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UFC 178: Johnson vs Cariaso


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?  

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This beauty is less than a month away...

 

kYBE.jpg

 

PPV MAIN CARD

Demetrious Johnson vs Chris Cariaso - UFC Flyweight Title

Donald Cerrone vs Eddie Alvarez

Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier

Tim Kennedy vs Yoel Romero

Cat Zingano vs Amanda Nunes

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Dominick Cruz vs Takeya Mizugaki

Jorge Masvidal vs James Krause

Patrick Cote vs Stephen Thompson

John Howard vs Brian Ebersole

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Kevin Lee vs Jon Tuck

Manny Gamburyan vs Cody Gibson

 

Even with losing the original Jones vs Cormier main event, still a fantastic card. I said before, swap Johnson vs Cariaso for Jones vs Cormier and you've got the most loaded PPV since UFC 100.

 

But the injury bug fucked shit up and now Mighty Mouse vs Chris Cariaso will have to do. This would be like bagging a night with Lucy Pinder, she cancels, and you end up with the ropey barmaid. It might serve its purpose but it's going to fall woefully short of what you were going to get.

 

I know mental things happen sometimes in MMA, and Dillashaw vs Barao taught us not to count the underdog out completely. But yeah, I'm counting out Cariaso completely here. I honestly think he's got nothing for Mighty Mouse. Nothing. Hopefully he proves me wrong and makes more of a fight of it than I expect, but I can't see it. Everything he does well, Johnson does it much better, and has done it to much better opposition on a much more consistent basis.

 

I think Mouse takes this by whatever he wants.

 

Donald Cerrone vs Eddie Alvarez is your co-main event. Finally Eddie Alvarez is in the UFC! And this is about as perfect a piece of match-making as you could get. Two of the most exciting lightweights in the world. Both on top form, in a hugely relevant fight to the division. If I could've chosen Alvarez's UFC debut fight, I'd have chosen Cerrone as his opponent. It's just a no-brainer when you think how they match up.

 

If you somehow haven't seen Alvarez fight before, watch this highlight;

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=mDJ2x7HvFVw

 

Here's Dana talking about the Alvarez signing;

 

"That kid got screwed around a lot over the last couple of years. The most important thing that was taken away from this kid was time, because as a professional athlete that is the only thing you have. You have a small window of opportunity to make money, do amazing things, have millions of people see it, etc, etc. And that time was stolen from him. Horrible what was done to that kid."

 

"That being said, I'm happy for him. He's finally here, he's getting the opportunity to fight a guy like ‘Cowboy' who's on an unbelievable roll. Win, lose, or draw, he's here in the UFC now and I'm happy for him."

Thank fuck he's out of this Bellator red tape now.

 

Cerrone is on a real hot streak himself. Won his last four fights, he's 3-0 in 2014 already with three finishes. And his last two wins were over Edson Barboza and Jim Miller. Incredible really when you look at the slump he was in not too long ago.

 

cerrone%2Bvs%2Balvarez.jpg

 

This is going to be brilliant. And I could see this ending up being a #1 condenders fight. A potential mini tournament featuring Anthony Pettis, Gilbert Melendez, Eddie Alvarez and Donald Cerrone for the UFC lightweight title, does it get any better than that?

 

Conor McGregor vs Dustin 'Pea Head' Poirier is another must-see fight. Undoubtedly McGregor's biggest test of his career to date. If McGregor somehow handles Poirier in the same way he handled Diego Brandao or Max Holloway, then it's really time to start getting excited about him as a prospect.

 

They faced off at a press conference and McGregor basically implied that Poirier shat himself;

 

conor44444.0_standard_352.0.JPG

 

“When you go face-to-face with a man and they become timid and bow down before you it’s no problem. I believe when we came face-to-face he was a shell of himself. I must be a scary looking man because when I look at these guys, they crumble."

 

“He didn’t enjoy being around me. I believe he was timid, I believe he was afraid and I believe he was broken."

 

“I felt great, victorious, confident. Business was attended to in Vegas.”

He also accused Poirier of wanting no part of him when he didn't step in for his injured team mate Cole Miller, to fight McGregor in Dublin in July;

 

"Dustin and Cole are training partners in the same gym so when Cole pulled out of a main-event slot – a huge card, the fastest-selling, a big, big event as the UFC returned to Ireland – Dustin kept quiet. He was afraid."

 

"When the fight with Diego Brandao was announced Dustin opens his mouth again like a brave man. Then during the fight with Diego he spoke on Twitter and guess what happens – he got what he wished for. Now he’s quiet as a mouse. Silence. He bowed before me.”

Poirier is singing a similar tune to McGregor's past opponents;

 

“His personality is 100% getting him opportunities that he doesn’t deserve."

 

“Do you think anyone else with a 3-0 record is headlining cards and being in co main-events? I watched him fight Diego Brandao [in Dublin] and went on Twitter to call him out because I saw an opportunity to get into a high-profile fight. This is the fight with the most eyes on it because of his hype. I see big opportunities on him. Everybody thinks he’s the man. I’m going to spoil everyone’s plans, man.”

 

“I’ve been around opponents before but most of them are cool – Conor isn’t. I was around him once – at UFC Manchester – before we were booked to fight and he was arrogant then, too. I've definitely started disliking him after spending time with him. It’s the way he carries himself and the things he says. He thinks he’s the king and I’m excited to put a beating on him and show him he’s not."

 

“He’s not as good as he thinks he is, and I know I’m better than he thinks I am.”

Here's McGregor and Poirier verbally sparring for the media;

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=IhI0jda8mfY

 

"A gust of wind and he does the chicken dance."

 

I've got no clue what happens here, but I can't wait to find out.

 

Kennedy vs Romero is an interesting fight. Tim Kennedy is a twat. Good fighter but a twat. A smug, slimy, annoying twat. He's on a decent little run at the minute, coming off a dominant decision win over Michael Bisping in April. But he's such a twat.

 

Yoel Romero on the other hand, seems like a super nice bloke. Wrapped in a Cuban Zangief's body. Look at him...

 

Yoel-Romero_242524_left_stance_thumbnail

 

A unique case. He's a 37 year old, nine fight MMA rookie. He's 8-1 with 7 stoppages, 4-0 in the UFC. He won a silver medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2000 Olympics. He's a tank. I'm hoping he throws Kennedy around like a fucking beach ball.

 

Rounding out the PPV card is Cat Zingano vs Amanda Nunes. A fight that could end up deciding who's next in line for a crack at Ronda Rousey.

 

Cat Zingano's had a shit year. She TKO'd Miesha Tate in her UFC debut, earning a title shot at Rousey and a stint as TUF coach opposite her. She was on top of the world. Then she injured her knee and lost all that. Then she was recovering and hurt her other knee. Then her ex husband committed suicide. I mean, just a horrific year. Hard not to root for her after all that.

 

She's facing Amanda Nunes, who I've been quite impressed with so far. People will probably overlook her but I think she's a tough risky fight, especially given Cat's layoff and injuries.

 

What I love about this fight is they're both finishers. The women have had some criticism recently for lacking power and finishing ability, but these two don't fuck about. Zingano is 8-0 with 7 finishes. All 9 of Nunes' wins were finishes, and 7 in the first round. She is coming off two first round TKOs in the UFC as well. I've got high hopes for this.

 

Prelims are a good bunch.

 

Dominick Cruz finally returns after three years of horrendous luck with injuries. The last time he fought was October 2011, on a UFC On Versus show (remember them?) against Mighty Mouse. To really put that in perspective, Mighty Mouse has since dropped to Flyweight (there wasn't even a UFC Flyweight division when Cruz last fought), won the title and defended it four times!.

 

When Cruz last fought - Brock Lesnar hadn't yet retired, the UFC hadn't aired a show on FOX yet, the MMA world hadn't heard of TRT, women hadn't fought in the UFC, non-title fight main events were still three rounds, Joe Rogan still had hair! It was a different world back then. That's how long Cruz has been gone.

 

He's still technically the champ. He never lost the title but had to give it up due to his time on the sidelines.

 

855813-domick-cruz.jpg

 

He's fighting Takeya Mizugaki. It's a good return fight to see where Cruz is. I'd much rather this than him returning straight into a title fight off a three year layoff. This is better. Mizugaki is tough, he's got good boxing and he's aggressive. But he's also a guy you'd have fancied Cruz to beat quite handily pre-injury so this fight should tell us roughly how far Cruz has to catch up again. I've got serious doubts he'll ever be right again but we'll see.

 

Can't be arsed to go through the rest but it's all good shit. Masvidal vs Krause and Cote vs Thompson especially.

 

Basically, this card is fucking tremendous. There's usually one fight that seems the consensus frontrunner for FOTN but on this show there's a good four or five I could easily see stealing the show. If I had to narrow it down it's got to be Cerrone vs Alvarez or McGregor vs Pea Head for me. Those are the two fights I'm most giddy about anyway.

 

Time to start getting excited about UFC on PPV again.

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The main event is a non-starter for so many reasons, but the rest of the card more than makes up for it. We're going to get some good ideas of possible title challengers in the Lightweight, Featherweight and Women's Bantamweight divisions, and if Yoel Romero wins convincingly, he might see himself in a title eliminator next time out. This is a card to get excited about.

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Dog shit main event, so much so that the show would actually improve if one of the participants fell over and banged their head getting out of the bath, but the undercard of the year. It's the first UFC in ages where I've checked if I'm working the following day, I'm that excited to either see it live or watch it as soon as I wake up.

 

It will come as no surprise to hear that Conor's fight is my main event. I absolutely can't wait. They've both talked it up a storm and I genuinely have no idea what's going to happen. Awesome.

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The MMA Beat lot were talking before about this and saying they'd have been fine with the UFC leaving Mouse vs Cariaso on UFC 177. And having Cerrone vs Alvarez headline 178, with McGregor vs Poirier as co-main.

 

When you think about it, I don't think losing Mouse-Cariaso would've harmed this PPV one bit. I honestly don't think that fight adds anything to the buyrate. People will be ordering this because it's such a strong card overall and there's something for everyone on there. You've got the McGregor factor, you've got Alvarez's debut for the hardcores, Cruz is back. They could've left Mouse-Cariaso on 177 and this card would've still been as awesome as it is.

 

But it would've strengthened 177 a bit. It would've still been a weak as fuck PPV but you'd have had two title fights as somewhat of a talking point/selling point.

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Didn't they move Mighty Mouse over before the Alvarez deal was official? I'm sure that's how the timeline went. When Jones vs. Cormier fell through the card was looking to have Conor vs. Pea Head and Cerrone vs. Bobby Green, so they panicked and threw a title fight on there to supposedly help save the show.

 

The irony, of course, is that the title fight is the least intriguing fight on the whole card and literally adds nothing whatsoever. I'm not even being a fanboy when I say that headlining with Conor or Cerrone would have done better than what headlining with the Flyweights will do. They're fucking worthless and any effort spent on them during the build up is genuinely a waste of time.

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Didn't they move Mighty Mouse over before the Alvarez deal was official? I'm sure that's how the timeline went. When Jones vs. Cormier fell through the card was looking to have Conor vs. Pea Head and Cerrone vs. Bobby Green, so they panicked and threw a title fight on there to supposedly help save the show.

Ah, that's right actually.

 

Just think how gutted Eddie Alvarez must be. He's probably getting a PPV cut for this, but imagine his cut if it was still Jones vs Cormier headlining compared to his cut from a Johnson vs Cariaso PPV? It's probably literally cut his potential overall earnings for this show by about half.

 

In other news, here's a picture of Dominick Cruz in camp...

 

6tD2Gcn.jpg

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I think this is a card worthy of pulling an all-nighter

 

McGregor alone warrants that. The likes of Alverez, Cerrone, Cruz and Zingano enhance the experience.

 

Might go bed at 5am though. I expect a standard 5 round domination from Mighty Mouse. A technical marvel he might be, but unless he fights John Dobson again, I am very indifferent.

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Clip of an upcoming interview with Conor McGregor for Setanta...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=JQZyMYfv8tg

 

"I believe he has a pea-shaped head. If you look at his head, it's shaped like a pea. It's a weird looking head. So, they're facts."

And Cub Swanson = Hans Moleman. Ha!

 

Even the interviewer is getting in on the trash talking. "Erik Cock".

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This is six days away. We really should be talking about it as it's a fucking corker of a card. Still on page one less than a week out? Sort it out.

 

Who are you picking? Cerrone or Alvarez?

 

Will McGregor pass his toughest test yet?

 

Will McGregor make mushy peas out of Pea Head?

 

What do you expect from Cruz after three years out?

 

How do you see Zingano vs Nunes and Kennedy vs Romero playing out?

 

Do you give a fuck about the main event? Do you give Cariaso a Tip Top's chance in hell of pulling the upset?

 

How much will you cry during the main event, knowing it should've been Jones and Cormier in there instead?

 

Lets talk about it.

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I think the biggest problem with all these events is that it exposes our collective inability to multi-task :p We've been too busy frothing over Hunt vs. Nelson and Sexyama to realise how close this beauty is.

 

 

Who are you picking? Cerrone or Alvarez?

 

Cerrone has had a habit of choking a bit when he gets to those elite level fighters, and Alvarez is definitely elite. I think it'll be a fantastic fight, but Alvarez outworks Cowboy for the UD.

 

 Will McGregor pass his toughest test yet?

 

I think so. His confidence is something that I'd imagine is a bit intimidating to fighters. I know Poirier is at a higher level than Conor's previous victims, but the swagger (sorry) of the Irishman I think will cause him to be on the back foot.

 

Will McGregor make mushy peas out of Pea Head?

 

Yep, KO victory in the second via spinning shit. I get the impression you really don't like Poirier, Wand, any reason for that? I think he's fantastic. Conor is obviously the best thing to hit UFC since Brock, though.

 

What do you expect from Cruz after three years out?

 

I expect him to be finished in the first with brutal leg kicks that shatter his glass knees. No bias against the the pitter-patter twat at all from me, no sir.

 

How do you see Zingano vs Nunes and Kennedy vs Romero playing out?

 

Assuming all are at their best, Zingano knees Nunes into oblivion and Romero bullies the shit out of Kennedy and gets a TKO finish. I hope so, anyway. On a serious note, I expect Zingano vs. Nunes to be a close contender to Cerrone vs. Alvarez for FOTN.

 

Do you give a fuck about the main event?

 

 

No.

 

Do you give Cariaso a Tip Top's chance in hell of pulling the upset?

Based on the Dillashaw Rule, I have to. But if you think flyweight's unmarketable now, just imagine if Cariaso held the belt.

 

How much will you cry during the main event, knowing it should've been Jones and Cormier in there instead?

Not a lot of sad tissues from me. Probably a lot of happy tissues after the rest of the main card.

 

Just bring it!

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I get the impression you really don't like Poirier, Wand, any reason for that? I think he's fantastic.

 

Eh, I guess he's alright for a little quiet hillbilly from the back-arse of nowhere with a cousin called Cleetus.

 

But he's not my cup of tea. As a fighter, yeah he's all you could ask for really. Very rarely in a dull fight (in fact I think I've enjoyed every one of his fights), but I always find myself rooting against him. I don't quite know what it is about him. The only time I remember wanting him to win was when he fought Erik 'Bellend Pink' Koch. Just get a bit of a twat vibe off the Pea. Unfairly or not. He looks like the type of knob who sits on a wall all day in a hoodie, drinking Carling and talking like he's black when he's as white as Shyla Stylez face after a 10 man gangbang.

 

Maybe I shouldn't judge a book by its cover though.

 

rsz_j.jpg

 

Nah, not keen.

 

In all seriousness, I don't strongly dislike him. Just not really much of a fan.

 

I hope I'm wrong, I've got this bad feeling that he's going to beat McGregor. It's a tough one to call because there's still a lot of unanswered questions on Conor, and Poirier is more tested but has usually lost whenever he's stepped up, like against Zombie and Swanson. But although I've no doubt Conor's grappling has improved since his submission losses early in his career (it has to have, he's been training with Gunnar Nelson regularly for a few years now, for one), I can't shake this feeling that Conor's going to hurt him, then over-commit and Pea Head's going to catch him in a sub.

 

I really hope I'm wrong. I've said before I've got a tendency to expect the worst when one of my favourites is fighting. Bit of a defence mechanism, I guess, to make a bitter pill slightly sweeter when it actually goes wrong. Maybe that's what I'm doing here, but that's my gut feeling. I think McGregor has more power, better overall striking and he's a bit harder to land clean on, but Poirier is crafty and he can find ways to sneak shit in even when he looks to be in a bad spot.

 

I voted Poirier by submission in the poll :( yeah that was me. As well as Johnson by submission and Alvarez by decision.

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Who are you picking? Cerrone or Alvarez?

Alvarez

 

Better all round fighter. 

 

 

Will McGregor pass his toughest test yet?

Hope so

 

I will say yes. 

 

What do you expect from Cruz after three years out?

A safe and steady win on points

 

 

How do you see Zingano vs Nunes and Kennedy vs Romero playing out?

No idea. My insight on women's MMA is shite.

 

I am not sure how good Romero is. I am picking Kennedy, but would not be shocked if I am wrong

 

 

Do you give a fuck about the main event? Do you give Cariaso a Tip Top's chance in hell of pulling the upset?

 

How much will you cry during the main event, knowing it should've been Jones and Cormier in there instead?

1. No, I am off to bed after the Cerrone vs Eddie fight

 

2. Probably not

 

3. Not at all, as covered in 1, I will be dreaming sweet nothings.

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See, I can't do that. As cold as I am on Mouse vs Cariaso, after watching all these fights I'll be buzzing and there's no way I'm getting to sleep. So I might as well stick around. It's still one of the most skilled fighters in the sport doing his thing.

 

It is weird though that the main event title fight is actually the fight I'm least interested in on pretty much the entire card. That shouldn't ever be the case but I can't help it. And it's not 100% because the rest of the fights are so good (although they are), I genuinely can't see Cariaso being very competitive at all. And with very rare exception, Johnson doesn't blast through guys he outmatches like an Anderson Silva or Chuck Liddell did in their primes. It's more of a drawn out, death by a thousand cuts thing. My fear is that he'll just school Cariaso but never really get out of cruise control and it'll just be 25 minutes of 10-8 rounds.

 

I hope not. I'd much rather see either Mouse come in and wreck him to top off an awesome card with a bang. Or Cariaso somehow surprises everyone and makes it look like someone shrunk Hunt and Bigfoot in the wash.

 

Fighting words from Pea Head;

 

The Diamond @DustinPoirier

@lorenzofertitta @danawhite Don't go all in on this clown. I'm coming to destroy. The truth will be told Saturday!

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