Adesanya is a special talent, not really much for him at middleweight at the moment apart from the rematch with Whittaker.
Perhaps Till or Chimaev in the future depending on how things go for them. Paulo Costa needs to go an get a few decent wins before he gets anywhere near a rematch.
Be interesting to see how he handles the move to Light Heavyweight though. Those guys are big units.
Adesanya Vs Jan - feels kinda ridiculous to me as Adesanya hasn't exactly cleared out his division and Jan is only just Champ at LHW!
Adesanya will probably be the favourite but if Jan clips him that would be night over. Be tempted to take Jan in this
Eh? Costa, Romero, Whittaker, Gastelum, Silva, Brunson. Of the current top 10 the only ones he hasn't beaten are Till (lost to Whittaker and I don't seem him with a chance against Issy), Cannonier (ditto), Hermansson (possibly could do with another win or 2 against top 5 to deserve a title shot) and Weidman (yeah he is done). You could say he hasn't cleared out the division because he hasn't beaten every single one in it but he is by far the best in the division and has looked relatively comfortable while doing it (in the UFC only 3 have gone the distance and they were all unanimous decisions).
I will caveat this slightly because Whittaker does look like he has improved since the first fight so I would like to see them go at it again but right now the step up to LHW makes sense and there's no way I'd bet against him not winning it.
Adesanya Vs Jan - feels kinda ridiculous to me as Adesanya hasn't exactly cleared out his division and Jan is only just Champ at LHW!
Adesanya will probably be the favourite but if Jan clips him that would be night over. Be tempted to take Jan in this
Eh? Costa, Romero, Whittaker, Gastelum, Silva, Brunson. Of the current top 10 the only ones he hasn't beaten are Till (lost to Whittaker and I don't seem him with a chance against Issy), Cannonier (ditto), Hermansson (possibly could do with another win or 2 against top 5 to deserve a title shot) and Weidman (yeah he is done). You could say he hasn't cleared out the division because he hasn't beaten every single one in it but he is by far the best in the division and has looked relatively comfortable while doing it (in the UFC only 3 have gone the distance and they were all unanimous decisions).
I will caveat this slightly because Whittaker does look like he has improved since the first fight so I would like to see them go at it again but right now the step up to LHW makes sense and there's no way I'd bet against him not winning it.
Totally see your point, you're probably right, there's not exactly a clear next contender right now I'm just not a big fan of the match-up, but he did only fight a month or so ago.
Although in the Top 5, he hasn't fought 2 (Cannonier, Hermansson) and a rematch with Whittaker wouldn't be a ridiculous idea, though he might need another win to get it. Not that I can imagine any of the MWs beating him anyway.
Adesanya Vs Jan - feels kinda ridiculous to me as Adesanya hasn't exactly cleared out his division and Jan is only just Champ at LHW!
Adesanya will probably be the favourite but if Jan clips him that would be night over. Be tempted to take Jan in this
Eh? Costa, Romero, Whittaker, Gastelum, Silva, Brunson. Of the current top 10 the only ones he hasn't beaten are Till (lost to Whittaker and I don't seem him with a chance against Issy), Cannonier (ditto), Hermansson (possibly could do with another win or 2 against top 5 to deserve a title shot) and Weidman (yeah he is done). You could say he hasn't cleared out the division because he hasn't beaten every single one in it but he is by far the best in the division and has looked relatively comfortable while doing it (in the UFC only 3 have gone the distance and they were all unanimous decisions).
I will caveat this slightly because Whittaker does look like he has improved since the first fight so I would like to see them go at it again but right now the step up to LHW makes sense and there's no way I'd bet against him not winning it.
Totally see your point, you're probably right, there's not exactly a clear next contender right now I'm just not a big fan of the match-up, but he did only fight a month or so ago.
Although in the Top 5, he hasn't fought 2 (Cannonier, Hermansson) and a rematch with Whittaker wouldn't be a ridiculous idea, though he might need another win to get it. Not that I can imagine any of the MWs beating him anyway.
Yeah I did cover Cannonier and Hermansson. Cannonier got taken apart by Whittaker so he's nowhere near a title shot right now, Hermansson needs another couple of wins possible over Till and Costa may get him towards a title shot but again I don't see Issy having any issues with anyone in MW right now apart from maybe Whittaker but Dana came out and said Whittaker doesn't want it, though I take whatever he says with mountains of salt.
I think right now the only fight available for Adesanya where there's real intrigue about if he could do it is Blachowicz plus it doesn't really hold up the MW division as there's a clear number 1 contender and right now he isn't (allegedly) desperate for that fight. Longer term becomes an issue if he does win the belt as surely everyone will be pushing for Jon Scumbag Jones next which I'm not going to lie I am desperate to see.
Kevin Holland had one hell of a year even before tonight, but wow that knockout of Jacare is insane! Can only think of the Niko Price KO as being even similar, and to then call Chimaev out?
Definitely going to be in the discussion for fighter of the year after that.
256 was a quality card. Main card was filled with quality fights and the prelims were all good too. Fisiev looked awesome and is definitely a serious up-n-comer in an already stacked division. Ferguson just accepting his arm getting broken was gruesome.
Had a competition/bet between a few mates on the results as well and my Holland KO and Oliviera call have earnt me a case of beer
Fiziev's striking is seriously class. He's picked up some fantastic wins over some really good quality Thais whilst being a Muay Thai fighter, and he even coaches out at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket (the same place where Volkanovski, Yan, Shevchenko do some of their camp)
As for Moreno, really didn't expect that result - very excited for the rematch there. Will be intrigued to see if the longer notice helps either fighter
Fiziev's striking is seriously class. He's picked up some fantastic wins over some really good quality Thais whilst being a Muay Thai fighter, and he even coaches out at Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket (the same place where Volkanovski, Yan, Shevchenko do some of their camp)
As for Moreno, really didn't expect that result - very excited for the rematch there. Will be intrigued to see if the longer notice helps either fighter
Yea i definitely thought he was going to get crushed within a round or two, be interesting to see how different it will be in a rematch considering Figueredo was in the hospital the night before and nearly didn't fight.
Fisiev absolutely bullied Mark Diakese in his last fight and Mark's got some high level striking so I've been looking out for him ever since.
Think JDS and Jacare both need to seriously think about retiring. Jacare could easily make good money as a BJJ coach or competing in the sub-only scene which has bloomed in recent years. It hurts to watch JDS get KO'd increasingly frequently
The KO of Frankie Edgar is a very early knockout of the year contender.
The timing is so, so perfect- Sandhagen shifts his weight to get more power on the leap, sees Frankie shifting his weight to change levels and times the jump perfectly - all mid striking exchange! Technically speaking, that's a much better flying knee than Masvidal's
Something like that you can drill and drill until your legs don't work like you want them to, but to time it that perfectly is sublime.
As for Overeem, I'm gutted- looked like he didn't want to be in there, and more disappointingly, looked like he didn't belong.
Two of my favourites involved in flying knees in Jorge and Frankie. Masvidals one on Ben Askern was amazing, revved up to the eyeballs and flying in. This one, yeah very calculated and clinical and probably technically much better
Overeem said himself it was his last run for ufc gold, the look on his face at the end said it all. A bad nite for the veterans except Guida who rolled back the years
Incredible submission of ADCC gold medallist, 7 time BJJ World Cup and 5 time BJJ world Champ Rodolfo Vieira by Anthony Hernandez.
First time an ADCC gold medallist has ever been submitted in the UFC (they've been in 121 fights) and it was a 30-1 upset for Vieira to lose by sub. Stuff like this is why I love this sport so much.
Honestly, all of the prelims were worth watching, its the first time in a very long time I can say that!
As for 259, it being a card so good you have Benavidez deep in the Prelims, and Cruz as the featured prelim is crazy- very exciting provided we don't get too many drop outs!
Honestly, all of the prelims were worth watching, its the first time in a very long time I can say that!
As for 259, it being a card so good you have Benavidez deep in the Prelims, and Cruz as the featured prelim is crazy- very exciting provided we don't get too many drop outs!
Will be weird to see Benavidez fighting someone other than Figuerido!
But yeah, I am up for the prelims for them as well, just looks like the card of the year as it is. Very, very excited for it.
As for this, I just can't get excited about Usman, ever. I am just watching because I want to be proven wrong.
Usman's fight with Colby remains one of my favourite of the last few years, and he was the first to show just how beatable Woodley is, so I have to appreciate those achievements.
I feel like he's gonna do a GSP, dominate the division for a long time, and only get real appreciation after he's retired- the style isn't pretty by any means but its great at preventing unnecessary head trauma so should help his longevity. Now I've said that, expect him to get outrageously KO'd by Burns.
Comments
Perhaps Till or Chimaev in the future depending on how things go for them. Paulo Costa needs to go an get a few decent wins before he gets anywhere near a rematch.
Be interesting to see how he handles the move to Light Heavyweight though. Those guys are big units.
I will caveat this slightly because Whittaker does look like he has improved since the first fight so I would like to see them go at it again but right now the step up to LHW makes sense and there's no way I'd bet against him not winning it.
Although in the Top 5, he hasn't fought 2 (Cannonier, Hermansson) and a rematch with Whittaker wouldn't be a ridiculous idea, though he might need another win to get it. Not that I can imagine any of the MWs beating him anyway.
I think right now the only fight available for Adesanya where there's real intrigue about if he could do it is Blachowicz plus it doesn't really hold up the MW division as there's a clear number 1 contender and right now he isn't (allegedly) desperate for that fight. Longer term becomes an issue if he does win the belt as surely everyone will be pushing for Jon Scumbag Jones next which I'm not going to lie I am desperate to see.
Definitely going to be in the discussion for fighter of the year after that.
Had a competition/bet between a few mates on the results as well and my Holland KO and Oliviera call have earnt me a case of beer
As for Moreno, really didn't expect that result - very excited for the rematch there. Will be intrigued to see if the longer notice helps either fighter
Fisiev absolutely bullied Mark Diakese in his last fight and Mark's got some high level striking so I've been looking out for him ever since.
Think JDS and Jacare both need to seriously think about retiring. Jacare could easily make good money as a BJJ coach or competing in the sub-only scene which has bloomed in recent years. It hurts to watch JDS get KO'd increasingly frequently
What would people pick?
I'd go for Buckley and Lipski
Here we go with the main...
McGregor should stick to fighting old men in bars.
Great result, even if McGregor doesn't annoy me anymore.
Oliveira v Khabib is my LW dream match.
Edgar absolutely smashed out.
But Overeem... I wanted him to do it so much... But he became a human punching bag.
The timing is so, so perfect- Sandhagen shifts his weight to get more power on the leap, sees Frankie shifting his weight to change levels and times the jump perfectly - all mid striking exchange! Technically speaking, that's a much better flying knee than Masvidal's
Something like that you can drill and drill until your legs don't work like you want them to, but to time it that perfectly is sublime.
As for Overeem, I'm gutted- looked like he didn't want to be in there, and more disappointingly, looked like he didn't belong.
First time an ADCC gold medallist has ever been submitted in the UFC (they've been in 121 fights) and it was a 30-1 upset for Vieira to lose by sub. Stuff like this is why I love this sport so much.
As for 259, it being a card so good you have Benavidez deep in the Prelims, and Cruz as the featured prelim is crazy- very exciting provided we don't get too many drop outs!
But yeah, I am up for the prelims for them as well, just looks like the card of the year as it is. Very, very excited for it.
As for this, I just can't get excited about Usman, ever. I am just watching because I want to be proven wrong.
I feel like he's gonna do a GSP, dominate the division for a long time, and only get real appreciation after he's retired- the style isn't pretty by any means but its great at preventing unnecessary head trauma so should help his longevity. Now I've said that, expect him to get outrageously KO'd by Burns.