UFC Charlotte: Rozenstruik vs Almeida - May 13 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

Couple of weeks away in Charlotte…WOOOH!!…North Carolina.

ABC MAIN CARD
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Jailton Almeida 

Anthony Smith vs Johnny Walker 

Daniel Rodriguez vs Ian Garry

Carlos Ulberg vs Ihor Potieria 

Tim Means vs Alex Morono 

ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS 
Matt Brown vs Court McGee 

Karl Williams vs Chase Sherman 

Cody Stamann vs Douglas Silva De Andrade 

Ji Yeon Kim vs Mandy Bohm 

Gabriel Green vs Bryan Battle 

Jessica Rose Clark vs Tainara Lisboa 

 

I like it. Of course it helps that there’s gonna be a crowd but there’s enough there to make this a pretty solid Fight Night all in all. Main card is good and there’s a couple of prelims I’m into. It’s not stacked or anything but it’s a definite improvement on some of the recent Apex cards we’ve been subjected to.

 

Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs Jailton Almeida then. Not an amazing main event or anything but I like it. It’s a bit of a step up in competition for Almeida and his first scheduled 5 rounder. Not that I think this’ll go the distance but you never know. 5 rounds is a different beast in terms of how fighters approach things, how they pace themselves early on, cardio management, tactics, durability etc. On paper it’s a decent litmus test to see where Jailton is at.

‘Bigi Boy’ Rozenstruik stands in his way though. I quite like Rozenstruik. He’s not great, he’s never gonna amount to much in the Heavyweight division really. He’s fallen into that role as kind of a gatekeeper to the upper level and top ranked guys. Which is why this fight makes sense, I guess. What Rozenstruik has is experience. In his Kickboxing career he went 76-8-1 with 64 knockouts. I always see people shitting on him and dismissing his Kickboxing record because the opposition was apparently arse. I don’t know, I haven’t dug into his record. It’s probably right. But even still, to fight 85 times, win 76 and KO 64 of them, at any level it’s not easy. In MMA he’s gone 13-4 and 12 of his 13 wins came by knockout. Make no mistake, for all his shortcomings, he can whack. He’s had a patchy run in the UFC, he’s been found lacking a few times when he’s stepped up a level. He’s not championship material but he’s no bum either. We last saw him in December, knocking out Chris Daukaus in just 23 seconds…

He badly needed that win, coming off the back of consecutive losses to Volkov and Blaydes. He’s had his moments in the Octagon though. He’s stopped Andrei Arlovski, Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem in the UFC. Yeah he was losing the Overeem fight right up until the last 4 seconds and the stoppage might’ve been iffy but that’s not his fault. It does show his toughness though. Whatever you thought of that fight and the stoppage, it was his heart and refusal to go away that kept him in there until the end of the 5th round to land that lip ripping punch. He’s a one note fighter and at 35 years old his skillset is what it is at this stage in the game. He’s not gonna be developing a strong wrestling game or BJJ skills at this point in his career. But he’s heavy handed, has mixed with a lot of the top names in the division and has that crucial 5 round experience. He’s also ranked #9 in the Heavyweight division so this is Almeida’s ticket into the Top 10 if he can get that W.

Jailton Almeida hasn’t put a foot wrong in the UFC yet. He’s 18-2 overall with all 18 wins coming inside the distance. He’s a BJJ black-belt and most of his finishes have came by submission but he can do damage with his hands as well. It’s still relatively early days for him on the big stage and we don’t know how good he is yet but he reminds me a lot of a bigger Jacare Souza. He came into the UFC as a 205er and had no trouble swatting aside Danilo Marques in his debut last February. He then stepped in and took a short notice fight at Heavyweight in May and easily submitted Parker Porter in a round. I assumed that was a one-off and he’d be back at 205 but he’s staying at Heavyweight now. He subbed Anton Turkalj in a round in September and then crushed Shamil Abdurakhimov on the Brazil PPV in January. A very successful first year in the UFC. 4-0, 4 finishes and a couple of POTN bonuses. He’s definitely looked the real deal so far but it’s been difficult to really rate him because the opposition hasn’t been the best. I feel like I’ve been saying after every fight that he needs a step up. I know he’s only been on the roster a year but he’s been demolishing these guys with such ease that it’s clear he needs bumping up a level. And that’s what we’re finally getting here.

The more I think about it, the more I like this matchup. Rozenstruik is ranked #9, Jailton’s currently at #12. So like I say, Rozenstruik is gatekeeping that threshold to the Top 10 and it’s a very logical next step for the Brazilian. Style-wise you know what both men are looking for. Rozenstruik, under no circumstances, wants to grapple with this guy. Almeida can probably mix it up on the feet a bit but won’t wanna fuck about too much there. He’ll most likely be looking for the path of least resistance and going the grappling route. As long as he doesn’t get clipped coming in, I think Almeida gets it done here. But you just never know, especially with the Heavyweights. These are big lads. Unless Almeida decides to just stand and strike for some reason, which I doubt he does, this should be fairly straightforward for him. But while I wouldn’t give ‘Bigi Boy’ much more than the old ‘punchers chance’, there is some risk there for Almeida. Especially if it goes long. Almeida’s only gone past the second round once in his entire career, it was back in 2018 and he lost on points. There’s a chance he’s not the same force as the rounds go on. And the 4th and 5th round are completely new territory for him. And whatever your opinion is on Rozenstruik, he’s shown he’s still dangerous late in the fight as well as early. Chances are Almeida just steamrolls him in a round or two but it could get very interesting if it goes longer.

 

Anthony Smith vs Johnny Walker is a decent enough fight. This was the original main event for this card actually but they switched it up. I’m happy about that, to be honest. Jair vs Jailton is more interesting over 5 rounds. The main event billing adds something to that fight whereas I think it would actually detract from this. Nobody wants to see a Johnny Walker 5 rounder. We’ve seen it before and it was shit. All I want from Walker is a round, maybe two, of silly mayhem. I think Smith is better to watch over 3 rounds as well. It just feels like a fight that’ll be more enjoyable with them going out there knowing they don’t have to conserve energy for a longer fight and they can both just let shit fly.

Smith got stopped by Magomed Ankalaev in his last fight in July. I don’t remember him looking too clever in that one but not many do look good against Ankalaev, plus I vaguely recall Smith injuring his leg mid-fight so I’ll give him a pass. Not that I think he’d have won anyway, but the injury obviously didn’t help matters. He was on a nice little run of wins before that, racking up 3 consecutive first round finishes over Devin Clark, Jimmy Crute and Ryan Spann. He generally does do well at that kind of level. It’s just when he tries to step up to that mix of champs and legit top contenders that he flounders. At 34 I don’t see him getting over that hump now but he might win this fight. Or maybe not.

Walker’s one of them, isn’t he? Who the fuck knows? He’s always dangerous, you never know what he’s gonna do out there. He’s wild and unpredictable but it’s been his undoing almost as often as it’s benefitted him. He’s coming off that first round knockout over Paul Craig so he’s probably due a loss here. I love the bastard though. He’s just…fun. And in a division like today’s 205, he’s a breath of fresh fucking air! Aside from that inexplicably terrible 5 rounder against Thiago Santos a while back, win or lose there hasn’t been a dull moment. Whether he’s knocking sods out with standing elbows and hammerfists, dislocating his own shoulder doing ‘The Worm’ or getting knocked out himself in ridiculously cartoonish fashion, he’s pretty much always entertaining to watch. Even mad shit like him wondering down the Vegas strip still in his fight gear that time, there’s just always something weird and barmy going on. Don’t get me wrong, I’m under no illusions. I know he’s not that good, he’s too inconsistent and all that. I think sometimes MMA fans think if you’re a fan of a fighter and you’re talking about them and excited to see them on a card that means you’re overrating them and expecting them to become champ or something. I don’t care that he’s never gonna be champ. I mean, I’d love it if he did pull that off somehow but I know it’s not realistic. I just get a kick out of him, he’s a character, he seems a good guy and he’s great to watch. There aren’t enough like him in the Light Heavyweight division these days. Now Shogun and Glover are retired, Johnny Walker is probably my favourite 205er.

 

Daniel Rodriguez vs Ian Garry is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** here. Didn’t know this fight had been made but I really like it. Seems like this is gonna be the card where prospects get their first proper step up. This is the biggest test for Garry yet, in my opinion. Really good fight. Would’ve looked right at home early on a PPV main card or even the London card in the summer actually. Adds a bit of depth to this show though so I’m all for it.

‘D-Rod’ is no future UFC champ but he’s a tough fighter, durable and he’s fought and done well against some solid opposition. He’s 17-3 with 12 finishes and has wins over the likes of Li Jingliang, Kevin Lee, Mike Perry and Tim Means. At 36, he’s no spring chicken but he’s definitely no pushover. He’s one of those fighters you have to get past if you want to advance up the ladder. He got submitted by Neil Magny in his last fight back in November and that was the first time he’d ever been finished. He was supposed to fight Gunnar Nelson on the London card in March but had to pull out with an injury. So he’ll be itching to get back in there and redeem himself here. And what better way to do that than to derail the hype train of an undefeated prospect?

You know the score with Ian Garry by now. He’s the shiny new up and comer from Ireland. He’s 25 years old, undefeated at 11-0 with 7 finishes, former Cage Warriors champion etc. And of course the Conor McGregor comparisons are incessant. A lot of it is MMA media and fans but Garry himself seems to shoehorn references to McGregor into every move he makes. Part of me gets it. Initially coming into the UFC, attaching yourself to McGregor’s name has its benefits. But there comes a time when you’ve got to knock it on the head and concentrate on building your own identity. In everything I’ve seen of him out of the cage, Garry seems a genuinely nice guy. Down to earth, likeable, confident but humble, all that good stuff. In other words, nothing like that shithouse McGregor. The only thing they have in common is they’re both Irish. Yet there’s Garry after his last fight, after battering and stopping Song Kenan, doing that goofy McGregor strut in his celebration. Regardless, this is a good fight. Garry’s best opponents in the UFC so far have been Song and Gabriel Green so this is definitely a jump in levels.

 

Carlos Ulberg vs Ihor Potieria is an interesting one. Not really two names I expected to see paired off at this stage but I’m not against it. Ulberg came in with some buzz being a City Kickboxing guy, teammate of Adesanya, Volk etc. He turned some heads with a quick KO win on DWCS in late 2020 and entered the UFC in early 2021 as an undefeated prospect. And got knocked out in his Octagon debut by Kennedy Nzechukwu. He was actually winning the fight but it was just one of those mad comeback finishes. He’s won 3 in a row since then and scored first round knockouts over Tafon Nchukwi and Nicolae Negumereanu in his last two. Safe to say he’s back on track. I hope it continues here as well.

There’s Potieria celebrating his last win. A first round stoppage against Shogun Rua in January. In Brazil of all places. In Shogun’s retirement fight. Fuck this prick and his little TikTok dance moves. He’s Ukrainian, 26 years old, 19-3 with 15 finishes and I hope Ulberg chins him. I don’t think he’s particularly even that good. He got stopped by Negumereanu before the Shogun win and Negumereanu isn’t anything special. Maybe he’ll prove me wrong but the win over Shogun seemed more to do with Shogun being shot to bits than anything else. Whatever. Hopefully this is an exciting fight. Which ultimately ends with Ulberg chinning him.

 

Tim Means vs Alex Morono is alright as a main card opener. I’ve always quite enjoyed watching Means fight. He’s one of those tough, scrappy veterans who just bites down on the mouthpiece and brings it. He’s 39 now and this’ll be his 49th fight. Not sure how much longer he’s gonna keep going but over the years he’s beat the likes of Nicolas Dalby, Mike Perry, Thiago Alves, John Howard and Bobby Green. He’s lost his last couple though and, like I say, not sure how many more fights he’s got in him. Morono’s obviously fresher at 32 but he’s coming off a brutal stoppage loss against Santiago Ponzinibbio in December. He’d rattled off 4 wins before that and has wins over Matthew Semelsberger, Mickey Gall and the shell of Donald Cerrone. He’s not bad and I reckon he’ll probably win this just based on not having as many miles on him. But I’d like to see Means come out on top myself.

 

Matt Brown vs Court McGee could’ve been lifted from a card back in 2010. These two have been knocking around forever. Really like this pairing actually. I get why the matchmakers often feed veterans to the young prospects. It’s always been that way and it makes sense. But I like to see these old boys pitted against each other. Brown’s 42, McGee’s 38. Both have been through a bunch of slobberknockers and had their ups and downs. It just feels like fairer matchmaking and like a fight that can actually be competitive and fun. Brown’s always up for a dogfight. He’s lost 3 of his last 4 but his last fight against Bryan Barberena was fucking fantastic. Seriously, one of my favourite fights from last year. If you missed it get it watched. I shouldn’t even need to convince you, you know what a Brown-Barberena fight is gonna be like and it delivered. Probably wise that he took some time off after that one. McGee got sparked in about 90 seconds by Jeremiah Wells in his last fight in June. So almost a year on the shelf for him as well. He’d won a couple going into that fight though. They’re both winding down but I think they’re meeting at a time that could still make for an evenly matched, entertaining fight.

 

Karl Williams vs Chase Sherman was originally supposed to go down at UFC 287 in Miami but got delayed and rebooked. I think this is a terrible matchup for Sherman on paper. From what I’ve seen and remember of Sherman, he hasn’t got much in the way of grappling and wrestling is Williams’ bread and butter. It was basically all he did in his UFC debut against Lukasz Brzeski in March. That’s the only time I’ve seen Williams but just based on that, I think he should have enough to beat Sherman without too much bother. Sherman’s probably gone after this. He’s 16-11 now and 1-5 in his last 6 and they give him a guy who’s a specialist in the area he’s weakest? I think someone’s trying to get rid of old Chase.

 

Cody Stamann vs Douglas Silva De Andrade is a solid little fight in the Bantamweight division. Again, just goes to show how strong 135 is. These are good fighters but they’re never getting a sniff of a title shot in a weight class that deep and rich on talent. Stamann hit a real rough patch a couple of years back and went on a 3 fight losing skid but, to be fair, they were losses to tough opponents, one of them being Merab! He’s turned things around a bit in his last two fights and I vaguely recall thinking his win over Luan Lacerda in January was the best he’s looked in ages. De Andrade turns 38 not long after this fight and still looks absolutely shredded. All mullet and muscles. He’s no world beater and he comes into this fight off a points loss against Said Nurmagomedov but he’s had his moments. The crazy FOTN against Sergey Morozov last year being the highlight. Barmy hidden gem of a fight. He’s also got decision wins over a shot Renan Barao and…Chito Vera? No memory of that one!

 

Ji Yeon Kim vs Mandy Bohm is a nothing happening filler fight. Can’t dress it up as anything more and can’t pretend I’m arsed about it. Kim is 9-6-2 and on a dismal 4 fight losing streak. And Bohm’s 7-2-0-1 and coming into this fight off the back of 2 consecutive losses herself. Banger. I barely remember Bohm at all. Kim did have an unexpected corker against Priscila Cachoeira last year that was way better than it had any business being and I recall many thinking Kim should’ve got the decision. She also went the distance with current champ Alexa Grasso in there so that losing streak isn’t quite as bad as it looks at first glance. Still, obviously she badly needs a win here.

 

Gabriel Green vs Bryan Battle isn’t a bad fight. Nothing special but it’s decent enough. Green lost a decision to Ian Garry last July and has been out of action since. He stopped Yohan Lainesse and outpointed Phil Rowe before that. He’s 11-4 with 10 finishes. Battle’s 8-2 with 6 finishes, won TUF in 2021, beat Tresean Gore, headkicked Takashi Sato into oblivion but then ran into a roadblock in the form of Rinat Fakhretdinov and lost a dull decision to him in their December fight. Both looking to get back to winning ways here.

 

Jessica Rose Clark vs Tainara Lisboa is low level, curtain jerky shite but maybe it’ll be a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately Clark isn’t much good. If she was as good as she is hot then she’d be doing a lot better. But…yeah, she’s 11-8-0-1 and has been armbarred in the first round of her last two fights. She’s 35 now and sadly it seems her career peaked with those decision wins over Paige VanZant and Bec Rawlings about 5/6 years ago. Lisboa is making her UFC debut here and she’s a former two time Muay Thai world champion. In MMA she’s 5-2 with 5 finishes. Got submitted by Norma Dumont in her MMA debut back in 2016 but she’s won her last 3 now. Not expecting much. She’s already 32 so she’s probably not gonna be becoming a well rounded mixed martial artist at this point, is she? But we’ll see how she looks here.

 

And that’s UFC Charlotte. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

like this one, David probably think it's worthy of the Apex though.

Cant help but feel that Smith/Walker or even Garry/Rodriguez work better in that 5 round spot than what we are getting. Not complaining though, solid effort.

[wandshogun09]

This’ll be nice. A pretty good Fight Night card and a lovely UK friendly start time. 4:30pm kick off! 

[Egg Shen]

 

[Egg Shen]

https://twitter.com/JohnnyWalker/status/1656478239185928193?t=_D6rs4ZnwAFlSZLxfPSypA&s=19

jesus

[Egg Shen]

standard operating procedure...

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by Egg Shen

[David]

On 4/30/2023 at 12:30 PM, Egg Shen said:

like this one, David probably think it's worthy of the Apex though.

Your jokes are similar to your ability to pick winners on a bookies slip, Ebb. 

This is actually one of the cards that proves my point. They take decent cards on the road. Keep the dross for the apex. Bish, Bash, Bosh, lad.

[Bruce85]

On 5/7/2023 at 6:42 PM, wandshogun09 said:

This’ll be nice. A pretty good Fight Night card and a lovely UK friendly start time. 4:30pm kick off! 

Get a decent start time and it clashes with Eurovision!

[Egg Shen]

3 hours ago, David said:

Your jokes are similar to your ability to pick winners on a bookies slip, Ebb. 

[wandshogun09]

Full card graphic, start times and Johnny Walker shaking his own hand at the weigh in 🤣

[Egg Shen]

beautiful stuff

[Egg Shen]

Not to be a broken record but go watch Brian Battle's fight last night and tell me the UFC needs to stay in the Apex. Just stick these fighters in their hometowns and watch the magic happen. Brilliant.

 

[Egg Shen]

Solid night of fights though.

Almeida walked through Bigi Boy like he was nothing. Almeida has breezed to 5-0 in the UFC, i'm waiting to see what happens when someone stops the takedown but no ones come close yet. Did they repeat a few times that Almeida lost on the Contender Series though? he didn't. Guess he didn't get awarded a contract and the commentary team were thinking he'd lost his fight.

Walker/Smith was an odd one. Walker cruised really, feels like he's turning into a Yoel Romero type, the patience will do him good long term though. Anthony Smith though just doesn't look right. The guy maximised his career post-Jones but something is off. There's been a lot made on Twitter since Saturday about Smith talking to Walker during the fight, people latching onto Smith having PTSD from that home invasion that happened a while back. I dunno if I agree with that, there's probably a simpler explanation but it was strange.

Ian Garry got about as a good a win as he could to enter the top 15. I think Rodriguez was made for him, but that's how it's done. I'm still sitting on the fence on whether or not I wanna see him succeed or see him chinned, but im tuning in if he's involved.

Matt Fucking Brown.

 

[WeeAl]

I was surprised to see Matt Brown as the underdog right before his fight with McGee. Before that popped up I just thought it was a perfect opportunity for Brown to do what he does best. Boy did he ever. Just flattened Court with that short right. Old guy fights only from here on out please, but he can still bring it at a certain level. 

Stamann Vs De Andrade was a really good fight. Excellent MMA fight too as there was a bit of everything in there. It was an easy one to score though and I don't think Stamann, when he watches it back, can be too annoyed with the scoring. The annoyance may come in his decision making to follow Silva down to the mat after knocking him flying. Instinct I guess, but he was two rounds down on almost anyone's scorecards so it was a mistake. Really fun scrap though that again highlights the depth of the division. 

Walker v Smith was a weird one. I'm not sure if this was Walker improving, Smith having a bad night, or a bit of both. It was very strange Smith getting hit with so many leg kicks, before eventually trying to do something about it way too late. A real solid win for Walker, but it also definitely wasn't Smith at anything of his best. Maybe the beating of his leg had a large part to do with that or maybe it was always going to be a bad night for Anthony. 

Almeida has quietly just snuck into an important spot in the HW division. Other than Curtis Blaydes, there aren't a lot of guys above him, who he may meet in his next couple, that are going to have much for him if he can get the fight on the ground early. If that doesn't happen, that may be a different matter but boy did he piss through Rozenstruik here. Interested to see where it goes from here with him. 

[wandshogun09]

So Jailton Almeida pissed through Rozenstruik then.

Rozenstruik had nothing for him. I was hoping this would go a bit longer because we haven’t seen Jailton’s gastank put to the test at all yet and a longer fight could’ve been answered some of those questions on his cardio and durability. Rozenstruik simply wasn’t equipped to ask those questions though. Almeida’s wins before this, while impressive, didn’t tell us much. And Rozenstruik was probably tailor-made for him style-wise in many ways. But this felt like a strong statement. First main event and just squashed the #9 ranked guy in the division with ease. Got to be something big for him next. Looking at the rankings, Volkov or Spivac seem like the most likely and logical next steps for him. There’s Gane, Blaydes and Tuivasa as well but they’re all coming off losses. I think it’ll be Volkov or Spivac. Either will do. As shite as Heavyweight is, we’ve got Almeida, Pavlovich and Aspinall coming up now at least. Not sure how far any of them go but I like them all.

Johnny Walker vs Anthony Smith didn’t do much for me. Weird fight. This is why I was saying in the opening post that I was glad this got changed from main event to co-main. I’ve got no desire to see either of these two in 5 rounders. It just doesn’t play to their strengths. I thought a shorter fight would bring out the best of them but this was lacklustre enough over 3 rounds. 5 rounds would’ve been cack. Agree with Ebb that Smith didn’t look right. He was never amazing but he just looked off here. And the mid-fight talking was well strange. I missed that in real time but saw the clips on Twitter after and he was saying something like “you’re attacking my family”. What the fuck was that about? It’s unusual that we come out of a Johnny Walker fight and we’re talking about the other guy acting weird but it was an odd one all round. Glad Walker won though. He’s not great but I love the bloke so a win’s a win and I’m happy. I think we just have to make peace with the fact that he’s not gonna be able to create those barmy moments and finishes every single fight. To a lesser extent it reminds me of Clay Guida toning down his caveman style. It’s not as fun to watch but it’s a wise move for career longevity and, more importantly, health. Walker’s still a maniac though. There’ll be more crazy moments to come. We just saw him hammerfist Paul Craig into crumbs a few months ago, for fuck’s sake. He’s hardly turning into Jake Shields. I’ve got no real interest in seeing Smith fight anymore though. He’s done well for himself with the analyst stuff and the podcast with Bisping. Maybe he should move into that full time. Could see them trying him out as a colour commentator as well at some point.

Ian Garry had about as perfect a fight as he could’ve wished for. On paper this was his toughest opponent yet and it was the best Garry has looked to date.

Nasty. I’m a broken record now and I say it every time he fights but I hope everyone just gradually drops the McGregor comparisons now. I got it initially but it’s clear Garry has his own legitimate potential and deserves better than to constantly be in someone else’s shadow. He didn’t mention McGregor in his post-fight interview so that’s progress. Liked the Neil Magny callout as well. Why not? I’d like to see that on the London card in July but I doubt it lands there because that’s a Fight Night, already has the Aspinall vs Tybura headliner and I think Garry’s next fight is gonna be either on a PPV main card or he’ll headline his own Fight Night.

15 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

I'm still sitting on the fence on whether or not I wanna see him succeed or see him chinned, but im tuning in if he's involved.

Yeah he’s a weird one. Every time I think I’ve started liking him, he says or does something that makes me cringe. Then every time I think I dislike him, I see something and he comes across really sound. I’ve settled on him being a good guy but he definitely has the potential to rub some people up the wrong way. I’m leaning more towards liking him but he’s one of them where if/when he does finally get chinned, the backlash is probably gonna be rough.

Carlos Ulberg making short work of that Potieria div was satisfying to watch.

Yes. Justice for Shogun! Like I said in the opening post, I don’t even think Potieria is that good. Which makes the fact he now has a win over Shogun even more depressing. That’s just one of those wins that was all about timing. Shogun was obviously shot to bits long before that fight. Ulberg treated Potieria’s mediocrity with the contempt it deserved. The punch that dropped him looked to be on the back of the head but I’ll live with it.

Morono vs Means was an alright main card opener. I was indifferent to Morono for the longest time. I think mostly because he just looks like a generic CAF template you start with on the UFC video games. Completely nondescript. But he’s kind of grown on me a bit. Win or lose he’s usually in decent fights. He looked rough weighing in for this one and Means is a crafty, scrappy veteran so I was thinking Means might come out on top here. But Morono got him with the guillotine. Good fight. Bit sad to see Means lose again though. That’s 3 straight Ls for him now and he’s 39 years old. Wouldn’t be surprised if they cut him loose off the back of this.

Matt Brown wasn’t fucking around…

Gotta love him. He feels like a proper throwback these days but at 42 years old he’s still as game and aggressive as ever. Probably doesn’t have that many fights left so make the most of him while he’s still around. I hope the matchmakers just keep sticking him in these kinds of fights as much as possible. I know they’re gonna end up feeding him to some young up and comer eventually, it’s the nature of the sport and I get it. But you get the best value out of a guy like Matt Brown by just throwing him in these fun veteran fights. Nobody obvious is jumping out as his next opponent but there’s a bunch of fun ones at 170. Court McGee seems to be on borrowed time though. 38 years old and he’s been knocked out in the first round twice in a row now. Not looking good. He was always kind of known for being durable and hard to put away as well, so for him to start getting finished early now, it’s not a good sign.

Karl Williams vs Chase Sherman didn’t hold my attention. Looked shite every time I did give it a bit of my time. Williams got the win but he isn’t gonna amount to much. This was a fight that, on paper, should’ve been a real showcase for him in my opinion. Sherman’s crap and lacks in the wrestling, and Williams is all wrestling. It felt like the matchmakers were doing Williams a favour here and also using this as an opportunity to get rid of Sherman. But somehow Williams still failed to impress and Sherman actually looked competitive for spells of it. It’s no newsflash but Heavyweight really is awful outside of a few names in the division.

Douglas Silva De Andrade vs Cody Stamann was a really enjoyable fight, I thought. Worth a watch if you skipped it. De Andrade is going nowhere but he’s usually good for an entertaining scrap on the undercards. This was no different. Felt like he definitely won but he was fortunate that the ref didn’t know what he was doing when he put them back on the feet after De Andrade landed the illegal upkick. He should’ve restarted them on the ground as Stamann had top position. I heard Stamann is gonna appeal it but I don’t know. Can’t see them really caring about a fight of this kind of relative insignificance. Harsh for Stamann but it was a really good, well matched fight.

Mandy Bohm vs Ji Yeon Kim was a complete and utter shitshow. It’s a fight I’d have usually skipped but I had the prelims on live because of the early start. Was keeping one eye on it while doing other stuff and it actually looked like it started off alright with Kim hurting her right off the bat. But it descended into a right mess. Kim just seemed to be fighting with a lot of bad energy, which is uncharacteristic really because she seems really nice usually. I heard there was some beef between her and Bohm though and I also read that Kim missed her grandmother’s funeral or something when Bohm pulled out the last time they were scheduled to fight. Just seems like she was fighting with negative emotions.

🤣 I did laugh at this but it was a dick move. Then there was the weirdness of the ref waiting ages before deducting a point for that. Then there was the illegal knee that ended the fight. Then the ref takes another point after the judges had already handed in their scorecards, forcing them to have to amend them after the fact. Fucking shambles. Never seen anything quite like it. They should probably just run this one back but I don’t think anyone’s arsed about seeing it again. Bohm gets the win but nobody came out of it looking good. Kim‘s shown no remorse either. Saw a quote from her earlier and she was saying Bohm put on an “Oscar looking act” after the knee and finished with “Enjoy your pitiful victory”. Sheesh.

Like @Egg Shen said above, the Bryan Battle fight was a real highlight. I didn’t even realise Battle is from Charlotte. I think they should’ve had this open up the main card myself. Even without the benefit of hindsight, it would’ve made more sense than Morono vs Means to have the hometown boy kick off the main card. And then the way the actual fight played out…

Jesus. 14 seconds into the first round! It’s almost a shame in a way because the way Green came flying out, it could’ve been an absolute dogfight if it went longer. But his aggression bit him in the arse big time here and Battle just walloped him. Quite like watching Battle. That’s a couple of big finishes for him now. Not sure about the new look but the Bleach Blonde Battle era’s off to a good start anyway.

Tainara Lisboa had a fairly strong UFC debut in the curtain jerker on Fight Pass but it’s hard to really rate the performance because Jessica Rose Clark just isn’t very good. There were still positives to take from it though. When I read up a little bit about Lisboa for the opening post and saw she was a Muay Thai champ I assumed she’d probably have zero grappling but she’s obviously been putting the time in. In theory, Clark should’ve had the advantage on the ground but here she was again getting submitted. That’s 3 times in a row now Clark’s been subbed. Think she’s about done. They were saying before the fight that she considered retiring recently and her face after the loss here makes me think she’s had enough. Getting subbed by a striker who’s just learning MMA isn’t a good sign and at 35 years old, it’s only gonna be downhill for Clark from here. Maybe she’ll hang around for a retirement fight whenever they next go to Australia but I think that’ll be it for her.

Pretty good show overall, I thought. The early start time helped but the fact there were also lots of finishes and a fairly hot crowd definitely made it more enjoyable to watch as well.