Official MMA discussion thread pt 3 UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill, Zhang vs Xionan, BMF Gaethje vs Holloway

[j4remi]

It's exciting to see what could possibly happen in welter weight. Really excited to see what Shav can do against stronger comp. He has looked elite against anyone they've put in front of him. They both seem destined to fight each other. Don't know if it's correct or not but Chim's wrestling seams to be extremely elite. Maybe Shav's is good enough to neutralize it and with his better stand up he takes him out. Either way can't wait to see them fight in 2023

As for Chim how do you see him doing against Burns?


And whats wild about Izzy making middle weight boring is that if he wasn't there Bobby Knuckles would be doing the same thing - they're 1a and 1b. They both seem to be a step above everyone else in that division.

Burns is the most interesting test for Khamzat by a long shot. He's faster than any of the guys Khamzat has faced, he was even beating Woodley to the punch. He's also strong as hell (though I think Chimaev has an edge there) and has zero fear of getting into grappling. That's an ADCC level BJJ fighter right there. So I think in terms of testing Chimaev, this is the best logical match-up before he'd move on to Usman for a pure wrestling test. I'm REALLY hype to watch that one and evaluate.

You're on point with Whitaker too. It's weird how that happens sometimes. We've got Max and Volk head and shoulders above a division, blocking everyone else from having a prayer. Figuieredo and Moreno probably wind up with the same dynamic at 125, though they've only fought each other for the past year and Askarov could blow that dynamic up. This even goes back to the good ole days. When Tito Ortiz had the belt and Chuck Liddell was the obvious contender (until Randy Couture moved down in weight and things got more interesting) or we could even sorta use Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock as an example. The first few UFC's, everyone knew those guys were the top dogs.

Usually, some surprise fighter breaks into those mixes. Severn and Tank Abbott appeared for Liddell and Gracie (and Kimo Leopold gave Gracie HELL). Couture for Liddell/Tito. Askarov's in the wings for 125 and Magomedsharipov is a dark horse at 145. But Idk who that guy is at 185 unless Chimaev goes back up. It's Izzy, Whitaker, and then I don't even see a threat after.

[j4remi]

LOL, yeah. And look at that belly jiggling around. He should take Khamzat up on the offer to fight at 170. I'm sure GEO is up for it.

Kham would destroy Conor. While that video proves otherwise, I do think Conor is smart enough to never get in the cage with that beast.

That alcohol, especially brown alcohol, is poison to a fighter's body. Plus, he doesn't look like he even cares one bit.

"When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong." The man lost his damn mind.

Conor's so done, it's sad because people will sleep on how good his prime was because these antics have been terrible. True about brown liquor too. My boxing and BJJ buddies only do the clear stuff...lots of Titos and Casamigos with the fam when it's a fight night. My favorite fighter-habit from my friends is they all skip beers and drink white claws. So it's a bunch of straight-up fighters, purple or black belts and diamond gloves finalists, sipping white claws at the bar

[HarthorneWingo]

Kham would destroy Conor. While that video proves otherwise, I do think Conor is smart enough to never get in the cage with that beast.

That alcohol, especially brown alcohol, is poison to a fighter's body. Plus, he doesn't look like he even cares one bit.

"When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong." The man lost his damn mind.

Conor's so done, it's sad because people will sleep on how good his prime was because these antics have been terrible. True about brown liquor too. My boxing and BJJ buddies only do the clear stuff...lots of Titos and Casamigos with the fam when it's a fight night. My favorite fighter-habit from my friends is they all skip beers and drink white claws. So it's a bunch of straight-up fighters, purple or black belts and diamond gloves finalists, sipping white claws at the bar

What are “white claws”? Never heard of that drink before.

[NoStatsGuy]

what an absolout G moicano is.. PAY THAT MAN, DANA!

[bringbackhoffa]

BAM BAM!!

Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[bringbackhoffa]

what an absolout G moicano is.. PAY THAT MAN, DANA!

I think Cannonier and Bam Bam just took his 50k.


Sent from my SM-G960W using RealGM mobile app

[Guano]

It's exciting to see what could possibly happen in welter weight. Really excited to see what Shav can do against stronger comp. He has looked elite against anyone they've put in front of him. They both seem destined to fight each other. Don't know if it's correct or not but Chim's wrestling seams to be extremely elite. Maybe Shav's is good enough to neutralize it and with his better stand up he takes him out. Either way can't wait to see them fight in 2023

As for Chim how do you see him doing against Burns?


And whats wild about Izzy making middle weight boring is that if he wasn't there Bobby Knuckles would be doing the same thing - they're 1a and 1b. They both seem to be a step above everyone else in that division.

Burns is the most interesting test for Khamzat by a long shot. He's faster than any of the guys Khamzat has faced, he was even beating Woodley to the punch. He's also strong as hell (though I think Chimaev has an edge there) and has zero fear of getting into grappling. That's an ADCC level BJJ fighter right there. So I think in terms of testing Chimaev, this is the best logical match-up before he'd move on to Usman for a pure wrestling test. I'm REALLY hype to watch that one and evaluate.

You're on point with Whitaker too. It's weird how that happens sometimes. We've got Max and Volk head and shoulders above a division, blocking everyone else from having a prayer. Figuieredo and Moreno probably wind up with the same dynamic at 125, though they've only fought each other for the past year and Askarov could blow that dynamic up. This even goes back to the good ole days. When Tito Ortiz had the belt and Chuck Liddell was the obvious contender (until Randy Couture moved down in weight and things got more interesting) or we could even sorta use Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock as an example. The first few UFC's, everyone knew those guys were the top dogs.

Usually, some surprise fighter breaks into those mixes. Severn and Tank Abbott appeared for Liddell and Gracie (and Kimo Leopold gave Gracie HELL). Couture for Liddell/Tito. Askarov's in the wings for 125 and Magomedsharipov is a dark horse at 145. But Idk who that guy is at 185 unless Chimaev goes back up. It's Izzy, Whitaker, and then I don't even see a threat after.

Burn's is a real beast. He had Usman really hurt until he decided to block all of usman's jabs with his face. It's the fight i'm most excited about watching. It's such a huge jump in level of competition for Khaz. Will be cool to see him really tested by the top of the division. Can't wait.

You could also put DC and Jones in that catagory of step above their respective competition. and to be honest I can't stand how these guys hold up divisions. I'm not a fan of immediate rematches at all.

my man Zabit is coming back?! that guy is a savage.

[HarthorneWingo]

Tuivasa out-beasted The Beast. Funny, Tai only got it going after Derrick was teeing off on him. Looked like getting hit just made Tai mad. lol

Edit:

I really liked the way Whitaker fought after that first round (I bet he’d like that one back). As for who won? My gut was that Adesanya won and it was close, especially the 3rd round. I felt like Whittaker’s confidence grew throughout the fight as if he was finally beginning to figure Izzy out.

Next up?

Izzy vs. Cannonier?
Brunson vs Vettori?
Costa/Whitaker vs. Strickland?

Edit #2:

Great show by Bobby Green against a tough up and coming prospect in Haqperast (who reminds me of a smaller Kevin Gastelum). I wonder who Bobby, who's presently ranked #15 in the LW Division, get's next? Cowboy is ranked #14 but I don't know if he's still fighting. Raush Manfrio is #11 (never heard of him). Hooker is #10. Anyhow, thought Bobby was the feel-good story of the card.

Watch on YouTube

[HarthorneWingo]

These two maniacs have struck up a friendship. Cue up "The Odd Couple" them song

It actually makes sense since Khamzat wants to improve his striking and Till his wrestling. Still ... weird seeing them together.

Watch on YouTube

[j4remi]

Tuivasa out-beasted The Beast. Funny, Tai only got it going after Derrick was teeing off on him. Looked like getting hit just made Tai mad. lol

Edit:

I really liked the way Whitaker fought after that first round (I bet he’d like that one back). As for who won? My gut was that Adesanya won and it was close, especially the 3rd round. I felt like Whittaker’s confidence grew throughout the fight as if he was finally beginning to figure Izzy out.

Next up?

Izzy vs. Cannonier?
Brunson vs Vettori?
Costa/Whitaker vs. Strickland?

Edit #2:

Great show by Bobby Green against a tough up and coming prospect in Haqperast (who reminds me of a smaller Kevin Gastelum). I wonder who Bobby, who's presently ranked #15 in the LW Division, get's next? Cowboy is ranked #14 but I don't know if he's still fighting. Raush Manfrio is #11 (never heard of him). Hooker is #10. Anyhow, thought Bobby was the feel-good story of the card.

Watch on YouTube

I loved the grit that Whitaker showed, but I was a little surprised at people claiming Whitaker did enough to win. I didn't think the takedowns were enough to win rounds, just to make them competitive. I had it 4-1 but with all close rounds except for that first before Whitaker settled in. I'm also a little frustrated with a narrative that Izzy's boring because he didn't take more risks. If he opened up his offense, he'd have gotten taken down even more and risked losing. But really nice fight from both guys technically speaking. I'm more frustrated with MMA media than the fight itself.

You have that line-up right. They'll probably want to keep Strickland clean for the next title shot. It's also already starting with the Chimaev hype even though he seems keen to stay at Welterweight lately. That's like four fights away on Chimaev's timeline in the best case scenario so I don't get the rush to start this discussion from anyone other than Henry Cejudo who never shuts up.

Bobby Green was fantastic. And after Beneil Dariush had to pull out of the Islam fight, Green jumped in and took Islam on ten days notice. So we'll see Green vs Makhachev at 160 lbs catch-weight. I kinda hate the match-up for Green tbh. Islam's not gonna give in to the trash talk, he'll make it a grappling match and probably wear down Green fresh off back-to-back weight cuts (though the catch weight is a nice bone to throw Green's way). I'd have LOVED Green vs Dan Hooker...because Hooker will take the brawl that I don't think Islam or a Dariush would.

This weekend, Johnny Walker's hype train officially finished with another ugly KO loss. Jamahal Hill who KO'ed him has GREAT hands, but hasn't shown much else. Part of that is because he KO's guys that stand with him, but the other part is that the only grappler he fought took him down and put him in an arm-bar inside of two minutes. So Hill is a cool prospect but with a lot to work on. Also this past weekend Jim Miller in his 40TH UFC fight got a KO...dude won't quit and still looks solid which is incredible. Then Joaquin Buckley chased viral headlines with one of his choices for coach



This weekend's card has that Islam vs Green gold on it. Plus two more serious prospects in the same division. Arman Tsarukyan is fighting on the main card, he lost a really competitive decision to Islam and has smoked everyone else...and they're good opponents like Olivier Aubin-Mercia and Matt Frevola. The other prospect is on the prelims, Terrence Mckiney. Mckinney's been finishing dudes FAST and he'll start to build hype if he keeps it up.

[j4remi]

Burn's is a real beast. He had Usman really hurt until he decided to block all of usman's jabs with his face. It's the fight i'm most excited about watching. It's such a huge jump in level of competition for Khaz. Will be cool to see him really tested by the top of the division. Can't wait.

You could also put DC and Jones in that catagory of step above their respective competition. and to be honest I can't stand how these guys hold up divisions. I'm not a fan of immediate rematches at all.

my man Zabit is coming back?! that guy is a savage.

Burns is definitely the real deal test for Khamzhat. This is the one that shows us how legit his hype train is...If he walks through this one like the rest, then he's a scary guy for anyone at WW. I'd guess they rush him right to the title shot next.

DC and Jones is a perfect example. I hate immediate rematches too, unless it's a razor-thin decision. Slows up divisions and when guys clearly lose, it only serves to rush them into a rematch before they could develop new skills and counters to whatever it was that beat them.

Zabit's coming back and he said he's crushing whoever he draws. I'd honestly like to see him run it back with Calvin Kattar. He controlled that fight for two rounds but gassed and held on for dear life in the third. Kattar just had a big notable win over Giga, and a five-rounder with Zabit would be a dope chance to get right back in contention talks. The other guy I'd have picked has a new rumored opponent. That's Yair Rodriguez, who's supposedly in deep discussions to fight with Brian Ortega next...that's a fire match-up.

[HarthorneWingo]

Teddy still got it

https://youtube.com/shorts/FNJYqwDVVv0?feature=share

[HarthorneWingo]

Raphael Fiziev is out of this weekend’s UFC card. He was supposed to fight RDA. But Islam Makhavchev has agreed to the fact get after beating up Bobby Green this past weekend. Crazy stuff.

Whoever wins this fight could/should get a title shot in the LW division.

[HarthorneWingo]

Watch on YouTube

[HarthorneWingo]

Raphael Fiziev is out of this weekend’s UFC card. He was supposed to fight RDA. But Islam Makhavchev has agreed to the fact get after beating up Bobby Green this past weekend. Crazy stuff.

Whoever wins this fight could/should get a title shot in the LW division.

EDIT: Now Makhachev pulled out! Some other good fighter whose name escapes me right now, will fight RDA instead. Dana said that now Islam will have to wait for Dariush. If Islam had fought, and beaten, RDA, Dana said that he would then get the next title fight. Now, that's off the table. Dariush is still coming back from an injury so the ETA on Makhachev vs. Dariush is predicted to happen not for another 3 or 4 months. Either Islam is injured or he received bad management advice.

[Guano]

snip

we're going to need your break down on this coming main event.

I honestly don't care who wins. I have a hard time separating the art from the artist and I've learned more about Masvidal than I'd care to know. I'll probably root for him because he is the "lesser of two weevils". That said, I think he gets worked in this fight. Colby's pressure and control are exceptional. And Masvidal is noted for coasting in fights giving away rounds. It's one of the reason his record is has so many losses. Masvidal is dangerous and can end a fight at any time. I just don't see it happening against Colby.


fight i'm most excited is the Barboza vs Mitchell fight great stylistic match up

[j4remi]

snip

we're going to need your break down on this coming main event.

I honestly don't care who wins. I have a hard time separating the art from the artist and I've learned more about Masvidal than I'd care to know. I'll probably root for him because he is the "lesser of two weevils". That said, I think he gets worked in this fight. Colby's pressure and control are exceptional. And Masvidal is noted for coasting in fights giving away rounds. It's one of the reason his record is has so many losses. Masvidal is dangerous and can end a fight at any time. I just don't see it happening against Colby.


fight i'm most excited is the Barboza vs Mitchell fight great stylistic match up

I'm in a similar boat as you in not really liking the behavior of either guy in the main event. The Fiziev injury really took the wind out of my sails on this one, because I was so hyped for that match-up. But the match-ups overall aren't bad, especially that Barboza/Mitchell fight and Holland/Oliveira which should be guaranteed fireworks.

- For Colby vs Masvidal, the interesting part will be finding out how far they've come since being tight. Every clip of them training that I've seen has been Colby sorta rag dolling Masvidal, but these are from ages ago and both guys have grown since then. On paper, they're kinda reciprocals. Colby's at his best when he's throwing volume and constantly pushing forward. Masvidal is at peak when he's baiting opponents into counters. Masvidal has the added benefit of training for a similar style to Colby with his multiple fights with Usman. But Colby has enough familiarity with Jorge that I wouldn't stress over it too much.

Basically, I'm with you. I think Colby's pressure and wrestling will work similar to how Usman's did. But Colby doesn't have the KO power that Usman does, so that at least keeps this fight in the territory of being interesting. I lean Covington, but I think the odds are too wide from Vegas.

- The Mitchell vs Barboza fight seems like it plays into Bryce Mitchell's strengths. Barboza is pretty bad when he's moving backwards and he's not great when he's forced into grappling matches. He doesn't have the footwork to keep guys from backing him up to the cage. But hasn't exactly fought elite strikers and Barboza is even a notch above the elite guys. Barboza also seems to seriously dislike Bryce Mitchell which I've never seen before. He's a nice guy.

I think we'll know who wins this fight within the first couple of minutes. If Mitchell can take down Barboza early, the whole complexion changes and Bryce will own it. If Mitchell can't get his hands on Barboza, then he'll get pieced up badly.

- Holland vs Oliveira is where I think the FOTN falls. Oliveira will try to get the fight to the ground, but he's not at the level of other wrestlers who have dominated Holland. I edge Holland in striking and Oliveira in power, but I think Cowboy's gotta get the fight to the ground. What makes this especially interesting is that Oliveira will fight dirty if he's losing...so even if Holland avoids grappling early, when things get dicey Oliveira might test him in other ways.

- RDA vs Moicano is a mismatch, but he's quietly submitted three of his last four opponents. Those guys were wrestlers though. I think RDA is at least as good a grappler and also the superior striker.

- Hardy vs Spivak belongs on the early prelims of a free card...or in a weaker league. Hardy isn't good, Spivak isn't good...but Hardy's contract and NFL fame means that he gets way too many chances to keep failing. I think they chose Spivak because he's beatable even for a Hardy. Spivak's a vet though, he beat Tai Tuivasa when the big man was still raw. So if Hardy is still half-assing then he'll lose again.

The Prelims got some hype too
- Jalen Turner is a really good prospect. Huge for his weight class and only sporting losses to true UFC talent. He's young and developing, with a lot of experience for his age. His opponent is Jamie Mularkey, fresh off upsetting two promising striking prospects ironically. So this is an interesting match-up with two guys trying to launch into a higher level.

- Yan Xionan just lost to Carla Esparza in a number one contender eliminator. She's legit enough to get that close to a title fight with Rose, and has KO power in a division where it's rare...but so does her opponent. Marina Rodriguez is fresh off putting the beats on Mackenzie Dern and Michelle Waterson back to back. These women are both killer strikers, so this could be another FOTN candidate.

Lastly some names on the early prelims:
While the main and co-main are disappointing, at least this card has some depth. Tim Elliott is 2-4 in his last 6 fights, but he only fought monsters. He's still a quality fighter with a TUF title. His opponent has a nice record, but I'm not familiar.

Then the other fight which honestly should switch with Hardy vs Spivak and be on the PPV is Brian Kelleher vs Umar Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov is a very good prospect, Khabib's cousin. He's really talented, but young and green. Kelleher only loses to guys that are pushing into the rankings and has a MASSIVE experience advantage. He's fought contenders and former champs. He's exactly the type to upset a prospect that gets caught sleeping. Kelleher's a perfect test for Umar!

So we got hella fights worth looking at. But I'm not sure about the PPV price tag when both main events seem light to me.

[j4remi]

Raphael Fiziev is out of this weekend’s UFC card. He was supposed to fight RDA. But Islam Makhavchev has agreed to the fact get after beating up Bobby Green this past weekend. Crazy stuff.

Whoever wins this fight could/should get a title shot in the LW division.

EDIT: Now Makhachev pulled out! Some other good fighter whose name escapes me right now, will fight RDA instead. Dana said that now Islam will have to wait for Dariush. If Islam had fought, and beaten, RDA, Dana said that he would then get the next title fight. Now, that's off the table. Dariush is still coming back from an injury so the ETA on Makhachev vs. Dariush is predicted to happen not for another 3 or 4 months. Either Islam is injured or he received bad management advice.

These guys gotta stop letting Ali tweet for them. I assume they expected RDA to turn down a 170 fight and got their bluff called. It's tough to imagine Islam playing himself like that...he's way too confident. Maybe Khabib stepped in? He's fought RDA before and was able to get the fight down but didn't do much with it. It's one of his least impressive performances. So maybe there were concerns about taking that fight without a camp to prepare. It's still a tough pill to swallow from a guy who spent the past three years claiming that his weak strength of schedule is because all the good guys won't fight him. He had his chance and turned it down here.

[HarthorneWingo]

Raphael Fiziev is out of this weekend’s UFC card. He was supposed to fight RDA. But Islam Makhavchev has agreed to the fact get after beating up Bobby Green this past weekend. Crazy stuff.

Whoever wins this fight could/should get a title shot in the LW division.

EDIT: Now Makhachev pulled out! Some other good fighter whose name escapes me right now, will fight RDA instead. Dana said that now Islam will have to wait for Dariush. If Islam had fought, and beaten, RDA, Dana said that he would then get the next title fight. Now, that's off the table. Dariush is still coming back from an injury so the ETA on Makhachev vs. Dariush is predicted to happen not for another 3 or 4 months. Either Islam is injured or he received bad management advice.

These guys gotta stop letting Ali tweet for them. I assume they expected RDA to turn down a 170 fight and got their bluff called. It's tough to imagine Islam playing himself like that...he's way too confident. Maybe Khabib stepped in? He's fought RDA before and was able to get the fight down but didn't do much with it. It's one of his least impressive performances. So maybe there were concerns about taking that fight without a camp to prepare. It's still a tough pill to swallow from a guy who spent the past three years claiming that his weak strength of schedule is because all the good guys won't fight him. He had his chance and turned it down here.

Would it have changed your mind at all if he had just turned it down from the beginning?

[Guano]

snip

we're going to need your break down on this coming main event.

I honestly don't care who wins. I have a hard time separating the art from the artist and I've learned more about Masvidal than I'd care to know. I'll probably root for him because he is the "lesser of two weevils". That said, I think he gets worked in this fight. Colby's pressure and control are exceptional. And Masvidal is noted for coasting in fights giving away rounds. It's one of the reason his record is has so many losses. Masvidal is dangerous and can end a fight at any time. I just don't see it happening against Colby.


fight i'm most excited is the Barboza vs Mitchell fight great stylistic match up

I'm in a similar boat as you in not really liking the behavior of either guy in the main event. The Fiziev injury really took the wind out of my sails on this one, because I was so hyped for that match-up. But the match-ups overall aren't bad, especially that Barboza/Mitchell fight and Holland/Oliveira which should be guaranteed fireworks.

- For Colby vs Masvidal, the interesting part will be finding out how far they've come since being tight. Every clip of them training that I've seen has been Colby sorta rag dolling Masvidal, but these are from ages ago and both guys have grown since then. On paper, they're kinda reciprocals. Colby's at his best when he's throwing volume and constantly pushing forward. Masvidal is at peak when he's baiting opponents into counters. Masvidal has the added benefit of training for a similar style to Colby with his multiple fights with Usman. But Colby has enough familiarity with Jorge that I wouldn't stress over it too much.

Basically, I'm with you. I think Colby's pressure and wrestling will work similar to how Usman's did. But Colby doesn't have the KO power that Usman does, so that at least keeps this fight in the territory of being interesting. I lean Covington, but I think the odds are too wide from Vegas.

- The Mitchell vs Barboza fight seems like it plays into Bryce Mitchell's strengths. Barboza is pretty bad when he's moving backwards and he's not great when he's forced into grappling matches. He doesn't have the footwork to keep guys from backing him up to the cage. But hasn't exactly fought elite strikers and Barboza is even a notch above the elite guys. Barboza also seems to seriously dislike Bryce Mitchell which I've never seen before. He's a nice guy.

I think we'll know who wins this fight within the first couple of minutes. If Mitchell can take down Barboza early, the whole complexion changes and Bryce will own it. If Mitchell can't get his hands on Barboza, then he'll get pieced up badly.

- Holland vs Oliveira is where I think the FOTN falls. Oliveira will try to get the fight to the ground, but he's not at the level of other wrestlers who have dominated Holland. I edge Holland in striking and Oliveira in power, but I think Cowboy's gotta get the fight to the ground. What makes this especially interesting is that Oliveira will fight dirty if he's losing...so even if Holland avoids grappling early, when things get dicey Oliveira might test him in other ways.

- RDA vs Moicano is a mismatch, but he's quietly submitted three of his last four opponents. Those guys were wrestlers though. I think RDA is at least as good a grappler and also the superior striker.

- Hardy vs Spivak belongs on the early prelims of a free card...or in a weaker league. Hardy isn't good, Spivak isn't good...but Hardy's contract and NFL fame means that he gets way too many chances to keep failing. I think they chose Spivak because he's beatable even for a Hardy. Spivak's a vet though, he beat Tai Tuivasa when the big man was still raw. So if Hardy is still half-assing then he'll lose again.

The Prelims got some hype too
- Jalen Turner is a really good prospect. Huge for his weight class and only sporting losses to true UFC talent. He's young and developing, with a lot of experience for his age. His opponent is Jamie Mularkey, fresh off upsetting two promising striking prospects ironically. So this is an interesting match-up with two guys trying to launch into a higher level.

- Yan Xionan just lost to Carla Esparza in a number one contender eliminator. She's legit enough to get that close to a title fight with Rose, and has KO power in a division where it's rare...but so does her opponent. Marina Rodriguez is fresh off putting the beats on Mackenzie Dern and Michelle Waterson back to back. These women are both killer strikers, so this could be another FOTN candidate.

Lastly some names on the early prelims:
While the main and co-main are disappointing, at least this card has some depth. Tim Elliott is 2-4 in his last 6 fights, but he only fought monsters. He's still a quality fighter with a TUF title. His opponent has a nice record, but I'm not familiar.

Then the other fight which honestly should switch with Hardy vs Spivak and be on the PPV is Brian Kelleher vs Umar Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov is a very good prospect, Khabib's cousin. He's really talented, but young and green. Kelleher only loses to guys that are pushing into the rankings and has a MASSIVE experience advantage. He's fought contenders and former champs. He's exactly the type to upset a prospect that gets caught sleeping. Kelleher's a perfect test for Umar!

So we got hella fights worth looking at. But I'm not sure about the PPV price tag when both main events seem light to me.

you actually have me more hyped for the prelims. lol.

Putting marina vs Xionan on the prelims is a crime. they should definitely be on a main card. marina should be undefeated that loss to Carla was a robbery - granted I'm really biased against carla as I don't appreciate wrestlers who show no ability to finish fights. A win here should put Marina into a title shot.

And that fight with lil Nurmagomedov vs Kelleher should be a banger. Kelleher is game and a Khabib relative is must watch.


Here is to hoping the main event isn't Colby holding Masvidal on the fence for 5 frustrating rounds. But i'm with you I think Colby is just too relentless with pace and an improved stand up game to lose this one. I think Masvidal's best chance is in the 1st or early 2nd before Colby finds his grove. Though if Colby puts masvidal on his back quickly it will be a long ugly fight