The MMA thread

Well, prelims were mediocre. Hopefully the main card will be better.
Yup, I realised today I was thirsty for some mma after no ufc for a month but jesus it didn’t quench it at all

These smaller cards in the apex centre are surely getting stale for fans now
 
I think this might be one of the most boring events I can recall in recent years
 
Didn't see the fight but Jesus...

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Those cuts above his right eye are so close to meeting which would've resulting in a big chunk of flesh flopping down over his eye. Surely this should've been stopped?
 
This shitty cards on paper, usually deliver good fun. Personally, looking forward to the Royval/Bontorin fight.

I too think that Giga should take over soon and he will be looking for the finish. Kattar has never been finished or knocked down, so it's gonna be a tough ask for Giga, although Max worked that chin a lot so he might be ripe. Definitely can see Kattar coming back to take over on the later rounds if Giga can't find the finish.

I'm hoping for the KO though. Giga striking is just on another level. Expect Kattar to try to wrestle early on to avoid getting pieced up.

Well, it appears that Giga has a ceiling. Got pushed to the limit for the first time and didn't look as impressive (although obviously very tough)

I hope they don't give Kattar Max again for his own sake :lol: (Hell of a performance today)
 
Well, it appears that Giga has a ceiling. Got pushed to the limit for the first time and didn't look as impressive (although obviously very tough)

I hope they don't give Kattar Max again for his own sake :lol: (Hell of a performance today)

Yeah, Kattar was impressive (and keeps his record of never been knocked down/KO'd). Those spinning elbows were class. And he fought smart, setting the definite blueprint to beat Giga (Tire him by wrestling him and walking him down non stop). Bit on the older side now, so I don't think Giga has enough time to fix that, but we'll see, he has good mentality, hopefully he comes back stronger and better.

I'd like Kattar to fight one of Ortega, Yair or Emmett next. Those would be fun fights. Keep him away from Max.
 
Yair would be a very interesting bout for the fans I believe. Him and Kattar both are technically very good.

Back in the day I was really high on Ortega as a top prospect and future champion, but lately I started to think that he is not very good...
 
Huge event upcoming; not a word said about it in here?
Feels like a real Gladiator event that HW clash! I don't know who I want to win that. I guess Ngannou winning will piss Dana off more so probably the outcome I want :lol:

Hope Moreno beats Figueredo.
 
Feels like a real Gladiator event that HW clash! I don't know who I want to win that. I guess Ngannou winning will piss Dana off more so probably the outcome I want :lol:

Hope Moreno beats Figueredo.
Seems as though the contract dispute has thrown a wet towel over the whole thing, and the UFC are purposely not promoting the fight, or even the event when in reality, it should have got the full treatment. Can't help but wonder if N'Gannou's head's even in it now. Chael has said that Gane is being over hyped and overrated due to the calibre of opponents he's fought against and I agree with him, but I've no idea what we'll see on the weekend from N'Gannou.
 
Seems as though the contract dispute has thrown a wet towel over the whole thing, and the UFC are purposely not promoting the fight, or even the event when in reality, it should have got the full treatment. Can't help but wonder if N'Gannou's head's even in it now. Chael has said that Gane is being over hyped and overrated due to the calibre of opponents he's fought against and I agree with him, but I've no idea what we'll see on the weekend from N'Gannou.
Whilst I think Gane can provide a good test (age, physique, skills we've seen so far, trained with Francis in the past), Ngannou will have extra motivation. Lose this and Ngannou will probably be booted to the realm that Leon Edwards was in for so long...
 
Has he already started to talk crazy like T-Wood?

Tracking device... :lol:






To be fair, GSP has said and continues to say some pretty strange things about aliens coming into his hotel room, and he's not renowned for getting hit in the face.

On a serious note, though, it can't be good for someone's health to get hit flush that many times. If you listen to Chuck Liddell or Stipe Miocic speak, both sound a little punch drunk, and there are obvious signs of some damage.

We all love MMA, but I don't like this side of it, and I wish that fighters who take that much damage try to think of a way to preclude that by either figuring out a way to change the way their fights play out, or by prioritising health over money and retiring while they're still coherent and relatively healthy.
 
To be fair, GSP has said and continues to say some pretty strange things about aliens coming into his hotel room, and he's not renowned for getting hit in the face.

On a serious note, though, it can't be good for someone's health to get hit flush that many times. If you listen to Chuck Liddell or Stipe Miocic speak, both sound a little punch drunk, and there are obvious signs of some damage.

We all love MMA, but I don't like this side of it, and I wish that fighters who take that much damage try to think of a way to preclude that by either figuring out a way to change the way their fights play out, or by prioritising health over money and retiring while they're still coherent and relatively healthy.
I agree about Chuck but I think Stipe (and the Diaz bros) always spoke like that.
 
Whilst I think Gane can provide a good test (age, physique, skills we've seen so far, trained with Francis in the past), Ngannou will have extra motivation. Lose this and Ngannou will probably be booted to the realm that Leon Edwards was in for so long...
The press conference was interesting and Francis genuinely looks motivated and pissed off; there are so many questions that will be answered on Saturday. Finding it a difficult fight to call especially with Gane still being an enigma as we don’t know what his punch tolerance is or what unsettles him yet due to his rapid rise to a title shot with no wrestlers of any worth on his CV.
 
I agree about Chuck but I think Stipe (and the Diaz bros) always spoke like that.

I suppose you're right. The Diaz brothers, especially, always sounded off when they spoke.

Regarding Saturday's fight, if Francis wins, I wonder who's next in line. According to Dana White, he'll have to defend the title as his contract won't end with him holding the belt. But I can't see what they do. Another fight with Lewis doesn't sound that interesting.
 
I hope UFC London has Arnold Allen hooker. An Aspinall Volkov main event will be a big step up may be a bit too soon for Aspinall. Will be there regardless though.
 
I suppose you're right. The Diaz brothers, especially, always sounded off when they spoke.

Regarding Saturday's fight, if Francis wins, I wonder who's next in line. According to Dana White, he'll have to defend the title as his contract won't end with him holding the belt. But I can't see what they do. Another fight with Lewis doesn't sound that interesting.
Bones is the obvious choice but politics is stopping that.
 
The press conference was interesting and Francis genuinely looks motivated and pissed off; there are so many questions that will be answered on Saturday. Finding it a difficult fight to call especially with Gane still being an enigma as we don’t know what his punch tolerance is or what unsettles him yet due to his rapid rise to a title shot with no wrestlers of any worth on his CV.

Those french reporters were so fecking annoying.







 
I miss when the press conferences used to have all of the main cards. These days it's just main and co-main.
 
I'm curious to see if Ngannou will go headhunting Gane or if he'll force Gane to lead the action. Since Gane likes to play on the counter attack, it could be smart to make him unconfortable.
 
I'm curious to see if Ngannou will go headhunting Gane or if he'll force Gane to lead the action. Since Gane likes to play on the counter attack, it could be smart to make him unconfortable.

If Gane likes counter punching, it would make sense to sit back, wouldn't it?

But either way, I think Ngannou's best chance is to be aggressive but patient, without emptying his gas tank by headhunting as he did in the first Miocic fight.
 
Been feeling more confident on Francis this week. He looks completely serene and unfazed by Gane. Like he knows something we don't...

While Gane hasn't come out too confident in my opinion. The sparring talk kinda got into his head.

And Francis being a big underdog (crazyyy) has make the decision to put my money on him easier.

The Moreno/Figuereido has be more intrigued. For the last fight, after the weight ins, I ran to put money on Moreno because Figgy was looking fecked up, barely able to stand up and super emotional, crying, etc. This time, he showed up at the official weigh ins in the better shape of his life (124lbs), plus, training with Cejudo for sure has been a great upgrade. Moreno looked great as well on the scales. It's gonna be a war.

 
I'm curious to see if Ngannou will go headhunting Gane or if he'll force Gane to lead the action. Since Gane likes to play on the counter attack, it could be smart to make him unconfortable.
Is Gane really someone that likes to play on the counter attack? I haven't really seen that from him. He's very calculated, but he usually is the one who sets the pace in his fights. He did a lot of movements against Lewis to avoid the power, but he basically had him backing up the whole fight. I think it would be a big mistake if Francis lets Gane lead the action. He will pepper his lead leg and chop the body, although there's a crazy strategy in Ngannou looking to use that for a takedown, because he might look to do something unexpected and see how Gane handles being on the ground with a guy like Francis on top.

I think Ngannou's gotta be the aggressor, to push forward, and to cut off the angles where Cyril can slide out of the way, get him against the cage, jab him up using that slight reach advantage then go for the big shots sporadically when he's within distance, which he won't be too much if Gane has anything to say about it.

It's such a hard fight to call, and I'm not that surprised Gane is the slight favorite, but it's very close and I have no idea who's going to win because Francis has that one punch power, but I'm leaning towards Gane with a 4th round TKO.
 
I'm not ruling Gane out at all but I'm honestly surprised he's going into this as the favourite. You could see him winning if he can tire Ngannou out but I can never bet against Ngannou via deadly KO. I think he catches him tonight and it's goodnight.