Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 12, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) Saturday 10th April in Las Vegas. And it’s on at a UK friendly time! Main card kicks off at 8pm. Get in... ABC MAIN CARD Marvin Vettori vs Kevin Holland Arnold Allen vs Sodiq Yusuff Sam Alvey vs Julian Marquez Mackenzie Dern vs Nina Ansaroff Mike Perry vs Daniel Rodriguez ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS Jim Miller vs Joe Solecki Scott Holtzman vs Mateusz Gamrot John Makdessi vs Ignacio Bahamondes Yorgan De Castro vs Jarjis Danho Jack Shore vs Hunter Azure Jordan Griffin vs Luis Saldana Da Un Jung vs William Knight Impa Kasanganay vs Sasha Palatnikov Really like the look of this actually. Couple of fights bringing it down a notch but, on the whole, it’s a strong card pretty much top to bottom. As always, the bout order will likely change 59 times between now and the night of the show so don’t put too much stock into it. For now though, I think this is the planned running order. Marvin Vettori vs Kevin Holland is headlining now. Original plan was Vettori vs Darren Till but Till’s dropped out with a broken collarbone. Big disappointment, I think a lot of people were into that matchup. This is about the best save they could’ve made given the circumstances, to be fair. It’s far from ideal but what can you do? Till pulled out with just over a week until fight night. You’re not going to get many top contenders or names willing to step in with someone like Vettori on that kind of notice. One guy was up for it though... Kevin Holland is coming in fresh off a one sided points loss to Derek Brunson just a couple of weeks ago. He was on a really nice run before that and had gone 5-0 in 2020. A win over Brunson would’ve potentially catapulted him right into title contention but he got shut down and dominated. An odd fight all around in that Holland seemed more concerned with trying to be funny and talking in the cage than anything. He’s always done that but he seemed to take it to another level against Brunson. Really frustrating to watch because he’s clearly got a lot of talent but he either doesn’t care that much or it’s a mask to kind of give himself an out when he loses. Sounds silly but I genuinely think there might be something to it. That way he can spin it to people, and maybe more importantly to himself, that he lost because he didn’t take it seriously more than he just had no answers for the problems he was faced with. If that is the case it’s obviously not a healthy attitude to have and will ultimately put a cap on his potential. Watching that fight with Brunson, I don’t think he’d have won no matter what he tried but that mid fight shit talk got old real quick once it became apparent he had nothing to counteract Brunson’s box of tricks. I know this sounds harsh. Holland is a really good fighter and exciting to watch most of the time. But it’s clear all that showboat bollocks isn’t going to cut it at a certain level. It’ll be interesting to see how he approaches this one because Vettori isn’t a guy to piss about with either. ‘The Italian Dream’, if you weeeel! Vettori has really crept up on the Middleweight division with zero buzz until recently. I’m as guilty of overlooking him as anyone. He’s been under UFC contract since 2016 but for the longest time he was just one of those ‘making up the numbers’ names you’d see on a random Fight Night. No-one cared. And understandably so really. He went 2-2-1 in his first 5 fights in the promotion. The most interesting of those first 5 fights though, at least in retrospect, came in 2018. He faced Israel Adesanya in Adesanya’s second fight in the UFC. It went the distance and Izzy got a split decision victory. At the time I remember thinking Vettori might’ve won but a mate who’s rewatched it recently, and usually knows his stuff, reckons it was a fairly straightforward 29-28 for Adesanya. I’ve been meaning to watch it back for a while myself so I’ll get to that at some point and do a little review in this thread. Regardless, just the fact he went to a split with Izzy is something they can spin for promotion if the rematch ever arises. And it wouldn’t all be spin anyway. Vettori hasn’t lost since that fight with Izzy. He’s won 4 straight and his last 2 fights in particular were the kind of impressive, breakthrough performances he’s been missing until recently. He pissed through Karl Roberson in a round in June and got a POTN bonus. There’d been a bit of bad blood going in as well, including a little altercation at the fighter hotel, so right away this fight had a bit more juice to it than anything Vettori had done in the UFC previously. Then in December, Vettori stepped in on short notice (ironically replacing Till) against Jack Hermansson. And it was an absolute belter. Vettori won clearly on the scorecards but it was a hell of a scrap to watch. One of my favourite fights of 2020 actually. A real eye opener for most fans, me included, that maybe Vettori is going to be a bit of a problem in the title mix at 185. Even more impressive was that he’d taken the fight on late notice and beat a tough sod like Hermansson convincingly. So here we are. If Vettori fights like he has in his last couple then I think Holland is really up against it here. Brunson pretty much laid out the blueprint for how to nullify Holland and school him. And style-wise, I think Vettori has the tools to do similar or worse. You never know with Holland though. He’s a bit of a wildcard in the division for me. If he can pull this off then he’s right back on track and that loss against Brunson won’t mean much. But I don’t know. I’ve got a feeling Vettori’s all wrong for him. He’s good everywhere but his real strength, from what I’ve seen, seems to be his takedowns, ground and pound and chokes. Then you look at Holland’s losses and they’ve pretty much all either came via submission or his opponent controlling him on the mat. Vettori just seems like a bad matchup for him. After going 5-0 last year, I think Holland’s heading for 0-2 already this year. Arnold Allen vs Sodiq Yusuff is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** this time. Should be an excellent fight this. Two guys who’ve been flying under the radar big time in the Featherweight division and it’s largely due to inactivity. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of both so far and I think there’s serious potential there for them both. But they’re both coming off a year plus on the sidelines. Neither have fought since January 2020. Hopefully they’ll be able to kick on now and get some cage time in this year. It’s a cracking fight for them both to come back to. No warm ups. Allen’s one of the better UK prospects around in my opinion. He’s just turned 27, he’s 16-1 and has wins over the likes of Nik Lentz, Gilbert Melendez, Mads Burnell and Makwan Amirkhani in the UFC. Nobody talks about him, again, probably because he’s been out of action, and he doesn’t talk shit either. Looks legit so far though. Yusuff’s also 27, 11-1 with 6 knockouts. He hasn’t beat quite as good competition as Allen has yet but he has solid wins over Andre Fili and Mike Davis and he’s looked a right handful in the fights I’ve seen. Good stuff here. Could be a case of the guy who’s less rusty coming out on top but we’ll see how it plays out. I’m expecting a fun fight though either way. Sam Alvey vs Julian Marquez. Half and half on this one. Can’t be arsed with Alvey at all. He’s fought how many times in the UFC now? And I remember fuck all of it. Apart from him holding a win over the shell of Rashad Evans, which still annoys me years later. He’s just dull and no amount of the Smilin’ Sam gimmick is going to change my opinion. On the other hand, Marquez is great to watch. He’s 8-2 and coming off a sweet anaconda choke submission over Maki Pitolo on the Usman vs Burns card the other week. He then used his post-fight interview to shout out and ask Miley Cyrus to be his Valentine. And she replied to him on Twitter. Bless him. On a serious note, if Alvey can suck the life out of a Marquez fight then there’s pretty much no hope for anyone. Mackenzie Dern vs Nina Ansaroff. Ehh, it’s OK. Not in love with it. I’ve enjoyed watching Dern lately, in fairness. She had a bit of an iffy start to her MMA career with the series of weight misses and stuff but she seems to have corrected whatever she needed to correct where that’s concerned and she’s had some real strong showings since she returned from having her baby a couple of years back. She’s 10-1 now, the only loss being a decision to Amanda Ribas. Since then she’s won 3 in a row and looks a little bit improved each time out. It’s the Ansaroff factor that makes me a bit indifferent to this fight. Just never really got into her fights for whatever reason. She seems nice enough and seeing how her and Amanda Nunes are with their daughter is lovely. It’s proper heart warming to see how happy they are. But that aside, in the cage I just haven’t been blown away. She’s got a better record than I remembered though, to be fair. Wins over Claudia Gadelha, Randa Markos and Angela Hill aren’t earth shattering but I didn’t recall that little run of wins. She lost to Tatiana Suarez in her last fight in July 2019 though, and she’s been out since due to the pregnancy. Coming straight back after that kind of layoff against an in-form Dern is no joke. Mike Perry vs Daniel Rodriguez. Ugh. Perry again. Just can’t be arsed with him anymore. The only time I’ve gave a bollocks about him recently was when he was briefly linked to a fight with Robbie Lawler late last year. And that was only because I was hoping Lawler would chin him. Can’t stand Perry. Racist, woman beater and all around meatheaded, thick as pig shit prick that he is. And on top of all that, he’s not even that good of a fighter. Hits hard, yeah. That’s about it. I think he might’ve actually regressed as a fighter over the course of his UFC career. He’s gone 3-6 in his last 9 and he seems like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off in his personal life. A PR scandal waiting to happen. I hope nothing really bad happens. Despite not liking him, he’s just had a kid with his new missus. For the baby’s sake I hope he sorts himself out. But I think if I was high up in the UFC’s decision making on these much talked about ‘60 roster cuts’, Perry’s name would be near the top of the list for me. I don’t care that he ‘bangs’. I’d get rid. Rodriguez might batter him as well. He’s coming off a points loss to Nicolas Dalby in November but before that he’d gone 13-1 with 11 finishes, was on a 9 fight streak and had UFC finishes over Tim Means (who just beat Perry in his last fight) and Dwight Grant. He’s dangerous. I mean, Perry’s got a chance against anyone who stands and trades with him. I’ll give him that much. But for me, Rodriguez should be winning this with his overall skill set and the dodgy form Perry’s been in of late. Jim Miller vs Joe Solecki. This could be a sleeper actually. Well, any time Jim Miller’s on a card there’s a decent chance it steals the show. A proper hard little bastard and one of the true grizzled veterans of the lighter weight classes. He’s had 48 MMA fights, 36 of them in the UFC. And I don’t recall a dud. He’s had great wins and some rough losses but I don’t ever remember being bored watching him. I was in attendance for his Octagon debut all the way back at UFC 89 in Birmingham. That was 2008 and I’ve had a soft spot for him ever since. His bloodbath with Joe Lauzon in 2012 remains one of my favourite fights in Lightweight history. His kneebar sub on Charles Oliveira has also aged well. Love watching him fight and he’s always seemed a good guy. He’s 37 now and he’s been up and down results-wise, but for me, any time Miller’s added to a card it’s instantly improved. Solecki is a decade younger at 27 years old. I haven’t seen that much of him but he kind of reminds me of a young Jim Miller in a way. He’s got some slick grappling himself, as he’s shown in his UFC wins over Matt Wiman and Austin Hubbard. He’s 10-2 with 8 finishes, 7 by submission. Could be a good one this. Solecki’s got youth on his side and less damage on him but Miller’s shown he can still teach the young’uns a thing or two as recently as June, when he armbarred Roosevelt Roberts in about 2 minutes. I’m hoping he can pull another one off here. Scott Holtzman vs Mateusz Gamrot. Really looking forward to seeing Gamrot back in there. His UFC signing late last year caused quite a stir on social media. He came in with a bit of buzz and was being talked about as one of the best prospects outside the UFC and Bellator. He’s Polish, 17-1-0-1 and was the KSW champion at both Lightweight and Featherweight. He made his UFC debut in October and was supposed to face Magomed Mustafaev but the Russian dropped out and Gamrot got fellow Octagon newcomer Guram Kutateladze instead. They had a really good, close battle and Kutateladze came away with a split decision win. Not the ideal introduction to the big stage for Gamrot, obviously, but it was a change of opponent just 2 weeks out and it was a close and really excellent fight regardless. ‘Hot Sauce’ Holtzman is 37 years old now, a BJJ brown-belt with a MMA record of 14-4. Never a contender or anything but he’s mixed at a decent level and done alright. His biggest win came last February when he got a decision over Jim Miller. But he got wiped out by a Beneil Dariush spinning back fist in his next fight. He’s a tough guy and has taken the likes of Josh Emmett and Drew Dober to the scorecards. He doesn’t go away easily. So this should be a good test for Gamrot but one I expect him to win at this stage. John Makdessi vs Ignacio Bahamondes. Going in like Bisping on this fight - half blind. Of course, Makdessi’s been knocking about for years. Never done much really and his UFC career seemed to peak back in 2011 with that spinning back fist knockout on that massive GSP vs Shields card in Toronto. He’s had decent wins since then over names like Sam Stout and Ross Pearson but he’s never been able to put a run together. I’ve never heard of Bahamondes. Another DWCS guy. From what I can find on him he’s 23 years old from Chile and has a 11-3 record with 8 knockouts. That’s it. Yorgan De Castro vs Jarjis Danho. Yeah, you know the score. Low level Heavyweight MMA can be a guilty pleasure or a total bore/embarrassment. There’s little in between. Not sure which way this one is going. De Castro is 6-2 and coming off back-to-back points losses. He’d gone 6-0 with 5 knockouts before that though. And Danho is 37 years old with a record of 5-1-1-1. Nothing on his record stands out. Don’t think I’ve seen him before. If I have he was very forgettable and that’s obviously not a good thing. Jack Shore vs Hunter Azure. This’ll be well worth a look. It’s all about Shore for me though. I’ve seen Azure before, he’s alright, nothing remarkable. 29 years old, 9-1 with the one blemish being a knockout loss to Brian Kelleher. Shore’s the pull here. He’s Welsh, 26 years old, unbeaten at 13-0 with 12 finishes, former Cage Warriors champ. He’s looked the business so far in the UFC as well, racking up submissions over Aaron Phillips and Nohelin Hernandez in impressive performances. Seems to have a bright future ahead of him. Jordan Griffin vs Luis Saldana. I’ve said it before and I’ll most likely repeat it every time I preview a Jordan Griffin fight. Deal with it. If you’ve never seen Griffin’s fight with Chas Skelly from September 2019, get on it. I’ll keep recommending it until everyone I know has seen it. One of my favourite ‘hidden gem’ fights in recent memory. Anyway, beyond that, not a whole lot to add about this. Griffin’s UFC run hasn’t worked out too good in terms of wins and losses. He’s 1-3 in the UFC, 18-8 overall. But for that Skelly fight alone, I’m a fan. Never heard of Saldana but he was on DWCS. I’m gonna need Zebra Kid’s input again. Any info? Sherdog has him at 14-6 with all his wins coming inside the distance. But I don’t know whether to trust that as they also have his height listed as...well, nothing. Is he any good? At the very least he sounds like he goes for the kill so him and Griffin could be right up my street. Da Un Jung vs William Knight. Might be alright this. It wasn’t the fight either man was originally training for but I quite like it. Haven’t seen a ton of Jung but I already know he doesn’t fuck about. He’s 13-2-1 with 12 finishes, 10 by knockout, 5 inside a round. Hasn’t beat anyone that good yet and he went to a draw with Sam sodding Alvey in his last fight so he’s nowt special. But he comes to knock heads off and I dig that. Knight is stepping in for Shamil Gamzatov, who pulled out due to Visa problems. He was meant to fight Alonzo Menifield at UFC 260 but COVID. He’s an absolute unit, 9-1 with 8 knockouts and beat Aleksa Camur on points in his UFC debut back in September. Got a feeling we’ll be seeing some fireworks here. Impa Kasanganay vs Sasha Palatnikov. Not that familiar with either man. Kasanganay looks decent. 8-1 record and had a good performance in his UFC debut, outpointing Maki Pitolo. If he’s remembered at all though, it’ll be because Joaquin Buckley put him on the highlight reel with THAT kick. You know the one. Felt bad for Kasanganay. He seems a really nice guy and looks a skilled fighter from the bits I’ve seen. He’s going to have to go on some spectacular streak to shake that loss off. It’s rare you see a fighter fully bounce back from a video game KO that goes viral like that. Terry Etim for example, after the Barboza knockout he just fizzled away. And he looked like a future player for a while there prior to that. Anyway, don’t really recall Palatnikov. He’s 6-2 and got a TKO over Louis Cosce in his UFC debut in November. Plenty to like on this one ☝️ Edited April 10, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 12, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 12, 2021 some sneaky good shit on the prelims here too, cracking show this. 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 Official poster for this is swish. I really like it. Best one they’ve done in ages for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 30, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 30, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 oh no... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 30, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 Again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Fastest finger first Ebb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 30, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 Kevin Holland looking to step in against Vettori. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 Great fight if Holland steps in but Marvin surely is just going to out wrestle him, the blue print to beat Holland is there now. Two weeks isn't going to fix that for Holland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 30, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 Yeah, I’m already seeing all the ‘Kevin Holland is a gangsta’ bollocks. On Sunday the 11th the same people will be talking about how stupid he was for diving into a second straight loss after getting 50-45’d. It’s probably what’s going to happen though. You’re not going to get many headline worthy (even for a Fight Night) names willing to step in with someone like Vettori on this kind of notice. I don’t like the matchup for Holland at all though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 30, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 yeh bad matchup for Holland, its the kind of thing he does though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Scott Malbranque Posted March 30, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted March 30, 2021 Genuinely hoping against hope that it's only Till and his ways, pulling an early April's Fool and codding us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Bifkin Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Fuck Kevin Holland, the UFC equivalent of Poochie from The Simpsons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 2, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 2, 2021 Holland is officially in: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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