UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs Arlovski - May 8th

[Egg Shen]

i can't see past Lawler's power being the difference either, Matt Brown's a fucking savage but i just see Lawler landing something clean on his chin and laying him out...having said that, considering Brown's never been stopped with strikes and looking at the guy's he's been in with you never know. Matt Brown is like Nick Diaz these days, back in the Strikeforce run i constantly counted Diaz out thinking he was about to stand in front of someone who would finally put his lights out but every time he was beating guys at their own game, Matt Brown is doing that these days. It's gonna be a war.

 

As for Rumble/Lil Nog, i don't think anyone's looking at this and not thinking Nogueira's being KO'd. It's sad that any kind of faith anyone had in the Nogueira brothers (and i love them both) has gone...it's even more surprising when you see that Lil Nog is coming off a win over Rashad Evans. I just see it ending badly

 

Rest of the main card is great too, Bermudez/Guida could steal the show, Green/Thomson could steal the show...it's one of those cards.

 

Really looking forward to Masvidal/Cruickshank on the prelims too, that's gonna be a flashy, technical standup fight.

[wandshogun09]

Cole '42 & Balding' Miller on Conor McGregor's win on Saturday.

 

"I thought he looked pretty solid. It's pretty easy to look good when everything's made for you to look good. He got to fight in his home town with all those people there supporting him. He got a full camp of preparation when his opponent didn't. I don't think anyone can really judge Diego. He got in there and like I said, he didn't get his full camp. I think when these people are spoon-fed what their opinions should be they start saying the same stuff they've already been hearing from the UFC and the brass. I did see something where Dana said Conor reminds him of Ronda Rousey. That's a pretty bold statement. I told my brother they're both blond. That must be it."

That's quite a sandy fanny.

 

First off all, I know what he's doing. He's trying to stir up interest in getting that McGregor fight back on. Of course, and I don't blame him.

 

The thing is, McGregor's onto bigger and better things now. It looks like he's probably fighting Dustin Poirier in September. A higher ranked guy and a tougher test than Miller. I don't see the Miller fight happening now unless McGregor goes on some losing streak. He's got bigger fish to fry. Miller's clearly seething about this, understandably, he's lost out on the most relevant fight of his career.

 

But this stuff about 'it was all set up to make him look good' is bollocks. Firstly, it was originally McGregor vs Miller. And Miller was talking like he was going to beat McGregor easily, so if he really believed that how were the UFC setting it up in McGregor's favour? Also, putting him in the headliner of a UFC card in front of his home town in his third UFC fight, after a year layoff and knee surgery is a lot of pressure. Because he passed that test with flying colours it's easy to say in hindsight that it was set up for him to look good. But had he got knocked out people would probably be saying the UFC put too much on his plate coming back after the layoff.

 

And yeah, Brandao didn't get a full camp, because Miller pulled out. I like how he conveniently leaves that bit out. He's acting like the UFC set it up for McGregor to fight a guy who wasn't prepared from the off. Miller had as much time to prepare as McGregor did, but he got injured. That's the only reason Brandao didn't get a full camp. I haven't heard Brandao moaning about the short camp funnily enough. And he looked in much better shape this time than he did against Poirier in December.

 

Did anyone else get the impression Luke Barnatt was secretly hoping McGregor lost as well? He never said anything bad but I always feel like I detect a hint of him hoping for McGregor to get derailed whenever he talks about him. Just a hint. There was that time a few months back as well when Barnatt went off on some silly tangent saying McGregor buys twitter followers and stuff, leading to McGregor calling him "an eight foot stick of shit"

[Egg Shen]

Barnatt has his own agenda. For all the guys in the UFC who seemingly fly under the radar and do little to promote themselves, Barnatt is one of the few who seems to know how to play the game and get his name out there...problem is, he does it with about 1% of the reaction that McGregor gets so there's probably jealousy there.

 

Barnatt was campaigining for the a Wanderlei Silva fight last week which was a bit rich considering hes coming off a loss, but reasoning it rolled with the storyline of the Chael vs. Wanderlei (Barnatt being a Chael associate)...still cant fault him for trying.

[jimufctna24]

 

Did anyone else get the impression Luke Barnatt was secretly hoping McGregor lost as well? He never said anything bad but I always feel like I detect a hint of him hoping for McGregor to get derailed whenever he talks about him. Just a hint. There was that time a few months back as well when Barnatt went off on some silly tangent saying McGregor buys twitter followers and stuff, leading to McGregor calling him "an eight foot stick of shit"

 

Yep

 

Saying stuff like McGregor would be in serious trouble if it went to the ground.

 

I can honestly say that I could not care less about Barnatt, but as said above you cannot fault him for trying.

[lambyUK]

I couldn't give two shits about Barnatt, and there's obvious jealousy there in relation to Connor.

 

However, he actually came across as a decent analyst (albeit a jealous one). He sounds smart, intelligent, and is well spoken and I thought he did a good job over the weekend.

 

Still, a complete bell end though.

[Supremo]

People pulled Barnatt up about all those comments at the Dublin Q&A. It even included a little kid hilariously asking him, "what's it like to be in Ireland, where nobody likes you?"

 

He sheepishly dodged the issue and tried to claim he was only having a go at Conor's management team when talking about him buying twitter followers. Seemed a bit of a shit bag overall. He could only dream of having the type of stardom, momentum or fame that Conor has generated.

 

Luke also walked around wearing Google Glass all weekend. He looked a total bellend.

[METAL ON METAL]

He was such an arse on the show.

 

When everyone else (even the mega twat) was hyping the main event and saying what a huge fight it could be, all Barnatt was saying was "it doesn't mean a great deal, McGregor isn't even a top 15 fighter right now". It's like he wanted people to change the channel.

[Supremo]

Actually, while I'm here and still buzzing about the weekend, I'll post some thoughts.

 

I feel like every time I see the UFC live I always come back saying the same things; I talk about how great Dana and the guest fighters are with the fans, how fun it is as a live experience, how great the fans themselves are compared to when I go to see WWE, how the music and atmosphere makes it feel more like a cracking night out than a sporting event, and how exciting and/or tense the fights are live.

 

Well, multiply all of that by a billion. This was on a whole other level in all aspects. A really special event and weekend as a whole, I doubt I'll ever experience something like this again.

 

I've already covered the incredible weigh ins, fun Q&A, and spoke about how great Ariel and Forrest were in giving pictures and talking to the fans. I also bumped into Dan Hardy on the way to our hotel, who was also really sound. Some kid asked him about ever returning to fighting and Dan said he was thinking about coming back next year. It'd be great if that were true but he could just as easily have been saying what the kid wanted to hear.

 

An hour later the UFC tweeted that Forrest wanted everyone to come join him for a drink at a bar called Murrays in town, then as the night went on more and more guys showed up until Dana eventually appeared and as promised got everyone a pint. Fair play to the guy, he absolutely delivered, reportedly spending thousands in order to keep to his word. He was also awesome meeting with everyone and taking pictures for ages. I can't think of any sporting event or entertainment brand that would treat their fans this well, act so appreciative of the support and do such cool things. Say what you want about Dana, but he's fucking amazing at this type of thing.

 

Then fight day came and I can't say enough good things about the show or the crowd. The moment they announced Dublin I knew I had to be there to see the crowd reaction to Conor, but I had no idea that the Irish would be so amazing from the opening prelim onwards. Everything got a massive reaction. Everything. The Baba O'Riley video? People were going apeshit. Music played in between the fights? People were dancing in the stands, singing along at the top of their voices. Even when Diego came out in the main event and got booed out of the building, people were still singing and dancing to Sandstorm. It was unreal.

 

The Pendred fight was one of the best I've ever seen live. A fantastic comeback by any standards, but the crowd reaction made it seem like the biggest moment of all time. I don't for a second think Cathal will be able to hang with the elite level though, at least based on this performance as I gave up on The Ultimate Fighter long before I could see him fight. So yeah, even after being in such a great fight there's still plenty of time for Cathal to regret that ridiculously stupid UFC tattoo.

 

Norman Parke's performance was good, but his post fight promo felt a bit like a Conor McGregor tribute act. Then again, who can blame him? He'd been there all week watching Conor get treated like a fucking God for the way he talks and carries himself, so it's no surprise Norman wants a piece of that action. And better yet, he'll probably get that Diego Sanchez fight after challenging him. Give me that type of promo over the, "anyone they want to put in front of me," brigade every single time.

 

Gunnar Nelson fought a proper weird fight. He honestly looked like he was just waking up, only to suddenly realise he was in a fight and decide to end it seconds later. I still think he needs a few more fights before he gets someone of Rory McDonald's level.

 

And what can possibly be said about that main event atmosphere? Just unbelievable. I've been to loads of UFC events. I've been to loads of WWE events. Gigs, festivals, everything I've ever attended, nothing even comes close to this. It was absolutely electric. After the noise they made for the Cathal fight I expected the crowd to be knackered by the time McGregor came out, but unlike the London or Nottingham crowds of past UFCs these crazy bastards seemed to only get louder! By the time Conor got the finish it was complete bedlam and watching it back on TV it's almost a shame that there was only one shot of the crowd because it didn't do justice to just how insane it was. It probably sounds corny, but it's something I'll never, ever forget. At a time when MMA feels ice cold, this was like a different dimension.

 

Remember when Conor was on the MMA hour a few weeks back and people were saying that they didn't see the attraction and didn't understand why people thought he has star potential? Well I assume everyone has been convinced now. He's an absolute megastar. Everything he did and said all week was incredible. You couldn't script him to be any better. He's the most natural star I've ever seen. He's a genuine phenom and it's not just the live reaction that proves it, either. All the fallout has confirmed it. The TV ratings in Ireland were great. Fight Pass sounds like it hit higher heights than ever before. Long may it continue because this has all the makings of being similar to the run of Brock or Chael, if not better.

 

And to think, there'll still be people who want to see Conor lose against Poirier. The mind boggles.

[wandshogun09]

Couldn't agree more on McGregor. I genuinely think he might be the best thing to happen to the UFC since Lesnar and Sonnen. Him and Ronda are the two most exciting stars to burst on the scene in years. And unlike Lesnar and Sonnen, they're both still early in their careers. If all goes well we've still got years left of McGregor.

 

I'm not even talking in terms of wins and losses either. It'd obviously help if he somehow goes on some killer streak of wins. But he's got the type of personality, aura and fighting style that means he'll always be someone people want to see fight. If he beats Poirier (which I'm really 50/50 on), then gets maybe one more top ten win, even if he gets to the title shot and loses I think he'll be pretty much made by then.

 

I forgot to mention before as well, McGregor's entrance Saturday night was among my favourite ever. Not many people could make a Sinead O'Connor/Notorious BIG combo work but he carried it off I loved it. The way he carried himself and that little smile into the camera when he first came on the screen walking out and the crowd went nuts. Got to love that. In the face of all that pressure and expectation, to look that calm and focused was pretty cool to see. He really does seem to feed off the pressure.

 

My arse clenched as the fight started and Brandao threw that big headkick which McGregor barely blocked. Christ. Can you imagine if that would've landed flush that early in the fight and wiped McGregor out in Dublin?

[Supremo]

Yeah, the possibility of Conor losing was the talk of our section in the minutes between Gunnar's fight and his. It all just seemed too perfect. Surely we wouldn't get a clean sweep? And exactly how would these maniacs react? It would have at the very least been the biggest anticlimax in the history of planet earth.

 

I've never been so nervous for a fight. I almost couldn't watch. Particularly considering how Conor ate a couple of shots from Diego in the first couple of exchanges. I think that's another positive about his age; he's at the point in his career where he's still got a chin on him and can take some shots. It also helps massively that he's got an almost psychopathic self belief. When he talks about how he doesn't feel the pressure and genuinely believes he's the greatest of all time it's really easy to just brush it to one side and think of him as talking like Chael talks, where he says shit more for fun than anything else. Only Conor seems to actually think like this. It's not shtick. It's not a gimmick. He honestly believes he's going to destroy them all. It's fascinating and will probably play a huge part in his future success. Again, it's very similar to Ronda Rousey. Utterly bonkers, but in a way that leads to success.

 

But yeah, his entrance was something else entirely. Genuine goosebumps throughout. I honestly don't think I'll ever come down from the buzz. This must be what it's like to attend Wrestlemania or something.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, you're not helping my regret/jealousy in not going myself

 

It also helps massively that he's got an almost psychopathic self belief. When he talks about how he doesn't feel the pressure and genuinely believes he's the greatest of all time it's really easy to just brush it to one side and think of him as talking like Chael talks, where he says shit more for fun than anything else. Only Conor seems to actually think like this. It's not shtick. It's not a gimmick. He honestly believes he's going to destroy them all. It's fascinating and will probably play a huge part in his future success.

On the flipside though, I worry about what happens to that bulletproof confidence when he does eventually lose. Like say a Chad Mendes or Jose Aldo totally smash him, does he ever bounce back to believe in himself that much again? The same self belief that helps him now could actually end up working against him. Then again, he had a couple of quick losses early in his career and it hasn't seemed to discourage him one iota!

 

Watch this

 

It's a 15 minute video of McGregor cruising about in a car with documentary maker Bobby Razak. It's from while Conor was on the sidelines with the knee injury. It's good stuff. He talks about his 'schtick' there and pretty much says what you've said there, that its him and not some manufactured bullshit.

 

I love it. And I really hope his career goes from strength to strength and he keeps talking shit all the way to the bank. Fuck the haters up the arse with a shillelagh. Makes me laugh how people moan that 'the little guys can't draw' or the 'lower weight classes lack stars/aren't interesting', then in the next breath moan that McGregor is talking shit and needs humbling. Fuck that shit. McGregor has turned that argument on its head already.

[Egg Shen]

some fanboys in here haha

 

on the subject of the card and with regards to something no ones talked about...how about the performance of our main man Some Fucker?

 

dude looks like a freakin' killer. He's kinda unique for the weight class in terms of size, and has some ridiculous power. For my money Fucker is the sleeper at 205, Dana likes him too. Top 10 by the end of the year, guaranteed.

[lambyUK]

Agreed, and I think he should be called (No longer) Some Fucker. He looks like a wrecking machine and the guy is built like a tank.

[Supremo]

Something else I noticed watching the Dublin show back on TV; Norman Parke in his post-fight interview mentioned that he'd put a bet on with Paddy Power that he'd win in the second round, which had won him about five grand.

 

Surely it's shady as fuck, if not actually illegal, to be betting on your own fights?

[Egg Shen]

hmmmm, im not sure if it is? anyone know?

 

the Parke was fight was as big a mismatch as we've seen in the UFC in some time, the UFC need to match up Parke with tougher opposition.