Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 17, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 17, 2020 (edited) Saturday 7th November. Back at the APEX in Sin City. Third time a charm for this main event? ESPN+ MAIN CARDThiago Santos vs Glover Teixeira Andrei Arlovski vs Tanner Boser Raoni Barcelos vs Khalid Taha Giga Chikadze vs Jamey Simmons Claudia Gadelha vs Yan Xiaonan ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMSTrevin Giles vs Bevon Lewis Marcos Rogerio De Lima vs Alexandr Romanov Darren Elkins vs Luiz Eduardo Garagorri Max Griffin vs Ramiz Brahimaj Gustavo Lopez vs Anthony Birchak  Really like this. Santos/Glover goes without saying. There’s obviously never any guarantees in MMA but if you could ever rely on a fight to deliver a pure bombfest, it’s that. I think the undercard is pretty sweet as well here though. Some really good stuff scattered throughout this card and not much fat on it compared to a lot of Fight Nights.  Thiago Santos vs Glover Teixeira tops the bill. Absolute banger this should be. It’s been scheduled a couple of times already, was meant to happen in August, then it was delayed until September. Now here we are in November with a third attempt. Hopefully this one actually comes off because you really can’t go wrong with this matchup. And to add to an already exciting fight, the stakes are high because this is surely a #1 contenders match now. With Blachowicz beating Reyes so decisively to become the champ, there’s obviously no call for a rematch there. Jones is probably off to Heavyweight. There’s other guys coming up like Rakic, Prochazka, Walker etc but they’re still building and gaining experience. Nobody in the 205 division will have a better argument for a crack at Jan The Man than the winner of this fight right here. For a start, Santos already has a KO victory over Jan, plus he ran Jones mega close in their fight. And Glover’s had a bit of a career surge of late. They’re both on probably the best runs of anyone currently in the division. All they need is that one big win to really cement their claim to a title shot. And this is that big win for either man. Got to say I’m split though. Despite being savages in the cage, by all accounts these are two of the nicest men in the sport outside of it. If you dislike either of these two then you’re the wrong ‘un. Glover’s even nice when he’s kicking your arse... What a man. This should be a wild one however long it goes. Only thing giving me questions is Santos is coming off a long layoff and double knee surgery. All that momentum he’d built up with the Jones, Blachowicz, Manuwa fights has all pretty much evaporated now and he’s got to remind everyone who the fuck he is. Problem is, in his absence, Glover’s been putting in the work and staying active. And even at 41 years old, he’s still giving these young cats like Cutelaba and Roberson a lesson. If they’re both on though, this’ll be fireworks. I’ll be amazed if they go 5 rounds, they’re both just too powerful, dangerous and aggressive. But if it does go long, it might look like Hunt vs Bigfoot 1 shit. Kind of sad that one has to lose but either man against Blachowicz is a fight I’m all over.  Andrei Arlovski vs Tanner Boser. This sounds like a fun Heavyweight battle actually. I know Arlovski is years and years past his best but he can still go a bit. It’s not like he’s completely shot, he’s just not going to beat anyone who’s up there in the rankings and on top of their game anymore. Legend though. What a warrior. UFC 28 was his first. 28. Boser was just 7 years old when Arlovski made his MMA debut in 1999, for fuck’s sake. When Arlovski was winning his first UFC title in 2005, Boser was 13 and probably just discovering the Television X 10 minute freeview. Arlovski is a true OG of the game. And he showed in his last fight with Philipe Lins, he can still teach these younger HWs a thing or two. You still have to be a bit special to beat the old ‘Pitbull’. Boser’s had a good 2020 though. He’s stopped Philipe Lins and Raphael Pessoa in his last couple of fights and looked pretty fucking handy doing it. The power of the mullet is real. Arlovski might be faded but it’s still a step up for Boser and a good win to have on his resume if he can get it.  Raoni Barcelos vs Khalid Taha. This has been patched together late in the day. Was supposed to be Taha vs Jack Shore but Shore’s out. Shame. He was one of the highlights of this card for me. Barcelos isn’t a bad replacement and he’s usually in entertaining fights. But at 33 years old he’s just not quite the must see prospect Shore is. Good fighter though and he’s on a really strong run of wins at the moment. He’s 15-1, on a 8 fight win streak and beat Said Nurmagomedov in his last fight in December. I’ve seen Taha before, nothing remarkable. 13-2-0-1 and had a disastrous last fight. First he missed weight, then he won the fight by submission, then got popped by USADA post-fight and it got overturned to a No Contest. Balls to him and his chewing a wasp face. Pulling for a Barcelos win here. If that happens, maybe Barcelos vs Shore is the fight to make.  Claudia Gadelha vs Yan Xiaonan is alright, I guess. Not all that into it but it’s an OK fight. It’s the Gadelha factor for me. She just hasn’t looked at the races for some time now. Definitely lost a step or two in recent years. We all remember when the consensus opinion was that she was the #2 Strawweight in the world behind Joanna Jedrzejczyk. And even then, there wasn’t much in it. She lost 2 razor thin decisions to prime Joanna. She was #2 by the narrowest of margins. It’s not like she’s looked terrible since then but she’s not the force she once was. Although maybe it’s just that there’s more depth at 115 now than there was back then. Even her last fight, she got the decision but I felt pretty strongly that Angela Hill beat her. Haven’t seen enough of Yan to form a strong opinion one way or another really. She’s on a nice little run though. 12-1-1 overall, hasn’t lost since 2010 and she’s beat Hill and Kowalkiewicz in her last couple of fights. Kind of interested to see how she tackles Gadelha’s style here but it’s not a fight that’s really grabbing me.  Trevin Giles vs Bevon Lewis is kind of just there. Could be decent but I haven’t been blown away by either so far. Giles came into the UFC with a lot of potential. He was 9-0 and coming off a win over Ryan Spann in LFA. He then scored back-to-back knockouts in his first 2 UFC fights and things were looking good. His unbeaten streak hit a brick wall last year though when he got subbed by Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert. He’s bounced back this year with a close decision over James Krause so maybe he can rebuild himself now. He’s still only 28. Maybe there’s better to come. Lewis is 7-2, won his last fight but lost to Uriah Hall and Darren Stewart before that. I’d favour Giles to win this. His weakness seems to be those grinding grappler types and that’s not what Lewis is about from what I’ve seen.  Marcos Rogerio De Lima vs Alexandr Romanov. This should be well worth a look. It’s this cards ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** and it’s got fuck all to do with De Lima. Never rated him, to be honest. He’s a big old lump but he’s been around years and absolutely nothing stands out about him. He’s 17-6-1 now, put Ben Sosoli away in a round in his last fight but I still barely recall it. It’s Romanov you want to tune in for. Who doesn’t love a big fat sod suplexing and submitting bastards left and right? He’s 12-0, 12 finishes. Hasn’t beat anyone of note yet and the guy he beat in his UFC debut in September was cack. But I like him already. Hopefully it’s another belly to belly or German suplex into some sort of choke again and he can send this chump packing. Long term I’m really hoping this leads to Romanov vs Alexey Oleynik sometime next year. That needs to happen before Oleynik retires.  Darren Elkins vs Luiz Eduardo Garagorri is another fight that could well steal this show. Elkins is a bit of a madman. Always got time for his fights. Ever since that nutty come from behind knockout he scored over Mirsad Bektic a few years ago, he’s must see TV for me. Ridiculously tough and relentless in going all out for the win himself. Even if it means his face hanging off and spilling blood by the bucket load, which seems to be a regular occurrence in his fights. He’s lost his last 4 in a row now though. Sad times. I’d like to see him turn things around here but Garagorri looks a bit of a handful. He’s from Uruguay, 13-1 with 10 finishes. He looked great in his UFC debut but got submitted by Ricardo Ramos last time out. That was his first loss though and I’ve got a feeling he’ll come back better. Got a good feeling about this one.  Max Griffin vs Ramiz Brahimaj. Again, only familiar with 50% of this. Griffin is alright. I remember really enjoying his fight with Thiago Alves a while back. He’s in a real rough patch at the moment though. Lost 4 out of his last 5. Brahimaj is making his UFC debut here. From Kosovo originally but fights out of New York. 8-2 record with all his wins coming by submission. Looks a bit of a beast on the ground from the highlights I’ve watched.  That’s that. Edited November 8, 2020 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted October 17, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted October 17, 2020 ahh Jack Shore deserved the main card treatment here surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 29, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 29, 2020 Another card that’s taken a beating. Arnold Allen vs Jeremy Stephens and Carlos Diego Ferreira vs Drew Dober are both off. Stephens and Ferreira are out. Not sure if they’re looking for replacements or scrapping the fights altogether. To add to the misery, Jack Shore is out of the fight with Khalid Taha. Raoni Barcelos replaces him. Just another day in COVID era MMA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 4, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 4, 2020 Remember this nuttiness? Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 5, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted November 5, 2020 bang some Pitbull highlights down you, he was a lot of fun to watch at one point: ...actually looking forward to the Boser fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 6, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 6, 2020 Seems we’re back to the early hours start times now. Sky listings have the main card starting at 3am. Not sure what to make of this one. I’m expecting an exciting and explosive fight however long it lasts, that’s pretty much a given with these two. I’m guessing most will be favouring Santos but he’s been out so long and had surgery on both knees. Who knows what we’re getting here. And while he’s been gone Glover’s been having a bit of a late resurgence. Fuck knows. They’re both dangerous as fuck, powerful and aggressive. I’d still probably give Santos the edge on the feet but Glover’s obviously got a dig on him as well and he’s also got that grappling to fall back on. Bit of a weird fight for me. It’s one of those where I don’t want to see either pick up a loss at this point so it’ll be mixed feelings whatever the result. But it’s also been hurt in that there’s no real stakes to it now. When it was signed, this fight was pretty much a lock to be a #1 contenders fight with the winner getting a crack at the title next year. But now it’s looking like Blachowicz vs Adesanya, these two are basically fighting for bronze now. Oh well. Just enjoy the fight for what it is, I guess. Again, seeing loads of negativity about this card. It’s not the strongest but fuck me, social media is a cesspool of constant whinging. Santos vs Glover is ace. Arlovski vs Boser is a decent past vs future HW battle. Elkins vs Garagorri is getting slept on. Then you’ve got Brendan Allen, Alexandr Romanov and Ramiz Brahimaj who all look like they have some potential. What are people expecting from a Fight Night card? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 6, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted November 6, 2020 Im favouring Glover in that main event. If Santos comes out guns blazing and doesn't finish Glover (which is no easy task) i could see Glover settling into a groove and putting a hurting on Santos. Especially if Santos has any kind of rage rust, and considering Glover will be the naturally bigger man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 6, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 6, 2020 I picked Santos in the poll in the end but I don’t have a clue on this one. Wouldn’t be at all surprised if Glover beats him, to be honest. He’s been active and in form anyway but also I don’t think people realise how fucked Santos’ knees were. He’s spoken himself that there were times during his layoff when he thought his career was over. One of his knees was in tatters (ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus) and the other one wasn’t too clever either and both had to be operated on. He was fucked. He can’t be the same physically and even if he’s close, you have to think that kind of injury could mess with him mentally. And people talk about Glover’s age but Santos will be 37 in January. He’s no spring chicken to be coming back from this amount of time on the shelf and two surgically repaired wheels. So yeah, I’ve voted Santos in the poll but I’m already talking myself out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted November 6, 2020 Share Posted November 6, 2020 Every fight on this show is hard to predict. Every Saturday I like to put a low stakes (circa £3) accumulator on (usually 3-5 fights). No fight on this card is a gimme, there are too many unknown fighters or untested fighters. Every fight is hard to pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2020 I didn’t preview it in the opening post as it got added late but Giga Chikadze is on the card as well. Former Kickboxer turned MMA fighter. He’s looked pretty good so far in the UFC but I’m still waiting for this body snatching bastard to turn up;  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted November 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2020 Chikadze's fighting again? That'll be his fourth match this year. I wonder how wise that is; he's not been blasting through people in one round or a few seconds like Chimaev has, he's been going to decision. As to Teixeira/Santos, I'm not really happy with the prospect of either losing. Teixeira does seem like one of the nicest guys in MMA, and I'd love for this late resurgence to lead to a title match with Blachowicz (which is still a fresh matchup, and one that I think Teixeira stands a good chance of winning on his current form), but Santos is also exciting to watch, and I'd like to see him put together a run that would get him a rematch with Jan. Plus it would be sad if it turns out his injuries have put paid to his MMA career, let alone as a top competitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted November 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2020 if Glover wins tonight it'll be criminal if he doesnt secure a title shot off the back of 5 straight wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted November 7, 2020 Author Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2020 6 minutes ago, Egg Shen said: if Glover wins tonight it'll be criminal if he doesnt secure a title shot off the back of 5 straight wins. Here’s your smooth criminal right here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted November 7, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted November 7, 2020 I don't wish injury or illness on anyone, but I am hoping, with all the fights that aren't making it, that Adesanya/Blachowicz ends up getting pushed back so that Jan does end up having to face Glover for the belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.