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UFC London: Till vs Masvidal - Mar 16 šŸ“󠁧󠁢󠁄󠁮󠁧ó æ


wandshogun09

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Saturday 16th March, the Octagonā€™s back at the O2 inĀ London with what is probably the strongest complete card weā€™ve had in the UK in a good few years.Ā 

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ESPN+Ā MAIN CARD
Darren Till vs Jorge MasvidalĀ 

Leon Edwards vs Gunnar NelsonĀ 

Volkan Oezdemir vs Dominick ReyesĀ 

Nathaniel Wood vs Jose Alberto Quinonez

Claudio Silva vs Danny RobertsĀ 

Jack Marshman vs John Phillips
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ESPN+Ā PRELIMS
Arnold Allen vs Jordan Rinaldi

Joseph Duffy vs Marc Diakiese

Saparbek Safarov vs Nicolae Negumereanu

Danny Henry vs Dan Ige

Molly McCann vs Priscila CachoeiraĀ 

Nad Narimani vs Mike Grundy

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Like always, donā€™t know if thatā€™s the proper bout order but thatā€™s how MMAJunkieā€™s got it. Although Iā€™m not sure if Duffy vs Diakiese is official yet, just seen itā€™s in the works.Ā 

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Darren Till vs Jorge Masvidal is a fantastic fight to headline this. Both top fighters but both out of the title picture at the moment. Till is coming in fresh off losing his title shot against Tyron Woodley in September so this is step one towards trying to buildĀ himself back up. He was undefeated before that but it was a decisive loss where he was stunned on the feet and submitted on the ground. Itā€™ll be interesting to see if hisĀ confidence has taken a knockĀ now. Probably not judging from his recent interviews. Masvidal has been a bit of a ghost lately. His name has continued to pop up, mostly because him and Bisping canā€™t stop having digs at each other. But he didnā€™t fight at all in 2018 and lost his last two fights before that to Wonderboy Thompson and Demian Maia. He hasnā€™t won a fight since he beat Donald Cerrone two years ago. He was briefly linked to a fight with Nick Diaz for UFC 235 but that obviously came to nothing.Ā 

So here we are. Donā€™t know what Masvidalā€™s been doing during all this time away. He grew his hair long, if that does anything for you.Ā 

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Really goodĀ fight. You feel like bothĀ guys can get back in the mix with aĀ big win or two or a spectacular performance. But theyā€™re both in a position where they have something to prove. Youā€™d expect this to play out mostly on the feet and I think it should be great to watch. Tillā€™s got that Muay Thai style and Masvidal is a good boxer. Both like a scrap but both can be tactical and patient if need be. With the characters involved though, Iā€™m expecting tempers to flare here and I think at some point over the 5 rounds this one is going to ignite. Canā€™t wait to see it.Ā 

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Leon Edwards vs Gunnar Nelson is a quality co-main event. ReallyĀ like this fight. Edwards has been after a step up for ages now. Heā€™s 16-3 and coming off 6 wins in a rowĀ including wins over Donald Cerrone, Vicente Luque and Albert Tumenov in there. Heā€™dĀ been quietly putting together a nice little streak but heā€™s recently been getting more vocal. Heā€™s probably the best chance of Birmingham getting another UFC show here now,Ā but I think heā€™s bitten off more than he can chew here. Maybe not,Ā say what you want and he hasnā€™t looked mega impressive but he finds a way to get the W. But yeah, I think Gunnar is just going to be too much for him. I think Gunnar can hang with Edwards in the striking, but I really donā€™t see Edwards living with Gunnar in the grappling. Heā€™s a solid ground fighter himself but Gunniā€™s another level for me. He looked great in his return against Cowboy Oliveira last month as well.Ā 

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Jack Marshman vs John Phillips is an allĀ Welsh battle. Marshman might be fighting for his spot on the roster here. Heā€™s 2-3 in the UFC and coming off two consecutive losses. The thing that might save him is heā€™s exciting bell-to-bell. Heā€™s had 5 fights in the UFC and, win or lose, there wasnā€™t a dull moment to be found. His fights with Ryan Janes and Karl Roberson being the highlights but even his loss to Thiago Santos wasĀ bagsĀ of fun while it lasted. Donā€™t know if Iā€™ve seen Phillips, think I have but itā€™s hazy. Heā€™s 21-8 coming off two submission losses. Kind of feelsĀ like the UFC areĀ maybe trying to give Marshman a winnable fight here. Iā€™m guessing they like his fighting styleĀ and want to keep him around.Ā 

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Volkan Oezdemir vs Dominick Reyes is definitelyĀ ***WANDā€™S ONE TO WATCH*** here for me. Even on a card as deep as this, this fight stands out. Iā€™d honestly have been happy with this as the headliner, to be honest. We know the score with Volkan now. Nothing flashy about him, he just hits fucking hard. Was Rumble Johnsonā€™s main training partner for a while and Rumble raves about him. Knocked out Jimi Manuwa and Misha Cirkunov in about a minute combined. 15-3 MMA record, 5-0 Kickboxing record. Heā€™s lost his last two but they were to Daniel Cormier and Anthony Smith. He gave Smith hell as well. Heā€™s clearly not championship material but heā€™s a handful for most of the division and always a threat because of the power in his hands. Reyes is the up and coming prospect just breaking through into that upper tier at 205. Heā€™s 29 years old, 10-0 with 8 finishes. He was mostly on undercards until he gotĀ his big break in his last fight, facingĀ Ovince Saint Preux on the Khabib vs McGregorĀ PPV inĀ October. Not just that, he won in impressive fashion, very nearly knocking outĀ OSP in the dying seconds of the last round. This is a brilliant fight. Both have fight ending power and itā€™s another big test for Reyes, and a different test than OSP was.Ā 

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Claudio Silva vs Danny Roberts could be the sleeper on this one. At first glance itā€™ll probably be overlooked but itā€™s worth takingĀ notice of. Silva is a bit of a weird case. He has a solidĀ record at 12-1, the only loss being his MMA debut, heĀ beat Nordine Taleb last May. Before that fight though, he hadnā€™t fought since 2014. Heā€™d beat Leon Edwards and Brad Scott in the UFC but thenĀ had a bunch of injuries and missed a huge chunk of his career. Still, to come back after that long out and submit a tough guy like Taleb in a round, is quiteĀ impressive. Danny Roberts is 16-3, from London, won his last two and scored a big KO over Oliver Enkamp on last yearā€™s London show.Ā 

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Molly McCann vs Priscila Cachoeira could be decent. Actually looking forward to seeing this as we didnā€™tĀ really get to see the best of either in their last fights. McCann made her debut on the Liverpool show in May and got submitted in her own city by Gillian Robertson. Sheā€™d been on a 6 fight win streak before that and was Cage Warriors champ. And Cachoeira came in undefeated at 8-0, made her UFC debut lastĀ February and got utterly destroyed by Valentina Shevchenko. Seriously, one of theĀ worst batterings in womenā€™s MMA history. She got fucked up!Ā So Iā€™m hoping we get to see more of both of these twoā€™s games here.Ā 

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Nathaniel Wood vs Jose Alberto Quinonez is a fight Iā€™d have expected to make the main card. Maybe it will if thereā€™s a reshuffle. Woodā€™s from London and heā€™s looking like someone well worth keeping tabs on. Former Cage Warriors champion, 15-3 record with 13 finishes, exciting to watch, still only 25 years old. Heā€™s got a lot of potential. Heā€™s 2-0 so far in the UFC and had an excellent showing in his last fight on the Jones-Gustafsson 2 undercard in December, submitting Andre Ewell then demanding a spot on this London card. Quinonez I know less about but he was on TUF: Latin America, heā€™s 7-2 and coming off 4 wins.Ā 

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Danny Henry vs Dan Ige will probably go under the radar but again, a solid fight. Henry is a guy nobodyā€™s talking about but heā€™s not gotĀ a bad little resume. Heā€™s Scottish,Ā 12-2 with 10 finishes, and comesĀ into this fight off the back of 5 wins. Already in the UFC heā€™s beat Hakeem Dawodu and Daniel Teymur. Not bad at all. Dan Ige is 10-2 with 7 finishes and was on Dana Whiteā€™s Contender Series.Ā 

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Nad Narimani vs Mike Grundy is a little bit of aĀ mystery to me. I vaguely know of Narimani. Mostly because he beat Paddy Pimblett in Cage Warriors for their 145lbs titleĀ a couple of years back. Heā€™s British of Iranian heritage,Ā 12-2 record,Ā won his last 5, fights out of Team Alpha Male. Mike Grundy is 31 years old out of Wigan.Ā 11-1 record and has fought in BAMMA and ACB. Trains at Team Kaobon with Darren Till.Ā Heā€™s a standout wrestler and actually repped Britain and won the bronze medalĀ at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.Ā 

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Arnold Allen vs Jordan Rinaldi is one of the onlyĀ fights on the card Iā€™m not all that bothered about. Donā€™t know why. Both are decent enough, it just doesnā€™t grab me for whatever reason. Allen is 13-1, Rinaldi is 14-6. Could be a good fight, just not getting my juices flowing. Watch it be FOTN now.

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Joseph Duffy vs Marc Diakiese, like I said, hasnā€™t been confirmed as official yet but Iā€™ve seen it rumoured in a few places as being ā€˜in the worksā€™. I hope it is because itā€™s a cracking fight on paper. Duffy is mostly known for his 2010 submission win over Conor McGregor. Yeah it was ages ago and of no real relevance in 2019 but still, itā€™sĀ a bit of a claim to fame. Duffy has legit skills though. Heā€™s had some setbacks but I still genuinely think he could get back in the running to be a contender. Heā€™s still only 30, BJJ purple-belt under Firas Zahabi. Has a 16-3 MMA record, a 7-0 Pro Boxing record and a 3-0 Kickboxing record. Has sparred the likes of George Groves, Chris Eubank Jr, James DeGaleĀ andĀ Andy Lee. Heā€™s had a rough year or so though. Got stopped by James Vick on the 2017Ā MSG PPV and missedĀ all of 2018. Hopefully he can make something happen in 2019 because heā€™s too good to just fade away. And Diakiese should match up perfectly with Duffy for an incredible fight. Really good striker, explosive and creative in his attacks. Like Duffy though, heā€™s hit a rough patch. He came into the UFC in 2016 undefeated and won his first 3 UFC fights, moving to 12-0. Heā€™s since lost his last 3 fights in a row. So similar to Duffy, he needs to look good here. If this fight does get made I could easily see it stealing the show. Iā€™d fancy Duffy to win based on being more well rounded and experienced but Diakieseā€™s style could throw him off and make it a bit of a war.Ā 

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Thatā€™sĀ UFC London 2019 then. Hereā€™s the press conference from tā€™other day;Ā 

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Edited by wandshogun09
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Bloody hell, I'd decided to give this a miss because I can't really justify the cost. Card is the best we've had in London for years though. If that Diakiese fight was confirmed, it would probably change my mind.

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I mightĀ be going. I know my sister was trying to get tickets for her, her fella, me and my brotherĀ but she hasnā€™t got back to me yet. Iā€™ll be a bit gutted if I donā€™t getĀ to this one now, to be honest. Itā€™s not even like thereā€™s one mega fight on there or even any real big names, but itā€™s the quality of the card throughout. Itā€™sĀ rare you get a UK card where there are legitimately 3 headline worthy fightsĀ on there but I honestly think they couldā€™ve had any of Till vs Masvidal, Edwards vs Gunnar or Volkan vs Reyes main event this. You could see any of those fights headline a Fight Night, couldnā€™t you? All 3 together on the one card is even better, of course.Ā 

Usually when they announce a UK show and the card takes shape the response to the cardĀ is negative a lot of the time. With this one though, Iā€™ve seen nothing but positivity, and rightly so.Ā 

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15 minutes ago, tiger_rick said:

Am I searching the wrong sites or is it really nearly Ā£200 a ticket to practically sit on the roof? Jees.

My sister is saying the same. She says itā€™s limited to 8 tickets per person and people (scouts) seem to beĀ snapping up 8 at a time and then trying to resellĀ them for extortionate prices. Sheā€™s been in the queue for ages with no joy. Not looking good šŸ˜”Ā 

In better news, it looks like that Duffy vs Diakiese fight is confirmed now. Chamatkar Sandhu tweeted this earlier...

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Edited by wandshogun09
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Ā on the subject of Marshman/Phillips. I dont think the UFC have given Marshman a gimme so much as given him an opponent that'll make for a fan friendly fight.

Dont sleep on John Phillips. Hes limited and had a disastrous debut but he has frightening power for a middleweight. He KO's any 185lb'er in the world if he lands flush, 18 ko's in 21 wins, its a good return. Excellent fight.

I also fear for that Safarov fighter against Saki. You cant be walking forward eating shots against Saki. He's getting sent to hell.

Edited by Egg Shen
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Fucking hell. Didnā€™t realise Phillips could whack like that! I didnā€™t think it was a gimme but definitely thought it was more of aĀ winnable fight than some of the guys heā€™s lost to. Not so sure after watching that highlight now though. Chances are theyā€™re going to just slug it out and based on that highlight alone I donā€™t think I like Marshmanā€™s chances very much anymore. Should be a wild fight though.Ā 

And yeah, I think Safarov is getting battered here. Bad. As we saw in the Villante fight, heĀ blocks punches with his face and you canā€™t be doing that against Gokhan Saki.Ā 

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