The MMA/Boxing Thread

[NW48]

I'll be doing my predictions on the day, especially considering the craziness that surrounded the make-up of UFC 200.

 

[NW48]

Providing no one is flagged after the fight for potential drug violations, the UFC finally has one of their big fights going ahead without a hitch. My main card predictions are:

Match #1 - Homashi v Means
Prediction: Means by TKO in the first

Match #2 - Lim v Perry
Prediction: Lim by TKO in the first

Match #3 - Cerrone v Story
Prediction: Cerrone by decision

Match #4 - Anthony Johnson v Glover Teixeira
Prediction: Johnson by KO in the second

Match #5 - Conor McGregor v Nate Diaz
Prediction: Diaz by Submission in the third

 

[coryclifford]

Some bs in that Diaz v McGregor fight. Run away and win?

 

[Mike Rotch]

Meh, Diaz was absent from Rnd 1 and 2. I thought it would be a draw tbh. Bloody elbow and MMAfighting gave the first round 10-8 to McGregor.

Rumble doe

 

[coryclifford]

No prob giving McGregor the first two, but not the last three.

And Rumble got lucky, but dang!

 

[NW48]

Diaz deserved, at the very least, a draw. He had McGregor out on his feet for pretty much the whole fight from the end of the second. But that being said, neither McGregor or Diaz deserved to lose that fight. It was a damn good fight. I'd have been satisfied with a draw. The inevitable third fight should be good.

Why not make it take place in the Land Down Under at the end of November? I know, too soon, but hey, an Aussie can dream.

 

[coryclifford]

He had McGregor out on his feet for pretty much the whole fight from the end of the second.

Which apparently counts for nothing.

Here's another post about these judges being terrible.

Or, a great way to set up a 3rd fight. Cause money money money.

 

[NW48]

Which apparently counts for nothing.

Here's another post about these judges being terrible.

Or, a great way to set up a 3rd fight. Cause money money money.

Yeah it definitely looks sketchy when Diaz didn't even get one judge to score the fight in his favour, the conspiracy theorists out there will no doubt challenge the UFC's legitimacy.

 

[coryclifford]

Totally. And when McGregor was running away from Diaz for almost an entire round? Counts for nothing. Lame.

 

[Andrew R]

I thought McGregor did enough to win although he did run away a bit towards the end. I honestly thought Diaz would've won by the third round.


Surely now McGregor has to either defend his belt or give it up. I can't really see him progressing much further as a lightweight.

 

[Liquid]

McGregor's advantage in the first two rounds was enough to see him eek over the line. And he needed to because he evidently is not a five-round fighter. Cutting Diaz early on helped him greatly but fair dues to Diaz; he didn't give up and came back strongly in the last two rounds.

If McGregor had any ground game he'd have cleaned up nicely. He had Diaz down three-five times? And just let him get back up because he knew Diaz was better on the canvas.

I actually enjoyed the whole (televised) card from top-bottom, which is unusual. No tippy-tappy dillydallying, they were going for it.

Good event in my book. 👍

 

[Mike Rotch]

McGregor's advantage in the first two rounds was enough to see him eek over the line. And he needed to because he evidently is not a five-round fighter.

I was surprised how much he gassed and so quickly, given his 5 month camp. Doesn't bode well for him for Aldo, which could be another 5 rounder.

Incidentally, all judges gave 1,2 and 4 to Mcgregor and 3 and 5 to Diaz - the the guy who scored it a draw somehow making round three a 10-8 round.

Agree with your sentiments Liquid - this was what 200 should have been.

Can't wait for Cormier v Johnston II. Teixeira got Aldo'd*

Cerrone's finish was beautiful too.

*13 sec ko

 

[NW48]

Surely now McGregor has to either defend his belt or give it up. I can't really see him progressing much further as a lightweight.

Dana has told McGregor he has to defend the belt against Aldo next otherwise it gets stripped from him, but McGregor doesn't want to defend it against Aldo, seemingly saying he should be allowed to prance around for another year as payback to Aldo. He's also said he wants to do other things outside of the UFC so yeah. Unfortunately it looks like there won't be an Aldo-McGregor rematch any time soon, unless Dana wants to offer him another ridiculous fight purse.

 

[Ryk]

Search "McDregor vs Fiaz" for an ... Australian take on the fight. - Warning pretty graphic and lots of... erm... Tomato Ketchup...

 

[Omnis]

CM Punk is a joke.

 

[Mike Rotch]

CM Punk is a joke.

Easy for you to say. When is the last time you stepped inside a ring. Oh that's right. Neither have I, but at least he had the balls to do it from no basic skill level at all. In front of millions.

Overall, the card was worse than 200. Werdum vs Browne was weird, and the main event was also something out of the mixed parts bin. Miocic's GnP is crazy, but Overeem had it when he knocked him down and blew it.

 

[Omnis]

He got destroyed. I guess that's the nature of MMA though. I didn't mean that he's a joke for trying, but it was a joke the way he just got torn up like that. Hype train derailed. The highlight of the event was his post-match comments though. What an incredible sport. That's why he has fans. I hope he can go back to doing something successfully. Is he really done with wrestling? Seems like all his bridges are burned now.

 

[McLaren]

Easy for you to say. When is the last time you stepped inside a ring. Oh that's right. Neither have I, but at least he had the balls to do it from no basic skill level at all. In front of millions.

Overall, the card was worse than 200. Werdum vs Browne was weird, and the main event was also something out of the mixed parts bin. Miocic's GnP is crazy, but Overeem had it when he knocked him down and blew it.

No basic skill? He signed in 2014 to do UFC and has been training almost ever since til' his first match tonight; what was he doing besides injuring himself twice?

Even since earlier this year, the media said he wasn't ready, that he hasn't progressed anywhere near where he should be. Dana has finally said if he fights again, it'll likely be in a development league. Gall's been doing this stuff since he was a young teenager; he's had the upper hand for nearly a decade now on CM. The guy is just too old to be switching careers and doesn't have the experience.

 

[Mike Rotch]

No basic skill?

You know as well as I do, 2 years to become proficient in MMA is insufficient - their is no substitute for ring time as showed today. It looks like he spent most of his time preparing stand up, and not enough stuffing TDs; hat's off to Gall, execution was brilliant.

The guy is just too old to be switching careers and doesn't have the experience.

No doubt, but I still tip my hat off to the guy - gave up probably $$$ in WWE to walk into a situation he probably knew he was going to get a beat down. And that's the point of his message; guys like you and me and most other people would not be bold enough to take the chance given the odds, but it's something he wanted to do, so he did it. Can't fault that.

Separately, man, I hope Hendo takes Bisping's head off at 204.

 

[lxmmy]

Golovkin is truly unstoppable. Looked like he didn't break a sweat but a very good decision from Brook's corner to stop the fight as he had a suspected broken eye socket.

Billy Joe Saunders or Chris Eubanks Jnr next for Golovkin's menu?

 

[McLaren]

You know as well as I do, 2 years to become proficient in MMA is insufficient - their is no substitute for ring time as showed today. It looks like he spent most of his time preparing stand up, and not enough stuffing TDs; hat's off to Gall, execution was brilliant.


No doubt, but I still tip my hat off to the guy - gave up probably $$$ in WWE to walk into a situation he probably knew he was going to get a beat down. And that's the point of his message; guys like you and me and most other people would not be bold enough to take the chance given the odds, but it's something he wanted to do, so he did it. Can't fault that.

Separately, man, I hope Hendo takes Bisping's head off at 204.

I'll agree with everything else, but I think he really believed he had a chance.

How will my UFC debut compare to my WWE debut? Well, I'm gonna win. I did that in WWE. Uh, you know, I think the live crowd in Cleveland, uh, those that are cheering for me are gonna be super, super happy, and I think those that initially start maybe booing me, by the end of the fight, I think they're gonna be on their feet cheering my name.

I hate that it's TMZ, but that's right out of his mouth during a sit-down interview.

 

[Mike Rotch]

I'll agree with everything else, but I think he really believed he had a chance.

You expect him to sit down in a media interview that is intended to generate more PPVs and admit he is probably going to get beaten inside the distance? I am sure Dana would love that.

 

[Eva]

You expect him to sit down in a media interview that is intended to generate more PPVs and admit he is probably going to get beaten inside the distance? I am sure Dana would love that.

That was my thought. The fighters have to build their own brand. Hence why some fighters are so highly regarded.

 

[McLaren]

You expect him to sit down in a media interview that is intended to generate more PPVs and admit he is probably going to get beaten inside the distance? I am sure Dana would love that.

Sooo, which is it? He went into knowing he'd get his ass beat (despite saying he wanted to fight for the long haul), but he has to be over-confident and cocky at weigh-in to make Dana happy?

Dude should have never gotten this fight begin with based on having no experience & being on the wrong end of the age spectrum. Dana just saw dollar signs because it was a well known name when younger guys exactly like Gall would have killed for the opportunity to get that fight.

 

[Mike Rotch]

Sooo, which is it? He went into knowing he'd get his ass beat (despite saying he wanted to fight for the long haul), but he has to be over-confident and cocky at weigh-in to make Dana happy?

Pretty much answered your own question. Dana wins with a loss or a victory.

More PPV's to see the experiment and Gall is now building profile for future card options. CMP probably got a fat paycheck for what amounted to getting punched in the head for 2 mins. I can't see him fighting again, but Sage vs Gall is now a sure fire bet which will get more lips wagging come time.

Respect to Browne though for continuing to fight. There are pics floating around of his finger....damn.

 

[NW48]

So the UFC's first event in New York (if you don't count UFC 7 in Buffalo), UFC 205, is shaping up quite nicely. Joanna Jedrzejczyk is defending her Strawweight title against Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Cowboy Cerrone is facing Kelvin Gastelum, Miesha Tate is returning from her defeat at UFC 200 to face Raquel Pennington. In the Featherweight division, Frankie Edgar is taking on Jeremy Stephens, and in Middleweight, Rashad Evans is fighting Tim Kennedy. There is also murmurs of a Chris Weidman v Yoel Romero bout somewhere on the card.

In the Co-Main, Tyron Woodley is defending his Welterweight title against Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, in what could be a great fight. And finally, just announced today, in the main event, Eddie Alvarez will defend his Lightweight title against the Featherweight champion, Conor McGregor, despite McGregor not having a fight in the division, and having not defended his Featherweight title for nearly a year now.

The event takes place on November 12th at Madison Square Garden.

What's everyone's thoughts on the card so far?

 

[Eva]

Is the Alvarez/McGregor fight for the title?

 

[NW48]

Is the Alvarez/McGregor fight for the title?

For the lightweight title, yes.

Another match has been made for the UFC 205 card, Khabib Nurmagomedov will take on Michael Johnson. Khabib was originally suppose to face Eddie Alvarez for the title, until McGregor got the fight instead.

Honestly, the Prelims will look like a PPV Main Card at this point. The UFC has done a stellar job. Hopefully none of the fights are pulled due to injury. I would have liked to see Cormier defend the Light Heavyweight title against Rumble Johnson, but they're probably saving that for the New Years Eve show, UFC 207.

 

[Mike Rotch]

What's everyone's thoughts on the card so far?

It's everything UFC 200 wanted to be. Awesome card. Wonderboy vs Woodley will be awesome. Weidman vs Soldier of God will be awesome.

Is the Alvarez/McGregor fight for the title?

Yep. Aldo be mad.

 

[Eva]

I'm not sure why Dana is suddenly being so lenient. He said after he faced Diaz that he'd have to defend the featherweight title. Now we won't see an undisputed featherweight champion until at least February and that's only if they prioritize the title unification fight over Diaz III.

In other news, Ronda is rumored to be returning at UFC 207, with Cyborg and Nunes as the highlighted options. Peña isn't too happy because the UFC tried to pit her against Shevchenko at 205 when she wants Nunes. Interested to see where Holm, Zingano, and Tate will fall when Ronda returns and if the hot potato will return to Ronda. Nunes and Rousey are both explosive early, so I doubt any Rousey match will go to decision.