David Posted January 22, 2023 Share Posted January 22, 2023 Glover vs Hill Wow, what a tough bastard Glover is. I don't think the 205lbs division is particularly high in quality right now, but it's high in entertainment. Hill looked way better than I thought he would, although it's hard to tell if it was more a case of Glover losing a step (understandably) and coming in with retirement on his mind. Either way, I don't see Hill holding the strap for long. There's too many good fighters in the division for that. I'd go completely left field for Hill's first defence though, and make a fight with Alex Pereira. Imagine that one? It would be a cracker of a fight. And if Pereira won, which I think he would, we could then see Jiří Procházka face him in a fight straight out of a Kickboxer style movie. And I know, Pereira hasn't cleaned out the division, and Hill certainly hasn't, but what's the alternative? Whittaker potentially running a grappling master class and beating Pereira before we see yet another Izzy vs Whittaker fight? Or we have rematch between Izzy and Pereira and run the risk of the status quo being implemented again, after which we see that Izzy vs Whittaker fight that absolutely no one wants? And while that happens Hill loses to either Jan Błachowicz in a decent bout, or God Forbid Magomed Ankalaev. Honestly, I'm a fan of good grappling as much as the next guy, but even I'm starting to tire of guys with shit beards running divisions with the personalities of a cardboard cut-out of Gary Lineker. I know Ankalaev isn't as grappling-heavy as some of his fellow beards, but these dudes inspire zero interest in me. They're bland, and their styles are bland. Why not give us some interesting shit before things are returned to normal? I know they won't, but still. Moreno vs Figueiredo Before the stoppage I had Moreno winning a shutout on the cards. I felt it was his fight to throw away, and I think that he's now established Figueiredo's number. The question is, who's next? Alex Pantoja is ranked #2 in the division now, and with a record of 4-1 in his last five it's makes sense. Even moreso when you factor in that he was involved in "beef" after the event last night with Moreno, and also holds a win over the champion. Pantoja is the last man to beat Moreno not named Figueiredo, with a unanimous decision win back in 2018. Figgy is moving up in weight, which is absolutely the right call. There is a ton of fun fights for him at Bantamweight, including the likes of O'Malley, Jan, Sandhagen, Font, and even the champ, Sterling. I imagine he'll start of with a top ten guy like Pedro Munhoz or Ricky Simon to get him acclimated, but if he wins one or two off the bat you have to figure he'll be in with the top guys in the division before long. A heavier, less dehydrated Figueiredo is something to look forward to. The rest of the card... Gilbert Burns absolutely ran through Neil Magny. It wasn't even competitive. Burns looked great, and has called out a fight with Covington which makes sense and would be a good one to watch. As much as I hate to say it, Paul Craig looked like he had no business being in the same cage as Johnny Walker last night. Craig clearly either isn't concerned or capable of improving his standup, and while that will work if you manages to find someone with the right skillset who isn't going to piece him up on the feet, the problem is that there's too many well-rounded guys in the division for him to go on a run. And finally, Shogun. Oh, Shogun. Why even accept a fight like this? You're going in against a nobody. There's no real interest. He should have held out for a name of some sort. Someone who's not in his mid 20's and has two working knees. It was obvious this was coming, but it still didn't make it easier to watch. In all, a decent card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 22, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 22, 2023 (edited) This just looks wrong to me. Jamahal Hill has never been a bad fighter but I’ve never fully bought into him and I certainly didn’t see him ever winning UFC gold. He did look good here but I think he’s benefited from timing and circumstances more than anything. Glover had one foot in retirement and admitted himself after the fight that he can’t keep up like he used to. On top of that, he got lucky that Jiri got hurt, that Blachowicz vs Ankalaev ended in a draw and that Dana didn’t like the fight and got all arsey and just booked a new title fight. This fight. A lot of things fell just right for him. Granted he still had to go out there and beat Glover Teixeira, so fair play. But I don’t see it lasting long. I think he ends up in there with Ankalaev next and Ank probably stifles him to a shitty points loss and takes the belt. 3 hours ago, David said: I'd go completely left field for Hill's first defence though, and make a fight with Alex Pereira. Imagine that one? It would be a cracker of a fight. And if Pereira won, which I think he would, we could then see Jiří Procházka face him in a fight straight out of a Kickboxer style movie. I also like the idea of Hill vs Alex Pereira. Fuck it. And it seems Pereira is already thinking about it, if the way he was eyeing up Hill after the fight is anything to go on… 😂 He’s thinking revenge already. I’d be up for it but I don’t think they’ll go that route myself. Not yet anyway. Probably gonna be Hill vs Ankalaev at 205 and Pereira vs Izzy again at 185. Not what I particularly want to see but it’s what I think we’ll be getting. You just knew Glover was gonna call it a day if he lost. Had he won this fight I’m sure he’d have fought on for a bit for that PPV cut and maybe we’d have got rematches with Jiri and maybe Jan. Losing another title fight at 43 though, I just don’t think he fancied working his way back again. And with this show being in Brazil, this was probably the best time to bow out. Love the bloke. Shite that he went out on a beatdown like this but I’m glad he did actually get to hold UFC gold at least. It seemed like that would never happen at one point so I’m happy he got that moment. What a class act Glover is as well, walking with Hill back to the dressing room so the crowd wouldn’t throw and try to hit him with shit. Might’ve saved that man’s life last night. Moreno vs Figgy 4 had its moments but I thought it was probably the weakest fight of their series. Wasn’t a bad fight at all, they’ve just set a standard now that is hard to match. Thought Moreno looked fantastic in this one. I had him 3-0 up at the time of the stoppage. I don’t know if it was a sign of him just getting everything right this time, Figgy just not doing well with the weight cut anymore, a mix of both or what. But Moreno was on point in this one and Figgy could never quite keep up with him. Unfortunate ending. It’s always a shame to see a big fight like this end on a doctor stoppage. Especially when it’s probably gonna be the end to a brilliant rivalry. But it was a perfectly legal shot, the fist was closed and it just jacked Figgy’s eye up. I doubt we ever see a 5th fight. Going in I thought that was a possibility but, while I would never completely rule out the possibility of them crossing paths again, I’d say it’s unlikely now with how this one went. And now Figgy’s saying he’s off to 135, it’s even less likely unless Moreno moves up one day. It’s got to be Moreno vs Pantoja next. Pantoja not only beat him before, he beat him twice. He subbed him on TUF as well. Of course that doesn’t go on the official record but it’s still 2-0 to Pantoja. Figgy at 135 is gonna be fun. Not only should he be healthier and able to perform better at the weight, there’s a whole bunch of fresh fights there for him. Just off the top of my head, imagine Figgy vs Chito Vera? Honestly couldn’t believe how easily Gilbert Burns dealt with Neil Magny. Burns has been one of the top players in the Welterweight division for years now so it shouldn’t really be a shock but Magny’s not a guy you usually see get steamrolled. Just a bad motherfucker. To think the original plan was Burns vs Masvidal. I’m not saying that would’ve gone exactly the same way but I do think Burns on this kind of form would’ve absolutely spanked Jorgey Boy. I wish it happened. I liked the callout of Colby Covington. I’d be well up for that fight. Wouldn’t mind seeing him test Shavkat as well. And you know Burns is one of the few top guys who would be willing to sign on the dotted line for that one. Jessica Andrade put a horrible beating on Lauren Murphy. Just battered her. Murphy is tough, she’s always been durable if nothing else, but that didn’t help matters here. Just prolonged her misery. Don’t know why the referee and Murphy’s corner let it go on and on, to be honest. She was outmatched, offering very little back and just soaking up punishment the whole fight. I had a couple of 10-8s in there and so did the judges, scorecards were wide. Just a nightmare fight for Murphy this. The word ‘fight’ seems too generous actually. A 15 minute assault is what it was. Johnny Walker vs Paul Craig was always gonna be bittersweet whoever won. One of those fights that felt like a complete coin flip because you never know which Walker is gonna show up and Craig’s one of those guys who might submit a top contender one fight but lose to an average slugger the next. It was a weird one but one thing was certain, it was never gonna be boring. Craig’s lack of striking and striking defence is gonna continue to come back and bite him though. He’s good at what he’s good at but he really appears to have made no strides or gains in the striking since Rountree sparked him all those years ago. It’s always gonna hold him back. The lads. Bet these two would be great to have a drink with. Not a clue who Walker fights next but he’ll probably lose in hilarious meme worthy fashion. It’s just the way he rolls. I’d love to see him put a little run together though. His talk of becoming a two division champ just isn’t happening sadly. But with the absolute mess 205 is in these days, the new champ being a prick, the likely next contender (Ankalaev) being dull and old favourites Glover and Shogun now retired, I’m fully backing Walker to go all the way. He won’t, of course, but it’s what I wanna see. The last couple of fights on the prelims were a massive downer for me. Shogun losing his farewell fight to some ham and egger was the worst. Just so deflating. And maybe the saddest thing about it was that it wasn’t a surprise at all. At this point, this was the expected result. It felt inevitable. Bollocks. Potieria’s little post-fight dance/taunt can get to fuck as well. I don’t even think Potieria is particularly good. He got waffled by Negumereanu last time out so that’s about his level. Yet he still had enough to get 2023 Shogun out of there. Like David said above, Shogun would’ve been better to hold out for a bigger name but the thing is, who’s even around that would fit that description now? Machida wanted it and it got shot down. Besides him, I can’t think of anyone. And if he waited for a different fight it might’ve meant not fighting on this card. I’m guessing fighting in Brazil was a major part of the appeal here for Shogun, so he probably just said ‘give me whoever’. I mentioned it in the opening post but I’d have honestly preferred Shogun vs Walker myself. It would’ve ended the same way with Shogun getting clobbered but at least it’d be Walker getting the rub. On a positive note, what a career Shogun’s had. I’ve been watching this shit long enough to know better than to believe in retirements but, for now at least, he’s making all the right noises. He sounds genuinely content and at peace with his legacy (as he should be) and it sounds like he’s got other plans or businesses he’s into, which is always a good sign. He’s also shot down the possibility of fighting somewhere else or doing Boxing etc, which was my fear. I hope this was it and he’s happy doing whatever he does next. It’s been nice to see all the love he’s been getting this week from fans, media and other fighters. Brunno Ferreira walloped our boy Greg Rodrigues 😞 There was always the risk. I’d never seen Ferreira before but an unbeaten guy with a 100% finish rate coming in as a late replacement always has high banana skin potential. I hoped ‘Robocop’ would still get it done and he was landing some good stuff early on. He looked the better striker in the exchanges to me, then Ferreira just flattened him out of nowhere. Gutted. Big win for Ferreira in his debut though, especially considering he took it on short notice. I liked the Thiago Moises vs Melquizael Costa fight. I was really down on it going in because I was still gutted about Kutateladze dropping out. But I thought Costa fought his arse off here, even in defeat he really made Moises work for those positions on the ground before finally getting caught in the sub in the second round. Moises looked good but I thought Costa gave a really nice account of himself on short notice. Hope he gets a full camp for his next fight. As for Moises, I’m hoping they can rebook that Kutateladze fight now. Gabriel Bonfim had a very tough act to follow with his brother’s knockout lower down the prelims and, while he didn’t upstage Ismael, he made a good stab at it and had an ideal UFC debut really. A 49 second submission, in your first Octagon appearance, in front of your home crowd, it’s hard to top that. Lazzez is nothing special but he’s not someone you’d expect to just get ran through in less than a minute like this either. Interested to see where Bonfim (and his brother) go from here. Jailton Almeida predictably crushed Shamil Abdurakhimov. I don’t think anyone expected anything different. Almeida can ragdoll this level of opposition all day. Abdurakhimov had fuck all for him. That one slam at the start was awesome. We need to see him stepped up this year though. As fun as these ‘squash matches’ have been, it’s time to give him a bit of a tougher test. He’s clearly beyond this level but we’re still none the wiser on how good he actually is because his progress has stagnated and he’s stayed at about the same level since his UFC debut. Whether it’s been opponents pulling out, weight class changes or what, it’s all been very stop/start and disjointed. This is the year I’m hoping we get some more answers on him though. Seeing all kinds of opinions on him at the moment and some are going on like he’s a future champ and stuff. He’s looked the part so far but it’s way early for that talk. Like I say, we’ve only seen him beating up lower level guys so far. He’s looked a monster doing it but it’s time to get him moving now. I’m not saying throw him in with Curtis Blaydes or something, but he’s clearly above mixing with the ‘enhancement talent’ now. Stamann vs Lacerda was pretty good. I liked the body punching from Lacerda but it just took effect too late to pay off. You could see Stamann was starting to slow down in the third round and I think it was the accumulation of the body work but he’d already built up a nice lead by then and Lacerda needed a finish. Best Stamann’s looked in a while though. Ismael Bonfim couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect UFC debut. They chuck him straight in with a big finisher who’s known as one of the fastest starters in the division, and he casually does this… Jesus H Christ! The thinking on McKinney always seems to be that if you can survive the initial storm, he’s not quite the same threat. But Bonfim wasn’t just trying to ‘survive’ he was taking it to McKinney right from the off. McKinney strikes me as a little bit of a frontrunner and Bonfim getting right in his face from the start seemed to unsettle him a bit to me. He looked lost in the second round just before the finish. Just standing against the fence and seemed unsure what to do. Not sure what was going on with his mouthpiece either but it came out a couple of times, and it was out when the KO landed which is terrifying. He was very, very lucky that that flying knee didn’t connect with his gob because it would’ve probably taken a whole row of teeth out. What a KO though. The Bonfim brothers are gonna be must see TV. They couldn’t have got off to a better start on the big stage. Looking forward to seeing what’s next for both of them. They stole the show for me last night. Nicolas Dalby vs Warlley Alves was a decent enough fight. Was a bit baffled to hear it declared a split decision though. Not really sure how one of the judges had it for Alves but whatever. I give up trying to make sense of MMA judging. At least in this case, the right man won. Josiane Nunes vs Zarah Fairn was nothing to write home about but it was kind of enjoyable for what it was. The height difference was cracking me up. I knew it was gonna be significant but I didn’t realise how comical it would actually look until I saw a picture from the weigh in face-off the other day. 😂 It says it all about how shite Fairn is though, that she couldn’t keep Nunes off her despite that advantage. I quite like Nunes though. She’s nothing amazing but she’s heavy handed and that always makes for a refreshing change of pace in the women’s divisions. She’s basically a bargain bucket version of Jessica Andrade. I think Fairn will be gone now. 36 years old, third loss in a row, got stopped in 2 of them, 6-5 record overall. It’s just not happening. Then again, it’s women’s 145 and if they’re keeping the division around they can’t really afford to let fighters go. The whole division is about 4 women as it is! Really enjoyed the Daniel Marcos vs Saimon Oliveira curtain jerker. Fun fight. This was my first look at Marcos and I like him already. You can tell he’s gonna be fun to watch whoever they throw him in with. The knee to the body at the finish here was beautiful. Yet another exciting addition to a constantly improving Bantamweight division. Honestly might be my favourite weight class these days. And now we’re gonna have Figgy joining the ranks! One last thing, the Brazilian crowd were utter cunts at times last night. I get rooting for your guys but come on. Feels like it’s only a matter of time until there’s a full on riot at one of these things. Edited January 22, 2023 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2023 Jesus... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 23, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2023 How’s everyone’s Monday going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2023 regarding Potieria's weird little celebration @wandshogun09 here's an explanation: It still looked like the cunt had pinched it from Fortnite but that's a pretty cool explanation as to why he did it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2023 5 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: How’s everyone’s Monday going? Should've been kept for a UFC Fright Night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 23, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2023 Moreno’s reaction to seeing Werdum backstage 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted January 23, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 23, 2023 Glover Teixeira retires from a sport full of tough bastards, as the most gentlemanly, toughest bastard of the lot. As he said at the end, probably too tough for his own good. That series of head kicks that had him really wobbled - I have no idea how he survived the flurry that followed that, never mind made it to the end. The big man did himself, and everyone associated with him, proud with this late career run. What a man. Jamaal Hill showed enough by winning that he's clearly better than I had given him credit for, but probably not to the point that I think he beats Ankalaev. Anyway, 205 is a mess. Until someone wins the belt and defends it once at least, I haven't a clue what the pecking order should really look like in that division. Brandon Moreno was on his way to a total shutout against Figgy. Deveison just looked like he had nothing for Moreno at this point. The swollen eye finish didn't really disappoint me for a couple of reasons, A) It was a legal punch that caused it. Had it been an accidental eye gouge then it would have been frustrating. B) The doctor made the correct call. There's been times recently, especially with cuts, when fights have continued that I've been left wondering if the doctor's went to school with Dr. Nick, such has been the amount of face that's still on the canvas. Here, it was clear as fucking day that Figgy couldn't see. If he was able to go back in there it would have been a travesty. Gilbert Burn's beating Magny in the manner that he did was hugely impressive. Beating Magny is what you should be doing if you want to be considered still a title challenger, but hardly anyone looks good against him, win or lose. Well Burns pissed through him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Kid Mark Posted January 23, 2023 Share Posted January 23, 2023 I enjoyed that show a lot, the Brazil fans have got to be the worst fans going though. It's nice to see them go crazy when one of their fighter wins but if the other person wins it's crickets in the arena until the winner starts getting interviewed and then they boo them. Im fully on board the Hill hype train, I think he's great and I think the loss to Paul Craig has aged badly but I think if they were to rematch he would win pretty comfortably now. I think the loss has helped him grow as a fighter. It's interesting that the poll ended up being 50/50 yet both fights were pretty one sided, I don't think anyone saw that coming. Burns is brilliant, I hope he doesn't take too long off again. I want to see him right back in there fighting someone that everyone else is ducking, he doesn't care and it's great to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 20 hours ago, WeeAl said: Glover Teixeira retires from a sport full of tough bastards, as the most gentlemanly, toughest bastard of the lot. As he said at the end, probably too tough for his own good. That series of head kicks that had him really wobbled - I have no idea how he survived the flurry that followed that, never mind made it to the end. The big man did himself, and everyone associated with him, proud with this late career run. What a man. Considering how tough Glover is, it also goes to show how hard Rumble Johnson hit. It took Johnson 13 seconds to uppercut Glover into oblivion, with Glover so out of it that he was trying to fight the ref. I remember Glover commenting after the fight: Quote To be honest, he was the strongest guy to ever hit me. It was the first KO I ever suffered. I had been knocked down in training before where my vision went dark for a little bit, but never like that. He hits too hard and the gloves are very small. Gone too soon and left a lot of unfulfilled potential. 17 hours ago, Zebra Kid Mark said: Im fully on board the Hill hype train, I think he's great and I think the loss to Paul Craig has aged badly but I think if they were to rematch he would win pretty comfortably now. I think the loss has helped him grow as a fighter. Call me a cynic, but I'm not convinced yet. He was fighting a guy who was ready to retire, and who had just been in a war. It's going to take a win or two over legit top three contenders like Jiří Procházka, Jan Błachowicz or Magomed Ankalaev. I think Hill comes in as a fairly sizeable underdog against any of those three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 24, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 24, 2023 Yeah there’s just something about Hill that makes me lack confidence in him. He looked good the other night but I’m not sure how much of that was Glover coming off the back of that war with Prochazka and probably being half checked out as well. We’ll see. He had a bit of bother with last legs Thiago Santos in his fight before this, before getting the late finish, so I’m not sure about him. As for Rumble, I still can’t believe we got close to seeing him against prime Jon Jones only for Jones to balls it all up. Rumble vs Ngannou at Heavyweight is a 30 second bombfest we all missed out on as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 25, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 25, 2023 steady on, last time we got Ngannou in a heavyweight bombfest it didn't exactly pan out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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