Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 18, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 18, 2020 (edited) On Saturday 14th March, the Octagon is back in Brazil with a pretty tidy little card. ESPN+ MAIN CARDKevin Lee vs Charles Oliveira Demian Maia vs Gilbert Burns Renato Moicano vs Damir Hadzovic Johnny Walker vs Nikita Krylov Francisco Trinaldo vs John Makdessi  ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMSJussier Formiga vs Brandon Moreno Amanda Ribas vs Randa Markos Alexey Kunchenko vs Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos Enrique Barzola vs Rani Yahya Maryna Moroz vs Mayra Bueno Silva Bruno Gustavo Silva vs David Dvorak Veronica Macedo vs Bea Malecki@Shane O' Mac Version 2 mentioned in another thread that the PPVs and Fight Nights recently have mostly been one match shows. I think this is a noticeable improvement on that. Easily the strongest Fight Night lineup we’ve had in 2020 so far anyway. Really digging that main and co-main combo. Then you add in Johnny Walker, Amanda Ribas and Renato Moicano. I’m a big fan of that main card. Kunchenko vs Dos Santos and Formiga vs Moreno are standouts on the prelims as well.  Kevin Lee vs Charles Oliveira headlines. Great fight, this. There was some talk of Lee fighting Islam Makhachev. Don’t know why that never came about but this’ll do nicely. I like the contrast in styles. On the surface, it’s a tale of Lee’s wrestling vs Oliveira’s BJJ. But they’ve both shown improvements in their striking over the years, especially in recent fights. They’ve both had their share of losses, Lee in particular has had some real rough patches. He’s lost 3 of his last 5. To top opposition but it’s still not a good look. He took his last loss to Rafael Dos Anjos really hard and seemed really down on himself in his Instagram posts. He bounced back in style in his last fight though. He went to MSG and took on undefeated Gregor Gillespie at UFC 244 in November and headkicked him into oblivion. One of the best knockouts of 2019 by far. I really thought it was a bit of a nightmare style matchup for Lee going in as well because Lee’s main strength is his takedowns and top game, but Gillespie was the superior wrestler. Plus he was unbeaten and Lee was coming off some losses. It all seemed to be stacked against Lee so to come through with a first round headkick KO like that was huge for him and had to be a big boost to his confidence. The problem in the past though with Lee, has been that he’ll win some fights and then gets overconfident. It’s came back to bite him a few times so hopefully he’s learned from that. Oliveira has been on a really strong run lately though. He’s won his last 6 fights, finishing all of them. Stopped his last 2 with strikes. He’s no longer just a ‘BJJ guy’. He’s been beating some tough guys as well like Nik Lentz, Jim Miller and Clay Guida. Always liked Oliveira. He‘s definitely earned this main event spot. Usually when he steps up to that next level is when he falters though. We’ve seen it a bunch of times over the years when he’s come up against a Cerrone, Edgar, Holloway, Pettis etc. If he can beat Lee here, it’ll be a sign that maybe he’s got over that hurdle in his career. For as long as he’s been around, he’s still a young guy. He only turned 30 in October. So the best could be yet to come from him. Pretty sure my wife’s got them jeans. I’m excited for this one. You never really know what you’re getting with Kevin Lee. But if they both come in firing on all cylinders we should be in for a cracker. I’d say Lee is definitely the better wrestler and the physically stronger man. But Oliveira is so dangerous on the ground that I’m not sure how much Lee will want to play there. On the feet I actually think Oliveira might be the better striker technically, but I’d probably give Lee the edge in power. Their skills and strengths match up for a really intriguing fight.  Demian Maia vs Gilbert Burns is a grapplers dream match. Two of the best pure BJJ wizards in the game. Maia is class. Yeah, he’s had some absolutely rotten fights over the years. But when he’s on, he’s a joy to watch. I really loved his last fight with Ben Askren. That had the potential to be a bit of a dull stalemate but it turned out to be a lot of fun. And Maia getting the submission was a nice feather in his cap. He’s 42 now and he’s been making noises about retiring in the not too distant future. So I’m glad we’re getting some of these interesting grappler vs grappler clashes before he leaves us. This is a massive opportunity for Burns. He’s on a sweet 4 fight streak. Beat Gunnar Nelson last time out and beat Alexey Kunchenko on short notice before that. Kunchenko was unbeaten at 20-0 going in. He’s been after a big fight and I’m glad the UFC rewarded him. Got a feeling this might end up being a kind of passing of the torch fight. On paper, Burns should be able to survive on the ground and, if it becomes a standup battle, I think he wins that all day. I really like the matchup though. Hopefully it’s more along the lines of Maia vs Askren rather than Maia vs Woodley and Usman.  Renato Moicano vs Damir Hadzovic is a good little fight. Results haven’t gone Moicano’s way recently but he has some skills. Wins over Cub Swanson, Calvin Kattar and Jeremy Stephens back that up. He was also giving Brian Ortega a run for his money before getting caught in a late submission. He’s no joke. Losses to Jose Aldo and Korean Zombie in his last couple of fights have derailed him though so he’s in desperate need of a W here. Hadzovic I’m less familiar with. He’s operated on a slightly lower level than Moicano and has mostly been on the prelims. Solid enough fighter from what I recall of him but I think Moicano should be winning this one.  Johnny Walker vs Nikita Krylov is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** for this card. I’ve made no secret I’ve become a big fan of Walker. You should be too. Insanely likeable and exciting as fuck in the cage. He’s a breath of fresh air in the 205 division. It’s a crying shame Corey Anderson had to spoil everyone’s fun and knock him out in November. If not for that, we’d probably be talking about Walker challenging Jon Jones by now. Oh well. Hopefully he gets back to winning ways here. He was on a hell of a streak prior to that Anderson loss so I’m hoping he can pick up where he left off and we can just pretend that never happened. Krylov is no easy rebound fight though. He’s no title contender or anything but he’s a tough and dangerous guy. I think Walker should be able to handle whatever he brings but who knows? Should be a wild one for however long it lasts.  Francisco Trinaldo vs John Makdessi should be a solid fight between two veterans and sort of gatekeepers at 155. If you want to advance in the Lightweight division, you’re probably going to have to get through these guys. Trinaldo has started slowing down of late. Understandably, he’s 41 now. There’s only one Yoel Romero. You look at Trinaldo’s record though and it’s better than I think people realise. Over the years he’s racked up wins over the likes of Paul Felder, Jim Miller, Yancy Medeiros and Bobby Green. He’s a tough cookie. Makdessi hasn’t had quite that level of wins but he’s amassed a respectable 17-6 record and he’s won his last 3 fights. Doubt it steals the show or anything but it’s decent enough.  Jussier Formiga vs Brandon Moreno could be a fun one. The Flyweights don’t get much love but there are some really good fighters at 125 that get overlooked. Formiga is one of them. If he never lost to Benavidez last time out, it’d almost certainly be him fighting for that vacant belt now. He’s the only man to beat Deiveson Figueiredo. He’s also beat Sergio Pettis and went to a split decision loss to Henry Cejudo back in 2015. He’s a handful. Moreno hasn’t been in that mix at the higher levels of the division yet but what he brings to this fight is that Mexican warrior spirit. Really like Moreno. He had a fantastic fight with Askar Askarov on the Mexico City show in September that I’d highly recommend if you haven’t seen it. This should be good. I’d definitely favour Formiga but I hope Moreno makes a fun scrap of it.  Amanda Ribas vs Randa Markos should be worth checking out. Was originally supposed to be Ribas vs Paige VanZant but VanZant pulled out. In steps Red Randa. I’ve been a fan of Randa since her stint on TUF years ago. She’s had one of the most up and down UFC runs ever though. Alternating between wins and losses pretty much throughout. She’s never going to be in the title mix but she’s had her moments. Don’t fancy her chances much in this one though. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen of Ribas. She’s 8-1 with 6 finishes and she had a very impressive last fight, handing Mackenzie Dern the first loss of her MMA career. It’s a shame she didn’t get that name fight against VanZant coming off that win but what can you do? As much as I like Randa, I think Ribas wins this one fairly comfy myself.  Alexey Kunchenko vs Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos could be a quality fight. These two were looking like the real dark horses of the Welterweight division before both losing their last fights. Kunchenko went 20-0 with 14 finishes at the start of his career. He was the M-1 Global Welterweight champion and beat veterans Thiago Alves and Yushin Okami in his first two fights in the UFC. He tasted defeat for the first time on the Uruguay card last summer, losing on points to Gilbert Burns. Dos Santos is 21-6 now and was on an impressive 7 fight win streak before losing to Li Jingliang on the China show in August. He’d looked really good before that, breezing through Curtis Millender in a round. I still think these two could make a bit of a splash if they can get back on track.  Enrique Barzola vs Rani Yahya is an OK fight. We’ve said it on here before but Yahya has been one of those under-appreciated prelim guys for years now. Top grappler, BJJ black-belt, MMA veteran who’s been at it since 2002. Has beat the likes of Mike Brown and Mark Hominick. Fought prime KID Yamamoto back in the day. And he’s still plugging away and not doing too badly. He’s gone 7-2-1 in his last 10 fights. He’s from Brasilia as well so it’s nice that he’s getting to fight in his backyard after all his years fighting across the globe. Barzola is Peruvian, 16-5-1. Nothing remarkable or particularly memorable about him for me. I’d like to see Yahya get the win on home soil here.  Maryna Moroz vs Mayra Bueno Silva is a nothing fight really. I remember thinking Moroz looked decent in some of her fights. I recall her having some OK boxing. She’s never going to move up the ladder though, in truth. Undercard for life. Silva fought in the UFC in 2018, apparently. She beat Gillian Robertson. Zero recollection of that. She’s 5-0 with 4 finishes, according to Sherdog.  Bruno Gustavo Silva vs David Dvorak is a complete unknown to me. Don’t think I’ve seen either of them fight before. Silva is 10-4-2 and lost his UFC debut by submission against Khalid Taha in October. Dvorak is Czech and making his first trip to the Octagon here. He’s 17-3 with 15 finishes. That’s all I’ve got on him.  Veronica Macedo vs Bea Malecki isn’t setting the world alight. Macedo is from Venezuela and her record currently stands at 6-3-1. She’s only 24 years old, she’s got some time to turn it around, but she’s going to have to make gains and fast. She did score a quick submission over Polyana Viana in her last fight but she lost 3 in a row before that. Malecki is Swedish, 28 years old and 3-0. Early days for Malecki and she’s only beat fairly weak opposition so far so it’s hard to tell how good she is. Macedo isn’t much cop though so if Malecki is going to become something, she should be winning at this level.  Edited March 11, 2020 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted February 19, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 19, 2020 This is a really nice looking Fight Night card. It feels a bit like that Denmark card from last year. The majority of the main card and TV prelim fights have something going for them, be it divisional importance, exciting fighters, interesting style clashes, hometown heroes, or just straight up shit hot fights between people who always show up looking to get shit done. Lee Vs Oliviera, Walker Vs Krylov, Maia Vs Burns, Easy DOS Santos vs Kunchenko, those are all fights between some guys that either get a bit overlooked in their divisions or that are in exciting fights more often than not. That's before you even start on Moicano, Ribas, Formica/Moreno, and Yahya. Lot's to like here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ElCece Posted February 19, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 19, 2020 Its Maia vs Burns I am particularly keen on, should be a a real tactical ground battle. Worried it will stay on the feet though. Actually that's my concern about the main event as well. James Walker and Nicholas Krylov should be a barnstormer. Really excellent card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane O' Mac Version 2 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 14 minutes ago, ElCece said: Â James Walker and Nicholas Krylov should be a barnstormer. Really excellent card. Surely it's Jonathan Walker? I really love this card. More excited for this than I was for either the Jones or McGregor PPVs that kicked off 2020. I've enjoyed Charles Oliveira since his UFC debut, and his second appearance really solidified my fandom of him. He was fighting Efrain Escudero (remember him?) and took a low blow in the 3rd round. He had a little time to recover and was clearly pissed off about the foul. He finished the fight seconds later with a RNC. Almost as if he said, "fuck this shit, time to stop playing around". Wish it happened more often after fighters got kicked in the nuts, it happened almost 10 years ago and I've only seen it a couple of times since, but I remember it like it happened yesterday. The guy's been around seemingly forever but seems to have hit his stride since returning to 155. He's only lost to Paul Felder, going 7-1 since 2017, with 6 Performance of the Nights. I think trying to cut to 145 was a huge detriment to the rise of Oliveira, the fucker is 5'10 and he's filled out a bit as he's gotten older- missed weight 4 times and got finished 4 times in that featherweight run. He seems like a different man as a matured fighter at lightweight. But yeah, for once if we take away the main event, there's still a lot to love. I'll be watching past fights and doing the kind of prep I used to do for PPVs- helps with predictions and has netted me a good amount of cash in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ElCece Posted February 19, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 19, 2020 49 minutes ago, Shane O' Mac Version 2 said: Surely it's Jonathan Walker? Â Sorry bad joke from my fuck up on a previous thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 20, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted February 20, 2020 state of Kevin Lee's hair Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 4, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 4, 2020 Johnny Walker’s entrance for his last fight at MSG... Shame Corey Anderson had to fuck things up. Hopefully he gets back on track here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 9, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 9, 2020 wonder what odds you'll get on this going the distance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 12, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 12, 2020 looks like this going ahead behind closed doors... https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/03/ufc-on-espn-plus-28-brasilia-brazil-no-fans-coronavirus-pandemic-mma-sports?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook gonna be a strange night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 12, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 12, 2020 This is going to be weird. Like a cross between the TUF fights and this; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfogg1991 Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 So hyped for this card its absolutely ridiculous card as a whole. What times we got for tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 13, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 13, 2020 7 hours ago, Kfogg1991 said: What times we got for tomorrow Sky listings have the TV prelims kicking off at 10pm with the main card starting at midnight. But the UFC’s website has it as 10pm for the main card with the Fight Pass prelims starting at 7pm. Doesn’t sound right but fuck knows. Kevin Lee’s gone and missed weight. Why not? After the chaos this week, he might as well. In other news, Charles Oliveira’s hair got Coronavirus. Just his hair; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 13, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 13, 2020 they've moved the card back 2 hours i think from the original start time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 13, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 13, 2020 Back? So now it’s happening later? I’m confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted March 13, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted March 13, 2020 Kevin Lee is getting the win then, as seems to be the case every time someone misses weight these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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