The UFC Fight Pass Events General Thread

[Fanny Batter]

As they are being promoted as tier 4 events (behind PPV, FOX and FS1), I think it makes sense to have one thread for every fight card held exclusively (in America) on Fight Pass.

The morning/afternoon card from Macao has come and gone, and was a reasonably enjoyable affair. There was the usual issues with the local cards - guys with padded records looking as dangerous as spoons, mismatches designed to promote said fighters to mixed success, and a severe lack of relevance throughout the card. What it did give us, however, was a tremendous knockout by Dong Hyun Kim on John Hathaway, wiping him out cold on the counter with a spinning back elbow. Kim is now at the point where he's earned a big fight by opening his style up and taking a risk. His name's out there, people are talking about him. He can get a top 10 guy next, and I fully expect (and would encourage him) to revert back to his strength of incredible top control and stifling grappling. He can beat most fighters on the planet like that, he's not going to escape unscathed if he continues to brawl like this. BUT it's made him in the fan's eyes, so he can now afford to play it safe as he'll be doing so in relevant fights that can put him on the verge of contention.

Elsewhere, Matt Mitrione looked solid against Shawn Jordan - Mitrione's career can probably be rejuvenated if they care to promote him, big finisher and a lot of personality. He's getting on though and will never beat anybody great. Hatsu Hioki survived fading late AGAIN, putting points in the bank before struggling late against Ivan bloody Menjivar. His top control is great but he just doesn't look for openings for the finish and it's costing him. Good fighter, not great. The Finale of TUF China was a load of shite I barely watched. Finally, good little scrap between Nam and Tokudome - 4 knockdowns Tok survived and nearly came through on points but faded late.


Next card is this Saturday from England. It's on Channel 5 over here, terrestrial TV, so more eyes than ever should be on a live fight in the UK. Main event is Gustafsson vs. Manuwa, a fine fight even though Gustafsson should be fighting Jon Jones in an immediate rematch. Manuwa's a local boy in the 02 should be a great atmosphere. Rest of the card is the usual mix of Brit's/Europeans fighting American's coming off losses, and a solid co-main between Michael Johnson and Melvin Guillard - Johnson with another finish could catapult up the rankings. Also of note is Brad Pickett's flyweight debut (against replacement Neil Seery) and undefeated Gunnar Nelson returning from a year's layoff.

Following that, Abu Dhabi in April with Nelson/Nog and Guida/Kawajiri. TUF Nations Finale promises good prelims as well. It's consumerism at it's finest this Fight Pass, but it's not bad for £5.99 a month. I'd be slightly more irritated if I was paying $60 for a PPV every month and still having to subscribe to this to get all the coverage, but we get it pretty good over here for UFC.

[Mark Hammer]

Crazy that DHK of all people is riding a two fight KO streak. I didn't catch the Hathaway fight but he was well on his way to Fitching Erick Silva to death before swinging wildly and landing a perfect (imo lucky) counter.

[Fanny Batter]

They've announced shows for Dublin, Istanbul, Berlin and Stockholm for later in the year, presumably Fight Pass events. The Dublin event should be particularly lairy if McGregor, as expected, headlines. He's the kind of guy that can talk a tenner a month out of peoples pockets, shame they couldn't use him on launch instead of John Hathaway! It'll be interesting to see if these localized events work in building the brand, there's certainly positives happening (main card is on Channel 5 here), but it's whether people want this format or want the American-centric product. I don't think American football is big over here, the Birmingham Bullets vs. the Swansea Shithouses couldn't fill a Wetherspoon's, but when they bring the proper boys over they sell out Wembley. I wonder if the UFC brand has already got to that point, or they genuinely do see a place for big local events like boxing does. Perhaps a big help would be to acquire broadcasting rights for local shows in the EMEA areas, so fans can watch the future UFC fighters on Fight Pass. It'll be pretty hard making a star in England if they're only fighting twice a year.

[Fanny Batter]

Big Alex just tore through Manuwa, landed a big knee and showed huge finishing instincts as usual with savage uppercuts. Jones vs. Gustafsson II is the fight to look forward to this year, going to be amazing. I like Glover but I think I have to cheer on Jones in that fight because that's Alex's title fight, and I think he's every chance of taking it to Jones and putting him out. He's so much more confident coming out of that title fight, that may be the difference. No shame for Manuwa, he looked capable defensively on the ground, showed a decent scramble and landed a few decent shots. Just didn't have anything for Gus. He can still put on good fights with the rest of the division.

Michael Johnson looked OK against a massively hesitant Melvin Guillard. Johnson may have the ultimate gatekeeper resume over the last year - Lauzon, Tibau and Guillard are possibly the most tenured lightweights on the roster and he's beaten all three back-to-back-to-back. Johnson vs. Trujillo would be absolute chaos, though he should probably get a ranked name opponent like Maynard or Diaz. Melvin is done as somebody to have any hope for, will probably still knock enough of the Danny Castillo's and Vinc Pinchel's out to stay on the roster but he's got nothing for the top guys.

Brad Pickett didn't look too impressive in his flyweight debut, grinding out a decision with takedowns in a closely contested striking match. Don't think he has much for Johnson, Benavidez and Dodson, though his heart, chin and big set of bollocks will make it fun to see him try. Would probably match him up with McCall again, there's a bit of bad blood there and you could argue a title shot (or contender's bout) for the winner. I think Pickett knows the wars are catching up to him, he maybe stands a slight chance against Mighty Mouse now, give it a year and a couple more grueling fights and he gets stomped, and I think he knows it. Smart to campaign for a shot, doubt he gets it.

Gunnar Nelson is a beast. A year off and he murders a guy, flawless victory style. Between Nelson, Thatch, LaFlare, Garcia, Cabral, Amagov and Gastelum, some monsters coming through at welterweight right now. Be interesting to see if the old lads can hold ground as this lot gain experience.

Luke Barnett looked solid. Bit of a talker, 3-0 in the UFC, I think he'll be a staple for a few years like Terry Etim. That season of TUF has produced a few solid fighters.

[OD50]

Gus.

[OD50]

This was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. Like two four-year olds trying to recreate Takayama/Frye or something.

[Mik]

Its amusing how quickly they gassed.

[MikeHunt]

Dan hardy is absolutely the worst commentator I've ever heard

[Mik]

Oh yeah? I havent seen it yet, but I heard that he got pretty positive feedback.

[MikeHunt]

I thought he was shocking. He added absolutely no insight at all just blabbed on and on.

[Mik]

I havent found Hardy too bad, but the ring announcer is AWFUL.

[MikeHunt]

Aye he was pure shite.

[Mik]

Beaaauuuuuutiful shot, beauuuuuutiful takedown, beauuuuutiful kick.

Yeah, you're right, Hardy does need work. More just some annoying traits that particularly poor though.

[Seanny One Ball]

Yeah did not enjoy the commentary at all. I hated the guy chatting to Forrest too he was useless. Picket looked awful againt the Irish boy striking wise. Manuwa looked dangerous but completely wild, every punch and kick winging away full throttle. He will beast anyone without a gameplan if they let him but Gus was absolutely on top. I can see him beating Jon Jones someday.
Guillard looked like shit, Nelson secured the best off the back guillotine I've ever seen.

[Mik]

Nelson looked like he just decided to guillotine him...then did.

[Mark Hammer]

Did this air on television for you wacky Brits? Because surely you haven't all subscribed to Fight Pass?

[MikeHunt]

Aye it was in council telly

[OD50]

It was on free television over here too, TV4 Sport.

[Nash Diesel]

Anybody check out the TUF Brazil Wanderlai/Chael season yet? Debuted last night on Fight Pass. I'm not one for shit talk, but these 2 legit hate each other so I didn't know if it came across that way last night or not.

[Seanny One Ball]

Nelson looked like he just decided to guillotine him...then did.

He did look rather relaxed for being on his back, like Randy Couture on fight science.

[Fanny Batter]

Shall we change this to an all round Fight Night thread? Not many have gathered the buzz that events have in the past so no need for separate threads for all of them, unless one has a particularly epic card. There doesn't appear to be any on the horizon outside of Sonnen vs. Wanderlei after all. Main events upcoming are Nog/Nelson, Bisping/Kennedy, Browne/Silva, Munoz/Mousasi and Swanson/Stephens, good fights but certainly no blockbusters.

Coming tomorrow is Shogun vs. Henderson 2. Anybody who watched the first fight between the two can't help but want to see these shopworn tough bastards tearing fuck out of each other again. Last fight was Henderson beating Shogun like a stuck pig for the better part of 3 rounds until Rua landed a disgusting uppercut in round 4 that stopped Dan in his tracks and had him in survival mode for the sensational, tense finish as Shogun punched with his depleted strength in full mount trying to take him out. It was amazing. Henderson hung on but it was close. Since then, Shogun has struggled against Brandon Vera and looked flat against Gustafsson and Sonnen, before starching James Te Huna last December. It's been worse for Hendo, falling out of his scheduled title fight against Jon Jones, having his reputation take a hammering due to the lack of professionalism, dropped 2 close verdicts to Evans and Machida, got flattened for the first time by Vitor Belfort and became embroiled in the TRT row. He's had a shitter. This is his last chance pretty much - win this and maybe he gets matched with Lil Nog, a winnable fight, then he's back in the hunt. Lose and he's taken 4 on the bounce and, depending on how he loses, could leave him pretty much valueless to the company. It's big for him. However, I see Shogun being the quicker fighter and taking him out with a counter in 2 or 3, maybe climbing off the canvas to do so. It can't possibly be as epic as the first, but as long as we get flashes of it I'll be happy.

The rest of the card is very Brazil TUF heavy. Winner of Season 1 at middleweight, Cezar Ferriera, takes on CB Dolloway in the co-main. Cezar has the look of a potential superstar in Brazil, built like a brick shithouse with an entertaining style. Dolloway as been a hidden highlight lately, having several back and forth scraps. But he's a curly lipped prick. Look at his face. Can't help but want to see it punched. Gibbon. Hopefully Cezar can get the win but Dolloway is a live dog, and it should be a great fight.

Leonardo Santos, season 2 winner, faces TUF Smashes winner Norman Parke. What Parke lacks in the spectacular he makes up for in fundamentals, barely putting a foot wrong so far against middling to fair opposition. Santos is getting on a bit and apparently has poor cardio, but I can't see Joe Silva having purposefully set a Brazilian lad with TV backing to lose straight off the bat, so maybe he sees something we don't. I'm going Parke by decision as he continues to roll, can't see him challenging the top 10 but he can be a solid Tibau/Dunham level scrapper.

TUF 1 lightweight winner Rony Jason returns after a violent knockout loss against the entertaining Steven Siler. I like this undercard fight, both come to scrap and leave it out there, both have limited ceilings but should be a good close fight with Jason winning, possibly by submission.

Fabio Maldonado against Gian Villante. Maldonado is fun to watch but is so incredibly nonathletic that I can't see him taking anybody out above a certain level. His wins are against Beltran, McSweeney and Roger Hollett, three dreadful light heavyweights. He's looked brain damaged lately as well after the Glover fight. Gian Villante should win quite comfortably, Maldonado is already toast in my opinion.

TUF 14 winner Diego Brandao returns from a loss to fight Will Chope. Brandao is offensively talented but very flawed defensively. He should clean up the scrutters of the division though, including Chope.

Scott Jorgenson vs. Jussier Formiga is a big bout for the flyweight division, as Jorgenson may still have potential to be a threat if he gets the cut right. Formiga came in with a big reputation but he's looked undersized and inadequate on the feet so far in the UFC, you'd fancy he might get beaten up here in a bit of a statement victory for Scotty.

Other fights include a squash match for Ronny Markes, a good match up for Russian sophomore Taisumov, the debut of touted unbeaten Noad Lahat and a light heavyweight debutants scrap. Hopefully it'll be solid event.

[Mark Hammer]

Those Fight Night main events lumped together would have made for a nice lineup to support a less popular division's title fight. But what do I know. Make each a main event to a shit card and air them all on Fight Pass for tens of fans to enjoy.

[Fanny Batter]

The concept works better when PPV cards don't feature TJ Waldburger or Abel Trujillo. You could understand having events on TV/internet without marquee names providing PPV's are full of them, and a card like 170 certainly came around at the wrong time. Pretty rough for the live crowds though, UFC comes around once every few years and you get a Mark Munoz main event. Maybe they should have the Fight Night series return to a smallish venue in Vegas and take the PPV's on the road more? When half of your PPV's are either in Vegas or Canada, it's taking big fights away from other places. I think the UFC need to be careful not to televise completely shit fights, since somebody flicking over could see a shithouse, uninteresting fight and never give it a second look. That FOX card earlier in the year had some piss televised prelims for example. If it's pointless on paper, put it on the internet for the hardcores, then if it's a good fight you air it. Ronny Markes vs. Thiago Santos tomorrow for example - mismatch, the favourite is deathly boring, the fight completely irrelevant. I'll be making a sandwich through that and I love me some MMA, not a chance a randomer is going to sit through that shit.

Injuries, and no clear contenders, has harmed the match making for the start of the year. Pettis and Velasquez out til fall, no contenders at flyweight or bantamweight that could put an arse in a seat, St-Pierre retired, Anderson, Rashad injured, Vitor on TRT shelf - I'd like to think if those guys are available we'd have been getting, say, Condit vs. Woodley or Aldo vs. Lamas as TV main events, but it hasn't happened. So they've been picking them out the air. Swanson vs. Stephens and Brown vs. Silva can't possibly be boring, but who the fuck dreamt them up?!

[Nash Diesel]

My apologies I just posted in the UFC thread about the lack of conversation and here it is in this thread....I didnt think to look here since its on Fox Sports 1 and not an exclusive to Fight Pass event like the Gus fight.

As I said in the other thread, Im going with Shogun in this fight. 2nd round finish, just not sure if itll be submission or a knockout.

[Fanny Batter]

Mad prelims here - Formiga nutting Jorgenson and choking him out, flying knee KO by fucking Pepey, and 1/8 favourite Ronny Markes weighing in at 190 and getting stopped by a liver kick in under a minute. Something in the water!

[Lagom]

And now a veeeeeeeeeery premature stoppage. Crazy night so far.

[Mark Hammer]

The shady Brazilian ref just screwed Norman Parke out of a win.

[Mark Hammer]

Dolloway just fucked that boy up. Screw the haters, I like the lip.

[Fanny Batter]

This has been a strange as hell card. Gian Villante dying on his arse and letting zombie Fabio light him up late, an abysmal draw, double points deductions, Brazil's most popular prospext getting starched in a minute by CB Dolloway. Hendo by front choke now I am guessing.

[Mark Hammer]

Holy fuck Hendo!

[Fanny Batter]

Massive win for Henderson. How he got up off the canvas after those knockdowns is ridiculous. Shogun fucked up by not getting him out of there when he had the chance but Hendo weathered it and dropped the bomb. Entertaining follow up to a great fight. Shogun should consider hanging them up but I guess there's legend fights with Anderson and Lil Nog that make sense, as well as Rashad if he drops his next fight. Hendo should get Lil Nog next, a fight I feel he could win and inexplicably get him back in contention. Or drop to 185 for Bisping. Rubber match with Wand. There's loads of options for him now.

[Nash Diesel]

Hendo-Shogun 2 is another example of why you don't count someone out just because they get dropped or lose a previous round. You never know what might happen as the fight progresses. Big win for Hendo, he was slipping there, had some setbacks, and showed that he still has enough juice left to hang with top 10 guys. Too bad for Shogun, I love watching him fight, and I thought he was about to demolish the dude especially after the 1st round and then when he cracked hendo with that uppercut that fucked him up in the first fight.....Brutal finish.

Honestly a very good free card, hopefully not too many missed out because of the poor promotion backing it.

[Mik]

I dont think that Shogun needs to retire. He almost knocked out the guy with the granite chin and then suffered his first career knockout against the guy with the granite hands.

I do think that he needs to drop a division though. Look at what it did for Machida. He's been podgy his whole career.

[Nash Diesel]

And he wasn't even KNOCKED OUT, just took a brutal shot and couldn't get his composure. If he dropped to 185 it'd give MW a huge shot of star power, especially now that Machida is there as well (Machida-Rua part 3 at 185? hmmmm). But 205 could use him and he's still a threat imo, it was just a tough break when he had both round 1 and 2 in the bag.

[Nash Diesel]

So Scotty Jorg wants an immediate rematch after getting choked out last night, but we all know what really set the tone was the accidental headbutt he encountered. It was unfortunate, and damn there were a couple piss poor stoppages, especially that Siler fight, holy shit that was one of the worst stoppages in years. People talk about Faber-Barao, go check Siler's fight, that's a REAL early stoppage.

Thoughts on Jorgensen wanting a rematch? Should he get one and should his fight be changed to a NC? I think yes for both.

[Olympus]

Damn, Nelson just stiffed Big Nog. Oof...

[Mik]

I think its fair to say that Nog should hang them up.

[Nash Diesel]

Yeah he honestly should've called it a day when he blasted Schaub but you know sometimes those "big wins" make a fighter think they can still go and they get smacked back to reality pretty violently.

[Fanny Batter]

Nogueira got himself in good shape, but that man shouldn't have been entered into a prize fight this evening. He's been as slow and immobile as any fighter the last 5 years and was put in there against a man with breezeblocks for fists. Of course there was a chance that Nelson would fade before he could level Nog, but when he's as slow as that he's always going to get clipped (like he has even in victory as far back as we can remember), and he just doesn't have the resistance to get over it anymore. Watching him go stiff as a board was tough to watch, but it's yet another story of a fighter that goes on too long and goes out on his back against a guy he likely handles in his physical prime. Roy gets a big win, I can't see him being much for anybody good with a decent gameplan and athleticism, but he's always got that punch in him. There's fresh fights waiting for him against Hunt, Bigfoot, Barnett, Overeem and Gonzaga, all big names. He can beat any of those guys on his day, given his power and chin and considering they are not nimble, fleet footed strikers.

Clay Guida looked the best he has in a while against Kawajiri. Good thing about Guida is that you know the sport is slowly passing him by, he's going to get a raping one of these days against a guy like Poirier or Swanson, I can feel it. He's wise to call out McGregor, I think Conor should get an easier out considering the layoff and lack of UFC experience though, the Miller fight sounds about right. Guida vs. Poirier would suit me.

Elsewhere, John Howard got his nuts fucked up, Thales Leites looked impressive and Ramsey Nijem tried to claim he was the best fighter on the planet. Solid card. 26 fights between Wednesday and Friday, stock up on coffee gentlemen.

[Mark Hammer]

Lol Nog and his excuses. Link is in Portuguese but apparently Nog had to ride to Abu Dabi coach class, so his back was sore and he didn't get to train properly in the days leading to the fight.

http://sportv.globo.com/site/combate...r-empresa.html

[Fanny Batter]

Big Nog only loses fairly to Brazilian fighters!

[Fanny Batter]

TUF Nations Finale on Wednesday. Not going to pretend that I've watched it the TV show (I don't watch TUF unless there's a decent coach dynamic like Rousey vs. Tate), so am clueless as to who's involved. Three of the four finalists are undefeated and one once beaten so they should at least be decent, and there's notables scattered throughout.

Main event is Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy. The winner will probably find themselves in a top contenders match, presumably against Jacare. Both are marketable names, Bisping being a Northern nobhead and Kennedy being an Army Ranger. It's a pick em fight, Bisping is the quicker fighter and should be the one scoring points on the feet, but Kennedy has more power and should be the physically stronger man. I fancy it going five rounds with Bisping surviving a few scary moments to pull away on the stretch and take a close points verdict. I don't think Kennedy will match his out-put and while he will almost certainly hurt Bisping and maybe trouble him on the mat, Mike will rack up points with his stick and move kickboxing. I hope he wins anyway, I'd like to see him get that elusive title shot. He's great value.

Dustin Poirier has been given a squash match against Akira Corassani. It looks the sort anyway, Dustin is developing into a high quality TV fighter, offence for days and a willingness to put himself in danger to hunt for the finish. I fancy he gets Akira out of there within 2 and move himself on to a big fight. Him and Lamas would be a quality scrap.

Kyle Noke fights Patrick Cote in the bizarre coaches fight. I don't get the Canada vs. Straylya competition, is there a history of sporting rivalry there? Either way, both guys have been about a bit and at least come to fight, with a lot of stoppages between them. I like Noke to be the fresher fighter, Cote is on the luckiest winning streak of all time - DQ win against Sakara and a (in my opinion) stinker of a decision against Bobby Voelker. He doesn't look like he has much left, will always keep his power though. I'd go Noke in a slight upset, probably on points but maybe by submission if Cote tires down the stretch.

Stout vs. Noons. 2 overrated fighters in terms of entertainment as they're primarily strikers. Stout in particular has bored me for years. I'm hoping Noons and his very solid haircut can put it together and beat him, ending his UFC career finally. The man couldn't finish Cody MacKenzie! I think Stout will steal it with takedowns that he does nothing with though, again.

Sarah Kaufman returns to fight Leslie Smith, who comes in on massively short notice. Apparently there first scrap in Invicta was a bit of a classic. Looking forward to 2 game birds coming for a scrap, Kaufman should have enough and get back in the win column. Very solid fighter.

Ryan Jimmo and Mark Bocek both face newcomers. Jimmo is a strange one, is never purely average. Stinks up the joint or scores big shots and excites. Bocek is underrated, good grappler, 7-5 in the UFC but only losing to former champions (Edgar and Henderson), perennial top tenners (RDA and Jimmy Miller) and Mac Danzig after he got cut up. Doubt he cracks the top 10 but won't lose to many outside of it. Both guys should win.

George Roop vs. Dustin Kimura. Roop is always in entertaining fights too, and is incredibly inconsistent. He's 5-5-1 since he started fighting below 155, and 2-2 at bantamweight. That says it all really. He's lost to some very good fighters but beat some too. Kimura is a step below guys like Bowles and Wineland but unproven. Roop mainly struggles with big punchers and Kimura is a grappler. Roop most likely boxes him up and gets the TKO.

Some solid, some shit - a FS1 level show really.

[OD50]

Definitely have Bisping outpointing Kennedy via standard dance like a butterfly and sting like a... Uh, butterfly style.

Hoping DDP squashes Corassani. Even though he fights out of Sweden it's very, very hard to find anyone actually liking the guy. Me included.

[Mark Hammer]

Definitely have Bisping outpointing Kennedy via standard dance like a butterfly and sting like a... Uh, butterfly style.

I love this line.

This is actually a pretty good card. FS1 am I correct? I might make a thread. I'm pulling for Mean Mike and I think he'll take the UD. Agree with OD about Corassani; he's a cunt and I'll always remember him for getting mad and throwing napkins at Bruce Leeroy. Thankfully Poirier should crush him, which will be nice to watch.

[Nash Diesel]

If Bisping loses he'll never see a title shot at 185 for the rest of his career. Tim Kennedy hasn't beaten a top guy, the only wins Bisping has in the UFC are against guys who don't even fucking fight there anymore (seriously think about that for a minute, not a single guy he's beat fights in the UFC anymore...some don't even fight period.) I think Bisping was someone who people kept going "oh he'll bring in all these fans from the European market" but the way people from across the pond talk about him in various countries, they seem to hate this guy too.

IMHO, the guy is about 3 fights away from being a true contender. If he beats Kennedy, he has to fight at least 2 more guys that are top guys whether it's Jacare, Machida, Weidman, a rematch with Vitor, Luke Rockhold, having a resume where your win column has no top 10 guys and no current UFC/MMA fighters, that's not going to do much.

[Nash Diesel]

Judging by the lack of Silva-Sonnen TUF Brazil talk I'm assuming either nobody around here subscribes to Fight Pass or they haven't seen the altercation between Chael, Wanderlai, and Wanderlai's coach. There's something going on, because now we have Chael requesting a fight with RICH FRANKLIN lol. No clue WHY he would call out Ace and keep saying that the fight with Wanderlai isn't going down if something wasn't up behind the scenes.

[Olympus]

I've been watching it. I want to believe it wasn't a work, but it was just weird either way.

[Mark Hammer]

Holy shit what a knockout from KJ Noons.

[Fanny Batter]

YES KJ Noons. Stout has bored me for ages, great knockout. Good hair on him as well.

[Mark Hammer]

What a fucking round! Probably the best MMA round I've seen so far this year.

[Fanny Batter]

Poirier might be the most exciting fighter in the sport. So attack minded and creative with the vulnerability that keeps his fights edge-of-your-seat stuff. He's going to have some classics in the next few years.

[Mark Hammer]

Tim Kennedy is stinking this joint up.

[Fanny Batter]

Worst main event in a long time. Dull as shit. Kennedy did what he had to do and Bisping had nothing for him. Not a stock grower for either, and Bisping needs a big performance next to stay remotely relevant.

[Mik]

Surprised to see Kennedy holding Bisping down when Sonnen couldnt.

[Mark Hammer]

Unfortunate snoozer of a main event when the rest of the card was damn entertaining.

Mik keep in mind that Bisping is 35 years old and just returned from over a year lay-off. A combination of ring rust and Father Time left us with a much shittier version of Bisping last night than the one who showed up against Sonnen. As much as Kennedy is to blame for that cringeworty 15-20 minute display of LnP, Bisping looked horrible even when the tide was going his way. He was so apprehensive, I kept wanting to scream at him to do something.

[Mik]

Maybe its time for Bisping to start considering retirement. That title shot he's always wanted it way too far out of his grasp now.

[Nash Diesel]

He would probably have to beat 2 top 5 guys in his next 2 fights to even be considered for a title shot.

[Kimura Kid]

Poirier might be the most exciting fighter in the sport. So attack minded and creative with the vulnerability that keeps his fights edge-of-your-seat stuff. He's going to have some classics in the next few years.

I've always loved watching Poirier fight. He's one of my favorite fighters I always root for the guy! I would say him and Mcgregor are my favorite fighters.

[Nash Diesel]

McGregor???? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO!! lol. Has the dude been so impressive on twitter it's convinced others that he's actually as good as he posts? His name is just sour ballsack to me ever since Joe Rogen said nobody since Lesnar has came into the UFC with as much hype as this dude. But I love Poirier, and the documentary they've been showing on Showtime that was shot a couple years ago before he got his big break where he's training down in Louisiana with Tim Credeur.

[OD50]

Well, KK didn't say McGregor was great or anything, just one of his his favorite fighters. People probably dig his style and swag just as much as his actual fighting skills.

[Nash Diesel]

Oh I was just giving my brother KK shit as it seems like Connor is somehow labeled the next big thing yet he hasn't really shown us jack shit other than he can talk some good trash on twitter. Sucks he's out with an injury, as I would have liked to have seen him live up to the hype sooner than later. I mean shit he called out the entire top 10 and already has quite a few fans and DW on his nuts, let's see what this boy can do when he has to face Cole Miller.

[Fanny Batter]

Interesting event tomorrow night, with nothing hugely relevant but well matched fights with a few prospects and veterans on the rebound scattered about.

Brown vs. Silva can't not be awesome. 2 offensive minded scrappers with huge vulnerabilities colliding with one of them on the fringes of contention and the other in need of putting a string of wins together. Brown just brings it every time he fights, he has no real right to be the kind of guy to put a streak together because his defensive grappling isn't great and he gets hit a lot, but he's done it and fair play to him. Anybody who doesn't like watching him fight probably doesn't like this sport too much, he is value. Then there's Silva who always comes out like a house of fire, either getting early finishes with his explosive striking and great ground game or getting involved in wars and coming out on the losing end. Always entertaining. This could be one of those fights where Silva starts strong but fades and Brown takes over, or Silva clips him and submits him early. I prefer Brown and would like a journeyman guy like that to end up challenging for the title, but I think Silva is too much for him. Both men will have crackers with the Lawler's and Condit's of the division which is exciting.

Philippou vs. Larkin doesn't really get my interest, Costa is a fighter who never really has good fights, not boring but technically strong with nothing outstanding. Larkin has potential to be a highlight reel but is usually too passive. It's going to points I think, and it depends on who does the most work. Larkin is the better fighter so I lean towards him but he's too relaxed to have faith in.

Koch vs. Cruickshank is another guaranteed slice of violence, Koch is a genuine top tier featherweight who has moved up after a couple of tough defeats. No shame in losing to Lamas or Poirier, two elite fighters. Cruickshank is unpredictable, he's not made the step up yet but when he's fighting lower level fighters he's very entertaining. That head kick he did to a guy on FOX 5 I think it was was incredible. BUT when he does step up he can go in to his shell and under perform. This is certainly a step up. Koch wins and looks spectacular doing so, putting him around the top 20. Him and Noons sounds like a fun time.

Magny vs. Means. Strange main card fight. Really strange. Means is entertaining though. Hopefully he crushes Magny, who has never really impressed me.

THE HULK vs. Ruan Potts. Hulk really isn't very good but he hits hard and has a solid top game, I think he'll beat most middling heavyweights and get rinsed once he starts fighting the top 10. Potts isn't top 10. Hulk in one.

Cariaso vs. Smolka is a great fight at flyweight, a division that is starting to develop prospects well. Smolka is one of those, he looked really good against Ozkelic in a back and forth fight. Cariaso is an odd one in the division though, he only loses to great fighters (usually before we know how good they are), overachieving in defeat and looking pretty ordinary against mid tier talent. He fights up a level when he goes up in level, but still comes up short. Smolka is a wild card, we don't know how good he is. I lean towards Cariaso in a tight one, he should have enough experience to take the rounds.

Herman vs. Natal is surely loser leaves town, 2 guys who have been around forever and showing no signs of stepping up to the top 20. Natal is the better fighter but can be flaky, his knockout loss to Andrew Craig was his career highlight. Herman doesn't hit hard enough to bother him though I don't think, Natal wins on points or maybe late by submission.

Horiguchi vs. Montague is another class flyweight fight. Horiguchi looked good in his debut, smashing an overmatched bantamweight to bits. He's down at a more natural weight class for him against a guy who was ranked highly before the UFC implemented the division. Close fight. Horiguchi has power for days though and I like him to pick up a stoppage win.

Cabral vs. Cummings. Cabral is a grappling beast, Cummings' one skillset is grappling so he shouldn't give Cabral many issues. Cabral comfortably on points I think, but hopefully he can pick up a submission.

Eddie Wineland tenth fight down(?!) against Johny Eduardo. No idea why Wineland is slumming it so far down the card when Neil Magny is on the main show, but there we are. Get to see it all so no worries, just bizarre. Wineland beats him down, Eduardo is experienced but Wineland can beat anybody on his day and it wouldn't surprise me if he gets on track for another title shot, I'd favour him against anybody but Faber, Cruz and Barao, and he could beat the first 2 on a good day I think. He's really good. Eddie by knockout.

Nik Lentz vs. Manny Gamburyan on Fight Pass. Lentz is a top ten featherweight, Manny is a former title contender on a three fight unbeaten run (thanks to Dennis Siver turtle HGH). Good fight. Lentz is a really relentless grappler and a hardcase, I think he tires Manny out and wins by decision, he has the power to hurt Manny though.

Salas vs. Wall. No fucks given. Salas I guess.

Lapsey vs. Tumenov. Money to be made on Lapsey, Tumenov is overrated because he's Russian, Lapsey looked very solid against Jason High.

[Nash Diesel]

Mega excited for tonights card. Brown/Silva and Koch/Cruickshank are going to be memorable.

[Mark Hammer]

Brown is currently a 2-1 underdog. Pretty laughable imo; he's beaten better competition and is ranked quite a bit higher. Plus he's fighting at home. I think there's some easy money to be made here because it looks like all the betters have swallowed the Silva hype.

[Nash Diesel]

The only thing I question is Browns chin. Hes been subbed but he reminds me of a modern day Nate Quarry where he eats some wicked shots, almost gets finished, then comes out of nowhere with the big win. I hope Brown wins and we eventually get the Condit fight.

[Dream-Evil]

Eduardo!

[Mark Hammer]

Brown is currently a 2-1 underdog. Pretty laughable imo; he's beaten better competition and is ranked quite a bit higher. Plus he's fighting at home. I think there's some easy money to be made here because it looks like all the betters have swallowed the Silva hype.

Like I said. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Brown being such a heavy underdog, he should have been a considerable favorite.

[Nash Diesel]

The liver shots/midsection hits will be his demise against the likes of Condit, Hendricks, Lawler, butttttttt he showed why hes a top 10 guy and why you cant sleep on him. Got out of a deep choke, multiple kill shots to the body, and the receipt he gave Silva for those shots made this a classic we will remember for years.

Another great win was Cruikshank over Koch, beautiful finish.

[Fanny Batter]

Matt Brown is some man. Hard cunt. Great whiskers and a hell of a survivor. 2 fights in his last 3 now he's been hurt badly to the body and somehow recovered, and considering he has proven his toughness I feel he'll be given longer rope to recover. Erick Silva is a tough lad too, he can take a shot and it took a lot to get him to wilt. Brown vs. the winner of Ellenberger/Lawler is a must and is guaranteed awesomeness. Match the two judokas DHK and Lombard, winner of Rory/Woodley meets Hendricks and the winner of the Ellenberger/Lawler/Brown fiasco (providing they're good fights of course... !), and match Maia with Saffiedine if he wins his next one. Welterweight is great without GSP.

Costa Philippou put the beatdown on. Great knockout. That's a big win for him and if he improves his TDD he could hover around the top 15 for a while. Larkin is a solid fighter but lacks that x factor.

Darren Cruickshank will kick your head off. Glad to see him win, surprised me that he raised his game and went for it, and Koch crumbled under pressure like he has in the past. Spectacular knockout. Cruickshank vs. Barboza is next I hope, maybe get him back in there earlier and build up to it though, he's a dangerous man.

Magny vs. Means sucked donkey dick. Magny is a boring prick, Means was a passive spaz.

HULK SMASH. Good run he's on. Looking forward to making money when he faces a top 10 opponent though, he's not particularly special.

Chris Cariaso is a solid little fighter. Little being the operative term. He has close fights but finds ways to win. His two losses at flyweight don't tell the whole story either, he put a beatdown on Formiga in round 3 yet got stopped by Moraga in the third in a fight he was winning. He has a chance with anybody outside Benavidez, Mighty Mouse, Dodson and McCall I think.

Prelims were an odd bunch. Nik Lentz had a close one with fucking Manny Gamburyan and proceeded to say he was the third best featherweight in the world. Ed Herman waded through treacle and won a fight. Horiguchi looked great against a very game opponent. Eddie Wineland got smashed by Johnny Eduaro in a big shocker, maybe Eddie is on the downswing of a good career. Yan Cabral looked clueless and shit after the first round and basically beat himself.

Good event.

[Fanny Batter]

Didn't really focus a whole lot on the fights yesterday, with Froch/Groves being my chosen viewing. Strange to see C.B. Dolloway turn it around and becoming a very solid middleweight after losing to Jared Hamman of all people. Carmont got overrated quite considerably, his win streak was deceptive and he's no top 10 calibre fighter. Mousasi won as expected, Munoz has suffered some heavy defeats in his career and should probably call it a day. Mouse is a contender at middleweight, very capable of stringing some wins together providing he stays more active. Yuri Alcantara continued his climb at bantamweight, get him against the top 10 now please. Fell asleep before the Brazil card. Glad Maldonado didn't take a prolonged beating. Good for Miocic to pick up another win, can see the JDS fight getting rescheduled, or Overeem in a contender's fight.

Next week's event is more like it. Henderson/Khabilov, Pearson/Sanchez, Dodson/Moraga, RDA/High and Carraway/Perez are all very solid fights.

[Fanny Batter]

Solid event coming up Saturday.

Benson Henderson has always come off as a cock to me, but he is an excellent mixed martial artist. Quick, powerful, explosive, he can win fights on the ground and standing against the majority of the division. His beatdown of Nate Diaz is his best performance, just a tactical decimation of a talented-but-unintelligent world class fighter. The problem with Henderson is that he isn't much of a fighter. He doesn't have much success when he gets into a scrap, and his best performances are when he can dissect his opponent at his own pace. He's suffered flash knockdowns in exchanges, he just isn't a fighter who will succeed in many brawls. Rustam Khabilov is unproven but a talented fighter, and his success in this fight will be dictated by whether he can push his own pace on Henderson before Benson gets into his irritating groove. Khabilov has one of my favourite knockouts ever against Vinc Pichel (who, it turns out, isn't a bad fighter at all), suplexing him onto his head over and over. It was class. Doubt he can do that to a big man like Henderson though. His striking isn't bad, nearly taking Masvidal's head off last time out. He trains at Jackson's. Henderson should have enough to take (yet another) relatively close decision, but I'm hopeful Khabilov can surprise us and smash him to bits early.

Diego Sanchez is a nutcase. Ross Pearson doesn't have the chin and defensive skills that past opponents of Diego's nuts style have had, which makes it interesting. Pearson is a good enough offensive fighter to put marks all over Diego, but I doubt he can put him away. Then Diego comes strong. No doubt if Pearson catches a punch like Melendez did he's getting finished. I fancy that in one of those crazy come from behind finishes that Sanchez has come so close to many times. This is going to be good. Sanchez late or Pearson survives to take a disputed points verdict. A Sanchez win, setting him up for a nuts fight in Mexico would be ideal.

Dodson vs. Moraga. Dodson is really, really good. I want to see him and Mighty Mouse fight again after the trouble he put him in the first 2 rounds last time out. John Moraga stands in his way to that, and I can't see him beating Dodson at peak form. Moraga's UFC record is somewhat deceptive, he was losing against Cariaso and arguably lost to Dustin Ortiz last time. He's good but not great. I can see him lasting the distance because he's very tough, but it won't be close. Dodson vs. Johnson 2 would be an ideal fight for Canada in September, nobody else is available and Johnson will build some fans there after beating Bagautinov next week.

dos Anjos vs. High. RDA is really good. Jason High is a journeyman coming down in weight for the first time. I've got dos Anjos clipping a fading High late in round 2 or 3 and finishing him with a submission. BIG opportunity for High here, and undeserved too really. I'd have matched RDA with Myles Jury.

Edwards vs. Hallman. Edwards is toast I think. Hallman should have enough to beat the old man.

Caraway vs. Perez is such an excellent fight. Both are ranked in the top 15 of the division and it's shallow enough, and the top lads have been losing enough, to be a good 4 fight win streak away from a title shot. Perez is great to watch, constant aggression both on the feet and on the ground. Caraway's tough with a very good ground game. This will be a scrap. I'd favour Perez because of the power difference. Get him a big fight in Mexico and he could become the star they wanted him to be before (stupidly) matching him against Mizugaki.

Sergio Pettis on the prelims. Pettis has a lot of potential. Meza is a sacrificial lamb, and rightfully so, Pettis is worth building slowly as he's only a young lad. Pettis in one.

Voelker vs. Benoist. I guess every fight card needs a blood and guts scrap. This is it. It'll be slow and unspectacular, and you flip a coin as to who wins the decision. I'd go with Benoist, Voelker fights like he's in treacle sometimes.

Scotty Jorgenson gets his sacrificial lamb in Danny Martinez. It's over for Scott if he loses. Martinez is not particularly good so Jorgenson should win comfortably, but fancy him to take a conservative points win. I still think he might do alright at flyweight, the loss to Formiga was off a freak occurrence and we don't know Machovsky's ceiling at flyweight yet.

Lindsay vs. Tuck. I've got Lindsay, seems to be a finisher and has won all his pro and amateur fights. Tuck hasn't looked good in his fights in the UFC so far.

PATTY CUMMINS gets his lamb too. Both lads are for all intents and purposes undefeated since Cummins had no business being in a paid fight against Daniel Cormier at this stage. I imagine he must be pretty good if it was sanctioned though, I'd like to think if he's crap then that fight wouldn't have been made. Somebody knows something. Cummins by knockout.

[Nash Diesel]

I keep forgetting this thread is also the Fight NIGHT thread.

Who's ready for Fight Night this weekend?

Great fight headlining between Smooth Henderson and Tiger Khabilov. Tiger has to be next in line for a title shot with this win or pretty damn close. Very few have beaten Henderson, possibly the best fighter at 155 next to Pettis. I have to go with Henderson, hopefully he gets a finish, but more than likely he'll get the UD nod.

Nightmare Sanchez v. Ross Pearson, probably going to be a banger with Diego finally getting a real win after some time.

Dodson/Moraga will be a great fight, not sure who to pick but Dodson is just great to watch.

The rest of the card looks bad ass, can't wait!

[Mark Hammer]

Excellent finish by Benson.

[OD50]

Diego Sanchez.. Wtf?

That dude should be on a (at least) 6 fight losing streak right now, Kampmann, Gomi and Pearson were robbed blind. The new Leonard Garcia right there.

I have no memory whatsoever of Sanches/Paulo Thiago, maybe it should be a 9 fight losing streak?

[Mark Hammer]

His win over Paulo Thiago was legit, I remember him looking really good in that fight. But I agree regarding the Kampmann, Gomi, and Pearson fights. Judges seem to love Sanchez.

[Dream-Evil]

Gotta wonder if he'd have won if they weren't fighting in Albequerque

[OD50]

His win over Paulo Thiago was legit, I remember him looking really good in that fight. But I agree regarding the Kampmann, Gomi, and Pearson fights. Judges seem to love Sanchez.

They love that shitty bum rush he always does when there's ten seconds left. He didn't even connect with anything, just flailed like a retard. And honest to god, when I was watching the fight I was thinking ''The judges just can't be stupid enough to fall for that shit..''. Well, of course they were.

Pissed.

[Nash Diesel]

I was more surprised with how lackluster the fight was in general as opposed to the decision. Watching it the first time I saw it going either way but I was leaning toward Pearson because it looked like he connected with more shots. Diego is one lucky bastard. Now he wants Nate Diaz. That'd be a good scrap.

Benson with the finish, very impressive, seemed like Tiger was ready to call it in during the 3rd round so I could tell he was going to struggle in the later rounds.

Caraway had a nice submission, Dos Anjos looked good, just a solid night of fights for the most part.

[OD50]

As I expected, Pearson got his 30k win bonus despite "losing''.

/And..

Diego lost that fight. The judge who judged that fight should never be judging fights again. He never should be judging fights of this caliber, he needs to go back down into the amateurs and really learn how to judge a fight," White told ufc.com. "First of all, you gave every round to Diego, who got dropped in the second round. It was a knockdown, how does Diego win that round? It's not possible. I don't know how you can vote against him, but it goes to show that you're never safe. That's as bad as it gets.

//And:

LAS VEGAS -- There will be no rematch between Diego Sanchez and Ross Pearson.

UFC president Dana White called Sanchez's controversial split decision over Pearson last weekend "insanity" and said the promotion will move forward as if Pearson won the fight.

The lightweight bout, which took place in Sanchez's hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday, was widely denounced as one of the worst decisions in UFC history.

Judges Jeff Collins and Chris Tellez each scored the bout for Sanchez, 30-27 and 29-28, respectively. Judge Marcos Rosales had it 30-27 in Pearson's favor, along with an overwhelming majority of media.

White was not in attendance, but viewed the fight from his vacation home in Bangor, Maine.

"It was horrible," White told ESPN.com. "In the second round, Diego got dropped and one judge still gave him that round. Insanity, man. Pearson got robbed. Pearson won that fight clearly. He easily won that fight. We have to treat Pearson like he won and give him that next level fight.

"The thing about our sport is there's never any of that hometown advantage bulls---. Yeah, more people are going to be cheering for you than the other guy, but it's not like the judges are all from that town. Usually, athletic commissions pull the best from around the country. Whoever gave that fight all three rounds to Sanchez should never judge a fight again."

[Fanny Batter]

2 fight cards next Saturday, one in the early hours from New Zealand and one on America time.

The first has possibly the least important main event the company has put on since the early days. At least DHK and Saffiedine were ranked for their main event fights. This is Te Huna vs. Marquardt. A combined 1-5 in their last 3 each, with Te Huna losing 2 straight (to 2 top 10 lightheavyweights in Glover and Shogun), while Marquardt on a 3 fight skid (at welterweight against top tenners Tarec, Ellenberger and Lombard). Needless to say, neither were relevant in those divisions, and they're not relevant at middleweight. Main event for fuck's sake! That being said, it should be entertaining - both men can be cracked, both are offensive first, and we don't know how the weight will go for either. It'll end by stoppage. I think Marquardt's chin is toast and Te Huna blasts him out. I don't really care.

Co-main at least has guys on solid streaks at heavyweight, Soa Palelei vs. Jared Rosholt. Rosholt is a deathly boring wrestler, Soa a nonathletic slugger. But it should be entertaining through 5. I'm hoping Soa can land early and set up a shellacking at the hands of somebody decent, but I see Rosholt lying on him and setting up his own shellacking at the hands of somebody decent.

Charles Olivera vs. Hatsu Hioki is a very good crossroads fight at featherweight. Both won last time out to snap losing streaks so the winner here will have some momentum. I think this could be a really fun fight, Olivera's guard is offensive enough to have a really good scrap with Hioki on the deck, and his range should give him a slight advantage on the feet as Hioki doesn't crack like Cowboy or Swanson. Could be a sleeper fight of the year, especially considering Hioki doesn't have to travel far for this fight. I see Olivera taking a close one, though it's a pick em fight.

Robert Whittaker and Neil Magny are the only other notables. Think about that. Can't see me bothering with the prelims since Magny is one of the few I recognise and is dogshit to watch.


Swanson vs. Stephens is the later card and should be excellent. I fucking love that fight. Cub Swanson has been very underrated lately, racking up quality wins against Poirier and Siver, as well as Roop, Olivera and Pearson. He stopped the latter 4. Jeremy Stephens has looked great at featherweight, never really troubled in convincing wins over Payan and ranked Elkins as well as a devastating knockout of (at the time) prospect Rony Jason. He's a bad man. Both great strikers, Stephens has wrestling but Swanson has BJJ. This will be awesome. If Cub gets a big stoppage he's next in line for the title shot so I expect a big performance. Stephens winning would nearly equal Matt Brown's renaissance, he was a middling lightweight towards the end there.

Kelvin Gastelum returns and thankfully they've slowed down his rise after a scare against the very good Rick Story. His opponent has a couple of UFC wins and is no scrub but it's a fight for Gastelum to look good and get him ready for somebody in the top 10/15 for the Mexico card. Would be surprised if Musoke can impose his will on him like he did Sakara, Kelvin's a top prospect.

Cezar Mutante vs. Andrew Craig. Vulnerable stand up fights are always fun, 2 chinny hard hitters. Mutante should be too quick for Craig and look spectacular, but there's a chance he gases and gets stopped.

Ricky Lamas returning from his title shot to fight the underrated Hacran Dias. Hacran dominated Yuri Alcantara a while ago but has hardly fought since, losing to Nik Lentz last year. They've had him on slate to fight Mendes and Kawajiri so they're aware of his talent. Lamas is really good though and should have the wrestling chops to control the fight and maybe stop it with his violent ground and pound.

Hester vs. Neto. Both undefeated in UFC, striker vs. grappler to the very core. Neto is extremely high level at BJJ but Hester a very solid athlete. Looking forward to this one. You'd fancy Neto to get it on the deck and submit Clint but if Hester gets through this he's due a name.

Not the best prelims, Joe Ellenberger, Ray Borg and Anthony Hamilton should be fun though.

[Fanny Batter]

So is Nate Marquardt "back", or was James Te Huna overrated in a shallow division? He whooped that boy pretty good, beating him on the feet, with ground and pound then finishing with a superb armbar. Maybe the drop in weight was a detriment? Apart from the times he shit the bed when near title contention, Nate had looked lethal at 185. Let's see how far he can go, it was only 18 months ago he was being touted as a potential challenger to GSP, he obviously has talent. As for Te Huna, a big drop in competition awaits. He shouldn't be canned since Glover, Shogun and Nate have all been in title fights so are world class. Maybe he can fight a Brad Tavares or somebody? His name has increased with his profile fights so he's one good performance to being in a better position than ever.

Jared Rosholt beat Soa Palelei. Haven't bothered watching it. Non-elite heavyweights fighting for 15 minutes? Fuck that.

Charles Olivera may be my favourite submission specialist. That shit was sublime, against a guy of Hioki's calibre as well. He's always pulling off amazing subs, him taking the back of a standing Escudero was special and the calf slicer. He's really good. If he improves his striking (mainly defense) he'll be top 10, but I don't really want him to because win or lose his fights are always entertaining. 11 UFC fights, one decision (a FOTN loss to Frankie Edgar) - for a sub-170 fighter that is amazing. As for Hioki, his request for a warm up for Aldo (in the form of Ricardo Lamas) will surely go down as one of the all time stupidest career decisions in MMA. He had a title fight and he turned it down because he thought he wasn't ready for it, lost to a no name on a prelim for a shitty TV channel and went downhill from there. What a moron. Aldo slips and breaks his ankle in the cage and you're the World champion, first from Japan, and likely a made man for life. Fucking idiot.

Didn't see the rest.

[Dubya]

I think it's a little bit of both. Nate always looked better at 185 IMO; so that's part of it. Never been a big Te Huna fan, so it wasn't surprising to see him lose again. Oliveira is really fun to watch. I feel like that kid is just getting better and better. Rosholt just manhandled Palelei. Can't be too surprised.. for all the Palelei hype, he really hasn't beaten anyone great. Rosholt was able to neutralize him.

CANNOT WAIT for Swanson vs. Stephens.

[Fanny Batter]

Swanson vs. Stephens is going to be a donnybrook. Glad that Swanson is getting some main event shine, his last five performances have been excellent. Stephens as well, still somehow only (a young) 28. Mad that he'd have been 22 for his first UFC main event, he feels like part of the furniture.

Looking forward to seeing how Gastelum and Lamas look too, Gastelum has looked very good so far and is a young pup, while Lamas can get himself back in the win column and set up a more intriguing fight with a top 10 featherweight. Rebooking him and Zombie would be great, or Poirier. Love that division.

[Mik]

Anyone else getting very pumped for this weekend's fight night card?

I love both Nelson and McGregor, so this is a good card just for the main events as far as I'm concerned.

[Fanny Batter]

Yeah, both cards this week have loads of interesting fights, looking forward to both.

I'm imagining something great happening in Cerrone/Miller. Not sure if it's going to be a war or if one of them is going to blow the other out early. It's one of those fights. But it's going to be great either way. I'm a big Jim Miller fan, seems a hell of a guy, and for some reason I often support fighters who don't really rely on athletic advantages and persevere on skill and toughness. Not that Cerrone lacks either of those but Miller's just gritty. However, I'm leaning towards a Cerrone victory because not only does he have skill and toughness, he hits a touch harder and should have considerable advantages with reach and speed. I'm seeing him hurting Miller and choking him out. It's a huge fight because it seems a given that the winner will face Khabib, so basically it's a top contender to a top contender fight. Neither match up particularly well with Khabib but both would give him a different angle with their active guards and better striking. Cheering for Miller, leaning towards Cerrone.

Dunham vs. Barboza is basically last chance saloon in terms of possible contendership for both men. Dunham has become tremendously underrated, mainly because how Cowboy Cerrone dealt him his arse last time out. Before that he was the victim of home cooking against top 10 dos Anjos and beat fringe contender Gleison Tibau. Competitive against TJ Grant too. He's good. Barboza is an amazing offensive fighter with such defensive frailties that make his fights must see TV. All his UFC fights have produced something memorable. Based on offense, Barboza wins. But Dunham's only been stopped on strikes once and can certainly hurt Barboza. Should have the better ground game too. Great fight. I think Barboza will beat up Dunham as you have to think Dunham may have lost belief after his last few performances, how many times have we seen good lightweights fade early once things get sticky? Tyson Griffin and Joe Stevenson come to mind.

Rick Story and John Lineker fighting on the main card, usually in good fights. Fucking love body shots and these boys throw with bad intentions. Then a great prospect fight at featherweight between Lucas Martins and Alex Das Wunderkid White. Prelims have the ultimate grinder match in Tibau vs. Healy, guaranteed fireworks in Viana vs. Sterling, and the first women's strawweight fights obscenely buried in the first fight on the card. Should be class.

Dublin has the three top fights that are excellent fights. As Mik said, McGregor and Nelson both have huge potential, not only in the cage but as superstars in Conor's case. He's electric. This Diego Brandao fight is a good test for him and he's a sizeable favourite which is strange considering Brandao has done well lately outside of gassing against Poirier and getting curbstomped. Everybody wants Conor to win. He needs to win really. I think he will but I've got a feeling he'll have to pull through deep waters before putting his man away in a thriller. He needs to show his heart really, that's a gigantic part of what makes a star. Hope he gets tested. Him against Poirier next if he wins, how fucking colossal will that be?!

Nelson vs. Cummings. Nelson is a grappling prodigy. Cummings shut down another grappling prodigy in Yan Cabral last time. If Nelson gets through this guy it will show how dangerous he is on the ground. I feel his stance will give him issues against the box-wrestlers of the division but he's very exciting to watch.

McCall vs. Pickett will be excellent. They don't do boring fights. They don't like each other. Got a feeling McCall takes it though apparently he's not in good physical condition so maybe he's fighting because he needs to get paid rather than because he's in peak form? That being said, Pickett is such an offense based fighter that McCall will be competitive healthy or not as Brad is easy to land shots on. The grappling should be quite even too. Winner likely gets the next title shot, hopefully Brad so they can get a bit of hype over here, popularity was at its peak over here when the Bisping's, Hardy's and Daley's were near contention.

Norman Parke gets another no name in the main card opener. Parke bores me and I personally would have him sink or swim against a Dunham or Trujillo already rather than having 60/40 jab matches with Graham from down the road.

[blackening]

Great night of fights tonight. Great body kicks by Cerone and a beautiful head kick for the finish.

[Pablo Diablo]

Really glad I decided to watch it.

[Mark Hammer]

Yeah, lots and lots of finishes. More than I can remember on one fight card.

The flyweight fight was FOTN for my money's worth. And I like Miller but I was pulling hard for Cerrone after that "groin shot" replay showed a very clear legal body kick dropping Miller in what should have been a stoppage right there. Oh well, karma was just and Cerrone went on to continue battering him and win anyways.

Good night of fights.

[OD50]

Fuck off Jim Miller, faking getting kicked in the nuts. Head kick serves you right.

[Fanny Batter]

Really good night of fights. Everything was really good, even the women's strawweight fight was really good for the ladies, can already tell the talent at 115 will be superior, on average, than the 135ers.

Cowboy Cerrone is a beast. Jim Miller's a tough lad and he just broke him and folded him. Great to see him going to the body more, those teeps were excellent. Vicious knockout. Him and Khabib, give them either 5 rounds in Nova Scotia or have it co-main the Jones/Gustafsson fight. Maybe even have it main that Sweden card in October. Really want somebody at 155 to drop out of an upcoming fight for Cowboy to step in though. Love that guy's desire to fight.

Barboza again with a big finish. Great fighter to watch. Him against Maynard (if he wins his gimme fight) sounds about right. Disappointed in Dunham, as I said some guys just fade when they no longer have belief that they can be champion.

John Lineker is awesome. Great output and cardio this time out as well as ruthless body punches. Get his weight right and he'll be a contender still. Hope they don't rush him into a fight with Benavidez, the winner of McCall/Pickett sounds about right, or Machovsky.

[Bert]

And I like Miller but I was pulling hard for Cerrone after that "groin shot" replay showed a very clear legal body kick dropping Miller in what should have been a stoppage right there. Oh well, karma was just and Cerrone went on to continue battering him and win anyways.

Good night of fights.

So, you're done calling COWBOY an asshole for no reason now?

I just watched through the card. Yeah, some good fights.

[Mark Hammer]

He and Aldo have both grown on me. Half of that jibe was just me giving you a hard time anyways.

But really, Cerrone can be quite a dickhead when he wants to be. Still a fun fighter to watch.

[Seanny One Ball]

Ach you bastards I had this week off and I've missed the only live UFC I will get a chance to see this year.

[Bert]

You might be able to find it on this thing called the internet.

[Nash Diesel]

I finally got to watch the entire event last night. That finish to the women's fight between Leslie and Duke, holy shit it reminded me of when nate Marquardt went berzerker on Wilson Gouveia years back. Is it bad that I just enjoy seeing that clique get their shit handed to them?

I was skeptical about Miller's claim that it was a low bow, I thought ok, maybe the bottom part of Cerrone's foot caught him and the top half caught him in the stomach, but it seemed clear after a few replays that it was a legal shot. Miller is tough, I really enjoyed the fight and can't wait to see who Cerrone will actually get to fight next.

Evan Dunham, that dude turned into a Brandon Vera. Ton of hype but has fallen off pretty hard, I was actually surprised he went out the way he did, but people are figuring out more and more that hitting that body is almost as effective if not more effective when trying to get the stoppage.

[Mark Hammer]

Upon further review I don't believe Miller actually called a nut shot. I think he genuinely collapsed in pain (again fight should have been stopped) but Miragliotta mis-interpreted it as a low blow. Then I think Miller confirmed that it wasn't a low blow, hence no 5 minutes to regain his composure and the fight being resumed. Quite a brain fart on the ref's end, Miller took an unnecessary beating for about a round afterwards as well as a head kick KO for Big Dan's mistake.

[Nash Diesel]

The thing is though, there were a couple shots Miller threw with all he had that had he been a tad more into it, he would've knocked out Cerrone. I like Cowboy, but I think that he leaves himself open alot more than he should and he's paid the price in the past. But yeah I forgot about that sequence where it was like wait a minute, don't they get up to 5 minutes? So yeah it LOOKED questionable so I can understand why Big Dan stopped it thinking it was a nut shot, sometimes that slap sound can be confusing with crowd noise and shit like that.

[OD50]

Evan Dunham, that dude turned into a Brandon Vera. Ton of hype but has fallen off pretty hard, I was actually surprised he went out the way he did, but people are figuring out more and more that hitting that body is almost as effective if not more effective when trying to get the stoppage.

Yeah, I've added Dunham to my list of guys that once looked like world beaters and surefire stars/champs but fell off big time. Guys like Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, Miguel Torres, Brian Bowles, Sokodjou, Chris Horodecki, JZ Calvancante, Rick Story, Jake Ellenberger, Lyman Good, and Mariuz Zaromskiz to name a few.

Not saying all of the guys are washed up and beyond any hope, just that they looked to be on a straight path to super stardom and titles at one point and nose dived.

[Nash Diesel]

Completely agree about your thoughts on those guys. Pretty fuckin sad but like you said, some of them are still salvable fighters.

So Im assuming Connor McGOAT is fighting on the Fight Pass?

[Mik]

You bet, I'm fucking pumped for the card, did anyone watch the weigh ins? Electric!