UFC 166: Velasquez vs Dos Santos III

[pryko]

Gotta admit, I would love to see Roy Nelson knock Cormier out tonight

I thought you'd be pulling for DC. You usually support the AKA boys don't you? Or am I mixing you up with someone else?

No, you're right, I do go for the AKA guys. Cain, Koscheck, Fitch, Swick. But I do like a good ol' Roy Nelson knockout too. If he were fighting Cain, I'd want Cain to win, but with Cormier talking about going down and fighting Jones after this fight, I'd love Big Country to put a big stop to that

[Egg Shen]

Wand. no mention of Gonzaga's porn star 'tache?

 

Melendez/Sanchez is gonna be insane, i think they both know they know they have the styles to put on an absolute classic and they are gonna go in and try and deliver.

[lambyUK]

As far as the three polls go, I've chosen Velasquez, Cormier & Melendez via decision.

 

I have a feeling this card is going to be the drizzling shits except for the main event.

 

Well, its late so I'm not going to post my thought till tomorrow, but David...doh!

[pryko]

Cain is a BEAST!!!

[Bus Surfer]

Cain is just so relentless. Amazing performance, although I really thought he could have finished in round 3 but didn't want to over-commit. There was always that feeling that Junior could land something even in the late stages. Diego/Melendez was just insane. And, fucking hell, who put 50 pence in C.B Dollaway? That was a great fight.

 

Card really delivered.

[Guy Bifkin]

Melendez/Sanchez is gonna be insane, i think they both know they know they have the styles to put on an absolute classic and they are gonna go in and try and deliver.

 

You were not wrong, what a tear up that was! Cain very relentless and impressive, JDS showed amazing guts to hang in there until the last round. Almost looked like a DDT finish.

[ColinBollocks]

I don't know what to make of the main event. Almost all of it was spent with both men against the fence (which normally is shitsville), but every now and then something explosive would happen. I thought JDS was terrible (granted, Velasquez was playing the part of a T-800), he constantly moved backwards towards the cage and Velasquez isn't the sort of bloke that lets such a thing go unpunished. I don't know if it was a questionable game plan gone wrong or JDS just not being up to it. I suppose one of the rare times he did move off the fence he got twatted, though. It was engrossing but never the classic the company are so keen to push on us.

 

Melendez/Sanchez, on the other hand, was truly a something special. Nothing too pretty, but it was insanity. We've been spoiled these past couple of months with the stacked UFC shows and the past couple of cards have delivered in a big way.

 

Also, JDS is such a top bloke. Cracking post-fight interview.

[jimufctna24]

Great show.

 

Dodson is bundle of fire, the guy he was fighting I have read is highly touted, yet Dodson blew him away. I still think with that power, Dodson could end up Champion at 125lbs

 

As much shit I have given Sanchez over the years, that was a cracking fight. Gil bossed most the first two rounds quite significantly, the 3rd I actually gave to Sanchez. In 2013 Sanchez on pure fighting skills has no right to be mixing with such high class, however last night he managed to turn his fight with Gil into a war, and came very close to winning in the 3rd round.

 

Neither would last 2 rounds with Pettis based on holes they show (Gil looked too open to the body which would have Pettis licking his chops) but that is beside the point. It was a thrill ride, and possibly the fight of the year. There were few dull moments, and there was enough skill involved for it to lack appeal like say Phan vs Garcia 2.

 

Cormier was just too complete a fighter, given his great chin Nelson's fights are now going to be long drawn out affairs where the top guys pick him off but cannot finish him off and look that good in the process. Cormier landed most of the meaningful shots last night, and if that would have been a Gonzaga or Jordan he would have gotten the finish.

 

Cain vs JDS was a war. One thing before I give Cain credit, is that JDS did prove last night that the first fight was not a fluke. He landed some really hard shots on Cain and did hurt him a few times. JDS may have the most heart of any Heavyweight, including Nog. The fucker just kept coming back from the dead in the 3rd and 4th. It was cruel that in the end he knocked himself out in a way, I would have liked him to go the distance.

 

Cain for me now is equal to Fedor is the best HW ever stakes. Cain is just a general, the way he controlled last night was something very special. Going toe to toe in a boxing match with JDS and coming out looking as good as he is speaks volumes, the guy was doing well in JDS's strongest area. Cain's cardio is mental as well, as much as Rogan overstated it in their 2nd fight.

 

I see nothing that Werdum can offer, Cain is just too well conditioned and has far too tight boxing. Cain also will no doubt where the fight goes, so Werdum will not be able to use his primary submission weapons.

[Ross18]

The card certainly delivered! Absolutely knackered (and well hungover) from staying up, but was definitely worth it.

 

Most of what I was going to say has been said tbh. So no point repeating. But im really interested in seeing DC go down to LHW. Looking forward to that.

 

I also had Kaufman winning her fight. Think that was the only decision that baffled me a bit, need to check that one out again. Well to be honest im sure the whole show would be worth another watch!

[David]

As far as the three polls go, I've chosen Velasquez, Cormier & Melendez via decision.

 

I have a feeling this card is going to be the drizzling shits except for the main event.

 

Well, its late so I'm not going to post my thought till tomorrow, but David...doh!

Hey, I got two of the three predictions correct (would have been three had Dos Santos not knocked himself out)! That's gotta be worth something, right?!?

 

Yeah, I was wrong. It was a pretty awesome card (even the female fight had me hooked).

[DarloKid]

Got 7 out of 8 right on my accumulator last night, george sotiropoulos let me down for

[Dead Mike]

The Dolloway decision cost me

[wandshogun09]

 

That was my card of 2013 so far. It beats out UFC 160, the Boston show and the Japan show for me. Just for having so many consistently really good fights, it'll be hard to top that show. Although 167 and 168 look up to challenging it on paper.

 

Cain vs JDS 3 was just brutal to watch. It wasn't the best heavyweight fight ever for me. It wasn't back and forth enough and there weren't really the twists and turns a truly 'great' fight has, like say Jones vs Gustafsson. And fights like Big Nog's epics with Couture, Sapp and Cro Cop, plus Couture vs Rizzo 1, JDS vs Hunt and Lesnar vs Carwin, in my opinion, were better heavyweight fights overall.

 

Saying that, it's been a hell of a trilogy. And I did think last night's was the best fight of the three. As Jim said, despite Cain definitely stamping his dominance on the rounds, JDS gave him a few scares. He landed more frequently and with better shots than in the second fight. He just wasn't able to find the sweet spot or get separation long enough to really tee off.

 

That's a credit to Cain. I thought they both looked better than in their second fight. JDS was able to connect more, good use of elbows, he was tougher to take down etc. And Cain this time was more measured. He didn't gas himself out like last time and he did actually look like 'Cardio Cain'. That moniker was justified based on this fight.

 

He's a fucking animal. No two ways about it. The best heavyweight in MMA as of today. And until someone can do something about it, there's no real counter argument. JDS has been the #2 by quite a distance and Cain has destroyed him twice now. It's scary. Hopefully Werdum and Barnett will be able to do something because if not, the heavyweight division is about to get a bit less interesting. I'm a Cain fan but it's hard to see who can stop him after watching him dismantle someone as good as JDS twice.

 

As for JDS, I was gutted to see him beat down again. He really is too tough. I thought Herb Dean would've been well justified to have called the stoppage in round three. JDS was fucked. He looked like he'd aged 10 years after that round and as the fight went on he started to look more and more like Big Nog.

 

You've got to admire him though. He never stopped giving it 100%. Kept popping up like a zombie, kept firing punches right to the end. The finish was unfortunate but it probably shouldn't have even got to that point. He was all class after the fight and I loved the Rogan interview. Shame he's pretty much in Rich Franklin territory now. Being 1-2 to the champ, especially with how decisive the losses were, it's hard to see how he gets another crack. Unless Cain somehow loses the belt in the meantime. We've made the comparison before but JDS is now the Big Nog to Cain's Fedor.

 

Cormier vs Nelson was alright. Nothing spectacular but Cormier looked really good. Tactically he was spot on and physically he's looking great as he drops weight for the move to 205. When you consider Cormier transitioned to MMA late and came in as a pure wrestler, it's amazing just how good he's become as an all around MMA fighter.

 

Who do we like for Cormier's LHW debut?

 

Phil Davis.

 

The Belfort-Hendo loser is another option but I think someone coming off a win makes more sense. Dana was asked in the post fight scrum about a possible Cormier vs Gustafsson fight and said something like 'maybe'. Can't see it though. If they play it right and results work out, you could have both challenge for the title soon. Matching them against each other now just eliminates an interesting challenger in a division lacking them.

 

I'd go;

 

Jones vs Glover (of course this is happening)

Cormier vs Davis

Gustafsson vs Little Nog

 

That way you hopefully set up Jones vs Gusty 2. If Gusty somehow lost to Nog (unlikely), then you've still got Cormier as backup (providing he beats Davis which I think he would).

 

Then maybe Hendo vs Glover or a Shogun rematch or something. And of course, Chael vs Wandy needs to happen regardless of results.

 

Melendez vs Sanchez was fucking mental. That third round was one of the most crazy rounds ever. Loved the fight. Didn't think it was the 'greatest fight ever' like Rogan was saying. I think he was understandably caught up in the moment there. It was awesome but I wouldn't even have it as the best fight this year myself. It's definitely right up there but better than Jones vs Gustafsson? Better than Wand vs Stann? I don't know.

 

Still, incredible fight. My expectations were pretty high going in and it even surpassed them. The cut was horrible and, to be honest, the doctor should have stopped it after round two. Selfishly I'm glad he didn't because we'd never have had that nutty third round if he did. But, Jesus Christ that cut was nasty. Diego never comes out unscathed. He's fucking brilliant though. Mad as a box of bollocks, but he's so much fun to watch.

 

I think it was pretty clear that Melendez was the better fighter overall, he showed that in the first two rounds. But Diego just kept coming forward and bulldogged his way through and the momentum was with him in the third. I wonder what would have happened if it was a 5 rounder.

 

The Gonzaga and Dodson knockouts were very impressive. Perfect way to kick off the PPV with a bang. Nice to see the resurgence in Gonzaga's career of late. And with how thin 125 is right now on challengers, I wouldn't be shocked if Dodson gets another title shot with another good win.

 

Lombard was on form. He looked great at the weight and you have to think Marquardt is getting his walking papers after that. Two first round KO losses back to back. It's hard to see him sticking around. And like Okami, at this point you don't really see much upside in him now. While his two recent KO losses were to big hitters, there's just a feeling about Marquardt that his best days are behind him.

 

I want to see Lombard vs Robbie Lawler! Now.

 

And, fucking hell, who put 50 pence in C.B Dollaway? That was a great fight.

 

Yeah, CB was on fire. One of his better performances. His fight with Daniel Sarafian earlier this year was excellent as well and going as far back as TUF 7, he had a corker with Tim Credeur on the show, so he's got some form for having exciting fights. Shame about the eyepokes though. Poor Boetsch. He's suffered that before and had eye surgery so hopefully no lasting damage was done.

 

I actually had that fight a draw. I thought Dollaway won the first two rounds and Boetsch won the third 10-8 with the deducted point. But it was a close one.

 

I also had Kaufman winning her fight. Think that was the only decision that baffled me a bit, need to check that one out again.

 

I had Eye winning the first two rounds so I agreed with the decision. Really good fight though. The women have really been doing great so far in the UFC. I can't recall any fight that I'd call a bad fight so far since the women were brought in.

 

Amagov KO was ruthless. Waldburger is a solid fighter as well. He's no joke so that made it all the more impressive.

 

Fantastic show top to bottom.

[pryko]

The Dolloway decision cost me

[jimufctna24]

Here is a interesting tweet from John Snowden.

 

Jonathan Snowden ‏@mmaencyclopedia 2h

I kind of worry about the people who wake up thinking "wow, let me watch Sanhcez-Melendez again" instead of "man, those poor guys."

 

He has a point, but I think he has picked the wrong fight. I found Cain vs JDS a bit unsettling at times. JDS might just be too tough for his own good as Wand said above. If JDS retired tomorrow (which he will not) I would not blame him, fights like that take years of careers and can turn a coherent man like Chuck Liddel version 2003, into a mumbling mess Chuck Liddel version 2011.

 

The sad thing is that JDS might just be head to head the 2nd best HW ever, it hard to measure where he would stack up against a 2004 Fedor or a 2002 Cro Cop, but you could argue he has the skills to beat them. I would not be shocked if he ends up being the only HW to beat a Prime Cain.

 

From a selfish fan perspective, I would not mind JDS fighting Overeem if Reem beats Mir.