UFC 178: Johnson vs Cariaso

[jimufctna24]

I am not bothered these days

 

I would have been in the Bravo/UFC days where prelims fights were hard to track down. But today with BT Sport showing prelims, and online streaming, it is as easy to watch the prelims as it is the Main Card

 

Cruz deserves to be on the Main Bill, but it is not the end of the world that he is not. Fox need someone to spike the ratings of their prelim shows.

[Bus Surfer]

Watched the embedded videos last night and I'm bursting with excitement over this event. The little bit at the end of episode 3 really made Dustin look like he felt out of his depth and a bag of nerves. Which is crazy considering he's the UFC veteran.

 

I laughed outloud at the "he's new, he'll learn" bit. Dustin just came off a little clueless. He could learn a few things from Conor if he wants to get ahead in this game.

 

UFC 178 and Fifa 15. Can this weekend get any better?

[Egg Shen]

agreed Silky, it's shaping up nicely.

 

...and yep, Dustin is rattled, Conor's gonna do the business tomorrow.

 

If Conor goes in and smashed through Dustin tomorrow shit's gonna go supernova, but the haters are gonna be sharpening their knives with their 'he hasn't faced a wrestler yet' attack. I can't wait!

[wandshogun09]

To be fair, and I'm anything but a McGregor hater, the 'he hasn't faced a wrestler yet' stuff would be accurate. And considering his only two career blemishes were quick submissions, you wonder how much ground he's made up since in his grappling, so it's fair criticism if you're looking at it objectively.

 

Undoubtedly he'll have improved since his losses, he seems to practically live in the gym which is something his haters never point to when they're saying he's just swanning about in suits and nice cars. His grappling must be better now, but how much better and is it enough. On the feet I think he can beat or at least be competitive with anyone in the division outside Jose Aldo, and who knows, maybe he can hang with Aldo as well? It's that Mendes/Bermudez/Guida/Lentz type style which I can see him struggling most with though. And what's his guard like? We've seen nothing really of that, have we? If a Bermudez put him on his back and started blasting him, or a Guida took him down and just stuck to him like glue, will he have an answer for that? Until we see it there'll always be doubts.

 

But...

 

All that said, I think he's up to beating Poirier for sure. I picked Pea Head and I'm sticking with it but he does seem a bit gotten too. Conor's reaction on Embedded #4 watching Poirier's reaction to their little exchange of words, he looked like a man who's plan has worked perfectly. He wanted to rattle Poirier all along so when Poirier came out with 'I've never hated any other opponent as much as this guy', he looked chuffed. He knows that that part of what he's doing is working. He's in Poirier's head big-time. Now whether that's a good or bad thing, fuck knows? Poirier might come in over aggressive and angry and make a bunch of cock ups and lose. Or the anger might just make him harder to beat. I can't wait.

 

I laughed outloud at the "he's new, he'll learn" bit. Dustin just came off a little clueless. He could learn a few things from Conor if he wants to get ahead in this game.

And this bit (something like);

 

McGregor: 'You ready to fall?'

Pea: 'Few days away yet, man'

 

Oh so he doesn't deny he's going to fall then, just 'in a few days'?

 

Did anyone catch that bit in one of the Embedded episodes where someone asked Cerrone "how's the leg?" Wonder if Cerrone's coming in injured. I seriously can't wait for Cerrone vs Alvarez! Can't believe we're only a day away from that fight.

 

Check out Helwani's interviews on MMAFighting as well. I watched them this morning and they're worth a look. McGregor's is the highlight again;

 

People tell me, 'Don't go broke trying to look rich'. But then I say, 'but rich is my favourite look.'

But they're all pretty good. Dominick Cruz understandably looks and sounds over the moon to be back, Zingano seems fired up too. Cerrone is doing his 'I've never even seen this Eddie Alvarez bloke' bit again, but then later said something like 'the way he fights, I'm expecting a war.'

 

I don't know if they're there now, but this morning at least, Helwani didn't even have interviews with Johnson and Cariaso. It's amazing just how much of an afterthought that fight has become. Like a couple of others have said, as uninteresting as a find Johnson, I do enjoy watching him fight. My problem with this fight is I have no interest in Cariaso as a challenger and I don't see any way he wins or even really troubles Mouse. If it was Mouse vs Dodson 2, or Pickett 2, or Lineker, I'd be singing a different tune. But it's really taken a backseat this week to the Cerrone/Alvarez and especially the McGregor/Poirier fight. I can really see Johnson and Cariaso ending up fighting in front of a load of empty seats by the time the main event gets going. Which would be a shame, but it wouldn't shock me one bit. That fight was just dead on arrival the second it was announced. I'd love for it to be a shock FOTY candidate now, but I see a 25 minute Johnson shutout or a late finish after a dominant three or four rounds.

[Supremo]

 

Episode 4 of Embedded for those who haven't seen it. Worth it if only to see Conor cackling like a Batman villain watching Episode 3 back.

 

EDIT:

 

 

Media day stare downs. Check out the state of Cariaso's suit! He looks like a kid who's wearing his dad's clothes.

[Guy Bifkin]

Yoel Romero wins! I hope he puts a gargantuan beatdown on Tim Kennedy.

[wandshogun09]

Yoel Romero is cool as fuck. He's a rare case of a guy I could see becoming a star regardless of him not being outspoken or whatever. Like a Chuck Liddell type. Sure the clock's ticking on Romero and I don't see him beating the top three or four at 185, but he's got something I reckon. People like him. And everything about him just screams badass without him even trying. When you can fight in skin-tight purple shorts and still be the manliest of men, mauling fuckers to the ground like a grizzly bear and shrugging off flush headkicks like they're flea bites, you're a bad man.

 

Fuck, I'm legitimately more excited for the 178 weigh in than I was for the actual UFC 177 PPV.

[jimufctna24]

I changed my prediction on MMA Playground from Kennedy to Romero, as I have heard so much good stuff about Romero (I have yet to see him fight if I am honest)

 

Connor is playing Pea Head like a fiddle. Connor gets a reaction out of Pea Head every time he pushes his buttons.

[Egg Shen]

any one fancy getting in the ukff chat room tomorrow night live for this? i aint been in the chatroom in 10 years.

[jimufctna24]

any one fancy getting in the ukff chat room tomorrow night live for this? i aint been in the chatroom in 10 years.

How would one enter the chat room EBB?

[Egg Shen]

i have no idea, there is one though isnt there?

[waters44]

Johnson and Cariaso look like a couple of dwarfs in that video!

 

I dont know a huge amount about these fighters but reading this thread has got me pumped for tomorrow night. Ive been watching UFC since June, so am now getting to the point where im seeing fighters for a second time which is really helping me put names to faces etc.

 

I watched the Countdown show today, whats the deal with Eddie Alvarez? There was no footage of him fighting at all and I dont recognise his name, but they were saying hes one of the best in the world in his weight class.

 

EDIT - Ok he was in Bellator. I find it a bit frustrating that they dont recognise other promotions they dont own. Makes MMA look like entertainment rather then a sport

[mackie]

 

any one fancy getting in the ukff chat room tomorrow night live for this? i aint been in the chatroom in 10 years.

How would one enter the chat room EBB?

 

 

 

 

i have no idea, there is one though isnt there?

 

 

Instructions in here - http://ukff.com/topic/127199-theukff-the-official-ukff-chat-room/

 

Really looking forward to this card as every fight apart from 2 has some interest for me even if it is just Manny Gamburyan on the fight pass prelims. 

 

My only concern is that there has been far too many stories going into this show that the promotion is all over the place with McGregor vs Poirer and Eddie Alvarez making his debut their isn't enough hype for things like a former bantamweight champion returning and zingano's return as well as the potential title contender in yoel romero. Its a promotional mess but as a show I can't help but be excited and will be staying up to watch it live at least until the main event.

[Supremo]

Watching Ariel's interview with Cerrone, it's impossible not to root for the guy. The most laid back human being on the planet, he doesn't give a fuck about anything other than fighting and wake boarding. I genuinely believe him when he says he doesn't watch footage of his opponents.

 

Also, check out this awesome poster someone has made;

 

[d-d-d-dAz]

I fucking love Cowboy. What a fella.

 

I've gone from hating McGregor to being fascinated by him the more I've watched of the build-up to this show. What an oddball.

 

Yoel Romero looks like a black Batista in that video, too. I'm already rooting for him.