Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 10, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 10, 2023 (edited) Weāre off to Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the first PPV of 2024 and itāsā¦well itāsā¦ PPV MAIN CARD Sean StricklandĀ©ļøvs Dricus Du PlessisĀ - Middleweight TitleĀ Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno SilvaĀ - Vacant Bantamweight TitleĀ Neil Magny vs Mike MalottĀ Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault Arnold Allen vs Movsar EvloevĀ ESPN PRELIMS Brad Katona vs Garrett ArmfieldĀ Ā Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMSĀ Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila CachoeiraĀ Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy FlickĀ Ā Not much of a card for a PPV. Thereās some stuff to like on there but itās a massive comedown from 294, 295 and 296, isnāt it? This was the card that was rumoured to have MVP vs Kevin Holland but MVP might be PFL-bound now. Also doesnāt help that Blachowicz vs Rakic 2 fell apart. Whatever. Weāll roll with it. Ā Ā Sean Strickland vs Dricus Du Plessis then. Howās it come to this? I donāt think anyone wouldāve predicted this time last year that weād be seeing these two headlining a PPV in a title fight to kick off 2024 but here we are. The Middleweight division has been completely turned upside down over the last year or so. For years it was just a case of Israel Adesanya holding the gold and Robert Whittaker being the clear #2 behind him. Everyone below that wasnāt getting a look in. Alex Pereira came along and took the belt off Adesanya and it felt like a real shakeup. But when Izzy knocked him out in April to reclaim the title, and Pereira moved up to 205, it just felt like normal service had resumed and it didnāt really seem like there was anyone on the horizon who would dethrone him at 185. All thatās been flipped on its head now though. At UFC 293 in September, Sean Strickland scored the big upset, beating Adesanya by unanimous decision to win the Middleweight strap. And it wasnāt just that he won it, he knocked Izzy down in the first round and went on to win the fight clearly on the cards. There was no doubt and no controversy. It wasnāt one of those shock results that you can argue was a fluke. Strickland got off to a strong start, constantly pressuring Adesanya, knocked him down and, to be honest, ran away with the fight from there. Not only that, he did it in Sydney, Australia of all places. Which is basically home turf for Adesanya. You know it was an incredible performance from Strickland when even I canāt shit on it. Iāve made no secret I canāt stand the prick. Horrible cretin and Iām not buying that itās all a gimmick. But as far as his actual fighting goes, I canāt deny he surprised me big time with this performance. Never thought he had it in him. I never thought he was a bum. Iāve never said heās a bad fighter. But I never saw him reaching this level. Even if thatās it for him now and this turns out to be his peak. Even if itās all downhill for him from here (I hope so), heās already way surpassed what anyone thought he was capable of. Itās weird, I still think Adesanya is the more skilled striker but Stricklandās persistence and constant pressure combined with that knockdown in the first round, watching the fight it seemed like Adesanya just got completely mindfucked. He had no answers and Strickland just kept outworking him and putting rounds in the bank. It honestly felt like Izzy broke mentally somewhere in the fight. As the rounds went on he looked so disheartened and kept just backing onto the fence and going jab for jab with Strickland, which further played into Stricklandās game. Couldnāt believe what I was watching. Nightmare fuel š¤¢ Not a sight I ever expected weād see. And make no mistake, this was not supposed to happen. Strickland wasnāt even supposed to get the title shot in the first place. It was meant to be Adesanya vs Du Plessis but DDP wasnāt gonna be ready having just fought in July. And even then, the matchmakers were hesitant to give Strickland the fight. Even Adesanya said as much going in. Strickland was 2-2 in his last 4 and probably looked at as a PR disaster waiting to happen. Not ideal as champion but they threw him in there, Iām sure fully expecting that Izzy would school him. Also, Khamzat Chimaev was moving up to 185 and you know Dana wants him in the title mix ASAP. I think I said it at the time but I really think the plan behind the scenes was for a Izzy vs Khamzat title fight at UFC 300. They arenāt exactly flush with obvious big fights for 300 and that wouldāve fit the bill. Now itās all up in smoke. Save us DDP. South Africaās Du Plessis turns 30 years old just days before this fight. He came into the UFC back in 2020 after a very successful start to his career. Heād already achieved double champ status in both the EFC promotion in South Africa and the KSW promotion in Poland. Iāve never seen any of his pre-UFC stuff but heās been non-stop entertainment in the Octagon so far. He scored a first round knockout over Markus Perez in his debut, stopped Trevin Giles and won a barmy slobberknocker against Brad Tavares. Just 3 fights in, heād instantly became must-see viewing for me. From there he submitted Darren Till and got a TKO over Derek Brunson. He was really starting to climb. So at UFC 290 in July, they pulled the trigger and chucked him in with Robert Whittaker. This is where I thought the fun would stop. I remember previewing it in the opening post for 290 on here and I basically wrote off DDPās chances. Fully expected that to be his ceiling and I thought Whittaker would outclass him. Wellā¦ Insane. He stopped Whittaker in the second round and it shocked the shit out of me. Like the Strickland win over Adesanya, it wasnāt that I thought Du Plessis was shite or anything. I just thought Whittaker was a step too far for him. And like Strickland, DDPās style looks so awkward, unusual, sloppy and almost comical at times that you just canāt see it working at the highest levels. But if it works it works. And Du Plessis battering Whittaker the way he did wasnāt something I ever saw coming. Like I said, that was supposed to be next. That was the original planned Sydney headliner for 293. But understandably, July to September is a quick turnaround and DDP wasnāt gonna be able to do it. To the surprise of no-one, Dana had a moan about it as if Du Plessis ādidnāt want the fightā. The same old bollocks he always waffles whenever a fighter doesnāt just fall in line and dance to his tune. I really thought they were gonna bypass DDP here and give Khamzat the title shot. Iām glad theyāve gone this route though. As much as it doesnāt feel like a big PPV headliner, Du Plessis deserves the shot more than anyone else in the division right now. Plus Khamzat didnāt exactly blow anyone away with his close points win over a short notice, gammy kneed Kamaru Usman in October. As mad as it is to say, Strickland vs Du Plessis was actually the fight to make at this point. How we seeing this going? I know who Iām rooting for. I know who I want to win. But when I try to picture how this fight plays out, Iām drawing a blank. These two upsetting Adesanya and Whittaker has kind of made me reassess my whole thinking on 185. Everything I thought I knew has gone wonky. Going into Adesanya vs Strickland and Whittaker vs Du Plessis, I was so certain of the results. I was already looking forward to Adesanya vs Chimaev and wondering where Whittaker would fit in. Thatās all in the bin now. So when it comes to these two against each other, fuck knows? On the one hand, Du Plessis gets so wild and reckless in there at times and has been prone to gassing in some fights. If that happens here it could be a long miserable night for him because Strickland will drown him with pressure and volume down the stretch. But then even when DDP has looked gassed, heās always found a way to win. And he didnāt gas against Whittaker, or look particularly reckless. Then again, weāve never seen Du Plessis go 5 rounds. Whereas Stricklandās gone 5 a bunch of times. Against Adesanya last time plus those Apex āclassicsā with Imavov, Cannonier, Hermansson and Hall. The more Iām thinking about it the more the dread is setting in and Iām thinking Strickland might win this one. But Iām hoping Iām just underestimating DDP again and he absolutely chins Prickland here. Not sure what to make of this. Weird fight, feels weird as a PPV headliner, feels even weirder as a title fight. But Iām oddly intrigued. Ā Raquel Pennington vs Mayra Bueno Silva in a PPV co-main event is just the drizzling shits, isnāt it? Thereās no getting away from it. The fact that this is gonna crown the new Bantamweight champion just says it all about the state womenās 135 is in currently. This would genuinely look weak headlining an Apex card. Trying to dress it up with a vacant belt and whacking it in the co-main spot on a PPV just isnāt cutting it. But this is where weāre at when it comes to the Bantamweight division. Weāve got Amanda Nunes to thank for that. She retired back in June after beating Irene Aldana via lopsided decision. In fairness, it was time. Sheās 35 years old, has done all there is to really do and there really werenāt any interesting challengers left. Plus she looked like she was slowing down anyway. The fact the likes of Germaine De Randamie, Felicia Spencer and Irene Aldana were able to go the distance with her back that up. Sheād have likely steamrolled them 5 years ago. Not to mention that embarrassing defeat to Julianna Fucking Pena. Thankfully she got to right that wrong but it was a massive red flag and a warning sign that it was about time to call it a day. I remember after she lost to Pena and everyone turned on her, people were banging on like they couldnāt wait for her to retire. Well be careful what you wish for because now she has retired and weāre left with a title picture consisting of Pennington, Bueno Silva, Pena and Holm. Party. It was never a strong division and Nunesā last few title defences werenāt the best. But fuck me, Iād have taken watching Nunes handing out one sided beatings over what weāve got to look forward to now. Raquel Pennington is 35 years old with a record of 15-8. Sheās on a 5 fight winning streak, which is better than most in this wasteland of a division. But itās been uninspiring stuff. Points wins over the likes of Aspen Ladd and Ketlen Vieira and shit. And even her last fight (Vieira), she only managed a split decision, it was a rotten fight and itāll have been a whole year ago by the time she steps in the cage for this one. Thisāll be Penningtonās second shot at UFC gold. Iām still recovering from the first one and Iām not sure she ever did recover. Amanda Nunes tried to take that womanās life at UFC 224 back in May 2018 in Brazil. Just battered her from pillar to post. It was one of those prolonged, drawn out beatings that actually makes you feel uncomfortable just watching. The TKO mercifully came in the 5th round but the damage was obviously done by that point. And there was a lot of it! I remember there being a fair bit of talk after that fight that it shouldāve been waved off a lot sooner, either by the referee or Penningtonās corner pulling her out. Havenāt seen the fight since it happened and I donāt plan on revisiting it. But I just recall it being disturbing to watch. Mayra Bueno Silva is 32 years old with aĀ 10-2-1-1Ā record. Sheās been more watchable than a lot of the shite at Bantamweight but thatās not saying much is it? That bar is lower than low. Big wins (LOL) over Lina Lansberg, Stephanie Egger and Wu Yanan along the way. She headlined an Apex card in July against Holly Holm in a fight that looked so out of place main eventing anything. Even for the Apex, it felt like proper scraping the barrel stuff from the matchmakers. Fortunately on the night, Silva spared us the usual Holm snoozer and ended her in the second round with a sweet ninja chokeā¦ Cool finish, Iāve got to admit. But of course, this being womenās Bantamweight, it just couldnāt be straightforward. Silva got popped by USADA and the result got overturned to a No Contest. As it turned out, the failed test was down to medication she takes for ADHD. From what Iāve read, it sounds like the UFC and USADA were both understanding but had to go through the motions regardless. Feel a bit sorry for her, to be honest. That Holm win, for whatever it was worth in 2023, was Silvaās biggest career win and itās now gone down officially as a NC despite the fact she wasnāt actually doping. The fact sheās been thrown straight into this title fight tells you it hasnāt exactly been held against her though. Oh and since absolutelyĀ nobody asked for Julianna Penaās wally brained thoughts on this fight, here you goā¦ āIām injured. I will fight the winner. My next fight will be for a title. Guaranteed. I feel bad. Not for myself but for the fans that are being force fed this horrible fight. What a disasterā - Julianna Pena š¤£ She thinks her fights arenāt horrible and that sheās somehow the saviour of the division. Zero self awareness whatsoever. The fact is, there is no saving this shitshow of a division. Iāve seen all sorts of rumours that the UFC have been making big offers to Ronda Rousey to make a return. Always a pinch of salt with those rumours but you have to think theyāve at least made contact with her with the state the division is in, plus UFC 300 fast approaching. Highly doubt sheāll go for it but, like Millionaire Ted always said, everyoneās got a price. Still, I think theyāre gonna have to throw an insane figure at her to get her back in there. She wonāt come back. Bantamweightās cooked. Weāre seriously at the point where a pretty much washed up Miesha Tate is our only hope. And even then, thereās no interesting fights for her. Same with this Pennington vs Silva fight. Iād rather see Silva win just because sheās slightly better to watch but, again, whoever leaves with the belt here, thereās literally fuck all appealing fights at 135 going forward. Shut it down. Ā Neil Magny vs Mike Malott is a decent enough fight but, again, third from top on a PPV main card? Whatever. Magny in his usual role here as gatekeeper at 170. The man to welcome the up and comers to the upper echelons of the division and give them their first proper test. Heās become the go-to man for that job at this point hasnāt he? As I type, Magny is ranked #13 on the UFCās website. Malott isnāt yet ranked, so this is his chance to break through. Malottās looked decent so far, albeit against subpar opposition. Heās 32 years old, 10-1-1 with all 10 wins coming inside the distance and heās not only Canadian, heās from Ontario. So heās gonna be the big crowd favourite in Toronto. Only thing is, heās very much untested. His most notable win to date is probably Mickey Gall, and Gall pretty much fizzled out as far back as the win over Sage Northcutt in 2016! Since the Gall win, Malottās submitted Yohan Lainesse and Adam Fugitt without much bother. But looking back over his record, the best fighter heās fought is Hakeem Dawodu back when they were in WSOF in 2014. And thatās Malottās only loss. Still, that was a decade ago. Weāll see. The good thing with this is, Magnyās the perfect barometer to ask questions of these types of fighters. One way or another, weāll know more about Malott after this fight. Good or bad. Magnyās mixed with a lot of big names and good fighters over the years and has wins over the likes of Lawler, Condit, Hendricks, Gastelum, Neal, Gastelum etc. Weāve seen guys like Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov pass the Magny test and shine but weāve also seen Magny put a halt to the progress of guys like Daniel Rodriguez and Phil Rowe. If youāre legit, you might beat Magny. But if youāre lacking something or youāre not the genuine article, Magny will find you out. Ā Chris Curtis vs Marc-Andre Barriault is OK, I guess. Could be better than Iām expecting but, I donāt know, Iām not really feeling it. Curtis has had a right up and down couple of years. Heās coming off a disappointing No Contest in June against Nassourdine Imavov, which ended due to a clash of heads. His last 4 fights have gone L, W, L, NC. Results all over the place. Before that Imavov fight he did have a belter against Kelvin Gastelum but, even that, he lost on points and thatās a loss that isnāt ageing well. Barriaultās alright. Heās grown on me a bit. He came in as a double champ in the TKO promotion but I found him quite boring early in his UFC run. Heās been good to watch more recently though. He proper battered Julian Marquez in March and dragged Eryk Anders to maybe the best fight of his career in June. Heās no world beater but heās been quite fun to watch lately. Hopefully this follows that trend. Ā Arnold Allen vs Movsar Evloev isĀ ***WANDāS ONE TO WATCH***Ā this time. Fascinating matchup this. Struggling to even picture how it plays out. Kind of wish this was headlining a Fight Night over 5 rounds but, then again, this card badly needs it. As Iām typing this, Allen is ranked #4 at Featherweight, Evloev is ranked #9. So theyāre right up there. Couple of big wins here or there, or a spectacular performance or something, could see them right in the title shot convo. Allen turns 30 a couple of days after this show. Itās been a slow burn of a rise for him but, after about 9 years on the roster, it feels like we finally know more about him now. Battering Dan Hooker in a round on that London card in 2022 was his big breakthrough and he was looking good against Calvin Kattar before Kattar blew his knee out. Heās coming off the biggest fight of his careerā¦ Allen faced Max Holloway in a 5 round main event on the Kansas City card in April. Holloway won the decision but Allen put in a hell of an effort. He really fought his arse off, right to the last second, and it was one of those fights where even in defeat it felt like his stock went up. To go 5 rounds with Holloway and still be going for it at the end of the fight the way he was, itās weird but it felt like he showed more in defeat than he showed in all his UFC wins previously. Because of who he was in there with plus we got to see what Allen is made of when things get rough. You never know how a fighter is gonna do deep into a 5 rounder. And especially against fucking Max Holloway. But Allen never seemed to get discouraged, never stopped trying to win and never just accepted the āmoral victoryā of just trying to survive. He was still putting himself in harmās way trying to make something happen until the last round ended. Evloevās only a few weeks younger than Allen. He turns 30 in February. Heās undefeatedĀ at 17-0Ā and has looked a handful so far. Not a big finisher, heās only stopped 7 of his 17 opponents. But heās a tricky test for Allen on paper. Evloevās game is wrestling. He can do that shit all day. Itāll be interesting to see how Allen deals with that. I donāt really remember seeing much of Allenās wrestling, offensively or defensively, but itās probably getting put to the test here. Evloevās pretty much gone under the radar up to now. Quietly racking up points wins over the likes of Mike Grundy, Nik Lentz, Hakeem Dawodu and Dan Ige. Nothing particularly stood out about those performances but his last fight in May against Diego Lopes was an unexpected banger. Admittedly mostly because, as weāve come to learn, Lopes is allergic to bad fights. Lopes took that fight on short notice and rightly got a ton of praise for his showing. But to be fair, Evloev deserves credit as well for still getting the job done and getting the win over a wildman like Lopes on short notice. Yeah, I like this. Not sure how itās gonna look. Mightnāt be a barnburner but Iām looking forward to seeing how their styles mesh. Ā Brad Katona vs Garrett Armfield is whatever. Could be decent. Katonaās coming in fresh off winning TUF in August, beating Cody Gibson in the Bantamweight finals at UFC 292 in the FOTN. First fighter in UFC history to win TUF twice! Heās 31 years old, 13-2 and on a 5 fight win streak. Nice to see him back in the UFC. I remember thinking it was way harsh that they released him when they did. He went 2-2 in that initial UFC stint, both losses were decisions and one of them was against Merab Dvalishvili. He went away and won some fights in the BRAVE promotion, winning their Bantamweight title in 2022. Now heās back. Armfieldās 27 years old with a 9-3 record. Heās 1-1 so far in the UFC but the loss was against David Onama, wonāt hold that against him. He bounced back nicely on the Singapore card in August with a first round stoppage over Toshiomi Kazama. Iād like to see Katona win this and I expect he will. Be nice to see him shine in his homecoming on Canadian soil. He hasnāt fought in Canada since 2019, which was the last fight of his first UFC stint. So basically the fight that got him sacked. A win and a strong performance here would be sweet redemption for him. Ā Charles Jourdain vs Sean Woodson could well steal the show and thatās no joke. I know this show probably wonāt be particularly difficult to steal but this really stands out to me as a front runner to bag the FOTN bonus. Jourdain can be hit and miss and heās never gonna make any waves in the title mix but heās ace to watch when heās on. And getting to fight on home soil in Canada, I see no reason why he wonāt be on and well up for this. Heās still only 28 years old and heās 15-6-1 now, coming off wins over Kron Gracie and Ricardo Ramos. And Woodson has been a highlight of the undercards for me for a few years now. Seriously, he doesnāt get much attention but heās quality and I always make a point to catch his fights. Heās 10-1-1 and just beat Dennis Buzukja in August. If youāve never seen Woodson fight I recommend firing up Fight Pass and giving his fight with Julian ErosaĀ from 2020 aĀ watch. Also his body shot destruction against Collin Anglin. He also knocked out Terrance McKinney with a flying knee on DWCS back in 2019. The main thing thatās stifled his progress has been injuries. Hopefully he can stay healthy and active in 2024 because thereās a lot of fun fights you can make with him at 145. This being one of them. Ā Serhiy Sidey vs Ramon Taveras 2 then. Yes, a rematch. Iād never seen or heard of either of these two before looking up the card to do this post. Turns out they fought on DWCS in September and Sidey won by TKO in under 3 minutes. So at first glance it seems weird that theyāre doing the rematch here. Why run it back when one guy stopped the other in a couple of minutes? I knew there must be more to it so I just watched it. Yeah. Bad stoppage that. Iām all for refs erring on the side of caution and youād always rather a stoppage be too early than too late. But he really didnāt give Taveras a chance to fight out of that situation. The 1-2 which Sidey dropped him with was nice but the ref jumping in and stopping it almost as soon as Taveras hit the canvas was definitely premature and hasty. Taveras still looked with it. His eyes were open, he was moving and trying to position his legs, he didnāt get hit clean with any heavy follow ups and he looked well aware of what was going on. The camera then cut to Danaās reaction cagesideā¦ And right away you knew Taveras would be getting another chance. Obviously Sidey got the UFC contract outright. He did nothing wrong and if anything, he was also robbed of getting a cleaner finish. Taveras got his second shot on DWCS in October and got the win by TKO in just 29 seconds. Immediately after that win, Dana announced that Taveras had his contract and would also get a rematch with Sidey in his UFC debut.Ā āThe redemption is going to be great. Just like the first fight, it was going my way until it wasnāt. I know Iāll finish this guy. Donāt be trying to stand with me, donāt be trying to bang with me. Serhiy better put on his wrestling shoes comeĀ Jan 20.ā - Ramon Taveras And just like that, Iām invested in this. Bit of background on both. Sidey is from Ontario, Canada so heās the hometown boy here. Heās 27 years old and 10-1 with 8 finishes. Taveras is 29 years old with a record of 9-2 with 8 finishes. Just looking down his record I see heās got a submission win over ex UFC fighter Martin Day in 2022. He also scored a first round TKO over none other than Charles āKrazy Horseā Bennett in March this year! Iām all in on this. As short as it was, that first fight was fun while it lasted and I can see them picking right up where they left off in this rematch. Ā Gillian Robertson vs Polyana Viana is a fight with no stakes, neither are really going anywhere and both have pretty much found their level. But itās not a bad matchup for what it is. I donāt recall either being in many boring fights. Robertson should have the crowd on her side with her being from Ontario. Sheās 28 years old and 12-8 with 5 submissions. Shite win/loss ratio but sheās aggressive in the grappling and she goes for it. Sheās coming off a decision loss to Tabatha Ricci in June. Nah, fuck Canada. Vianaās 31 years old and 13-6 with all 13 wins coming inside the distance. Not typical of a Strawweight. Yeah, sheās not gonna be knocking out the top contenders but itās refreshing in a division like Strawweight to see a finisher. Sadly sheās not got enough about her overall game to go any further than she is now. Sheās coming off a submission loss against Iasmin Lucindo in August. And I can see this fight being similar. Viana seems susceptible to strong grapplers and submissions so, on paper, itās a fight Robertson should do well in. Iām hoping Viana has some answers for that though and can make a scrap of it. Ā Yohan Lainesse vs Sam Patterson is just there really but maybe itāll be a pleasant surprise. Lainesse does nothing for me really. Heās Canadian, 9-2 with 6 by KO/TKO. Got bashed up by Gabriel Green in his UFC debut, won a split decision over Darian Weeks, then got rolled over by Mike Malott in his last fight in February. Just doesnāt seem much cop from what I remember of him. Kind of interested to see Patterson back in there though. Heās a UK fighter, 27 years old with a 10-2-1 record with 9 finishes. Fought mostly in the BRAVE promotion and got a submission win on DWCS in Sep 2022 to earn his UFC contract. His Octagon debut really couldnāt have gone worse though. He got absolutely fucking blitzed by Yanal Ashmouz in about a minute on the London card in March and hasnāt been seen since. Disastrous introduction to the big stage. No idea how this goes but hopefully we at least get to see a bit more of Patterson this time. Ā Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Priscila Cachoeira isnāt much of a fight. Never been sold on Jasudavicius but Iām rooting for her here. For one, sheās another Ontarian (?) so itād be nice to see her get a win in her backyard. But also, I say it every time but Cachoeira is a shithouse. I always bring up that time she blatantly and deliberately tried to gouge Gillian Robertsonās eyes out to escape a submission. She had the cheek to deny it was intentional after the fight but it was clearly deliberate. Then in her last fight in July, she was messing with Miranda Maverickās top and looked like she was trying to pull her tits out. So a dirty fighter, a cheating bastard and adding sexual assault to her CV. So yeah, Iām Team Jasmine. Ā Malcolm Gordon vs Jimmy Flick is currently scheduled to jerk the curtain. Not a terrible fight but Iām not that arsed about it either. Gordon is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For that alone he should be allowed to wear pink and black Venum shorts and walk out to Bret Hartās music. Imagine the pop in Canada for that! Gordonās not much good though. Far from the best there is, was and ever will be. Heās 14-7 and heās coming off back-to-back losses to Muhammad Mokaev and Jake Hadley. Heās basically became the guy the matchmakers feed to the young fighters coming up who they actually see something in. But Flick looks on his arse at this point anyway so fuck knows how this goes. Donāt know what happened with Flick. He won the LFA belt, won on DWCS, then won his UFC debut by submitting Cody Durden with a first round flying triangle of all things! He then surprised everyone by prematurely retiring out of the blue. Think he said he had family stuff going on at the time, fair enough. But since he came back in January, heās gone 0-2 and been finished both times. Iād like to see him stop the rot here and get a win but canāt say Iām confident in it. Ā Oh Canada šĀ Edited January 10 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted December 10, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 10, 2023 (edited) Going to be entirely honest here. I wouldn't watch Pennington Vs Silva if it was going on in the middle of my kitchen while I waited on the kettle boiling. A dreadful division as far as interesting fighters or exciting pairings go.Ā Evloev Vs Allen is about the only fight on the card I'm particularly interested in. That's a fight containing young contenders in an important, flagship division. Even the main event - it's intriguing in that I struggle to see how it'll fare out, but the day I look forward to seeing Sean Strickland do anything will be the day I ask to join Nicholson and Chief's gang and just eat all the pills and count the hairs on my arm.Ā Let's hope it turns out to be better than it looks on paper. Plus, unlike this next show, it's not going to cost us any extra money to find out.Ā Edited December 10, 2023 by WeeAl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 12, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 12, 2023 Im fairly certain Du Plessis wins by KO in this. Pennington/Silva is just pure toilet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce85 Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 Strickland called DDP the F word, as if there wasnāt enough reasons to dislike him. Iām fairness, DDP did make some comments about Stricklands abusive farther so heās not covered in himself in glory during the press conference either.Ā Ā Do we think there should be repercussions for homophobic, sexist, xenophobic, etc comments? I donāt think Iāve ever heard Dana criticise any of the fighters for what they say.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 16, 2023 Paid Members Share Posted December 16, 2023 Dana's pretty much always said the fighters are free to say whatever they want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 31, 2023 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 31, 2023 New year, same old. Carlos Ulberg is out of the Dom Reyes fight.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 6 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 6 (edited) Whatās this? A self aware MMA fighter? Mayra Bueno Silva basically shitting on her own upcoming fight with Pennington. Never heard a fighter say something like this going into their fight š probably not the smartest thing to say but I respect the honesty. Sheās basically the complete opposite of Julianna Pena. While Pena has zero self awareness and is full of delusion, Bueno Silva tells it exactly like it is. Itās still a cesspool of a division but sheās winning me over.Ā She also said this about Pena recently, which made me like her moreā¦ āJulianna will stay injured for the rest of her career. She doesnāt want to fight. She just wants to talk. All she does is noise. Every time she posts something about me, itās just funny to me. I hope this fight happens because fans will have so much fun. I promise to beat the crap out of her and show her whoās the boss.ā āLook, the girl thinks sheās the champion but sheās not the champion. Can someone please tell her she lost her last fight? You know the toy, the chicken you squeeze and it squeaks? Juliannaās like that. Julianna only talks bullshit. Sheās not a great fighter. Sheās a noise chickenā - Mayra Bueno SilvaĀ A fucking ānoise chickenā š¤£ Edited January 6 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 6 Paid Members Share Posted January 6 And just like that, i'm a fan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 10 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10 Latest bout order. Reyes vs Ulberg is off (itās been rescheduled for March), Curtis vs Barriault has been bumped up to the main card.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted January 10 Paid Members Share Posted January 10 It's not bad, i'll just be excited as its the first proper show with a crowd im a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 10 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 10 Also, this is generally what happens when theyāre using most of their best shit absolutely stacking up the few consecutive PPVs after. If having a weaker PPV like this is the cost for getting 298, 299 and 300 after then Iām good with it.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 16 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 16 Itās officially fight week. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce85 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Looking forward to this now, itās not the best ppv but enough good stuff on there.Ā Ā I think DDP has too much for Strickland and gets a stoppage in the 2nd or 3rd but I wouldnāt be surprised if Stricklands takes it in a similar fashion to the Izzy fight. The UFC must hope DDP wins this in quick fashion without taking any damage so they can have him and Izzy headline 300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted January 17 Author Paid Members Share Posted January 17 Kayfabe breaking motherfuckers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 It happens every time. They go all-out with the bullshit to sell the fight to the peons, then give it the "much respect, bro" stuff behind closed doors and after the fight. I hope Strickland wins again, just to fuck with the UFC and Adesanya.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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