Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 18 Author Paid Members Share Posted February 18 (edited) A star was born last night. Incredible performance from Topuria. Already seeing a lot of talk about Volk being older, on the decline, still suffering the effects of that KO from Makhachev etc. But I think itās a bit overplayed. These two had a very competitive first round and Volk looked sharp and confident. He was moving well and landing his shots. Topuria was landing some hard leg kicks right from the off though and his boxing looked on point. They both looked great in that opening round and I was settling in for an epic 5 round battle. Then in the second roundā¦ For what itās worth, Volk made zero excuses post-fight. He was all class talking to the media after the show and even when one of the journalists started talking about the quick turnaround and the loss to Islam, Volk shut that talk down and gave Topuria full credit. Topuria did a fantastic job of cracking Volk moving backwards and that last shot was flush and Volk went out. Itās gonna be chalked up to Volk being on the decline or whatever, and maybe this will be the start of that. But throughout that first round and even most of the second, I thought Volk was looking really good. Like he said, if Topuria lands that shot on anyone in the division clean, theyāre most likely going to sleep as well. Sad to see Volk get slumped like that, especially twice in a row. But like I was saying the other day, as shite as it is seeing Volkās reign come to an end, Topuria winning has blown the division wide open and itās the way more interesting result going forward. Volkās already on about a rematch in Spain. Topuria initially said heād be up for that but heās since said he wants fresh opponents. Problem is, all the viable options like Holloway, Evloev, Yair and Ortega, heās saying they donāt deserve it. Fuck knows. Calling out McGregor post-fight just felt utterly pointless and like a waste of microphone time because itās not happening, is it? I really like Topuria but his comments are a bit concerning. Hopefully heās not gonna be one of those champions who doesnāt wanna fight anyone. I think heās just talking his shit myself. When it comes to it, I think heāll fight whoever is next. I can see them going with the Volk rematch now and itās hard to deny Volk given what heās done in the division. But man, I donāt like the idea of it. Iād much rather Topuria vs Holloway or something. Weāll see how it plays out. Exciting times ahead though. Itās crap that Volkās run has come to an end but if anyone was gonna take the baton from him, Topuria is about as exciting a new champ as it gets right now. Whittaker vs Costa FINALLY happened and it was worth the wait. See, this is what I meant before when I said about the frustration with Costa. Heās the kind of fun fighter the Middleweight division has been sorely lacking over the last few years but heās missed so much time. It probably is a shitty contract situation like someone else mentioned the other day but, still, as a fan itās a real shame. Feels like weāve missed out. This was a hell of a fight. I was chuffed to see Whittaker get back in the win column but it wasnāt without shaky moments. Fuck me. How Whittaker got through that spinning kick and ended up winning the fight, is mind boggling. Tough bastard. To be honest, I wish theyād just gone ahead and made this a 5 rounder. Why not? These days they seem to just randomly make certain co-mains 5 rounds. I feel like a couple more rounds of this couldāve tipped it into FOTY contender territory. Probably not #1, but on the shortlist. Seen a few suggestions of Whittaker vs Strickland now, I wouldnāt be against that. And hopefully Costa can stay more active. Iād love to see him on the Brazil PPV in May. Whack him on the main card against a Dolidze, Allen, Aliskerov or someone. Garry vs Neal was the big letdown of the card for me. Surprisingly lacklustre stuff from both. I really had a good feeling about this fight going in, hence it being my āone to watchā, the bad blood, their usual aggressive styles etc. But it just never got out of second gear really. Funny that Garry went to train at Chute Boxe for this fight yet his performance was about as far removed from Chute Boxe as it gets. To rep Chute Boxe and fight like that, with fucking Wanderlei Silva in attendance, he should be ashamed of himself. It wasnāt the worst fight Iāve ever seen or anything but, for what started out as a bit of a grudge match, it was pretty tame. In the end I agreed with the decision that Garry won, but I didnāt think it was anywhere near as clear as the commentators, especially Rogan, were making out. Thought it was closer than that, Rogan was practically blowing Garry at times. And the banging on and pushing the idea of Garry challenging Leon Edwards for the title was a bit odd based on this showing. I will say though, I liked Garryās callout of Colby Covington. Iād be well up for that but I highly doubt Colby will be. So I canāt see it happening. Enjoyed Merab vs Cejudo a lot. It was always an intriguing matchup but I wasnāt sure how entertaining the actual fight would be. I liked it. Cejudo landing that big shot early kind of set the tone and they were both strong enough in the wrestling that neither guy were gonna be completely overwhelmed and just smothered. As the fight went on though, Merab just took over and I had him taking the 2nd and 3rd rounds quite clearly. This was insaneā¦ The old Hughes vs Trigg 2! Really impressive doing that to an Olympic gold medalist. Merab is an absolute machine. Cejudo was game and there were brief moments in the fight where I really wondered what he couldāve been capable of if heād just stayed active over the last few years. But Merab was just too much for him here. Classic case of one guy being on the way out and past his physical peak and the other guy being on the way up and in his prime. By the end there was no doubt Merab had won. I think I said in the opening post that I had doubts Merab would get the title shot just because he doesnāt have the kind of style Dana usually likes plus OāMalley clearly wants no part of him and you know Danaās got a boner for Suga Sean. But I was pleasantly surprised to hear Dana confirm that Merab is next in line for a crack at the gold. Heās absolutely, 100% the guy. And with OāMalley vs Chito 2 going down in just 3 weeks, the timing lines up perfectly for Merab to get the winner, maybe on one of the summer PPVs. This fight was more entertaining than Merabās last few and between that big slam, the bit when he was casually having a chat with Zuckerberg while he had Cejudo pinned down and then the OāMalley callout after, the whole thing just felt like heād made it memorable enough that he couldnāt really be denied. The only thing missing was a finish. Man, OāMalley really didnāt look too happy during Merabās interview though, did he? He wants fuck all to do with that but heās not gonna have a choice. Seems Cejudoās going back into retirement. The gloves came off post-fight and you have to think it makes sense for him to knock it on the head now. Heās coming off back-to-back losses and is well out of the title race now. And at 37, I doubt he can be arsed to work his way back at this point. Itās over. As much as he seems a knob and we love to take the piss out of his Lego head, itās kind of a shame he went out with a bit of a whimper and never got any kind of fanfare if this was it. Hernandez vs Kopylov was good stuff. Iāve became a fan of both over the last couple of years and loved this matchmaking. Thought Kopylov looked good in the first round despite most likely losing the round. He was firing off those left kicks and looking dangerous with them and, although he got pushed against the fence a fair bit, his actual takedown defence was looking pretty solid. They both opened up a bit more in the second round and āFluffyā had to walk through some nasty stuff but finally got the takedown, managed to get the back andā¦ He knew he had it. Kopylov fought it as long as he could but once Hernandez had hold of that neck there was no escape. Seriously, why is it that the UFC insist on having underwhelming Middleweight fights headline Fight Nights when youāve got guys like this in the division? Iād have had no problem with this getting a 5 round main event spot on a Fight Night. If theyāre gonna keep booking those Middleweight main events, give guys like this a bit of spotlight instead of just rotating the same handful of 185ers against each other all the time. Lemos vs Dern was a good scrap, although them getting FOTN over Whittaker vs Costa was total bollocks. Dern took a beating here. Itās really not looking good for her, is it? I questioned in the opening post why she stepped in for this fight when Suarez pulled out but she probably saw the weakness in Lemosā grappling and fancied it. I get it but it was always a risky one, especially coming off that battering off Andrade last time. Lemos beat her up pretty bad though. Dernās tough, donāt know how she survived that second round. But it feels like sheās hit her ceiling a couple of times now and I canāt see her getting past it. Marcos Rogerio De Lima messing up Junior Tafa with leg kicks was shit. Especially because I canāt fault it. Nasty. Begrudgingly gotta say fair play to De Lima. I still half suspect the Tafas doing the old last minute switcheroo mightāve been planned but, even if it was, De Lima took it in his stride and punished Junior. I hope my Tafa conspiracy theory is wrong, for Juniorās sake, because if itās not and Junior knew heād be stepping in all along, it doesnāt bode well for his future because he was crap here. He certainly looked like a guy who didnāt expect to be fighting until 24 hours previously. Thought Rogan saying Tafa was ālooking for a way outā was a bit harsh though. He had his sodding legs kicked out from under him. Like that prick in Karate Kid 3 said, āif a man canāt stand he canāt fightā. Rogan sitting in the safety of the commentary desk and insinuating fighters are quitting doesnāt sit right. Rinya Nakamura continues to rack up the wins. Schooled Carlos Vera to a clear points win here, stays unbeaten and improves his record to 9-0. Wasnāt a mind blowing performance but just watching him and seeing his skills, you get the feeling thereās much better to come from him. Zhang Mingyang vs Brendson Ribeiro always felt like it was gonna be done and dusted inside a round either way. Iād never even seen either guy fight before and I felt that way just off bits I had seen and read. They didnāt let us down. Mingyang wiped him the fuck out in less than 2 minutes. Fun while it lasted and both welcome additions to a 205 division thatās been in desperate need of new blood for some time. Even if these guys stay in the middle of the pack, itās 2 more entertaining fighters the division didnāt have previously. Danny Barlow had quite a debut. He was just a step ahead throughout and then turned it up big time in that last round. Dropped Quinlan, what was it, 4 times in about 20 seconds or something? Quinlanās face was a right mess after and I thought the ref was right to step in when he did. Was happy to see Oban Elliott have a successful debut. Dominant performance from him on the whole, although he got clipped and hurt a few times. Probably shouldāve got Woodburn out of there really, especially with how much time he had back control. Still, a winās a win. Seems a likeable guy. I loved his nod to Ric Flairās Royal Rumble 92 promo - āWith a tear in my eyeā¦THIS is the greatest moment of my lifeā. Itād have been lost on anyone whoās not a pro wrestling nerd but Iām sure a few on us picked up on it. If Rogan had a fucking clue heād have looked off camera and told someone to āPUT THAT CIGARETTE OUT!ā Useless. Hulk Oban. Brother. Yeah, not a ācard of the yearā type show but it certainly gave us a bunch of talking points and it sets up some interesting stuff for the future with Ā Topuriaās title reign and Merabās quest for his own title. The Georgians are taking over.Ā Edited February 18 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted February 19 Paid Members Share Posted February 19 (edited) Oban's clearly a big wrestling fan. There's a video of him star struck meeting CM Punk backstage. Guy literally looks like he had the best week of his life. Solid debut, not spectacular but 15 mins Octagon time and coming through a tough spot will do him the world of good. Cracking show overall, absolutely gutted to see Volk dusted, but he just got caught with a short range bomb, devastating punch. Gonna be interesting to see what happens with Topuria now. This whole movement in European MMA is something special, you have Topuria in Spain and Doumbe in France, it really feels like they are mainstream stars, it appears to be a difference kind of fandom to what fighters are in this country. Bisping with the great UFC send off too... Ā Edited February 19 by Egg Shen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 19 Author Paid Members Share Posted February 19 The real reason Dern got FOTN.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 20 Author Paid Members Share Posted February 20 This wouldāve been about 9am in Georgia. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members WeeAl Posted February 21 Paid Members Share Posted February 21 So disappointed for Volk for it to end with him slumped in a heap. That's the life cycle story though. You either hand it over or something younger man takes it from your cold, dead hands. Volk looked really good early too, they both did. I didn't think he was off at all or anything. Would Volk of 3 or 4 fights ago have weathered that shot a bit? Who knows. Either way, Topuria is the man now. I would like to see Volk take 9 months off and then come back as fresh as he can for one last go at the title. Go with Topuria/Holloway in August or something (depending on how Max is after the Gaethje fight). Volk/Topuria II Dec/Jan.Ā Topuria is the makings of a new big thing though. He has all the intangibles. Hasn't put a foot wrong so far (other than that post fight McGregor nonsense).Ā Costa and Whittaker had a fight and a half, as was bound to happen once they were able to shut the cage door on the two of them. I'll never for the life of me understand how Whittaker survived that spinning heel kick. Brilliant stuff. Deserved the decision in the end too I thought, did Bobby Knuck's. This won't be the fight that would happen, but our boy Gregory Obama Vs Paulo Costa would be some mad shit to watch.Ā What's next for Whittaker then? With Adesanya/Chimaev apparently on the cards, Is it Whittaker or Strickland that's getting the nod for DDP?Ā Neal/Garry didn't excite in the end. I get a bit of the Darren Till vibes off of Ian Garry to be honest. I wouldn't mind seeing him get fed to Shavkat, but that's not likely to get booked. One can hope.Ā Cejudo's career appears to have went out with a wimper in the end. That retirement in 2020 killed him, really. He left too much on the table back then. He's found himself a half, or a step short now at this point in time and in 2024 135 land, that's just not going to be something you can get past. Cejudo fought hard, but Merab was just on another level. I'm dying to see him do that to O'Malley - if he gets the chance to.Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 22 Author Paid Members Share Posted February 22 Ooof!Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 25 Author Paid Members Share Posted February 25 (edited) Topuria at the Real Madrid vs Sevilla game just now.Ā Feels like something special is happening with Topuria. Heās only just became champion and it already feels like heās well on his way to be the biggest European star the UFCās ever had behind Conor McGregor. If he keeps winning who knows how big this can get?Ā Edited February 25 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sukhy Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 16 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: Topuria at the Real Madrid vs Sevilla game just now.Ā Feels like something special is happening with Topuria. Heās only just became champion and it already feels like heās well on his way to be the biggest European star the UFCās ever had behind Conor McGregor. If he keeps winning who knows how big this can get?Ā He was on the front page of Marca the day after he won the title as well, which is crazy considering it's the biggest newspaper in Spain.Ā I wasn't a huge fan of his McGregor call out but, they could probably sell out the Bernabeu if that fight was the main eventĀ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted February 29 Author Paid Members Share Posted February 29 Sorry to keep bumping this thread but just listen to the way a guy and a veteran like Gilbert Burns talks about Topuria here. The manās a real problem. Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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