UFC 215: Nunes vs Shevchenko 2

[Carbomb]

It is a bit shit. Would've liked for DJ to beat Silva's record and keep on going. He deserves, needs more arrows in his Potential Marketability Quiver, plus anything that brings Dana closer to apoplectic explosion is a good thing.

[David]

It's no big deal, the fight will get rescheduled for a later date by the sounds of it. This kind of thing happens.

[wandshogun09]

If you set Sky+ for this you'll have to set it to record again, they've updated the listing with Nunes vs Shevchenko 2 as main event now. 

Good job I noticed or I'd have got up on Sunday morning expecting to see UFC 215 sitting in my planner and finding fuck all. 

[Egg Shen]

hadn't even realised that Gilbert Melendez was dropping to 145 for the Stephens fight. For some reason i see him being a bit of a Diego Sanchez at the fight.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, I've got a feeling Melendez might look off. He hasn't fought in over a year and he's lost 4 of his last 5. He's 35 so he's not exactly old but he's had a long career with a lot of wars. In 'fighter years' he's about 96.

I might be completely off but Giblert just has that look of a fighter on the way out to me. Him getting popped for PEDs not long ago probably backs that up as well actually. I know people usually assume that when a fighter gets caught they've probably been using their whole career, and in many cases that's likely the case. But I also think with a lot of these guys who are past their physical prime and coming to the end of their career, they might turn to PEDs even if they've been clean previously, out of desperation to try and prolong their career/stop a losing streak etc. Like they're looking for Father Time's kryptonite in a syringe. 

Oh and if anyone fancies giving it a rewatch, the UFC have put Nunes vs Shevchenko 1 up on their YouTube channel;

 

[Egg Shen]

Yeh, for Gil to be dropping to 145 at 35 and on the worst run of his career just seems like a bit of a desperation to me. That's why i likened it to Diego, he cut down on the back of a bad run and it turned out to be a bad move, he's fighting at 170 now. You'd think at an advanced fighting age Melendez would rather be comfortable at a weight. Time will tell.

Stephens is going on my acca.

[wandshogun09]

Apparently the UFC are looking to reschedule Johnson vs Borg for another card, which is no surprise. But I wouldn't be against them just scrapping the fight altogether and giving Sergio Pettis the shot at Mighty Penis now. Although I wouldn't give him much of a chance against DJ, I think Pettis is still a better challenger than Borg. Probably more deserving as well. And it's not like this was the first time Borg's pulled out of a fight late in the day either. He's missed weight a bunch of times etc. Even if you rebook it, I just don't think you can rely on him to show up on fight night. John Lineker (where is he, btw?) never got a shot largely because he was always heavy on the scales. Borg can get to fuck. 

[Noah Southworth]

9 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

John Lineker (where is he, btw?)

Moved back up to bantamweight, where he still managed to miss weight. For the record, Lineker has missed weight five times.

[wandshogun09]

I knew he moved up to 135 but he hasn't fought in fucking ages now, has he? Guess he's injured. He's not serving USADA time and I've missed it, is he? 

Anyway, just watched the weigh ins. 

Shevchenko by TKO in the championship rounds is how I see this one going. I've felt that way since they were set to fight in July and I still feel that way. Don't get me wrong there's a bunch of ways I could see this going. And Nunes is dangerous enough that I can certainly envision her coming storming out of the blocks and Shevchenko either not getting the chance to work her game or being too damaged early to capitalise late. Nunes is a beast and I'm not on this bandwagon that she pulled out in July because she was scared and stuff. But I really rate Shevchenko and I picture this looking a bit like their first fight but with the extra 2 rounds I think Shevchenko takes over and puts a fading Nunes away late in the fight.

I hope she wins as well. Nothing against Nunes. There's just something about the way Shevchenko carries herself that I love. 

Magny by decision for me here. I hope I'm wrong because I'm a big fan of RDA and I'd like to see this welterweight run work out for him. But I just think at the higher levels of 170, his lack of size is going to come into play. And Magny is not only a huge welterweight, he's a really skilled one. Magny is a bit underrated, I think. He's going to have a huge size and reach advantage here and I can see RDA struggling to get his game going on the feet and in the grappling. I wouldn't ever count a fighter as awesome as Dos Anjos out but it's a tough matchup for him this. 

Cejudo on points was my initial thinking with this so I'll stick with that. But when I think about it, I'm close to 50/50 really. Reis is no pushover and even though Cejudo will have the wrestling so should theoretically be able to dictate where the fight takes place, Reis has incredible grappling and the striking will probably be close. Interesting one. I reckon Cejudo edges a close fight though. 

Tyson Pedro by KO/TKO but it's a bit of a shot in the dark really. He's looked good so far but I just don't think we know enough about Pedro yet to make any confident predictions. Like the Magny/RDA fight, Pedro will enjoy a size advantage and I can see Latifi finding it hard to get in range. I wouldn't be a bit upset or surprised if Latifi clobbers him though, because I'm a Latifi fan. But Pedro's seemed like a top man in everything I've seen of him too, so whatever. Should be entertaining regardless given both their styles. I guess it'd be better for the division if Pedro keeps climbing the ladder. 

Stephens by KO/TKO. I know that's a bold prediction because Melendez is tough as fuck and known for his durability. But it's a gut feeling I can't shake for some reason  a combination of him slipping in form over the last few years, the drop to 145 which reeks of a desperation move, plus the fact that Stephens probably has the most raw punching power in the division...just getting a bad feeling off this one. 

Few other bits and pieces...

Sara McMann looked in ridiculous shape at the fake weigh in. If her and Latifi had a kid it'd break the world. 

Looking forward to seeing Gavin Tucker back in there. He looked really good in his UFC debut. Schooled Sam Sicilia on short notice with a performance that was like a lower level version of Garbrandt's against Cruz. 

Full predictions;

Valentina Shevchenko by KO/TKO 

Neil Magny by decision 

Henry Cejudo by decision 

Tyson Pedro by KO/TKO 

Jeremy Stephens by KO/TKO 

Sara McMann by decision 

Sarah Moras by submission 

Gavin Tucker by KO/TKO 

Mitch Clarke by submission 

Arjan Bhullar by KO/TKO  

Adriano Martins by decision 

 

[Noah Southworth]

Another set of full predictions;

Valentina Shevchenko by KO/TKO
Neil Magny by Decision
Henry Cejudo by Decision
Ilir Latifi by KO/TKO
Jeremy Stephens by Decision
Sara McMann by Submission
Ashlee Evans-Smith by Decision
Rick Glenn by Decision
Alex White by KO/TKO
Arjan Bhullar by Decision  
Adriano Martins by Submission 

[OzExile]

Not sure what to make of that card.  Cejudo looked boss and I've long since thought he could be the one to eventually dethrone Mighty Mouse, if anyone is to do it.  He got in there with DJ too soon.  I thought he was screwed out of the win against Benavidez, and has improved tenfold since then.  Liked his post-fight interview too - thought he angled himself for a shot at DJ perfectly. 

I had Shevchenko shading the main event, but for me if you're a challenger trying to take the belt - you should be expected to do more to convince the judges or the belt stays on the champ. 

I didn't really see any prelims - performance of the night has to be RDA. Magny is no mug and had the big height / reach advantage. He blitzed him.   There isn't a lot doing in the upper reaches of 170 right now, he's maybe one win away from a title shot for mine.   

[d-d-d-dAz]

I watched that main event on fast forward and was still bored shitless.

'Who the fuck is that guy?' looked incredible. Serious kickboxing. Giblets might not walk for a week.

Fighting Ilir Latifi doesn't look like fun.

[wandshogun09]

I got nearly all my picks wrong but Dos Anjos looked amazing so I don't care. Blew me away that. Really didn't expect him to win that easily. Nobody just walks through Magny like that and especially given the size difference. Tremendous performance from RDA. 

[BigJag]

I've only really seen the Bhullar fight. He looked competent in a points victory. Mahal got stuck in Florida. Due to the weather. Therefore couldn't walk out to the cage with him.

[wandshogun09]

I just read that Bhullar asked to wear his turban during his entrance and the UFC refused. 

Classy that.