UFC 259: Blachowicz vs Adesanya - Mar 6 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

The 3 title fights are all official. Everyone made weight. Adesanya came in at 200.5lbs. 

[GlennCullen]

18 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

Haven’t watched anything from the presser yet but this card is starting to feel real now.

The size of Megan Anderson! Not that it’ll matter on Saturday night but as Slick said in ‘Jive Soul Bro’ - “Now that is a BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIG woman!”

Backing Stephanie McMahon to take the title here and set up the big rematch with Ronda.

[Panhead]

55 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

The 3 title fights are all official. Everyone made weight. Adesanya came in at 200.5lbs. 

Is that his natural weight, do we reckon? He'll probably weigh something similar on the night. What will Jan be? 220? 225? 

I'm definitely putting far too much stock in this, but I think if that Polish Power lands clean... 

[Egg Shen]

he did say he was gonna sit in the sauna and follow his usual fight week routine so he may put on a little bit of weight post-weigh in but theres gonna a significant weight advantage for Jan.

[wandshogun09]

It’s fight day! We’re not out of the woods yet, obviously. Remember that Chas Skelly fight that got binned while he was stood in the cage waiting for his opponent the other week? Still, they’ve all weighed in now. If we can’t start getting excited now, what’s even the point of it all?

Jan Blachowicz vs Israel Adesanya - I’ve really neglected this. For a ‘Superfight’, I haven’t really been swept up in the buzz for it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good fight. It’s just that it feels like this should really have been Jones vs Adesanya and, as much as I like Big Jan, this is quite the comedown from that. But like I say, good fight all the same. Interesting to see Adesanya up at 205 and to see how Jan tackles a faster and much more seasoned striker like Izzy. What’s going to be the bigger factor here, do we think? Jan’s size and power vs Izzy’s speed, combinations and technique? What happens if Blachowicz tries to grab hold of him and grapple a lot? Make Adesanya carry his weight? That’s where the size factor really gets interesting for me. We haven’t seen much of Izzy’s ground game at 185, so at 205 it could be a real issue.

I don’t know. I’ll say Adesanya by decision. I can see Jan trying to grapple a bit but he’s more of a striker at heart. And in a standup fight, even with the size and power discrepancy, I think Adesanya can pick him apart and just outland him over 25 minutes. He could always get caught in that time though. He’s a slick striker but he’s not really a defensive wonder if you watch his fights. Gastelum clipped and hurt him a bunch of times, Whittaker came within a whisker of catching him even while Adesanya was knocking him out. He’s not unhittable, and Jan’s shown he’s got a punch that can put real 205ers down. Fuck knows? I think Izzy gets it done though. I think his accuracy and volume will be too much and he might even get the stoppage on an accumulation of all that. But I fancy a points win myself. I just hope it’s a good fight. Both usually are entertaining to watch but there’s the odd times (Izzy vs Yoel, Jan vs Jacare) where they’ve both been involved in fights that stunk the place out. 

 

Amanda Nunes vs Megan Anderson - Yeah, it’s probably going to be a massacre but what can you do? If Nunes isn’t retiring she’s got to fight someone. Anderson is as good a sacrificial lamb as any, I guess. Nunes is one of those champions where even though you know her defences are most likely going to be slaughters, she’s still fun to watch because you know she’s bringing bell to bell GBH.

Nunes by KO/TKO. Who knows, maybe Anderson can make it a little bit interesting on the feet due to her size. She’s not a bad striker with it either. But even then, Nunes has the power advantage and she’s no dummy. If she doesn’t like how the striking is going I don’t think she’s the type who will be too proud to take it to the ground. We’ve seen her go that route with success against De Randamie and others. Unless Anderson has levelled up to a massive degree on the grappling side of things since Holly Holm wrestled the arse off her, I don’t see her coping with Nunes in that type of fight at all. I don’t think Nunes is unbeatable, nobody is. But I don’t think Anderson is the one to beat her. Beyond height, she has no advantages here, in my opinion. I reckon Nunes goes with more of a grappling game plan early and gets the ground and pound stoppage at some point. 

 

Don’t know what that was about in the face-off there 😂

Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling - This is the fight I’m most excited for on the entire card. It was meant to happen in December and I’ve been almost counting the days to it since then. Absolutely giddy for this one and I’m struggling to pick a winner. Really feels like this is two young guys at their physical peak facing off at the perfect time, and for the gold. It’s like MMA’s version of Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence minus all the delays, car crashes and politics. And this one is actually happening! Both have been great to watch so far as well. Yan has quickly become one of my favourites to watch. The way he strikes is a thing of beauty. A work of art. Very, very violent art. But I don’t think he’s faced anyone as well rounded and dangerous on the ground as Aljo is yet. And on the flipside, Aljo is on fire right now coming off breezing through Sandhagen last year. There seems to have been some needle there between these two as well. You could see it every time they were near each other this week and it’s been back and forth on social media for months now. Started off tame enough until Yan took the low road and made a video of some homeless guy comparing him to Sterling. Proper shithouse move. Really disappointed me (although sadly doesn’t surprise me these days where fighters are concerned) and as much as I’m a fan of Yan’s fighting style, it instantly made me hope Aljo throttles him here.

All that said, I’m saying Yan on points in a show stealer. I’m close to 50/50 on it but I think Yan might have another gear he can go to yet. We haven’t really seen anyone properly push him yet. If Aljo makes it more of a grappling match I could see it getting very interesting but we’ve also seen him get caught up in the striking in the past and if the trash talking has gotten to him at all here and he comes to spark Yan, I could see it ending badly for him. Fucking incredible fight on paper though. Probably my favourite matchup so far in 2021. 

 

Islam Makhachev vs Drew Dober - This is the fight that’s probably being slept on a bit on the main card but it’s a cracker. They could’ve even headlined a Fight Night with this and I wouldn’t have complained. We’ve had a lot worse. The jury is still kind of out on Makhachev, despite him being in the UFC for a while now. He looks legit but we just need to see more of him. Hopefully this is the start of an active year for him. Dober’s usually game as well so this could be a fun one.

I’m gonna say Makhachev by decision. I might be underestimating Dober though. He’s looked good lately. I just have a feeling Makhachev is going to really step it up now Khabib’s retired and kind of passed the torch on to him. He’s looked great in the fights I’ve seen but he’s just needed that big name and/or stage to make waves. This isn’t a big name at 155 but it’s certainly a big stage being on a main card like this. I’ve got a feeling 2021 is going to be a bit of a breakout year for Makhachev. Hopefully he wins this impressively and we can get that Dos Anjos fight rebooked over the summer. That’s too good of a fight to just let slip away. 

 

Thiago Santos vs Aleksandar Rakic - Can’t go wrong with this as the main card opener. Can’t see beyond this being a total fireworks display. Rakic isn’t usually that type but I think Santos is going to force him into a bit of a bombfest here. And Rakic has shown he can end a fight in brutal fashion when he needs to. We’ll see how he responds to the Santos swarm because you know it’s coming. Santos rarely fights any other way. I’ve said for ages that I think Rakic is one of the most promising new faces at 205. This feels like a step up though. I know Santos is getting older and he lost to Glover last time but he was also coming off a long layoff against Glover and he still looked fucking lethal early on. Now the cobwebs are off, I’m sure he’s in a better place physically and mentally. Plus Glover’s next level tough and had the experience to not panic under the Santos onslaught. Can Rakic do the same? 

Bit of a tossup really but I’m feeling a Santos KO now we’re here. As much as I’ve been bigging up Rakic on here, it’d be typical now, especially of the disjointed 205 division, if one of the only real prospects gets wiped out by one of the old guard. Wouldn’t upset me though. Santos is a good egg. But at the same time he’s late 30s and his legs are falling off, there’s definitely more upside in Rakic. Could go either way with this. But I’m thinking Santos by KO. Just a gut feeling I can’t shake for some reason. Maybe I just need a cack. 

 

Full predictions...

Israel Adesanya by Decision.

Amanda Nunes by KO/TKO.

Petr Yan by Decision.

Islam Makhachev by Decision.

Thiago Santos by KO/TKO.

Dominick Cruz by Decision.

Song Yadong by KO/TKO.

Askar Askarov by Decision.

Kai Kara-France by Decision.

Tim Elliott by Submission.

Carlos Ulberg by KO/TKO.

Sean Brady by Submission.

Livia Renata Souza by Decision.

Uros Medic by KO/TKO.

Mario Bautista by Decision.

Edited March 6, 2021 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

regarding the lack of fight week buzz...

i was listening to the MMA Roadshow podcast and they said the lack of fans milling around and being involved has really led to it all feeling rather flat. They said the press conference was weirdly lacklustre and ended before it really began. It hasnt helped that outside of Yan/Sterling there literally no bad blood between anyone, and Yan/Sterling cant really interract back and forth because of Yan's poor English.

This thing has me hooked from a quality of fight standpoint, its just solid throughout.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Egg Shen

[Egg Shen]

[WeeAl]

Finding a lot of these fights hard to call tonight. Could just as easily see Cruz, Adesanya, Santos, Yan, Makhachev etc lose as I can manage to see them win. It's a killer card though. I'm kind of occupied tonight while it's on, taking on the Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge so it's going to be difficult to avoid spoilers, especially with my brother staying up to watch it. I'll try and catch what I can of it live though, since I'll mostly be awake anyway.

Predictions:

Adesanya by decision.

Nunes by Stoppage on the ground. Sub or TKO. 

Sterling by decision. 

Rakic by decision. 

Makhachev decision.

Casey Kenney decision. 

Song Yadong KO. 

Askarov by decision. 

Kai Kara France by KO. 

Excited for this one. 

Edited March 6, 2021 by WeeAl

[wandshogun09]

What’s this about? Cyborg planning to do a run in during Nunes vs Anderson?

Edited March 6, 2021 by wandshogun09

[Panhead]

I had Jan winning the 2nd and obviously the 4th and 5th. The first two were really close though.

I don't think I've missed the crowds until this show. Some of it felt flat. Almost like we were watching some particularly aggressive sparring. 

What in the living blue fuck was Yan doing? Jesus Christ. Then putting his arm up when the decision was been announced. Read the room. 

The usual Joe Rogan shithousery too. Making out like Askarov's lack of hearing gives him heightened abilities. Like he's Daredevil or some shit. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Put me down for not thinking A title fight in 2021 would end with a Kamigoye 

[Dai]

Flat is definitely the word Id use to describe the main event. Was perfectly fine, but just stayed that way for the whole thing. Had the last round been an 'empy the gas tank' sort of round, it would have made a decent watch a great one, but as soon as Jan got it to the ground you knew Izzy had absolutley nothing to offer at that point, so it fizzled. Size beat speed on this occasion.

Yan/Sterling was building to a great finish I though. After weathering the early storm, building momentum and getting stronger as the fight went on, is Yan's knee the costliest blunder in UFC history? In an instant he went from getting his win bonus and remaining champion, to losing it all. Crazy stuff.

Real Khabib vibes and flashbacks going on in the Makhachev match. Pure dominiation that you dont usually see at the highest level.

What more can be said about Nunes? Unbelievable. It was over as soon as she landed her first punch.

[wandshogun09]

First of all, I’m amazed that a card this stacked actually stayed intact. I thought it in the middle of the week but deliberately chose not to say anything because I didn’t want to tempt fate. You know that’s why they loaded it up with so many fights because they expected some to fall off. And they even had Glover Teixeira make weight and weigh in on Friday as the standby for the main event. But everything stayed intact. Crazy. Especially for a Vegas card. No doubt we’ll pay the price now with the next bunch of cards though.

‘There are weight classes for a reason’ and all that. Yeah, it never fully got going did it? Fair play to Blachowicz though. I had him winning 3-2 myself. And as expected, once he made it more of a grappling match Izzy had nothing for him. It was the smart move, take Izzy out of his comfort zone and make him carry a true 205er’s weight. Even beyond size though, I didn’t think Adesanya showed much on the ground technically either. He just looked defeated every time it hit the mat. I like Adesanya but it’s funny, before this fight all I was seeing on social media was how Adesanya would wreck Jones etc. That’s gone quiet today for some reason. Speaking of Jones, he couldn’t wait to have a gloat...

Can’t even blame him. As much as I like Adesanya, some of his fans were unbearable this week. And that’s just from bits I’ve caught by chance. I can only imagine what Jones’ DMs look like. Bollocks to it. I’d rather see Jones at Heavyweight anyway.  

I was happy to hear Jan say after the fight that he wants to fight Glover next and that Glover deserves his shot. Spot on.

Amanda Nunes was Amanda Nunes. She’s ace. From the off I never felt like Megan Anderson had much of a chance in this one but it was even easier for Nunes than I expected. Did anyone catch the footage of Anderson entering the arena that was shown earlier on the broadcast? She didn’t look well at all...

I mean, I didn’t like her chances anyway but I saw this and legitimately feared we were about to see something really bad. Thankfully, Nunes decided not to give her a drawn out beating like she did to Raquel Pennington that time. Instead she made it look like the squash matches I used to watch on WCW Worldwide as a kid. Then topped it off with a fucking reverse triangle armbar finish just because she can. 

Can’t even think what’s next for Nunes. Who’s left at this point? It’s criminal that we’re most likely never going to see Nunes vs Cyborg 2. They’re both the only real threats to each other currently, but they’re both in different promotions. I’ve seen Cyborg campaigning for the rematch on Twitter but what’s the point when it can’t happen? Predictably it’s resulted in fans saying she ‘ran to Bellator in fear’. It’s all just so disappointing that that rematch can’t happen. It’s not only the biggest fight on the women’s side of MMA, it’s one of the best fights that could be made in the sport full stop right now, regardless of gender or weight class. As it stands, we’ll probably see Nunes bash up the Holm vs Pena winner or something next 😒

On a positive note, it was cool seeing these...

Always nice to see Boxing/MMA mutual respect. Seems to be an increasing thing these days too. I’m not so much into the actual crossover fights, I prefer both sports existing in their own world. But it’s always good to see stuff like this and when the two worlds meet on podcasts and stuff. All that said, I can see the UFC making Claressa Shields an offer soon and trying to rush her in there with Nunes just because they’re quickly running out of bodies to feed her. 

Gutted about Yan vs Sterling. It was shaping up to be such a great fight as well. Sterling proper brought it in the first round in a way I’ve never seen out of him before. He was non-stop and Yan didn’t like it one bit. It was smart because Yan’s got that Cro Cop thing about him where if you let him come forward he’ll just walk you down like Terminator and bust you up. But if you can put him on the back foot (easier said than done, obviously), he doesn’t look quite the same. The problem was, even for someone in as phenomenal shape as Sterling, you’re never maintaining that ridiculous pace over a 25 minute fight and Yan got back in it. It was a brilliant fight I thought, everything I thought it’d be. Then...

Why? For the life of me I can’t fathom why Yan did this. It wasn’t like he was losing and desperate. This came at a point in the fight when he was in control and the momentum was with him. He’d already been warned that Sterling was a downed opponent so it was clearly intentional. Baffling. Even more odd was when they played the audio of Yan’s corner encouraging him to throw the knee when he did. Yan’s since said that he was concentrating on Aljo’s hands when he threw the knee, and didn’t realise his knee was still down. I can see that but, still, the way it played out just looked dirty. It wasn’t like he threw the knee in a mad flurry, he had a few seconds to think about it and blasted him anyway. 

Not ideal at all. Got to be the first time a fighter has won UFC gold off a DQ, right? No other examples are jumping out at me. Felt bad for Sterling. This should be the best moment of his career but the circumstances are just shit. You could see how disappointed he was after the fight. The rematch will be next surely. I’m not usually into immediate rematches but this is a rare case where it’s actually necessary. It has to happen. 

Makhachev looked fantastic. I said that this was his big opportunity to take that first step out of Khabib’s shadow. His first time as a featured fight on a big PPV main card and he delivered. Like @Dai said, there were shades of Khabib here. You’d expect that given they’ve trained together and been so close. But it really felt like a Khabib fight from when he was on the climb. Not so much the Khabib we know now, the Khabib of say 2016 when he fought Michael Johnson. Not quite there yet but you can see he’s going to be an issue in the not too distant future. Dober is a tough guy as well but Makhachev was like a man possessed. Never mind the finish, that armbar attempt looked nasty. Dober did well to survive that but it felt like a matter of time before Makhachev caught him in one of his traps. Good stuff.

I’m seeing all sorts of suggestions today for Makhachev’s next fight. Everyone from Chandler to Oliveira to Hooker to Ferguson. All great but I can’t see Chandler or Oliveira going for it at this stage, nor would I blame them. They’re both right on the cusp of a title shot. And Hooker and Ferguson are coming off losses. I keep saying it but I hope they rebook that Makhachev vs Dos Anjos fight now. Preferably as a Fight Night headliner over 5 rounds. Time to kick on with Makhachev and see what’s what. 

Rakic vs Santos was nowhere near the barnburner I’d expected and hoped for. There were spells where it threatened to catch fire but it just never happened. Big win for Rakic and I like him but he’s not going to win many fans unfortunately. He’s got a knack for taking these dangerous opponents, making them look ineffective and just out-pointing them. He’s done it to Anthony Smith and now Santos back-to-back. I’ve seen twats shitting on him today but balls to them. It wasn’t the most exciting fight but it wasn’t a bad performance at all. And like with Ciryl Gane at HW, I think there’s much better to come. Santos hasn’t looked quite the same since the knee surgeries for me sadly. 

Dom Cruz was alright. Not really a fan but credit to him, he’s still getting it done. Flashes of his old self but is it just me or does his whole style just look sloppy these days? That Flatley footwork style was groundbreaking back in the WEC days and early in his UFC run but that’s when seeing fighters who weighed below 155 was kind of new and most hadn’t caught up to Cruz’s movement antics yet. In 2021, there’s a wealth of footage out there and ‘movement coaches’ and we’re treated to 5ft sawed-off killers and slick movers from 115-155 now. Cruz was an innovator and deserves credit for that but watching him jiving about windmilling really wide punches looks a bit shit when we’ve recently seen stuff like Yan vs Sterling, Figgy vs Moreno and Sandhagen murdering Edgar. Speaking of which, I wouldn’t hate Cruz vs Edgar next. Or Cruz vs Aldo. 

Thought Kyler Phillips looked ace against Song Yadong. I’ve never taken much notice of Phillips before and only knew him as that Russell Brand lookalike. I’m paying attention now. Yadong is a guy who’s been bigged up as a killer and future player as well so Phillips taking it to him like this was impressive. Didn’t get the finish but it was an entertaining fight and he put on a bit of a display. I’ll be keeping an eye out for his fights in future. 

Askar Askarov had one of the best performances on the whole card for me. I’ve read that he’s been legit for a while but he’s never fully got on the radar in the UFC. If you haven’t seen it though, you NEED to watch his fight with Brandon Moreno from one of the Mexico cards a couple of years back. He could be a problem at Flyweight that we’re all overlooking. Benavidez looks about done to me though. I think this was the moment when he thought ‘Fuck this game. There’s gotta be easier ways to make coin’...

Poor get looks like he’s thinking about cutting the grass or walking the dog or something. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still good, he’s not completely shot and he can beat a lot of guys in the division. But I think it’s clear at this point him becoming champ just isn’t meant to be. Flyweight has come on leaps and bounds over the past 2 years and sadly I think this new breed of little savages have just left Joey B behind. 

Was chuffed to see Kai Kara-France get the win and finally get a finish in the UFC as well. He’s been consistently one of the highlights of the undercards for me since he came in. Win or lose, never a dull moment. The end was weird with the confusion and Bontorin throwing the mouthpiece but whatever. Great comeback for KKF. 

Elliott vs Espinosa was a weird one. Straight forward as far as the scoring goes. Tim Elliott was far and away the clear winner. There was this though...

From what I can make out...

Elliott: Like you choked a girl in 2018. You’re a woman beater? Little fucking woman beater. She messaged me.

Espinosa: Did she? You don’t know the whole story.

Elliott: I know enough.

Espinosa: You don’t know shit. 

Takes the Khabib vs Conor “let’s talk now” thing to a completely different level. Fuck knows if there’s any truth to it but it came out of nowhere and was the last thing I was expecting during a nothing happening one way traffic fight on the prelims. Funny hearing the commentators squirming when they realised what he was saying as well.

Nzechukwu vs Ulberg was a nutty little fight. Ulberg was coming in with some real buzz coming off DWCS and being Izzy’s teammate etc. And to be fair, he looked good in the clips I watched. And he was looking like a serious handful early on here too. He had Nzechukwu in all kinds of bother. He faded rapidly though. Reminded me of Rodolfo Vieira the other week. By the end of the first round he was bollocksed and Nzechukwu was all over him. Then the second round...

Mad twists and turns and a hell of a finish for Nzechukwu. Nothing against Ulberg but I was happy with this result. I always like it when the guy who ‘wasn’t supposed to win’ flips the script like this. Really fun scrap and rightly got FOTN. Always cool to see the lower paid guys get that bonus money. $50K is obviously life changing to a guy on the prelims. 

Sean Brady continues to sneak up on everyone. He might be one of the better prospects that nobody is really talking about on the roster. Had a couple of decent but unspectacular points wins when he first came in but he seems to have found his feet now with 2 submissions in a row. This win takes him to 14-0. His style isn’t for everyone but I’m enjoying watching him progress. Matthews is decent and had his moments but he had fuck all for Brady once it hit the ground.  

Amanda Lemos taking Souza out in a round wasn’t how I expected that fight to go. They’ve both been decent to watch up to now but I guess we’ve just become conditioned to not expect first round blowouts in the women’s fights. Lemos might be a darkhorse at Strawweight actually. Haven’t taken much notice of her before but she’s done well since dropping to 115lbs. Souza had never been stopped before this either. 

I like this Uros Medic guy already. Could’ve done without the Rogan arse licking after but he’s going to be exciting to watch going forward. Wild fucker. Peter Ebdon ref from last week was back though. Strolling around them and looking at it from EVERY SINGLE ANGLE again before he stopping it.

As the kids say - “same energy”. Yeah. None. 

Trevin Jones opened up the card in style. When the first curtain jerker ends with a shovel hook/uppercut KO, it just sets the tone beautifully.

A good card overall but the fights you really expected to deliver kind of fell flat. Oddly, it was the 3 title fights that felt like the biggest anti-climax. Jan vs Izzy was alright but just felt like it never really got out of second gear, the Nunes fight was the mugging we expected but so quick it felt almost pointless, and Yan vs Sterling was shaping up to be something special but Yan cocked it all up. The undercard was actually where it was at on this card. Sometimes it just goes like that. 

Edited March 7, 2021 by wandshogun09

[Zebra Kid Mark]

I really enjoyed that show, it felt like a big show, a kind of Wrestlemania where all the fights meant something and had something on the line.

Jan deservedly got the win over Izzy, I think Izzy will go back to 185 and get a few wins and then start talking about moving up again. I think the Jones fight is completely off the cards now as Jones will never go back to LHW and it's clear Izzy would be undersized at Heavyweight. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise that we don't get the constant flirting of their being a match and the back and forth/will they won't they exchanges on Twitter like we usually get, at least last night was a clear road block in that ever being a thing. The GSP vs Silva talk went on for years, I had a feeling this was going the same way.

Jan is incredibly likeable, Glover is clearly next and Dana pretty much confirmed it in the post fight press conference.

Nunes vs Anderson, wow. It annoys me when people talk about Nunes retiring, I have no problem with her winning in that fashion for the next 5 years, I love her, I love her style and I love seeing some one clearly dominate a division(s) like that. She's also incredibly likeable.

It's a shame Yan and Aljo ended the way it did, but as a huge Aljo fan I will take that victory. It's kind of like when you see your football team win a bit controversially, you don't care, you're happy with the 3 points, it's the same here with me. Seeing Aljo enter the octagon in his next fight as the champion makes me happy, I don't care that it was under dubious circumstances. He clearly has a the blue print to beat Yan, he just needs a way of making that plan last 5 rounds, whether that is physically possible is one thing. 

I like Cruz so I was happy to see him do well but I am glad I am not the only one who is not impressed with his footwork, I'm glad you said what you said @wandshogun09. I felt a confused when the commentators were creaming themselves over his footwork and I felt a bit embarrassed at myself that maybe I was missing something. He got the job done but I don't think he rises any further up the rankings or makes another run for the title. A match vs Edgar is something I didn't consider but I think it would be a perfect match up for both guys.

I enjoyed that show and I made £16 off a £3 Jan and Aljo double! I'm rich.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Zebra Kid Mark

[jimufctna24]

I think Yan was on his way to a stoppage or lopsided decision before he messed up. Sterling won round 2 and an argument could have be made that he won round 1. Yet, Yan clearly won round 3 and was utterly dominating round 4. It felt like Sterling had done his best work and was now there for the taking. I don't like Yan, but based on last night's evidence he is one of the best fighters in the world. He committed a stupid foul, and he deserved to lose the belt because of it. but he put on an incredible performance before that.

Despite scoring the fight 48-47 to Blachowicz, I felt the scorecards were a bit harsh on Izzy. You could make a decent argument that Izzy won rounds 1, 2 and 3. All three of those rounds were very tight. Still, Blachowicz did some great work, not just on the ground, but also on the feet with his jabs and counter-punching. I rate him much higher now than I did before the weekend began.

Last night also made me wonder what would have happened had Jones stayed at 205lbs a little longer. In hindsight, he probably would have mauled Izzy on the ground and beaten him decisively. I know Jones struggled to take Reyes down, but I think he would've found it easier to get Izzy to the mat. The only chance Izzy would have had of victory would be at range, with Jones choosing not to attempt takedowns/clinches like he did against Santos. 

I wasn't that bothered about calling the main event wrong either. Had Izzy won with style, I would've probably had to concede that he was the best 205lbs fighter on the planet. As it stands, I can carry on claiming that Nemkov is the light-heavyweight kingpin for at least another month or so. Suits me fine. 

Edited March 8, 2021 by jimufctna24