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UFC 210: Cormier vs Rumble 2


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

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Saturday 8th April in Buffalo, New York...

 

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PPV MAIN CARD


Daniel Cormier vs Anthony Johnson - Light Heavyweight Title

Chris Weidman vs Gegard Mousasi 

Cynthia Calvillo vs Pearl Gonzalez 

Thiago Alves vs Patrick Cote

Will Brooks vs Charles Oliveira 

 

FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS

Myles Jury vs Mike De La Torre

Kamaru Usman vs Sean Strickland 

Charles Rosa vs Shane Burgos

Patrick Cummins vs Jan Blachowicz 

 

FIGHT PASS PRELIMS

Andrew Holbrook vs Gregor Gillespie 

Josh Emmett vs Desmond Green 

Katlyn Chookagian vs Irene Aldana 

Jenel Lausa vs Magomed Bibulatov 

 

Not the strongest PPV but we've had worse and there's a few great fights on this one.

 

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Cormier vs Rumble 2 then. Let's try this again. This was supposed to happen at UFC 206 in December but DC got injured. The old AKA curse. I really hope it happens this time. It's a really interesting rematch and, let's face it, there's not much else going on at light heavyweight currently is there?

They first met in May 2015 at UFC 187. It was a good fight which saw Cormier taste Rumble's frightening punching power and get dropped early, only to get up off the canvas and go on to dominate...

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Rumble used to have a bit of a rep in his welterweight days as a bit of a frontrunner who would mentally unravel if you could take his shots and drag him into deep water. Easier said than done of course and few will be able to weather the Rumble storm but Cormier showed that he's one of them. Johnson seemed to really lose heart as the fight went on and it became clear that DC wasn't going away. Towards the end of the fight Rumble was making all kinds of distress signals and seemed broken. And Cormier submitted him via rear naked choke shortly after.

Since then, Cormier has only fought twice. Decision wins over Alexander Gustafsson in a tremendous fight and Anderson Silva at UFC 200 in a snoozer. Rumble has rattled off three knockouts over Jimi Manuwa, Ryan Bader and Glover Teixeira since losing to DC.

So here we are.

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Outside of Jon Jones getting his shit together and doing something, this is as good a fight as we can ask for at 205 right now. You'd think that the winner of this will end up facing Jones later this year but at this point it's not even worth entertaining the idea of Jones fighting until he's actually in the cage. This is a fantastic fight on its own merit though.

 

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Weidman vs Mousasi is a quality co-main event. Kind of strange matchmaking really when you consider the winning streak Mousasi's on and Weidman coming off two losses. But fuck that. It's a hell of a fight. I think a lot of people are going to sleep on Weidman here or write him off because of the results of his last two fights plus Mousasi looking so good lately. But it's important to remember that Weidman's losses were to Luke Rockhold and Yoel Romero. And he was doing well in both fights early on. The top end of middleweight is a shark tank. It feels like any of the top five could beat each other on any given day. I think Weidman's still a force at 185 and I could see his grappling potentially giving Mousasi fits. Mousasi is on top form though so it's an interesting one.

 

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Brooks vs Oliveira is a potential corker. Brooks is coming off a loss to Alex 'Cowboy' Oliveira. Not without controversy though as Cowboy missed weight badly and came in heavy. Charles Oliveira is coming off back to back losses to Anthony Pettis and Ricardo Lamas. I like how these two match up though.

As a sidenote - just read that Will Brooks full name is Willie Love Brooks. Yes Willie Love. Bet he loved being called that at school. Poor get.

 

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Alves vs Cote is ***WAND'S ONE TO WATCH***. This fight kind of screams 2008 but who cares? I can't see any way this disappoints. Both powerful strikers, both granite tough, Alves' Muay Thai vs Cote's heavy hands. Really looking forward to it.

 

From there my interest in this card drops off massively.

 

Cummins vs Blachowicz does nowt for me, to be honest. Not a big fan of either guy but I hope Blachowicz smashes him. Cummins bores me unless he's getting chinned.

 

Chookagian vs Aldana could be fun. Aldana had a stupidly entertaining brawl against Leslie Smith in her UFC debut in December. She lost but she was exciting to watch.

 

Erm, not much else to talk about. I was hoping they'd move Khabib vs Ferguson back to this show. Still hoping for that but I've seen no mention of that yet so it's probably unlikely now.

 

210 then.

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Those top two fights are mighty.

 

Weidman/Mousasi is intriguing because of the form Weidman is in. Wand quite rightly points out getting beaten by that top 5 isn't a sign you're shite, but if Weidman still fancies himself a top level middleweight, he should really be getting a win soon - it's what top level fighters do. Fair play to Weidman, I've read and heard a lot of the MMA journalists plead with him to maybe take an easier fight, but Weidman isn't ducking anyone. For Mousasi, a win here puts him in there for a fight against a Rockhold/Yacare type and eventual title shot should he win a couple more. I really like Weidman, seems like a decent guy, so I hope he can shut a lot of people up with a win.

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If Khabib can't make this what about Ugly Tony Vs Nate Diaz, he has changed his mind again and says he gets paid the same whoever he fights, he just wants meaningful fights at an Interim LW title and shot at Conor is meaningful.

 

They might not waste this as its only up state New York and want him fighting NYC, California or Vegas.

 

Khabib starts Ramadan at the end of May, so unless he fights before he's out to probably August.

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This is just days away now. It's not the best looking card but it's still pretty good and probably deserves a bit more attention than we've given it. 

I'm as guilty of that as anyone though. I've been posting in the 211 thread and completely overlooked that this one is happening this week. 

How we seeing the top two fights going? I've voted Cormier and Weidman, both by decision. 

I can see DC having a tougher time this time but ultimately still weathering the storm and pulling ahead down the stretch, taking a points win after dealing with some early bother. 

And I've got a feeling loads of people will be counting Weidman out in this one because he's lost two on the bounce and Mousasi is coming off some good wins. But it's important to remember who Weidman lost to - Rockhold and Romero. And he was doing well in both fights early. I also think that, while Mousasi has looked tremendous recently, Weidman is a step up from Belfort 2016, Uriah Hall etc. Just got a feeling Weidman is going to surprise a few people on Saturday. MMA is very much a 'what have you done lately?' kind of sport when it comes to fight predicting, but you can't go solely on recent form. Like I said, Weidman's fought two killlers with a year layoff in between. I think there's better nights ahead for him. 

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I'm fancying Mousasi against Weidman. It's strange to feel that Weidman feels like damaged good, just a couple of years ago he was looking unbeatable but he's coming off a horrible beating and a devastating KO loss, if there's any doubts in terms of confidence and and an inability to pull the trigger going i think Mousasi wrecks him. I think Weidman needs to try and turn this into abit of a lay and pray wrestling affair because he gets chewed up otherwise.

...and im going DC again in the main event. Rumble has the ability to KO anybody but it feels like he's in abit of a punchers chance situation here (though it's a huge punchers chance) because if DC survives early he's Rumble's worst nightmare. DC via stoppage anytime after round 1.

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Seems to have been ignored quite a bit this one, eh?

I originally picked Rumble, because I fancy he'll put the work in to try to nullify DC. If DC gets past Rumble twice then he's only one win away from solidifying his legacy as the best LW ever, IMO.

I really like Weidman, but I agree with Egg's point. He's been losing to the best, like, but I don't see how your confidence can't be battered losing in the manner he has. Another one here and it's hard to argue that he's no longer an elite fighter (top 5).

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See, I think the opposite. If Weidman's confidence was rocked would he have insisted on fighting someone like Mousasi who's a top guy in the division and in the form of his life? I'm sure Weidman could've got a lesser opponent. Coming off two stoppage losses he could've pretty much fought anyone in the division. I'm sure someone was saying on a podcast recently (can't remember if it was Serra, Bisping or Rogan sorry) that Weidman pushed for the Mousasi fight after losing to Romero. He doesn't want any easy fights. 

If anything, rather than his confidence being shaken, I think the fact he's got so much confidence could possibly come back to bite him. Mousasi is still a winnable fight but it probably would've been wise to take a different path. Maybe a couple of mid tier guys to rebuild himself and regain some momentum before diving back in with the sharks in the deep end. I'd have liked to have seen him smash Johny Hendricks up for one. Could've bashed Uriah Hall again as well. Then maybe jump in with a top contender again. The man's got iron balls though. 

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I hate the Mousasi / Weidman match, personally. I really don't want to see either lose. I'm a big fan of Mousasi. This is the last fight on his contract so not only would a loss derail the title shot he's worked incredible hard for but it would put him in a shitty negotiating position contractually. Imagine he gets another big win over Weidman and then just sits back, the UFC would have to offer him something decent then. It's pretty shitty luck for him really because in a number of other weight classes he could be champion but MW is not only stacked, it's also been held up by Bisping fighting Hendo and GSP returning. A loss means he goes to the table as a fighter on the edge of the top 5 when there are plenty of other options for the UFC to book.

And who could cheer against Weidman when, by all accounts, he's was one of the nicest guys on planet Earth and he just suffered two crushing losses.

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Wand - I won't dispute that you may very well be right (we won't know until fight time), but where I agree with Ebb is that inside that cage, when it comes time to make the difference, Weidman may very well find himself a little hesitant. His last two losses were pretty brutal and came from him pushing. We'll see, of course.

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I absolutely fucking love the top 2 fights on this card. I really do. If only the 3 fights below it were up to scratch it could have been a special card.

The main is so difficult to call, but I'm going with DC. His chin is absolutely ridiculous and no matter how much Rumble has worked, I can see DC outworking him. The one worrying factor for DC though is his inactivity and injuries. He hasn't had a competitve fight since Gustafsson. His fight with SIlva just felt more like an exhibition fight. 

Mousasi/Weidman i absolutely love and I'm leaning towards Mousasi. His striking is slicker than Weidman's and on the ground he could nullify Weidman. However, I'm not counting out a ground and pound win for Weidman either. 

 

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13 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

See, I think the opposite. If Weidman's confidence was rocked would he have insisted on fighting someone like Mousasi who's a top guy in the division and in the form of his life?

I see that as a little BJ Penn syndrome. I'm not saying Weidman is anywhere near being as shot as BJ Penn, it's just that case of diving straight back in the deep-end when you're on a bit of a skid, so many MMA fighters do it, it's highly commendable, but it can be hugely damaging at the same time. Weidman may feel he's fine in camp but when he gets in the cage if any doubts seep in and things don't start going his way he might just shell up and get pasted. It's impossible to say really because we have no idea what's going on in fighters heads or in camp, but if i was advising Chris Weidman, i'd have had him step back a little.

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I can agree with that. Ideally he would've scaled his opposition back just slightly. For one or two fights. There's nothing wrong with doing that but I guess for a lot of guys it's a pride thing. 

It's a roll of the dice. Looking at it the other way, if Weidman beats this version of Mousasi he's right back in business in the title picture. More risk taking a fight like this but definitely more reward too. 

And speaking of rolling the dice, had no idea it's Mousasi's last fight on his contract. He's kind of in that position Overeem was in before the JDS fight. It's a gamble but if you can pull it off you come to the negotiating table with a much stronger argument. 

I'm torn on who I even want to win this fight. Like Chunk says, I find it hard to root against Weidman. But at the same time, I also like Mousasi and he would be a fresher face in the title picture. Bittersweet either way.

Main event is easy though. My allegiance is solidly with Cormier. Even though I'd rather see Rumble vs Jones than DC vs Jones 2...I just can't support Rumble over Cormier. I don't think I could root against DC at 205. Unless he was fighting Shogun.

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Mousasi is in a strange spot. Unless he goes out and has some huge statement win against Weidman hes likely to to fall in line behind Yoel and Jacare, there's a log jam at the top so unless he does something crazy and leapfrogs people for a title shit i see him fielding offers and heading to Bellator. Mousasi wrecks that 185lb division.

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