rematch with Shevchenko and a win over Raquel Pennington saw Nunes quickly become a top champion in the division. When she was put into a Champion vs Champion bout against Cristiano Justino, we all just assumed she would be undersized and yet she surprised us again with a quick KO. Since then she defended her Bantamweight title twice against Holly Holm, who she KO’d, and Germain de Randamie and then went back to Featherweight being the only truly active multi-weight champion defending both her titles. Nunes is taking her next fight at Featherweight while Bantamweight tries to figure out who is up next for The Lioness.  Women’s Flyweight Champion - Valentina Shevchenko (20-3) Debuting as a Bantamweight, Shevchenko’s skills were easily notable in the women’s division. However key losses to Amanda Nunes at UFC 196 in a non-title bout, and then later in a title bout at UFC 215 would see her return to the Flyweight division which she had fought in during her pre-UFC days. A fight against then champion Nicco Montano fizzled when Mantano couldn’t make weight let alone the fight due to illness and was stripped. Valentina then faced former kickboxing opponent and former UFC Strawweight Champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the vacant belt which she won. Since then Shevchenko has been on a tear with KO and TKO wins over Jessica Eye and Katlyn Chookagian and a decision win over Liz Carmouche (who Shevchenko lost to prior to the UFC). Shevchenko then faced and dispatched of Jennifer Maia and now we are still trying to find someone worthwhile who can take on Shevchenko as a legitimate challenger.  Women's Strawweight Champion - Zhang Weili (21-1) Zhang Weili made a name for herself in China’s MMA circuit before being picked up by the UFC. With a quick succession of victories over Jessica Aguilar and Tecia Torres, Weili looked to be the Chinese star the UFC could put their marketing efforts behind and they did so when they put her against then Strawweight champion Jessica Andrade at an event in Shenzhen, China. Much like Andrade quickly earned a KO win to claim the belt, Weili returned the favor and claimed the championship becoming China’s first UFC champion. In her next outing she would face former Strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk in an all out war that earned FOTN and also left Joanna looking seriously deformed thanks to significant hematomas. With Rose Namajunas, another former Strawweight champion, returning and picking up a win over Andrade, it seems like Weili will likely face Thug Rose next to cement herself as the greatest Strawweight Champion in UFC history but due to COVID its unsure when that would even happen.. As always, if i forgot something please let me know. I probably did and I probably will never not make a thread without making a mistake. Somebody fucked around with this message at 14:56 on Feb 8, 2021 |
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Feb 8, 2021 14:25
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Great job OP.crepeface posted:to me it looked like he just gave up rather than getting knocked out. he's been very skittish about taking hits for awhile now, pretty sure he's trying to just collect his $$$ while taking as little damage as possible. He's very skittish about taking shots because he knows his chins gone. You'll notice in the fight that he gets dinged really nice by some hooks at the end of round 1 and by r2 he's just standing there with volkov teeing off on him. He was stunned from getting his brain scrambled. Getting his face busted up would not have been part of the plan like that.
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Feb 8, 2021 14:56
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cool recap. isn’t aljo/yan set for 259 on march 6th? be sad if that fight got pushed again
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Feb 8, 2021 15:13
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i feel like my brain is trying to yell that of course usman is gonna win, but part of me keeps going I DUNNO, DURINHOS BEEN LOOKIN PRETTY GOOD. PRETTAAAAY PRETTAAAAYYY GOOOOOOD
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Feb 8, 2021 21:07
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so from today's DC and Helwani podcast, https://twitter.com/jedigoodman/status/1358871164790079488 dustin gonna get them big bucks for beating conor twice, and folks, i'm very happy for him.
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Feb 8, 2021 21:59
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I don't give a rats rear end about Conor/Dustin 3 tbh. There's so many great matchups and as usual the world has to wait till Conor gets what he wants.
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Feb 8, 2021 22:03
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Yeah, if there’s no title on the line then whatever. I’ll watch it I guess. If they make it a title fight then that’s some grade-A number one bullshit though.
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Feb 8, 2021 22:06
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glad dustin will get paid again
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Feb 8, 2021 22:13
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LobsterMobster posted:i feel like my brain is trying to yell that of course usman is gonna win, but part of me keeps going I DUNNO, DURINHOS BEEN LOOKIN PRETTY GOOD. PRETTAAAAY PRETTAAAAYYY GOOOOOOD Lol, I feel ya. I think it’s probably more interesting if Gilbert wins, unless Usman shows something new.
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Feb 8, 2021 22:17
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goddamn that thread title owns
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Feb 8, 2021 22:23
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I just thought of Todd Duffee for no real reason and laughed hysterically.
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Feb 8, 2021 23:29
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Snowman_McK posted:I just thought of Todd Duffee for no real reason and laughed hysterically. I'll never not laugh thinking about The Man Who Threw The Perfect Punch
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Feb 8, 2021 23:40
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Snowman_McK posted:I just thought of Todd Duffee for no real reason and laughed hysterically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wQUYJlbSZ4
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Feb 8, 2021 23:57
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Watched Never Back Down 2: The Beat Down a few nights ago, Duffee is quite the Actor. Also 90% sure there is an uncredited Poirier cameo in there as 'fighter who gets KO'd in 10 seconds'.
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Feb 8, 2021 23:57
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drat it how did somebody get off the "Todd Duffee? From Never Back Down 2?" joke in the thread before I could get here
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Feb 9, 2021 00:00
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Aye Doc posted:so from today's DC and Helwani podcast, I missed betting on Wiedman/Silva 2, I'm going to bet big on Dustin here.
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Feb 9, 2021 00:04
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double negative posted:I'll never not laugh thinking about The Man Who Threw The Perfect Punch His whole time in the UFC, all 11 years and 6 fights of it, is a rich tapestry of MMA comedy, but his tiny number of fights is pretty hard to top. Then again, we also got 'Duffman can't breathe' outside the UFC. Really he's the gift that keeps on giving. https://thumbs.gfycat.com/JoyfulAstonishingGreatargus-mobile.mp4
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Feb 9, 2021 00:16
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His ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (a la the Frank Mir fight) is unique and impossible to top.
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Feb 9, 2021 01:32
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Mekchu posted:His ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (a la the Frank Mir fight) is unique and impossible to top. Look at the technique on display here 
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Feb 9, 2021 01:37
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TheKingslayer posted:Look at the technique on display here There it is. Legendary, tbh
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Feb 9, 2021 01:40
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Mekchu posted:His ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (a la the Frank Mir fight) is unique and impossible to top. I think the Reem's got him beat there, like in the Travis Browne fight  It's super weird how long Travis Browne was a thing for. That was the clearest sign we've had that HW should just be abolished.
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Feb 9, 2021 01:52
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Snowman_McK posted:I think the Reem's got him beat there, like in the Travis Browne fight HW and Super HW should be the only divisions. Also all fights must be held at altitude. Hunt vs Rothwell all the way down. MMA as God intended.
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Feb 9, 2021 02:39
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Snowman_McK posted:I think the Reem's got him beat there, like in the Travis Browne fight Not rly. Artem lobov was a thing for ages and no one was calling for the closure of LW
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Feb 9, 2021 03:11
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i would like francis to show stipe what true immigrant mentality looks like and go on a run, but i feel like stipe is just gonna put it on him again
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Feb 9, 2021 03:21
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I mean maybe Francis got better at defending takedowns and footwork? Then again Stipe could make a mistake in the first two rounds and get banished to the land of wind and ghosts.
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Feb 9, 2021 03:29
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https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1358876442365411330 Anyway I don't think Simon vs Kelleher is gonna go the distance, anyone wanna take that bet?
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Feb 9, 2021 04:28
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Snowman_McK posted:It's super weird how long Travis Browne was a thing for. That was the clearest sign we've had that HW should just be abolished.
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Feb 9, 2021 05:05
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just watching the poirier hot ones now and it's a great interview. loved his answer to 'who's the most complete fighter you've fought' which was tkz. they fought back in 2012 (fuckkkkkk) and it is an absolute classic if you haven't seen it. was my favourite fight for absolute years and still sits in my top 3.
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Feb 9, 2021 05:28
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Marching Powder posted:just watching the poirier hot ones now and it's a great interview. loved his answer to 'who's the most complete fighter you've fought' which was tkz. they fought back in 2012 (fuckkkkkk) and it is an absolute classic if you haven't seen it. was my favourite fight for absolute years and still sits in my top 3. this is true. TKZ had consecutive fight of the year, submission of the year, and knockout of the year. Watch all three.
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Feb 9, 2021 06:04
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UFC 257 Breakdown UFC has been pretty thin so far this year, and I think that this has been rough on my brain as our lockdowns have been getting longer and longer on my end and so I’m starting to get even squirrelly than I usually am. So I’m glad that we have a pretty competent card. It’s not a great card, but it’s pretty competent, with several fights that are pretty good, and only two that made me scrunch up my nose.  Main Card (PPV) Main Event Welterweight Championship Kamaru Usman (-240) vs Gilbert Burns (+264) In the age of champ champs and rematches and MacMarketing and BMF belts this is a really refreshing piece of matchmaking. It just feels like a good bout with a strong champion and an organic challenger. It misfired due to covid bookings a few times, but here we go. Gilbert Burns had a really good 2020. He had been a promising lightweight, but he made the move up to 170 in 2019 … and well he did well. In 2020 he TKOed Demian Maia and capped it off by totally outclassing former champ Tyron Woodley, putting him at a 6-fight winning streak, including 4 at welterweight. Meanwhile Usman is starting to feel like a higher-tier champ to me, and this is a chance to shine. He’s looking for his third title defense after first brutalizing C*lby C*v*ngt*n :spit: in a really good fight and then defending against “BMF” champ Jorge Masvidal in a complete blowout. I like this one because of the style matchup. Both of these guys have awesome grappling, but in contrasting styles – Usman is a folkstyle wrestler and Burns is a top-tier BJJ competitor. Both are pretty good strikers (even if it’s a secondary tool) but have both shown some power. It’s not like versus  where Usman didn’t have to worry about his opponent’s power when facing a comparable grappler – Usman’s strength plays into Burns’s strength, but Burns is dangerous if Usman turns to that secondary (but decidedly inferior) weapon. This fight is one that could be won with a game plan, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out.Flyweight Co-Main Event Maycee Barber (+115) vs Alexa Grasso (-120) This is perhaps not a great co-main feature (I think either of the bouts below it could have served at least as well) but it’s a decent matchup. It’s a battle between two young prospects who have lost some of their sparkle. Grasso is a Mexican boxing-based fighter who came undefeated from Invicta and was a darling of some of the b-league/wmma fans on the boards. She won some fights with legitimately good hands and a catch-as-catch-can submission game that got her a few finishes. In the UFC she has alternated losses and wins (her two most recent losses are Esparza and Suarez, so like, ok) but she hasn’t looked like a contender on the big stage. Maycee Barber is a contender series product who was determined to become the youngest UFC champ ever. She was 3-0 in the UFC, all of them stoppages (including vs Gillian Robertson) and then she ran into Roxy, and she got Roxied in the most Roxy way – Barber won a round, then blew her knee, and then got mercifully outpointed after her corner sent their visibly disabled fighter into the ring. This is her first fight back after just over a year in rehab. If she wins dramatically (against a durable opponent), the UFC might be willing to call her Roxy loss a fluke and throw her into that title shot (against an unbooked Valentina) for the marketing push of the youngest UFC champ story (and to gently caress over Lauren Murphy and the other less ~marketable~ women). That’s probably why this is co-main. Middlweight Kelvin Gastleum (-210) vs Ian Heinish (+191) In his last fight Kelvin got submission of the year nominated in his loss to Jack Hermansson via a really sweet heel hook. In his fight before that he lost a split decision to Darren Till, and before that he lost a UD in a banger of a title fight to Izzy. That means that Kelvin is 0 for his last 3 and 2-4 in his last 6. He’s a boxer-wrestle, in that his boxing is primary. He has great hands, and his finishing ability comes probably more from accuracy than from power, as he’s a puffed-up welterweight (he missed weight there a lot). Heinish is a LFA alum and contender series product who has looked decent in the UFC but found mixed results with decision losses to Omari Akhmedov and Derek Brunson. His lone 2020 appearance was a TKO of Gerald Meerschaert. He’s a gritty aggressive wrestling-based fighter. This has the feeling of a “justify your ranking” bout for Gastelum, who has no business losing this if he’s in form. Bantamweight Pedro Munhoz (+128) vs Jimmie Rivera (-140)Yeeeaaaahhh get the gently caress in. Munoz may have dropped a split decision to Frankie Edgar in a 5 round FOTN back in August, but that was a robbery. Munhoz won that fight. Before that he dropped a decision to current contender Aljamain SterlingHe has a KO win over Cody Garbrandt too, and his fights are fun. In fact, none of his UFC losses are to weak opponents. Rivera was looking at title contention when his 20-fight win streak ended at the intersection of his face and Marlon Moraes’s shin. Since then he has gone 2-2 with losses to current champ Petr Yan and Sterling. This is actually a rematch of a 2015 split decision that went Rivera’s way. Stylistically Munhoz is a brawler/puncher with a good guillotine. Rivera is a compact wrestler type who is willing to brawl too. Maybe I could describe him as a less-lovely Clay Guida? Someone help me out in describing Rivera’s style. Middleweight Maki Pitolo (+150) vs Julian Marquez (-159) Pitolo is a contender series product who I don’t remember at all. He has consecutive losses to Darren Stewart and Impa Kasangany (of the Buckley kick), bringing him to 1-3 UFC and 13-7 overall. He also has a B-league loss to former gay porn star Dakota Cochrane, so he’s on par with Johny Hendricks. Marquez is another contender series product who is 1-1 in the UFC, with a submission of Darren Stewart and a decision loss to Di Chirico (of the other Buckley kick). I remember him being a bit of a big lunk of a brawler, in a good way. Prelims (ESPN/+)  Lightweight Bobby Green vs Jim MillerJourneymen step up and lets have some fun. Of Green I wrote this for the October 31 bout against Thiago Moises: Striker Green possibly has the most misleading record in the UFC. He has some losing streaks, and draws, but his losses are to good fighters largely, and at times he has looked like he has elite skills. His fights are often good. Green is 3-0 in Covid MMA. In that fight I started wondering why people think so highly of Green, but idk. He lost that decision. Either way he’s usually a pretty good action fighter and he’s a dangerous opponent, even if he doesn’t seem to be able to finish fights. Jim Miller is probably the grizzled old veteran of the UFC at this point. He made his debut in 2008 and has fought everyone. He’s a great grappler with reasonable hands and an instinct for action. He has never had a title shot, but he came as close as a #1 contender fight with Benson Henderson. He’s 3-3 in his last 6, most recently dropping a decision to Vinc Pinchel in August. This is exactly the kind of fight that should be topping the prelims. Middleweight Rodolfo Viera (-380) vs Anthony Hernandez (+336) Viera is a 7-0, 7 finishes, 6 by submission prospect with a 2-0 UFC record. Oh and he was the 2015 ADCC -99 kg champ. If you don’t know ADCC, it’s basically the most prestigious tournament in no-gi submission grappling. Anthony Hernandez is an American mixed martial artist currently competing as a Middleweight with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2014, he has also competed with Global Knockout and Legacy Fighting Alliance. He’s 1-2 in the UFC, with losses to Kevin Holland and Markus Perez. Tune in to see some jobber get submitted I guess, or for yet another top BJJ dude to get KOed by a rando… oh what’s this nearly all of Hernandez’s wins are submissions?  Welterweight Belal Muhammad (-323) vs Dhiego Lima (+294) Well this feels like somewhat cruel matchmaking to me. Muhammad is a second-tier welterweight who has shown some promise and seems still to be developing as a fighter. He’s 8-3 in the UFC with losses to Neal, Luque, and Jouban. Not bad. He’s on a 3-fight winning streak right now, having taken a UD from Lyman Good in June. His fights are usually pretty good. He’s quite durable and aggressive. Dhiego Lima is the not as good Lima brother (Douglas is the Bellator champ). It’s amazing that he’s still in the UFC, and yet more amazing that he’s on a 3-fight winning streak, though less prestigious. This is actually his second UFC run, and he is a two-time TUF runner up, losing to Eddie “Truck” Gordon (one of the least successful TUF winners) in 2014, and then to JT$ (who soon after failed an out-of-competition drug test and was cut, again) in 2017. He seems like a nice dude though. Strawweight Polyana Viana (+138) vs Mallory Martin (-146) Viana is 2-3 UFC with a submission of Emily Whitmire in August. Her record does not strike me with confidence, as all of her losses are to people who basically have no UFC wins other than her. Mallory Martin is a contender series vet and Invicta product who is 1-1 in the UFC. Virna Jandiroba totally styled on her in 2019, but then she picked up an August win over Hannah Cifers, who is somehow still in the UFC despite being on a 0-4 run (and who has a W over viana). Yeesh.  Early Prelims ESPN+/Fight Pass Featherweight Ricky Simon (-241) vs Brian Kelleher (+216) Wasn’t this booked recently and cancelled? Yes it was, for Chiesa vs Magny! That fight was cancelled because of Kelleher’s positive corona test. Then I wrote Simon is a fun action fighter. He has at times sported a heroic mullet which has taken him to a 4-2 UFC record, including wins over Dvalishvilli, Rani Yahya, and Ray Borg, and two FOTN bonuses. He unfortunately has a 2019 TKO loss to Faber, so he’s a flawed fighter to say the least. Simon won that fight (On January 20) against a late replacement and here we go again! Kelleher is a barn-fight style wrestlebrawler with a good guillotine. He is 6-4 in the UFC , and went 3-1 in 2020 with some cool finishes against weak opponents. Welterweight Gabriel Green (-125) vs Phillip Rowe (+118) ??? Rowe is a 7-2 American contender series product making his UFC debut. Green is a 9-3 0-1 UFC fighter who lost a decision to Daniel Rodriguez back in May 2020. Both of them have a win over a guy named Leon Shahbazyan: Green won by TKO 1-3:23, Rowe won by TKO 3-0:16, so bet on Green I guess.  Flyweight Gillian Robertson (+126) vs Miranda Maverick (-137)Cmon this should be higher on the card than the loving bullshit “who are these guys” fight. The Canadian Robertson put on one of my favourite bread-and-butter BJJ performances I’ve ever seen in MMA a while back, but she lost that glitter in a really unfortunate decision loss to Taila Santos back in December, where she just basically looked helpless. She is 6-3 in the UFC. Miranda Maverick is a prospect and a half. She’s an Invicta Phoenix Series Tournament winner who is yoked as gently caress. She beat her opponent to a brutal TKO doctor stoppage at UFC 254. This is probably going to be worth watching either way – either the young prospect gets caught by the BJJ black belt, or the super athletic strong girl wins by smesh. CommonShore fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Feb 9, 2021 |
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Feb 9, 2021 06:05
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Nierbo posted:Not rly. Artem lobov was a thing for ages and no one was calling for the closure of LW Artem Lobov was never a ranked guy who fought in a title eliminator.
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Feb 9, 2021 07:21
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artem only existed because of conor
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Feb 9, 2021 07:24
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who has better bad kickboxing, usman or burns? seems like usman so...
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Feb 9, 2021 07:39
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I'd say Burns tbh, Usman seems to prefer to use his hands more than his legs while striking. Probably because his knees are basically dust.
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Feb 9, 2021 10:40
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so you know the ref Mike Beltran, the jacked fella with the amazing facial hair who’s actually one of the better refs in MMA? well apparently the reason he worked so many Bellator cards was because the NSAC thought his stache was “distracting” and “drew attention to himself”. things have changed though, and he’s going to get his Nevada license and start working Apex cards next month.
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Feb 9, 2021 15:27
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He worked one show a year or so ago where he tucked his moustache away so well that people thought he'd parted with it, so maybe he just agreed to do that on every Nevada show? Did Brock Refnar stop reffing? Can't remember if he was particularly good at his job, but I also don't remember him making a habit of egregiously bad calls.
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Feb 9, 2021 15:38
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Skjorte posted:He worked one show a year or so ago where he tucked his moustache away so well that people thought he'd parted with it, so maybe he just agreed to do that on every Nevada show? I haven't seen him for a while but I feel as if he was a reg for one of the secondary commissions like Texas or Florida
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Feb 9, 2021 15:40
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CommonShore posted:I haven't seen him for a while but I feel as if he was a reg for one of the secondary commissions like Texas or Florida That reminds me, Frank Trigg needs to get a NSAC license. I think he’s only CSAC registered.
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Feb 9, 2021 16:12
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Troy Queef posted:That reminds me, Frank Trigg needs to get a NSAC license. I think he’s only CSAC registered. And Leben. We need Leben to ref a UFC middleweight title fight.
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Feb 9, 2021 16:28
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