UFC 304: Edwards vs Muhammad 2 - Jul 27 ???????

[wandshogun09]

My brother was staying over the weekend. We watched up until Mokaev vs Kape live, that fight had us both nodding off so we called it a night and watched the rest on Sunday. This’ll be a long post ?

First of all, man, fuck Dana. They put a card on in the middle of the night for no other reason than financial greed, still expected killer performances out of everyone despite this and then when the card turned out to be lacklustre, he used that as his excuse to say ‘I’m never doing higher bonuses again’. Proper cunt. Yeah, it wasn’t the best card but that happens sometimes in any sport. To use it as an excuse to penalise every fighter on every card in the future is complete and utter nonsense. He’s a fucking idiot. It’s sports. It doesn’t go your way all the time. The unpredictable nature of MMA especially means that when it goes well it’s incredible. But there’s gonna be off nights. And if you have everyone on the card messing with their sleep schedules going in you’re only increasing the chances of an off night. Sick to death of Dana. Not talking about this card now but he genuinely doesn’t even seem to enjoy this stuff anymore. The only time he seems to have any energy about him is when he’s talking about Power Slap or doing his tragic walkouts with Trump. Wish he’d just fuck off, to be honest. Hasn’t he lined his pockets enough to retire? Miserable lump. Every time a card doesn’t go to his liking or end in KO after KO, he throws his toys out of the pram.

Also thought it was a bit off that Paddy got 2 POTN bonuses, so 200K. I know a lot of the fights went the distance and Dana hated them but he could’ve given one of those bonuses to, say, Sam Patterson or even Nataniel Wood considering how well he fought and the fact his kid is going through a load of medical issues. Paddy Privilege is a real thing, I guess.

Anyway, yeah, Belal Muhammad eh?

Dana looked like he was ready to run into oncoming traffic.

I got this completely wrong. Wasn’t an exciting fight and I was gutted with the result but overall this was by far the best performance of Belal’s career and at the time when he most needed it. The thing with Leon Edwards is he’s always had a tendency to concede ground and allow himself to be backed up. Even in the big title win over Usman he was doing that for big spells of the fight but it understandably got washed away and overshadowed by the KO. The only way Belal was gonna win this was to do what he did and constantly pressure Edwards. I didn’t think he’d be able to do it, or at least I didn’t think he’d be able to maintain it for 5 rounds. I’d have to watch it back (and I don’t fancy that) but I had Belal winning either 3-2 or 4-1, no controversy whatsoever.

This was scary. How it never knocked Leon out I don’t know. I’d love to see Leon bounce back from this and he’s certainly got the skills to. But this felt like the kind of fight that really highlighted his weaknesses and laid out a blueprint for all future opponents to follow. Everyone already knew that if you can pressure Leon and put him on the backfoot then he’s much less effective. But there’s never been a better example of someone applying that game plan than Belal did here. It wasn’t pretty but he got his tactics spot on. Honestly, a terrible performance from Leon and I can’t help thinking he underestimated Belal’s wrestling. He was asked about it earlier in the week and dismissed it saying something like “He’s not Khabib, he’s just Belal” and laughing. I think him having those wins over Usman and Covington made him think he had nothing to worry about against wrestlers but those guys didn’t attack the wrestling as consistently and aggressively as Belal did here. Wasn’t like Leon had zero success. He won the third round and maybe the fifth. It wasn’t a complete shutout by any stretch. There’s things he can work on to improve his chances in a third fight. But I’ve had to totally change my thinking on Belal now. I didn’t give him much of a chance going into this one but, based on this performance, I’d have to favour him if they go again.

Gotta say as well, Edwards’ cornerman was doing my head in. No technical advice whatsoever in the corner just “COME ON MAN” bullshit. You could’ve taken any drunk out of the crowd to do that. It came off like he was trying to have his own little moment there and trying to recreate the “DON’T LET HIM BULLY YOU, SON” thing from the Usman fight.

A sight I never thought we’d see. I don’t think he’s gonna have a long reign. As much as he stepped it up here, he’s 36 already. It really was now or never for him. If he lost this fight, it probably would’ve been his first and last shot. He got it done but I think he’s already on borrowed time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he does a quick turnaround now and makes his first defence on that Abu Dhabi PPV in October. Dana didn’t seem keen on doing Belal vs Leon 3 next so it’ll probably be Belal vs Shavkat. That’s an interesting one but, I’ll be honest, I think Shavkat is the champion in waiting whether it would’ve been Belal or Leon. Dana seemed quite keen on the idea of Leon vs Ian Garry when it was brought up to him by the media.

Big Tommy Aspinall did it again. Exactly one minute into the first round…

It’s gonna sound weird given how this played out but even if these two rematched next week, I’d still think Blaydes could be his toughest test. It’s what Blaydes kind of does. Heavyweight MMA is unpredictable at the best of times but with Blaydes it really does seem like a bit of a coin flip from one fight to the next whether he’s gonna maul you or get flattened in a round. He did clip Aspinall a couple of times in the first exchanges here and maybe he started fancying a standup fight more and got too comfortable, but Aspinall sat him down and pounced on him. And it wasn’t even the right hand like the commentators initially thought, it was the jab that put him on his arse! Aspinall just never gave him chance to recover. The stoppage was criticised as early and I guess I can kind of see why because Blaydes didn’t go completely out. But he wasn’t getting out of that position. He was face down with Aspinall on his back raining down punches and he wasn’t even putting his arms up to block. With the Heavyweights more than any other division, the refs have got to get in there quick because ‘unanswered punches’ takes on a whole new meaning with the big lads and an extra one or two could cause serious damage. The stoppage was absolutely fine. I can understand why Blaydes wasn’t happy with it but he was only saved unnecessary punishment here. He was all class after that fight as expected. As much as I like Aspinall, I did feel bad for Blaydes.

Seen a few people on social media, people who know their stuff, highlighting that Aspinall does have quite sketchy striking defence. There are definitely holes there. He got caught by Pavlovich last time and a couple here against Blaydes the same way, he has a habit of crossing his feet and pulling straight back with his head and chin up in the air. It’s a concern and I say that as a huge fan. I want him to keep winning. He seems pretty switched on though and if schmucks like me and others have noticed it, I’m sure him and his team are aware of what they need to tighten up on. He’s been getting away with it up to now due to his ability to take a dig and his devastating responses. But sooner or later, especially with in the big boy division, you will be made to pay for that. Although saying that, most Heavyweights are so shite is there even anyone currently who’s equipped to make him pay? Francis Ngannou was the one with the best chance and he’s gone. Even if Aspinall somehow ends up bagging that Jones fight, it’s not like Jones is a heavy hitter.

Speaking of Jones.

“Hello Jon”. 

? I did chuckle at that. It was starting to seem like Tom had almost given up on getting the Jones fight, he seemed disillusioned with the whole thing at one point. I liked that he called him out again here. Jones doesn’t want any part of it, we all know that, but the more Aspinall calls for it the more pressure it puts on Jones. Aspinall was a bit too polite about it for my liking. I get that he’s a nice guy and it’s not his style to talk shit but I think the only way you’re even possibly gonna get Jones to bite is to hit him where he’s most fragile and that’s his ego. Jones has responded, in a fashion…

Absolutely pathetic. I’m taking this as he means Stipe is the fight everyone wants to see. Complete shite. In 2020/21, yeah, the MMA world would’ve been buzzing like you wouldn’t believe at the idea of a Miocic vs Jones superfight. In 2024, it’s a different story and Tom Aspinall is the man in that division now. I don’t care what belt Jones holds. He’s 1-0 at Heavyweight. Aspinall’s the proper champ.

Dana said in the week that the winner of Aspinall vs Blaydes will fight the winner of Jones vs Miocic to unify the belts. I saw a load of fans and media run with that and getting all excited as if it’s confirmed. It means nothing though because you know he can’t guarantee it. Both Jones and Stipe are almost certainly retiring after their pointless fight and that’ll be that. Even if the winner of that somehow agreed to fight Aspinall, you can’t rely on either of them to make it through training camp at this stage. And again, after the show on Saturday night, Dana said Aspinall might be put in as the official backup for Jones-Stipe in case one of them pull out. For one, it was stupid enough that Aspinall had to defend his interim belt here instead of fighting the champ. Now the idea of the interim champ being a ‘backup’ while a 42 year old man gets his title shot is ludicrous. And let’s face it, let’s say Jones or Stipe pull out, do we really think either of them are taking a fight with Aspinall as a short notice replacement?

On 7/28/2024 at 8:56 PM, sirdobbo89 said:

I'll watch Jones/Stipe when it happens but Christ, Stipe must have been out the cage like 2/3 years now. Feels like forever. Will it ever happen?

Supposed to be happening on the MSG card in November. That seems to be the plan anyway, Jones has specifically mentioned that card a couple of times. Like you say though, who knows if it actually happens? Between Jones either getting injured or fucking up all the time, and Stipe being 42 years old and coming off a bad KO loss and 3 years of inactivity…the smart money is on ‘probably not’.

One idea Aspinall had, which I love but there’s zero chance it happens, is he wants a mini one night tournament where it’d be Jones vs Stipe and Aspinall vs Pereira, with the winners facing off the same night. Proper old school Pride Grand Prix stuff! Like I said, it’ll never happen but it’s a cool idea.

7 hours ago, Carbomb said:

At this point, with Jones ducking him, who's left for Aspinall to fight? Everyone else would be a step back, with maybe the exception of Gane, and possibly even Almeida (most recent performance notwithstanding). Rozenstruik, Lewis, are probably the only other ones who could be anywhere near a matchup. Otherwise, looking at the rankings, it's not exactly inspiring: Tuivasa (though that would be fun), Romanov, de Lima, Nascimento...

It’s a problem. Like I’ve said above, I just can’t see either Jones or Stipe sticking around to fight Aspinall. Everyone else is a step back names-wise. Of the names you’ve mentioned, Gane’s the best of a shit bunch of options. There’s at least some history there with Gane repeatedly swerving Tom in the past and stuff. That’s actually the fight I think we’ll end up getting once Jones-Stipe plays out (if it does) and they both retire. Aspinall’s belt will be upgraded to undisputed and him and Gane will be next. Hopefully Jones surprises us and decides to take the fight but I really can’t see it.

It’s shit when you think, when Aspinall came into the UFC in 2020, he’d have thought those big fights with Stipe, Ngannou and possibly Jones were all very much on the table for his future and all of them would’ve been great for his legacy. Now in 2024, he's got to the top of the ladder but Ngannou’s gone and Jones and Stipe are gonna call it a day. He’s left with the scraps. The fact you’ve even had to mention those names after Jailton Almeida says it all about the state the division is in at this point.

Paddy Pimblett. You know what, every cell in my fucking body is fighting against it but I’ve begrudgingly got to give him credit for this win. It’s only fair. If I’m gonna shit on him when he looks bad, I’ve got to give him his due when he fights well. I was close to 50/50 going in but I was leaning towards a Green win. So I can’t even talk any shit on Paddy here. Granted, a big part of this was down to Bobby (sorry, King) Green’s low IQ decision to just sloppily dive in for a takedown the way he did. And it didn’t help that once it hit the ground, his defence was badly lacking. Still, Paddy capitalised and made the most of it…

Bastard. Brutal way for Green to lose as well. He was put to kip from the triangle, imagine then waking up to find your arm is mangled as well? Worse, imagine legally changing your name to ‘King’ and then losing like this? Deary me. I’ve been way nicer about Pimblett than I wanted to be but what else can I say? Still can’t stand him but what is there to even find fault with in this performance? It didn’t last long enough to pick holes in it and not a great deal happened on the feet before Green shot in like a wally for that crappy takedown. My opinion on Paddy hasn’t changed, as a person or a fighter. I still think he’s gonna get badly exposed, it’s a question of ‘when’ not ‘if’. But like it or not, and I fucking don’t, on paper Green was his best opponent yet in the UFC and Paddy got the job done. I’ll be honest, he hadn’t annoyed me half as much as usual during fight week and I thought maybe becoming a dad had matured him a bit. But then 3 seconds into his post-fight interview I was cringing like fuck again.

It also came out during fight week, and Paddy confirmed it after the fight, that he’s signed a new 6 fight contract with the UFC. So that talk about “getting paid millions” to box YouTubers is a moot point now. He’s under UFC lock and key for a while. He keeps calling to fight Renato Moicano, even suggesting them coaching TUF here. Thing is, Moicano’s headlining against Benoit Saint-Denis on the Paris card in September. Maybe Paddy gets the winner of that at the end of the year or something. Looking at the rankings, another option could be Rafael Dos Anjos. Paddy’s gonna have to get fighting some of these guys now. Green was ranked #15 going into this fight so Paddy will be entering the rankings now. The days of protecting him are over. And in fairness, him calling to fight Moicano, who’s ranked #10, isn’t exactly looking for an easy fight. That’s all I’ve wanted to see. If Paddy’s gonna mouth off like he has been, let’s see him back it up against the top of the division. It’s taken a while but we’re getting there now.

Robocop Rodrigues beating Christian Leroy Duncan was a tad bittersweet but I can never be sad about Rodrigues winning. OK fight. Maybe not quite as good as it could’ve been if they both had a full camp to prepare for each other and it wasn’t at 4am or whatever stupid time they actually got in the cage. Felt like Bisping jinxed it straight away during the walkouts saying “someone’s getting finished in this fight!” Turned out to be a fairly straightforward points win for Robocop in the end. He just has a couple more tools to his overall game and he was smart to exploit that. He’s after a ranked opponent, Chris Curtis is currently at #15 and would probably be an entertaining fight.

Solid but unspectacular performance from Arnold Allen in the main card opener. Wasn’t the best fight and at this stage the crowd were desperate for a finish. But this was a pretty clear cut 29-28 for Allen. Thought Giga Chikadze looked pretty shit. He’s put a video out which started with him saying “No excuses but…” then blaming the loss on a shoulder injury. To which Allen responded about how you’d expect. Even if the injury is legit, and I’ve got no reason to doubt him, it’s never a good look. It’s different if you’re being asked by the media or something and you mention it while answering questions. But to specifically make a video to say “no excuses but…” and then make an excuse, you never come off well doing that. Giga’s fallen off big time since that Kattar loss. People were talking about him possibly getting in the title mix before that but it seems like that ship’s long sailed now. Good win for Allen after a tough couple of losses. Always happy to see him in the win column. Looking at the rankings, a fight with Yair Rodriguez seems to make the most sense for Allen now. Everyone else above him is pretty much tied up unless they throw a curveball and do Volk vs Allen, which I doubt.

Really liked this showing from Nathaniel Wood. Yeah it was another decision, the fifth in a row at this point in the card, but it was far from boring. Wood put a beating on Pineda here. Mixed it up to the head, the body and the legs and that left hook he dropped Pineda with was money. Pineda’s a scrappy fighter and he had his moments here and there. Showed a lot of heart to come back from 2 rounds of an absolute arse kicking to somehow win the last round. But this was a rough day at the office for him and, at 38, he’s too long in the tooth to be taking this kind of punishment. Wood was asking for a rematch with Muhammad Naimov after the fight and I’m up for that. There are definitely more exciting fights I’d rather see for Wood at 145 but that Naimov fight was one I think Wood deserves another shot at just due to how dirty Naimov was in that one with all the cheating and fouling. It’s Wood‘s only loss since moving up to 145 and I can definitely see why he wants to right that wrong.

For those still somehow unsure, Bruna Brasil once again hammered home the point that Molly McCann just isn’t much good. I know there’s a section of fans, and certainly UFC management, who desperately want her to be good but she’s just not. Brasil was 9-4-1 coming into this fight and 1-2 in the UFC. Make no mistake, she was supposed to be a can for Molly to crush here. And she still won! This isn’t like when the matchmakers got overconfident in Molly and fed her to Erin Blanchfield. This is them carefully picking what they see as beatable opponents for her and she’s still losing.

Jake Hadley outclassed Caolan Loughran comfortably. Good performance from Hadley, especially on very short notice, but I thought Loughran looked terrible. If you didn’t know any better, you’d have thought it was Loughran coming in under-prepared as a late substitute. He just looked really wooden and flat, Hadley pretty much schooled him. Shame Hadley missed weight but given how late he stepped in it’s kind of forgivable. He’s saying he wants to stay at 135 now, which I think is a good idea. He’s had problems making Flyweight in the past. Some fun fights for him in the bottom half of the Bantamweight division but I don’t see him having much success beyond that. Still haven’t warmed to Hadley. He’s a Brummie and walks out to Nigel Benn’s old entrance song. I should be a fan but I find his face, his stupid walk and his overall personality annoying. Decent to watch though.

Mokaev vs Kape was where my live viewing tapped out. This fight sent me straight to bed. It was shit but it always kind of had the ingredients to be. Anyone who’s watched these two fight before knows Mokaev’s basically all grappling but not in the most exciting way possible and Kape’s got some striking skills but fights at a frustratingly low output and pace a lot of the time. Despite all the drama and aggression in the build up, this was actually pretty standard stuff from both.

This killed me. Having to bust out the old Lewis-Tyson in cage security for the intros because these two wanted to kill each other. Fighting at the PI months out from the fight, trying to fight at the hotel the other day, had to be separated at the weigh ins, had to be kept apart during Buffer’s introductions. They wanted to destroy each other. Right up until the cage door locked and the bell rung. The crowd were hot for it as well when the fight started. I think a lot of people got swept up in the build up and expected some wild and crazy war. But it’s really neither man’s style. I mean, we’ve seen worse fights than this but considering how heated it all was going in, you’d have thought there’d be a bit more urgency. Had Mokaev winning 29-28 in the end, I gave Kape the last round but it was too little, too late by then. Weird fight. Kape’s broken toe, Mokaev pulling Kape’s shorts nearly all the way off, ref Mike Beltran bollocking Mokaev like an angry dad but not taking a point. Just an odd fight all around. Then after all that, they were hugging non-stop after the fight ?

Dana was asked about Mokaev by the media after the show and specifically about Mokaev saying earlier in the week that he thought the UFC didn’t like his fighting style. He didn’t deny it’s a factor but hinted there’s more to it than that…

“Yeah, the matchmakers aren’t big fans of his, for many reasons. There’s a lot of people who shoot takedowns in this business, a lot of guys who fight with that type of style. But it’s a lot more than just that. He’s not under contract anymore. I think the PFL’s gonna get a great, undefeated guy. Good luck to ‘em.” - Dana White

Typical dickheaded answer from Dana but it does sound like it’s more than a case of them just not liking his style. Let’s remember, fucking Sam Alvey was kept around way past the time he should’ve been cut and he was much older, much shitter, way less skilled, had way less upside and was more boring than Mokaev. It’s clear to anyone who’s been watching long enough that Dana’s not really a fan of grapplers but there are plenty of grapplers on the roster who get given chances and they don’t just cut ties with them like this when they’re young, highly ranked and coming off wins. There’s definitely more to this and I think we’ve had a glimpse of it this week. I’m not defending Dana whatsoever but it does seem like Mokaev might be problematic and a bit of a pain in the arse to deal with behind the scenes. It’s come out that the scuffle at the hotel was started by Mokaev. Eric Nicksick witnessed the whole thing and he says Mokaev ran into Kape at the hotel, was friendly and asked to take a picture “For our Muslim brothers, let’s take a picture for peace”. Then once the pic was taken he sucker punched Kape. Mokaev himself confirmed it…

Kape‘s a fiery character and a bit of a prick himself and I think when the video of the hotel handbags surfaced, most people probably assumed Kape was the instigator. But it was Mokaev. I get him being angry about the previous headbutt incident but this wasn’t the way to handle it. Not when he’d have his chance to legally get his revenge and get paid for it Saturday night. Plus just the snakey way he did it, using their religion to trick him. Shit like this plus apparently rubbing people the wrong way behind the scenes and then the fact he’s not even exciting to watch in the cage, I guess they just felt like he’s not worth the headaches. I’m torn on it myself. I don’t love watching his fights but he’s 23 years old, undefeated and was ranked #6 in the division going into this fight. Regardless of how he fights, it feels wrong letting him walk. But it does feel like there’s more to it than we’re being told. Mokaev himself seems to be hoping they re-sign him but I think they’ve already decided he’s done. Apparently they’ve already sent this out to the people who vote on the rankings…

Yeah, he’s gone. Not sure what the move is now for Mokaev. My thinking was always that getting away from the UFC might actually be good for him long term in that he’s young enough to go away, round out his game, come back in a few years a more complete fighter and make a proper run at UFC gold. But he’s clearly parted with them on bad terms so I’m not sure if that’s gonna be an option. Thing is as well, Dana’s basically saying ‘ahh piss off to PFL’ and I initially just assumed he’ll end up there but PFL don’t even have a Flyweight division so it’s either gonna be move up to 135 or fight somewhere else. Maybe he’ll end up in Oktagon or KSW or UAE Warriors or something. Do they have Flyweight divisions? It’s a shame but he’s done himself no favours with how he’s carried on this week. Right or wrong, you have to be a much bigger asset to the UFC than Mokaev is to get away with that type of stuff.

Oban Elliott had a solid performance beating Preston Parsons. Nothing spectacular but it was nice to see him basically shut down Parsons attempts to wrestle. At the start of the fight Cormier and Bisping were on about the wrestling and DC was joking about UK fighters not being able to wrestle. I think Parsons thought he’d be able to just outwrestle Elliott as well but he wasn’t having it. You could tell he’d really put the graft in on his defensive wrestling and he got the better of the striking as well.

Good man. Interested to see who he’s matched up with next. At 2-0 in the UFC and 26 years old, there’s no need to rush him. He’s on about getting on the MSG card in November and even wants CM Punk to walk out with him! I love how much of a pro wrestling nerd he is. Can’t see Punk walking him out but you never know. Punk obviously loves his MMA and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at a big MSG card. And with the TKO merger, little crossover stuff like that can easily be done.

Was happy to see Modestas Bukauskas not just beat Marcin Prachnio, but submit him. Prachnio’s bored me shitless a time too many over the years so I’m always happy to see him lose. Bukauskas seems a good lad as well so I was pleased with this.

Sam Patterson had no trouble with Kiefer Crosbie. Just looking at their records, Patterson’s a submission guy and Crosbie’s been subbed a few times, so you kind of had a sense how this was likely to play out. As long as Patterson avoided danger on the feet, it was his fight to lose really. Still not convinced by him but he looked better here than his last fight, so there’s a gradual improvement, and he’s definitely better off at 170 than 155. Seems a likeable enough guy as well so it was nice to see him get a win, a finish and some mic time.

After his previous 3 straight rotten fights that went the distance, Mick Parkin finally gets a finish!

First round KO. Good stuff. I’ve said before, I want to like him. He’s a young British Heavyweight, undefeated, teammate of Aspinall and seems a nice enough chap. But man, those first 3 UFC fights completely killed any hope or enthusiasm I had to watch him. I had this on in the background fully expecting it to be another plodding decision. Next thing I know Brzeski is on his back. Seen a lot of positivity about this and that’s fair enough. But this finish, nice as it was, doesn’t wash away the bad taste of those 3 stinkers for me. Seeing all kinds of ‘Mick Parkin’s gonna be a PROBLEM’ type stuff on Twitter but we’ll see. Don’t wanna be negative but the memory of those horrible first 3 fights is still there and it’s gonna take more than stopping Lukasz Brzeski to erase them. Nice to see Parkin get the 100K bonus though. There was a video I saw of Aspinall phoning Parkin and telling him he’d got the bonus which was really nice to see. Life changing money for a guy on the way up like Parkin.

Shauna Bannon with her hair braided looked like the lovechild of Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett. Again, I only half watched this just because I was still up and stuck the early prelims on in the background while my brother was chatting shite. This looked as crap as I expected though. That’s twice now Bannon’s had a shitty fight and you can’t blame the old ‘Octagon debut jitters’ this time. And Ardelean was just as bad. Bannon got that first UFC win but going to split decisions against this level of opposition isn’t a good look at all. 



Remember the name? After all that I can barely remember mine. 

Edited July 29, 2024 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

Mokaev just seems like he's more trouble than he's worth. Stuff going around that they leveraged a deal with the PFL and tried to get the UFC to match it (Mokaev and his team have since denied it). Who bloody knows? 

[wandshogun09]

Yeah Mokaev’s tweeted since saying it’s bullshit and that he still hopes to stay with the UFC. Maybe they can sort something out but I can’t see it myself. Dana just sounded done with him when he was talking to the media after the show. 

 

[Egg Shen]

At least he's got a sense of humor about it:

 

[wandshogun09]

Part of me wishes Aspinall would’ve opened up his post-fight interview with this…

[Kfogg1991]

I completely forgot to mention this but did anyone else get absolute chills and 1000% feel the energy for paddy and Tom's walkouts honestly gave me absolute goosebumps with both of them. They deserved it and for tom it was a actual hometown guy reaction and miles closer than previous for paddy and molly.

Molly however looked jarred by it and the absolute opposite too when she first came in she looked terrified at her own shadow which didn't bare well and matched her during the fight aswell. Such a shame it's gone this way for her but at this rate she won't be around much longer...how many more she got on her contract?? 

[Carbomb]

Unpopular opinion, but I really wanted Molly McCann to be better than she was. Yes, she's a bit annoying going on about being from Liverpool all the time, but otherwise I've got a lot of time for her, both politically and personality-wise. She's Pimblett without the shitty racism.

[WeeAl]

Only just got caught up on this show yesterday after my holidays (had already seen the results so wasn't in a hurry). Glad to see big Tom got it done here and in quick fashion with how the rest of the show was playing out. The division is a wasteland now unfortunately and I give it about a 2% chance he gets Jon Jones, so I'd have no problem with Alex Pereira next. If the other options is Pereira/Ankalaev, then I'd rather see Alex try the HW option. 

Wand was right though, Tom definitely gives his opponent chances, hopefully he can shore that up though. He's a Heavyweight baby, and should be knocking out some of these lot for years to come if he wants to. Just as I type this, I remembered Volkov beat Sergei last time out? Could be Volkov as well as next up if it's not Gane. 

I was extremely surprised how Edwards and Muhammad played out. Not just that Bella was able to get the win, but he didn't seem to have a lot of trouble in getting it either. Other than round 3, and the last 45 seconds or so of round 5, Leon wasn't in this fight. Fair play to Belal. I still wouldn't back him against Shavkat, but he's definitely continued to improve. 

Gregory Obama winning again always puts a smile on my face. Unfortunately though, I can't ever see him now without picturing the time we say the veins on the inside of his head pissing blood all over the place and then the sense of nausea waves over me. Still one of my boys though. 

[Carbomb]

With Aspinall, they may have to do like boxing and feed him a few cans in between big fights, no? Let him rack up the numbers bashing up no-hopers like Parker Porter, de Lima, Buday, etc.