UFC Vegas: Sandhagen vs Dillashaw - Jul 24 ??

[wandshogun09]

Some Adrian Yanez goodness before the mayhem kicks off later. Nasty little bastard. 

[wandshogun09]

Loved this show. I didn’t stay up for all of it live. I was knackered so just watched up until Yanez vs Costa and caught up on the rest this morning. Definitely a contender for Show Of The Year for me.

Dillashaw vs Sandhagen was one of the best fights of the year for me. Credit where it’s due, for the layoff he had and how tough an opponent he was returning against here, I thought Dillashaw looked pretty fucking great all things considered. I’ll await the results of his drug test before I heap too much praise on him though. Now that’s out the way, I’ve got to say I thought the judges got this one wrong. It was a close fight, I’d stop short of calling it a robbery. We’ve seen much worse. But I definitely felt like Sandhagen won it 3-2. I can’t really see where you’d give TJ 3 of those rounds. Hopefully this doesn’t stall Sandhagen too much and he gets another big fight next because I really thought he got a raw deal here. Great fucking fight though and it’s a shame that the talk of the judging and the debate over who won has kind of overshadowed that. This was mental as well…

What the fuck? Imagine if he’d managed to finish that submission.

Not sure what’s next for either man. I wouldn’t be against just doing the rematch myself. Fuck it. It was razor close, it’s gonna be hotly debated and it was an amazing fight. Who wouldn’t be up for watching them do it again? I’m seeing a lot of calls for Dillashaw vs Garbrandt 3 and I get it given their history. No doubt they’ll go again at some point. But I don’t think it makes sense as the next fight. Garbrandt just got beat handily by Rob Font and, whether you agreed with the judging or not, Dillashaw just got the W over Cory Sandhagen. It just doesn’t add up to me. Plus, last I heard Garbrandt was gearing up for a drop to Flyweight and there was talk of him fighting Kai Kara France. We’ll see how it plays out but, like it or not, Dillashaw’s in the thick of the Bantamweight title mix again now. He doesn’t need to be piss arsing about with the puppy mutilator for the time being. 

Paiva vs Phillips went differently to how I pictured it but what a fight. I think most people were starting to think Phillips might be a real player in the division after that performance against Song Yadong. And in the first round here he was looking every bit of the future contender. Fair play to Paiva though. He really got into it from the second round on and it made for a crazy back and forth fight. Even more impressive that he took it on short notice. Not sure about the scoring. I was half expecting a draw, to be honest, because I had Phillips taking the first 10-8 but whatever. It was a hell of a scrap and a very close one.

Elkins vs Minner was the ground battle I was hoping for, just with a load of added ground and pound. Good stuff from both. Minner got off to a nice start, he had a big first round. But true to form, Elkins snatched a victory out of it in the second round. Elkins is such a tough sod. Bleeding again as well, wouldn’t be a Darren Elkins fight without some claret spilled. Once he got the old Hughes vs Penn crucifix it was a wrap. Happy to see Elkins win.

Barber vs Maverick was alright. Didn’t love it or anything but it was OK. Can’t say I was paying enough attention to be scoring it properly but by the end I definitely thought Maverick had done enough to take the decision. I was a bit surprised when they announced Barber as the winner but I put it down to me maybe missing something by not exactly watching closely. Seems most had Maverick winning though. Including the MMA media scoring the fight.

Unanimous for Maverick. Not gonna outright call it a robbery because, like I say, my attention was wandering throughout the fight. But this never looks good does it.

Yanez vs Costa was wild for as long as it lasted. Did what it said on the tin but Costa getting off to such a strong start kind of caught me off guard. I think Yanez was a bit taken aback himself. We’d never really seen that kind of technical approach from Costa before. He’s just come out and gone for the kill immediately in his other fights I’ve seen. He looked sensational for most of the first round here, his jab was on point and landing constantly and Yanez looked lost for the first few minutes. I really thought he was in trouble. He couldn’t seem to get the distance right and Costa was just drowning him with volume. It was almost a Nick Diaz-like swarm. Towards the end of the first round though you could see a shift. I don’t know if Costa just gassed or had an adrenaline dump or what, because he’s used to getting opponents out of there early. Or maybe Yanez landed something that hurt him and turned the tide. I’ll have to give it another look but there was a moment where Costa noticeably started struggling and Yanez was getting into it. Then the second round, Yanez was all over him.

Those body shots sapped whatever Costa had left, then that uppercut landed straight through the guard and that was that. Really fun fight. Yanez was mega critical of his performance and I get why because the first round was a bit of a disaster. But he showed a lot to get through that and seize the opportunity once he had Costa hurt.

Bless him.

This whole thing between these two has been really refreshing. We all love a bit of needle in the buildup to fights but this goes to show it doesn’t always have to be like that and you don’t necessarily have to create fake bad blood to get people interested.

Allen vs Soriano was fucking great. What a battle. I’ve always had Allen down more as a grappler but he really looked sharp here on the feet. I didn’t think this was as lopsided as the commentators were making out but I definitely agreed that Allen got the better of it. Soriano was always landing bombs, some of which I still don’t know how Allen ate, but Allen was just overall the more technical and effective with his striking for me. It was some scrap. Soriano’s first loss but he showed a lot here. He’d mostly had it all his own way in his previous fights and there’s always a risk with those guys that they’ll become a bit of a front runner who folds when things get rough. Soriano showed that’s not the case here. He was constantly trying to knock Allen’s head off despite the damage he was taking. And how he soaked up all those horrid body kicks just baffles me. They were nasty and it seemed like he ate about 60 of them. He’ll be in agony today. Shame these guys never got a bonus because it was such an entertaining fight.

Mickey Gall pissed through Jordan Williams with ease. One of those fights where he got off to a strong start and never let up. Williams just never got in it. Still don’t see him doing much at this point but it was a nice win for him.

Julio Arce looked good. Nice to see him back in action after some time away. And back in the win column with a stoppage. Saw some moaning about the stoppage but I thought Ewell looked done myself. It most likely wasn’t getting any better for him, the ref probably just saved him from going all the way out.

Sijara Eubanks battered Elise Reed. Battered her. I’ve been critical of Eubanks in the past, she looked good here but I don’t know that much about Reed so I don’t know how good this win was. She got the job done though. And Reed was messed up.

Christ.

Saw a few people going ‘Eubanks at Flyweight is gonna be a monster’ etc. But she’s fought at 125 before and has missed weight twice at crucial times. She made it to the TUF Finals then pulled out because of the weight cut. Then later she was actually being lined up for a title shot against Shevchenko and missed weight in her title eliminator against Modafferi. I’m not exactly convinced she goes on some killer run at this point. And even if she does, Shev’s on the throne.

Diana Belbita put in a really strong performance in the curtain jerker. Yeah it was only a win over Hannah Goldy but I enjoyed the fight way more than I expected to. Belbita was relentless and, aside from Goldy getting on top in the last 30 seconds of the fight and doing some damage, it was all Belbita. Then you had Cruz going “this could change the whole fight” because of Goldy’s one spell of success at the end. It amazes me that someone like Cruz doesn’t seem to know how the scoring works. Each round’s scorecards are handed in at the end of each round, to avoid ‘after the fact’ changing of scores. Godly’s flurry could’ve possibly, maybe, nicked her that round but she’d already lost the first 2 clearly and those cards were already handed in. Same when you hear cornermen tell their fighter after a close fight, “raise your hands” to ‘sway the judges’. But again, the cards for the earlier rounds have already been submitted. They couldn’t go back and alter their scores even if they wanted to.

Tremendous card all in all. Shame about some of the judging putting a bit of a grey cloud over it but it was easily one of the better cards this year for me, in terms of delivering great fights. It had a lot of finishes but not to the point of last week’s show where there was a ton of waffle in between. Paiva vs Phillips was wild, Allen vs Soriano was a war, Yanez vs Costa lived up to my expectations and Sandhagen and Dillashaw was an incredible way to end the show, even if I felt the judges got it wrong. Even some of the prelims I didn’t expect much from were better than I thought. 

Edited July 25, 2021 by wandshogun09

[Dai]

In that Paiva/Phillips Round 1, how can that possibly not be a 10-8 with the newish way of scoring them? He was about 5 seconds away from the ref stopping it before time ran up. Not one judge scored it 10-8, which is insanity from first viewing. 

[wandshogun09]

That was my feeling as well. He knocked him down early in the round, hurt him with that elbow late in the round and I felt he controlled most of the action in between. The judging was all over the gaff last night.

I forgot about round 4 of Dillashaw vs Sandhagen. How you score that for TJ I don’t know.

I mean, judging isn’t always easy. When I think of the amount of times I’ve talked about a fight the day after a show on here and I’ve said something like ‘I had _____ winning but I’ll have to watch it again and score it again, or score it properly’ or whatever. It happens a lot. Judges don’t have that luxury. The score they give live is the score that stands and effects these fighters careers and paycheques. But at the same time, it’s their job. My attention wonders when watching live like anyone else. I might be tired, or I’ve had a drink, or the kids are about, or I’m just distracted in general. If it was my job though, I’d be making sure I paid full attention to what the fuck was going on.

Sounds like conspiracy shite but when they kept going on last night about the odds in the Barber vs Maverick fight, and how Maverick was the favourite and all that, then all of a sudden Barber gets the decision. It makes you wonder. But the more likely reason is that they’re just really inept and either don’t know enough about what they’re watching, or don’t care enough to pay attention and score it properly.

It’s a shame that after such a fantastic show last night, dodgy judging is once again the main talking point but there were 3 examples of weird scoring last night that really effected the overall score. I don’t even know what the answer is anymore. There are flaws with the 10 point must system but it could still work if the some of the judges weren’t senile old wallies. 

 

[David]

Say what you will about TJ, and the result is debatable, but I think any Garbrandt-esque talk of TJ only getting where he did due to supposed drug use is bollocks. 

Personally, I believe he used EPO to make that lower weight. He didn't get popped before that, so I'm happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. Last nights fight just confirms that the dude is a stud.

[wandshogun09]

The only thing that makes me doubt that it was a one-off is, how likely is it that someone would go from being squeaky clean straight to EPO? I’m no expert on it but it just seems a bit sus to me.

Regardless, it was a hell of a performance. Cruz can bang on about ring rust being a myth all he wants but for most, long layoffs do seem to have an effect. For TJ to be gone as long as he was, then come back against a dangerous top contender who’s in form and has been active in TJ’s absence, and give him a fight like that, it’s very impressive. I’m not sure he won but even if you thought he lost, to give Sandhagen a razor close fight like that is a big statement. 

[Egg Shen]

Outside of that Barber/Maverick fight (which wasn't bad) that was one of the best main cards in a long time, any of the other 4 fights could have won fight of the night on most other nights, and then there was Soriano/Allen on the prelims. Just great fights.

Had the main event 48-47 for Sandhagan but i wont debate the result. TJ's control against the cage was absolutely the difference. Some say it shouldnt score but it in close rounds, it is the difference.

.

Edited July 26, 2021 by Egg Shen

[David]

2 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Had the main event 48-47 for Sandhagan but i wont debate the result. TJ's control against the cage was absolutely the difference. Some say it shouldnt score but it in close rounds, it is the difference.

Of course it should, if the fighter doing the controlling is looking to cause damage and wear his or her opponent down. If they're just holding and stalling then it shouldn't, in the same way as scoring on the feet should only be considered a positive if you're looking to cause damage. Sandhagen, for all his nice footwork, really didn't do all that much on the feet. He seemed as though he was stalling, never getting out of first gear. He absolutely shouldn't be scored positively for that, in the same way as a takedown should only count if there's control and damage being inflicted.

TJ was the busier, more active fighter, who looked like he was trying to win the fight. Sandhagen looked half asleep for some reason. Not sure if he thought he could just steal the fight on points, or that his early success would result in TJ crumbling, but he misjudged the fight massively.

[Egg Shen]

Its the whole what counts as a scoring takedown. TJ was initiating the clinch taking the back then holding Sandhagan and maybe have half attempting a takedown whilst still landing lots of knees to the thighs. To some people that counts as a failed takedown attempt and doesnt score. To me its octagon control and was the difference in the rounds TJ won.

[David]

26 minutes ago, Egg Shen said:

Its the whole what counts as a scoring takedown. TJ was initiating the clinch taking the back then holding Sandhagan and maybe have half attempting a takedown whilst still landing lots of knees to the thighs. To some people that counts as a failed takedown attempt and doesnt score. To me its octagon control and was the difference in the rounds TJ won.

Agreed. In that situation it's up to Sandhagen to get himself out of that position and reset, which I think he probably could have done if he wasn't half asleep. His performance, the more I think about it, was confusing. He looked good initially, then tailed off badly.

[WeeAl]

I had Sandhagen winning rounds 2, 4 and 5 but it was an extremely close fight and I have no issues with the decision going the other way, and don't think either fighter could have had a big argument about it either if it didn't go their way. 

At this point, if Yan/Aljo wasn't delayed, I would just have TJ fight the winner of that. As it stands, he's going to have to fight again as it's going to be a while until the winner of the title fight is ready to go again. 

TJ is way beyond Garbrandt though, still. Maybe in a year or two, but I see no reason for that to happen again now. 

Unless Lego head returns, I'd go with:

Dillashaw/Font (winner gets a title shot)

Sandhagen Vs Aldo (maybe Aldo is booked against Munhoz? If so Sandhagen/Cruz would be an option). 

Edited July 29, 2021 by WeeAl

[wandshogun09]

Dillashaw vs Font is a great shout. I can’t think of a better or more logical next fight for either man. 

And yeah, Aldo’s fighting Munhoz at UFC 265 next week. Sandhagen vs Cruz would work. They were actually meant to fight last year but it went tits up.

Look at that bunch of foldy armed ninjas. 

The Bantamweight division really is on fire these days. This card was a perfect example of that. On this show alone you had a tremendous main event between Dillashaw and Sandhagen, and Paiva vs Phillips and Yanez vs Costa were both belters as well. Since Saturday I’ve thought about some of the matchups we could see next and the possibilities seem endless. I’ve seen Yanez angling for a crack at O’Malley, I’d be all the fuck over that. And Costa expressed interest in a fight with Davey Grant, which would be another babyface battle and no doubt another surefire tear-up. On top of that, we’ve got fights coming up like Sterling vs Yan 2, Song Yadong vs Casey Kenney, Nathaniel Wood vs Jonathan Martinez, Jack Shore vs Said Nurmagomedov and Marlon Moraes vs Merab Dvalishvili. Then there’s tough vets like Frankie Edgar and Raphael Assuncao looking for that one last run, the likes of Raoni Barcelos and Kyler Phillips looking to get back to winning ways and up and comers like Timur Valiev and Ronnie Lawrence looking impressive on the climb. It’s a ridiculous division. Maybe my favourite in MMA these days, to be honest.

I find it funny how Cejudo was holding the Bantamweight and Flyweight titles hostage all that time, then he finally pissed off, probably thinking the 135 and 125 divisions would struggle without him, and both have gone from strength to strength in his absence. 135 and 125 have never been better and right near the top of the list for most exciting and competitive divisions to watch at this point. And that all seemed to start the day Cejudo fucked off. Good riddance.

[WeeAl]

It's a ridiculously stacked division when you think half of the fighters you mention there Wand aren't even ranked. That there are fighters that good, outside of the top fifteen? It's insane. Sure, some of them may age out fairly soon like Edgar, Cruz and Aldo, but for every one of those vet's, there are two hungry guys entering their prime and looking their spot. 

[Panhead]

I'd love to see Aldo vs Cruz. 

[SBD]

43 minutes ago, Panhead said:

I'd love to see Aldo vs Cruz. 

I was thinking Aldo Vs Garbrandt