UFC 258: Usman vs Burns - Feb 13 🇺🇸

[Panhead]

I'm genuinely looking forward to Barber vs Grasso. I'm jinxing it now for sure, but I think it'll deliver. Belal Muhammad is always decent enough. It's not the greatest undercard but it's gonna happen when they're lining up three title fights for UFC 259. 

Kelvin Gastelum has the widest torso in the UFC. He's shaped like Mr Strong. It's a shame he didn't get to fight Whittaker. 

[neil]

For as dominating as Usman has been I keep on feeling like Burns is going to take this one. TKO in the 3rd after Usman had been controlling the fight.

[Egg Shen]

heard during Okomoto's ESPN interview with Dana that Usman has only unaninously lost one round in his 12 UFC fights (to Colby), amazing stat.

[Egg Shen]

the final lineup:

[wandshogun09]

6 hours ago, Panhead said:

I'm genuinely looking forward to Barber vs Grasso. I'm jinxing it now for sure, but I think it'll deliver. 

Same. It looks odd as co-main event but whatever. Purely as a matchup of styles I really like it. Neither of them are shy about getting into a wild scrap.

Barber;

Grasso;

Yeah, we’ve probably jinxed it now. But if this turns out to be a shit fight it’ll be a first for both as far as I remember. I know it’s happened before but I’d be surprised if two rights make a wrong in this case. 

[jimufctna24]

I'm not arsed that the undercard is weak. I'm long past the stage of needing to see every fight that the UFC or any other promotion put on. 

Skipping straight to Usman vs Burns in the morning will do me just fine. Like pretty much everyone else, I am picking Usman on points. 

 

[neil]

Ugh, fucking Rogan is commentating this.

[Kfogg1991]

I have a feeling someone is going to be loosing there jobs after this PPV. Apparently those in the states that forked out $89.99 for this weak as fuck PPV once again had issues and couldn't watch and they have had to refund a load of them. The same thing happened 2 weeks ago with the Conor vs Dustin PPV. When your starting the year with a massive price increase for those in the states wanting to support your company the least you can do is make sure they can actually watch it live. Once is bad but you can make excuses and just get past it but twice in 2 weeks/PPV'S is unbelievable for a company the size of the UFC. 

And for a PPV that was always going to do shocking numbers this was the last thing they needed to happen.

[Panhead]

Usman is a scary dude. The way he overcame early adversity and just focused in was truly something. Incredible performance. 

Barber vs Grasso was a fun fight. I love how Grasso is really progressing her game. Her foot work and hand speed is really impressive. I also loved how Barber knew she was behind and just thought "Fuck it", then let her hands go. 

What was up with the new camera style they were using before and after the fights? It was like watching a film at times. 

[wandshogun09]

Sod the PPV numbers/prices...

Usman is the man isn’t he? He’s really become the full package over the years. There was a time when I thought he was basically Nigerian Matt Hughes. Which isn’t a knock, of course, to this day Hughes is still one of the best Welterweights ever. But for the first few years of his run I thought Usman was a guy who was one dimensional but really strong in that one dimension. He’s put it all together though and we’re at the point now where I honestly think he might be the best fighter in the game right now. Khabib’s probably the only one I might rate higher but he’s retired. Usman and Volkanovski are probably #1 and #2 for me now. Just my opinion. They’re ruling over strong divisions as well. Usman’s probably top dog though. The streak he’s been on is insane. 17 fight win streak with victories over Burns, Masvidal, Covington, Woodley, RDA, Maia and Edwards included in that. I mean, Christ! And most of them were one way traffic.

This was good stuff. Burns didn’t come to play and it was looking like it might get interesting when he wobbled Usman early on. But as well as being a dominant offensive fighter, Usman is granite tough as well and he regrouped and came back with a vengeance. His jab was on point, another weapon he’s added to his arsenal, and he really put it to Burns at the end there;

Bad man. Fair play to @thevestofdeanambrose for being the only one to call Usman by stoppage as well. Like most, I fancied Usman on points but, to be honest, the closer the fight got the closer to 50/50 I was on Burns pulling it off. He’s that good, Usman is just better. The aftermath was emotional stuff. I knew they were training partners and buddies going back years but I didn’t realise just how close they were. I read stuff about their kids being friends and all sorts. It was going to be rough whoever lost. 

It’s hard to see anyone dethroning Usman anytime soon. Although, as much as it pains me to admit it, Covington’s still probably the biggest threat to the title. People will throw Chimaev’s name in the mix but it’s way premature for me. We haven’t seen him anywhere near that level yet. Although, the post-fight talk seems to be all about an Usman vs Masvidal rematch which does very little for me. Usman wants it apparently (he wants to coach TUF opposite Masvidal from what I’m reading) and Dana’s saying ‘the fans want it.’ Funny because I’ve seen zero clamouring for that fight. I get Masvidal took it on short notice last time but does anyone see a rematch going much differently? I’d maybe understand if 170 had no other interesting challengers but when there’s Covington, Edwards, Wonderboy and even the Chimaev wild card out there, fuck a Scarface Jorge rematch. It’s not even an interesting fight. 

Really enjoyed Grasso vs Barber as expected. Grasso’s ace. Love watching her fight. Nice to see her starting to put some wins together. Dana was saying at the post-fight presser that they had big hopes for her when they signed her, and he even said they thought she’d be ‘Mexico’s Ronda Rousey’. She’s had a couple of setbacks but I’ve always thought she’s better than her UFC record shows. 

One of the better strikers in the division for me. Barber gave it a good go, in fairness. I think she was outgunned skills-wise but she went for it in the last round like a fighter who’s 0-2 down should do. Grasso was just too slick for her and too far ahead on points. I just hope they don’t rush Grasso up the ladder too fast now. Last thing she needs now is to be thrown into the Shevchenko slaughterhouse before she’s ready. Couple of years time though when she’s more seasoned and maybe Shev’s slowing down a tad, who knows? 

Gastelum finally got the much needed win after a shitty 2019/20. Nice win. Heinisch was a much needed step back for Gastelum but still a tough customer who wouldn’t go away easily. A good fight for Gastelum and hopefully he can start rebuilding off this now. It’s mad to think he went tooth and nail in that FOTY with Adesanya not that long ago but couldn’t fucking buy a win since. 

Simon vs Kelleher wasn’t the tear up I was hoping for but that’s because Simon just dominated. It was a great performance more than a great fight. Kelleher is a tough bastard but he just had no answer for the wrestling here. Simon is looking a bit of a force at the minute. He should’ve beat middle aged Faber that time really. 

Julian Marquez anaconda choke finish was sweet.

Perfect Octagon return for him after a couple of years of inactivity. Hopefully he can stay busy now. I mention it all the time but his UFC debut against Darren Stewart is well worth a watch if you haven’t seen it. Awesome fight. He really looked like someone to keep an eye on from that fight but after that it all went tits up. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off before the layoff. His post-fight callout made me laugh. Asking Miley Cyrus to be his Valentine. She’s actually replied as well!

😂 What a weird start to a romance this could turn out to be. Bet his mentions on Twitter are blowing his phone up today. 

Anthony Hernandez submitting BJJ gorilla Rodolfo Vieira was the biggest shock of the card. I read something that the odds on Hernandez by sub were 30-1. You’d have never called it in a million years. But it’s MMA, not BJJ. I can’t remember who said it but a fighter said once “You punch a black-belt in the face and he becomes a brown-belt. You hit him again he becomes a purple-belt” etc etc. I have no doubt that in a straight grappling match, Vieira would have his way with Hernandez. But MMA is a different beast. The strikes started flying and Hernandez tagged him a few times, got him wobbly and pounced while he was buzzed...

Even Hernandez himself was looking at Vieira tap as if he couldn’t believe it was happening. Huge win for him. Vieira will be back. He’s 31 years old and it was his first loss. But for Hernandez, who’s had an up and down career, this was massive for him. 

Prelims were mostly good fun as well. Always happy to see Belal Muhammad get the W. He looked good too.

And Polyana Viana getting the quick sub was cool. That’s two first round armbars in a row for her. I don’t see her advancing too far at Strawweight but she’s never boring. Rogan beating that mugger story to death was a minor thing but typical of everything that’s wrong with him. It was a good story at the time but him bringing it up to her face and talking about it more than the fantastic performance she’d just put in was cack. 

Really liked this show all in all. It definitely exceeded most people’s expectations. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by wandshogun09

[thevestofdeanambrose]

19 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Bad man. Fair play to @thevestofdeanambrose for being the only one to call Usman by stoppage as well.

 

Just had a feeling! Didn't think Usman would want to go to the ground and seeing he was training with Justin and after what he did to Colby fancied him to finish it on the feet. 

No money on it unfortunately! 

[wandshogun09]

8 minutes ago, thevestofdeanambrose said:

No money on it unfortunately! 

Always the way. For someone who’s spent a worrying percentage of my life watching this shit, I am pretty terrible at actually predicting the outcomes. So my betting days ended a long time ago. 

[jimufctna24]

I really enjoyed the main event. Probably the most enjoyable WW title fight since Lawler was champion.

[Panhead]

I can't believe Marquez has gone so long between fights! He must have made a good impression for me to remember him so well! 

[neil]

Usman is a beast. Coming back from that early onslaught by Burns was impressive, his jab is just brutal. I wonder if Burns regrets all that time on his back after stunning Usman, that really seemed to give him time to recover.

The Marquez fight was fun and a great last round for him coming back and finishing with that anaconda.

I don't think I've seen someone gas as hard as Vierra since the Mark Coleman days. That is incredibly embarrassing for him with his BJJ credentials to be tapped out by a purple belt, but also because really he just gave up due to exhaustion, there was no fight to even get out of that sub.

Great sub by Viana in the prelims. Is it just me or is anyone else getting grossed out by this seeming trend for UFC fighters to not tap anymore? I'm grimacing everytime I see someone in a fully locked in sub just letting it go way too far. Also fuck Rogan for his podcast-esque ask about the mugging - so stupid.

On that topic, I'm so over Rogan commentating. With more and more shows happening, and luckily Rogan only doing US based PPVs now, I've gotten used to him not commentating and its such a disappointment when he pops up on one. Not only is his shtick really boring but he brings the likes of DC down with him.