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In this unbelievable week of fights, what's flying under the radar


lambyUK

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I had absolutely no idea that there was a Fight Night next Wednesday. Wild.

 

As for this weekend:

 

Dillashaw/Assuncao - This was meant to be for the title a year or so back, Assuncao was the rightful no.1 contender but had little fanfare before getting injured. Assuncao has done his own little 'Dos Anjos', he was seen as a mid-card guy who just turned into a bit of a beast (including beating Dillashaw), fighting Dillashaw on the back of an 18 month lay off is harsh though.

 

Hendricks/Gastelum - Two guys  who seem to have been written off. Hendricks was on top of the world, Gastelum was on his way there and both have stumbled badly. It feels like a bit of a do-or-die fight, and given both guys are wrestlers i see them banging it out. I'm fancying Hendricks to score his first KO since 2012.

 

Brooks/Pearson - Will Brooks was arguably the best fighter in Bellator, yet never got the praise or props he deserved. Brooks moving to the UFC should have been a big deal like when Eddie Alvarez moved over, it isn't but it deserves to be. I expect him to dominate Pearson and win a decision, maybe not in a great fight, but i'm hoping people sit up and take notice.

 

Duffy/Clarke - the hype on Duffy has cooled off since he got spanked by Poirier, interesting to see how he bounces back as his UFC run has been great to watch so far (even in defeat). If Duffy manages to keep this standing he should win handily but im half hoping it hits the ground as both guys have a lot of submission wins.

 

Choi/Tavares - Tavares is one of the must-see veterans who never really gets the praise he deserves. He wins some, he loses some but he's always in quality fights. Doo Ho Choi looks like he couldn't bust a grape but he's a Korean maniac who's on a crazy 7 fight KO streak. Robin Black called him the no. 1 prospect in the World in 2014...

 

 

take notice!

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Thanks for that last bit Egg. Will indeed take notice as you say of that fight.

 

Regarding a couple of things you've said, firstly in relation to Brooks, my feeling is that the UFC are probably a little more hesitant to truly push ex Bellator champs into big fights straightaway after being stung by Lombard and Alvarez.

 

Whilst I know Alvarez is now in a title fight, his run hasn't exactly been the most inspiring considering the money he is being paid. Same for Lombard who's on a packet yet when it comes down to it has been mostly a failure considering his losses and drug test failure. I think it's clever them putting Brooks in with Pearson to truly test the waters against a tough opponent and then go from there with him.

 

In regards to Assuncao/Dillashaw, Assuncao has a huge opportunity to boost his stock here. Dillashaw has massively improved since their last fight but a win at UFC 200 could be huge for him and he definitely could become a Dos Anjos figure of the the Bantamweight division.  

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not sure Brooks falls into the same money bracket as Lombard/Alvarez, apparently Brooks took a drop in pay to move to the UFC.

 

Yeah, he's on nowhere near those two are. But the main point was the company taking a gamble on putting ex bellator champs straight into deep water on the big stage.

 

Brooks had little leverage as he opted not to sign with Bellator and didn't play the companies off one another. It's admirable in a way where he's determined to be the best in the world and sees the short term losses (financially) as a necessary sacrifice to eventually make the big money he believes he can get.

 

On top of that I think Alvarez and Lombard not proving (as yet) to be great investments probably worked against him getting bigger money too. 

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Not sure about slipping under the radar, but that card definitely has a contender for most difficult fight to pronounce:

 

Daniel Omielańczuk vs. Oleksiy Oliynyk

 

:p

What is everyone's thoughts on Oliynyk? He is on a 11 fight win streak with 11 finishes (including a win over Cro Cop a couple of years ago), but is also 39 years old. Would he struggle against anyone in the top 10/15?

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Jake Matthews vs. Kevin Lee should be a good 'un. I know, I come across as way too biased for Aussie fighters, but Matthews is a talented kid, his last fight with Johnny Case in Brisbane was an excellent one. His only career loss was to James Vick, who himself was undefeated until last month.

 

Also, Kevin Lee is a solid prospect. Most times I recall seeing him on the prelims, he's been fairly exciting, and is coming off a name victory in Efrain Escudero.

 

Don't know if it qualifies as "flying under the radar", but hardly anyone's talking about UFC 200's Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne. A couple of years ago, that could have been a PPV main event title fight. In a similar vein, Cat Zingano returning against Juliana Pena is a big deal for the women's bantamweight division. I think Zingano will be a real player in a Rousey-less division, she holds a win over the current champ.

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You know what else is flying under the radar? Injuries. Injuries and fighters pulling out of fights. Not long ago it seemed like every major card was hit by a high profile injury. Some how these cards seemed to have mostly dodged that though.

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You know what else is flying under the radar? Injuries. Injuries and fighters pulling out of fights. Not long ago it seemed like every major card was hit by a high profile injury. Some how these cards seemed to have mostly dodged that though.

 

Apart from Brunson, I think the UFC 200 card has stayed completely intact. That's astonishing considering it's got Velasquez & Aldo on the main card. 

 

On top of that Cormier vs Jones as a fight has been rescheduled a few times if you go back before the first fight.

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You know what else is flying under the radar? Injuries. Injuries and fighters pulling out of fights. Not long ago it seemed like every major card was hit by a high profile injury. Some how these cards seemed to have mostly dodged that though.

 

That's occurred to me, but I didn't want to jinx it by mentioning it!  :laugh:

 

And the one change has been to the one fight I wasn't arsed about! I suppose, I also wouldn't care if they change whoever's jobbing to Super Sage either.

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Don't know if it qualifies as "flying under the radar", but hardly anyone's talking about UFC 200's Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne. A couple of years ago, that could have been a PPV main event title fight. In a similar vein, Cat Zingano returning against Juliana Pena is a big deal for the women's bantamweight division. I think Zingano will be a real player in a Rousey-less division, she holds a win over the current champ.

 

Zingano actually holds a win over both the champion and the challenger. I think Zingano is a real player even if Rousey decides to come back. That first fight she just got too emotional. She certainly has all the tools to beat Rousey. 

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Sorry for the double post,

 

One story I forgot about is that this is first time Helwani is back on journalism duties since the UFC 199 debacle. 

 

During any of the media press conferences, I wonder what type of reaction he will get from the fans, and on top of that, will Dana respond to any of his questions (if asked at White) considering what he said about Helwani since 199?

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Bellator has taken the injury curse from them.

 

Be very unlikely that there's a pullout now, all the training will have been done, it's all about weight cutting now.

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Bellator has taken the injury curse from them.

 

Be very unlikely that there's a pullout now, all the training will have been done, it's all about weight cutting now.

 

Kelvin Gastelum, Johnny Hendricks, and Jose Aldo are on this card. There's still time for the curse to rear it's ugly head. 

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