UFC 251: Usman vs Masvidal - Jul 11 🇦🇪 🏝🌴

[wandshogun09]

Davey Grant broke his jaw early in his fight with Martin Day. Makes his performance and eventual KO even more impressive. 

 

 

[neil]

I was watching the Grant fight on ESPN, during the post-fight interview he comes on like Michael from I'm Alan Partridge going "I comes oot wanae a fookin war like".

[Shane O' Mac Version 2]

I thought it was a really good show. The final two fights will affect people's perception of it, but from the first prelim, the fighters fought their hearts out. No denying the main events provided the biggest talking points though.

The main event went the way I expected it to go, but it was still a bit of a slog after such a long card. 10 minutes of clinch control. 2 entire rounds worth. Masvidal looked good in R1, and every exchange in the fight that wasn't Usman gluing Jorge to the fence looked shaky for the champ. Usman appeared very uncomfortable striking to me, which was a bit strange after the bombs he landed in the Covington fight. So yeah, not the most exciting way to end things but entirely expected. It's the morning after here and I was so invested in UFC 251 that I wound up having a dream about it. Don't know if I've ever had a dream involving MMA, besides maybe a couple of things involving Paige VanZant or Ronda after the ESPN shoot. I dreamt that Usman vs. Masvidal went basically the same way for 5 rounds, but in the dying seconds of R5, Masvidal starched Usman with the Askren Special to win the gold.

The actual result of the main event has brought out some of the worst on social media. Tons of "hahaha Marty Snoozeman" and basically a fuck-ton of hate for the champ playing it safe. I'm not a massive Usman fan but his approach was entirely understandable given the circumstances. TBH I was surprised when he accepted the fight, he seems to be the type to go "nah I'm the champ, I'm not risking it on short notice, give me a full training camp". I'm sure there was a decent amount of financial incentive on both sides though.

Then we get to the co-main. My real main event.

Fuck me. I'm the biggest Volkanovski fan on here, but even I'll admit I thought that decision was pretty dicey. Even Alex looks surprised here. Max had bigger moments early, and Volko rallied late... basically the rounds played out in a similar vein to Jones vs. Reyes. I can admit my bias here because I was livid that Reyes didn't get the win over Jones, but in the featherweight version, I'm happy with the kind of screwy result. The confusing thing about the judging for me is that the point of contention was apparently R5. For me, it was clear that Max had R1/R2, Volk had R4/R5, with R3 being a toss-up. Like Jones vs. Reyes. Once again, this fight brought out some silly people on the socials. When it's potentially 3-2 either way, with a razor close round between them, by definition it can't be a "robbery". I'll have to watch it back, but my gut feeling live was that Volkanovski was very fortunate to leave Fight Island as the champ. For all his talk about getting a finish, there wasn't THAT much urgency after Max's hot start.

Petr Yan (I can never say that dude's name properly) vs. Jose Aldo was great- apart from the ref adopting the "if he dies, he dies" philosophy for the finish. How many unanswered shots did Aldo take? He responded to the ref's repeated instructions to "fight back!' by shifting his body ever so slightly on the mat. Before that, though, Aldo looked in top form to me. I was saying to my uncle that Aldo never seems to throw leg kicks anymore, then this fight started and he started cracking Yan with them to great effect. People will say that Yan beat Aldo past his prime, given the recent career losses, but I dunno, to me he was looking sharper than he has in years here. Yan's just a killer.

Thug Rose did an awesome job against Andrade. She ruined my multi-bet, but it was a fun fight so I'll let it slide.

Edited July 12, 2020 by Shane O' Mac Version 2

[David]

9 hours ago, Shane O' Mac Version 2 said:

Masvidal looked good in R1, and every exchange in the fight that wasn't Usman gluing Jorge to the fence looked shaky for the champ. Usman appeared very uncomfortable striking to me, which was a bit strange after the bombs he landed in the Covington fight.

Probably because Masvidal is a far better striker than Covington? I've seen fans on social reference this as well, and I'm not sure what they really expected Usman to do? Go in there and throw down with someone who's clearly a better boxer and heavier puncher? Why the fuck would he do that?

That's like saying that Masvidal's clinch and work on the inside looked better against Nate, so it's a bit strange how uncomfortable he looked against Usman. Two entirely different levels of grappling.

It was always going to be a case of the boxer versus the grappler. Masvidal only ever had a punchers chance, so why give him more of a chance to throw said punch? Lots of moaning on social media, which suggests to me that a lot more people are buying into the hype and the scarface promotion than actually looking at it as a fight. It was always going to go down this way. Either that or Masvidal lands a bomb that takes Usman out.

[Egg Shen]

I didn't think Masvidal looked uncomfortable in the clinch positions, he pretty much stayed out of danger and Usman did little damage from some the more dominant positions. It was abit of a stalemate against the cage, all Usman could really do was footstomp, throw that shoulder strike and hammerfist the body.

I did think Usman may come out and try and strike a bit more with Masvidal but Masvidal probably shot himself in the foot by starting to fast, Usman probably though, 'nah, fuck that game'. Masvidal is one of the better strikers in MMA, especially against a conventional kickboxing style, he'll slip and counter all day. Usman wasn't fancying that when he had a much clearer path to victory.

I did feel abit sorry for Marty afterwards, and its probably handy that fight didnt take place in front of a crowd because the boo birds would have been out in force. It seems any goodwill he had rightfully gained from the Covington fight has been undone and they are back to ripping on him. MMA fans have short memories, even more so when the fights crossover beyond the standard hardcore fanbase.

 

[David]

16 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

I didn't think Masvidal looked uncomfortable in the clinch positions, he pretty much stayed out of danger and Usman did little damage from some the more dominant positions. It was abit of a stalemate against the cage, all Usman could really do was footstomp, throw that shoulder strike and hammerfist the body.

Don't let his smiling and sticking out his tongue fool you Ebb, he was uncomfortable. Those foot stomps may not look all that effective, but check the bruising on Masvidal's foot in the fifth round. He ain't gonna be walking too good today. Everything Usman was doing was making Masvidal uncomfortable. Those shots to the midsection in the clinch had Masvidal grimacing. 

He's gonna wake up today sore, and knowing he's been handled in a fight.

25 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

I did think Usman may come out and try and strike a bit more with Masvidal but Masvidal probably shot himself in the foot by starting to fast, Usman probably though, 'nah, fuck that game'. Masvidal is one of the better strikers in MMA, especially against a conventional kickboxing style, he'll slip and counter all day. Usman wasn't fancying that when he had a much clearer path to victory.

I don't see why anyone would think that Usman would strike with him? Honestly, I never thought he'd do that at all. That's like saying "I figured Masvidal may have come out and tried to implement a bit more of his wrestling game." Of course he wouldn't, it would have been suicide. 

This was a striker versus a grappler. It was as clean cut as it gets. You're talking Khabib vs Conor levels of difference in striking. The only difference is that Masvidal, over the years, has developed a decent enough defensive wrestling game.

27 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

I did feel abit sorry for Marty afterwards, and its probably handy that fight didnt take place in front of a crowd because the boo birds would have been out in force. It seems any goodwill he had rightfully gained from the Covington fight has been undone and they are back to ripping on him. MMA fans have short memories, even more so when the fights crossover beyond the standard hardcore fanbase.

Usman is getting the same pelters that Woodley got. Despite the fact he had a barn-burner with Covington, and absolutely handled Woodley in a terrific one-sided display he's now branded boring and scared.

Saying that, the knuckleheads panning Usman are probably the same people defending Mike Perry, so fuck them.

Weird that many of the fans on social calling Usman out are using GSP as an example of when the division was great. Y'know, GSP? That Tyson-esque finisher of opponents?

[Egg Shen]

yeh, ill give you uncomfortable in a sense that no likes having their feet stomped on for 25 for minutes, I meant more from a sense that Masvidal was never really in any danger, he was simply held in a position he couldn't get out of.

As for the GSP comparison, unlike GSP, Usman has the unfortunate combination of not being overly exciting in the cage as well as being fairly unlikeable as a personality out of it for whatever reason. You can have one but not the other, you have both you're in trouble.

[David]

45 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

As for the GSP comparison, unlike GSP, Usman has the unfortunate combination of not being overly exciting in the cage as well as being fairly unlikeable as a personality out of it for whatever reason. You can have one but not the other, you have both you're in trouble.

Usman absolutely manhandled Tyron Woodley, which was as perfect a performance as we're ever likely to see. In fact, it could be said that beating has changed Woodley as a fighter forever. 

He then came in and had an absolute barnburner with Colby Covington. What a fight that was, and it had plenty of backstory to it. 

As for him being "unlikeable," I detect a sinister undertone to this kind of thing. Not from you, but from fans in general.

Conor is an absolute bellend, very unlikeable. Yet he's liked. Masvidal is a bellend as well. Once again, he's liked. Mike Perry. Everyone seems to love that absolute cunt.

Usman has never really said or done anything to warrant being tagged "unlikeable," has he? Much in the same way as Woodley never really did either. I'm starting to see a similar trend with Adesanya forming as well. Wait until he gets another few wins under his belt and he'll be full-on "unlikeable."

It seems that Woodley and Usman being confident and successful rubs a lot of MMA fans the wrong way. I don't know why.

[Carbomb]

Hear, fucking hear, @David. With everything going on in the US at the moment, I would really not be surprised to hear more about how the fans have come to dislike those fighters of, shall we say, a less Northern hemisphere hue.

[Egg Shen]

3 minutes ago, David said:

 

Usman has never really said or done anything to warrant being tagged "unlikeable," has he? 

Not really, but then again neither did Daniel Cormier, and for years most fans disliked him too. 

I just feel Usman lacks a certain charm and charisma that appeals to people. Its one of those things that hard to pinpoint exactly but some people just don't connect with a fanbase. 

[Egg Shen]

Lets not make it a race issue because it isn't one, its a personality/charisma/likeability issue.

[David]

22 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

Lets not make it a race issue because it isn't one, its a personality/charisma/likeability issue.

And how would you know that?

Isn't there a tradition of successful black athletes being "unlikeable?" Be it Raheem Sterling, Kamaru Usman or Tyron Woodley.

As far as Usman goes, we're talking about a guy who walked miles to fetch water for his family as a kid in Nigeria, only to come to the US and work his way to being a 3-time All-American, a high-calibre professional fighter who's been nothing but exemplary outside of the cage. He's a walking, talking example of the American dream at work, surely?

You keep mentioning likeability, so explain to me what Usman has done to make it easy for so many people to dislike him?

Is it his polite, well-spoken manner when he's being interviewed? Is it the way he spends ages signing autographs and taking photos with fans (like me) when he's probably feeling the effects of a weight cut? Is it the way he thanks those fans individually for making the effort and coming out to the fights?

What would make him more likeable? Acting like McGregor or Perry does with fans and members of the public? Punching them, smashing up their phones when they try to take a picture? Making racial and cultural slurs against opponents?

And don't tell me it's all about his style of fighting. GSP is constantly mentioned by those who were trying to put Usman down the past few days, and he was hardly finishing fights in his prime, was he? He was another decision king.

For me, there's not a lot different between Usman and GSP both inside and outside the cage. Both are respectful of the fans, well-spoken, and should be exactly the kind of champions the company should want representing it on talk shows, radio and anywhere else.

[Egg Shen]

does anyone dislike Francis Ngannou?

[David]

4 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

does anyone dislike Francis Ngannou?

Ngannou isn't the type of guy who likes to showcase his success and wealth though, is he? Usman, much like Woodley, makes the mistake of being outspoken, intelligent, and he isn't afraid to dress and carry himself like a successful athlete.

He's also the champion. 

As I mentioned, I'm seeing the tide start to turn slowly against Adesanya as well. Dude is enjoying the trappings of being a successful athlete, and there's a tradition of primarily US sports fans not liking that.

Can't have these types getting ideas above their station, perhaps?

Again, you claim that Usman is unlikeable. Tell me what it is that made you say that? I know he's not trading blows in the cage, chasing that CTE dream, but you mentioned him "being fairly unlikeable as a personality" outside the cage.

How so?

EDIT: And I'll stress here @Egg Shen that I'm not claiming you don't like him for these reasons. I'm asking why you think he's unlikeable outside the cage to these fans who slate him if the reason isn't race, as you claim?

Edited July 13, 2020 by David

[Egg Shen]

and read my initial posts, i said "for whatever reason", and it's "hard to pinpoint" why people don't like him. Some fighters just do not connect with fans, i haven't particularly warmed to Usman either, and i can't necessarily tell you why? 

Fucking hell, Jorge Masvidal didn't, he spent 17 years as somebody only the hardcore fans appreciated. A rare combination of things fell into place and it lead to him becoming a superstar over the course of a year.