Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 26, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 26, 2021 (edited) Saturday 8th May weāre back at the APEX in Vegas for this. Back to no crowds until 262 the following weekĀ as well, which will be weird now weāve had a taste of it again. ESPN MAIN CARDMichelle Waterson vs Marina Rodriguez Donald Cerrone vs Alex Morono Neil Magny vs Geoff Neal Maurice Greene vs Marcos Rogerio De Lima Carlos Diego Ferreira vs Gregor Gillespie Phil Hawes vs Kyle Daukaus ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMSMike Trizano vs Ludovit Klein Tafon Nchukwi vs Jun Yong Park Christian Aguilera vs Carlston HarrisĀ Ā Probably not the final bout order, Iāll edit as we go. I think this is quality though. Especially for a Fight Night. In the era of a Jessica Eye vs Cynthia Calvillo main event being foisted upon us, I could easily have seen the Magny vs Neal, Ferreira vs Gillespie or Cerrone vs Sanchez fights headlining a card on their own. Really strong for a Fight Night this. Like always, how much of it stays intact is another matter but weāll roll with it. Ā Michelle Waterson vs Marina Rodriguez. So this is the new main event.Ā Been a lot of pissing about getting this fight over the line and itās only been confirmed by the UFC as the headliner 4 days out. Itās been a right mess. And as weāve said, it seems like a lot of unnecessary hassle considering they actually had options on this card and couldāve just bumped another fight up. Whatever, weāre here now. People are down on this fight and I get why. Going from Sandhagen vs Dillashaw to this is clearly a comedown. But purely as a fight I actually like it. Watersonās been a bit inconsistent recently and Iām not sure whether itās a case of her slowing down or being too small for the weight class or what. She hit her ceiling at Strawweight a while ago for me and I thought she was very lucky to get the nod from the judges against Angela Hill last time out. And with this fight being at Flyweight because of the short notice, I think sheās even more up against it.Ā But Iāve always enjoyed watching her fight and win or lose sheās tough, she brings it and sheās usually at least competitive despite mostly being the smaller woman in there. āIt will be my fourth main event and Iām really excited. Iām glad the UFC has faith in me to bring the audience in. Iām on cloud nine here. Itās one of those things you canāt force. Itās so last minute that itās just gonna be a fight. We donāt have time to gameplan, itās just about showcasing our skills.ā - Michelle Waterson Rodriguez isnāt that well known but she certainly put herself in a good position to change that in her last fight. She took on Amanda Ribas on the Poirier vs McGregor 2 undercard in January. Ribas had gained quite a following going into the fight, Rodriguez didnāt give a bollocks. She clobbered Ribas for a second round stoppage and put an end to the feelgood run she was on. Rodriguez could actually be a bit of a darkhorse in the Strawweight division. Sheās 13-1-2 now but all the blemishes have asterisks next to them. Two were draws against Cynthia Calvillo and Randa Markos. And the loss was a split decision against Carla Esparza. Canāt say I remember those fights in any great detail but there might be a case for her winning them. The weak area definitely seems to be her grappling though. Calvillo, Markos and Esparza are all predominantly grapplers and theyāve all dragged her to draws or losses. Ribas was giving her problems on the ground before RodriguezĀ got to her on the feet as well. So I can see Waterson trying to go the grappling route here but given the size difference, thereās every chance Rodriguez busts her up on the way in. Especially with it at Flyweight. Sheās already the bigger woman, having Waterson whoās an undersized Strawweight fight her at Flyweight is gonna be bad news for Waterson,Ā I reckon.Ā Decent, although underwhelming as a main event. ButĀ who knows what happens given the short notice? I just hope itās a good fight.Ā Ā Donald Cerrone vs Alex Morono. OK then. Bit of a rigmarole to get to this but whatever. Of course, Cerrone was supposed to face his old Jackson-Wink teammate Diego Sanchez here but thatās gone tits up in spectacular fashion and resulted in Diego being released from the UFC. Heās gone. 16 years in the UFC comes to an end but more people know Joshua Fabiaās name now so thatās mission accomplished for that whackjob, I guess. This is a bit underwhelming as a substitute in terms of name recognition and history and all that. But as an actual fight, itās better. Diegoās shot to bits anyway, it wasnāt gonna be pretty. Cerroneās seen better days himself and Iām seeing all sorts of calls for him to retire after this fight. I wouldnāt go that far myself. Heās not at his peak, heās 38 and hasnāt won a fight since 2019. But heās been up against some stiff competition (McGregor, Gaethje, Ferguson) and I think people are going off that losing streak and they havenāt seen the actual fights. Many had him beating Anthony Pettis and he went to war with Niko Price last time out. Heās not gonna be making waves in any title picture but heās got some good fights left in him, I reckon. Morono could fuck things up though. And unlike the other guys whoāve beat Cowboy recently, Morono isnāt a name so itāll hurt Cerroneās stock more. Moronoās not a bad fighter, 18-7-1 record with some decent wins. But a fading Pettis beat him last time so youād think itās winnable for Cerrone. Weāll see. Another loss here could well be it forĀ him though.Ā Ā Neil Magny vs Geoff Neal. Good piece of matchmaking this. They were actually matched up for a fight in August but thatās when Neal had his health scare and had to withdraw. Both are coming off losses but before that they were both very much in the running and on the verge of at least a contender fight. But Neal got outpointed by Wonderboy in December, Magny lost a decision to Michael Chiesa in January. 170 is stacked at the minute and thereās a bit of a logjam of guys waiting for their shot. Covington is next in line, then youāve got Leon Edwards if he gets past Nate Diaz, Wonderboy is lurking around there, thereās still the Chimaev x-factor and one big win could see him elevated into the mix. Thereās a lot going on. These two could really do with a big performance here. Something eye catching to put their names in that conversation. They wonāt be next for the title shot, they wonāt likely even be the next after the next. But in a division like Welterweight, youāre not getting noticed if youāre not making statements in there. Ā Maurice Greene vs Marcos Rogerio De Lima. Ugh. Iād say this isĀ a pretty safe bet to shit the bed. Never rated either of them. Greene seems a nice enough bloke outside the cage but Iāve found him all kinds of dull inside it. 9-5 record, hasnāt beat anyone of note, has lost to anyone even semi competent. And he let me down against Greg Hardy. And De Limaās just a big slug. 17-7-1 record, been around for what seems like an age stinking up UFC undercards since 2014. Sandwich break fight. Ā Carlos Diego Ferreira vs Gregor Gillespie is ***WANDāS ONE TO WATCH***Ā this time and itās a beauty. Really love this pairing. Ferreira has been a bit of a favourite of mine for a few years now. I donāt see him ever troubling the top boys at 155 but heās a really good fighter, excellent BJJ artist and always game to throw hands. Heās coming off a split decision loss to Beneil Dariush in their rematch in February but it was a cracking battle and he was on a nice 6 fight streak before that. As for Gillespie... Thatās the last we saw of him. Getting his head kicked into the 27th row at Madison Square Garden by Kevin Lee. 2019. He was 13-0 going in and a NCAA Division I wrestler whoād shown abilities to end fights with either strikes or submissions. He disappeared after this loss though. He went from rising contender to being on a milk carton with one headkick. Really intrigued to see how he looks here. Not only is he coming off his first defeat, it was a brutalĀ one and heās been on the shelf for 18 months since. Gillespie was originally supposed to face Brad Riddell on the Brunson vs Holland card in March but COVID ripped it apart. As good as that fight wouldāve been, I like this one better. I think Gillespie might've ended up just shutting Riddell down with wrestling. I think Ferreira is better equipped to deal with that given his grappling base. Ā Phil Hawes vs Kyle Daukaus. Could end up being a bit of a sleeper on this card for me. We never got to see much of Hawes in his UFC debut in October. He took on Jacob Malkoun on the Khabib vs Gaethje undercard and smashed Malkoun in just 18 seconds. He then beat Nassourdine Imavov on points in January but I canāt say I recall much of that one. Heās looking good though. 10-2 with 9 finishes and heās on a 6 fight winning streak. Worth keeping an eye on. Thisāll be a step up though. Daukaus with someĀ fan there. Iāve been quite impressed with Daukaus so far. Mostly on the strength of his excellent fight with Brendan Allen in June. That was his only loss but it was such a good fight and you could see the potential there. Heās 10-1 overall now with 8 of his wins coming by submission. On paper this looks very much like a striker vs grappler battle but weāll see how it plays out. Iām expecting a good āun anyway. Ā Mike Trizano vs Ludovit Klein. Canāt say I recall much of Trizano. He actually won TUF in 2018 but my interest in TUF was long gone by that point. And heās only fought twice since then which hasnāt helped. Anything that was still to be gained by being a TUF winner in 2018 was lost with inactivity. He hasnāt fought now since May 2019, losing by submission to Grant Dawson. Klein should make this worth checking out though. Thatās him going all Cro Cop in his UFC debut back in September. Knocking out Shane Young in the first round. Heās made a habit of it as well from footage Iāve seen. Heās got a few headkick knockouts on his record. His nickname is āMr Highlightā and with good reason. He might be a bit of a dark horse at Featherweight. Heās Slovakian, 26 years old with a record of 17-2 and 16 finishes. 8 by knockout, 8 by submission. So heās not a one trick pony type. There was some talk of him fighting Ilia Topuria at one point recently and Iād have been all over that. I read thereās bad blood there as well for some reason. Iād be well up for that fight in the near future if possible. Ā Tafon Nchukwi vs Jun Yong Park. This could be decent. Nchukwiās the main reason Iām interested. Early days yet but so far, so good. Heās 5-0 with 4 knockouts. Scored a big headkick KO on DWCS last September and that got him through the UFCās doors. Made his Octagon debut in December and beat Jamie Pickett on points. Looking forward to seeing whatās to come from him. At 26 years old thereās a lot of potential upside there. Parkās been fairly entertaining to watch himself from what I recall of him. Heās 12-4 with 8 finishes. I remember his losing effort against Anthony Hernandez being a fun fight anyway. Ā Christian (not Christina) Aguilera vs Carlston Harris. Donāt know. Iāve only seen Aguilera a couple of times. Heās 14-7 with 11 knockouts and scored a stunning 59 second KO in his UFC debut last June. He got derailed in his next fight though when he ran into Sean Brady and got subbed. I rate Brady though so Iām not reading too much into that loss. Harris is making his first Octagon appearance here, and heās also making history as the first fighter from Guyana to compete in the UFC. Heās 15-4 and apparently got noticed by Dana White while filming that āLookinā For A Fightā thing in Abu Dhabi last year. Ā Thatās a cracking card, isnāt it? One of the better Fight Nights in a while for me.Ā Edited May 8, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 26, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 26, 2021 it is good, main card has a bit of everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theringmaster Posted April 27, 2021 Share Posted April 27, 2021 Ben Rothwell is always somebody i find fascinating. Remember when he got a bit of a streak going and he invented a new fighting style? Basically stand square to your opponent and keep switching stances, he proper hyped it up as a game changer and said everyone would be doing this in years to come. He was being talked about being a future title contender considering he had win over notable names on his CV. Ā Then he fought JDS who just out boxed him over 5 rounds. Ā It was a fascinating example of 'the fundamentals' over new skool! JDS never looked strained at all, if anything he looked like he found it funny after the fight. Then Rothwell just disappeared. Think he failed a drug test and he just hasn't really been on the radar since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 27, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 27, 2021 Rothwell's a weird cat. He basically trains himself as well from what i remember. Has his own rinky dink school that he trains his students in and trains himself. Reminds me of a proper McDojo style throwback. When he went on that little streak you spoke of though, the promos he cut after fights were wrestlecrap levels of brilliant. Would even walk out to the Conan the Barbarian music š Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 27, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 27, 2021 5 hours ago, Egg Shen said: Rothwell's a weird cat.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted April 28, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 https://www.mmafighting.com/2021/4/27/22406742/t-j-dillashaw-injured-ufc-targets-michelle-waterson-vs-marina-rodriguez-to-headline-ufc-vegas-26 Dillashaw is out of the fight with Sandhagen. He's cut his eyebrow from a headbutt during training. Sounds like something Ken Shamrock would have done.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 28, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 Rothwell/Lins should headline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 (edited) Edit - why am I now reading that Michelle Waterson vs Marina Rodriguez is the frontrunner to become the new main event for this? Shit the bed. Why not just bump Magny vs Neal,Ā Ferreira vs Gillespie or Cerrone vs SanchezĀ up? If theyāre going to book a completely new fight to headline this show, at least make it better than the undercard.Ā Edited April 28, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 28, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 exactly my thinking, bump any of those up and leave it a 3 round fight.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 Itās an odd one. Thereās a lot of Fight Nights that wouldāve been absolutely fucked losing the main event, this wasnāt one of them. Thereās 3 fights onĀ the main card that wouldnāt look out ofĀ place on top. I said that in the opening post even before TJ pulled out. Why theyāre looking at Waterson vs Rodriguez I donāt know. I donāt even hate the fight itself but if you put it on the main card here itād be in last place as far as fights Iām invested in. It wonāt even be the best womenās fight on the main card, I like Ribas vs Hill more. Oh well.Ā Iām glad it sounds like theyāre just rescheduling the Sandhagen vs Dillashaw fight though. Itās a weird one timing wise but I like the matchup.Ā Much rather they stick with that fight than scramble and chuck a replacement at Sandhagen.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 28, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 Waterson must do some decent numbers, shes been in 3 non-title main events already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 Itās similarĀ with Holly Holm. Doesnāt matter how many fights she loses, sheās headlining Fight Nights until she retires. Even last year, I remember there was a point when Holm vs Irene Aldana was actually scheduled to be the main event above Thiago Santos vs Glover Teixeira before Santos vs Glover got delayed and ended up headlining another card. I donāt get it. I canāt imagine theyāre pulling significantly strong numbers but I donāt know. NorĀ care really. Theyāre bothĀ Jackson-Wink fighters. Maybe old Gregās got it written into the bastard contract or something.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 28, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 28, 2021 Itās gonna be one of them cards, isnāt it? Donāt know how reliable itĀ is but itās getting shared around a lot now.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 29, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted April 29, 2021 Sorry to triple post but just seen this. No surprises whoās offering to replace Diego Sanchez. Not sure how realistic this is though given that heās gone 5 rounds twice now over the last month or so against Brunson and Vettori. Donāt know what the status of any medical suspensions are currently.Ā This is the type of fight he shouldĀ be up for stepping in for. Itās much more his kind of fight style-wise than Vettori was. That felt like a terrible move beforehand and it was only confirmed when Vettori shut him down for 5 rounds. This would be an upgrade on the original Cerrone vs Sanchez fight.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted April 29, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted April 29, 2021 Yeah, Holland/Cerrone is a cracking fight. Stylewise makes perfect sence for Holland too. Hope it happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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