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UFC 261: Usman vs Masvidal 2 - Apr 24 🇺🇸


wandshogun09

Who wins and how?   

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What an insane main card. My comments about Usman being boring look totally foolish. What a finish! I would add Stephen Thompson to the list of contenders who might give him some bother but I'd like to see rematches with Colby and Leon Edwards first if he beats Nate. With Khabib, Cejudo and Jon Jones doing fuck all right now he must be the P4P man right now. 

Good to see Thug Rose end Communism so emphatically. 

Horrible injury to Chris Weidman but compare the reaction of Uriah Hall to his own reaction to Anderson Silva getting the same injury against him. I see to remember there were celebrations in the octagon with his awful dad. 

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Usman played it perfectly. The feeling pre-show that the only way Jorge would have a chance was if the foot rubbing thing entice Usman in to fighting a standup fight with Jorge. I think everybody just assumed that Usman wouldnt be goaded and would fight his usual fight. I think it even threw Masvidal because he was just waiting on the inevitable takedown attempt. That right hand was an utter bomb though! devastating punch.

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For me the whole build up to the main event was a terrific example of how marketing can do wonders for your career.

Masvidal, a guy who's never really been more than a solid mid-level fighter who's brushed with the upper echelon in the past, suddenly went from this guy...

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To this guy...

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And with it came a complete reimagining of his entire career, skillset, and ceiling.

Gone was the guy who lost a unanimous decision to Wonderboy Thompson, and who dropped decisions to Demian Maia, Lorenz Larkin, and Al Iaquinta.

Wins over Darren Till, Nate Diaz and Ben Askren suddenly had fans believing that skipping out on the barbers, watching Scarface on a nightly basis, and taking a trip to the tailors meant this mid-level 36 year old dude with a great chin and decent standup was suddenly capable of beating possibly the greatest to ever step into a cage.

don't get me wrong, fair play to the guy. He's made a lot of coin late in his career, so well done on that. But anyone who follows the sport that gave him more than a punchers chance against Usman needs their head looked at. 

Even in the standup I still thought Usman would prevail. His recent performances show what happens when you take a phenomenal athlete and cerebral fighter and team him up with one of the best striking coaches in the game. 

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Masvidal is a classic example of catching lightning in a bottle. The stars alligned for him perfectly from both a fighting and especially a marketing standpoint, its just unique in that it happened so late into his career.

You market anyone correctly though and they gain that popularity and you'll convince a lot of people of something they aren't capable. Thousands upon thousands (possibly millions) believing Conor McGregor could beat Floyd in a boxing match is the best proof of that.

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10 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

You market anyone correctly though and they gain that popularity and you'll convince a lot of people of something they aren't capable.

Oh, let's not pretend that it had anything to do with anyone except himself though. The UFC did fuck all with him until they saw the heavy lifting had been done and there was money to be made.

That was all Masvidal. He deserves 100% of the credit for his resurgence. The UFC did what they usually do. Fuck all.

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Cant say the BMF belt didnt help.

The marketing aspect though was independent of the UFC. The whole brand they created. The guy had a clothing line, a drink, a movie, the youtube channel etc. Then theres the graft he put in to do the media stuff, which hes real good at. Theres a lot of cogs turning.

Masvidal probably himself isnt the brains behind much of it, hes got a team of people working for him and probably just sticks his name on it for the money and exposure. That happens to most fighters when they reach a level where there's money to be made off of them.

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