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TUF: Redemption - Team Garbrandt vs. Team Dillashaw


Egg Shen

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I'm a few episodes behind but went on MMA Fighting today to read about the weekend and saw the results! i've been fecking useless recently. I fancy Taylor to beat Lima on Friday though, wrestling's too good and his top pressure will be enough.

Interesting that only the two finalist and Krause/Gillichio made the finale, i thought the UFC would have brought a few others back.

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9 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Interesting that only the two finalist and Krause/Gillichio made the finale, i thought the UFC would have brought a few others back.

I think this week's episode might've had something to do with that. 

It all kicked off at the house when Tim Elliott (Krause's team mate back home) came over and everyone got drunk. What a bunch of idiots some of them came across as. Elliott seemed like a right little cock. Julian Lane being front and centre didn't shock me at all. Seth Baczynski getting involved kind of surprised me though, he's always seemed like a laid back type but I guess some guys can't handle their drink. Justin Edwards was another who I was surprised to see jumping into it. Because of the censoring, I don't know what was said to get him so pissed off but something triggered it. 

Bunch of meatheads. So yeah, maybe this is why you don't see many of the guys on the finale card. Then again, Krause has a fight and he was right at the centre of all the handbags. 

Nice to see Jesse Taylor and Joe Stevenson stayed out of it. 

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a few thoughts on the TUF Finale, i've really been so shit with following MMA recently, my lack of following on a daily basis i feel has killed my interest in some of the UFC events, i've got a buzz for this show though...

Michael-Johnson-vs-Justin-Gaethje-UFC-Ki

* The main event is going to be an absolute doozy. I was excited to see the WSOF Champs move over because i followed that promotion, they've disappointed so far. Moraes was hard done by but he didn't set the world alight and Branch bored the pants off everyone but Gaethje is the main event for me, he's been my favorite fighter outside of the UFC for the past couple of years. Just a come forward scrapper who has little regard for his own well-being, he's nasty as fuck and i love to see that in a fighter, the equaliser is that he's a Division 1 All American so he's got a real solid base. Johnson here is definitely the crisper, more defined striker and he'll likely get his shots off but i see Gaethje's pressure and relentless striking over-whelming him. This one won't disappoint.

* Said it before but i fancy Taylor to overwhelm Dhiego Lima and cruise to a decision in or a ground and pound stoppage. Lima comes off like a great guy but his lack of a chin and by all accounts tendency to not believe in himself puts him at a bit of a disadvantage from the off and against a powerhouse wrestler it's curtains. Chuffed for Taylor though, if you wanna talk about taking the tough road to get back to the UFC, he took it, he seems a good guy despite being a bit of a goof.

* Would really love to see Tom Gallicchio pull the upset over Krauss, can't see it but i always root for those non-athletic type guys who get by on having one specific skillset and a will to win (see the king of that style, Matt Horwich). Gallicchio looks like the lovechild of Matt Brown and Ben Saunders and seems nice as pie, plus i'd love to see his candy business work out.

* Really could care less about the women's fights, bad to say but 3 on one card is too many for me.

* Diakase gets chance to shine in the US again, exciting prospect and great to see another Brit get a main card slot in the States. No idea who Drakkar Klose is.

* I expect Tavares/Theodorou to see Tavares pushed against the cage for 90% of the fight. Theodorou wins a boring decision.

* Gray Maynard gets to redeem himself after the infamous Ryan Hall fight...personally id have loved to have seen Maynard/Hall II but i guess that's wishful thinking. Ishihara has a ton of personality and is associated with Team Alpha Male, unless Gray turns this into wrestling match (which i don't expect) this could be abit of a show stealer. Mark this one down as a potential fight of the night.

Really up for this one! I'm back in the game!!

 

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Again, for some reason I thought this was next weekend until I watched this week's TUF and they did the old face offs at the end. 

I like the look of this one actually. I expect and hope Jesse Taylor wins the final. His wrestling should make the difference. Really like Taylor so it'd be great to see him finally exorcise that demon from TUF 7. He's a goof but a likeable one. He reminds me so much of goofy Kurt Angle from 2001. I could just see him singing "Jimmy crack corn and I don't care" with the tiny cowboy hat on. 

Really looking forward to Gaethje's debut for all the reasons you gave, Egg. 

But I think Marc Diakiese is the highlight for me. Can't wait to see him again. Ridiculous striker. If I'd bothered to do a preview post, his fight would've been my 'one to watch'. 

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2 hours ago, D@mm said:

Yeah which fighters would you choose from, I assume he will fight at Lightheavyweight, here are the rankings from 10-15

10 Rogerio Nogueira 
 
11 Patrick Cummins 
 
12 Tyson Pedro 
 
13 Gian Villante 
 
14 Jan Blachowicz 
 
15

Gadzhimurad Antigulov 

 

Who out of them would be a good match up for Taylor ?

 

you've got the wrong division, Taylor/Lima is at 170.

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Taylor's fought at welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight. Based on his frame I could see him going to MW, I'm just going off looks but the cut to 170 can't be fun for him.

What a victory, though! In dramatic fashion, and nice to see that Jesse appears to have his shit together after his original TUF debacle.

That main event though! Don't know if anything tomorrow is hitting the level of insanity that Johnson and Gaethje brought (maybe Romero vs. Whittaker). That was Rock Em Sock Em Robots at its finest, I bet Stann was sitting there having flashbacks to his war with Wanderlei (I know I was). I don't know how Gaethje has remained undefeated with that style, it's fun and he's obviously crazy tough, but it's just so damn reckless. First time I've seen him fight, and I love it.

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Gray Maynard (145.5lbs, 12-6-1, 1 NC) vs. Teruto Ishihara (145lbs, 9-3-2) saw Maynard smother and control Ishihara on the ground with his wrestling for all three rounds, Maynard timing his takedowns perfectly each time out. It was not pretty but it was effective.

Five-Word Review: Maynard blankets Ishihara with wrestling.

Tecia Torres (115lbs, 8-1) vs. Juliana Lima (115.5lbs, 9-3) was pretty unexciting until early in the second when Torres defended a takedown from Lima and in the process, manage grab the neck of Lima, get back control, and sink in a rear naked choke for the submission victory. It was the first stoppage win of Torres’ professional career.

Five-Word Review: Unexciting until a great finish.

Ed Herman (205.5lbs, 23-12, 1 NC) vs. C.B. Dollaway (205lbs, 15-8) was a really good fight, both Herman and Dollaway really going for it on the ground. Herman went for a number of submission attempts off of his back, which is something you might not expect from Herman, but he needed to try something, because Dollaway had really good top game. Herman almost got a kimura late on but Dollaway survived to come back strong. Dollaway got the nod but it was a victory he had to really work hard for, in what was his first fight in around 18-months.

Five-Word Review: The ‘Doberman’ returns in style.

James Krause (170lbs, 23-7) vs. Tom Gallicchio (170lbs, 19-9)  wasn’t a particularly entertaining fight because even though Krause was clearly the better fighter, he didn’t really do much to Gallicchio, Krause content to dominate with  generally uninspiring stand-up.

Five-Word Review: Krause dominates but doesn’t excite.

Angela Hill (114.75lbs, 6-3) vs. Ashley Yoder (115.5lbs, 5-2) was a fight that generally went one of two ways; when it was standing, it favoured Hill, and when it was on the ground, it favoured Yoder. This was turned on its head late in the third when Hill managed to take Yoder down and control her for about a minute. This was a fight that wasn’t particular good nor was it really bad. It was just ‘there’.

Five-Word Review: A fairly subdued strawweight encounter.

Jordan Johnson (205.5lbs, 7-0) vs. Marcel Fortuna (205.5lbs, 9-1) was not a bad fight but it did not remotely stand out in any way.

Five-Word Review: Completely unremarkable and entirely unmemorable.

Brad Tavares (186lbs, 14-4) vs. Elias Theodorou (186lbs, 13-1) was another good but fairly unremarkable fight. Tavares was a good test for Thedorou and Theodorou did well to keep up with an opponent with more UFC experience. But half-way into the third round, Tavares managed to get the back of Theodorou and have him trouble, but Theodorou eventually scrambled free, though Tavares almost landed a head kick late on. Tavares got the unanimous decision victory but I’m not sure the right guy won.

Five-Word Review: The fight was just ‘there’.

Jared Cannonier (204lbs, 9-2) vs. Nick Roehrick (205.5lbs, 7-0) saw Roehrick make his debut as a very late notice replacement. Roehrick took a lot of punishment in this fight but kept going; he was bloodied up by the middle of the second round and was taking a real beating in places, close to getting finished, but he hung in there. But a head kick late in the third set up a fight winning flurry from Cannonier, with the referee stepping in tp save Roehrick; Roehrick wasn’t quite out but he was taking a beating and despite showing tremendous heart, just had nothing left.

Five-Word Review: One-sided victim showed heart.

Marc Diakiese (154.5lbs, 12-0) vs. Drakkar Klose (155.5lbs, 7-0-1) had the expectations of fireworks, especially after their altercation the day before at the weigh-ins. It didn’t live up those expectations, mainly because Klose did such a good job of taking out the leg of Diakiese early on with kicks to the calf that it stopped Diakiese from being able to get off; Diakiese had no base to deliver his strikes. As such, Klose landed far more punches and kicks and had little worry about taking anything in return. Diakiese got hold of Klose in the third but couldn’t do anything with it. Klose started taunting Diakiese late on to add insult to injury. The fight actually went to a split-decision and Klose got the nod, which he wasted no time in throwing it in the face of Diakiese, and Klose was pulled away by officials.

Five-Word Review: The fireworks never went off.

Dhiego Lima (170.5lbs, 12-5) vs. Jesse Taylor (171lbs, 30-15) saw Taylor go in as the sentimental favourite as the theme of TUF this season was redemption and it would have made the perfect storybook ending for Taylor to gain his redemption on the same show where he had his high-profile fall from grace. Taylor took Lima down very quickly in the first round and completely dominated him with his wrestling, Taylor also having a few close submissions in what would easily have been 10-8 under the new rules and may even have been under the old rules as well. The second round opened up with a bang as Lima dropped Taylor with a big bunch, but when he went to capitalize, Lima went too high on the back of Taylor who shifted backwards and took control of his opponent’s back, Taylor sinking in a rear naked choke and getting the tap.

It was the storybook ending everybody wanted to see. Jesse Taylor had blown his opportunity a decade ago but had scratched and clawed his way back and was given the chance to make amends and gain redemption for his follies the decade before. Taylor had gotten his life together but was determined to gain redemption on the same show where he had thrown things all away a decade before.

It was the perfect ending to what really was one of the better seasons of TUF.

Five-Word Review: Dreams really do come true.

Michael Johnson (155lbs, 17-11) vs. Justin Gaethje (155.75lbs, 17-0) saw Gaethje make his long-awaited UFC debut. The first round was fantastic, just a complete war with both men throwing with bad intentions. Johnson rocked Gaethje early and had him on wobbly legs near the end, but in between, is was all Gaethje, who was using leg kicks to great effect in wearing Johnson down and setting up his punches. The second round started out with more of the same and just over a minute in, Johnson landed a big punch and had Gaethje on even wobblier legs than before; Johnson got too close and they clinched up, giving Gaethje some time to recover. With just over a minute left in the round, Gaethje landed a good uppercut and it was Johnson who was on unsteady feet. Gaethje tried to finish Johnson, remaining methodical, and Johnson held on as best he could but Gaethje kept pushing forward and finally a knee dropped Johnson and it was enough for the referee to step in; Johnson wasn’t out but he’d taken too much punishment and was offering nothing back.

This was one of the greatest brawls you will ever see; this thing was incredible. This was a total rock ‘em sock ‘em slugfest, with edge-of-the-seat excitement from beginning to end. Gaethje makes a successful UFC debut in a big way with one of the best fights of the year.

Five-Word Review: This was a fantastic brawl.

This wasn’t much of an event outside the top two fights, but it was worth the wait, with a real Cinderella story and one of the better fights you will ever see.

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Fuck me. Gaethje vs Johnson!. That's easily my FOTY so far. If there's a better way to make your UFC debut then I haven't seen it. Main event, on a big fight weekend, against a solid name opponent, and you go out and come back from the brink to score a KO win in a FOTY contender. Unbelievable. 

Really pleased to see Gaethje have that moment. He's been one of the few guys outside the UFC who I've followed over the last few years and as well as being a stupidly exciting fighter to watch, he seems a good guy as well. 

Speaking of good guys, I was chuffed to bits to see Jesse Taylor win the finale. I like Diego Lima but you'd have to be a bit of an arsehole to not be rooting for JT Money in this one. Everyone loves a comeback story and the show being called 'Redemption', it's like it was named with Taylor in mind. What a story. Good fight as well. Taylor's one of those wrestlers I like to watch because even when he's not finishing or damaging his opponent that much, he's always trying to. He's constantly trying to advance position and work towards a finish. Kind of like Matt Hughes in his heyday. To come back from that knockdown to get the submission was a brilliant finish as well. 

Klose vs Diakiese wasn't what I hoped but it wasn't bad. Disappointing to see Diakiese get derailed but I'm sure there's better to come. And Klose looks like he'll be worth keeping tabs on himself. Seems a bit of a dick though. Although I did love the bit in his post-fight interview with Brian Stann where he went, "All English guys are bums" and they shot straight to Bisping with a face like fucking thunder...

LnWCr.jpg

:D 

Wasn't really a fan of the rest of the card at all. Herman vs Dolloway was good, but that's about it. Didn't even know Dollaway was still employed. 

Oh and did anyone catch that bit when they showed Max Holloway in the crowd? Bloody hell. He looks like he's been spending his dough from the Aldo fight exclusively in Greggs. 

du93X.jpg

Look at the chins! He only fought Aldo a few weeks ago. Hawaiian food must be amazing. 

Seriously, I'm just fucking about. He's not massive or anything but I hope he doesn't start getting that BJ Penn syndrome now where he bloats up between fights and fucks himself over that way. 

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