Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 19, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 19, 2016 We're well on the road to UFC 200 now. Next Fight Night is a Fight Pass exclusive on Thursday 7th July. Part of the big International Fight Week leading into UFC 200. This will be the first of three UFC shows on three consecutive nights!   FIGHT PASS EXCLUSIVE Rafael Dos Anjos vs Eddie Alvarez - Lightweight Title Roy Nelson vs Derrick Lewis Alan Jouban vs Belal Muhammad Joseph Duffy vs Mitch Clarke Mike Pyle vs Alberto Mina John Makdessi vs Mehdi Baghdad Anthony Birchak vs Dileno Lopes Pedro Munhoz vs Russell Doane Felipe Arantes vs Jerrod Sanders Gilbert Burns vs Lukasz Sajewski Marco Beltran vs Reginaldo Vieira Vicente Luque vs Alvaro Herrera  Bit of a weird card this, I think. It's not terrible and I really like the top two fights and one or two of the prelims. But I can't say a give a single fuck about a lot of that undercard. There are some fighters I like there as well. They're just either against nobodies or it's just a matchup I'm not particularly into. Could be a pleasant surprise though.   Dos Anjos vs Alvarez is a good title fight and a big fight for Fight Pass. I really hope this one delivers as they've been two of my favourite lightweights over the years, but I'm not as excited about this one as I thought I'd be, or as I would've been a couple of years ago.   Dos Anjos is the fucking man! I actually feel a bit sorry for him here. He started the year off as Conor McGregor's next opponent. It was all set to go for UFC 196 in March. The contracts were signed, the posters were out, the press conferences were underway, Mrs Dos Anjos was already out red panty shopping...  Dos Anjos was on the verge of the biggest payday of his career. Then he broke his foot, the fight was cancelled, and now he's on Fight Pass against Eddie Alvarez. He's gone from a steak dinner in a 5 star restaurant to cheese on toast in a grubby cafe.  And what must sting the most, stylistically he had a great shot at being the man to stop McGregor's little run. And Nate Diaz of all people, someone Dos Anjos battered already, swooped in and beat him to it.   That picture pretty much sums up Eddie Alvarez's road to the UFC title shot. I'm being harsh but it's been something I never saw coming at all. Eddie Alvarez, known for years as one of the most exciting fighters in MMA, turning into a human blanket. He's coming off back-to-back wins over Gilbert Melendez and Anthony Pettis...yet he's managed to do it in such a way where there's zero hype on him coming into this title fight.  Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why he fought his last two fights the way he did. And with the way he was dicked about by Bellator and the money he lost out on as a result, you can't begrudge him playing it a bit safe. The Melendez fight was good, to be fair. I think he fought the way he did that night mostly because a) the high altitude in Mexico and b) his eye being messed up. But the Pettis fight was so fucking disappointing. Going all Jake Shields was the only way Alvarez was going to beat Pettis, I guess, but it was so deflating. Probably the biggest letdown fight of 2016 for me so far.   You know what though, I think this is going to be different. Alvarez's recent cage humping tactics aren't going to cut it against Dos Anjos. They're just not. And even if Alvarez CAN get him down, is that a good thing? RDA is a better grappler than Alvarez. I just can't see this ending well for Eddie. But I do think he's going to be forced to revert to the wild style that got him to the UFC in the first place. I don't think he's going to have any choice but to go balls out, but ultimately I think he's getting his shit pushed in here. Dos Anjos is just too much animal at the moment. If you're name's not Khabib, I don't like your chances.   Big Country vs The Black Beast is just one of those fights where you know it's not going to be pretty but you can't fucking wait to see it. I love this pairing. Two big fuckers who want to knock your face off. Nothing flashy or fancy with these two.   Roy Nelson is granite disguised as lard. He's hard as fuck. People often mention that he's a BJJ black belt but at this point that's redundant as he never ever uses his grappling anymore. In fact, I think the last time I remember him using his grappling was the fight against Kimbo (RIP) on TUF 10. That was 2009! He just loves to punch peoples heads off.  He's the typical heavyweight in that his record is inconsistent and has about as many high profile losses as it does wins. Stoppage wins over Big Nog, Cro Cop, Struve and Schaub. Losses to Barnett, Overeem, Hunt, Cormier. He's fought pretty much every top heavyweight who's passed through the UFC bar Cain as well. He doesn't give a fuck.  He also reminds me of Jackson from Bloodsport...   Georges St Pierre and Roy Nelson could play Frank Dux and Jackson in MMA's version of Bloodsport. Rin Nakai as Chong Li, obviously.   Derrick Lewis is cut from the same cloth as Nelson. He just wants to knock heads off. He looks fucking terrifying as well. He hasn't got that Batista bodybuilder strongman look but he looks like he could rip a frying pan in half. You can tell he's got that freaky kind of strength that only mentally unstable psychopaths have. Like, if he really wanted to, he could literally unscrew your head from your neck like you're a bottle of pop.  As Bifkin once put perfectly, he's "pure filth".   It's all academic though as Derrick "The Black Beast" Lewis is coming for that belt. He's pure filth. I'd like to see him go on a legend killer run of Heavyweight fatties like Nelson and Hunt now. Pure filth!   Duffy vs Clarke gets the old ***WAND'S ONE TO WATCH*** tag this time. Duffy returns to the octagon coming off his first UFC loss against Dustin Poirier in January. He was really starting to get some hype before that loss so it proper derailed him. He just ran into a Dustin Poirier who is on fire at the moment. In Mitch Clarke he's fighting a really solid grappler. Clarke is one of those prelimers nobody talks about but he always good for an entertaining fight. He's coming off a loss to Michael Chiesa in a quality grappling battle. This will be good stuff. I think Duffy should come out on top but it'll be a good old scrap.  And that's where my interest in this show falls off. There are some good points though.  • Alan Jouban has been fun to watch so far. He's the ex model bloke who's an Eddie Bravo BJJ brown belt now. He's usually down for a brawl as well. Had an awesome, mostly forgotten fight, against Matt Dwyer last year.  • Mike Pyle is usually good value. He's one of those guys who's been around forever and never quite made it as a contender but on a given day he can surprise a lot of guys. Proper journeyman but he's great to watch. All action wherever the fight goes. Kind of like a bargain bucket Carlos Condit.  • John Makdessi is a black belt in the deadly art of Spinning Shit. He loves throwing the old spinning backfists and spinning kicks. Really entertaining fighter to watch. Got a lot of time for John The Bull.  • Gilbert Burns is a BJJ wizard, multiple time BJJ world champion. He's been a bit lacklustre in the UFC so far but I like him.  That's about it. Not a bad little card in all. It's basically just foreplay for UFC 200 though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted June 20, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 20, 2016 Yep, foreplay about sums it up. It's gonna be a hell of a weekend and this is a nice little warm up. Â Im gonna drop a few nuggets on Alvarez to take the gold. A an Alvarez win/Nelson KO double sounds good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JNLister Posted July 2, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted July 2, 2016 Just noticed Fight Pass 7 day trial is currently available so it looks like you can still get this show as a freebie unlike the Bisping-Silva one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 3, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 3, 2016 How does everyone see Dos Anjos vs Alvarez playing out then? Anyone fancying Alvarez's chances? Â I just can't see it. To me, everything Alvarez is good at RDA is just that bit better at. But then again, I've been wrong on so many fights lately. And it seems to be the fights I'm most sure about (Holm vs Rousey, Rockhold vs Bisping 2, Silva vs Bisping, Hendo vs Lombard etc) that I get the most wrong. So probably Alvarez by 20 second Hadukan KO here. Â I reckon RDA smokes him though. I think Alvarez will be left no choice but to return to his Bellator wildman form once he realises he can't shut RDA down like he did Pettis and Melendez. And in that kind of fight I think it's only a matter of time until Dos Anjos catches him and swarms all over him. He's too dangerous, accurate and relentless. Â Nelson vs Lewis is going to be fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 Nope, I can't see Alvarez winning this one. I can see him going the distance, but it's going to be pretty lopsided if it does. Â Dos Anjos is just too good for most of the guys in that division at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 3, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 3, 2016 Yeah. At the moment, providing Dos Anjos doesn't inexplicably decline, the only guy I see beating him at 155 is Khabib Nurmagomedov again. And maybe GSP if he does ever drop to lightweight. I'd still like to see that Dos Anjos vs McGregor fight as well at some point. I think Dos Anjos would win but I think McGregor might pose more of a threat than most of the top of the lightweight division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 I think decent grapplers are the ones who give RDA problems, and for that reason I'd see RDA manhandling McGregor with relative ease. Â Khabib is a good shout, and GSP if he made the drop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2j Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 This is being shown live on BT Sport - don't even need Fight Pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 4, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 4, 2016 You sure? Is it on the EPG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted July 4, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted July 4, 2016 Just checked my BT box and it's on the epg. 3 am start. No prelims though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul2j Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Yep, presumably the four or five main card fights only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 5, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 5, 2016 Sweet. Cheers for that Paul, I wouldn't have even thought to look seeing as it's a Fight Pass show. Probably be the top four fights we get. Â Should we read into this re the UK TV deal as well? They don't usually air the Fight Pass shows on BT (we didn't even get the Silva vs Bisping London card) and previous ones were shown on delay on Pick TV because BT never picked up the rights to those shows. So them showing this could mean UFC is staying put on BT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dead Mike Posted July 5, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted July 5, 2016 Great news all round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted July 5, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted July 5, 2016 any word on what time the prelims start UK time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Really Big Shoe Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 1am I'm guessing. Dos Anjos vs Alvarez starts at 3am UK time early Friday morning & as stated it's the main card only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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