Jump to content

UFC 239: Jones vs Santos - Jul 6 🇺🇸


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

14 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

  • Paid Members

Yeh i feel that way as well, but who knows? maybe there is a fair chunk of UFC fans that will lump down the cash because they think this is the only way they'll get to see it? I'd love to know the figures.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I usually only pay for shows that are shown at a decent time. Now, I did pay for Fury vs Wilder because it was a massive fight. I also went halves with my Brother for Joshua vs Ruiz. But they were the exceptions to the rule. I hadn't followed wrestling for years. However, I did give AEW a try after seeing an advert for them during the NBA finals. But like fuck I was going to pay £15 or so to watch their inaugural show. I was perfectly content to watch it the next day by other means.

It should thus come as little surprise that I am not paying for this weekend's UFC event. I am not a BT subscriber, so I am used to watching most UFC shows by other means, whether live or the following morning. I do occasionally mooch off my Brother and his BT subscription for the big UFC shows. Nevertheless, with BT now putting those shows on PPV, I assume those days are coming to an end. 

I do feel bad for some of you lot. I stopped subscribing to TV channels specifically to watch UFC programming once Setanta went under in 2009. A lot on this forum, however, carried on doing so for years, only for BT to carry on hiking their subscription price and then putting major shows behind an additional paywall. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Good old Diego. I wonder what the full story is on him leaving Jackson’s. He’s been there longer than anyone and was always mega loyal to them. Even fairly recently when Cerrone left, Diego was sticking up for the team and actually wanted to fight Cerrone over the rift. Now just months later he’s gone himself. 

Anyway, couple pf other bits and pieces from yesterday...

Askren trying to wind Masvidal up;

And Rockhold being weird;

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

53 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Good old Diego. I wonder what the full story is on him leaving Jackson’s. He’s been there longer than anyone and was always mega loyal to them. Even fairly recently when Cerrone left, Diego was sticking up for the team and actually wanted to fight Cerrone over the rift. Now just months later he’s gone himself. 

Sanchez claims that he wasn't getting the attention he needed from the coaches and that he wasn't developing as a fighter. He's said that the camp was overly-focused on Holm and Jones.

This isn't the first time that Sanchez has left Jackson's for these reasons. If you remember, he left the camp in 2007 after GSP started training there. He didn't want to play second fiddle to GSP. 

 

Edited by jimufctna24
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

This stuff seems to go on more in Albuquerque than any other high profile MMA gym. Fighters switch gyms all the time but it always seems to be more dramatic and hostile when they leave Jackson-Wink. Rashad and Cerrone both left on bad terms. Now Sanchez, who was pretty much fighter #1 in that gym, is leaving because he’s unhappy with how they’re running things. 

And more often than not it seems to be a Winkeljohn thing more than anything to do with Greg Jackson. That also lines up with Diego saying Holly Holm gets preferential treatment because I’ve always got the impression she’s Wink’s favourite (she’s trained with him her whole career - Boxing and MMA - since she was a teenager).

I actually thought Diego’s last fight against Mickey Gall was one of his best performances in years so hopefully he can build off that. It’s not likely he goes on a real run at this point but it’d be nice to see him at least switch things up a bit so he takes less damage in fights. The bit in that interview where he was pointing to the different scars on his face and naming the fighters who gave them to him really drove home just how many wars he’s been in. His face must look like a roadmap close up. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

This stuff seems to go on more in Albuquerque than any other high profile MMA gym. Fighters switch gyms all the time but it always seems to be more dramatic and hostile when they leave Jackson-Wink. Rashad and Cerrone both left on bad terms. Now Sanchez, who was pretty much fighter #1 in that gym, is leaving because he’s unhappy with how they’re running things.

The harsh truth is, the gym is a business, and they're not gonna prioritise someone like Sanchez over more high-profile fighters. Every fighter thinks they should be the priority, and that they have another run in them, but it's rarely true. 

Sadly, he won't be missed most likely. They'll just pick up the next up & coming prospect and continue as they have done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well yeah, Jackson's camp has never been shy about prioritising the fighters they stand to gain the most from. One of Rashad's grievances with the camp years ago was that they somewhat abandoned the fighters that put the facility on the map. That also seems to be Sanchez's grievance, both recently and in 2007 when he initially left. 

However, if Cerrone is to be believed, the gym's issues now run deeper than that. Jackson's role in the gym is said to have diminished in recent years. Winklejohn apparently lets novices spar with the pros if they part with cash. This is said to have hurt the quality of training. Cerrone has also questioned the credentials of the camp's wrestling coach. 

It's possible that Jones is keeping the gym's reputation afloat. 

Edited by jimufctna24
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

Caught up on some of the buildup stuff for this. Can’t wait now. Fuck BT and the £20 they’re not getting from me. 

88-BFC62-D-C607-4-B02-B009-5402861-C871-

Jon Jones vs Thiago Santos should be good. Whoever it was on here who said this is the closest thing to that Jones vs Rumble fight we were robbed of in 2015 was spot on. Might actually be better because, although I don’t think Santos hits quite as hard as Rumble, he’s more well rounded and not a mental midget bully like Rumble. I’d love to see Santos shock the world here. He’s great to watch and seems a top bloke. But I really don’t see him being the guy. Outside of the old ‘punchers chance’ he’s pretty well fucked, isn’t he? 

I like Jones by submission. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Jones stand with Santos more than you might think. He has a habit of facing opponents strengths head on and just shutting them down. But I reckon he’ll take it to the ground at some point and, although Santos is a BJJ black-belt, I don’t see him living with Jones in the grappling. I see Jones picking him apart for a bit on the feet, then overwhelming a tired Santos and either TKOing him or submitting him somewhere in the middle rounds. 

01-AE6292-52-FB-4561-8-D04-48-BB8-DDCE43

Amanda Nunes vs Holly Holm could be good. Surely if she loses, this is Holm’s last crack at UFC gold? She’s the female Urijah Faber at this point in terms of how many chances she’s had at the belt. Nunes is obviously riding high coming off that quick KO over Cyborg in December. Interesting fight, this. 

I’m going with Nunes by decision. I expect most will be thinking she stops Holm but I think Holm is seasoned and crafty enough to take Nunes the distance. Remember, it wasn’t too long ago she went 5 rounds with Cyborg. She’s got a completely different style to Cyborg and I can’t see her just standing and trading with Nunes. I see this looking more like Nunes’ 2 fights with Valentina Shevchenko. If Nunes does knock Holm out though, it’ll be another first as Holm has never been knocked out in MMA. 

DA31782-F-BA09-464-F-B107-97-F0-DDB29805

Jorge Masvidal vs Ben Askren is an interesting fight on paper. I can’t see it being that exciting in practice myself but you never know. I just don’t see their styles meshing for a really entertaining matchup. But it’s one of them that’ll be fascinating to watch play out and see how they both tackle it. 

Askren on points for me. I just can’t see Masvidal stopping Askren from taking him down. And if he can’t stop the takedown he’s likely not winning on points. So he’s got to finish Askren. Could happen but it’s not likely. Everyone’s on Masvidal’s dick a bit since the Till KO. It was a hell of a knockout but from bits and pieces I’ve read it seems like it’s fooled some people into thinking Masvidal is some KO machine. He’s never been that kind of fighter really. Stranger things have happened but I just can’t see him catching Askren in the small windows of opportunity he’ll have to strike. I see Askren just taking him down all night, neutralising, stifling, frustrating and controlling Masvidal in an ugly but effective performance that Dana probably takes great pleasure in shitting all over. 

4-BB95695-4471-4992-9-A94-AC637-A9-DB8-F

Jan Blachowicz vs Luke Rockhold is the most difficult fight to call on this entire card for me. Just no idea what we’re getting here with Rockhold. He hasn’t fought since Yoel Romero waffled him in early 2018. And now he’s going up in weight. You get the feeling this move to 205 is either going to go really well for him or be a total disaster. I’m close to 50-50. I think tomorrow the narrative is either going to be that Rockhold looked amazing at the new weight or it was a huge mistake. 

I’ll go with Blachowicz by KO/TKO. Might be a bit of wishful thinking in that prediction but sod it. I can see why Rockhold’s moved up. He was massive at 185 so I’m sure he’ll feel better in the cage having not cut so much weight. But I don’t know. Whenever I picture Rockhold against anyone good at 205, I just don’t see his chin holding up. And Blachowicz is no warm up fight. He’s not a huge KO hitter but I think he can hurt Smug Luke and put him away. 

3685353-F-0-E79-47-FB-BD8-D-CD1-D9-C817-

Diego Sanchez vs Michael Chiesa should be an explosive way to kick off the main card. Sanchez has looked an absolute maniac all week. Well, even more than usual. He didn’t even bother getting on the scales at the bullshit TV weigh in. Just straight into the staredown. I’m expecting an exciting fight out of this. Diego is never boring and Chiesa is usually all aggression himself. Should be good. 

I’m feeling a Chiesa KO/TKO though. I’m pulling for Diego but I just think Chiesa is going to be too much at this stage. He’s got really strong grappling so Sanchez mightn’t have that to fall back on this time, he’s always in top condition. He’s also bigger, younger, less miles on the clock. I just don’t like this matchup for Sanchez. Hope I’m wrong but, as sloppy as Chiesa can be in the striking, I’ve got a feeling he gets a stoppage there for some reason. Maybe on cuts or something but it’s my gut feeling. 

 

Full predictions;

Jon Jones by Submission. 

Amanda Nunes by Decision. 

Ben Askren by Decision. 

Jan Blachowicz by KO/TKO. 

Michael Chiesa by KO/TKO. 

Arnold Allen by Decision. 

Nohelin Hernandez by Decision. 

Claudia Gadelha by Decision. 

Song Yadong by KO/TKO. 

Jack Marshman by Decision. 

Ismail Naurdiev by KO/TKO. 

Julia Avila by Decision.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

I love the Masvidal/Askren fight from a build up standpoint but its a bad matchup for Masvidal. If he can apply some Jay Hieron type gameplan, keep his distance and pop Askren from the outside he might do ok, but i cant not see Askren taking him down and holding him there. Its great to see Masvidal getting well-deserved plaudits and fan adulation too, its been a long hard run but hes finally become a bit of a star.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rockhold occasionally has leaky defence. In particular, he's vulnerable to the left hook. That proved to be his undoing against Romero and Bisping. In fact, Bisping's camp noticed this weakness in Rockhold's game before their second meeting and prepared accordingly. 

If Rockhold has tightened up his defence, he should become a serious contender at 205lbs. If Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos, who were also-rans at middleweight, can move up and become title contenders, then there is little to say that Rockhold will not be able to do the same. We'll see how he gets on tonight though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Paid Members

You could be right but I just think there are a few too many questions on him. His chin was never the best at 185, although maybe that could’ve been partly down to cutting a lot of weight. His defence as you say. Plus, for all the logic in thinking a move up to 205 is natural and wise at this stage, how will he do against the bigger guys at LHW? How much of his success at 185 was his size advantage? His range, wingspan, height etc was unlike anyone else at middleweight. At 205 though, he’s probably going to be pretty average sized. I think he’ll be a good sized 205er, but it won’t be the advantage it was at 185. 

On top of all that, maybe I’m off on this but I’m not sure that his heart is really in fighting anymore. I’ve felt like that for a while. He’s got other stuff going on away from the cage these days. It wasn’t picked up on that much but when Woodley vs Lawler 2 fell apart, Rockhold vs Blachowicz was the original choice to be moved off this card to main event the Minneapolis show last week. Rockhold declined because he’d committed to doing a Ralph Lauren commercial so they plugged Ngannou vs JDS into that spot instead. He’s also had a bunch of injuries and spells of inactivity. He’s only fought twice in the 3 years since Bisping knocked him out. Fuck knows where he’s been in the year and a half since the Romero loss. I just get the feeling that he’s not as balls deep in MMA since he lost the title to Bisping. Maybe the move to 205 will rejuvenate him but I just don’t see him troubling the top of the division. The potential for a Jones spin-off rivalry of the DC thing, and the payday that’ll come with that arse kicking, is what I suspect is driving this. If he wins tonight, I wouldn’t be at all shocked if he calls out Jones immediately. 

Edited by wandshogun09
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...