UFC 239: Jones vs Santos - Jul 6 🇺🇸

[jimufctna24]

Fair point about Rockhold's size advantage at middleweight.

I just feel that the 205lbs division isn't the best in terms of talent. The division's talent pool has perhaps become better recently with the addition of Weidman, and emergence of Walker and Reyes. But when you have mid-tier 185ers moving up and becoming players, it does ring alarm bells about whether the division is all it is cracked up to be. The same applies for heavyweight, beyond Cormier and Miocic. 

As a rule, the heavier the weightclass, the smaller the talent pool. Although, the same applies for flyweight, which in itself is a niche division (as Jon Snowdon likes to remind us).There are many more people in the world who, if they train like professional fighters, are more inclined to be fight at lightweight, welterweight, etc, rather than heavyweight, light heavyweight and flyweight. 

Admittedly, I have overrated Rockhold for years. Perhaps he isn't the great fighter that I, and others, felt he was after he mauled Machida and Weidman. But I still think he's talented enough for a strong run at light-heavyweight. We'll see. 

[Carbomb]

I think the Weidman win in particular flattered Rockhold a bit, mainly because it came about from an inexplicably stupid mistake by Weidman he was able to capitalise on and proceed to butcher him. As it is, given how decisive that win was, I think that without that error Rockhold would have still gone on to win, but perhaps not looked quite the killer he did. 

[wandshogun09]

1 minute ago, jimufctna24 said:

I just feel that the 205lbs division isn't the best in terms of talent. The division's talent pool has perhaps become better recently with the addition of Weidman, and emergence of Walker and Reyes. But when you have mid-tier 185ers moving up and becoming players, it does ring alarm bells about whether the division is all it is cracked up to be.

It’s not the deepest division but I genuinely think the 205 division right now is healthier than it’s been in years. I think the likes of Smith and Santos have benefitted from moving up at a time when Jones had ran out of contenders and the division was in transition. If they’d moved up a year earlier they’d have been lost in the Jones/Cormier/Gus shuffle. And if they’d moved up a year later then I think they’d have already been overtaken by some of the newer contenders. The likes of Johnny Walker, Dominick Reyes and Aleksandar Rakic were (or are still) all a win or two away from getting into the mix properly when Smith and Santos started making waves at 205. Since Jones vs Santos was booked though, we’ve seen Walker score a couple of highlight reel knockouts and Rakic murder Manuwa with that headkick. 

Assuming Jones retains tonight, I think we’re good for fresh contenders for a bit. I could actually see Rockhold getting a shot if he looks spectacular tonight. Just because he’s already an established name and you’ve got the built-in Jones vs AKA thing to work with. If not then I wouldn’t be surprised if they just pull the trigger on Jones vs Walker for later this year. Maybe MSG in November. I think Reyes and Rakic might be one more big win away. 

While I’m here...some prick clearly trying to provoke Ben Askren into a lawsuit. What a dickhead;

 

[jimufctna24]

Oh dear. 

Askren is the last person you could coax into a lawsuit. He's chilled as fuck. 

[wandshogun09]

Yep. I wish he tried that with Masvidal instead. 

Few bits and bobs worth a look here...

Really good Jon Jones interview with Dan Hardy;

This is where I think Hardy is at his best. I know there’s mixed feelings on his colour commentary, I don’t mind him in that role. But it’s things like this and his fight breakdowns (watch his breakdown with Anthony Smith for this show) where he’s really great. He’s like our version of Brett Okamoto. 

Highlights of the Hall Of Fame ceremony with Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, Rich Franklin and the Diego Sanchez vs Clay Guida classic from 2009 going in;

Oh, and @Keith Houchen, watch this interview with the ‘Raging Panda’ Julia Avila. And fall in love a little bit; 

I liked the nickname before I’d even seen or listened to her but in one interview I’m a fan already. Likeable, smart, pretty and is a geologist of all things away from the cage! I like her confidence too, she’s saying she’ll be fighting for the title in 2020. And she’s a raging panda. 

[Kfogg1991]

It seems like the ufc have really gone down the road of we know we have fans that will pay for whatever we say they have to in order to get the fights so they just keep on Pilling shit on.

I don't know how they think it's acceptable to say you have to pay for bt sport to get the ppvs which is a fair bit each month just for ufc. Then they say on top of that you have to pay more because we are putting rhis card on actual ppv. I think the amount of people that will be streaming it or wait till tomorrow and download will be staggering numbers 

[David]

At the end of the day, they'll charge money as long as there's mugs who'll pay extra for it. It's the same with boxing PPV's. If they run this show and no one buys it, they'll probably not bother doing it next time.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, it needs to bomb for them to change their mind. They’ll probably still try again whenever Conor fights regardless of how bad this does. But the only way it doesn’t become a regular thing is if enough people don’t buy these shows. 

[Kfogg1991]

Yeah exactly what you guys above have said. I think they have really gone about this in a way that alot of die hard fans will feel quite done over for being there for however long and paying that extra a month for bt sport and ufc fight pass on top to then be told that one of the biggest and most important cards/main events that we have all looked forward to watching, you have to pay an extra 20 quid on top of all rhat other expense you pay each month to support and watch the ufc cards each month. I can't see how this decision will have anything but a negative effect and impact going forward. 

[macca663]

I pay for BT just for UFC. No way I am paying extra for this .  If any one knows away I can watch. Please DM me 

[Kfogg1991]

27 minutes ago, macca663 said:

I pay for BT just for UFC. No way I am paying extra for this .  If any one knows away I can watch. Please DM me 

I tried to pm you but it said your not able to accept messages

[neil]

If you're looking for streams its an easy as googling "reddit mma streams"

[jimufctna24]

Wow, what a show. Santos came closer than DC x2, Smith and probably Gusty to beating Jones. I gave Santos the first round clear, and Jones rounds 3 and 4 clear (although one of the Sherdog judges gave round 4 to Santos, as did one of the official judges) I could barely separate them in rounds 2 and 5. Overall, I had no issue with the decision. But I can see how someone could have scored to Santos. Amazing effort by Santos, especially considering his knee cap popped. Jones limped out of the arena as well. Rematch later this year? 

The Askren knockout was scary. Shades of Kid Yamamoto. I felt concerned for Askren's well-being for a minute afterwards. I haven't had that feeling about a fight for a good few years. Masvidal had planned to open with a flying knee and boy did it pay dividends. 

Credit to our resident Brummie for predicting Rockhold's demise. Perhaps Rockhold hasn't got the game to be a player at light heavyweight after all. And maybe, after being stopped with the left hook in 3 out of 4 of his last bouts, he's at the last chance saloon. Especially if he has other things going on in his life. Elsewhere, Nunes underscored her status as the best female MMA fighter ever. However, the Chiesa vs Sanchez fight was difficult to watch. Sanchez, who was fighting with a single cornerman who was rumoured to be inexperienced, was clearly overmatched and needed every bit of his toughness to last the distance. And there was also Nate Diaz's run-in with Khabib's crew that occurred in the crowd during the prelims. 

A busy night indeed.

Edited July 7, 2019 by jimufctna24

[Supremo]

Askren's knock out was the most I've ever been convinced I'd just seen someone die in a fight. Fucking hell Masvidal is a scary man.

[wandshogun09]

What a hell of a show that was. So many big finishes and talking points coming out of this one. 

That Jones vs Santos fight was closer and way more competitive than anyone expected. What an effort put in by Santos. I was pleasantly surprised that he never just got blown away. I had Jones winning but felt like a couple of the rounds could’ve gone either way. Really enjoyed the fight. I wouldn’t really have an issue with an immediate rematch but I doubt it happens. I’ve already seen Dana saying Jones won clearly and basically that anyone who scored it for Santos is a thick cunt. Depending on how quick Jones wants back in there/gets cleared to go again, I think they might just wait to see how everything shakes out. Maybe Jones vs DC 3 is an option, although I hope not as I’m done with that. If DC beats Stipe again, I’d rather see DC vs Ngannou and I think we’ll end up getting Jones vs Johnny Walker. I’d much rather that than holding up 2 divisions to reheat and rerun the Jones vs DC thing which is played out already. 

Amanda Nunes creates more history. She’s now the first to knock Holm out in MMA. 

So wins over Cyborg, Rousey, Holm, Tate, Shevchenko x2. She’s the GOAT hands down. 

Who’s next? Fuck, who’s even left? All I can think is the Cyborg rematch but that’s tricky because Cyborg’s upcoming fight at UFC 240 is the last on her contract. If she beats Felicia Spencer then they’re still not giving her a title shot until she’s re-signed to the UFC. Scratching my head what could be next for Nunes. There isn’t anything obvious at 135 or 145 jumping out to me. 

Masvidal vs Askren...fuck me. That was ridiculous. Fastest KO in UFC history now, apparently. 5 fucking seconds. Weird as well because Masvidal wasn’t typically a big KO artist in his career. Yet this year he’s racked up 2 of the biggest highlight reel KOs of the year. Scary knockout. Still not sure it was scarier than Rakic headkicking Manuwa into oblivion on the Sweden show last month though. Watching that live, I genuinely thought Manuwa was deceased. But yeah, this was close. The way Askren went down, there was a minute there where it was a bit worrying.

He’s tweeting again though. So he’s OK;

I was really looking forward to seeing Askren in that title mix with Usman and Covington. That’s obviously on the backburner now. Not sure what happens next. Maybe they go with that Askren vs Till fight that everyone was talking about going into the London show.

Am I the only one who doesn’t find Masvidal ‘cool’ in the slightest though? Everyone has seemed to start loving him since he knocked out Till and had that thing with Leon Edwards backstage. But I think he’s cringey as fuck myself. And I’m sick to death of people constantly saying he’s ‘GANGSTA’ this and that. That might actually be more cringey than him himself. He’s a twat. 

Blachowicz vs Rockhold was so satisfying to watch. That’s Rockhold’s fresh start down the shitter before it even got going. He’s such an arrogant prick he never learns or gets more humble no matter how many times he gets clobbered. He’s just a better looking Frank Mir. In retrospect, Bisping didn’t just take his title in 2016, he took his soul as well. Rockhold hasn’t been the same since. He plays the part of being confident but deep down he just can’t conceive, believe or achieve on the night. 

Chiesa vs Sanchez was a bit sad to watch. I hope Diego stops soon but I can’t see it. For every bright spot like his last performance against Gall, we’re seeing 3 of these type of fights where he just looks shot. His heart is in it, his mind is willing. These things are never in question when it comes to Sanchez. But he’s just going to keep taking more and more damage. I know he’s into this anti-aging stuff but the trajectory for him in MMA is all downhill from here on out and has been for a while. Chiesa looks good at 170 though. 

Arnold Allen got the biggest win of his career to date. Wasn’t really sure what to make of this. Melendez seems about done but I’m not sure how much of that is his decline or whether Allen made him look worse. Regardless, a big scalp for Allen. 

Gadelha vs Markos wasn’t much good. It was the one poor fight on an otherwise tremendous card. Gadelha just needed that W badly and she got it done. Shame to see Randa lose again. Was hoping for wins from both Randa and Panda. 

Song Yadong, at just 21, looks like he might be a real prospect based off this performance. Just waffled Perez quick. I saw Urijah Faber really bigging Song up recently and you can see why. 

Edmen Shahbazyan with yet another quick win. I got this all wrong. I actually picked Marshman to hand him his first loss. I thought his toughness would see him weather the early storm and Edmen’s cardio looked dodgy against Stewart, so I fancied Marshman to beat him on toughness, conditioning and experience. But Edmen just crushed him. Just walking through someone as durable as Marshman was very impressive. And like Yadong, he’s still so young at just 21 years old, the sky’s the limit. 

It was nice to see Raging Panda Julia Avila get the win in her UFC debut. She looked good as well, pretty much dominated from start to finish. 

Great show.