UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship

[Nash Diesel]

Hazmat needed the big win against a top 10 guy. You could probably take anyone at WW in the top 15-20 and see them as champion, they just need the body count with a few names in the mix. I do like the idea of Colby. Look at it this way....If Leon beats Usman, and Colby beats Khamzat, that's a fresh title fight despite Colby being in several in recent history.

Usman v. Khamzat would be extremely interesting. But so would Khamzat v. Masvidal, Wonderboy, and Edwards. I've always personally felt WW was the premier division, the depth is unbelievable when you get into that top 10-20 for the most part.

[Bert]

I think Usman would KO Khamzat if he fights like he did last night.

Colby will drown him with his pace especially if it was 5 round fight. If that is the next fight Khamzat better work on his gas tank first. Even over 3 rounds Colby might have him gasping for air.

[Nash Diesel]

I think Usman would KO Khamzat if he fights like he did last night.

Colby will drown him with his pace especially if it was 5 round fight. If that is the next fight Khamzat better work on his gas tank first. Even over 3 rounds Colby might have him gasping for air.

The excuses are many for Khamzat's performance. The only one missing is he/his fans didn't blame his period.

[Fanny Batter]

They're completely different fighters, Burns and Covington. Colby isn't a threat from the bottom and doesn't hit as hard. He's technically better than Gilbert, and the rest of the division frankly, but his death by a thousand cuts style means he will likely have 25 minutes to get through against a guy he likely won't be able to nullify early, and his striking defence isn't outstanding. I would favour Colby as I think he's tough enough to wade through the 10 minutes of hell, but he almost certainly would have to come from a big deficit to do so. Amazing fight anyway. If Khamzat were to win as well, that Usman fight becomes massive.

Luque vs. Muhammad has low key become a massive fight this weekend now. Things fall into place and you could have these rankings by the end of August - 1: Colby (0-2 against Usman), 2: Khamzat (coming off loss to Colby), 3: Leon (0-2 against Usman), 4: Gilbert (1-2 in last 3) then the winner of that fight. Could very well be the reserve contender fight if Khamzat doesn't beat Colby. For that reason I wonder if they divert and have Khamzat fight the winner of that next instead.

[Nash Diesel]

I just don't get the fans out there that think Burns won the fight. There are so many fans saying Burns won and I just don't see it. I haven't looked at the numbers, maybe it just looked like Burns lost damn near every round. I barely gave him the 2nd round.

Let's also not sleep on Volkanovski's master performance. I will admit to not being as familiar with him outside of the Holloway fights and I also didn't realize the guy was on that long of a streak. Now he's talking about possibly moving up to 155 and if it's true that he cuts weight from like 200lbs to make 145 what the fuck why not? He's already fought guys with a height/reach advantage.

Still haven't watched Sterling/Yan yet.

[Fanny Batter]

Feels like we're due a few big fight announcements. Adesanya/Cannonier, Nunes/Pena 2, Usman/Edwards, whatever combination of Conor, Diaz and Poirier they put together, potentially Jones vs. Miocic, Volkanovski vs. Holloway 3, Fig vs. Moreno 4. They've got 6 PPV's between July 2nd and October 22nd apparently which would suggest they know the scheduled is stacked and they're hesitant to put any of those fights third down on a card. Throw in Islam (or Dariush if they fight first) against the Gaethje/Oliveira winner, Sterling/Dillashaw, Chimaev/Covington, whatever Masvidal's doing, Rose/Carla winner vs. Rodriguez and whatever Aldo's doing (vs. Cruz?) and you can see some monster PPV's in that time period with potentially some great fights having to headline free cards because of it. Throw in another UK card with all the winners getting step ups and Fight Night headliners like Blaydes vs. Gane and Ortega vs. Yair and that period should be fun as fuck.

[Fanny Batter]

Can't help but respect Neil Magny. Very rarely, if ever, fights up in the rankings. He's taking on 15-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov next, who has finished every opponent with a good split of KO's and chokes. Looks as good a prospect as Khamzat but fought better opposition out of the gate so not as flawless. Surprising really, thought they'd go safe and match him with Sean Brady as his grinding style has got him in the top 10 but none of the 'stars' will be jumping off the page to fight him.

Apparently going to be another UK card in July. They need to try and build to a stadium show over here, always massive demand and the talent is there now with Aspinall, Allen, Edwards and Till firmly in the top 10 and some good prospects too. If I'm Sean Shelby I'm looking at getting Arnold Allen past Calvin Kattar this year, and Volk past Max, then you run Volk vs. Allen for the featherweight title at Wembley around this time next year. Australia vs. England in an Ashes year, no brainer. Allen himself wouldn't sell the place out, but a challenger from London with all the support from the rest of the country on the undercard, it'd smash attendance records. And it would be an awesome fight. Or you get Tom Aspinall past Tai and you run Old Trafford for a title fight. Or Leon beats Usman and you do the trilogy at Villa Park. Options.

[Nash Diesel]

Most of those names you just rattled off I don't even recognize but I have to remember it's not just about North American fighters (even though I maybe know 10% of the fighters these days). There has to be a reason as to why companies like the UFC and WWE don't run these big shows in Europe like they would in other countries. $$$ is my guess. Same reason they never do shows in Hawaii.

[Fanny Batter]

I'm no expert, but could be to do with US fighters getting taxed twice on income? Presuming british government takes income tax, then they have to declare what's left still on their tax return in America? A lot off the big fights we've had over here from a boxing perspective (Hatton vs. Tsyuzu, Calzaghe vs. Kessler, Joshua vs. Klitschko etc) never seem to feature a U.S. fighter. They only seem to travel when they're the B side but would still make more after taxes than if the purse bids were won in the States. Floyd never fought here, Canelo hasn't (in his prime - I think he did early), De La Hoya didn't. That, and not being able to exploit the US PPV market given the time difference. It is telling that the biggest fight we ever got was Bisping vs. Henderson, and that was a roll of the dice for Hendo where I think he fought on a one fight deal, probably above and beyond what he could pull anywhere else. And they had the scope to run the main event at 5am local time too.

[OD50]

The time difference is probably the biggest hurdle for PPV's over here probably along with troubling taxes and regulations. Either the show will air like three in the afternoon in the US or it will take place (very) late night/early morning over here. I went to Gustafsson/Rumble that aired live in the US (I think?) and the main event went down something like 4-5 in the morning and half the crowd were probably asleep.

I don't know about other EU countries but here in Sweden the promoter of the event has to attend in person, so poor Dana White had to fly out to Sweden, sit in the audience for the main event and then flew off to Vegas or wherever he was going.

[Fanny Batter]

There's no way a champion who can make good money on PPV sales would take the knock too, unless it was held at a time to accommodate the TV audience in the US like Bisping vs. Henderson or Gustafsson vs. Rumble. Plus the taxes, regulation, potential quarantine now, AND fighting in a hostile territory. Volkanovski might fancy it, given he isn't a star and is an Aussie so might not have as much of a tax burden, but Usman certainly wouldn't. I think they have to get to the point where they can sell the card on PPV to the tune of 6 figure viewership to consider it. Shame because the atmosphere would be epic.

[Fanny Batter]

Gutted Luque lost to Muhammad. An exciting finisher losing to somebody so dull. Welterweight needs Chimaev, I know it's the top end of the sport but most of the top 10 lack an edge to say the very least.

[Kdestiny]

Muhammad got him to the ground a lot more than I expected but never really threatened from there which was a bit meh.

That was the only fight I was able to watch. Was okay. Muhammad kept moving and his striking was better than I expected as well but nothing too exciting for what I expected.

[Fanny Batter]

He's a very good MMA fighter, but there's no urgency to him and never much chance of him engaging in a war or finding a finish. Hasn't recorded a first round finish since his pro debut!

Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for an interim title looks to be in the works for the Summer. Makes sense all ends up. Ngannou is injured and out of contract, and if Jones beats Miocic I think it's fair to say the pound for pound king will again be him. There's enough variables to make it an absolutely fascinating fight too. Does Jones actually gain power adding mass, or does it just detract from his speed and he ends up quite ordinary at heavyweight? Does his legendary chin hold up against heavier men? Is he past his prime? If he beats Miocic and Ngannou back to back, and does it clean, he's the GOAT without any form of argument.

[Nash Diesel]

If Jones beats Stipe I would consider him the GOAT. Stipe is arguably a top 5 of all time at HW, for sure if we're just talking the UFC. Jones beats him, even if it's a split decision, hard to deny legit GOAT status.

People will throw in the failed drug tests....But to be honest if we just base his legacy off of what he did prior to the cocaine test, the motherfucker was if not already in the end all be all conversation about who the best of all time truly is.

[Fanny Batter]

I think the likelihood is that first Gustafsson fight changed him. Other than the armbar attempt by Vitor he didn't really have any worries in fights. Gustafsson did a number on him. Physically and mentally from that point on he knew he could be beat. He's had some excellent performances since, but the buzzsaw that finished Bader, Shogun, Rampage and Machida in a calendar year was gone. I favour he probably got into the partying after that fight, and the steroids were something he felt he needed to balance it out. But yeah, if he retires after that fight he's still minimum the best light heavyweight of all time.

[Nash Diesel]

I think the likelihood is that first Gustafsson fight changed him. Other than the armbar attempt by Vitor he didn't really have any worries in fights. Gustafsson did a number on him. Physically and mentally from that point on he knew he could be beat. He's had some excellent performances since, but the buzzsaw that finished Bader, Shogun, Rampage and Machida in a calendar year was gone. I favour he probably got into the partying after that fight, and the steroids were something he felt he needed to balance it out. But yeah, if he retires after that fight he's still minimum the best light heavyweight of all time.

I think he was even more of a killer after the first Gus fight. Look what he did to Cormier. If Jon Jones didn't exist I would honestly put Cormier in the top 5 of greatest of all time. Look what Jones did to Gus the 2nd time. We can't gloss over it took him 5 rounds to beat Rashad. Or 4 to choke out Rampage. When talking about OSP, Santos, and Reyes those were still good-great performances just lackluster in comparison to the majority of his career. For whatever reason. I mean even Fedor almost got knocked out by Fujita in the prime of his career.

[Bert]

I thought it came out Jones didn't even train before that Gus fight because that's how invincible he thought he was.

[Nash Diesel]

Also I think the time frame might be a concern for non-North American ppvs but they have shows all the time that air here in the US at 2-3pm. I think if the ppv is good enough, the UFC should accommodate.

[Fanny Batter]

He broke his toe the fight before too, and had that TUF with Sonnen. He got buried by Dana for not taking a replacement fight when Henderson pulled out of their fight before that. I think he just became more risk averse in his last three fights - but they were fights against lesser known contenders after a career of fighting legends. Stipe is certainly his biggest legacy fight since the Cormier rematch, if not ever, so he'll absolutely be up for it. Exciting fight.

[Nash Diesel]

I thought it came out Jones didn't even train before that Gus fight because that's how invincible he thought he was.

The story was that the FIRST fight, Jones didn't train as hard for Gus as he had for previous fights. I'm not sure what that means because Jones not training as hard for Gus as he did for say Rashad could mean many things. Rashad, a former teammate who helped Jones grow as a fighter, probably requires more time than someone who was basically considered a threat because they were tall.

Personally I don't buy it. I think that was just an excuse to waterdown Gus' performance.

He broke his toe the fight before too, and had that TUF with Sonnen. He got buried by Dana for not taking a replacement fight when Henderson pulled out of their fight before that. I think he just became more risk averse in his last three fights - but they were fights against lesser known contenders after a career of fighting legends. Stipe is certainly his biggest legacy fight since the Cormier rematch, if not ever, so he'll absolutely be up for it. Exciting fight.

I'll never understand that whole situation with Jones getting the blame for that shit card falling through because Hendo waited until the last second to pull out. Hendo would've been killed in that fight anyway but it was just so ridiculous and felt like a set up. It felt like that fight wasn't creating enough buzz so Hendo, Chael, and Dana pulled some shady shit.

[Bert]

If true he should do it. Usman will destroy Connor. He can fight him after.

[Fanny Batter]

Per Chael Sonnen. Leon absolutely shouldn't do that, if he steps aside they slot Chimaev in next and he never gets a shot.

[Nash Diesel]

Exactly. PER CHAEL SONNEN. Take that for what it's worth. Is he taking Ariel's spot as the Meltzer of MMA? I don't know how credible that comment is from Chael.

Look....I'm not a big McGregor fan but I do recognize he is no doubt still the biggest draw in the entire business. The fuckin guy will be 0-9 and still draw a million buys in the US alone. With that said....he doesn't deserve this fight at all. Not with Leon already inked in to fight. If the Leon fight wasn't already a go, I don't see why not. We've seen worse things happen no doubt about it.

But this is Leon's fight. He has no legacy other than being the guy Jorge smacked up (3 piece and a soda). At the very least he should be able to right the wrongs of not only losing to Usman in the past but for being a complete bitch with not fighting, almost getting released, etc.

[Nash Diesel]

IF McGregor gets this fight, I'm putting $100 on McGregor. Take the 1 loss to Nate Diaz aside and who has beat McGregor in the UFC? Khabib and Poirier. Khabib beat him after a 3 year sabbatical and McGregor is the only guy to win a round against Khabib. KO'd by Poirier, who he already knocked out in a minute, the leg break-eh.

So we're looking at a guy who hasn't really shown us anything that would make me think he would get destroyed by Usman. Usman's tough but I don't think he's someone that McGregor wouldn't be able to put to sleep. Usman isn't Khabib. Khabib didn't even bleed in the cage. McGregor could do it. It'd be fucking insane, 3 belts and never defended a single one lol.

[Bert]

If he's getting paid his show and win money I still think he should wait.

[Fanny Batter]

He's a fighter. He thinks he'll beat Usman. Then he'd be on champion money on his next fight. If they're chucking a truckload at him fair enough but that deal wouldn't make sense as is.

Conor gets steamrolled by Usman if it did happen. Taken down against the fence and smashed to pieces. I do want to see him fight again but it should be on a level below Usman. I'd get the last bit of blood out of the Masvidal stone and run him and Conor, that would be fun. Still favour Masvidal but he's fought lightweight before so he's no giant at the weight class like Kamaru.

[Bert]

Yeah, I don't know why Nash doesn't think Usman would murder Connor.

[Fanny Batter]

It's hard to know how shot Cowboy was in that fight based on his competition before the fight and his activity. But that's Conor's only win in five and a half years. I think people probably under rate him based on that, he might still be a top 5 lightweight, but the looks we've had of him in that time would make him a significant underdog. That leg injury too, it's easy to talk a good game regarding the recovery but physically and mentally that's a huge one to overcome. To me, Chandler vs. Ferguson winner or RDA makes the most sense, you'd fancy him against any of the three as they're all pretty hittable and past their primes, as well as being a legitimate route into the top 5. Poirier against the other if he stays at 155. Islam vs. winner of the title fight, Dariush against the loser.

[Nash Diesel]

Yeah, I don't know why Nash doesn't think Usman would murder Connor.

I described why I said what I said. I know you only comprehend things that go along with what you believe so it's understandable.

It's hard to know how shot Cowboy was in that fight based on his competition before the fight and his activity. But that's Conor's only win in five and a half years. I think people probably under rate him based on that, he might still be a top 5 lightweight, but the looks we've had of him in that time would make him a significant underdog. That leg injury too, it's easy to talk a good game regarding the recovery but physically and mentally that's a huge one to overcome. To me, Chandler vs. Ferguson winner or RDA makes the most sense, you'd fancy him against any of the three as they're all pretty hittable and past their primes, as well as being a legitimate route into the top 5. Poirier against the other if he stays at 155. Islam vs. winner of the title fight, Dariush against the loser.

Like I said...take out Nate and what do you have? You have Khabib, arguably the greatest fighter in MMA history, and Poirier, who is no doubt a top 5 LW and maybe top 5 LW of all time. If he didn't smoke Cerrone in a minute with a shoulder strike MAYBE I would be extremely concerned.

But I'm not. I've seen too much. You've seen just as much as I have. Every fight is different. Look at Usman v. Jorge 1 and 2. Usman held Jorge up against the fence for 25 minutes toe stomping. Got lucky the 2nd time and knocked dude out. Like I said...I'm putting $100 on Conor. Usman no doubt COULD destroy the guy, never once disputed every possibility there is in a fight. Matt Serra...nuff said.

[Fanny Batter]

You have a guy that's gone 3-4 in fights above 145lb, finished in all 4, and coming off a broken leg. He'd have a punchers chance against Usman and that's about it. It is gutting that we didn't get prime Conor at 155, by the time he fought Dustin the coke had taken its toll. He'd have been fun that 2016/7 era with Pettis, RDA, El Cucuy, Barboza etc and probably beats them all at that stage of his career, but not now. The way he demolished Alvarez was special.

I truly think he'd have been a three weight world champion if RDA didn't get injured. That fight would have been TOUGH, but we saw Eddie Alvarez beat RDA and the talk was that he was depleted at the weight at that point. Obviously MMAth doesn't always work but it was a good fight for Conor especially given his confidence at that stage. He would then have fought the ghost of Robbie Lawler likely at UFC 200. I love Robbie but he was for the taking after the Condit and Rory fights as Woodley proved.

On that, Aldo can feel hard done by never getting a shot to move up or down while he was champion. I think he'd have beaten every 155 champion before RDA, and he'd have beaten Cruz and Barao and Dillashaw would have been 50/50. Always felt harsh that Pettis was given an automatic title shot at 145 (which he dropped out of with Zombie replacing him against Aldo) while Aldo didn't get a look in.

[Nash Diesel]

You have a guy that's gone 3-4 in fights above 145lb, finished in all 4, and coming off a broken leg. He'd have a punchers chance against Usman and that's about it. It is gutting that we didn't get prime Conor at 155, by the time he fought Dustin the coke had taken its toll. He'd have been fun that 2016/7 era with Pettis, RDA, El Cucuy, Barboza etc and probably beats them all at that stage of his career, but not now. The way he demolished Alvarez was special.

I truly think he'd have been a three weight world champion if RDA didn't get injured. That fight would have been TOUGH, but we saw Eddie Alvarez beat RDA and the talk was that he was depleted at the weight at that point. Obviously MMAth doesn't always work but it was a good fight for Conor especially given his confidence at that stage. He would then have fought the ghost of Robbie Lawler likely at UFC 200. I love Robbie but he was for the taking after the Condit and Rory fights as Woodley proved.

On that, Aldo can feel hard done by never getting a shot to move up or down while he was champion. I think he'd have beaten every 155 champion before RDA, and he'd have beaten Cruz and Barao and Dillashaw would have been 50/50. Always felt harsh that Pettis was given an automatic title shot at 145 (which he dropped out of with Zombie replacing him against Aldo) while Aldo didn't get a look in.

2 things. From a bigger picture point of view it is a little depressing to think what could've been not just for McGregor but let's throw in Jon Jones as well. Not just for their careers but the sport as a whole.

The other thing is maybe my lack of immediately going to "USMAN KILLS MCGREGOR" is due to not viewing Usman as I would some of the other dominant fighters in 170's history. He has quality wins, wins that mattered when these guys like Maia and Woodley were relevant. He's beaten Masvidal and Colby convincingly. The problem is I see things that he's doing that would get him dropped and I unpredictable nature of MMA especially when we're talking about 2 of the best.

Size isn't everything. Wrestling isn't the end all be all. Usman has been sloppy in his stand up at times, he's been hurt, and it's the little things that a guy like McGregor could capitalize on. The fact is my head and hurt would no doubt pick Usman to win. But you throw a Benjamin on the line just in case. I imagine McGregor would probably come in around +300. That'd be a nice payday just to have the guy vacate the title and challenge Izzy lol.

[Fanny Batter]

McGregor's power hasn't really carried up the weights though. Poirier took some flush shots and wasn't fazed like he was at 145. No doubt he'd touch Usman a couple of times, but nothing is there to suggest he'd have the ammo to take him out.

Tonight's card, as well as last week's and next's, has been an awful stretch of events on paper. Very little in the way of relevance past the main events. It's a shame because there was a ton of momentum coming from that London-Ohio-Jacksonville stretch. Next PPV in a fortnight is a fun one though.

[Bert]

I'll probably just watch the finishes on /r/mma on Reddit these next couple of weeks. 274 does look good. AND NEW.

I read yesterday Whitaker is out of 275 and Costa is trying to take his place but Vettori wants Till or Khamzat. Whitaker seems to get injured training a lot.

[Fanny Batter]

Costa just got beat by Vettori the mad bastard. Brunson might take it, a win would probably make him the reserve for Adesanya if Cannonier dropped out and he's saying he's only having one more fight so may as well go big and try and slide into that title fight. Till should avoid that fight like the plague when he matches well with Uriah Hall and he's in need of a win. Middleweight after Cannonier's shot is a crap shoot, those top 10 guys who haven't lost recently to Izzy should be fighting each other ASAP because an impressive performance from any of them could do it. Unfortunately it's probably going to be boring in cage, abhorrent out of cage Sean Strickland getting it.

They're leaving it late to get that International Fight Week card built up. We've got Adesanya vs. Cannonier, Usman vs. Edwards 2, Pena vs. Nunes 2, Jones vs. Miocic and Diaz vs. Poirier seemingly lined up but nothing announced yet. Wonder who's playing hard ball? For me, Jones vs. Miocic and Amanda vs. Pena there, Usman vs. Edwards with Diaz vs. Poirier underneath late July, then Israel vs. Jared with Fig/Moreno 4 underneath in August.

[Bert]

Get that bag, Ngannou.

[Fanny Batter]

I love that he's going to get paid. He can do that fight, likely lose (unless for whatever reason the A-side Fury gives up too many concessions in the 'mixed rules') and then come back and fight the paper champion for more money afterwards. Literally no reason not to go down that route. Good for him. Makes a bit of a piss take of the sport, but that's the fault of the greedy suits and the bollocks revenue split. The arena gate usually covers payroll without cutting into the PPV/TV deals etc. A good screw if you can get it.

Jessica Andrade maintaining her spot close to the top of the P4P lists and likely just a win away from another title fight. Strawweight is a great division. Her, Rose, Carla, Weilli, Joanna, Dern, Rodriguez, Xiaonan, and with any luck Tatiana Suarez coming back. Beats the shit out of the other women's divisions.

[Nash Diesel]

Some impressive submissions last night. Shit we don't normally see. Lando basically getting choked out by a 1-arm guillotine, the standing choke from Andrade, Guida getting armbarred in a minute by someone I've never even heard of.

[Fanny Batter]

Lando got choked out of his shorts! Good display of submissions throughout. Ryan Hall should fight that Puelles, battle of the leglocks.

[Nash Diesel]

Jones v. Stipe getting pushed back to September. Shit I didn't even know it was actually going down!

[Fanny Batter]

Card at the weekend is a banger. Exciting fights, big names, intriguing title scraps.

Main event is a guaranteed finish which is rare in high level MMA. But both guys are just so lethal. I think Gaethje has the firepower to take Do Bronx out but how do you count that guy out the performances he's had on this win streak? Lean is Justin but Charles I think can genuinely finish and be finished by anybody in the top 10, the most offensive weapons in the game but vulnerable with it.

Namajunas vs. Esparza is a cool story, and a big one for Rose. Win and she's avenged another defeat and beaten every strawweight champion in history. It would rank her over Joanna for me. But if Esparza wins it might be one of the best comeback stories in MMA history. She was well off the pace against Joanna in 2015, had middling results over the next few years, never looked particularly good. But she grafted and earned her way back. Rose is great in rematches and likely styles on Carla, but you never know.

Chandler vs. Ferguson! Tony looked listless in his last 2 fights but he's had time off and offensively should have something left even if his durability has faded. Chandler is a juggernaut who himself can be defensively lacking. Has the look of Chandler stopping Tony on his feet but you can't count El Cucuy out.

Shogun vs. OSP. Shogun is beyond faded but like Andrei Arlovski has settled into the pattern of trying to lull his opponent into a point fighting crawl. OSP is kind of like that anyway. He's looked awful lately. Gonna be slow and dull but hopefully Shogun can pick up a win and they can maybe bring Machida back for a trilogy double retirement fight with decent billing.

Cowboy vs. Lauzon will hopefully be a fun one. Either a brawl or a one rounder. Both shot but can end it anywhere. All of Cerrone's records likely fall if he can't get a win here to hang around. All records aren't created equal though, Arlovski and Jim Miller have been allowed to fight down to build theirs. I think Cerrone wins this one. Hope they match him smart (thinking Guida, Michael Johnson, Miller, Bobby Green) in the future.

Prelims are strong too. Andre Fialho getting a showcase after a great KO. Randy Brown vs. Khaos Williams is a fun one. Women's featherweight #1 contender fight. Royval vs. Schnell. Underrated old man Trinaldo vs. Danny Roberts. Ivanov vs. De Lima winner might be ranked in that top heavy HW division. Couple of fun women fights. Not bad.

[Nash Diesel]

Yeah this card is going to be fucking insane. Backlash the next night. I'm ready.

What I like about the card is that for me there's no clear cut winners for the main card fights. I can't tell you for sure who is walking away with the belts, I'm not sure who to root for with Tony and Chandler. Lauzon/Cerrone, the fact they've never fought is just wild to me. OSP/Shogun....I love Shogun Rua even at this stage of his career but man I hope he pulls off the win.

Personally I think Carla is being slept on. I don't think either fighter has improved where it counts the most. Rose is still in her thoughts and Carla doesn't have the stand up skills. And that was the same negative as last time. Rose was better on the feet, Carla was mentally tougher. Rose can barely get out of bed to train, Carla at least has better hands than Ronda but still...

[Bert]

It was really cool on Countdown to see Olivera teaching Brazilian police jiujitsu. American police should be trained in it too. Anyone counting him out of this fight is a fool.

[Nash Diesel]

It was really cool on Countdown to see Olivera teaching Brazilian police jiujitsu. American police should be trained in it too. Anyone counting him out of this fight is a fool.

American police are trained in various forms of martial arts including jiujitsu. Are ALL departments? Doubt it. I think even Forrest Griffin makes the rounds teaching MMA to police officers. This really isn't anything new, I'd say at least 40-50 years police officers have been trained in martial arts of some kind.

[Bert]

Another pretty stacked card.

[Fanny Batter]

Guessing one of the top fights has fallen off as Volk vs. Holloway 3 is happening now. Most likely Jones vs. Miocic is pushed back from July to September.

[Percussion]

I feel like Chimaev is going to turn Nate into a hamburger patty..

[Nash Diesel]

Is Nate/Khamzat an actual signed fight? What a weird fight to make if we're looking at rankings.

[Percussion]

Ya this one's got fuck all to do with rankings and everything to do with getting as many eyeballs on watching Chimaev smesh as possible.

[OD50]

I don't think Khamzat/Nate is official yet. I know there was that "leaked" image from the UFC War Room showing the full card but I'm guessing that is what the UFC is trying to put together. As far as I can tell the only official main card fight is Miesha Tate/Lauren Murphy. If it happens I can see a pretty rough night for Nate though.

[Nash Diesel]

I'll be honest, there might be more interest by a country mile for Khamzat compared to Nate. Just a strange fight to make when Khamzat just beat the #2 ranked guy but this is MMA. Logic in MMA is like logic in pro wrestling.

[OD50]

I was expecting Colby/Khamzat next, #1 vs. #3 with the winner facing the winner of Usman/Edwards. Beating a Diaz brother is always good for name recognition I guess.

[Nash Diesel]

I was expecting Colby/Khamzat next, #1 vs. #3 with the winner facing the winner of Usman/Edwards. Beating a Diaz brother is always good for name recognition I guess.

I was thinking Khamzat v. Colby, Masvidal, or even Wonderboy.

Are there any fans out there who think beating a Diaz is a good thing? Unranked, barely fight. Nate's had 6 fights in 6 years. He's lost half of those fights.

[OD50]

So, Oliveira weighed in at 155.5 on the first try. Interesting.

[Nash Diesel]

So, Oliveira weighed in at 155.5 on the first try. Interesting.

They're not allowed that extra .5 for a title fight are they? You have to think he'd be able to drop that shortly.

[Bert]

Well that's kind of nuts.

[Nash Diesel]

Weak.

[Fanny Batter]

Doesn't really change things. Charles fights for the title next if he wins most likely.

[Bert]

Weight cutting is a crazy process.

[Nash Diesel]

Doesn't really change things. Charles fights for the title next if he wins most likely.

Maybe. Charles was on a huge winning streak that couldn't be denied. Now he's missed weight as champion, stripped, that's never happened to my knowledge. I could be wrong. This might be the UFC's way out of a non-drawing champion and line up something big for the next one.

Regardless....still sucks for Charles. Half a pound. People don't understand how tough weight cutting can be.

[Bert]

I think it really depends on how the fight goes. If he dominates and gets a decisive win I'd say he's for sure fighting for the title. But if he squeaks out a decision or somehow has a boring fight, maybe not.

[OD50]

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2022/...ss-costs-title

[VHS]

This Rose/Esparza fight is a snorefest.

[Bert]

It is crazy the inactivity going on in a title fight. Carla could win doing nothing.

[VHS]

Rose got a takedown and she's acting like she just won the super bowl. Lame sauce.

[VHS]

Rose deserved that loss. Wow.

That whole thing sucked.

[Bert]

Carla won doing nothing. Wow.

[Bert]

Lol they turned off a crowd mic sounds like.

[Bert]

Olivera is just nuts with the subs. His striking is so crisp too for setting up the subs.

[OD50]

Rose/Esparza was something else, up there with Takada/Mike Bernardo and Ngannou/Lewis. Oliveira is kind of a glass cannon, excellent fighter and finisher but also seems to be on the verge of being finished himself in pretty much every fight. Gaethje might finally have had his chin cracked by that crazy Chandler fight, he was wobbled every time Oliveira touched him. Tony looked decent in the stand-up in round 1, but man that was a rough KO.

Do you do Oliveira/Chandler 2 for the vacant title after this? Chandler was on the verge of finishing Charles in round 1 and it was voted FOTY I believe. You could definitely have a worse title fight than that.

/Also, could someone tell me if the prelims are worth checking out. I skipped Brown/Williams and only watched the last minutes of Shogun/OSP, which seemed like a dreadful fight. And then Rose/Esparza with the candidate for stinker of the decade. Chandler/Ferguson and Oliveira/Gaethje were exciting but both barely got started before ending.

[Bert]

A lot of people seem think next is Islam/Olivera. It seems like they really want to know if Khabib would beat him but this is the next best thing.

[OD50]

Dana seems to be set on Islam/Dariush for the #1 contenders spot, pretty sure he said so during the post fight presser. If Chandler doesn't get the Oliveira rematch for the vacant title maybe Poirier/Chandler could be a good one?

[Nash Diesel]

Pretty good night of fights. Sad to see our boy Tony get crushed after looking incredible in the 1st round. Great fight, Chandler v. whoever.

Do Bronx showed once again he's a durable motherfucker. It's a shame we won't see him v. Khabib. I say book him and Islam next.

I was rooting for Carla but not like that lol. I said it a few times, Rose is mentally weak. She's delusional. Coming out chanting "I'm the best" Why? Is that something she's done before and I'm not remembering? Look at the odds. She was only a -150 favorite you might as well flip a coin. Intelligent fans knew Carla was a much bigger threat than the casuals gave her credit and it showed.

I will say this....That fight was actually entertaining solely because of listening to Joe and Cormier's commentary lol. Daniel was doing his best to make excuses because he's a fighter and Joe's not but Joe isn't stupid either so it was hard for DC to defend.

Also shout out to DC getting inducted into the HOF. IMHO, he's worthy of GOAT discussion. Clean. 2 division champ, only 2 division champ that has ever defended both belts. Laundry list of names. Just a great fighter.

[Nash Diesel]

That was a painful card for a handful of good finishes. The main event was a wash.

LHW is extremely difficult to get interested in right now. Jones and to an extent Cormier's dominance and departure around the same time was like WWE losing Rock and Austin after Mania 19. Nobody else really gained anything in a loss. Sadly Smith, Reyes, and Santos aren't filling the void. Jan isn't. Glover....He's the modern era Couture but then what? Jiri.....If he can win over the North American market Dana White will put the machine behind him. He has the style, the look, his record isn't too bad.

The only thing that is missing is a proper passing of the torch that we saw with Chuck losing to Rashad, Rashad losing to Jones, but then what? Jones, still the GOAT, still could maybe one day say fuck it and come back to LHW especially if HW doesn't pan out.

*Side bar about the torch comment. It's not always about the title but the status. People forget Rashad put up the numbers, people were interested in his fights. Chuck might not have been the champ but I truly believe his downfall stars with the Rashad loss. I think Rashad was arguably the man until Jones beat him. I think that was the fight where Jones solidified his status as a potential GOAT, not just at 205 but p4p.

[Nash Diesel]

Tonight is one of those Fight Night cards where on paper I'm just like....why? But I think it'll be good. Some decent vets of the UFC, plus the main event definitely has title implications. Veira wins, fresh matchup across the board, Holly wins I hope Pena does too because I'm not sure I want to see Nunes v. Holm again. I'd have to go back and watch their first fight, see if it was competitive or if it was a wash. Holly has a few more in her I think but Veira is young, hungry, versatile.

There have only been 5 champions at 135, she wins she's beat 2 of the 5.

[Nash Diesel]

Not the most thrilling card this weekend-on paper but there are 2 fights that I'm interested. The main event with Volkov and Rozenstruik should be very solid. I'm also looking forward to the rematch between Herrig and Karolina. Not really because of the skill level or to see if Karolina can get 6 L's in a row I'm just in love with Karolina. Simple as that. Beautiful.

[Fanny Batter]

Next weekend I think. I've lost touch with the Apex cards, too many fighters with no real aspirations and low stakes in a small building, it's glorified TUF with a ranked mai event most weeks.

[OD50]

Have tried to get my MMA mojo back but pretty much every event over the past two months or so are so dire (on paper) that I just can't bother checking them out. Decided to check out UFC 274 and then Rose/Carla happened...

[Nash Diesel]

Have tried to get my MMA mojo back but pretty much every event over the past two months or so are so dire (on paper) that I just can't bother checking them out. Decided to check out UFC 274 and then Rose/Carla happened...

And then Charles/Justin happened......

[OD50]

It'd take quite a bit more than Justin Gaethje swinging like a drunk sailor and getting submitted in three minutes to wash away the stench of Rose/Carla for me, that could very well have been the worst fight I have ever seen (and that covers 38 years of fisticuffs). Off the top of my head the only one coming close is Mike Bernardo/Nobuhiko Takada, and yeah, I sat through Royce Gracie/Ken Shamrock II and Derrick Lewis/Francis Ngannou.

[Nash Diesel]

It'd take quite a bit more than Justin Gaethje swinging like a drunk sailor and getting submitted in three minutes to wash away the stench of Rose/Carla for me, that could very well have been the worst fight I have ever seen (and that covers 38 years of fisticuffs). Off the top of my head the only one coming close is Mike Bernardo/Nobuhiko Takada, and yeah, I sat through Royce Gracie/Ken Shamrock II and Derrick Lewis/Francis Ngannou.

If it wasn't for the superman punch finish in the last couple seconds I'd have to say Gabe Gonzaga v. Kevin Jordan was the worst UFC fight I've ever seen. Royce/Ken II I didn't know any better and even watching it a couple years ago I was playing on my phone during it LOL.

Rose/Carla....ugh.

[OD50]

I never watched that Gonzaga fight but I remember reading that it was atrocious until the very late KO. My best memory of Gracie/Shamrock II is that I bought the VHS tape (UFC 5, 6, 7 or whatever) all excited and the cover had Shamrock with a bloodied eye and the text "THERE ARE NO RULES!!". I had seen the first fight and expected an epic rematch with Shamrock maybe getting some revenge, and then the bell rang..

[Nash Diesel]

Big win for Volkov. He was someone I figured would've fought for the title by now, who knows he could still make a run.

Felice Herrig retired, ending Karolina's losing streak (Karolina's last win=SD win over Herrig). I'll be honest I didn't even know Felice still fought I figured she went all in with Only Fans.

I never watched that Gonzaga fight but I remember reading that it was atrocious until the very late KO. My best memory of Gracie/Shamrock II is that I bought the VHS tape (UFC 5, 6, 7 or whatever) all excited and the cover had Shamrock with a bloodied eye and the text "THERE ARE NO RULES!!". I had seen the first fight and expected an epic rematch with Shamrock maybe getting some revenge, and then the bell rang..

You should definitely check out that card. UFC 59 with Franklin v. Quarry. People want to bitch about fighter pay go look at Franklin's payout back in 2005 as the headlining champ. $13,000 show, $13,000 win bonus. Not to mention this is right after TUF 2 where Franklin and Hughes were the coaches.

I wish I could remember why they didn't end up fighting each other. There's a story here and I'm having trouble finding it on google lol.

[Spedizzo]

It'd take quite a bit more than Justin Gaethje swinging like a drunk sailor and getting submitted in three minutes to wash away the stench of Rose/Carla for me, that could very well have been the worst fight I have ever seen (and that covers 38 years of fisticuffs). Off the top of my head the only one coming close is Mike Bernardo/Nobuhiko Takada, and yeah, I sat through Royce Gracie/Ken Shamrock II and Derrick Lewis/Francis Ngannou.

Rose vs. Carla was really shite, but there have been way shittier fights in history. It still doesn't compare to Lewis/Ngannou 1 which I had the pleasure of being in attendance for

[Nash Diesel]

Rose vs. Carla was really shite, but there have been way shittier fights in history. It still doesn't compare to Lewis/Ngannou 1 which I had the pleasure of being in attendance for

Lewis/Ngannou 1 was shit on some many levels. At least Carla and Rose weren't known for being violent KO artists murdering everyone left and right. Plus being there live probably doesn't help knowing you just dropped half your rent on a ticket.

[Fanny Batter]

I think the tension of a heavyweight fight makes it better in the moment. Retrospectively it's one of the worst of all time, live it was frustrating but still had the feeling that one of them was going to explode and end it violently. Title fights have that tension too. Truly bad fights are the ones without stakes that are endlessly dull - thinking Gonzaga vs. Erokhin or something, a 15 minute prelim dirge.

[Ringo]

Classic fight. What a performance Prochazka. Props to Glover who almost made it all five rounds.

[Nash Diesel]

Is Joanna truly retired? I hate those post-fight retirement speeches because she was very much talking about a title shot next and being ready, etc.

Champions looked great. Sad to see Glover lose but what a fight. Valentina...IDK I didn't think that was as close of a fight as the judges made it to be. Especially after seeing the stats. How can we get the judges to incorporate those stats more often? This is a point system it isn't Pride. I can understand Pride judges giving a fight to someone who when you see the stats you go damn, same takedowns, more strikes landed, more control, fuck we gave it to the wrong fighter....

I'm just glad she won. I'm hoping Pena wins against Nunes and stays champion for a bit because I wouldn't mind seeing her and Bullet fight one day for a title.

[VHS]

I've never been a fan of Joanna's out of fight shenanigans, but in the cage she's such a gem. Glad she went out with a smile on her face.

That backfist tho, daaaaamn.

[Percussion]

Zabit Magomedsharipov has just informed the UFC of his retirement.

Off the charts potential and trajectory for a moment. And then.. gonzo. Crazy.

[Nash Diesel]

What are the odds that Masvidal and McGregor fight? Masvidal wants it, thinks it'll be the biggest ppv of all time. It's weird how opinions change when it wasn't that long ago this guy was scoffing at the idea of a fight with McGregor. I think now that McGregor has bulked up and looked a little more vulnerable in his last few fights-and Masvidal himself not having much luck, I can see why he's about it now.

[Nash Diesel]

Anyone catch the fights? Me neither lol. I watched Pride 33 instead. The only guy I wanted to see was Action Man and thankfully my son has ESPN+ so I'll just go watch his fight later.

Kind of excited for the upcoming UFC 276.

[Fanny Batter]

I've had a busy few weeks and haven't managed to catch much. Going to watch the last PPV tonight probably as I heard the title fight was an all time classic. Very rarely get a weekend free in the Summer but will hopefully catch the fights this weekend, it's a banging card.

[OD50]

Anyone catch the fights? Me neither lol. I watched Pride 33 instead. The only guy I wanted to see was Action Man and thankfully my son has ESPN+ so I'll just go watch his fight later.

Kind of excited for the upcoming UFC 276.

I've watched the main card except the main event so far. Biggest takeaway was Shavkat Rakhmonov, really, really solid fighter. Pride 33: "Second Coming" was it..? I remember watching both US Pride events (32 & 33) live. Good times.

[Nash Diesel]

I've watched the main card except the main event so far. Biggest takeaway was Shavkat Rakhmonov, really, really solid fighter. Pride 33: "Second Coming" was it..? I remember watching both US Pride events (32 & 33) live. Good times.

Shavkat choking out Magney and saying he wants guys like Wonderboy or Masvidal was brilliant. Would love to see those fights.

Yessir about 33. I remember ordering Pride 32 and being sad I didn't get to order this one. I think there was a UFC or maybe a TNA ppv that same weekend or the same timeframe.

Wandy v. Dan Henderson 2. It's kind of pitiful when you see Pride 34 card in comparison because it was pretty weak. Jeff Monson v. Fujita in the main event...eh....This felt more like the final Pride show imo. Plus it has the great fight between Diaz/Gomi.

[OD50]

Yeah, I think 34 happened after the Zuffa purchase so 33 was the last true Pride card. I watched both 32 and 33 with a buddy who's not really a fight fan at all, but even he was excited by those two events.

Interesting card tonight, will definitely check it out tomorrow morning. I'm too damn old to watch this shit live anymore. I see that Robbie Lawler has been moved to the main card now to replace Miesha Tate. Pretty wild that he was on the prelims to begin with.

[Spedizzo]

boring PPV tonight, no comments on it really. Shame that Max Holloway title contention is all but over now

was there something going on with WWE and UFC cross promoting? WWE had a PPV tonight, yet all the McMahons and Triple H were at the UFC event, and Izzy came out to the Undertaker theme

was Dana White at the WWE PPV? He wasn't in attendance for a Vegas PPV?

[Kdestiny]

boring PPV tonight, no comments on it really. Shame that Max Holloway title contention is all but over now

was there something going on with WWE and UFC cross promoting? WWE had a PPV tonight, yet all the McMahons and Triple H were at the UFC event, and Izzy came out to the Undertaker theme

was Dana White at the WWE PPV? He wasn't in attendance for a Vegas PPV?

I assume they went to the UFC event after the WWE show was over since Pat was on the WWE show.

[Nash Diesel]

I still need to watch the title fights but everything leading up to it was pretty good. RIP to Cerrone. Great fighter, lost to another great one. Jim Miller--It's wild. The most wins in the UFC, and never challenged for a championship.

Yeah, I think 34 happened after the Zuffa purchase so 33 was the last true Pride card. I watched both 32 and 33 with a buddy who's not really a fight fan at all, but even he was excited by those two events.

Interesting card tonight, will definitely check it out tomorrow morning. I'm too damn old to watch this shit live anymore. I see that Robbie Lawler has been moved to the main card now to replace Miesha Tate. Pretty wild that he was on the prelims to begin with.

Sort of. We've seen Urijah Faber, Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn, etc on the prelims post-championship reigns. Robbie is also 2-7 in his last 9 fights since losing to Woodley. He won a decision against Cowboy and whatever that fight was with Nick.

[Fanny Batter]

I saw somebody suggest Jim Miller vs. Tony Ferguson, and to me that's the perfect fight for both of them at this stage. Miller deserves a hyped main card fight, and Tony deserves a drop down in level. Likely result is a Tony win that rights his ship somewhat so you can get another big fight (Conor?) out of him, but if Miller wins it gets him a pair of marquee wins and a shot at the top 15. He's lost to Scott Holtzman really so a loss doesn't hurt him much either. You just drop him back down to gatekeeper.