Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 10, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2023 Yeah, its not terrible. I think Strickland is cemented as a PPV type level fighter at this point, anyone who gets there is ok for an Apex main event really. Imavov has landed a fight against a guy 6 places higher in the rankings too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2023 21 minutes ago, Egg Shen said: Yeah, its not terrible. I think Strickland is cemented as a PPV type level fighter at this point, anyone who gets there is ok for an Apex main event really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 10, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10, 2023 I donāt know how many of you saw the original sketch from Mitchell and Webb but this has killed me. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 11, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 "The giant that is Imavov faces the titan that is Strickland - making them both look normal-sized" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 11, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 Thatās the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 11, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 (edited) Updated the opening post and the poll. If it wasnāt for the fact weāve had a few weeks off from the UFC Iād have strongly considered skipping this but Iāll skim through it on Sunday morning. Losing that Shavkat Rakhmonov vs Geoff Neal fight was almost a deathblow to the card for me but itās still got some stuff Iām interested in like Umar-Barcelos, Jimmy Flickās return, Ige-Jackson is alright. Itāll do. Really not feeling this new main event though. Hereās how the card is looking a few days out.Ā Edited January 11, 2023 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 11, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 11, 2023 it's about as flat a start to the year as you can get, like you said though the break has me wanting to see some fights, and there's definitely some stuff to like there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 13, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 13, 2023 Oh no. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 13, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 13, 2023 big ol' weight difference in the main event: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 13, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 13, 2023 Imavov didnāt look like the smaller man in the weigh in face off. Hope he chins him but Iām not exactly confident in it.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 14, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 14, 2023 Yeah Imavov looks much the bigger man. I'm actually quite excited for this. I've followed a few of the betting breakdown channels that give you a good idea on the undercard and it's got me interested. Some potential barnburners on tap. Probably most excited for Nurmagamedov/Barcelos. I didn't realise Barcelos was 35 but a few people are saying it's pretty crazy he's such an underdog here despite the buzz on Nurmagamedov. Strangelty interested in that Nick Fiore fight too. Alwyas curious when a guy enters the UFC despite not having any kind of record to suggest he's of UFC level (though, UFC level isn't really a thing anymore). Soriano/Kopylov and Al Hassan/Ribeiro are guaranteed fireworks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 14, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 14, 2023 Iām still not really feeling it, even with the break between shows. I can only imagine how down on this card Iād feel if we were coming off the usual run of weekly shows. Some stuff worth a look but itās really nothing to write home about.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 14, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 14, 2023 first fancy graphic of the year did it for me š Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted January 16, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2023 This might be the first UFC event thread I've seen where no-one's posted any reports. The Strickland Effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 16, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 16, 2023 Ha, just caught up on it. Watched it in instalments. š¤® Strickland vs Imavov wasnāt the best. Wasnāt expecting a great deal from it though. My expectations going into Strickland fights are rock bottom these days. Especially 5 rounders. But by Strickland standards, this actually wasnāt as bad as some of his past fights. I donāt know if itās because weāve had a break from UFC or if itās because my bar for what I expect out of Strickland fights is so low that anything even half watchable is a pleasant surprise or what. It was better than the Cannonier fight, although thatās not saying much. I still donāt think Strickland is anything special but, as I feared, Imavov isnāt either. The fact Strickland held up better than him in the later rounds, despite him being the one who took the fight on short notice, isnāt a good sign for Imavov. Not a lot else to say about this one. Strickland definitely won and it wasnāt quite as shite to watch as it usually is but it still wasnāt much good and Iām not in a hurry to watch either of these two again anytime soon. Fuck Imavov for letting this prick back in the win column. Dan Ige badly needed a win and he found it in style here. What a peach of a knockout shot. Felt bad for Damon Jackson. After that feel-good win last time I was hoping heād be able to build on the momentum of that but Ige was having none of it. My confidence was pretty shot going in when it came to Ige and I think I said I predicted heād go the way of Marlon Moraes and end up making up the numbers and losing in PFL soon. That was definitely harsh though. Heās been matched up really tough his last few fights and this was a much needed scaling back of opposition for him. Still donāt see him going too far, heās just not got enough about him to trouble the top boys at Featherweight, but itās nice to see him snap that losing streak all the same. Roman Kopylov had by far the best showing of his career. Heās a guy whoās been on the roster a few years and his fights just come and go. Iāve never particularly rated him or enjoyed watching him and, to be honest, I was hoping and half expecting Punahele Soriano to bash him up here. Kopylov wrecked him though. That body kick was horrible. Soriano is hard as nails but thereās no putting a brave face on that shit. He was done the second they kick landed. The follow up punches were just for decoration. Sad to see Soriano lose again but, credit where itās due, this was good stuff from Kopylov. Doubt he builds on it though. He seems like a Jake Matthews type who will have a stellar performance like this every once in a while and then look flat as fuck next time out. Although he did stop Alessio Di Chirico in his previous fight as well so maybe heās onto something. Chase Hooperās long lost brother from a Russian mother. Raquel Pennington vs Ketlen Vieira was unsurprisingly a dud. Pennington is usually a fairly entertaining scrapper but I had a feeling Vieira would be able to drag her into a nothing happening 15 minute snoozer. Skimmed through it but it looked like a close one and I saw a lot of people had it scored for Vieira but Pennington got the split decision. Just further adds to the complete and utter apathy of the womenās Bantamweight division. As dull as Vieiraās last few fights have been, sheād have at least been a fresh body to feed to Nunes. Thatās out now and nobody is clamouring to see Nunes vs Pennington 2. Basically just leaves us with Nunes vs Dumont, Aldana or a third go with Pena. Party time! This really felt like the first proper breakout moment for Umar Nurmagomedov to me. I enjoy watching Barcelos a lot but I never saw him getting much positive out of this matchup. I thought heād basically get outworked though. I pictured him landing some stuff but getting outstruck on the feet, and losing any grappling exchanges. I never saw it ending like this thoughā¦ Barcelos is a tough guy. In 21 fights heād only been finished once and that was a submission loss way back in 2014. Heād never been knocked out. This was a bad one as well. His head bounced. Hopefully heās OK. It was beautiful stuff from Umar though. In real time I was focused on the knee, I guess Barcelos was as well, but that sneaky left came right behind it and switched the lights out. Exciting times ahead. I know Iām like a broken record with my praise for the Bantamweight division but itās such a great mix of talent. So many potentially awesome fights to be made. I donāt know if the rankings on UFCās site are up to date but as I type this Umar is ranked #11 now. Looking at the names above him I can see him being paired with Ricky Simon next. Thatās a cracking fight. Unless they wanna just bite the bullet and give him a name coming off a loss like Dominick Cruz or Song Yadong or something. He clearly needs a tougher test though. Was happy to see Javid Basharat pick up another win. Wasnāt a mind blowing performance but heās on the right track and stays undefeated. It was my first time seeing Mendonca so Iām not sure how to properly rate this win but Mendonca was also unbeaten and trains with Charles Oliveira so thereās that. I enjoyed this as wellā¦ The gun gesture thing is always cringe but anyone who saw the weigh in wouldāve picked up on why Basharat did it. As you can see there š I quite like Basharat so far. Wouldnāt mind seeing him get on the London card if possible but that would mean going straight back into camp pretty much immediately so weāll see. I liked the callout of Chris Gutierrez and Iād be up for seeing that next but I canāt see Gutierrez going for that at the moment, coming off knocking out and retiring Frankie Edgar, it seems unlikely heāll wanna face some newcomer.Ā Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Claudio Ribeiro did what it said on the tin. Alhassan is as pure a finisher as there is on the roster and, although Iād never seen Ribeiro before, it sounded like heās cut from similar cloth. Alhassan hits so hard though. It took him a bit longer this time, it made it to the start of the second round (heās slacking) and thenā¦ Just set about him and Ribeiro was like a deer in the headlights when those bombs starting detonating. Felder touched on it post-fight but it definitely seemed like Alhassan made a point of being a little bit more patient here, fighting a bit smarter and picking his spots rather than just trying to blitz the guy out of there like he usually does. Itās only gonna take him so far. Middleweight isnāt the strongest division but at 37/38 years old, I donāt see Alhassan becoming a well rounded MMA fighter now or beating particularly notable opposition. Heās got the Judo base that he never uses but heās so hardwired to swing those hammers that itās always gonna be his default way of fighting. Wasnāt keen on that Mateusz Rebecki vs Nick Fiore fight at all. Struggled to keep my interest and I ended up just skimming through it. Not a great first impression from either man. Shame really because I found Rebeckiās happiness and smiley face before the fight quite endearing. I wanted to like him but then the fight started and he bored me shitless. Maybe thereās better to come. Allan Nascimento got a sweet standing rear naked choke finish against Carlos Hernandez. Nascimento is a bit of a darkhorse, I think. Not in the sense that I ever see him making a splash in the title picture but I can see him being a bit of a solid gatekeeper or litmus test for the up and comers at Flyweight. Heās not a bad fighter at all and he already handed Jake Hadley a loss in his UFC debut. I could see him falling into that Trinaldo role at 125lbs where heāll never be āin the mixā but new guys will have to get through him to advance up the ladder and heāll pick up some decent wins here and there. I was a tad disappointed with how Charles Johnson vs Jimmy Flick played out but not exactly shocked either. I said in the opening post I was really looking forward to seeing Flick back after his premature retirement but this was always gonna be a tricky return matchup for him. Johnson isnāt a pushover and heās been active during Flickās sabbatical from the sport. Mokaev couldnāt submit Johnson so I had a feeling Flick might struggle as well. In a division like Flyweight, if youāre not sharp these fuckers will make you pay the price and Johnson did just that, getting the first round TKO to boot. I thought the stoppage mightāve been slightly early but not massively so. I hope Flick sticks around now though. Heās got work to do but this was a tough fight to come back to after 2 years away and ring rust mightāve also played a part in this loss, to be fair. Charles Johnson needs to sort that hairdo out though, pronto. What the fuck is it? Not a bad card as it turned out. Umar Nurmagomedov stole the show for me and there were a couple of nice finishes and strong performances. I really, really, really donāt want any more Sean Strickland main events. Weāll keep getting them though, Iām sure. Strickland and the Apex and 5 rounds is a fucking abysmal combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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