David Posted March 29 Share Posted March 29 On 3/28/2024 at 2:00 AM, Egg Shen said: Remember the Pearl at the Palms shows in Vegas? Put them back in there if they have to stay in Vegas, a little cauldron like atmosphere, with proper fans watching. Oh yeah, I remember those shows. I actually attended my first-ever UFC at one of those, I think. The crowd was mainly made up of people who'd been comped by various hotels, but it was a pretty good atmosphere from what I can remember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 30 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 30 (edited) Itās been a long week for various reasons and I mostly missed this show. Wasnāt gonna bother watching it after I caught spoilers in the week but Iām sick as a dog at the moment and not gonna be leaving the house anytime soon so I finally stuck this on. Yeah, Namajunas vs Ribas was shite. I know Rose had that stinker with Esparza but I thought that was more of a styles thing, it certainly wasnāt typical of her. But I really thought this fight was almost tailor-made for Rose to shine in. Ribas is that combination of being aggressive and reckless with not much in the way of defence. As much as I like Ribas, I thought Rose would, and should, totally school her here. If not a finish then a clear decision where she just outclasses her throughout. I thought they both looked bad though. Maybe Ribas was a bit hesitant with it being her first 5 rounder. But Rose hasnāt looked on form to me in some time now. Itās hard to fathom that this is a woman who scored first round, title winning knockouts over prime Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weiliā¦and here she is going 5 rounds in a competitive fight with Amanda Ribas. At this point I think itās fair to say sheās lost a step. Completely lost track of the scoring in this one. Even being practically bed bound I found my attention fading. Seen a fair few comments that Ribas shouldāve won or was robbed and stuff. I felt like Rose probably won but, like I say, I wasnāt exactly giving the fight my undivided attention. Not sure whatās next for Rose, after her last few fights, Iām not looking forward to whatever it is. I know she was talking about rematching Fiorot but that does nothing for me. We donāt need to see that again, especially so soon. And regardless, surely the winner of Blanchfield vs Fiorot is next up for a title shot, not pissing about with Rose. I think the other name she mentioned Maycee Barber makes more sense for Rose next. Why was Trevor Wittman not in Roseās corner as well? I mustāve missed the news is that a permanent split? That seems like a bad move, especially with dopey Pat Barry now the lead voice in the corner talking bollocks. Oh I could really do without that incessant āIāM THE BESTā shit from Rose as well. Especially when sheās putting in dross performances like this.Ā The Karl Williams vs Justin Tafa co-main went pretty much exactly as I feared it would. Tafaās got no wrestling and Williams is all wrestling but not much of a finisher. This was always the most likely way for it to go sadly. Didnāt take long for me to start skimming through. I knew Tafa would never go far anyway because heās literally just a slugger with no grappling. But heās alright for a fun brawl every now and then if heās matched up with the right opponent. But seeing Williams blanket and go to decisions with the likes of Brzeski, Sherman and now Tafa doesnāt exactly give me high hopes for his future either. Nearly pissed myself when he mentioned Stipe post-fight. Thought he was calling him out at first but it was just for some firemanās BBQ thing š¤£ but yeah this fight was rotten. Rancid stuff. The Shahbazyan fight was fun while it lasted and it was nice to see him get back in the win column. Even then though, Dobson still had him rocked for a minute there. Shahbazyan did well to come back from that though and get the finish himself. Mightnāt seem like much, and yeah it was only a win over AJ Dobson. But I think this could potentially be a bit of a turning point for Shahbazyan psychologically. Heās always been a dangerous striker but I always got the impression heās a bit of a front runner. This was the first time Iāve seen him face adversity and actually respond well and win. Itāll probably amount to nothing and heāll lose to some middling 185er next, but it did kind of feel like he mightāve exorcised a bit of a demon here at least. Payton Talbott is definitely gonna be someone we need to keep an eye on. This was my āone to watchā and it didnāt disappoint. Based on what Iād seen of Cameron Saaiman and how Talbott had slightly shaky spells in his debut against nothing happening Nick Aguirre, I thought this was a significant step up for Talbott and I wasnāt sure he was up to it. Neednāt have worried. Some finish that. Talbott looked fantastic here. And I saw Saaiman as a solid prospect, I still think he might be. Talbott looked great here though. Maybe the Aguirre fight was Octagon debut nerves. Not sure how far Talbott can go but I really liked what I saw here. The jumping knees, the body punching, the big elbows in close. Then the knockdown and finish. Beautiful stuff. Really exciting times ahead. Even if his ceiling ends up not being particularly high, throwing him into that mix in an already stupidly loaded Bantamweight division, thereās so many great fights to make. Youssef Zalal had quite a return to the Octagon. Steps in on short notice and, not just beating Quarantillo but submitting him. Good stuff. He looked better than I remember from his first UFC stint, maybe just a case of him maturing a bit as a fighter. This was a strong performance and maybe the best win on his record to date. Fair play. He gambled on himself stepping in and it paid off. Fernando Padilla looked good breezing through Luis Pajuelo in the main card opener. Not much else to say. It was too short to read much into. But it was a sweet finish and a great way to kick off the main card. Julian Erosa vs Ricardo Ramos was always gonna be entertaining but I didnāt expect it to be over that quick. Erosa needed that coming off being on the wrong side of a couple of quick finishes himself. Jarno Errens vs Steven Nguyen was the type of fight that makes it difficult for me to just outright skip these cards. This was a belter and I went in with no real expectations good or bad. These two really went for it though. Cracking fight. If you skipped the prelims (and I wouldnāt blame you because I nearly did too) this fight is worth going back to. Well deserving FOTN winner. I watched Zheleznyakova vs Rendon because I always like to at least give newcomers a chance before I dismiss them as shite Apex fodder. Didnāt enjoy it much though. Was mildly surprised Zheleznyakova got the decision but it wasnāt like I was scoring it properly. Not in any rush to see either fight again, to be honest. That Andre Lima vs Igor Severino fightā¦Jesus Christ. Itās all understandably been overshadowed but it was a really good fight before the ending. I was enjoying it a lot and thought both were looking like great additions to the Flyweight division. Especially liked the way they were trading elbows in close quarters. Then for some reason, Severino decides to turn into Hannibal Lector in the second round. Vile. Canāt even say it was a desperation move, Severino was controlling the round prior to that and the fight was still very much up for grabs. This was one of those Golota-Bowe or Yan-Aljo mid-fight decisions that just completely baffled me. Not that Iād ever think there was a right time to bite someone. And the position they were in, there was no question it was deliberate. There was no accident, he was stood there just chomping away on Limaās arm. Gotta say as well, I donāt usually mind Brendan Fitzgerald but he was doing my head in here. He seemed surprised the fight was stopped and was actually trying to argue Severino shouldāve just got āa stern warningā at one point! Even after they showed the close up of the bite mark and there was no doubt, Fitz backtracked a little bit but was still banging on about warnings and shit. Then as Lima was walking to the back Fitz is going āFun fact! Tyson bit Holyfield once, was warned, it continued, then it was ended after the second bite. This one, straight after the first.ā What are we doing here? A man bit someone in a professional fight. Someone was BITTEN for fuckās sake! Severinoās been released immediately. Iāve seen quotes from him since showing remorse and apologising. He said he got hit with an elbow and doesnāt remember anything after that, that he was fighting on autopilot. Iāve seen people say sacking him is harsh because heās only 20 years old etc. Itās a real shame because he showed before the bite that heās definitely got talent and potential. And being so young, he could have a bright future. But I donāt have a huge problem with them cutting ties. Thereās no place for biting. The problem is that you know itās double standards. If a big name who the UFC makes money off bit someone, I doubt theyād get more than a fine, and maybe not even that. Maybe Severino will be back someday. Mick Parkin stays undefeated but, again, Iām just not rating him. Any legit prospect worth their salt wouldāve beat a big slug like Mo Usman in more impressive fashion than this. Not even necessarily finish him but you should be looking better than this. Awful fight. So far in the UFC heās beat Jamal Pogues, Caio Machado and now Usman. All lifeless plodding decisions. Maybe heāll improve as he steps up, letās face it heās gonna have to. But so far, not a fan. Yeah, a decent card let down by the last two fights. Edited March 30 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Jesse Posted March 30 Paid Members Share Posted March 30 I think there's something to be said for harsher action early in the career like this. I don't doubt what you said about the UFC letting someone off if they're a bigger name making them money pack of hyenas that they are. But it would be a different situation between young fighter on his debut doing something like this, showing themselves to be a massive liability, to be told to hop on their bike and maybe re-considered in the future if they've got their head straight. Versus someone with more history in the company, with a lot of sensible fights behind them, where maybe it is more fair to give them the benefit of the doubt that it was a break in conscious action. Ā Again, you've probably got the right of it and it would come down to how much money you're currently making them. I don't think they've made a harsh decision by cutting him but I am a massive softie and he seems genuinely contrite since so I'd love to see him redeem himself somewhere and build a career back up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 30 Author Paid Members Share Posted March 30 Yeah, good points. I think where the harshness comes in for me isnāt him getting sacked, itās that the commission has withheld his purse on top of that. Maybe thatās fair enough but it feels like getting released was enough of a punishment. To then not pay him anything as well seems a bit much. Also saw quotes from Severino saying his family has had abuse and his mum has received death threats over this, which is obviously not on. Just a shitty situation for all involved. For what itās worth, Andre Lima doesnāt seem to be holding any ill will towards Severino. Shite tattoo aside, heās said this since the fight last weekendā¦ Ā Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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