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UFC 178: Johnson vs Cariaso


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?  

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I can't stand Dodson but he's definitely the most interesting contender at 125 for me. He's the only guy who has the power, the speed and the wrestling all combined to possibly knock Mouse off the throne. And not just that, he'll talk some shite, loads of it. So I'll be at least invested in the outcome.

 

It's a shame he's on the shelf because this fight on Saturday would most certainly be Mouse vs Dodson 2 if he was healthy. It wouldn't be Jones vs Cormier but it'd be so much better than Mouse vs Cariaso.

 

Couple of bits off twitter. Helwani retweeted this a few hours ago;

 

Jamie Hartigan @Jamie_Hartigan

@arielhelwani Current 178 Countdown views on YouTube Johnson/Cariaso 21,543 Cerrone/Alvarez 26,416 McGregor/Poirier 50,056 #PME

The PME stands for Peoples Main Event. Helwani has been choosing his PME for recent cards.

 

BJJ Scout @bjjscout

That's just weird, vid shows Cruz striking southpaw now, apprehensive to pivoting on the left (operated) leg?

Here's the video in question;

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=CURyB3rKixY

 

Might be something of nothing but maybe worth keeping an eye on during the fight.

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I went for Poirier by decision when I voted but the closer it gets the more I'm leaning towards McGregor by KO. I really hope McGregor does have a great showing and gets a finish, he's a real star already but beating Poirier would really show he can be a legit contender.

 

I'm excited to see Cruz back but I think this is a pretty tough fight for his comeback, there could've been tougher ones and there was no point giving him a can but Mizugaki is a tough one. I still like Cruz to win but I'm not sure it will be a walk in the park for him after this long lay off.

 

I'll be disappointed if Romero doesn't hammer Kennedy. But with McGregor and then Cerrone/Alvarez coming up right after it I should get over it pretty quick.

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That's what I love about the Cruz vs Mizugaki match up. It really should tell us a lot about where Cruz is and how much ground he's got to make up. If he'd returned in February and fought Barao as planned, and Barao smashed him, we wouldn't know if it was the injuries/layoff, if Barao is just better or a combination of both. We'd kind of be none the wiser and there'd still be questions. But putting him in with Mizugaki should give us a much better read on where he stands. Mizugaki is tough as fuck and has skills but if this was the Cruz of 2011 we'd all be picking him to win comfortably. So if he loses, or even wins but looks poor, we've got a better gauge on him and he's likely going to need more time before challenging for the title. If he somehow smokes Mizugaki and looks like he did pre-injuries then I don't see any way he doesn't get the next title shot. If Cruz somehow ends up winning the title again after all this, it might just be the most incredible comeback story in MMA history.

 

Watching that Hardy/Gooden Unibet thing (I'd only watched a bit of it yesterday), some interesting analysis of the Johnson vs Cariaso fight. Actually makes Cariaso look a decent threat. But I'm not really buying it. He looks great in some of the clips they've used but there's a fairly big difference in the level of opposition Cariaso was doing that to and the likes of Dodson, Benavidez, McCall and a EPO'd up Ali Bagautinov. Mouse has been operating on a different level entirely. And Cariaso's kick-heavy striking might be a bad idea against someone as quick and crafty as Johnson who will make him pay with takedowns.

 

If Cariaso pulls this off I'd say it's an even bigger upset than Dillashaw beating Barao. Dillashaw was a massive underdog and I never gave him much chance at all but I could at least envision it being competitive and Dillashaw was always among that top 5-10 guys in the division for me. Cariaso is pretty much the definition of a career prelim fighter. He's not a bad fighter by any stretch but I think he's outgunned in every aspect against Johnson.

 

I mentioned before about McGregor being southpaw as well. Well, I totally forgot that Poirier is also a lefty. Interesting. Could be a bigger factor than people think. If one of them is more used to fighting or sparring other southpaws than the other then something like that could actually make the difference.

 

Shame they didn't cover Cerrone vs Alvarez much.

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He's talented & he's definitely got potential but he's a twat. He's taken the most cynical, manufactured path for his UFC career & some people have lapped it up. I was super impressed when he made his debut but then all his bullshit antics quickly turned me off him. I'm hoping he gets finished on Saturday.

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...and what exaxtly has he manufactured? he's 3-0 and in the UFC, he hasnt been given fights he hasnt deserved, id say his standing in the division is about right, ranked 10 fighting a guy a few places above him.

 

The fact that he's got people talking about him and has headlined an arena his hometown after 3 fights shouldnt be held against him.

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...and what exaxtly has he manufactured?

 

His fake 'rivalries' by calling out everyone in the division online & the cringeworthy shit talking. Got a legit beef with someone & want to fight them? Awesome, let's have it. Try to get your name in the press by fabricating rivalries with people you've never even met? No ta, I'm not that gullible.

We've had this discussion ad nauseum tbh. I don't like blatant fakery, others do...it's fine.

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Personally, it seems to me to be a case of "don't hate the player, hate the game". If the crowd (and, consequently, the UFC) could be just satisfied with taking enjoyment from watching a honed, highly-skilled and well-conditioned fighter face other such types in a competition to reach the pinnacles of their sport, which should be enough to impress any average human, then the UFC wouldn't feel the need to adopt a business model whereby the squeakiest wheel gets the oil, or, in Conor's case, a slathering of goose grease, in order to draw ratings and therefore money.

 

But this isn't the case. Basically, human beings are magpies attracted to shiny things, and guys like Conor are able to polish things up real good.

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I'd accept that if it were absolutely the case. The success of GSP, Anderson, Couture, Aldo, Valesquez et al however suggests otherwise.

 

I totally understand why people would like it. There's loads of stuff out there that I personally find tired & predictable (Little Britain, Mrs Browns Boys for example) that people straight up fucking LOVE. I get why they love it, it's just not my cup of tea.

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...and what exaxtly has he manufactured?

 

His fake 'rivalries' by calling out everyone in the division online & the cringeworthy shit talking. Got a legit beef with someone & want to fight them? Awesome, let's have it. Try to get your name in the press by fabricating rivalries with people you've never even met? No ta, I'm not that gullible.

We've had this discussion ad nauseum tbh. I don't like blatant fakery, others do...it's fine.

 

 

Fabricating rivalries? I just don't buy that Mike. He's targeted his entire division and everyone who's ranked ahead of him. In a game where the aim is to punch someone in the face and unfortunately cause pain to your opponent, it's far more organic claiming everyone in front of you is a rival and a genuine enemy. If i were a fighter, I would naturally feel the same.

 

I simply don't buy this respect crap in combat sports. It's not natural at all.

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I suppose it depends if you're viewing it from the POV of 2 highly skilled athletes applying their training & gameplan to test one another & determine who the most talented fighter is ala Anderson, Machida, Couture etc or from the Dave O Donnell school of 'Let's have a right proper tear up'.

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