UFC 244: Masvidal vs Diaz - Nov 2 🇺🇸

[Hannibal Scorch]

3 hours ago, neil said:

As was the staph infection on his chest

I wondered if it would have got hit it would have exploded 

[David]

According to Dana they won't be running the Diaz/Masvidal fight back any time soon.

My thoughts on a night of fun-filled fights for the most part:

Main event was good while it lasted, but it confirmed what I suspected, and that is that Diaz isn't a legit welter. He's one of those fighters who'd be well served by a 165lbs division in my opinion. I thought that Masvidal could win if he made his size and power count, and he did. In a big way. Would it have went any differently had we seen a 4th & 5th? I doubt it, but we'll never know.

Next up for Jorge has to be the winner of Usman and Covington. Christ, could you imagine the build to a fight between Masvidal and Covington? Unfortunately, barring a shock I think he's hit his ceiling. I don't see anything but a decision loss in his future against either covington or Usman. Still, he deserves the fight.

I have a feeling we'd have seen Nate vs Conor III if Nate had won. They were holding off on announcing Conor's next fight for that reason in my opinion, but now? I dunno. McG to face Cowboy, and Nate to push for a rematch that he's likely not getting with Masvidal.

Till looked decent, if a bit gun-shy in the co-main. I've seen talk about him being chucked in with Adesanya, but I think it's a bit soon for that. A win over someone like Cannonier, who was primed to step in here if needed, would set him up for a title shot in my opinion. This was a gamble by Till that paid off. 

Derrick Lewis looked reinvigorated in his fight, he looked lighter, and he seemed more energetic. A good win for him over Ivanov, and hopefully he can kick on from here.

I did not expect Kevin Lee to dispose of Gillespie in that fashion. From what I've seen online it looks like the "Lee is a future world champion" bandwagon is rolling again. Chuck him in there with someone like Islam Makhachev and lets see how he gets on. Call me a negative Nancy, but I'm yet to be convinced of him. A few more wins and lets see what happens.

Corey Anderson vs Johnny Walker. Well, fuck. There was always the chance that this day would come, but against Corey Anderson? The only thing worse than seeing Walker get flattened is seeing Corey try to implement a new "edgy" persona. Quit the dancing, Corey. It's shit, and very blatantly forced. He's obviously been told he has to ramp shit up to get ahead, and this is a prime example of someone acting in a manner that doesn't come naturally. 

I'm guessing we'll see Reyes get the next shot, which I'm not unhappy about. As for dancing Corey? Fuck knows. And in all honesty, who cares? I just can't get excited about the guy.

Elsewhere on the card, Jairzinho Rozenstruick looks like he's gonna be a force to deal with. Very few handle Arlovski in that manner. Be interesting to see how he does.

A great card in general for me, with only a couple of fights I didn't really like the look of.  

[wandshogun09]

Anti-climatic ending aside, that was one incredible show pretty much start to finish. For as brilliant as this card always looked on paper going in, it was every bit as good in practice, and that’s not always the case. Easily the card of the year for me. 245 looks amazing as well but it’s got a hell of a tough act to follow. 

Masvidal vs Diaz delivered in a big way for me. I wouldn’t rate it above Adesanya vs Gastelum but I think it was on the way to challenging it for FOTY. Great scrap. And I’ve got to say, Masvidal looked better than ever to me. No doubt he was physically the stronger man and the more natural Welter, but he looked really sharp everywhere regardless. His striking was on point, his timing was mostly spot on, he held his own and was able to stay out of danger in the brief spells on the ground. And I thought him repeatedly going to the body was a bit of a masterstroke myself. Everyone always talks about how the Diaz brothers don’t check leg kicks and Rogan was even wondering out loud why Jorge wasn’t going for leg kicks. But the body attacks were even more effective. Not only did they keep Nate from pressuring forward as he likes to, they forced him to back up, to switch his stance and no doubt that legendary ‘Diaz cardio’ took a hit. Not to the point Nate was gassing or anything but it must’ve taken some of the gas out of his tank. Some of those body shots were fucking killer. The kicks and when he was shovelling those digging left hooks in. Still far from a Masvidal fan, I think his whole schtick is cringey as fuck, but credit where it’s due. I thought this was overall the best performance of his career. 

The ending was unfortunate but I don’t know, in a year when we’ve seen 3 young boxers die after fights, I’m good with the doctor’s call. At the end of the day the doctors are there to protect the fighters. While it’d have been cool to see the ‘championship rounds’ play out, Nate had a massive cut above the eye, it looked like he was bleeding from his ear and I felt like I’d seen enough to know how it was most likely going down. Nate was probably just going to get beat up for another 10 minutes.

Rogan always comes off as a right bloodthirsty, uncaring cunt in these situations for me. Just before the fight was called off, while the doctor was checking Nate, Rogan was speculating why Nate kept shaking his head. ”What’s Nate doing with his head? The way he’s shaking his head like that? It seems like something’s in his ear.” His ear was covered in blood. I don’t know if it had dripped into his ear from the cut above his eye or if he was actually bleeding from his ear or what. But Rogan has been around long enough to know that if he was bleeding from the ear then it could’ve been a symptom of something more serious. Yet seconds, literally seconds later when the fight was stopped Rogan starts moaning “NO WAY! WHAT?! That is not that bad of a cut for MMA.” Get to fuck. The crowd booing and chanting ‘bullshit’ you can forgive. It’s shitty but they’re mostly drunk and don’t know any better. Rogan’s a cock though. And again, in the same year we’ve seen 3 deaths in Boxing rings. Just a few weeks after the Patrick Day tragedy. I’m not saying Nate was about to die and I know it was stopped for the cut above the eye, not the blood in his ear. But fuck me. In one breath Rogan was going ‘why’s Nate shaking his head like that?’ The next he’s moaning that the doctor didn’t let Nate get battered more. 

Till vs Gastelum wasn’t the barnburner I thought it would be but Till needed a performance like that. I thought he fought almost the perfect fight. Scorecards were all over the place with separate judges giving 30-27s to both men. Gastelum certainly had his moments and it was fairly close but I felt like Till definitely won. I like David’s shout for Till vs Cannonier. That’s a logical fight to make next. Maybe as a headliner in the UK next year. In the meantime do Adesanya vs Romero or Costa or whatever. 

Wonderboy vs Luque was another good competitive fight. Wonderboy just proved a bit too sharp though. Bittersweet fight really. A good guy was always going to win but that meant a good guy had to lose. 

Lewis vs Ivanov was fucking madness. I love the Black Beast. Ivanov is hard as nails though. The sod got stabbed in the heart and was back in the cage within 2 years. So I guess Derrick Lewis throwing hands at him is no biggie. Ivanov is made of different stuff. Great to see Lewis back in the win column though. 

The Kevin Lee knockout was nasty. And like Magnum said, the hammerfist was unnecessary. I got this fight all wrong. Well, most of the fights really but this one especially. Really thought Gillespie was a potential nightmare for Lee. 

Anderson vs Walker can fuck right off. Absolutely gutted. Haven’t even looked at social media but I bet everyone’s turned on Walker now. Balls to the lot of them. And to Corey Anderson. I said before the fight that I didn’t mind Anderson. I take it back. He came off as a right twat post-fight. Proper bellend. I hope his career plummets from here on out. 

 Highlights of the prelims for me were Edmen Shahbazyan and Jairzinho Rozenstruik. Both scored quick knockouts and really put themselves on the map as ones to really keep an eye on in 2020. Shahbazyan completely wiped out Brad Tavares in about 2 minutes. Tavares has gone the distance with both Israel Adesanya and Yoel Romero and this wet behind the ears 21 year old kid headkicks him in a round? And Rozenstruik is a beast striker with something like 80 odd Kickboxing fights and a load of titles. He’ll probably come unstuck against grapplers but there aren’t that many grapplers at Heavyweight currently. I think we need to see Rozenstruik vs Lewis. 

The dogs bollocks that was. I’m knackered watching it. 

Edited November 3, 2019 by wandshogun09

[David]

4 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

And to Corey Anderson. I said before the fight that I didn’t mind Anderson. I take it back. He came off as a right twat post-fight. Proper bellend. I hope his career plummets from here on out. 

Anthony Smith may be a decent matchup for him. If he got past Smith then he would probably be due a crack at the strap.

[Egg Shen]

Great main event, but a disappointing ending. Rogan saying the cut wasnt bad was a bit much, it was a shocker but i have seen fights continue with cuts as bad. Its a shame because rounds 4 & 5 were the rounds everyone believed Diaz would take over and he never got chance to do so, he was battered in the first 3 though, Masvidal looked great. Loved the whole BMF presentation too, just made MMA feel fun.

Blagoi Ivanov may have a better chin that Mark Hunt, ridiculous. Nice to see a leaner Black Beast but i thought Blagoi nicked it 29-28.

The Gillespie KO was one of the worst ive ever seen. It might be a good thing the cage was there cause it softened his landed, his head would have hit the canvas hard.

Wonderboy looked great, best performance in ages. Throw Luque in the BMF division.

Till did what he had too. He looked huge at 185, Gastelum may have made him look bigger though. Fight didnt catch fire and i thought Gastelum could have got a 29-28 nod but im glad Till won. More interesting fights to make for him.

I had a feeling the Johnny Walker train was getting derailed. I would never have said by KO like that though. Anderson isnt a fan favorite but hes in the mix.

Andrei Arlovski's chin problems are back. Rozenstruik looks a handful, the heavyweight division is heating up.

Edmin Shabazyan looked great too at 185, he handled Brad Tavares and not many fighters have done that. 2020 will be his breakout year.

Brilliant show, only the main event finish let it down.

[wandshogun09]

11 hours ago, David said:

Anthony Smith may be a decent matchup for him. If he got past Smith then he would probably be due a crack at the strap.

Anthony Smith has been critical in the past about Corey Anderson supposedly turning down loads of fights, including with him. He tweeted this on Saturday night as well; 

But Anderson is now saying he wants a title shot next or his release. Which is kind of hilarious. It’s not like he was on some killer run before this Johnny Walker fight that put him head and shoulders above the rest. He’s acting like he’s been wronged or passed over for the title shot or something. 

Edited November 4, 2019 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

Andersons in the mix for the Jones shot but they've gotta be leaning towards Reyes. If Anderson can go in and look impressive against Smith id  give him the winner of Jones/Reyes.

[David]

23 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

But Anderson is now saying he wants a title shot next or his release.

I honestly think he just wants out now. He probably reckons his stock is as high as it's going to get, and he can get a decent deal with Bellator or something. Good, let him go. Dana effectively said in the post-fight presser that there won't be a title shot next for him.

11 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Andrei Arlovski's chin problems are back. Rozenstruik looks a handful, the heavyweight division is heating up.

How so? He's been knocked out twice in ten fights. The other was Francis Nagannou. He lost to a hot prospect who's knocked out eight of his nine opponents that he's beaten so far. To top it all off, he got hit behind the ear. So if anything Andrei Arlovski's ear problems are back 😉

[wandshogun09]

@Egg Shen He’s definitely in the mix but he’s one of a bunch and he’s the least interesting of that bunch. He’s talking like he’s been unfairly kept waiting ages for the shot and deserves it over everyone else. Now he’s stopped Walker, yeah, he’s in the mix but he wasn’t before Saturday. He’s got no stronger a case for the shot than Dominick Reyes (who is next from the sounds of it). Then you’ve got Jan Blachowicz as another possibility if he beats Jacare in a couple of weeks. And also the winner of Volkan Oezdemir vs Aleksandar Rakic on the Korea show next month. Then there’s Thiago Santos when he comes back. He’s got to be ahead of fucking Corey Anderson after taking Jones to such a close decision. Basically, the UFC have options. Corey making demands the first time he wins a fight in exciting fashion isn’t really going to cut it.  

Oh yeah, because no UFC card can go by without Conor McGregor desperately and pathetically trying to make it about himself...

Sigh. 

Masvidal was asked about McGregor at the press conference. If you can get past Jorge loudly eating pizza and slopping his mouth (I nearly turned it off myself) then it’s worth a listen; 

Between this and walking out with Roberto Duran, maybe I am a Masvidal fan. 

[Egg Shen]

13 minutes ago, David said:

 

How so? He's been knocked out twice in ten fights. The other was Francis Nagannou. He lost to a hot prospect who's knocked out eight of his nine opponents that he's beaten so far. To top it all off, he got hit behind the ear. So if anything Andrei Arlovski's ear problems are back 😉

If anything it's incredible that Arlovksi's chin/eat has held up in recent years, he's prolonged his career much longer than anyone wanted and he's stayed relatively safe in there. Pre-fight the guy guy was saying he wants to fight for another 6 years. The guy is a machine.

[David]

McGregor isn't in the conversation for that fight in my opinion. The size difference would be too much. That's not a slight on McG, by the way, it's just a fact. There's a reason they have weight classes, and seeing Conor struggle against a dude who's not even a natural welter in Nate makes me think he'd suffer major issues against Masvidal. It seems anyone who gets some traction at 155/170lbs is considered an opponent for Conor. It's bullshit.

[Egg Shen]

Masvidal is far from a natural 170 himself though, he spent the majority of his career at 155.

[David]

1 minute ago, Egg Shen said:

Masvidal is far from a natural 170 himself though, he spent the majority of his career at 155.

He made that jump four years ago and from an interview he did recently he said it was a long overdue move. He feels better at welter not having to cut so much weight, and as he's aged he's matured into a proper welterweight. You don't compete with the likes of Damian Maia, Lorenz Larkin, Jake Ellenberger and Stephen Thompson if you're not a natural dude for the weight. 

There's no way he'd make 155lbs now. Not a fucking chance. McG on the other hand was a big featherweight, and a proper lightweight. It would be too much of a size differential for Conor.

[Egg Shen]

Fair point, still i wouldn't consider the size difference as a massive factor as if McGregor fought some of the bigger Welterweights. Masvidal is definitely at the smaller end of the division.

[jimufctna24]

Arlovski would have been released years ago if he fought in any other division. He's lost 11 out of his last 14 fights in the UFC. 

I personally lost interest in his career after he lost to Ngannou in 2017, but truth be told, he was past-it long before that fight. He's been a journeyman since his Strikeforce days, where he went 0-3 with the promotion. His winning streak from 2014 onward was smoke and mirrors. He was very lucky the judges gave him the nod against Schaub and his fight with Mir was the drizzling shits. 

Another 6 years for him? Christ.