UFC 2020

EvilEmpire · Mar 19, 2021

Dana White told ESPN that Khabib is staying retired and Chandler is going to fight Oliveira for the vacant title.

I like it. Presumably Poirier fights the winner unless he takes and fucks up a trilogy money fight with McGregor. And I suppose if that happens, McGregor is then lined up for a shot at the belt. I expect that fight to happen as close to Chandler-Oliveira as possible, so guys are all on similar timelines.

I think Gaethje is going to have to wait a while to get another shot unless he's willing to cut weight and be standby guy, which might be a good idea for him and Dana, given how many withdrawals there have been with the pandemic.

Eagle3 · Mar 19, 2021

I would assume Poirier-McGregor 3 is a done deal, otherwise Poirier not being in the title fight makes no sense. Poirier must have chosen the money fight over the title. Which you can't blame him.

djbayko · Mar 27, 2021

UFC 260 today

Marciano490 · Mar 27, 2021

Ngannou seems like a good bet.

EvilEmpire · Mar 27, 2021

I thought Ngannou would murder Stipe last time. Maybe he will this time, but I dunno, for such a great champ, Stipe gets underestimated an awful lot.

I don't think I'm going to buy this one, but I hope Luque takes care of Woodley like he should and that O'Malley gets taken out by Almeida, which seems very unlikely. Almeida is probably going to get a beat down. But O'Malley is a punk and anything can happen in MMA, so here's hoping.

Marciano490 · Mar 27, 2021

EvilEmpire said:
I thought Ngannou would murder Stipe last time. Maybe he will this time, but I dunno, for such a great champ, Stipe gets underestimated an awful lot.

I don't think I'm going to buy this one, but I hope Luque takes care of Woodley like he should and that O'Malley gets taken out by Almeida, which seems very unlikely. Almeida is probably going to get a beat down. But O'Malley is a punk and anything can happen in MMA, so here's hoping.

Stream it at least, it’s a good card.

djbayko · Mar 27, 2021

Arlovski saying about Ngannou what everyone else is thinking.

Zomp · Mar 27, 2021

Stipe is my favorite fighter. It will be very difficult to avoid a Ngannou bomb for another 5 rounds. I don’t think Francis will come out as wild this time

EvilEmpire · Mar 27, 2021

Arlovski is a (inter)national treasure. He's seen it all.

One of my favorite fight scenes from the 'cheesy action movie' genre:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxJlytWY228

Zomp · Mar 27, 2021

Watching a YouTube clip of fighters picking the main event.

for ngannou: Mike Perry, GSP, Khabib, Black Beast

for stipe: Cormier, Bisping

Marciano490 · Mar 27, 2021

@luckiestman costa v luque- who’s more handsome?

luckiestman · Mar 27, 2021

Marciano490 said:
@luckiestman costa v luque- who’s more handsome?

I have Costa at the moment but he will age worse. Luque will hold his more mature handsome looks throughout his life.

djbayko · Mar 28, 2021

Marciano490 said:
@luckiestman costa v luque- who’s more handsome?

Costa. Easy. I'm sure the extra testosterone doesn't hurt.

djbayko · Mar 28, 2021

Who's scarier? A bull rush Ngannou or patient Ngannou?

hunter05 · Mar 28, 2021

Ngannou is such a terrifying human being.

luckiestman · Mar 28, 2021

If Stipe would have backed off after he hit that counter might have bought himself some time.

Marciano490 · Mar 28, 2021

Marciano490 said:
Ngannou seems like a good bet.

$

EvilEmpire · Mar 28, 2021

That sucks. I'm not surprised at all, but it is hard not to like Stipe.

luckiestman · Mar 28, 2021

Man, Frances going to have to fight Lewis or Stipe next? Rest of the division is not much.

luckiestman · Mar 28, 2021

Wonder if DC in the booth is thinking ...I bet I could single leg this guy.

EvilEmpire · Mar 28, 2021

When is Jones going to debut at HW? And with who?

Edit: Even with the way it ended, Stipe deserves a rematch if he wants it.

djbayko · Mar 28, 2021

EvilEmpire said:
When is Jones going to debut at HW? And with who?

Edit: Even with the way it ended, Stipe deserves a rematch if he wants it.

Jones hasnt looked so great the last couple times out. He really wants to move UP a class and face this guy? Pay day, I guess.

EvilEmpire · Mar 28, 2021

Maybe it will be a mistake, but the move has been in the works for a while now and Jones has apparently been working the transition to put more muscle on, so I think he means it to be a permanent thing.

Maybe it will turn out to be like Izzy at LHW, but I'm looking forward to seeing it. Seems like he'll be a really fast HW with his hands and his feet. A little hard for me to remember when he was really good a LHW, but I kind of feel like he started to lose that speed advantage when things got more challenging for him in that division.

If he can take the more powerful shots, a fast JBJ could be surprisingly good at HW.

Or maybe he'll just get smashed. I wouldn't mind seeing that at all. But it seems to me that Stipe might be a tougher fight for him.

Marciano490 · Mar 28, 2021

I really don’t Stipe has much chin left. Jones can’t put on as much weight as he’d need to to be viable against Francis.

djbayko · Mar 28, 2021

EvilEmpire said:
Maybe it will be a mistake, but the move has been in the works for a while now and Jones has apparently been working the transition to put more muscle on, so I think he means it to be a permanent thing.

Maybe it will turn out to be like Izzy at LHW, but I'm looking forward to seeing it. Seems like he'll be a really fast HW with his hands and his feet. A little hard for me to remember when he was really good a LHW, but I kind of feel like he started to lose that speed advantage when things got more challenging for him in that division.

If he can take the more powerful shots, a fast JBJ could be surprisingly good at HW.

Or maybe he'll just get smashed. I wouldn't mind seeing that at all. But it seems to me that Stipe might be a tougher fight for him.

Oh, I know it's been in the works for a while. It just doesn't seem like a wise decision to me if he eventually has to face a guy like this.

tmracht · Mar 28, 2021

Marciano490 said:
$$$

I tailed it. And added finish in 1st and second rounds. I'll take it thanks Marciano

Gunfighter 09 · Mar 28, 2021

Marciano490 said:
I really don’t Stipe has much chin left. Jones can’t put on as much weight as he’d need to to be viable against Francis.

I think the two very successful NFL defensive linemen that share the same parents as Jones indicate he can hold an athletic 250-260 pound weight just fine. I don’t know if the transition will work, but weight won’t be the problem.

Jones dominated without a real jab or great power in his hands because his reach and length were so unusual at LHW. That won’t be the case at heavyweight and he might have trouble creating the distance he likes. On the other hand, he’s the best grappling heavyweight there is right now. I’m really excited to see him fight Francis, knowing that JJ’s path to victory is taking NGanou to the mat. Jon Jones when he decides to grapple is the most fun version of Jon jones and now he is going to have to do it.

Marciano490 · Mar 28, 2021

Putting on that much functional mass for the first time at 33 while keeping up cardio will be really, really hard regardless of genetics. I don’t think he’d come in over 230, and I don’t think he’ll look great doing it.

Part of it depends on octagon size. Stipe was dumb to agree to such a small ring.

djbayko · Mar 30, 2021

So Dana/Jones already negotiating the money for Ngannou match? That was fast. I guess there won't be a warm up (unless they can't come to terms).

EvilEmpire · Mar 30, 2021

After seeing all the Dana/JJ post-fight back and forth, the twitter posts and deletions, and knowing that JJ hasn't been all that impressive over his last few fights, I think JJ is smart to take Frances now without an intro fight at HW and to get as big a payday as possible for this one fight.

I don't think he is scared or anything, but he could get beat bad enough where his time at HW lasts exactly one fight and then he's in no man's land with what to do next.

Kenny F'ing Powers · Mar 30, 2021

Marciano490 said:
Putting on that much functional mass for the first time at 33 while keeping up cardio will be really, really hard regardless of genetics. I don’t think he’d come in over 230, and I don’t think he’ll look great doing it.

Part of it depends on octagon size. Stipe was dumb to agree to such a small ring.

Meh. Dude has plenty of experience taking steroids. I'm sure he'll get there and be comfortable.

EvilEmpire · Mar 31, 2021

The UFC announced Leon Edwards vs. Nate Diaz in a five round co-main event for UFC 262 on 15 May.

Didn't see that coming.

Gunfighter 09 · Mar 31, 2021

Why the hell would Edwards agree to go 5 rounds with a Diaz brother? That seems like a recipe for an extremely bloody and battered Nate Diaz to finish an exhausted British dude in the 23rd minute.

EvilEmpire said:
I don't think he is scared or anything, but he could get beat bad enough where his time at HW lasts exactly one fight and then he's in no man's land with what to do next.

The last two fights where he gave a shit, JJ finished DC & Gus in very impressive fashion. I think his recent hohumness was a matter of motivation rather than skill deterioration.

I think the smart play for the UFC is to get the Francis / Lewis fight out of the way quick and then have Jones fight Francis in December. If Jones wants to fight a Gane, Volkov or Rozenstruik in the interim, let him.

Zomp · Mar 31, 2021

Gunfighter 09 said:
Why the hell would Edwards agree to go 5 rounds with a Diaz brother? That seems like a recipe for an extremely bloody and battered Nate Diaz to finish an exhausted British dude in the 23rd minute.

Leon Edwards is a much better fighter than Nate 21-12 Diaz. He can also go 5 rounds easily. Plus he gets that co main money against a name like Diaz. Its a no brainer for him.

Gunfighter 09 · Mar 31, 2021

1. It is the first non title co main in UFC history to be schedule for 5 rounds. Why? there doesn't seem to be any indication that they are getting extra money.
2. Edwards is probably a better fighter than Nate at this point, but the most likely path to victory for Diaz, and his most clear advantage is in the gas tank.
3. Edwards has 2 5 round fights in the UFC. He lost rounds 4 & 5 against Cowboy on 6 of the 7 judges cards, and it wasn't really close, from my recollection. He faded. He dominated RDA, but his weakest rounds were the 5th (only round he lost on the score cards). Once again, why would he agree to this.

As for relative quality, Edwards has beaten Cerrone & RDA. Nate has beaten Pettis, Connor & Cerrone. RDA is the only one of Edwards victories we wouldn't assume as a victory for Nate. Though a Nate / Gunnar Nelson BJJ match sounds fun.

Dduncan6er · Mar 31, 2021

Diaz has to be the most overrated fighter in the UFC, right up there with Masvidal. The guy is still living off that win over Conor from 5 years ago. It was impressive no doubt but it was a short notice fight at Welterweight when Conor had just been fighting at Featherweight a couple months earlier. He had a massive size advantage in that one. He talks shit and puts on pretty exciting fights so he's popular. But he's not an upper echelon fighter in any weight class.

Zomp · Mar 31, 2021

Gunfighter 09 said:
1. It is the first non title co main in UFC history to be schedule for 5 rounds. Why? there doesn't seem to be any indication that they are getting extra money.
2. Edwards is probably a better fighter than Nate at this point, but the most likely path to victory for Diaz, and his most clear advantage is in the gas tank.
3. Edwards has 2 5 round fights in the UFC. He lost rounds 4 & 5 against Cowboy on 6 of the 7 judges cards, and it wasn't really close, from my recollection. He faded. He dominated RDA, but his weakest rounds were the 5th (only round he lost on the score cards). Once again, why would he agree to this.

As for relative quality, Edwards has beaten Cerrone & RDA. Nate has beaten Pettis, Connor & Cerrone. RDA is the only one of Edwards victories we wouldn't assume as a victory for Nate. Though a Nate / Gunnar Nelson BJJ match sounds fun.

I'm assuming because its 5 rounds they will get paid more, but that is just an assumption.

I think you're being harsh on Edwards "fading". mmadecisions.com has the official scoring but also has media scores. For the RDA fight, he won either 50-45 or 49-46 on every card. For the Cerrone fight, all 3 judges had 48-47 but the media had it split either 49-46 or 48-47 (bizarrely, 3 media members had Cerrone winning).

I mean I think Edwards beats Masvidal easily as well and he was killing Nate. Diaz at this point is a name to build on. Inactivity may be a big reason for it but even before that he never had a stellar record or resume. Is the Pettis win that impressive? He was 4-6 in his last 10 fights before that one.

Another way of putting it. Edwards is fighting someone with 1 win in the past 5 years, while he's won 8 and hasn't lost.

You asked why he'd take the fight. It would be his biggest win over a "name" to propel him to a fight with Usman.

EvilEmpire · Mar 31, 2021

Gunfighter 09 said:
The last two fights where he gave a shit, JJ finished DC & Gus in very impressive fashion. I think his recent hohumness was a matter of motivation rather than skill deterioration.

Skill deterioration might not even matter in that fight. I know Jones is an all time great, but Frances is a big roll of the dice for him. I think what just happened to Izzy might be playing in the back of his head. Frances could be too strong for him to handle. Maybe other HWs turn out to be too strong for him too.

Better for Jones to take Frances now and get as big a paycheck as possible. If things really go south he might be slowly be shedding all that muscle he put on to get back to LHW. Assuming he still wants to fight at all.

As far as Edwards-Diaz goes, I think Edwards wins that fight inside of three rounds because his striking is so good. I suspect the five rounds thing is a condition for Diaz to take the fight at all. If Diaz makes it through the first three, h~~e'll probably take it~~ I think he has a good chance to take it.

Gunfighter 09 · Mar 31, 2021

Zomp said:
I think you're being harsh on Edwards "fading". mmadecisions.com has the official scoring but also has media scores. For the RDA fight, he won either 50-45 or 49-46 on every card. For the Cerrone fight, all 3 judges had 48-47 but the media had it split either 49-46 or 48-47 (bizarrely, 3 media members had Cerrone winning).

I thought Cowboy won that fight.

Zomp said:
I'm assuming because its 5 rounds they will get paid more, but that is just an assumption.
You asked why he'd take the fight. It would be his biggest win over a "name" to propel him to a fight with Usman.

EvilEmpire said:
As far as Edwards-Diaz goes, I think Edwards wins that fight inside of three rounds because his striking is so good. I suspect the five rounds thing is a condition for Diaz to take the fight at all. If Diaz makes it through the first three, he'll probably take it.

These sound right, and seeing how Edward’s got jerked around by the UFC with the rankings thing/the Chamiev fight/ and then essentially owing Muhammad a rematch, he had zero leverage and had to give Nate a competitive advantage to make the pay day happen. If does drown in the deeper water with Nate, he’ll probably just wish he had run in back with Bellal.

Marciano490 · Mar 31, 2021

EvilEmpire said:
Skill deterioration might not even matter in that fight. I know Jones is an all time great, but Frances is a big roll of the dice for him. I think what just happened to Izzy might be playing in the back of his head. Frances could be too strong for him to handle. Maybe other HWs turn out to be too strong for him too.

Better for Jones to take Frances now and get as big a paycheck as possible. If things really go south he might be slowly be shedding all that muscle he put on to get back to LHW. Assuming he still wants to fight at all.

As far as Edwards-Diaz goes, I think Edwards wins that fight inside of three rounds because his striking is so good. I suspect the five rounds thing is a condition for Diaz to take the fight at all. If Diaz makes it through the first three, h~~e'll probably take it~~ I think he has a good chance to take it.

Roy Jones was never the same after losing the weight he gained to fight Ruiz, and I think Jones would have to put on way more.

EvilEmpire · Mar 31, 2021

We'll see what the final numbers are, but right now Jones is saying that $8-10 million is way too low. And I guess he thinks the UFC could make Wilder/Fury numbers on this fight.

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/lists/jon-jones-says-8-million-from-ufc-vs-francis-ngannou-still-way-too-low-dana-white

Yeah, I think UFC fighters are grossly underpaid, especially what is likely the bottom half of the roster. Maybe even the bottom three quarters. Fighters need a union. But I just don't think the UFC approaches anything near Wilder/Fury, or really, any of the elite boxing match-ups.

That said, I have no idea how fair $8-10 million actually is though. It seems like a good number, but good luck figuring out the UFC's accounting.

EvilEmpire · Apr 2, 2021

We all know that the men and women who compete in MMA are tough.

How about this:

https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/31180731/khetag-pliev-suffers-severed-finger-match-undergoes-emergency-surgery

MMA fighter Khetag Pliev had to have a finger surgically reattached after it was severed during the second round of a fight Thursday night in Philadelphia.

The fight, which was part of an event put on by Cage Fury Fighting Championship and aired on UFC Fight Pass, was stopped when the referee noticed Pliev was missing his left ring finger.

For several minutes, those in the venue were searching for the stray digit. Event promoter Rob Haydak said officials looked all around the cage, and there was even an announcement over the PA system asking people to look for it inside 2300 Arena.

"In the second round, he caught my glove with one hand and held it," Pliev said. "I felt my finger snapped. He kept pulling my glove and my finger snapped. We kept fighting. When the second round was finished, I see my [bone] was out in the open. I wanted to keep fighting, because I felt like I had this guy. But the doctor saw that and stopped the fight. "

Pliev said he will appeal the fight result with the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission because of the illegal grabbing of his gloves by Goodale during the bout.

Haydak said CFFC will be going through the footage with the hope of airing exactly what happened on the promotion's card Friday night on Fight Pass. "I was a surreal moment," Haydak said. "I said, 'Wait a second, where the f--- is his finger?' They were all like, 'I don't know.'"

Haydak said Pliev wanted to continue fighting and he actually stayed in the cage for the ring announcer to read the result.

Happened in Philly. Of course it did.

Marciano490 · Apr 2, 2021

Gross, dude. Gross.

djbayko · Apr 2, 2021

EvilEmpire said:
We all know that the men and women who compete in MMA are tough.

How about this:

https://www.espn.com/mma/story/_/id/31180731/khetag-pliev-suffers-severed-finger-match-undergoes-emergency-surgery

Happened in Philly. Of course it did.

Pictures if anyone's curious to see what that looks like.

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/Y2CASEY/status/1377808411522293762

View: https://twitter.com/ChillemDeebo/status/1377801169645531136?s=19

Marciano490 · Apr 2, 2021

Eww. Why’d I look. Double gross.

tmracht · Apr 2, 2021

Marciano490 said:
Eww. Why’d I look. Double gross.

That's intense.

EvilEmpire · Apr 2, 2021

Yeah. Total badass.

I half expect this guy to be one of the Russians luckiest has rolled with up in his neck of the woods.

Gunfighter 09 · Apr 2, 2021

I half expected it to be the Russian that got away from Christopher and Paulie up in that neck of the woods.

I love how his primary concern is getting a NC for glove grabbing. I would watch the commission hearing on that, for sure- “what evidence is there that the other fighter was grabbing his glove?”

Zomp · Apr 12, 2021

A bit of drama last night into today and certainly not a good look for Mcgregor.

Mcgregor talked smack about the Poirer trilogy on twitter, predicting a 4th round KO. Poirer fired back saying Conor never sent the donation to his charity like he promised he would. Mcgregor then fired back that his team discovered his charity wasn't being honest with the money which is why he didn't donate. Then AGAIN tweeted that the fight was no off because he doesn't want to give Dustin the pay day.

I am typically one to think 90% of the MMA drama is staged, aside from a few very personal battles like Jones/DC and Khabib/Conor, but I think this one is legit. In other words, what the hell is Conor doing? This is such a bad look for him.

Myt1 · Apr 12, 2021

Zomp said:
A bit of drama last night into today and certainly not a good look for Mcgregor.

Mcgregor talked smack about the Poirer trilogy on twitter, predicting a 4th round KO. Poirer fired back saying Conor never sent the donation to his charity like he promised he would. Mcgregor then fired back that his team discovered his charity wasn't being honest with the money which is why he didn't donate. Then AGAIN tweeted that the fight was no off because he doesn't want to give Dustin the pay day.

I am typically one to think 90% of the MMA drama is staged, aside from a few very personal battles like Jones/DC and Khabib/Conor, but I think this one is legit. In other words, what the hell is Conor doing? This is such a bad look for him.

He’s a complete and utter maggot.

There’s really not much more to it than that.

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