UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[Egg Shen]

any wagers on this? after missing out on Holm money last week i think im gonna have a go...

 

Magny, Cejudo, Fili, Perez. £5 returns £50, thinking of that. If it was 3 rounds i'd Gastelum but in a 5 rounder i quite fancy Magny to possibly pull it out over the course of fight.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah there's a big question on Gastelum for me with the weight thing. I hope he's got that sorted. If he hasn't then, yeah, I can see Magny holding up better and giving Gastelum grief in the later rounds.

 

I think Gastelum wins though. I think he's the real deal and a couple of notches above Magny and his offence is more dangerous.

[WyattSheepMask]

any wagers on this? after missing out on Holm money last week i think im gonna have a go...

 

Magny, Cejudo, Fili, Perez. £5 returns £50, thinking of that. If it was 3 rounds i'd Gastelum but in a 5 rounder i quite fancy Magny to possibly pull it out over the course of fight.

An Acca with the same stake on PaddyPower pays £61

[Egg Shen]

I calculated mine on there too, the lines must have changed. Im doing it.

[wandshogun09]

Is there a fighter in MMA who's had more exciting fights than Diego Sanchez? I was rewatching the Guida fight just now and ended up looking up Diego's record. He's had so many crazy fights.

 

Diego Sanchez vs Nick Diaz

November 5th 2005 - TUF 2 Finale

The fight that made me do a 180 on the grappling side of MMA. Two nutters going 100mph in a BJJ war. I love this fight. Looking back at Diego here, it's such a shame he got away from his BJJ roots later in his career. His brawling style gave us so many fun fights but he showed against Diaz he's capable of fighting with technique in a ground fight against a top grappler as well. The combination of Sanchez's craziness, Diaz's craziness and Rogan on top of his game calling the non-stop action is the perfect mix.

 

Diego Sanchez vs Karo Parisyan

August 17th 2006 - Fight Night 6

This is a fucking tremendous fight. Off the top of my head it was probably the FOTY in 2006. And that was a year when you had Pride still pumping out strong cards. It was that good of a fight. It has everything - the crazy lizard grappling like the Diaz fight, the nutty brawling, the cool as fuck judo throws from Parisyan, teeth flying out. It's unbelievable.

 

 

One of those three round fights you really wish was a five rounder.

 

Diego Sanchez vs Jon Fitch

September 22nd 2007 - UFC 76

Easily one of the most entertaining fights of Fitch's career. I haven't seen it in years but I remember really enjoying it. It was only Diego's second loss of his career and it felt like he'd really been derailed after this one because he'd gone from being undefeated to losing two fights on the bounce (Koscheck/Fitch). But it was a good fight. Mostly grappling as most Fitch fights are, but if I'm remembering right it was action-packed and Diego came close on a guillotine attempt at one point.

 

The next fight is probably the one everyone remembers Diego most for...

 

 

Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida

June 20th 2009 - TUF 9 Finale

Like I said, I just watched this again and it's what inspired this post. What an absolute batshit mental fight this was. The opening exchange alone is just madness...

 

 

And that gif isn't even all of it. Diego then goes on to fire off about 15 uppercuts in the space of like five seconds or something. Drops Clay with a headkick as well, which Clay somehow pops straight up from like fucking Michael Myers. Just one of the wildest fights you'll ever see.

 

 

And somehow Guida gets back in the fight to the point that the decision is in question by the time Buffer is reading the scores. Diego ended up getting the nod but it was one of those amazing fights where you just kind of forget who won and lost, the fight itself overshadows it.

 

Diego Sanchez vs Paulo Thiago

October 23rd 2010 - UFC 121

This is one of Diego's forgotten gems. Hardly ever gets mentioned but it's a hell of a fight. This was on the undercard of Brock Lesnar vs Cain Velasquez so I guess it's understandable that it was sort of forgotten. It was easily the best fight that night though. As had become a habit, Diego was receiving a bit of a pasting from Thiago here. But something happened in the fight that seemed to just light a fuse under Diego and he went berserker mode.

 

The bit where he lifts Thiago up and runs across the cage with him, while screaming like a loon, then slams him and starts battering him...

 

 

It's one of my favourite bits of a fight ever. Just summed Diego up. Coming back from adversity and going mental on his opponent.

 

Diego Sanchez vs Martin Kampmann

March 3rd 2011 - UFC on Versus 3

This was another all-out war. Both had each other hurt and rocked at different points in the fight and they were both bloodied up. This is one I need to revisit actually because I remember loving it at the time.

 

 

Another ridiculously close fight where you wished it was five rounds. Probably for the best it was only three though because Diego's face was falling to bits as it was.

 

 

Diego Sanchez vs Jake Ellenberger

February 15th 2012 - UFC on FUEL 1

This was the fight that convinced Dana White to make all UFC main events five rounds. He even said something after the fight like 'We fucked up tonight. We should've made this a five round fight.' That's how good this fight was. Once again, Diego came back from a beating early and it genuinely felt like the tide was turning in Diego's favour late in the fight so those extra two rounds would've been very interesting.

 

Diego Sanchez vs Gilbert Melendez

October 19th 2013 - UFC 166

Diego's last really great fight was this one. It was one of those fights that, as soon as it was announced, everyone was sure it was going to be something special. And it was. Neither would take a backwards step and they both just swung for the fences. Both got dropped, Diego's eyebrow got ripped open. The crowd reaction when Diego came back and knocked Gilbert down in the third was insane.

 

 

An incredible fight. I still say that 2013 was the best all-round year for fight quality in MMA history. And for me, Sanchez vs Melendez ranks in the top five fights of that year with ease. That says it all really.

 

 

Diego Sanchez is an absolute lunatic of a fighter. For all his faults, he's been as much fun to watch as anyone in the sport, if not more. I'll miss him when he's retired. But I hope it's soon.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=5gL3yYmiJwI

 

Lamas is going to batter him.

 

[jimufctna24]

Good write-up.

 

Sanchez's fights are ideal for introducing new fans. I lent a college friend a copy of his fight with Diaz in 2006. He was in awe, and asked for more. Sadly, we lost touch after college, I think he still has my Pride 29 DVD! On a similar note, a friend of mine attended Parisyan vs Sanchez. Lucky git. I think that was my fight of the year in 2006.

 

Unless I am forgetting someone, Sanchez  is the last surviving member of TUF 1 still competing in the UFC! Forrest, Bonnar, Kos, Leben and Florian are gone, and I believe Swick is now retired. Considering his fighting style, and weightclass, that's quite a surprise.  

[Guy Bifkin]

Well less said about this the better it seems. My recording ran out in the final round of the main event and I wasn't that bothered.

[Bus Surfer]

This was the first UFC show I didn't bother watching in 5 years. Woke up Sunday morning and just read the spoilers instead. The lack of posting in here seems my decision was justified. Is everyone just burned out from last weekend?

[lambyUK]

I would say that's the case Silky. I haven't watched it either, and I'm still buzzing from 193 and with 194 coming, along with that entire week, there's just too much to take on board. 

[Carbomb]

According to Bloody Elbow (I just Googled "Gastelum Magny", I'm not a regular reader, honest), it was a bit of a war. I know journos are prone to hyperbole, but the report does make it sound like it was an eventful fight.

[textonly]

I think "bit of a war" makes it sound a bit more exciting than it was, but it wasn't a bad fight at all. Magny, for me, controlled the first three rounds with excellent grappling, accurate strikes and good movement. The he got clipped and Kelvin, to his credit considering the weight issues, took absolute control, dropping him twice in the 4th (I think) and putting pressure on the whole time. I agreed with the judges, but it was one of those fights where you can see why Kelvin was disappointed not to get the decision. He was the one where, if it had gone on, you'd have favoured him. But Magny had done enough early on for me. The grappling was lovely. It looked like the Maia tooling may have made him go back to work there to improve.

 

Lamas vs. Sanchez was also enjoyable (of course) but up until that point the main card was a snooze fest.

 

The prelims weren't bad though. A couple of nice finishes and an interesting spectacle in the Jorgenson fight. Jorgenson's foot got fucked up somehow (he took a kick to the calf, so it may have been that, but he also turned on his ankle a second later, and that looked bad - I don't know if that was due to the kick or not). Anyway, that happened at the end of the first round, he came out for the second barely able to stand and was falling over a lot. Props to his toughness and all that, but I thought it was a disgrace that the ref let the fight continue as long as it did. It was obvious he was in no shape to continue and that there was a risk of him worsening the injury if he did. Eventually he collapsed and tapped out. It's probably the thing I'll remember most about the entire card.

[Supremo]

This was the first UFC show I didn't bother watching in 5 years. Woke up Sunday morning and just read the spoilers instead. The lack of posting in here seems my decision was justified. Is everyone just burned out from last weekend?

I've had that feeling a couple of times this year. The big shows still feel massive, and I'll usually watch everything, but once every three or four months or so I just find myself being completely burned out and preferring to just read the spoilers. That show they did the night after UFC 189 is the best example. Who the fuck was watching a show after everything that happened the previous evening? The thought of more UFC the next day seemed unfathomable.

 

Unfortunately, this was one of the shows I chose to watch, but afterwards I felt like it was one of the shows I could have easily skipped. Nothing really clicked at all. Diego Sanchez is completely done as a top fighter and Henry Cejudo continues his steak of solid, yet underwhelming performances. The flyweights are crying out for an exciting title challenger, but Henry doesn't fit that bill at all.

[wandshogun09]

That show they did the night after UFC 189 is the best example. Who the fuck was watching a show after everything that happened the previous evening? The thought of more UFC the next day seemed unfathomable.

That show was such an afterthought it was ridiculous. It took me days to bother watching it if I'm remembering right. And the only reason I watched it then was because Vinegar Tits Magana was fighting Michelle Waterson and I knew she was going to get schooled.

 

They're not doing that with 194. There's the Edgar vs Mendes fight the night before 194, but there's nothing for a week after 194. That's the right call, I think. I'm fine with having a smaller show on the Friday. It just ends up adding to the hype of what's to come on the Saturday night. Doing a show the day after a huge event like 189 or 194 though, just falls flat and it's met with apathy. You need a breather after a monster show like 189 or 194. You can't follow shows like that with Fight Pass shit. Like if your girlfriend let you do everything one night - anal, facials, involving her best mate, the works. Then the next night she offers a feeble, half-hearted handjob. Again, apathy. Usually you'd be up for it, but the day after the night before you're not going to appreciate it, are you?

 

Yeah, this show wasn't much cop. Main event was pretty good. Total opposite to how I saw it going in that I thought it'd be Gastelum with the strong start and Magny taking over down the stretch. It was the other way around though. Fair play to Magny. I've been negative on him on here a few times but he looked good in this fight against a dangerous opponent, survived the knockdowns etc. I don't know where Gastelum goes from here. It was a close fight and I can see why Gastelum felt he'd done enough, but I had Magny winning.

 

I'd still like to see Gastelum vs Matt Brown re-booked. Failing that, Gastelum vs Thiago Alves.

[Supremo]

Incredibly, I was going to make a similar sex-related analogy regarding that show the night after 189, but couldn't quite think of how to word it during my measly fifteen minute break at work! Great minds think alike. It truly was the equivalent of having the best sex ever one night, and then being offered a lacklustre effort the following evening, when you've barely recovered. That show remained on my Sky Plus for months, then eventually just got deleted.

 

I agree that they're doing it the right way this December. You've got a couple of shows that exist as foreplay on the Thursday and Friday, then the climax for Saturday. Perfect.

[wandshogun09]

I agree that they're doing it the right way this December. You've got a couple of shows that exist as foreplay on the Thursday and Friday, then the climax for Saturday. Perfect.

Ha, it's all gone a bit smutty in here.

 

They probably won't do this but I'm wondering, with the Edgar vs Mendes show being the day before UFC 194, do you think it'd be a good idea to incorporate the 194 weigh ins into that show? It won't matter really, everyone who wants to see the Aldo-McGregor weigh in will find it easily enough on YouTube. It'd be pretty cool I think though, to have the weigh in actually air during the Edgar vs Mendes show.