Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 4, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 4, 2021 (edited) Saturday 20th March. The APEX in Las Vegas. ESPN+ MAIN CARDĀ Derek Brunson vs Kevin HollandĀ Max Griffin vs Kenan SongĀ Cheyanne Buys vs Montserrat Conejo Adrian Yanez vs Gustavo Lopez Tai Tuivasa vs Harry HunsuckerĀ Ā ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMSMarion Reneau vs Macy Chiasson Grant Dawson vs Leonardo Santos Trevin Giles vs Roman Dolidze Montel Jackson vs Jesse Strader JP Buys vs Bruno Silva Ā ThatāsĀ the finalĀ bout order as far as I can tell butĀ thereāll likely be changes and dropouts as usual anyway. Not a stacked card but I like it. The main event is a beauty and thereās a few fights (or at least fighters)Ā underneath that Iām well into. Ā Derek Brunson vs Kevin Holland.Ā Love this as a 5 round main event. Two guys whoāve been a bit under-appreciated in the Middleweight mix really but theyāre both on the verge of beingĀ in an undeniable position to become aĀ serious contenderĀ for the gold. A statement win from either man here could do the trick.Ā Derek Brunsonās been knocking about for a bit now. Fought a bunch in Strikeforce way back, has fought most of the top names at 185 over the years. 21-7 record with 15 inside the distance. Heās 37 years old now, time is of the essence. But heās on good form of late, winning his last 3 on the trot.Ā He bashed up Edmen Shahbazyan in August. Shahbazyan was undefeated and considered one of MMAās hottest prospects going in. But Brunson overwhelmed him and put him away with a third round TKO. It was one of Brunsonās best overall performances for me.Ā Kevin Holland is maybe the most exciting new(ish) face at 185. For all the talk about Khamzat Chimaev taking the sport by storm last year, Holland did it better and shouldāve really got those plaudits. Heās 21-5 overall and went 5-0 in 2020 with 4 finishes. He had an absolute blinder. At UFC 256 in December he took on Jacare Souza. Despite the feeling going in that Jacare had seen better days, I wasnāt sure how it would go. Jacare had just gone the distance with Jan Blachowicz up at 205 and lost a split decision. He wasĀ slowing down but far from shot. And with his experience and grappling credentials, I wasnāt writing him off.Ā Holland looked outstanding though. Really took it to Jacare everywhere, didnāt fear his ground game at all and then stopped him viciously. Whole thing lastedĀ 1:45Ā and bagged Holland a $50k POTN bonus. What a way to cap off a successful year. He called out Brunson in his post-fight interview and thatās where this thing all got started. Brunson wasnāt having it and quickly snapped back. HollandāsĀ been calling him Sisqo pretty much ever since. š They went back and forth and thankfully, the fight got signed and here we are. It was a no brainer really, wasnāt it? The UFC must love it when fights just kind of book themselves like this. Makes their job easier and the hype and promotion is ready made. They donāt have to do much. Holland has typically had a lot to say... āI wanna beat Brunson up because I donāt like the way he strikes. It just looks awkward. Itās like a disrespect to striking. If I can time his favourite combo right, this might not go five rounds. Iām definitely preparing for five so weāll see how it goes. Iāve got a sequence. If I slip his jab, roll his overhand and then hit him with a good hip thrust while he goes for a takedown, Iāll knock him out with my cojones. That right there would be the knockout of the century.ā - Kevin HollandĀ Brunson hasnāt really been biting at most of it, heās been around long enough to not let trash talk get under his skin. Whether Holland can wind him up on fight week remains to be seen. Regardless, itās a cracking fight. My initial thought is to favour Holland. Heās nearly a decade younger and it just feels like the momentum is on his side. But Brunson is dangerous and has recent form for derailing a young lion of the division. Ā Max Griffin vs Song Kenan. Not that bothered but it might pleasantly surprise. I remember enjoying a couple of Griffinās fights a lot, to be fair. His fight with Thiago Alves a couple of years back was ace. Heās 16-8 now and coming off a bloodbath doctor stoppage win over Ramiz Brahimaj in November. Look at this Mick Foley in Germany looking shit... Vile. Griffinās had had his ups and downs but he brings it more often than not. Canāt recall much of Song at all. Heās 30 years old, 16-5 and coming off a quick finish over Callan Potter. Dunno. Ā Cheyanne Buys vs Montserrat Conejo.Ā Two UFC newcomers facing off. This was supposed to be Buys vs Kay Hansen but Hansen just pulled out with a week to go. Buys is 25 years old with a record of 5-1 and fights out of Xtreme Couture. Always surprises me that Xtreme Couture is still a thing for some reason. Like seemingly every bloody new signing these days, sheās from DWCS. Conejo jumps in on short notice. Sheās from Mexico and trains at Kings MMA. Sheās got a 9-1 record with 5 finishes and sheās coming off a first round submission win at Invicta 41 in July. Doesnāt sound a bad signing, to be fair. Another solid addition to the constantly improving Strawweight division. But the circumstances of her debut here are far from ideal. Ā Adrian Yanez vs Gustavo Lopez. Give this a look, if only to see Yanez. Heās 27 with a 12-3 record and 9 finishes. Heās won his last 5 fights, stopped 4 of them and was on DWCS. Iād never seen him before his UFC debutĀ but I think @Zebra Kid MarkĀ was bigging him up on here. He didnāt disappoint. He knocked out Victor Rodriguez with a headkick in a 2 minute stormer. Made an instant fan of me. They both went for it. One of the better 2 minute battles youāll see. But Yanez really stood out as someone to keep tabs on. Canāt recall seeing Lopez but heās 12-5 and subbed Anthony Birchak in his last fight. Lost to Merab Dvalishvili before that. Whatever. Yanez is the pull here for me anyway. Ā Tai Tuivasa vs Harry Hunsucker.Ā Hunsucker LOL.Ā Iām not going to pretend Iām arsed about this. At one time I thought Tuivasa might be something. Not champion material or anything but a good middle of the pack Heavyweight who might mix with some of the names of the division down the line. Kind of a knock-off Mark Hunt. He started pretty well, going 9-0 at the beginningĀ of his career and beating Arlovski. But that got shut down quick when he lost his next 3 fights in a row. He stopped Stefan Struve on the Khabib-Gaethje undercard in October but that doesnāt say much these days. Struveās looked knackered for ages and heās since retired. Heās still only 27 but I donāt know, I just donāt think heāll ever be any more than a fat slugger. Hunsucker is stepping in on just a couple of days notice after DonāTale Mayes dropped out. Heās 6-3 with all his wins and losses ending inside the distance. Think he was on DWCS recently as well. As you can see by the picture there, he has actually won belts somewhere but in just 9 pro fights, heās already been knocked out 3 times. The fact heās won two belts probably speaks more to how poor the Heavyweight division actuallyĀ is outside the top few than anything else.Ā I suppose thereās a chance this might be a decent brawl,Ā to be fair. Thereās always that chance with the Heavies.Ā But I canāt see either amounting to much. Ā Marion Reneau vs Macy Chiasson. This oneās been scheduled, postponed and shifted about a few times. Not in love with it. Reneau has had her moments in the past. She submitted Jessica Andrade back in 2015 and Sara McMann in 2018. But sheās 43 years old now, which must make her the oldest woman currently competing in MMA surely? She comes into this fight off the back of 3 straight losses, dropping her overall record to 9-6-1. On the flipside, Chiasson is 29 years old, 6-1 and a former TUF winner. I think itās fairly obvious why this fight was booked and what theyāre going for here. Out with the old and all that. Ā Grant Dawson vs Leonardo Santos. Like this matchup a lot. Probably the sleeper of the entire card for me. And yet again, Lightweight! Dawsonās 27, a BJJ brown-belt, 16-1 in MMA and on a 7 fight streak. Havenāt seen a ton of him but what I have seen he looked handy. Beat Julian Erosa, whoās been on a bit of a tear lately, as well. Santos is my guy here though. Heās a bit of an enigma to me. Heās one of the best least talked about fighters at 155 and thatās because heās had great big chunks of inactivity sprinkled throughout his career. Itās a shame because I really think he had/has the tools to be a legit player in the division. This is a man whoās a 4th degree BJJ black-belt, a serious high level grappler, 18-3-1 in MMA, won TUF Brazil 2 back in 2013 (heĀ beat Thiago Santos on TUF believe it or not!),Ā hasnāt lost since 2009, his MMA debut was against GomiĀ and he went to a majority decision,Ā knocked out Kevin Lee. Oh and he submitted GSP in the ADCCs in 2005... It feels like we should be talking about this fucker a lot more but, yeah, inactivity. And heās 41 years old now so the moment for him to really make something happen has probably passed. Although saying that, he came back from a 3 year hiatus and sparked Stevie Ray a couple of years ago. Then was out another year and came back and decisioned Roman Bogatov last July. Itās nuts that heās been able to keep coming back and getting wins but you wonder how far he couldāve gone had he been able to stay healthy and active more throughout the past decade. Ā Trevin Giles vs Roman Dolidze. This is worth checking out. Giles has been so-so in the UFC. Went 11-0 to start his career but ran into trouble dropping back-to-back submission losses to Zak Cummings and Gerald Meerschaert in 2019. Heās since rebounded with wins over James Krause and Bevon Lewis but, I donāt know, those couple of losses kind of laid out the blueprint on him. Canāt help feeling like heās going to struggle whenever he comes up against a strong and crafty grappler. And DolidzeĀ might just be another whoās cut from that cloth. Heās the late fill-in for Dricus Du Plessis, who dropped out just over a week out from the show. HeĀ competed in theĀ ADCCsĀ so heās got the grappling chops to potentially give Giles fits if it goes to the ground. But in MMA, heās acquired a taste for knocking guys out. Heās undefeated at 8-0 with 7 finishes. Bashed up Khadis Ibragimov in his UFC debut back in July, then won a split decision over John Allan in December. I recall him not looking that good in that fight but still, couldāve been an off night I suppose. The tools are there and heās still going to be worth keeping tabs on. Ā Montel Jackson vs Jesse Strader. This one got added late. Jacksonās alright from the bits and bobs Iāve seen. Heās 9-2 with 6 finishes and coming off a decision loss to Brett Johns in July. Before that though he was on a decent little 3 fight streak where heād submitted Brian Kelleher and put a right beating on Felipe Colares. Strader makes his debut here. Heās 29 years old with a 5-1 record and 4 knockouts. Heās fought mostly in the Combate Americas promotion. Donāt recognise any of the names heās beat other than a TKO over a Michael Jackson in 2019. Chaāmon. Heās meant to be a bit of a prospect from what Iām reading but Iām always wary of that when theyāve only had a handful of fights against unknowns. Weāll see though. Ā JP Buys vs Bruno Silva. The other half of the Buys couple. JP is Cheyanne Buysā husband. Thatās got to be a first, right? Thereās never been a husband and wife combo fighting on the same card in the UFC, has there? Or am I forgetting an obvious example? Wonder if they have a kid would they name them āPPVā? Anyway, again, a DWCS guy. He fought on there in November and got a first round submission apparently. Heās 9-2 overall. Silva is 10-5-2-1 and has had a disastrous UFC run. Heās fought 3 times in the Octagon and yet to taste victory. Probably safe to assume heās a goner with another L here. Ā Ā Ā Edited March 20, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panhead Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 I'm with you, Wand. There's definitely some fights and fighters that I like on this card. I hope the Raging Panda gets back on track here.Ā That Kevin Lee headkick is one of those gifs that I send to my mates in WhatsApp to try to encourage them to watch more MMA. A perfect knockout. It's like something from Tekken.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Great write up Wand, looking forward to seeing Yanez fight again. The main highlight for me is seeing Kevin Holland get a main event spot, I'm really high on the guy right now and a win here has to put him in the top 5. Regarding the Buys, the only other married couple I can think of is Mark De La Rosa and Montana De La Rosa. They both fought on the Corey Anderson vs Big Jan card last February. Mark lost and Montana won. So lets see if they become the first victorious married couple. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 5, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 5, 2021 1 hour ago, Panhead said: That Kevin Lee headkick is one of those gifs that I send to my mates in WhatsApp to try to encourage them to watch more MMA.Ā Whenever Iāve done that itās backfired spectacularly. Like when I was telling a mate (who was a big MMA fan years ago butĀ drifted away) that this upcoming Adesanya vs Romero fight was going to be the bollocks. He got up at about 5am for that and no doubt wanted to cave my face in when it wasĀ over. He didnāt trust me when I tried to get him to go back and check out the Zhang vs Jedrzejczyk fight from the same card the next day. Think he thought I must be on the wind up.Ā 13 minutes ago, Zebra Kid Mark said: Regarding the Buys, the only other married couple I can think of is Mark De La Rosa and Montana De La Rosa. They both fought on the Corey Anderson vs Big Jan card last February. Mark lost and Montana won. So lets see if they become the first victorious married couple. Completely forgot about the De La Rosas, as most people do. Of course, Frank Mir fought on the same card as the love of his life his whole career - himself.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted March 5, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 5, 2021 I had to check if Nunes and Ansaroff had been on the same card - the only married couple in UFC history who could theoretically have fought each other. But no, seems their cards never crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 10, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 10, 2021 Jamahal Hill vs Paul Craig is off. Hillās out.Ā That was going to beĀ the co-main event on this card. Gone. There wonāt be a replacement either, the fightās alreadyĀ been agreed to for another cardĀ but the date hasnāt been confirmed yet.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 10, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 10, 2021 love seeing Kevin Holland is this spot, i feel he's abit on the outside when talking title contention, if he waxes Brunson though, then a few results go his way he could be next. Brunson deserves some respect too, he's on a sneaky good run himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 17, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 17, 2021 change of opponent: Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 17, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 17, 2021 Just updated the opening post with that. The Johnny Eduardo vs Anthony Birchak fight is off as well. Hopefully thatās it for dropouts now butĀ with 3 days left thereās still plenty of time.Ā Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Harry the big lad was on DWCS as mentioned in Wand's write up. His fight was under a minute against another slugger, it's hard to judge him on that but if Tuivasa can't beat him then he probably might get released....I could have sworn he was released at the start of covid before his last fight but he came back. I'm very excited for this main event, it's a really big test for Kevin Holland, it would be stupid to count out Brunson after what he's done to top prospects lately but I am really hoping Holland wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukhy Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 If Holland puts Brunson away, how far do we have him from a title shot vs Izzy? Dana seems hesitant of giving Whittaker a crack at him. Adesanya seems to want to fight Till next, but Vettori could put a stop to that. Could easily see Holland getting the next shot if the stars align.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 18, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 7 hours ago, Zebra Kid Mark said: Harry the big lad was on DWCS as mentioned in Wand's write up. His fight was under a minute against another slugger, it's hard to judge him on that but if Tuivasa can't beat him then he probably might get released....I could have sworn he was released at the start of covid before his last fight but he came back. Ā Tai did announce that, think he was messing around though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 18, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 15 hours ago, sukhy said: If Holland puts Brunson away, how far do we have him from a title shot vs Izzy? Dana seems hesitant of giving Whittaker a crack at him. Adesanya seems to want to fight Till next, but Vettori could put a stop to that. Could easily see Holland getting the next shot if the stars align.Ā Heād be right there for me. Thatād be a 6 fight streak with back-to-back wins over Jacare and Brunson. And thoseĀ 6 fights wouldāve been within a 10 month span, which is nuts. You know Dana bums fighters who are active and will jump in wherever so I wouldnāt be shocked at all if Holland got a title shot if he wins on Saturday night. Like you say though, if Vettori beats Till he can make a good case too and heād be on a 5 fight streak with back-to-back wins over Hermansson and Till. If both Holland and Vettori win these fights it might be a case of whoever looks most impressive. But you know what theyāre like. If say, Vettori beats Till via close decision, donāt be shocked if Dana goes āI had Till winning. Weāre giving him the title shot anyway.ā The old Moraes vs Aldo shite.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 18, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 I think Holland's got a great chance of getting the shot. You're gonna have 3 real solid viable contenders out of Holland/Brunson, Whitaker/Gastelum, Till/Vettori. It may simple come down to who has the best performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 18, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 18, 2021 Of the lot there,Ā Gastelum and Till would be the least deserving but probably the ones the UFC/Dana would be all over. Adesanya vs Gastelum 2 would be easy to hype after their classic first fight and Till...well, I donāt know. Heās not even that exciting to watch most of the time but I think theyād be happy to give him a shot because they love a gobshite. Whittaker absolutely deserves another crack though. Wins over Till and Cannonier since the loss to Izzy plus a win over Gastelum would be a pretty sweet rebound. If Whittaker, Holland and Vettori all win these fights then Iād be happy with any of them getting the shot.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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