UFC 226: Miocic vs Cormier

[BigJag]

Brock came back with a bang! Even lined up a slot on JRE. The result had been spoiled for me. Serves me right for checking watsapp. Even then I didn't expect Cormier to win the way he did. That punch seemingly came out of no where and totally ruined Stipes day. Cruz did a great break down of the way Cormier set it up in the post fight analysis. Would the eye rake have made Stipe more susceptible to the KO? I didn't spot Cain during the show. Was he not there?

[jimufctna24]

D.C is only open to big-fights going forward. I think he might vacate the 205lbs title. 

The whole interview is worth a watch. 

 

[wandshogun09]

It only makes sense for him to just do big fights now. He's the double champ, nearly 40 and is retiring soon. He'll want to get the biggest fights possible in. And that's undoubtedly Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones. It sucks for the guys coming up at 205 and heavyweight but it's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes in fighting. There's no way DC fights a Blaydes or Volkov now at heavyweight. Or a Gustafsson or whoever at 205. 

I know he was targeting March as his farewell because that's when he hits 40 but he's probably going to have to extend that a little bit if he's got his heart set on getting two more fights in. Guess it depends how bad he wants that third crack at Jones. The Brock fight alone can't really happen until 2019 now, can it? And is there even a timetable for Jones' return yet? It's just not going to happen before March. They're going to run out of time. 

[ColinBollocks]

On 7/5/2018 at 7:37 PM, ColinBollocks said:

Stipe also can ruin your night after a bloody jab. Jones and DC don't have that.

Oh my.

Bloody tremendous for DC. I was slightly convinced the narrative for DCs athletic career was 2nd best, but there he is knocking out the greatest heavyweight in UFC history. All the while not having to put down the Popeye chicken.

Dana claimed DC's back gave out during training too. Apparently it went again when he fell over the speaker.

Lovely as that Disney moment is, in stomps Brock Fucking Lesnar to rip out the throat of Simba. Part meathead, part salesman. It's funny the thought of Brock deserving the title shot didn't even cross my mind until I came in here and read a couple of posts. I'm sold.

Gutted for Stipe. This was always going to be a fight where I'd be slightly sad for the loser. As discussed, Jones beats DC and Stipe beats Jones because MMA math.

Dana went in on Ngannou. Claimed his ego has got the better of him after the Reem fight, saying Ngannou barely trained for Stipe and went to France during fight camp. Shocker of a fight though. Stipe stole his soul.

[Guy Bifkin]

It was a good show with lots of surprises. I'm glad I didn't put a bet on. Saki and Miocic getting laid out in the first, Pettis looking like the old Anthony Pettis and submitting Chiesa and Ngannou and Lewis playing out 3 rounds barely trading leather. I enjoyed the stuff at the end, I wonder if that would've been the plan had Stipe Miocic won? 

[d-d-d-dAz]

State of this

I mean, seriously. Look at that. He goes past complaining about the nature of those kinds of segments, and actually openly insults ‘casual’ fans.

Fucking idiot.

Ignoring the fact that he thinks Brock and CM Punk are the same thing, imagine actively attacking people who may be interested in paying for your fights for having the temerity to not be interested in all fights. You’re that close to a title shot, and you don’t think extra eyes is a good thing?

Its easy to blame the UFC for the state of the company as it is, but so many of the fighters are idiots. And, in this case, so far gone he’s resentful of the people that have provided the platform for him to mak the money he does in the first place.

Utterly baffling.

It’s one thing not wanting to play the game, but you have to at least accept for the game for what it is and not complain when the UFC take a blatant, gaping open goal.

[wandshogun09]

So yeah, what a show. I'm still taking it all in. I watched the TUF Finale and that show and this one were like night and day. The Finale was shite. Couple of little bright spots but just a slog to watch. 

Can't really say much more about DC vs Stipe and the Brock post-fight stuff. The whole thing was just one of those moments that marks an event as special. And the crazy thing is, I still think DC shouldn't really be fighting at heavyweight. That sounds mental considering he's just KO'd the most successful heavyweight in the sport's history but he's so undersized at the weight. And despite the commentators banging on about him having more power with the extra weight, and there's clearly some truth to that, it's clear he's not in prime physical condition at heavyweight. He knew it as well, constantly pulling the waistband of his shorts up over his belly and love handles. The fact he's done what he's done despite fighting much heavier than he probably should be is a testament to how good he is. It was a bit of an odd fight really. The things you expected DC to excel in - the clinch work and wrestling - I thought Stipe got the better of. And I think most thought Stipe had the advantage on the feet, then DC knocks him out! 

Who the fuck saw Lewis vs Ngannou being a snoozer coming? I didn't see one prediction along those lines. You'd never have called it. On paper this was the perfect style matchup for Ngannou to bounce back in. Seems that one-sided loss to Stipe really fucked with him mentally and sapped his confidence. It's the only explanation that makes any sense because he'd obviously put the work in in camp to come in so much lighter, he looked and sounded the part before the fight, but he just couldn't pull the trigger once the cage door closed. It's not the end of the world. At heavyweight you're always a big knockout or two away from skyrocketing back into relevance. But he's really got some work to do now. The physical tools are there, but he needs to get over that hump mentally and evolve as a fighter or he's just going to be remembered as an overgrown Sokoudjou. 

Thought Perry vs Felder had a hell of a fight. I'd have given them FOTN. Close one and I wouldn't mind seeing them go 5 rounds on a Fight Night or something down the road somewhere. 

Enjoyed Pettis vs Chiesa a lot. Easily the best Pettis has looked since he lost the title to RDA. Dominick Cruz read my mind when he said something like 'that looked like the WEC Anthony Pettis'. It really did. He looked so loose and relaxed and just let his game flow wherever the fight went. They were talking during the entrances about Pettis being conscious of that and saying he'd drifted away from it and wanted to get back to that way of fighting. It worked here. Hopefully he can put some wins together and get back to his best. 

Khalil Rountree knocking out Gokhan Saki was an explosive start to the PPV. Rogan talked it up as a big shocker and an upset and I get why given Saki's striking pedigree but in MMA it's a different thing. Even if a guy stands with you it's not a straight striking match because you'd always have in the back of your mind that you have to be ready to stuff a takedown or whatever. There's just more to think about. And Saki had already looked a bit off in his first UFC fight. It was always going to be hard to transition to MMA this late in the day for him, especially doing it in the UFC. And Rountree is a solid prospect himself. 

Prelims were pretty good as well. The highlight for me was Paulo Costa. That man is terrifying. You can see how he might come unstuck down the line because he throws everything with 100% murderous intent, and that combined with his cartoon superhero physique means he's likely going to gas badly against someone who can weather the storm. But he's so fucking great to watch. And who can weather that storm? Someone will but there won't be many who can.

I've decided we need to see Paulo Costa vs Yoel Romero. NOW! 

[ColinBollocks]

Blaydes Tweeting that to his 8000 followers is wonderful on so many levels.

Anyway, the Champ (Champ) made it very clear post-fight that he's not against fighting the likes of Gust and Blaydes (if they prove they get it), just he's done being the fighting champion and taking on 'No Buys'. DC said he pretty much made rubbish money last time he had a scrap with Gust, so why bother because nobody, in the end, really cares to pay for it. DC has earned his final big pay cheque.

We've seen with Stipe that just being a good dude and fighter isn't enough, no matter how good you are. Some rubes claim GSP was just that, but GSP knows what's up. It's why so many of his fights have memorable builds.

[jimufctna24]

These are D.C's most recent fights:

Jan 2015: Jon Jones - Light-Heavyweight Champion

May 2015: Rumble Johnson - Outright number 1 contender

October 2015: Gusty - Outright number 1 contender

July 2016: Anderson Silva - Late replacement for Jones Jones, who was the outright number 1 contender

April 2017: Rumble Johnson - Outright number 1 contender

July 2017: Jones Jones - Outright number 1 contender

Jan 2018: Oezdemir - Top-ranked contender 

July 2018: Miocic - Heavyweight Champion

If anyone has earned the right to a voluntary defence it is D.C. He has played a straight game the past 3-4 years. Not only has he consistently taken the toughest fights available, but he's also remained reasonably active, in an era where the biggest stars only fight sporadically. 

 

[Keith Houchen]

Jesus, that was sensational.  The ending was pure pro wrestling and thats why it was so wonderful.  It's the natural bad guy vs the natural good guy with the legacy of the sport on the line, the pair of them were having a great time and I've been hooked in with that one shove.  Absolutely brilliant.

[wandshogun09]

There was a bit just after Brock shoved DC, where Brock was marching forward towards DC and you could see DC's wife and kids standing there as it all unfolded. I forgot they were even in the cage until the camera picked them up. His kids must've been terrified, bless 'em. What a bastard Brock is. A great, great bastard. 

[ColinBollocks]

UFC lucked out with the DC win. Stipe for all his ability, has no selling ability.

What I loved most about DC's part is he's been very quick to go full "it's a shoot, brother" anytime someone questioned whether it was just pure panto. Clearly DC was hamming it up and going with the flow, but he's playing it straight to the media.

I also thought Rogan did the job selling Brock as a headcase.

No wonder Dana was in a good mood.

[Cousin Jim Bob]

43 minutes ago, ColinBollocks said:

We've seen with Stipe that just being a good dude and fighter isn't enough, no matter how good you are. Some rubes claim GSP was just that, but GSP knows what's up. It's why so many of his fights have memorable builds.

I'm sure he admitted as much after the Nick Diaz fight. From "I was not impressed with your performance" to prodding at Bisping prefight he was always fun in fight build ups. Stipe, god bless him never says anything remotely interesting. The big UFC prefight videos have him saying things like "I'm going to win and then go home" FFS.

I always thought Gokhan Saki was a bit of a knob in kickboxing. I'm sure it ruined a million accumulators but watching him get smashed was hilarious.

[WyattSheepMask]

I just liked that one of DC’s cornermen tried to get a shove in on Brock. He looked about 2ft shorter than Brock and I’d have loved to have seen Brock send him flying out of the octagon, Wilhelm Scream and all. And then he goes and cuts a promo better than any that Heyman has done for him in WWE in the last couple of years. I’m so In whenever he comes back

[d-d-d-dAz]

The way Dana said that Brock started the USADA process last week sometime makes me think... Brock/Cormier on Dec 29th?

There were rumours they were going to do Conor/Khabib that night too. 

They wouldn’t, and for bloody good reason, but imagine they did both on the same night. I’d travel to the US just to buy it on PPV, as watching it on BT would feel too cheap.