UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[METAL ON METAL]

Has anything more cone out on why nLorenxo and McGregor seem to be at loggerheads? We had the belt slamming by Lorenzo last week. Has either party commented on that? Or are they too smart too put that v stuff in the public field.

It was Frank Fertitta who threw the belt. And I'm not sure if McGregor is at odds with Lorenzo, as they were pictured together smiling at Conor's post-fight after-party.

 

It's supposedly Dana that the issue is with.

[Bus Surfer]

UFC brass have already said he'll get an immediate shot in he goes up.

 

Great to see Nate Diaz back doing his thing. No doubt he's a bit of a dribbler, but the UFC is a better place when he and his brother are knocking about.

 

JDS sadly looks a shell of his former self. On the plus side we get another contender but it's never fun seeing Junior lose. Poor guy

 

Sucks to see Cerrone dispatched so quickly. I was dreaming of some amazing Conor/Cerrone shenanigans at 155 but that's down the shitter now. Hate to say it, but Cowboy always chokes on the big occasions. Props to RDA though, that was super impressive.

 

Not a bad way to see the year out. The last few shows have really got me feeling the UFC buzz again. Roll on 2016.

[jimufctna24]

I really want to argue that JDS is not done. Heavyweights can go through rough periods and prevail. Arlovski was knocked out 3 times between 2009-2011, and is now in the frame for a title show. The man who beat him last night was knocked out 3 times between 2013-2014. However, I have a feeling the wars and injuries have caught up to JDS. 

 

With Arlovski and Overeem, they would get knocked out, but not take that many repeated blows, therefore would avoid sustained punishment. They also appear to have avoided injuries as well. JDS has been involved in prolonged fights where he has been peppered repeatedly. The 2nd and 3rd fights with Cain stands out, both were difficult viewing, and probably took years off JDS's career. You can't be involved in fights like that forever, eventually they will catch up to you. 

 

Durability is not the main issue, that left hook that Overeem landed would have dropped anyone, it's more that injuries and punishment have slowed him down, and he doesn't have the pop he once had. A year long lay-off probably didn't help either. 

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I think the combination of the last two Cain fights and the war with Miocic has taken a shitload out of JDS. And I also think him bulking up hasn't helped either. He tried to add muscle after the losses to Cain and I get why, to combat Cain's wrestling and clinch advantages if they ever met again. But whatever he gained in strength he seemed to lose in speed and movement. He looked sluggish and slow against Miocic and still scraped through. But so much of what made JDS such a beast was that he was powerful AND one of the faster combination punchers in the division.

 

I don't even want to take anything away from Overeem's performance. As much as he rubs me the wrong way he fought a smart fight last night and it paid off. Probably his best showing in the UFC so far because of who he was in there with and the fact he beat JDS in the standup. But it's undeniable to me that JDS isn't the fighter he was. Even when he committed to throwing something last night he couldn't pull the trigger and follow up. Now part of that is down to Overeem's crafty movement and stance switching but JDS just didn't look at the races himself either. He's definitely not what he was. Even after the second Cain fight, he still was moving well and as aggressive as ever against Hunt. Everything from the third Cain fight onwards though, he hasn't looked right to me.

 

The only time we saw flashes of the old JDS was that one combination he threw just before the finish. That combo that ended with a good body shot. It was the only spell where JDS looked like his old self and Overeem didn't like it and actually ran away. If JDS could've done more of that instead of throwing one strike at a time (which plays right to Overeem's strengths), I think he'd have done a lot better and probably won.

 

I had no problem with the stoppage. I can definitely see why JDS was upset though. He got nailed but, as always, he recovered very quickly. In a lot of cases I'd say the ref could've let it go slightly longer because, although he was offering no real defence, he was trying to stand up at the time of the stoppage. But in this case, I'm glad it was stopped. JDS really doesn't need to be taking that kind of abuse at this point.

[ColinBollocks]

I think last night cemented Dos Anjos 2nd behind McGregor as fighter of the year (well, mine anyway). His two title performances were about as dominant as you will ever see. Can't wait to see how he improves in 2016 and if anybody can figure him out. A shame he'll never fully shake off the PED talk, but it's something that will and has to be discussed given what we know went on and goes on.

 

JDS' decline is startling and it only highlights what a bastard fighting is. Those two Velasquez fights were just round after round of nothing but abuse for poor lovable JDS. For his own safety, I hope he thinks about packing it in soon, as he's suffered some brutal assaults and that punch last night had "Little Boy" written on it - he still came to quickly and wanted more, which is very JDS. He only fights about once a year now anyway.

[wandshogun09]

I think last night cemented Dos Anjos 2nd behind McGregor as fighter of the year (well, mine anyway). His two title performances were about as dominant as you will ever see. Can't wait to see how he improves in 2016 and if anybody can figure him out. A shame he'll never fully shake off the PED talk, but it's something that will and has to be discussed given what we know went on and goes on.

Good shout on Dos Anjos as Fighter Of The Year.

 

On the bold bit though, nothing has ever been proven that he was cheating. This whole RDA/PEDs thing is based purely on two things;

 

A) His physique changes.

B) The commission not testing at UFC 185.

 

The physique change thing is a little bit over-exaggerated, I think. He looks better these days but that doesn't necessarily mean he's dirty. His body hasn't even changed that drastically over the years like people make out. Those pictures people post could be from way different stages of his training camps. Do people realise that most fighters don't walk around ripped to shreds and in fight shape all year round? They're not all GSP or Conor McGregor who look the same 365 days a year. If you look at Dos Anjos in his actual fights, or on any fight week of his UFC career, he looks pretty much the same every time.

 

The commission not testing at UFC 185 was shit. Doesn't mean that's proof RDA cheated against Pettis though. There's as much evidence to prove Pettis cheated that night as Dos Anjos - none. When it was announced that they wouldn't be testing at UFC 185, I'm sure a few fighters on that card might've taken advantage of that. But we can't just accuse every cunt without proof.

 

Dos Anjos has never failed a test as far as I'm aware. The day he does test positive, fine, but he hasn't. It's shit that his great accomplishments are being kind of tarnished by accusations based purely on speculation.

[jimufctna24]

While McGregor is the front-runner (and for good reason). There are tons of fighters who have had banner years, some of which won't even get a mention. 

 

- RDA

 

- Rockhold

 

- Holm

 

- Joanna J.

 

- Kimbo Slice

 

- Mighty Mouse

 

- D.C

 

- Cerrone

 

- Edgar

 

While they only fought one time each, Jones, Werdum, and Lawler all had career performances as well. 

 

Edit: Heck, before she was beaten by Holm, Rousey was a very strong contender for fighter of the year. In fact, she was probably the biggest star in the company throughout the year (along with McGregor)

[ColinBollocks]

 

I think last night cemented Dos Anjos 2nd behind McGregor as fighter of the year (well, mine anyway). His two title performances were about as dominant as you will ever see. Can't wait to see how he improves in 2016 and if anybody can figure him out. A shame he'll never fully shake off the PED talk, but it's something that will and has to be discussed given what we know went on and goes on.

Good shout on Dos Anjos as Fighter Of The Year.

 

On the bold bit though, nothing has ever been proven that he was cheating. This whole RDA/PEDs thing is based purely on two things;

 

A) His physique changes.

B) The commission not testing at UFC 185.

 

The physique change thing is a little bit over-exaggerated, I think. He looks better these days but that doesn't necessarily mean he's dirty. His body hasn't even changed that drastically over the years like people make out. Those pictures people post could be from way different stages of his training camps. Do people realise that most fighters don't walk around ripped to shreds and in fight shape all year round? They're not all GSP or Conor McGregor who look the same 365 days a year. If you look at Dos Anjos in his actual fights, or on any fight week of his UFC career, he looks pretty much the same every time.

 

The commission not testing at UFC 185 was shit. Doesn't mean that's proof RDA cheated against Pettis though. There's as much evidence to prove Pettis cheated that night as Dos Anjos - none. When it was announced that they wouldn't be testing at UFC 185, I'm sure a few fighters on that card might've taken advantage of that. But we can't just accuse every cunt without proof.

 

Dos Anjos has never failed a test as far as I'm aware. The day he does test positive, fine, but he hasn't. It's shit that his great accomplishments are being kind of tarnished by accusations based purely on speculation.

 

It's the monster the fighters and their camps have created, sadly. If anybody looks like Dos Anjos and performs the way he does it's always going to creep into the back of the head of anybody that knows how rife the apparent PED use is/was in MMA. I want to believe Dos Anjos is indeed clean, because he's currently one of the best fighters on the planet and his last two performances deserve every drop of praise. He's never failed so there is that versus speculation.

 

2016 is going to be interesting with the new testing and what not.

[jimufctna24]

Yeah.

 

It's a shame, but the microscope is going to be on the fighters for a while.  RDA's win last night didn't really raise my eyebrows in suspicion though. Don't get me wrong, it was a perfect job, but Cerrone is known to have first round shootouts (which he usually wins, but goes through dicey moments in the process). It stands to reason that against a fighter of RDA's calibre, there was a strong chance Cerrone would get caught. 

 

It's when performances come out of nowhere that it will creep into my mind a bit. That and when physiques are notably different. Both are unfair assumptions admittedly, but it's going to take a while for MMA to win back the fan's trust on this issue. Too many major fighters got have been busted in recent years, leaving a dark cloud. Hopefully this will die down after a while, and the drug testing procedures will have the desired effect. 

[wandshogun09]

Off to Boston on January 17th for this bad boy...

 

 

FOX SPORTS 1 MAIN CARD

TJ Dillashaw vs Dominick Cruz - Bantamweight Title

Anthony Pettis vs Eddie Alvarez

Travis Browne vs Matt Mitrione

Ross Pearson vs Francisco Trinaldo

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Patrick Cote vs Ben Saunders

Tim Boetsch vs Ed Herman

Chris Wade vs Mehdi Baghdad

Maximo Blanco vs Luke Sanders

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Paul Felder vs Daron Cruickshank

Charles Rosa vs Kyle Bochniak

Ilir Latifi vs Sean O'Connell

Rob Font vs Joey Gomez

Francimar Barroso vs Elvis Mutapcic

 

Nice little card. Good mix of styles on this one and some really interesting fights.

 

 

Dillashaw vs Cruz is about as fascinating a fight as you could dream up. And the funny thing is, the thing that makes it interesting is that Dillashaw has developed a very Cruz-like style over the last couple of years.

 

Dillashaw has undoubtedly become the man at 135 in Cruz's absence. Barao was claiming that spot but Dillashaw put a brutal stop to that. Cruz has been one of the weirdest stories in MMA for me. He's a guy who should be in the thick of the silly pound-for-pound discussion but his terrible run of injuries and layoffs has left him on the bench for most of what should be his prime. He had that one bright spot when he returned and destroyed Mizugaki...then back to the bench.

 

Hopefully this fight actually happens.

 

 

It's not a fight I'm expecting to be a FOTY contender or anything. If you're new to MMA then don't go in expecting a war. These guys aren't about that. But it's a brilliant clash of styles and techniques. I can't even picture how their styles and movement are going to mesh once the cage door shuts. That's what this fight is about. It's going to be very interesting to see what gameplans they come with and what answers each guy will have for the others' style.

 

 

Pettis vs Alvarez is the co-main event. This is the other side of the coin to Dillashaw vs Cruz. This is the type of fight where you might see something flashy or crazy happen. I can't wait for this one. They're not giving Alvarez an easy road in the UFC, are they? Cerrone, Melendez, now Pettis. I love it though. These are the fights we wanted to see when Alvarez was all wrapped up in Bellator's red tape.

 

I don't like his chances here though. I'm a big fan of Alvarez but for me he gets hit way too much for someone as sharp and accurate as Pettis to not take advantage of. Pettis is coming off a bad loss to Dos Anjos though where he was completely dominated and beaten down in all areas for 25 minutes. Who knows if/how that'll effect him.

 

Whatever happens, and I think Pettis by stoppage happens, it should be fun for however long it goes.

 

Browne vs Meathead is probably ending with one of these two horizontal. I can't stand either so I'm hoping for a double knockout. I think Browne probably wins though. I don't think Meathead is anything special. He's dangerous but Browne should be able to handle him though.

 

But Browne's had a lot going on since he last fought in May. He lost to Andrei Arlovski in a crazy one rounder that night and since then he's been embroiled in domestic violence accusations from his ex girlfriend and then had his personal life picked apart when he started grounding and pounding with Ronda Rousey.

 

 

Aww.

 

I blame him actually for the Ronda Reign going tits up. Ever since he started getting Rowdy she's gone shit. It's his fault. The big prick.

 

Serious note - he needs to get back on track badly here. Browne was once considered a future title threat at heavyweight. And with KO wins over Josh Barnett and Alistair Overeem, he really should be. But consistency doesn't seem to be his strong point. If had can't beat Mitrione then I'm not sure he'll ever get there.

 

I don't know what's up with the rest of the card. That's the fight order I'm seeing. Maximo Blamco vs TBA rounding out the main card. Hopefully they'll change that and bump Felder vs Cruickshank up. If not to the main card then at least the FS1 prelims. That fight needs to be televised. Bollocks to Fight Pass.

 

Elsewhere, Pearson vs Trinaldo could be a cracking fight. And I really like Cote vs Saunders as well. Didn't even know that was happening but it should be great. TUF 4 vs TUF 6 and both guys bring it.

 

Good card. Again though, they need to move Felder vs Cruickshank up the card. I'd rather see that fight than Mr Rousey's fight, to be honest.

 

[jimufctna24]

Like the last fight night, I care more about the co-main than I do the main event. Come on Pettis!

[METAL ON METAL]

What the fuck is Felder/Cruickshank doing on Fight Pass? That is mental.

 

Along with the Duffy/Poirier fight being on there, I'm really starting to get annoyed at Fight Pass for fucking around with the natural order of fight cards.

[seanz25]

Can only imagine there testing the water so to speak on the revenue they can make of FP with better quality live exclusive fights. I don't mind it to be fair, makes the subscription better value.

[wandshogun09]

Can only imagine there testing the water so to speak on the revenue they can make of FP with better quality live exclusive fights. I don't mind it to be fair, makes the subscription better value.

Of course you don't mind it if you've got Fight Pass. What about us cheapskates?

 

Seriously, as it stands I'm not paying for Fight Pass. It's not like it's expensive but just on principle, I don't want it to do too well because the better it does the more fights they'll stick behind the paywall, the better fights they'll stick behind the paywall and they'll probably get greedy and up the sub charge as well.

 

I'd have to pay for it then but I'm happy with how things are now. And I've given and give the UFC enough money as it is. Fight Pass in its current form isn't worth it to me because I'd barely ever use it. I wouldn't use the library because I've got pretty much everything worth rewatching anyway. So it'd be solely these Fight Pass exclusive prelims and the odd Fight Pass exclusive Fight Night I'd be coughing up for. Considering I got awesome shows like UFC 189 and 194 included in my monthly BT sub, I'm not going to pay extra on top just to watch Poirier vs Duffy, Felder vs Cruickshank, Namajunas vs VanZant etc as well. Great fights but not great enough to force me to get Fight Pass.

 

I'll keep doing what I'm doing - finding other ways to catch the FP fights I'm interested in - so it's not a big deal really. But balls to Fight Pass.

[Chunk]

 

Can only imagine there testing the water so to speak on the revenue they can make of FP with better quality live exclusive fights. I don't mind it to be fair, makes the subscription better value.

Of course you don't mind it if you've got Fight Pass. What about us cheapskates?

 

Seriously, as it stands I'm not paying for Fight Pass. It's not like it's expensive but just on principle, I don't want it to do too well because the better it does the more fights they'll stick behind the paywall, the better fights they'll stick behind the paywall and they'll probably get greedy and up the sub charge as well

 

 

You need to give that Rewards thingy a punt. Working a charm for me. By the New Year I should easily have 2 months worth sorted. I've then got two months to accumulate extra points without a break in service. That gets me to April! I also just got sent an invite via Twitter DM for another trial period just for following the UFCs Twitter account.

 

I love the look of this show because a number of the fights have a clear fighter to support (can't bring myself to use the term "root for").

 

I'd love to see Cruz beat TJ.

Alvarez upsetting Pettis would be brilliant.

Pearson is English so you've got to support him.

Seeing Browne get knocked the fuck out (even if it is by Meat Head) would be excellent.