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MMA/UFC thread

Great card last night, gutted that the TJ vs Garbrandt match was over so quickly but that DJ vs Cejudo fight was something else. To see Cejudo roll his ankle over twice during the first round but still come back and beat the guy who many consider the GOAT... bravo sir!
 
Aye, loved it.

Always been a Dillashaw fan, he's probably my favourite fighter in MMA and Ludwig is my favourite coach - so satisfying to see him TKO Cody again. When he hit him with the right hook three times in a row, dropping him with the third, was just magic. His striking and movement is just magic, I really want to try and get to a Ludwig seminar next time he comes to Europe, he's an absolute wizard.

Cejudo/MM was wild - didn't see it coming at all, and after the rolled ankle I thought it wouldn't make the 2nd round. I like Cejudo a lot though (like MM more, but still) - people treat him like a bit of a joke because he talks about his gold medal a lot but realistically he won a ******* gold medal, he deserves to shout about it from the roof tops. He came across really well as a coach and mentor on his series of TUF and I'm really happy for him. Hopefully MM gets an immediate rematch after his foot and knee heal up, but Dana White has made no secret that he doesn't really like MM so I wouldn't be massively surprised if he didn't.
TJ doesn't seem that keen on the "super fight" against Cejudo - said yes in the octagon, but back stage I think he realised, after the adrenaline had worn off, that it makes zero sense.

Would love to see the TJ vs Cruz rematch (should have happened years ago), and then Assuncao and Moraes fight each other for the next shot - on the same card, if possible, in case Cruz doesn't make it to the fight and one of them can step up.
 
Agree with a lot of what you said there, TJ is up there for me too... has been since his first demolition of Baroa and not sure that he 'really' lost against Cruz either.

Never really liked Cejudo (respected the hell outta him but never really liked the guy) but I do tend to root for the underdog. So was onboard for him last night and now I am fully converted, the guy has a rare will to succeed and I can really appreciate that.

Also, although they both lost... Johns and Holland are absolute warriors and I will be willing both of them on in future bouts.
 
Darren Till will be wrestle ****** imo, can't kick as freely because Woodley will grab him. I think he's got the shot too quickly. Hopefully I'm wrong because i love everything about him, he's aggressive, talks his mind.

Khabib I think will lose, can see McGregor putting him to sleep. Not sure what the best result for the sport is, Dana obviously wants his boy to win. I like khabib more though
 
It's definitely possible that Khabib gets slept but he's never been rocked, never been dropped. Johnson hits harder than McGregor (nowhere near the fighter McGregor is but he does hit like a truck) and khabib ate a clean right hand to the jaw. Also walked through a Barboza wheel kick, when the sane thing almost killed Lee.
Conor has to sleep him cause even rocked it think Khabib gets him down, Alvarez got Conor against the fence after getting flash KOd twice.


Agree on Till, I love the guy but I can't see him winning. Tyron hits too hard for him to get in and brawl, and (as you said) the threat of the takedown is huge.
Staying on the outside and picking him off from out of range is his best bet, it's what Rory did.
 
I don't think Johnson does hit hard than McGregor, though I could be wrong. Khabib gets past the 2nd than its a horrible few rounds for McGregor.

Nate v Dustin- Great fight, I think the match up is brilliant. Don't know who's gonna win, Nate will still be fight shape fit as he's still a trip athlete. Dustin is a more technical fighter, but I think Nate drags him into more of a brawl. Gonna say Dustin on points??

Kevin Lee is in camp incase Khabib or McGregor pull out. Very smart by the UFC to make sure the card doesn't fall out its arse
 
T-Ferg is medically cleared and trying to get a fight asap as well,
Shame that Tony already choked out Lee in his last fight (and Lee only has one since then, which he missed weight for) as having that on 229 with the winner getting the next ***le shot would be excellent match making.
Big big fan of Lee, think he's a future champ for sure, if he gets his weight cut on track (apparently rethinking it going forwards, so hopefully).

MJ vs McGregor is purely anecdotally based on common training partners/fighters.
Conor, apparently, doesn't hit that hard (compared to real heavy hitters, that is). It's his timing/accuracy that's next level, he can use your momentum and land perfectly on the corner of the jaw to drop you. I don't think he has any true KOs on his record, they're all TKOs (hence Jeremy Stephens "when i hit people they don't ******* move" line)
 


Dan Hardy is one of the best analysts I've ever seen (in any sport).

Exceptionally clear articulation - perfectly paced.
 
Aye, Hardy and Gooden are GOAT UFC presenters, woefully under utilised.
Their Inside the Octagons are the highlight of PPV week
Hardy is definitely the best analyst in MMA at the moment, Dom Cruz is the only one who comes close (and then some of the youtube guys like BJJ scout)
 
Till got whomped

Woodley is criminally underrated, it's mental how Till went into this fight as a favourite.
 
Couldn't believe the betting before hand, Till has a chin on him though. Those elbows could've taken my head clean off. Till is only 25 though, still has a lot of time to get better.

Dana must be ******, Ngannou now till both beaten by the champs he don't like
 
Same old story of British fighters.... no wrestling ability.
Not sure how much wrestling would save him in that situation, got dropped and then had the best wrestler in the division controlling him from the top.
Did show serious nativity in his BJJ though, even Woodley said he was surprised at how easy it was to lock up that D'arce/how Till didn't know what was happening as he slipped his hand through.


I'm not that gutted TBH, always been a really big fan of Woodley.
Would've been nice to see Till win the belt but I want Woodley to cement his legacy as one of the best WWs of all time.
I don't think anyone in the division poses any real threat to him tbh.
I can see him KOing Colby inside 3rds now that his shoulder is fixed. Colby is all about grinding pressure against the fence, Woodley is all about retreating to the fence and exploding forwards. Colbys striking defence is terrible. It's a recipe for disaster (if you're a fan of that racist POS anyway, which I don't).
Woodley is just better in every aspect of tbe game apart from cardio.
 
Absolute car crash of a press conference.

Proved that Conor really isn't that good on the mic anymore, it's his rabid fans that make him. Without all the screaming and jeering he just sounds like a rambling drug addict.
Gimme Chael or Bisping any day.
 
I loved a few bits a pieces.

Khabib: "what is he gonna do on oct 6? You think whisky is gonna help you? I dont understand."

Priceless.
 
been watching a few videos about the fight, interviews, etc.... sure, McG can win, but the more i think about it the more i convince myself he is going to be destroyed. Khabib will **** him up.
All that confidence, all that trash talk, all that wannabe gangsta attitude will go out the window the split second khabib puts his back on the floor. Other than a lucky punch early on rounds 1 or 2, i just dont see how this could end up otherwise.

I just do not see McG stopping Khabibg from taking him down and once he is down, it's not even a contest. The only way is for McG to clock him while Khabib is attempting a takedown and i dont see that happening.
McG has, broadly speaking, his left hand and kicking going for him. I don't see his kicking working against someone like Khabib. Very hard to kick while moving backwards. And regarding his left hand, well, Khabib knows about it and i don't see him exposing himself to that unnecessarily.

I'm biased thou. I like Khabib and maybe it's the rugby thingie inside me, but i also the examples he sets. Hard word, humility and respect. He made his career inside the octagon and not on press conferences.
I don't dislike arrogance if you can back it up, and that's one of the reasons i actually like McG a bit too, but here, i think he's biting more than he can chew and his luck has run out.

Khabib does look anxious, but he was asked point blank about it and he admitted it, but instantly added the trick is not depriving yourself of emotions but rather managing them properly, and that he could do that comfortably.

I want khabib to win also because if that happens there's a shot at seeing him fight GSP, which would be unreal imo.
I'd pay a small fortune to see those two at their best, but this would do. And unstoppable force meets another unstoppable force. Arguably the best two takedown artists.
 
I'm of the same opinion,
Interesting to see McGregor adopt a different stance in the open workouts, for lower and more straight on than his usual bladed karate stance. Much better for stopping takedowns (like Iaquinta basically squatting for three rounds) but makes him more hittable and hampers his bouncing in and out of range, which he excels at.
Also drilling uppercuts and intercepting knees like a mad man.

Conor definitely has a chance, his distance control is second to none in the ufc atm, and his TDD is underrated, but I think it's like 60-40 to khabib, tops.
It's all well and good having great TDD but there's levels to it - Bisping had excellent tdd but then went up against GSP and he got him down.
Conor has no one in his camp who is a fraction as good a wrestler as khabib. HIs main grappling partner is Danis who is an excellent BJJ player, but has lost to every grappler with a wrestling background
 
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Oooooooooooooh ****, what a card!

Khabib chokes conor out, jumps the cage and starts fighting dilon danis in the crowd
Zubair thukghov lamps McGregor, now every russian in the USA is trying to get into the cage to tear Conor's team apart
Even Cormier and Rockhold are in there
 
That was insane.

Hell of a night.
Khabib was just so much more complete.

Really don't see him retiring after that reckon one more rematch.
 

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