UFC 197: Jones vs OSP

[TildeGuy~!]

The closer tonight gets, the more chance I think Cejudo has of pulling it off.

[lambyUK]

I just don't think DJ has faced anyone with the mental strength Cejudo has.

 

I think in previous fights Cejudo probably wanted to showcase his stand up skills to an audience who expected something else.

 

Tonight I think we are going to see him mix it up. Johnson simply hasn't faced anyone with the calibre of wrestling Cejudo possesses.

 

The major problem for Cejudo is will he be able to catch DJ? If he can there's a good chance we see Cejudo rag doll DJ.

 

He's 3/1 on bet365. If I wasn't penny pinching at the moment I would be dropping a tenner on him tonight.

[lambyUK]

I think I need to delete that post above haha.

 

DJ was incredible. When they were initially clinching I thought it was exactly where Cejudo would shine. He sweeped him once but wasn't active in keeping him down. But good god those knees were brutal. Never expected that.

 

Cormier, as mentioned in his commentary must be gutted. That was one seriouly rusty Jones.

 

Pettis is lost as a fighter. Doesn't seem to know what to do anymore. If he could get down to 145 I think he should.

[jimufctna24]

More questions than answers with Jones. However, I think it's going to take a fighter with similar reach to beat him. Sadly, D.C doesn't fit the bill.

 

Pettis is baked. D.J was on-fire.

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

Never thought I'd see the day where Mighty Mouse was a million times more entertaining than Jon Jones. What a terrible end to the show.

 

I get Jones wanting more cage time and not pulling the trigger right away, but I feel like he should have been far more aggressive in the championship rounds. OSP did almost nothing for 25 minutes, and Jones did a fraction more with some ground and pound late.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Genuinely one of the worst main events in UFC history, I think, and made an utter farce of their 'THE BEST IS BACK' style promotion.

 

When you have to end a pay per view with the new interim champ getting told off by his boss, followed by a supposedly bad motherfucker apologising down the camera, you know you've got problems. Dana seemed embarrassed to put the title on him.

 

If that's what we've got to look forward to, Jones can stick to mowing down the vulnerable in his corvette.

 

I did like that they brought out the special guest commentator gimmick, though.

[lambyUK]

Dana will be devastated after that performance from Jones. He was banking on a real statement win to give momentum to that potential 200 main event.

 

A loss would have been perfect for McGregor, but this was near enough when it comes to leverage.

 

Of course I want to see DC/Jones, but I'm no longer begging for it.

[L_E_T_H_A_L]

For me, the performances of Mighty Mouse and Jon Jones prove Mighty Mouse is the undisputed P4P king of the UFC at the moment. He answered all the questions despatching Cejudo in the manner he did.

 

Jones looked sluggish and slower than normal in what must be his most boring performance to date - not entirely unexpected after a long hiatus. Thought he was a total cock after the fight as well (again).

 

Pettis is done.

For me, the performances of Mighty Mouse and Jon Jones prove Mighty Mouse is the undisputed P4P king of the UFC at the moment. He answered all the questions despatching Cejudo in the manner he did.

 

Jones looked sluggish and slower than normal in what must be his most boring performance to date - not entirely unexpected after a long hiatus. Thought he was a total cock after the fight as well (again).

 

Pettis is done.

[wandshogun09]

Sod all this other shite...

 

 

Yair Rodriguez's switch kick knockout was a thing of fucking beauty!

 

Made all the more satisfying because it was that try-hard zany character 'Touchy' Fili on the end of it. Yair Rodriguez is so much fun to watch. Watching him at the moment takes me back to the first times I saw Shogun and Pettis fight.

[ColinBollocks]

Shame the main event was not much of anything, because it was a decent show up until then. The main event was a bit of a given, but considering all the factors OSP was pretty good. DC nailed my thoughts going into the 4th, in that Jones looked rusty for Jones and not sure how he'd do against DC if their fight went ahead. However, lifting up and slamming a beast like OSP to the mat TWICE in the 4th round and again in the 5th is crazy conditioning.

DC was a nice addition to the main event. Added a lot to the main event in the later rounds.

This fight being for the interim belt was a bit of a joke, but whateves.

 

As Jones did his best to not live up to what UFC are trying to sell, Mighty Mouse showed he's truly Don P4P. Who are you to doubt Mighty Mouse? Early doors it looked quite decent for Cejudo, particularly after he muscled that takedown. Mighty Mouse is just too bloody dangerous and the clinch work was perfect. No idea where they go now. Cejudo was the interesting contender in the division and Mighty Mouse, again, made it look easy. We all know MMA loves throwing in all manner of surprises, but if Mighty Mouse stays healthy and hungry he seems like the surest thing ever in the sport.

 

Genuinely forgot the Pettis/Barbosa fight was on the card until I saw it flash up on the screen. Needless to say, I let out a "Ooof!" and then slowly bit my bottom lip. The fight itself, while maybe a disappointment, in that Barbosa really bossed the fight, was engrossing non the less. With fighters like this it truly is a case of choose you blinks carefully, because chances are you'll miss something spectacular - so even though Pettis was getting beat up, he was still capable of throwing some 980 heel kick.

Barbosa is a monster. Once he got his timing down it got really brutal and those kicks were beeeerutal! The 3rd round performance was one of the highlights of the year, for me; killer kick after killer kick with some perfectly timed counter punches in there, which completely derailed Pettis.

No shame in losing to a Barbosa, but Pettis needs to start winning real soon. The lustre is going away. I have no doubt Pettis can beat most in the division, but I fear he's been completely overtaken by the top fighters in the division. As Rogan pointed out, this was his sort of fight and he got battered. It happens like, but Pettis may have peaked early doors. I still love Pettis and hope he gets winning again, 3 losses in a row is horrible.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I touched on how crucial this fight was for Pettis in the opening post, I think. And it really was. It was one thing losing to Dos Anjos. RDA has proven to be way better than most gave him credit for and I guess you could've chalked some of that loss up to the element of surprise for Pettis. It's another thing being stifled by Eddie Alvarez and losing a decision in a fight where not much happened. That kind of fight was always considered the way to beat Pettis. Just stick to him like glue and smother any chance of him mounting an offence.

 

But when they give you a striker, the style of fight you excel in which plays to your strengths, and you lose that as well? Oh boy, now there's a problem. I'm not making excuses for Pettis, Barboza fought a hell of a fight last night and fully deserves the plaudits today. But I definitely think if we saw a Pettis vs Barboza fight anytime before March 2015, it'd have been a different animal. Barboza may well still have won, but I don't think Pettis would've looked so flat and gunshy out there. I think those losses to RDA and Alvarez have taken something away from Pettis mentally. It's like he's gone into his shell and now lacks the confidence to really open up and let loose now. Even against a guy like Barboza who isn't going to be trying to stifle him against the fence. This fight was a strikers dream match on paper but I think the timing of it was all wrong for Pettis. I don't know what the answer is. I don't know who he'd benefit from training with, I don't know who would be a good matchup for him next. He just seems to be aimlessly floating around in no mans land. Or 'lost' as lamby put it. That's the word that sums up how he looked in there last night for me.

 

Maybe throw Pettis in with Diego Sanchez next time out. That's a fight where Pettis has no excuse in. I love Diego but there's no reason Pettis should be losing to him in 2016. Not one. But at the same time, Diego is aggressive enough that it might force something out of Pettis and serve as a bit of a wakeup call to jolt him back to life. It'd be a starting point he could hopefully build on. If he lost to Diego Sanchez...man, I honestly think it'd be time to consider Bellator or OneFC. Or flipping burgers or something. For someone so full of talent, it's really hard to see where he goes next.

[lambyUK]

Pettis reminded me of JDS against Overeem. Afraid to pull the trigger and full of doubt about his entire game.

 

It's an unbelievable fall from Grace.

 

I was baffled why he went to Jackson's too. Jackson is without doubt one of the best, but part of what makes him great is his ability to create a gameplan. I'm not so sure a Greg Jackson game plan suits the type of fighter Pettis is.

 

I also found the coaching dynamic an odd one with Roufus giving advice in the cage, then calling on Jackson. Too many cooks an all that.

[ColinBollocks]

It's hard to believe a year ago the promotion was giving Pettis the McGregor push (Wheaties and all). It's all unraveled and to make matters worse for Pettis, the division has only got stronger in the past year and you can easily argue it's the most impressive top 10/15 in the UFC. He's in serious danger of doing a Dan Hardy, which seems unthinkable because Pettis is/was seen as such a huge top tier talent, but he's in there with every Avenger and Justice League member. If he loses his next one then maybe he's best giving Welterweight a shot or something.

 

Rogan was saying on his last podcast with Schaub that Pettis has said he's changed what he does in training. Before he'd spend more time on getting better at things he wasn't good at and neglected his strengths, so they decided to do the opposite. With that in mind, it sort of made his performance all the more baffling. He tried a few mental kicks but nothing of substance that worked. Maybe wand is right with him saying Pettis is just suffering from a severe lack of confidence.

[lambyUK]

Just a note, I thought DC was superb on commentary.

[jimufctna24]

I think Pettis is baked. Unlike the Heavier weightclasses in MMA, it's hard to get back to the top in the lighter classes. No former Champion has ever retained the Lightweight Championship. Edgar should have against Bendo, but the judges robbed him. Penn, Sherk and Bendo dropped off after they lost the belt. The lighter classes move along a lot quicker. It's not like Heavyweight where the same faces float around for years.

 

Maybe Pettis could drop to 145lbs. It would at least be something fresh for him. However, I just think injuries have slowed him down, and he's not the fighter he once was. He looked that flat last night - that I turned it off after the first round. The boxing was much more interesting (GGG!)