UFC 225: Whittaker vs Romero 2

[Egg Shen]

They need to put stricter penalties in place, like instant fight cancellation, no pay and compulsory to fight a division above next time around, no excuses.

Its difficult when a main event drops off that they have so much money invested in, so the UFC will always wanna see it go ahead somehow.

https://youtu.be/_RPVtoNd5kQ

Romero leaving the weigh in ^

Edited June 9, 2018 by Egg Shen

[wandshogun09]

I'm nearly all caught up on everything build-up wise for this, just a couple of the Embedded to watch, can't wait for this now. With all the talk of the Punk thing, X-Pac Heat Covington and Romero's weight miss it's easy to forget just how strong a complete card this is. I've certainly overlooked some of it. Was just watching the weigh in and almost every time the graphic popped up for the next two fighters to weigh in I thought 'fuck, I forgot about this fight'. 

They'll all be wrong but he's my predictions...

Whittaker vs Romero 2 for me is a bit of a shot in the dark. Both are mega dangerous and I don't think we can read too much into the first fight because it all really hinged on one round. Now there are other variables to factor in like Whittaker's layoff and Romero's weight cut. Who the fuck knows? I've had a gut feeling that Yoel catches him this time so I'll stick with that. But the weight cut thing worries me and he seemed a bit dejected talking to Rogan at the weigh in. Whittaker looks well fired up as well. I don't know. But Yoel winning by spectacular KO yet not being able to win the title sounds about right. It's him all over, isn't it? It wouldn't be a Yoel Romero fight without a load of controversy. 

I'll go Romero by KO/TKO. Part wishful thinking, part gut feeling. I don't dislike Whittaker and a Yoel win now does nowt for the 185 division other than create more of a mess. But I can't go against him. 

 

Dos Anjos vs Cunt will hopefully be a one sided massacre inflicted by RDA. MMA is hard to predict but thinking logically, Covington really only has one way to win this fight and that's to outwrestle Dos Anjos and grind out a decision. He's not winning a standup fight and he's not submitting RDA. So he's going to be looking to just spoil and smother his way to a shit decision. What's new? Dos Anjos is a different class for me. The only thing that concerns me is that, although he's looked brilliant at 170 so far, he's still the smaller man here. And this is his first time facing a proper grappling specialist at the higher weight. Hopefully that's not an issue and he fucks this prick up. I think he does. Just can't see Colby having it all his way in the grappling and if he's forced to stand for any significant length of time I think RDA obliterates him. I could also see RDA hurting him then pouncing on a submission. There's a few ways I can see Dos Anjos winning this. But it's going to depend on how he combats Colby's one trick. 

Dos Anjos by KO/TKO for me. I'm actually thinking he might blitz Colby early on for some reason. 

 

Holm vs Anderson is one of the fights I completely forgot was happening. Finally a featherweight contender fight. Guessing the winner of this gets Cyborg, unless Cyborg vs Nunes is coming next. Anyway this is an interesting fight. I've only seen a couple of Megan Anderson's fights. She looked good but this is a big step up for her. Much bigger stage and against a higher calibre of opponent than she's ever been in with before. On paper you have to give Holm the edge here. She's way more experienced and has been facing better opposition consistently. But the counter argument to that is that she's got a lot of miles on her, she's coming up on 37 years old with a really long career behind her in Boxing, Kickboxing and MMA. She's had 64 fights now combined over those 3 sports. Plus she started training young. I don't think people really realise how long she's been in the game. Megan Anderson is a lot greener in her fighting career (8-2 MMA record) but she's also fresher at 28 years old. She's taller than I thought as well. She's listed as 6'0", the height difference was noticeable when they faced off at the weigh in. Still got to favour Holm myself but it's an interesting one. 

Going Holm on points. She's got a lot of mileage on her but she's not really showing signs of breaking down yet. Despite losing, it was only December that she went a good 5 rounds with Cyborg. And Megan, despite being younger and fresher, has also been inactive lately. I think Holm's big stage experience pulls her through here but it'll be interesting to see how she handles Megan's height and lankiness. 

 

Arlovski vs Tuivasa is ending by KO. Surely. With the heat these two throw with, I can't see how it goes 15 minutes. It's often a bit of a coin flip with the heavies and like Holm-Anderson, the gulf in experience here is pretty massive. I think I put it in the opening post but Tuivasa was only 6 years old when Arlovski made his MMA debut. Crazy. Big Andrei has had 43 MMA fights to Tuivasa's 7. I think Arlovski is near the end of his rope as a fighter now but you still can't sleep on his power. Just think it's Tuivasa's time. Can see him putting one on Arlovski's chin early on that'll be that. Might not be easy but I just don't see Arlovski holding up. Should be wild however long it lasts. 

Tuivasa by KO/TKO. 

 

Punk vs Jackson...who the fuck really knows? 0-1 vs 0-1. Someone's O's Gotta Go! You can chop it up anyway you want, nobody can be confident either way with this one. There's just so little to go on. Of course there's always guesswork involved when predicting any fight but usually there's things you know about the fighters to give you an idea. This one is all speculation though. There's no data to really break down. I voted Punk by decision in the poll but I hope it doesn't go to a decision. If this goes to the cards it's going to get ugly. 

Ah fuck it, Jackson by KO/TKO because it's as good a guess as any. That's just based on the talk being that Punk is least comfortable in the striking and it seems to be more Jackson's thing with his bit of Boxing and Kickboxing experience. I'm guessing the UFC have picked him as CM's opponent for a reason though. So maybe his takedown and submission defence is Kimbo bad and Punk pulls off a textbook Peruvian necktie for the sub.

I don't have a strong opinion on Punk. Don't hate him but I'm not really with this recent Punk love-in either. I have zero interest in seeing him get hurt though. So I think the best case scenario is he wins then retires. Otherwise what are we doing here? Only way to top a win on PPV in his hometown would be what, a PPV main event? A win over someone good? Neither of those things are happening so why continue? Even if he loses but he actually gets to have a competitive fight, maybe that will be enough to fulfil his goal. 

The prelims for this are really strong too. When you've got the likes of Rashad Evans and a fight like Benavidez vs Pettis down on Fight Pass it tells you everything about how good a card this really is. 

Full predictions; 

Yoel Romero by KO/TKO 

Rafael Dos Anjos by KO/TKO 

Holly Holm by Decision

Tai Tuivasa by KO/TKO 

Mike Jackson by KO/TKO 

Curtis Blaydes by Decision

Claudia Gadelha by Decision

Mirsad Bektic by Decision

Rashad Coulter by KO/TKO 

Anthony Smith by KO/TKO  

Joseph Benavidez by Decision

Charles Oliveira by Submission

Dan Ige by Submission

 

So yeah, quite a lot of knockouts. 

Edited June 9, 2018 by wandshogun09

[ColinBollocks]

I fancy RDA to overwhelm Colby too. He's like a shrunken down Velasquez in that regard and you need to have some special cardio to match his output.  I can see Colby getting a bit desperate with his takedowns.

Anyway what a bummer the main event is. Typical that I start to get somewhat invested in something Whittaker is doing then it goes tits up. Lessons learned; the boring tit.

[Egg Shen]

Jon Anik has tweeted that Covington is now the betting favorite, get your money out.

[OzExile]

With no degree of confidence, I'm going: 

Whittaker, Tuivasa, Anderson, Covington, Jackson. 

[jimufctna24]

I'm utter shite at predicting MMA fights these days. Anyway, my picks are: 

Whittaker via UD

RDA via TKO 

Tuivasa vis TKO

Holm via UD

Jackson via TKO

Romero leaving the middleweight division is good for the sport. Not only is it beneficial for the man's health, which is the most important thing, but it also provides the Light Heavyweight division with a fresh name. The Light Heavyweight division needs Romero's presence a lot more than what the Middleweight division does. A 205lbs division featuring D.C, Gusty, Rockhold and Romero sounds great on paper. But we'll see how long D.C stays in the division (and indeed the sport). I think Whittaker beat Romero tonight though. There is always a chance that Romero catches him, but I think Whittaker will be a little too crafty and classy and will win a wide unanimous decision in the process.

I want Romero to win though. He's one of the sport's mavericks, but I do quite like him. 

Edited June 9, 2018 by jimufctna24

[TildeGuy~!]

I’m going with these to be winners tonight, no clue on how though.

Whittaker, Covington, Tuivasa, Holm, Punk

Edited June 9, 2018 by TildeGuy~!

[Cousin Jim Bob]

I can see alot of arguments about how the main event should be scored. I was not keeping tally its so late but felt there was a Yoel 10-8 in there somewhere. It was a cracking fight all the same.

 

Punk has used up alot of his good will. He got battered by an 0-1 photographer who doesn't even seem to want to be a MMA fighter. This has to be it for him in MMA. I'm sure Duke Roufus likes taking his money but it would be nice if he was actually honest now and told Punk he ain't cut out for this and maybe he should go back to what he is good at.

[RancidPunx]

How bad was Punk ?

 

How long has he been training mma ?

 

i thought he had been doing BJJ for a number of years before he quit WWE ?

[UK Kat Von D]

Punk was robbed 

[zep81]

3 hours ago, Cousin Jim Bob said:

I can see alot of arguments about how the main event should be scored. I was not keeping tally its so late but felt there was a Yoel 10-8 in there somewhere. It was a cracking fight all the same.

 

Punk has used up alot of his good will. He got battered by an 0-1 photographer who doesn't even seem to want to be a MMA fighter. This has to be it for him in MMA. I'm sure Duke Roufus likes taking his money but it would be nice if he was actually honest now and told Punk he ain't cut out for this and maybe he should go back to what he is good at.

Well, this is what White said afterwards;

After going to 0-2 in the UFC, Punk will not receive another shot, according to the organisation's president, Dana White.

"No, it should be a wrap," White said. "The guy [Punk] is 39 years old. I love the guy and he's the nicest guy in the world. We gave him two shots and he had a lot of heart tonight but I think he should call it a wrap."
As for Jackson, White was furious with his display because, on several occasions, the finish looked on for 'The Truth' but he didn't display any urgency or any desire to put Punk away, which prompted a tongue-in-cheek theory from commentator Joe Rogan that Jackson had been paid off to make the bout go the full three rounds.

White insisted that Jackson's UFC career was also done, claiming that he "wouldn’t even put that kid in the Contender Series."

"Michael Jackson I’m not happy with," White added. "This guy was acting like a goofball tonight. You get this opportunity to come in and fight CM Punk, and you’re doing, like, bolo punches to the body on top. Never looked like he was trying to finish the fight ever. Looked like he could have finished the fight a few times. Never tried!

"I don’t know what that guy did for a living before we gave him the shot, but whatever it was, he needs to go back and do that again. He’s 0-2 as far as I’m concerned.

"I got the sense that he’s a complete fucking idiot and I couldn’t wait for that fight to end and I regretted not putting that fight on Fight Pass. That’s how I felt about it."

[TildeGuy~!]

2 hours ago, RancidPunx said:

How bad was Punk ?

 

How long has he been training mma ?

 

i thought he had been doing BJJ for a number of years before he quit WWE ?

Unfortunately practicing BJJ in a gym vs using it in a fight in the UFC is a completely different ball game. 

[ColinBollocks]

23 hours ago, ColinBollocks said:

 

I fancy RDA to overwhelm Colby too. He's like a shrunken down Velasquez in that regard and you need to have some special cardio to match his output.  I can see Colby getting a bit desperate with his takedowns.

 

Oh boy. Poor wand.

Anyway, I don't think many foreshadowed what we got. In a way, Colby did to RDA what RDA did to Pettis. It was a fascinating fight because both were in a sprint and we were looking to see who broke first. It was proper mind blowing seeing Colby do that to RDA though. Shame we've got Colby v Tyron next in the battle of the bastards. Although Tyron is easily the more likeale of the two.

We all should be thankful Jackson had some sort of fight background because it would have looked a lot worse if it was Punk v someone as shit as him. I knew nowt about Jackson but the second they flashed up his previous boxing credentials you knew Punk was in for a proper doing. Punk just has nothing to offer. I'd even fancy my Grandad to stuff a shot from him, and he's been on his back in ground for nearly 15 years. This is exactly why I wasn't into seeing Punk fight again.

Although Punk looking like me fighting out the bath was trumped by Rashad. UFC need to do him a favour.

The main event was tight but I lost the heart for it due to all the weight cut issues. Guess it's cleaner that Yoel lost.

[Yakashi]

Punk should be embarrassed. All of this “he has heart for going in the UFC” etc stuff is bullshit. I get it’s a business, but when you’ve got a load of great fighters on the prelims and that guy, who could be any of us, is taking up a PPV spot (after all the bitching he did about part timers in wrestling) from real fighters it becomes a joke. If he insists on getting the shit kicked out of him again, then he needs to go somewhere else. Sad thing is, bellator would sign him in a heartbeat. And, unless they put him in there with me, he’s getting killed again. 

[gmoney]