UFC 294: Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 - Oct 21 🇦🇪

[WeeAl]

It's thrown me that this is on this afternoon. I'm glad of that though, as next weekend I'd end up seeing spoilers before the fight (like is going to happen with Ngannou and Fury). 

United are playing at the same time though so I'll probably start watching the main card, pick it back up at HT and then again at Full time. That way I can still fast forward through the mental amount of down time. 

Name value alone the top two fights are better on a poster than what they were replacing, but in far from ideal conditions. I'd love to see Volk do it, but despite absolutely giving up on  putting doubt near his name some time ago, there's no getting around that his prep will be less ideal for this one than the previous. Let's see. 

For Kamaru I think this is a last roll of the dice at being a top guy. He can vault himself back into a really strong position in a new weight class with a win here. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the winner here get Strickland next and jumped ahead of DuPlessis.  Adesanya is taking time away, Pereira has moved up. 

For Usman I think this was a sensible gamble, whereas for Volkanovski? He has the most to lose of any of the four men in the top two fights. He was always going to get another crack at the title at Lightweight, but losing this one might mean he never gets to prepare for another go at it. 

My guess is Islam wins by a slightly, slightly clearer decision than the time before. And Chimaev to KO Usman. 

Fingers crossed for Johnny Walker that the next time he falls over, it's a tumble into a spinning heel kick onto Ankalaev's chin. 

[wandshogun09]

I know the card’s underway now but I finally got around to rewatching this fucker.

Never expected to be revisiting this one so soon. But it’s that time. Makhachev vs Volkanovski 2 is almost upon us! What a mad journey it’s taken to get here. I think everyone who saw this first fight knew these two would cross paths again at some point but I don’t think anyone expected it so soon. No complaints here though. I don’t think I’ve watched this back since it happened 8 months ago but I’ve felt like it’s remained my FOTY so far this year. They set the bar early in the year and I don’t think it’s been topped yet. So I’ve been looking forward to giving it another look before the rematch later. Let’s see if it holds up.

I remember buzzing for this fight going in but sadly it didn’t seem to get quite the push or hype it deserved as a ‘Superfight’ really. You’d have thought the reigning Lightweight and Featherweight champs facing off would feel massive but for whatever reason it didn’t. Maybe because Makhachev had just won the belt, maybe because people were disappointed that it could’ve been Volk vs Charles Oliveira if Makhachev hadn’t scuppered it by beating Oliveira. It was about as good and high level a ‘Superfight’ that the UFC has ever put on though.

Islam Makhachev©️vs Alexander Volkanovski - Lightweight Title

UFC 284: Makhachev vs Volkanovski

February 11th 2023

Perth, Western Australia 

Referee is Marc Goddard. The real ‘best in the business’, balls to the Herb Dean propaganda. And there’s a different feel to the commentary booth here. We’ve got Jon Anik, Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping. Not the best but at least we’re spared Joe Rogan. Not to go off on a tangent but I think if anything shows you how much Rogan doesn’t give a shite anymore it’s that he can’t be arsed showing up for a fight like this. I get that it’s a mission to travel so far but he used to make those trips. To not bother for a fight like Makhachev vs Volk, champ vs champ, in front of a rabid home crowd for Volk, speaks volumes. He’s not flying out for tonight’s rematch either. Imagine getting paid good money to fly to Australia or Abu Dhabi and watch Makhachev vs Volkanovski and not bothering? Oh well, his loss is our gain. Anyway, fuck all that.

Round 1: The crowd is red hot right from the off here, as you’d expect. Deafening chants of “VOLK, VOLK, VOLK” and “Islam’s a wanker” echo throughout the arena. Volk’s moving a lot early, switching stances and feinting and just generally not letting Islam get a proper read on him. It’s working at this stage and Volk connects with the first solid punch of the fight…

Beautiful switch to southpaw and a straight left that didn’t seem to hurt Makhachev too badly but did have him noticeably off balance for a second. Makhachev’s right there, staying calm in the chaos Volk’s trying to create in his head. Volk’s feeling it and comes at Makhachev, they collide and Makhachev gets the better of it this time.

Bit messy but probably earned Makhachev some respect back from Volk. Not sure if that was scored a knockdown but Volk went to a knee for a sec so it probably should’ve been. Not a clean knockdown by any means but a flash knockdown nonetheless, in my book. Islam’s on the front foot now, putting pressure on and gets the waistlock against the fence. Volk’s initially doing a fine job and he’s still strong enough and fresh enough that he’s able to make it a real struggle for Makhachev. But not for long.

Makhachev’s got the back and is trying to work towards a rear naked choke, or at least a neck crank, but they’re squashed up against the cage and he’s unable to get it all the way done. There’s not much time left and Volk just defends and lets the time run out. And that’s a very interesting and competitive first round in the books. And it’s a 10-9 for Makhachev for me. Volk had a great start but I felt like Islam nicked it back in the second half of the round.

Round 2: Picking up where they left off and Volk’s really bringing it to him. Nothing major landing but he’s just always there in Makhachev’s face and doing something to not give him time think or room to breathe. And right enough…

Again, not a mega clear knockdown, Volk just kind of cuffed him round the back of the head, but it’s a knockdown regardless. A moment for Volk and a confidence booster. What you don’t see in that gif there is Makhachev immediately recovers and goes into scramble, winding up on top briefly. Volk does a good job getting back up but Islam’s stuck to him like glue.

Volk’s doing well in the clinch positions himself though, he’s holding his own in there. Which is a testament to just how strong he is. Up in weight against Makhachev who’s one of the most physically strong 155ers on the planet and little Volk’s hanging with him. I remember that being one of the things I was most impressed with on the night about his performance. 2 minutes left and they’re striking again. And just when it seems like Volk’s in the zone…

Makhachev stuns him with a lovely counter left off a body shot. Probably Makhachev’s best single punch of the entire fight and it had Volk backpedaling for a second but he recovered well. Don’t know how he stayed on his feet there because it caught him right on the jaw and while he was off balance. Makhachev’s looking good in the striking now. Like I said about being impressed with Volk in the clinch, Makhachev’s standup in this fight surprised me. Knowing how great Volk is, I don’t think anyone saw Makhachev having this kind of success on the feet in this fight. I think there’s been a noticeable improvement in his striking, over his last couple of fights especially. Here and against Oliveira before this. And that’s the round. Again, I’m gonna lean towards Makhachev 10-9. It was a different looking round to the first but kind of played out similarly where Volk got off to a cracking start but Makhachev warmed into it and had more success in the second half.

Round 3: Both seem content to strike a bit early in this round. Volk digs in with a nice body shot and Makhachev answers with a knee. Bisping’s started speculating that Makhachev possibly underestimated Volk and might start getting demoralised but it’s pure guesswork and there’s been absolutely nothing about Makhachev’s performance here that suggests he took Volk lightly. Through the opening 10 minutes, this seems like a fight where both men knew exactly what they were up against. It’s top notch stuff this. Makhachev landing a nice left straight, Volk’s still switching up his stance and mixing up his attacks to the legs, body and head.

Sweet trip from the clinch from Makhachev there. I love little crafty tricks like that. Volk’s still doing well making Makhachev work hard for every position in the grappling though and he manages to work his way back from having his back taken, up to his feet in the bodylock and then breaking free. Really, really impressive stuff from Volk here. There’s another kind of weird glancing knockdown from Volk late in the round but I don’t know how clean it was. Makhachev connected with a sweet standing elbow somewhere in there as well that I missed in real time but they showed it on the replays after the round. That’s Volk 10-9 in my opinion though. Onto the championship rounds…

Round 4: Fairly uneventful first couple of minutes here. They both exchange strikes but nothing of any real note happens until Makhachev changes levels and hits a beautiful takedown almost halfway through the round.

Just perfectly timed. When you know how technically sound and physically strong Volk is, then factor in his funny build and low centre of gravity, nobody really shoots and scores straight takedowns on him and for good reason. He’s notoriously hard to take down in the centre of the Octagon like that. Makhachev got him a treat there. Makhachev’s got his back now, has the body triangle locked in and, like earlier, he’s trying to work towards a rear naked choke. All Volk can do here is fight the hands and try to punch here and there. But he’s well and truly stuck here.

😂 Probably the single most memorable image from the fight. Whenever I’ve thought of this fight in the months since it happened, this is what instantly pops into my head. Volk’s still punching back at Makhachev from that position and he’s talking some shit while he’s doing it. It’s another Makhachev round for me though. I’ve seen the arguments that Volk “battered” him in this round but it’s shite. Yeah he landed more punches and, from that position they were about as good as you can land. But you’re not doing a ton of damage from there and I don’t think it was enough to offset or cancel out that takedown, then having Islam on his back and having to defend for 3 minutes. I’d get the ‘damage vs control’ arguments if Islam had just been sat in the guard riding out the time. But having the back, a body triangle locked up and constantly working for chokes isn’t as insignificant as grappling hating MMA fans wish it was. I love Volk but it’s all well and good talking shit, screaming and trying to punch your way out of a body triangle. But he was doing that because Islam had him trapped for 3 minutes and he couldn’t get out. Makhachev 10-9. So by my scoring, Volk needs a finish or at least a 10-8 to avoid defeat at this point.

Round 5: Volk’s coming out guns blazing. He clearly knows it’s close and he needs to make something happen. Makhachev catches him coming in with a nice knee up the middle but Volk just eats it and keeps pressuring. Both landing in the exchanges here. Volk’s eye is cut. Makhachev almost gets a takedown and this recovery from Volk back to his feet is fucking ridiculous…

For pretty much anyone else on the roster, in Makhachev’s weight range, if he gets a hold of you like that, you’re going down and most likely staying there until he lets you up or gets a submission. I didn’t remember this bit of the fight at all but Volk managing to come out of that standing, in the 5th round of a battle like this, is crazy. Watched that bit back about 5 times and still don’t know how he did it. Only a fighter as special as Volk could pull shit like that off. Makhachev shoots again and is attacking a single leg but Volk once again fights his way out of it and they’re back on the feet. Unbelievable. Makhachev looks the more tired of the two for sure here. Mouth wide open and looking up at the clock. It’s been a stupidly high paced fight.

Volk with the knockdown! And this one was clear. I don’t think it was close to knocking Makhachev out or anything, but it was the cleanest knockdown of the fight by far. Right on the temple. Now Volk’s on top in the guard. Can’t remember ever seeing Islam on his back like this before. He’s usually the hammer in this position, now he’s the nail. Still just over a minute left in the fight and Volk’s doing everything in his power to end it. Islam’s knackered. He’s still trying to control the hands but he’s not doing much else but hold onto Volk and try to limit the damage. Volk’s pounding away to the body, just adding to the misery. With less than 20 seconds on the clock Volk’s able to posture up and he’s pouring it on with ground and pound right to the final buzzer. And that’s a wrap. Definite Volkanovski round. I’ll say 10-9 but, I don’t know, I honestly can see the case for a 10-8 there. Which would make this fight a draw on my card.

Winner - Islam Makhachev by unanimous decision.

Tremendous fight. Still my #1 FOTY so far. Mega close as well. Like I said above there, if someone scored that 5th round 10-8 to Volk, I wouldn’t argue against that. It was certainly the clearest round from either man and Volk really dominated as it went on. I definitely had Makhachev winning 3 rounds (1, 2 and 4) though so the best I could give Volk is a draw. It’s one of them fights though, the old thing where if it was scored under Pride’s old judging criteria, Volk would’ve almost certainly got his hand raised. He clearly held up better down the stretch and Makhachev was visibly flagging by the second half of the last round.

As with any close fight, there was all kinds of robbery talk after. It was close. But I think the way that 5th round played out, and especially that last image of Volk standing over him dropping ground and pound in the last 10-15 seconds, is why the cries of robbery are so loud. It was a vivid vision to end on and, because a lot of MMA fans seem to have about a 3 minute memory, it’s all some seem to remember about the fight. But fights are scored round by round and, by that point, Volk might’ve already been down 3-1 in rounds. He was on the official scorecards. I think the outcries of robbery were shite myself. Whoever got the decision in a close fight like this, there’d have been some of that. There always is. Brilliant fight regardless.

We go again.

Fascinating rematch. Especially with the added layers and wrinkles to the story this time of Volk coming in on short notice and how that could affect and/or alter both men’s tactics. Volk seems the type who always keeps himself in shape and doesn’t stray too far away from the gym between fights so I imagine he’s in good nick for this. How good is the question though. What was he doing when the call came? How far off weight was he? Is the hand 100% now after surgery a few months back? Will his conditioning in the ‘championship rounds’ be what it usually is? He’s had no actual training ‘camp’ for this but as long as he was in shape and his cardio was in a good place, you never know. I don’t think he’d have taken this fight if he didn’t truly believe he’d win. It’s not like he wouldn’t have got this rematch down the line anyway. A rematch between these two was a no brainer from the second the first fight ended. So it wasn’t a desperation move for Volk. He must really fancy it. And for Makhachev, while he has had a full camp, he was preparing for the Oliveira rematch. Completely different style, completely different build and a rematch of a fight he won and finished handily. This is a much trickier fight style-wise and he knows it. So fair play to both sides for accepting this fight with no hesitation or drama. I guess it helps that they’ve fought each other so recently. While they haven’t had a full camp for each other this time, they trained for each other for the February fight and spent 25 minutes getting all too familiar with each others strengths and weaknesses. It’ll all still be fresh in the memory but the last minute switch throws an element of uncertainty to it that really adds to the excitement for me.

Just a few hours away! 

Edited October 21, 2023 by wandshogun09

[Bruce85]

I’ve been on holiday and was meant to land back in the uk at 11am yesterday so I had plenty of time to get back for this. Flight got delayed and I walked in the front door just in time to see the end of the Walker fight. 
 

I’ve not watched the rest of the card yet but it felt pretty anticlimactic given how good the fights looked on paper. Maybe if I’d watched from the start I’d have enjoyed it more but seeing Volk get ko’d was gutting. In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have taken the fight on such short notice but full credit to him (and Usman) for stepping in. 

[Dai]

The main event was what is was. Any fighter can get caught like that. Nothing really to say about it, and the short notice doesnt really come in to it.

I think the only talking point coming out of this for me is how unimpressive Chimaev looked. He looked amazing in R1, but then did absolutley nothing in R2 and R3. Even though he beat a top class fighter in Usman, this performance doesnt get the juices flowing for his title match.

Edit: Just seen the scorecards for this one. Was it really that clear a 10-8 in R1? I may have to go back and rewatch, but was Usman in serious danger? From what I recall it was some decent ground and pound, and some submissions which were never really close.

One judge scored it a draw, with Usman winning R2 and R3. One judge had it a 10-8 and Chimaev winning R3, and the other judge had Chimaev winning R2 and Usman R3. Again, based on what I remember, theres no way you could score R2 for Chimaev. Had the judge scored that an Usman round then it would of been a draw, which I think most people were expecting.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Dai

[Bus Surfer]

Main talking point for me was how Usman faired. Really took me by surprise that. I've no complaints with a 10-8 in the first but I had Usman winning 2 and 3. Chimaev didn't really seem gassed in the second, he was moving well with lots of feints and head movement but he just never got going at all. Very odd. DDP might get the Strickland fight after all. 

Absolutely gutted for Volk there and seeing him at the presser was crushing. Rushing back for Topuria in January probably not the best idea right now. Fella needs to look after himself 

The Johnny Walker madness continues. Weird old night of fights. 

[TildeGuy~!]

Chimaev may have won but I think he got found out here, there’s no way he wins a 5 round fight against the top contenders.

Edited October 22, 2023 by TildeGuy~!

[wandshogun09]

Fucking strange show this was eh?

Jesus. Fucking. Christ!

Don’t think anyone saw that one coming. Even with the short notice, the first fight was so competitive and so close, you’d never have predicted fucking Mirko Makhachev to appear. In the opening minute or two it looked like it was basically just gonna be round 6 and a continuation of the battle in February. When Makhachev shot in for that first takedown and Volkanovski never moved an inch and stuffed it I thought ‘here we go!’ It was like Makhachev hit a brick wall! Then just when I was getting settled in for another 5 round epic, Islam volleyed his head off.

Actually seen a bit of talk about it being an early stoppage…

Nah.

I love Volk but he was absolutely done. His head was bouncing all over the place with those follow up punches, he had the blank stare and he wasn’t even trying to get his hands up to defend. He was as done as done can be at that point.

Gutted for Volk. I seem to be in a minority who actually likes both so part of me was happy to see Makhachev continue to level up. He’s grown on me over the last couple of years. But I hate that it had to be Volk on the receiving end. This talk about Topuria in January is a bit concerning as well. Don’t get me wrong, Volk’s still the Daddy at 145 until someone can dethrone him. But we’re nearly in November now. January seems too close coming off a bad knockout like this. I hope he takes the necessary time out to fully recover. Physically and mentally. He was proper crushed at the post-fight presser. First time I’ve ever seen him get really emotional. And he was saying he struggles mentally between fights because he wants to stay active, and that was part of the reason he stepped in for this fight. I hope that doesn’t end up being his downfall but he already sounds set on fighting Topuria in January. I get wanting to get back in there but, at some point, it’s gonna do him more harm than good.

As for Makhachev, naturally the talk has turned back to the Oliveira rematch that was supposed to go down last night. Is it just me who’d rather not see that just yet? I mean, I wouldn’t hate it. But it still seems a bit premature for me. If it was up to me, I’d like to see Makhachev vs Gaethje next. And do Oliveira vs Holloway 2, just because why the fuck not? Already seen bits and bobs about Makhachev possibly moving up to 170 to challenge the winner of Leon Edwards vs Colby Covington but I could do without that. I’d rather see everyone stay in their own lane until those so-called ‘Superfights’ actually feel a bit ‘Super’.

I had Khamzat vs Usman a draw myself. I gave Khamzat the first round 10-8. He didn’t put Usman in fight ending danger but he was dominant enough to me that a 10-9 wouldn’t seem right. But, and I haven’t watched it back yet, I felt like Usman won the second and maybe edged the third. Definitely an eye opener though. It was Khamzat’s biggest win to date but it feels like it’s harmed his stock a bit if anything. If you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought Khamzat was the one who came in with no training camp. I didn’t think he ‘gassed’ terribly but he was clearly more hesitant and conscious of conserving his energy after failing to put Usman away in the first round. If this was 5 rounds, I could certainly have seen Usman pulling ahead and taking over.

Huge credit to Usman for his performance. Say what you want about Khamzat not looking convincing or being ‘exposed’ or whatever. There’s not many in the 170 or 185 divisions who I think would’ve survived that opening round onslaught from Chimaev. He’d have found the sub against the vast majority coming off a full camp, much less a guy coming in on just over a week’s notice. To be honest, I’d like to see Usman stick around at Middleweight now. What’s left for him at 170 anyway? The trilogy with Leon is done, he’s beat most of the other top contenders, some twice. Plus at 36, sod the weight cut. Based on his showing here, I think he’d do well at 185. Easier weight cut, more energy, less wear and tear on those knees, a bunch of fresh opponents. He’s probably only got a few fights left anyway. I was fearing the worst for Usman going into this one but I was very pleasantly surprised.

3 hours ago, Silky Kisser said:

DDP might get the Strickland fight after all. 

Going off Dana’s post-fight media thingy, it sounds like they’re gonna push ahead with Khamzat getting the next title shot regardless. Bollocks really. A win over Usman is big but his performance didn’t scream ‘title shot’ and DDP’s much more deserving anyway. He’s coming off stopping Whittaker and was the original next in line for Adesanya anyway before he pulled out and Strickland got the shot. We know what this is though. Dana loves him a bit of Khamzat and he’s got the hump with Dricus for pulling out of the Sydney card in September. For not fighting Whittaker and Izzy, back-to-back, within an 8 week span! It’s shite but it’s sadly typical.

What a shitshow the Ankalaev vs Walker fight turned out to be. I wasn’t sure how this was gonna go, I was pretty much expecting Ankalaev to drag Walker into a boring fight and outpoint him. But it was shaping up to be a fun one. Then Ankalaev threw that dirty knee and it was a wrap.

To declare that “unintentional” and rule it a No Contest is fucking laughable. It couldn’t have looked more blatantly deliberate. This was some Petr Yan vs Aljo Sterling shite. Walker was clearly a downed opponent and Ankalaev had a few seconds to think about it and blasted him anyway. There’s no grey area here for me. In the position they were in, there’s no way Ankalaev didn’t know Walker was down. It wasn’t just like when a fighter puts one hand down on the mat and is ‘playing the game’, Walker was on one bastard knee! Apparently the doctor asked Walker what country he was in and he just said “I’m in the desert” 😂 he was obviously scrambled, he couldn’t continue and the fight was over.

But regardless, it absolutely appeared to be intentional so this should’ve been a straight DQ for me. The focus should be more on that than what Walker said to the doctor. The post-fight scenes weren’t pretty. It’s been a while since Dana had to jump in the cage to calm things down. But the audacity of Ankalaev to be angry about anything was hilarious to me. He caused the whole thing. If that São Paulo card was a bit further away I’d say book the rematch for then. But it’s only 2 weeks away so it’s very unlikely. Walker will surely be on medical suspension after that. The knee hit him flush on the chin and twisted his head.

Ikram Aliskerov just wrecked Warlley Alves. Again, like his UFC debut a few months back, there isn’t a whole lot you can take away from his performance here. This fight and the debut lasted just over 2 minutes each. The questions on him remain the same as they were going in. But what we do know is he’s a nasty finisher.

Poor Warlley. Just slumped him. That night when he strangled Colby Covington seems like an absolute lifetime ago now, doesn’t it? Credit to him for stepping up on short notice but this was rough. Aliskerov proper set about him. Not sure what’s next for him. He was originally set to fight Paulo Costa over the summer but that seemed a bit soon. Maybe they rebook that Nassourdine Imavov fight that was meant to be on this card?

Said Nurmagomedov vs Muin Gafurov was over before it even got going. Short and sweet PPV opener. Never sure what to make of Said. I don’t see him having enough about his overall MMA game or putting it all together to get in the contender mix. Especially in a division as loaded with talent as 135. But he’s had his moments and he’s dangerous. You can’t afford to sleep on him or get careless. And Gafurov just rushing in and overcommitting to the takedown was a huge mistake and Said snatched up the guillotine and put him away.

Muhammad Mokaev vs Tim Elliott was a cracking fight as expected. Mokaev’s got undeniable talent but I still have my doubts about him. He always seems to have these shaky moments and close calls in fights but he just keeps finding ways to win. So far anyway. Elliott was giving him all he could handle here and he was up 2-0 on 2 of the judges scorecards going into the 3rd round. Like I said though, Mokaev found a way…

That slam out of the triangle was fucking terrifying. Mokaev’s clearly been watching his Rampage Jackson footage. Hopefully Elliott’s alright because that was scary. Mokaev needed that finish in the last round and, fair play, he got it. Best win of his career to date. But I always get the feeling he’s heading for a fall. He always seems to be trying to run before he’s mastered walking. I admire the confidence but I really don’t think he’s ready for the top of the division. And what’s the rush? He’s 23 years old. If he’d just take his time and gradually keep progressing he could put himself in a very strong position to make a sustained run at the gold down the line. But he’s now calling to be the backup for the upcoming Pantoja vs Royval title fight in December! Again, I respect the ambition but I think it’s gonna blow up in his face sooner rather than later. He was 2 minutes away from losing a decision to Elliott here. He had that scare with the kneebar against a debuting Jafel Filho before that. He’s got a lot of work to do and a lot of time to do that work. But he’s gonna end up talking himself into an arse kicking. I think Pantoja especially does bad things to him right now. In 2-3 years, who knows? But I think Mokaev’s gonna get levelled up before he’s ready.

Javid Basharat vs Victor Henry…fuck me. Had a good feeling about this but Basharat’s ill-timed kick had other ideas. One of the worst low blows I can remember in years. Henry was in a bad way.

Just looking at it there, it doesn’t look particularly any worse than any other kick to the ballbag. They’re all horrible. But this was apparently a really bad one. Why it took so long for them to call the fight off I don’t know. It was clear as day that Henry wasn’t gonna be in any shape to carry on. Josh Barnett went with him to the hospital and he tweeted that Henry’s balls had “swollen to the size of a satsuma” 🤢

Unlike Ankalaev’s knee, it was clearly an unintentional foul and I didn’t really get the booing from the crowd. It was an accident on Basharat’s side and, if they were booing Henry for not sucking it up and fighting through it…man, fuck them. Basharat’s come across as a massive twat since the fight though. From saying Henry “quit” to flat out denying the kick hit the balls at all! He posted some utter shite about it and Barnett’s rightly had a pop back.

I was starting to like the Basharat brothers as well. Javid’s a heel from here on out with me though. Noticed Belal Muhammad liked his post calling Henry a quitter as well. Pair of bellends. Especially rich seeing Belal endorsing this cack after he cried for about 2 years after the Leon Edwards eyepoke fight. 

The Sedriques Dumas vs Abu Azaitar fight did nothing for me. I went in with low expectations and it didn’t exceed them. Still think Dumas is crap and Azaitar losing to him just shows he’s going nowhere. He was coming off a 2+ year layoff here and they gave him about as reasonable a fight as there is in the division and he still came out on the losing end. Get rid.

Never thought I’d be saying it but fair play to Mike Breeden. I trashed him in the opening post, he was coming in at 0-3 in the UFC and they matched him up with undefeated Indian prospect Anshul Jubli here, clearly setting him up as a sacrificial lamb. He was looking down the barrel of getting his walking papers here and he came out in that last round like a man possessed and got the job done.

He won’t go much further, I don’t know what the barking was about and he missed weight badly but, for now, he’s stopped the rot and kept his spot on the roster. He badly needed this. Not a good look for Jubli though. Thought he was decent the first two rounds but he seemed to just fold under Breeden’s pressure at the end.

Muhammad Naimov vs Nathaniel Wood was a fight I was really looking at as a potential sleeper show stealer type thing, and it did start off really well, but unfortunately it descended into a bit of a mess. Gutted for Wood. He’d looked really good since moving up to 145 but this was a setback and a fucking painful one. Naimov looked so strong in there and he’s definitely got some skills. But the repeated low blows clearly effected the flow of this one. It wasn’t the best performance from Wood as it was but the bollock shots and fence grabbing from Naimov obviously didn’t help. He got back into the fight later and had a better third round but he was too far behind by then. Shite way for Wood to lose. I felt like he should’ve at least got a draw out of it but somehow Naimov didn’t get one point deducted despite multiple low blows, a fence grab and a glove grab. Bullshit.

Viktoriia Dudakova vs Jinh Yu Frey was nothing. Well, what I saw of it. I basically used this fight as my opportunity to get my snacks and drinks ready. Looked like the standard lacklustre showing from Frey though. Fully expecting her to be cut loose after this. She’s 38 years old and this was her 4th loss on the bounce. She’s now got a record of 11-10. She’s surely gone. Dudakova didn’t look mega impressive from what I saw though. And this was a matchup that seemed like it was designed for her to shine in. Most notable thing about this fight is Dudakova has come out post-fight saying she had some kind of staph infection up her arse and an abscess popped, leaving her “butt bloodied up”. Cheers for that Vik.

The debut of Shara Bullet was alright. He’s gonna have a low ceiling due to his nonexistent takedown defence and lack of ground game but there’s plenty of fun to be had with the right opponents.

Felt a bit sorry for Bruno Silva. He’s kind of fallen into that role now as the guy the matchmakers feed to the guys they actually see something in. And his toughness means he takes a drawn out beating. We saw it in the Alex Pereira fight and again here. He’ll be suffering for a couple of weeks from all them kicks. I thought he had the better hands, whenever they were exchanging punches he was landing and snapping Shara’s ugly head back but the kicks were brutal and the accumulation of them clearly took their toll as the fight went on. Decent debut and it was a fun fight to watch but the rest of the division will be fancying their chances if they’ve got anything resembling a solid double leg and even basic knowledge of top control. I wanna see Shara vs Robocop Rodrigues at some point though. That would be mayhem for however long it goes. 

Weird as fuck card all in all. I got the 2 winners right in the poll but I don’t think any fight on the entire card went quite like I expected. Odd doctor stoppages and No Contests, dirty fighters and fouling all over the shop, a fan even tried to attack Paulo Costa in the crowd and got a dig in the gob for his troubles 🤣 The main event we all thought would be another 5 round war ending in 3 minutes just capped off a proper strange show all around. Plenty of talking points but a lot of it for the wrong reasons.

Edited October 22, 2023 by wandshogun09

[Panhead]

Love the idea of Usman sticking around at 185 @wandshogun09. Imagine him vs Robert Whittaker?!

 

[wandshogun09]

6 minutes ago, Panhead said:

Love the idea of Usman sticking around at 185 @wandshogun09. Imagine him vs Robert Whittaker?!

Looking at the Middleweight rankings, based on how he looked last night (and on short notice), I see him beating most of this lot.

 

As well as the benefits of cutting less weight and probably being more durable, maybe more powerful and having more energy at 185, the Middleweight division isn’t as deep as Welterweight either. If Usman goes back to 170, he’s already 1-2 down to the current champ and even if Colby beats Leon in December, Usman vs Covington 3 isn’t the most appealing fight at this point, is it? A fresh start at 185 is much better, in my opinion. The only reason I could see him not being keen is because of his friendship with Adesanya and it being ‘Izzy’s division’. But that aside, he could potentially have a quicker route to the title at 185 than if he has to work his way back in again at 170.

Plus, I think a lot of people don’t realise that this happened many moons ago…

He’s got history with the current Middleweight champion. The story writes itself, doesn’t it? Much more appealing than him trying to make another run at 170. 

[Kfogg1991]

Personally I really did enjoy the card unfortunately it didn't end up the runaway winner of ppv of the year like I said in the run up but it was very very enjoyable, that could have something to do with the time it was on for us and the amount of beers down we all were come the start of the main card.

Personally I disagree with the comments about khamzat I was so impressed with what he did in that first round to a former champion and huge name like Usman, he said he broke his hand or wrist in the first round which if that does come out as true makes sense why he wasn't able to really throw many punches and fully try for a takedown in the second or third. I scored it for khamzat winning the first and third round second was for Usman.

Man that main event completely broke all of us and left us speachless and heartbroken seeing that happen to VOLK, the post fight presser with him had me in tears personally he really seemed to be somewhat crying for help and having a bad period right now with mental health which he seemed comfortable too briefly mention but the barrage of questions afterwards made me feel uncomfortable let alone him. Don't poke and prod a fighter clearly in abit of a sensitive way.

The walker fight was fucking nuts I genuinely thought they were going to end up fucking scrapping like they were outside a wetherspoons but they luckily stopped it and cleared them both out.

Islam is a very real fighter and really does seem unstoppable for the future challenger's of olivera and Justin he's made a believer out of me 

[wandshogun09]

[wandshogun09]

On 10/22/2023 at 8:20 PM, Panhead said:

Love the idea of Usman sticking around at 185 @wandshogun09. Imagine him vs Robert Whittaker?!

 

You seen this? Sign me up! 

[WeeAl]

I'd be well up for that. Something nice and fresh for both men to get their teeth into, right when they would need it. It'd be a fascinating pairing actually that I would have a hard time seeing how it would fare out. 

[Carbomb]

Then you've also got Usman Vs. Adesanya for an expat Nigerian face-off, or Usman can go after DDP for his "real African champion" comment.

[Panhead]

On 10/25/2023 at 6:29 PM, wandshogun09 said:

You seen this? Sign me up! 

We need this.