Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 12, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) Card of the year here… ESPN+ MAIN CARDAspen Ladd vs Norma Dumont Andrei Arlovski vs Carlos Felipe Jim Miller vs Erick Gonzalez Manon Fiorot vs Mayra Bueno Silva Ludovit Klein vs Nate Landwehr ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS Andrew Sanchez vs Bruno Silva Danny Roberts vs Ramazan Emeev Lupita Godinez vs Luana Carolina Danaa Batgerel vs Brandon Davis Ariane Carnelossi vs Istela Nunes  Yeah. No comment.  Aspen Ladd vs Norma Dumont is your 5 round main event. Smashing! It was meant to be Holly Holm vs Dumont which frankly wouldn’t have been much better, but at least Holm’s a former champion, I guess. Ladd was supposed to fight Macy Chiasson the other week but the fight got binned on the eve of the show when Ladd showed up looking like a corpse on the scales and couldn’t make the 135lb limit for Bantamweight. Well, 136 actually because it was a non-title fight. She looked absolutely fucked. Always worrying to see that but in Ladd’s case, she copped a fair bit of flack on social media, and not just from fans either. Miesha Tate had a pop at her and had a little back and forth with Ladd’s coach about it. I read something about Ladd talking a bit of shite about Chiasson going in as well, I didn’t see it but if she did that’s probably part of the reason for the backlash she got as well. Regardless, I’m glad to see she’s fighting at 145 this time. Hopefully she stays there. Dumont’s also had her issues making weight in the past. Looking at her record it says she only missed weight once but I could swear there’s been more than that. Maybe a fight got cancelled or something because she couldn’t make 135. It’s definitely been more than a one-off issue. As for the fight itself, not a clue how it goes. Ladd was looking like a bit of a prospect at one time but the layoff with the knee injury and now the weight missing have really put a downer on things. And Dumont has looked quite average the few times I’ve seen her. She did move up to Featherweight herself last time out and managed to beat Felicia Spencer though. I don’t know, maybe there’s better to come from both now they’re not persisting with the weight cut they clearly struggle with. I don’t even hate the fight itself, and at least Ladd isn’t trying to make Bantamweight again. This would be a completely logical fight booking, as a prelim or opening a Fight Night main card or something. As a headliner though, it’s the shits, there’s no getting around it. Hopefully it exceeds expectations but expectations are rock bottom. If it somehow falls short then we’re really in for something rancid.  Andrei Arlovski vs Carlos Felipe. I’d have whacked this into the main event spot, to be honest. Yeah, it’d still be weak as piss as a headliner but there’s always a bit of morbid curiosity where the Heavyweights are concerned and at least it’s got Arlovski in it. He’s 42 years old and running on fumes now but he’s still a former champ and he’s got more name value than Ladd and Dumont combined. Felipe’s actually been a lot of fun to watch so far as well, in fairness to the big lummox. He’s only 26 years old, has a record of 11-1 with 6 knockouts and had a right slobberknocker with Justin Tafa in January that I loved. Wasn’t pretty technically but it was just two big fat sods knocking lumps out of each other for 15 minutes. Quite like Felipe. This is a biggish opportunity for him. Beating Arlovski doesn’t mean as much these days as it once did but it’s still a nice scalp for any young Heavyweight’s record. Arlovski’s still been beating the likes of Tanner Boser, Chase Sherman and Philipe Lins. You still have to have a bit about you to beat him. This’ll be his 54th MMA fight and he’s been at it since 1999, when Felipe was 4 years old. He’s not as exciting to watch as he used to be but he also doesn’t get knocked out every other fight anymore either. He fights a bit smarter now and he’s obviously got so much experience. Not sure how it goes, just not sure how good Felipe is yet. But I’m hoping it’s a good scrap at least. Always a lottery with the Heavies though.  Jim Miller vs Erick Gonzalez. Always got time for a Jim Miller fight. I was in attendance for his UFC debut in Birmingham all the way back in 2008 and I’ve been a fan ever since. His bloodbath with Joe Lauzon in 2012 is still one of my favourite Lightweight fights ever to this day. And his kneebar submission on Charles Oliveira hasn’t aged badly at all. He’s 38 now and he’s had his losses, he’s coming off 2 here. But any card is improved by him being on it, in my opinion. Don’t know Gonzalez. Looking him up he’s 29 with a 14-5 record and has fought a bunch in Combate Americas.  Manon Fiorot vs Mayra Bueno Silva. Like the sound of this. Fiorot has quickly established herself as a newcomer well worth keeping an eye on. She made her Octagon debut in January and has already gone 2-0 in the UFC, bashing up Victoria Leonardo and Tabatha Ricci in a manner you don’t usually see from Flyweight women. She looks huge for the weight as well. She’s 7-1 now with 6 finishes and her only loss was a split decision in her MMA debut against Leah McCourt. Not sure how far she can go but she’s looking like trouble so far. Time will tell but she could potentially be someone, along with Tatiana Suarez, who could make the Flyweight landscape more interesting down the road. Just need to see her get a bit of a sterner test and this fight should provide that. Silva doesn’t seem to be anything special but she’s better than Fiorot’s last two victims. She’s 7-1-1 with submission wins over Gillian Robertson and Mara Romero Borella. Nothing earth shattering but I’m interested to see if she can get the grappling going against Fiorot here, and how Fiorot handles it.  Andrew Sanchez vs Bruno Silva. I’ll check this out just to see Silva back in there. 20-6 with 17 knockouts, including a first round blitzing of Alexander Shlemenko on a M-1 card in 2018. He made his UFC debut in June and… …and splattered Wellington Turman’s head into the mat with some of the nastiest ground and pound I’d seen in a long fucking time. Brutal. Could be off the mark here but I can’t see Sanchez ending this fight vertical. He’s had some alright showings over the years but anytime he’s come up against someone really dangerous he tends to get overwhelmed. And although it’s early days in the UFC for Bruno Silva, I think he might be too much of a Rottweiler for Sanchez to keep at bay.  Danny Roberts vs Ramazan Emeev. Might be alright. I remember thinking Roberts was one of the more promising UK fighters coming up a few years ago but his progress has stalled big time. He’s 17-5 and he’s had his ups and downs but he’s one of those guys I watch and think he has the potential to do so much better than his win/loss record suggests. He’s been inactive now since late 2019 though. He spent 2020 battling injuries and here we are in late 2021 and he’s only just coming back. Shame because his last fight was the highlight win and performance of his career to date. He absolutely waffled Zelim Imadaev, in Russia no less, with a peach of a left hook right on the jaw. One of the cleanest one punch knockouts I’ve seen in the UFC. Just beautiful. That should’ve been the performance that finally got the ball rolling for him but he’s been gone ever since and now he’s having to start over from scratch again. Emeev doesn’t do much for me as an opponent though. He’s got a respectable 20-4 record with some decent wins scattered throughout but he’s just one of those guys whose fights come and go and never grab me. He’s got 10 finishes on his record but they all came in the first half of his career when he was fighting nobodies in Russia. In the UFC he’s been a decision merchant, I’ve seen a bunch of them and couldn’t tell you a thing about them. He’s one of those fighters. Could be a tricky and frustrating one for Roberts coming off such a long time out though.  Lupita Godinez vs Luana Carolina. This was meant to be Carolina against Sijara Eubanks but Eubanks is out with COVID just days before the show. This is definitely an improvement for me. I’ve never rated Eubanks anyway and I’m liking what we’ve seen of ‘Loopy’ Godinez so far. When she signed with the UFC a few months back I remember the reaction was positive and there seemed to be some high expectations on her. Her UFC debut went tits up though, she lost a split decision to Jessica Penne but she had her moments and she had taken it on short notice. She fared much better in her second trip to the Octagon, submitting Silvana Gomez Juarez in a round with ease. That was this past Saturday. And here she is again, going up a weight class to take another short notice fight. You’ve got to admire it. She’s also making history here as being the first fighter ever in the UFC to fight twice within 7 days. Obviously that’s not counting the one night tournaments in the SEG days but still. Carolina is 7-2 and coming off a split decision over Poliana Botelho. I only remember her as the woman on the bad end of an Ariane Lipski kneebar though. It’d be cool if Loopy got another win here. I don’t recall thinking much of Carolina but Godinez not just stepping in last minute but also going up in weight to do so is risky.  Ludovit Klein vs Nate Landwehr is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** on this card. I know it’s a thin card but this genuinely a really fun fight on paper. Slovakian Klein is 26 years old, 17-3 with 16 finishes. An equal mix of KOs and subs. Bunch of headkick finishes on his record as well. He lost on points to Mike Trizano last time out but he wiped out Shane Young, with another headkick, in his UFC debut before that. And Landwehr’s a madman. Not without his flaws and he’s gone 1-2 so far in the UFC, and was knocked out in both losses. But he’s got an exciting style, shades of early Clay Guida for me, and he brings it. Against a dangerous striker like Klein that might be a recipe for disaster but we’ll see how it plays out. I’m expecting a frantic pace here though for however long it lasts.  Ariane Carnelossi vs Istela Nunes. Don’t know either really. I’ve seen a couple of Carnelossi’s fights. One she got stopped by Angela Hill on a doctor stoppage after being cut by an elbow. The other was her last fight and it was a really fun prelim scrap with Na Liang, which she won by TKO. She’s 13-2 overall now with 10 finishes. Don’t recall ever seeing Nunes before. She’s 6-1-0-1 and her only loss was to Angela Lee on a ONE card in 2017. Hasn’t fought since 2018 though. Seems a bit of an odd signing really. And THAT is this week’s card. Edited October 17, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted October 12, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted October 12, 2021 There's really very little to get excited about there. Bruno Silva. Klein Vs Landwehr. That's about it really. Some of these cards in the second half of this year have been really weak. It hasn't helped that the best looking one on paper, Santos Vs Walker, didn't particularly deliver on the night either. I expect to be hibernating in bed most of this weekend following my third Covid jab/Flu Vaccine double whammy on Friday, and even then I'm not sure I'll get round to watching this one. I'll have to see how hard up I am for excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted October 13, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2021 since the ranking came in, this is the first show where not one ranked fighter is competing. (Ladd is ranked at Bantamweight, but not Featherweight). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Meh, I'll watch some of it if I'm at a loose end. As Uncle D says, it is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 13, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2021 Slight improvement to the prelims. Sijara Eubanks is out, Lupita Godinez is stepping in. Just days after fighting on the Dern vs Rodriguez card this past Saturday. I’ve redone that bit of the opening post but for those who can’t be arsed to scroll up, this’ll be the first time (not counting the tournament days in the SEG era) that a fighter will have competed twice in a 7 day span. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panhead Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Nate The Train!!! CHOO FUCKING CHOO!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted October 13, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted October 13, 2021 thats the real main event Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 14, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 14, 2021 Interesting. Didn’t realise Kayla Harrison was entering free agency soon. The UFC badly need Featherweight women if they’re gonna keep that division around. Harrison is still pretty unproven but would give the 145 division a much needed boost. No doubt Bellator will be making a play for her as well though because they’re in the same position with a lack of challengers for Cyborg as the UFC are with Nunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted October 15, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted October 15, 2021 Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 18, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 18, 2021 So this happened. Wasn’t the best of shows, as expected. And shits all over the theory some like to trot out that ‘it’s always these cards that turn out to be bangers’ or whatever. It just came and went but there were a few little bright spots. Dumont vs Ladd wasn’t one of them though. It looked like what it was. A glorified prelim unnecessarily stretched out over 5 rounds. Dumont won clearly but it wasn’t the kind of fight that anyone came out of looking particularly good. The only talking point coming from it has been about how Ladd’s coach Jim West handled his cornering duties between rounds. And while he sounded overly harsh at times, I think more has been made of it than is warranted really. I did think it got to the point of being counterproductive because he was 100% negativity every time she came back to the corner and at times it did feel like he was playing up to the cameras and trying to create his own ‘Teddy Atlas moment’. But I thought his actual message was correct. How Ladd expected have any success fighting how she did, I don’t know. Shit main event. I don’t see Dumont going much further herself either, to be honest. She won because she did more every round than Ladd, but Ladd was doing sod all for the bulk of it so it’d have been hard not to do more. Imagine what Amanda Nunes would do to these two? Fuck, even at the same time. Arlovski vs Felipe was alright. Nothing special but I quite enjoyed it. Arlovski still stacking up those wins at this stage is incredible really. The performances aren’t amazing but he’s found a way to win and takes a lot less damage these days than he used to. Got to hand it to him. He’s become the ultimate gatekeeper at Heavyweight and he’s shown he’s still got enough in the tank to beat a lot of these up and comers despite them being nearly half his age. That’s why when someone like Tom Aspinall beats Arlovski, and especially the way he did it, it stands out. Jim Miller stole the whole show with that knockout. A rare KO from Miller but it was a beauty. How could you not be a fan of this guy? Was a cracking fight while it lasted as well and I can see Gonzalez being in some exciting fights down the line. But I was chuffed with how this went. I like his plan to aim for UFC 300. I didn’t even click that he’d fought at both UFCs 100 and 200 until the commentators mentioned it. It’d be cool to see him go out at 300 if he can hang on that long. It’s a way off though. Manon Fiorot finally got a little bit of a test for the first time in the UFC. Still a clear points win but Silva was game and at least lasted the distance. There were a couple of little moments here where Fiorot looked a bit more human and I certainly don’t think she’s ready for Shevchenko anytime soon but, on the whole, it was a strong performance and I definitely think she’s got something. She just needs more time. Landwehr vs Klein was fun. Easily the best Landwehr’s looked in the UFC so far and the post-fight interview was one of the card’s highlights. Mad bastard. Prelims weren’t much cop but I was happy to see Bruno Silva get the late finish. Felt bad for him after all those bollock shots he took. He’ll not be walking right for a while. After that last one late in the fight he wasn’t having anymore of it and just went to town and Sanchez crumbled. Silva’s gonna be must see on these undercards, I think. He’s got that wild style and power that gives his fights that element of danger and unpredictability. Nice to see Danny Roberts back with a win as well. He’s been out so long I wasn’t sure how he’d look here, especially against an awkward decision merchant like Emeev. It wasn’t the best fight to watch but Roberts got it done. That cut he got from the elbow was fucking nasty though. Welcome back. Was only half paying attention during the Luana Carolina vs Lupita Godinez fight but was disappointed to see Godinez lose. It was a pretty close one but Carolina probably just did enough in the second half of the fight to get the nod. I said in the opening post that it was risky for Godinez to not just jump straight back in there so quickly but to also be going up in weight. She gambled and it didn’t pay off but she’ll definitely get another opportunity after stepping in on such a quick turnaround like she did. Yeah, but of a nothing show but it was nice to see the two grizzled veterans in Arlovski and Miller come out with wins if nothing else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 When you factor in 'star power', and actual fight quality, this surely goes down as the worst main event in UFC history doesn't it? There's been worse fights as main events for sure, but never with two people who are prelim fighters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted October 19, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted October 19, 2021 its up there I only watched the Bruno Silva fight cause i needed him to win to complete acca so i enjoyed that way more than i probably should have 😄$ Keep Silva away from wrestlers though, theres barnburners to be had with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 I watched this on Monday as I prioritised watching Bellator and AEW Dynamite on Sunday over this. I made the right call. Dull show overall, however, seeing Jim Miller and Arlovski still getting some wins under their belt is always a highlight. I love both guys. Aspen Ladd's coach is also her boyfriend, I don't know if that changes any peoples perception on what went down. I'd be surprised if we ever see Dumont or Ladd in a main event again. Dumont could be fed to Nunes after a few more wins but I can't see that being a main eventer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted October 19, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted October 19, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, Dai said: When you factor in 'star power', and actual fight quality, this surely goes down as the worst main event in UFC history doesn't it? There's been worse fights as main events for sure, but never with two people who are prelim fighters. I say it all the time but Jessica Eye vs Cynthia Calvillo is up there for me as well. That had no business main evening anything. This was just as bad though. I joke about Holm and Waterson getting main events all the time but at least they have some name value and are former champions. Ladd and Dumont are relatively early in their careers and it shows even more when they’re going 5 rounds. I feel like for most fighters it probably takes some time and seasoning to become a 5 round fighter. These two just don’t look there yet, and they might never be. 2 hours ago, Zebra Kid Mark said: I'd be surprised if we ever see Dumont or Ladd in a main event again. I wouldn’t count on that. Whenever we get a spell of really stacked cards like we’ve got coming up over the next few months, there often seems to be a patch of weak cards just before it because they’re saving their best shit for the big cards. Next time that happens, expect a Dumont or Ladd or Eye or whoever headlining the odd Fight Night. This won’t be the last of it. Edited October 19, 2021 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Posted October 19, 2021 Share Posted October 19, 2021 Yeah good shout about the Eye match, however, wasnt this after Eye had had her World Title fight? Guess that would make it more of a 'main event' compared to last Weekends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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