UFC 307: Pereira vs Rountree - Oct 5 🇺🇸

[wandshogun09]

Back in Salt Lake City for the first of two PPVs in October.

PPV MAIN CARD
Alex Pereira©️vs Khalil Rountree - Light Heavyweight Title

Raquel Pennington©️vs Julianna Pena - Bantamweight Title 

Jose Aldo vs Mario Bautista

Ketlen Vieira vs Kayla Harrison 

Roman Dolidze vs Kevin Holland 

ESPN PRELIMS 
Wonderboy Thompson vs Joaquin Buckley 

Marina Rodriguez vs Iasmin Lucindo

Ihor Potieria vs Cesar Almeida

Alexander Hernandez vs Austin Hubbard 

ESPN+/FIGHT PASS PRELIMS 
Carla Esparza vs Tecia Pennington

Ovince Saint Preux vs Ryan Spann 

Tim Means vs Court McGee  

 

 

Not the most stacked card and the gulf in quality and excitement between that main and co-main is ridiculous. But there’s enough to sink the teeth into there. Bout order looks all fucked up though. Surely they’re gonna reshuffle this. Aldo below Esparza and Austin Mother Hubbard? Seriously? This being in Utah means high altitude as well. The thought of Pennington and Pena going 5 rounds at high elevation is the stuff of nightmares. Definitely gonna watch this on Sunday so I can fast forward through the shite stuff.

 

 

Alex Pereira vs Khalil Rountree is almost upon us. Odds on this making it out of the first round? Yeah, this one kind of came out of left field. I think most expected it would be Magomed Ankalaev up next for a crack at the belt but here we are. I saw all kinds of shock and almost outrage from some over this booking when it was announced but I don’t get it. OK, Rountree is ranked #8 but most of the higher ranked guys have either already lost to Pereira or they already have a fight scheduled. For one, Ankalaev was already booked against Rakic for 308 in late October. Knowing how active Pereira is, he wasn’t gonna be sitting out waiting for the winner of that. Rountree was the next most obvious choice at 205. And two, there isn’t a more exciting fight out there style-wise for Pereira than Rountree right now. You can never be 100% sure how any fight is gonna actually play out on the night but I’d say it’s a fairly sensible assumption that this is probably just gonna be wall to wall violence. A complete bombfest.

Pereira’s riding his wave of momentum like almost nothing I’ve seen since Conor McGregor at his peak. Obviously it’s not as mad as McGregor’s run was but it’s crazy how much Pereira’s been able to squeeze out of such a relatively short UFC career. He always seems to have a fight booked, always has something going on, so I think it’s easy to forget that he only made his UFC debut in late 2021. Hasn’t even been a full 3 years yet! In that time he’s fought 9 times, won 8, scored 6 knockouts and won UFC gold in 2 weight classes. Again, less than 3 years! Granted, there were circumstances that favoured him. The built-in rivalry with Adesanya meant he got fast-tracked to a title shot at Middleweight. And then his popularity and the absolute shambles the Light Heavyweight title picture was in at the time meant he was able to sneak in there and get straight in the mix. But regardless, he still had to win those fights and he’s grabbed the opportunities that have came his way with both hands. For what it’s worth, Pereira himself has said he was a bit taken aback when he was told Rountree was next for him.

“I was also a bit surprised when they offered him. I honestly thought it would be Ankalaev but he didn’t want to fight me. It’s the opportunity that shows up and he didn’t want it. He has his reasoning, I don’t know what it is. I think he has made things difficult but we’ll meet eventually.”

“A lot of people are saying he (Rountree) is ranked No.8, they are saying it messed up the UFC rankings. But I think he’s showing work and it’s going to be a good fight for both of us, we are both strikers, but also for those watching. The same way how I wasn’t ranked and things happened very fast, I think they are thinking the same thing for Khalil. I think it will be a good fight.” - Alex Pereira

I’ve got no problem with this fight. At the end of the day, we watch this shit for entertainment. And in a division like 205 which doesn’t have much going for it to get excited about these days, a fight like this is a breath of fresh air. If Pereira was the type to only fight once a year I could maybe see the criticism of the matchmaking. But considering how often he fights, if he wins this one then he’ll probably be ready to go again before Ankalaev anyway.

Pereira’s last fight in June saw him go 2-0 over Jiri Prochazka and knock him out with a brutal headkick to successfully defend his title. The fact that the fight was thrown together just 2 weeks out because McGregor vs Chandler went to bits just makes it all the more impressive and only adds to Pereira’s aura. He was already coming off that big meme-tastic KO against Jamahal Hill at UFC 300, to then turn around and casually finish Jiri like that was nuts. He did it with broken toes as well, which was funny as McGregor’s reason for withdrawing from the card in the first place was an injured toe. Pereira understandably got a ton of credit for stepping up and performing the way he did, and rightly so. But I’ve said a few times, it’s gonna backfire at some point. There’s a reason it’s seen as mental to be taking high level fights with pretty much no prep time. It’s hugely risky and rarely pans out well. Pereira’s got away with it up to now but if he keeps doing it, it will come back to bite him somewhere down the road. Then again, he’s 37 years old already. He got to the UFC late and, between Kickboxing and MMA, he’s done more than enough that he could retire now and be proud. At 37, I’m sure he’s fully aware his time fighting at this level is limited and his attitude now is to just get as much out of whatever’s left of his career.

This is it for Rountree. His big chance. At 34 years old and after an up and down career, this could be his only shot at UFC gold. And while pretty much everyone’s probably gonna favour Pereira, from a styles standpoint, this is actually not an insurmountable task for Rountree. Am I mad for thinking that? If this ends up being Rountree’s only shot, it coming against a striker who’s not exactly a defensive marvel isn’t the worst for Rountree, is it? When you hit as hard as Rountree, no matter how good a striker the opponent is, you’ve always got a solid chance. And it’s not like he doesn’t have form against former GLORY Kickboxers in the UFC either. Anyone remember when he absolutely smoked Gokhan Saki on the feet? That was a bit of a shock at the time. He’s had a right odd road to the title shot though…

That’s how Rountree’s last fight ended. Just crushed Anthony Smith in horrible fashion. Thankfully he spared him that final deathblow there because that genuinely might’ve been curtains for Smith. From there though, it got a bit weird. He was scheduled to fight Jamahal Hill at UFC 303 in June but had to withdraw because he got popped for PEDs. It was all a bit strange. He said it was tainted supplements (that old one) and basically grassed on himself so he got a lighter punishment. Next thing you know, this fight is announced. If people are gonna moan about this booking, I’d say the fact that Rountree is getting a title shot fresh off a suspension for ‘tainted supplements’ is a stronger argument than the rankings and meritocracy angle. Whatever though. I don’t care at this point.

“I got a call from Hunter Campbell. I was having a bad day that day, dealing with some stuff, and he was like, ‘Hey, I’ll make your day better, we’ve got this opportunity for you to fight Alex in October.’ It kind of came by surprise but of course I’m going to accept. That’s the fight I’ve wanted, it’s the fight I’ve been calling for and I’m excited, I’m happy, I’m grateful.”

“I understand that people are upset. Whatever. It’s not my problem, for one. It’s not my problem. It’s out of my control. They give me the call - OK, I take it. Whatever fans are not happy about this, I don’t know why. I couldn’t even call them true fans if you’re not happy about this matchup. It’s going to be exciting from start to finish, and I’m hyped!”

“This is what I’ve been working for. When I started MMA, everything, my life changed. It all happened kind of by accident but I stayed strong, I stayed dedicated and I’ve always had a belief that this was possible. Now I’m finally here and I’m living in this reality that was a dream. So what it means to me is everything. Now it’s here. I’ve got a message for Alex and that’s see you in October. Everybody else, nothing. Watch me in October.” - Khalil Rountree

Gotta admit, despite the PED controversy and suspension, I’m happy to see Rountree in this position. Always had a bit of a soft spot for him. He trained with Wanderlei Silva early in his career (he has the Wand Fight Team logo tattooed on him to this day) so I instantly took a liking to him. And you can definitely see the old Chute Boxe influence in his fighting style. At 13-5-0-1, it’s not like he has a glittering resume. But he’s a bad man and the perfect opponent for Pereira if you just want a fireworks display. It’s mad how Rountree has got here though. I don’t even know if people remember now but there was a time a few years ago when he seemed half checked out of MMA. Sure it was only around 2019/20 he was even talking about retirement. Remember that? I don’t know what changed but something clearly snapped his focus back and now he’s on a 5 fight winning streak with 4 finishes and is on the cusp of a title fight.

How does this go then? I know I’m risking jinxing it but this can’t end any other way than with one of them horizontal, can it? However I picture this in my head, someone’s taking a nap. And probably early. I’ll be amazed if this makes it out of the first round. Two rounds at a push. They’re both just so heavy handed and lethal that I can’t see any other outcome. Rountree’s already come out and said he’s not gonna be shooting for any takedowns. Don’t know if that’s mind games or what. He’s not known for his wrestling at all but there’s a chance he’s saying that to throw Pereira off the scent, maybe. Can’t see it though. I think he’ll fully fancy knocking Pereira out. And I wouldn’t count him out. If Adesanya can KO Pereira at 185, make no mistake Rountree can do it at 205. If he connects on anyone’s chin, on any given night, there’s a high chance they’re going to sleep. And it’s not like Pereira’s not there to be hit. I’m still gonna lean towards Pereira, I think, but it’s one of those ‘who the fuck knows?’ fights. It’s most likely playing out 100% on the feet and Pereira’s obviously the better and more decorated actual striker. But then he’s left himself vulnerable defensively a lot in fights and with the small gloves and the fact Rountree hits like a truck, he’s a very live underdog for me. I’m 60/40 in favour of Pereira as I type this but what a fight.

 

Raquel Pennington vs Julianna Pena is your co-main eve…ugh. Rotten stuff this. The contrast between the main event and this is hilarious. If Pereira-Rountree is the equivalent of a Friday night with a drink and a chippy tea, Pennington-Pena is like a miserable Monday morning when the alarm is going off. Just shite. This as a title fight on a PPV is actually depressing. But that’s where we’re at with the women’s Bantamweight division these days.

Raquel Pennington became champ at UFC 297 back in January, beating Mayra Bueno Silva on points in what, for me, is probably the front runner for worst fight of the year. 25 minutes none of us will ever get back. They’re gone. Forget it. It was one of those where neither deserved to be called a ‘winner’ when it was over. I wasn’t expecting much from that fight but I was still disappointed all the same. I was kind of hoping Silva would do well and make a bit of a run in the division, just because I’d enjoyed her interviews before that fight, especially her having a pop at Pena. But she shat the bed and Pennington won just on account of not being quite as shit over the 5 rounds. Nothing even against Pennington. It was a nice moment for her and if nothing else she’s tough. She nearly got murdered in her previous attempt to become champ when Amanda Nunes beat her to a bloody pulp back in 2018. But as harsh as it sounds, it’s one of those things where she’s only champ because of the state the division is in currently. I hope she wins this one though.

Ha 🤣

Can’t be doing with this twat at all. Where’s she been anyway? Wherever it was I wish she stayed there. But we haven’t seen her since she got battered by Nunes in their rematch over 2 years ago now. So she’s coming off a one sided 25 minute arse kicking and 2 years on the shelf, yet she just waltzes straight back into another title fight? She’s the Colby Covington of the women’s game. Big layoffs, underserved title shots and nonsensical, cringeworthy babbling that somehow passes for mic skills these days. I know people act like her upset win over Nunes was good for the division and I kind of get it to an extent because it shook things up temporarily. But for me, it wasn’t worth it. She’s gonna dine out on that forever now, we’ll never hear the end of it, even though it was clearly an off night for Nunes and she showed in the rematch what was what. That first fight seemed like a case of Nunes having her worst night at the office ever, coinciding with Pena having a few things go right in there. Fair play to her for seizing the moment. But look at the rest of her career. She’s done…nothing impressive. Sod all. She’s basically a jobber who had one great night. And really, it was only a great couple of minutes. People forget but she was getting beat up for most of that first fight as well. It was a spell of a couple of minutes where everything just went to shit for Nunes and Pena was able to capitalise. Credit to her for weathering the early storm and getting the finish but the rematch showed who the better fighter was.

Team Pennington here. All day. There is some history here as well.

“In 2013, we were both on The Ultimate Fighter. Let’s just say I learned Julianna’s personality then. I’ve been waiting for that fight for 10 years, whether the title is on the line or not.” - Raquel Pennington

This is one of them where I’m definitely skipping the press conference. I rarely watch them these days anyway but Pena’s on that list of fighters who I legit can’t stand listening to along with Covington, Strickland, McGregor and maybe a few others. Just got zero interest in anything she’s got to say. Never rated her in the cage or on the mic. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been against just throwing Kayla Harrison in as the challenger here. Fuck it. Why not? Her win over Holly Holm at UFC 300 was the best thing that’s happened at Bantamweight in ages. Plus what’s Pena done to get another shot anyway? Not only coming off a loss and a 2+ year layoff, she’s also got zero Top 15 wins 😂 Think it’s clear how I want this fight to go but either way it’s probably gonna be the drizzling shits to watch.

 

Jose Aldo vs Mario Bautista is ***WAND’S ONE TO WATCH*** this time. Aldo fights are almost always gonna be ones I highlight at this point but I must admit I’m a bit baffled by the matchmaking here. We saw him come back from ‘retirement’ on the Brazil PPV in May and it was all a bit out of the blue. Nobody really saw it coming but it was reported at the time that it was the last fight on his UFC contract so it kind of made sense that he might just wanna fulfill his obligations and be contractually free to go and fight somewhere else. With that in mind, it also made sense why they matched him up with Jonathan Martinez rather than a top name. Little risk for the UFC there. If Martinez won, he’d get ‘the rub’. If Aldo won, he wouldn’t be eliminating a top contender and then just fucking off to fight elsewhere. As it turned out, he schooled Martinez to a shutout and looked really sharp.

The curveball came in August when it was announced that Aldo had re-signed with the UFC. I never really expected that but I was happy with it. However many fights he’s got left in him, I think it’s clear pretty much all of the more appealing ones are in the UFC. So it was confusing when news of this fight with Bautista was dropped on us. Bautista’s a decent fighter actually. He’s got a 14-2 record, 9 finishes, he’s on a 6 fight winning streak and coming off a win over Ricky Simon in a cracking fight in January. Again, like Martinez, it’s not a bad fight at all. It’s just not one anybody was really clamouring for. And while I understood the Martinez booking because they weren’t sure if Aldo was sticking around, that’s not the case here because he’s signed a new contract now. It’s a weird one. He’s got a limited number of fights left in him and there are so many better ones they could’ve made in a stacked division like 135. Even weirder when you look at the rankings. Right now they’ve got Aldo at #10 and Bautista at #11. At this stage in his career, I can’t make sense of why they’ve got Aldo fighting down in the rankings. Oh well. I know considering it’s my ‘one to watch’, this is coming off quite negative but it’s gonna be a good fight regardless and surely if Aldo wins this one they’ll give him something a bit juicier next time.

 

Ketlen Vieira vs Kayla Harrison will be worth keeping an eye on. Like I said above, I wouldn’t have had a problem with just giving Harrison the title shot on this card but here we are. I suspect the UFC are hoping for Pena to win the title and Harrison to win this fight, setting up Pena vs Harrison for the strap in 2025. But we’ll see. Can’t rely on anything in MMA. Not a massive fan of the matchup itself here but Vieira is ranked #2 currently. It serves its purpose. If Harrison can win this one, she’s pretty much the nailed on next contender. She should win as well. Vieira’s looked bang average for years now. There was a brief time when I thought she might have a bright future but it fizzled out. Her best wins are decisions over Cat Zingano, Miesha Tate and Holly Holm. But two of them were split decisions and none of them were wins over the best versions of those women. Yet she still failed to impress. She’s coming into this fight off a points win over Pannie Kianzad. Needless to say, Harrison’s where the interest lies here.

Her Octagon debut really couldn’t have gone any better. She absolutely steamrolled Holly Holm at UFC 300 in April, dominating and submitting her in the second round. I had major doubts going in. For one, it was Harrison’s Bantamweight debut and I was really unsure she would be able to make the cut to 135 without severely depleting herself and hindering her performance. Then you factor in the pressure of the occasion, making her debut on a massive card like that and the fact she was in with Holm who’s so difficult to look good against. But my concerns were for nothing. She bulldozed Holm and did it in style. Yeah, Holm’s older and fading now but Harrison rolling over her the way she did was the way she should have dealt with her. It seemed to worry the rest of the division as well. They seemed spooked. The champ Pennington immediately started talking her down and saying she shouldn’t get to “jump the line” for a title shot. And Pena jumped straight in accusing her of using steroids. They’re rattled. Good. Finally someone worth watching at 135. She even got the attention of Amanda Nunes who seemed to kind of tease a comeback on the night. We’ll see. If Harrison keeps winning and goes on to become champ, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nunes comes back to fight her. Hopefully she gets another win over Vieira here and looks good again. She’s the division’s only hope at this point. Although I’m still a bit sceptical about her cutting to 135 again.

 

Roman Dolidze vs Kevin Holland might be alright. I don’t mind it but I don’t love it either really. Dolidze stepped in on about a week’s notice last time out and beat Anthony Smith up at 205. Wasn’t a fan of that fight at all but given it was short notice and up a weight class, you’ve gotta give him a bit of leeway. I quite liked Dolidze at one point but I’ve cooled off on him lately. His last couple of fights have been snoozers. Maybe Holland can drag something more entertaining out of him. But even then, I’m not as big a fan of Holland as a lot of people seem to be. He’s coming off a first round submission win over Michal Oleksiejczuk in June in a really fun one rounder but he’d lost back-to-back lacklustre decisions to MVP and Jack Della Maddalena before that. Not sure how this goes. There’s definitely potential for a really entertaining scrap there but you never really know which Kevin Holland is gonna show up from one fight to the next and Dolidze’s not on the best of form at the moment.

 

Wonderboy Thompson vs Joaquin Buckley is a funny one. I know I’m like a broken record whenever Wonderboy fights but it’s the same old story. His style just rarely makes for exciting fights. Sometimes it makes for interesting matchups against certain styles but he’s not an easy guy to look good against. And he’s 41 years old now. While he hasn’t exactly been known to get into crazy wars and on the surface we haven’t seen him take a ton of damage, you have to take into account how many years he’s spent competing in martial arts. He’s got a lot of miles on him and I’m not sure how much longer he’s wanting to keep going. He’s only been fighting about once a year the last few years so he definitely seems to be winding it down. And the last time we saw him he was getting submitted by Shavkat Rakhmonov last December. Now he’s jumping in with Buckley, a much younger man at 30, who’s also been quite active. He’s 19-6, on a 4 fight winning streak and has beaten Vicente Luque and Nursulton Ruziboev already this year. I don’t rate him that highly and I doubt he goes much further than he is now but he’s definitely become more vocal recently and started ruffling some feathers. He’s going about it in a shite way though, calling out Conor McGregor and beefing with Daniel Cormier. Just pointless stuff that’s not gonna lead to actual fights. This would be a big win for him if he can pull it off and, given Wonderboy’s age and inactivity, he could be catching him at the right time. Could just as easily see Wonderboy outclassing him though.

 

Marina Rodriguez vs Iasmin Lucindo is just there really but it’s not the worst bit of matchmaking and far from the worst women’s fight on this card. Rodriguez was looking like a contender at one point. Back in 2022 she was probably one solid win away from a title shot but she’s dropped off more recently. She’s now lost 3 of her last 4 with the only win being over a completely washed up Michelle Waterson. We last saw her losing to Jessica Andrade on points at UFC 300. At 37 years old, it definitely feels like the ship’s sailed on her title contention hopes now. In contrast, Lucindo is on the rise. She’s only 22 years old, 16-5 with 11 finishes and she’s on a 3 fight win streak. I had no idea who she was when she made her UFC debut a couple of years ago but she lost to Yazmin Jauregui in a fantastic fight and instantly made a fan of me. Since then she’s beat Brogan Walker, Polyana Viana and Karolina Kowalkiewicz. You know what the matchmakers are going for here. Whenever you see a 37 year old coming off losses vs a 22 year old coming off wins, it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.

 

Ihor Potieria vs Cesar Almeida. Could be alright. Potieria hasn’t bored me yet, to be fair. Started off not liking him when he twatted Shogun into retirement then did his silly little dance. But he’s been entertaining enough, consistently enough, since that I haven’t been able to stay mad at him. Not the best run of results, he’s gone 2-4 in the UFC so far, but never a dull moment. His barmy brawl with Rodolfo Bellato in December last year is well worth a watch if you missed it at the time. Unfortunately for Potieria though, he got absolutely blitzed in under a minute by Michel Pereira on the Brazil PPV in May. Almeida’s only 5-1 in MMA and coming off his first loss, an underwhelming split decision against Roman Kopylov in June. He’s a 57 fight Kickboxing veteran though, who went 1-2 in a trilogy with Alex Pereira.

 

Alexander Hernandez vs Austin Hubbard is OK, I guess. Was originally gonna be Hubbard vs Nate Landwehr but no sooner had that fight been announced, the news came that Nate The Train was out. Gutted. Never warmed to Hernandez. There was a time when he seemed like he had some potential. He had wins over Francisco Trinaldo and Olivier Aubin-Mercier and even had a 42 second knockout win over Beneil Dariush in 2018. He was a cocky little prick for a while and that’s where my dislike for him started, I guess. But he’s been humbled a bit in recent years. He’s 14-8 now and has lost 4 of his last 5 fights. He did manage to beat Jim Miller last year but he’s coming into this fight off a couple of decision losses to Bill Algeo and Damon Jackson. Hubbard’s 16-7 and just beat Michal Figlak on points in April. He’s had a patchy run of results though and has never really been able to string a series of wins together.

 

Carla Esparza vs Tecia Pennington is doing absolutely nothing for me. This might well give the co-main event a run for its money in terms of being a shitty fight. The Penningtons are surely making history here as the first married couple to compete on the same card. Or am I overlooking something obvious? Yeah, this’ll almost certainly be shite. They actually fought on TUF back in 2014 and Esparza won by decision. Vaguely remember them not getting on in the house either but that’s so long ago now I doubt there’s any lingering bad blood. Esparza hasn’t fought since late 2022 now, when she got subbed by Zhang Weili and lost the title to her at MSG. Before that she had that awful stinker against Rose Namajunas. The reason for her time away was she had a baby last year. Pennington went through that recently as well. She returned in May after having her baby and lost a close decision to Tabatha Ricci. I think I had Tecia winning that one actually. The battle of mums.

 

Ovince Saint Preux vs Ryan Spann is toilet. It was scheduled to go down on the Burns vs Brady card at the Apex in September but OSP pulled out with an illness of some sort. I’d have been quite happy if they just never bothered rebooking it but we’re not getting off that easily. OSP seems a nice enough guy but he’s got no place on the roster in 2024. He’s 41 years old now, 27-17 and has gone 4-6 in his last 10. I don’t care that he won his last fight (split decision over Kennedy Nzechukwu), he’s been shite to watch for years and years on end now. His claims to MMA fame will always be that he had a couple of wins over a shot to bits Shogun and went the distance with probably THE worst version of Jon Jones we’ve ever seen. Spann’s kind of just the younger version of OSP. He’s 33, on a 3 fight losing streak and his best wins are over a washed up Little Nog, Sam Alvey (LOL), a wildly inconsistent Ion Cutelaba and Dominick Reyes in the middle of a bad career slump. Just don’t know what the point of this is. I used to look at matchups like this as ‘loser leaves’ fights but they’ll almost certainly keep these two around after this regardless of the result.

 

Tim Means vs Court McGee. Sounds harsh on these guys but this is just filler at this stage in both men’s careers. Means is 40, McGee is coming up on 40. I hate to call it an old man fight because, well, these guys are basically my age! But yeah, they’ve both been knocking around donkeys years now and have been in a lot of scraps. This’ll be the 52nd fight of Means’ career and the 34th for McGee. I’ve really enjoyed watching Means over the years. He’s had a bunch of fun fights on undercards and I feel like he’s been a tad underrated at times actually. But it’s coming to an end now. He’s 1-4 in his last 5 and got brutally stopped by the uppercut of Uros Medic in his last fight in April. And McGee’s lost his last 3 on the bounce now and has started getting finished more in recent fights, which is obviously never a good sign. Of course it’s up to them but I wouldn’t mind seeing them both call it a day and leave the gloves on the canvas after this one.

 

 

It’ll do.

Edited 22 hours ago by wandshogun09

[wandshogun09]

This has to be a record. Aljamain Sterling’s out of the Evloev fight. No sooner had I put this thread up…have I cursed this card already?

 

[Egg Shen]

From the moment this was announced I fancied Rountree, just feel he gets this done in spectacular fashion.

[Kfogg1991]

That one would probably be easier to stomach and accept if he wasn't there this past weekend jumping round without a care in the world cornering merab. Obviously j understand and accept he could have done it beginning of this week but it is a massive blow for the card and for movsar who without a doubt will not wait for aljo he's said on socials he wants to remain and wants another opponent. It's just unlikely to be a great replacement so close and in the division.

[wandshogun09]

Yeah I think Evloev’s staying on the card. He hasn’t fought since January so it’s understandable why he wants back in there. It’s unfortunate. From that clip Aljo posted there it’s an arm injury.

Seeing people suggest Diego Lopes step in and rematch Evloev. But why would he at this point? I mean Lopes is enough of a maniac that it wouldn’t really shock me if he did, Evloev’s his only loss in the UFC so no doubt he wants that one back at some point. But he’d be stupid to take that fight now on short notice when he’s just got a #3 ranking and the only guys above him are Volkanovski, Holloway and the champ Topuria. As tempting as it might be to get that Evloev rematch, he’s got way bigger fish to fry at the moment. Going over old ground now isn’t the move.

Edit - Now, this would be interesting! Jean Silva seems up for stepping in against Evloev.

 

Edited September 19 by wandshogun09

[Egg Shen]

Not anymore

 

[wandshogun09]

Common sense prevails. With Evloev vs Sterling off, Aldo’s fight’s been moved up to the main card.

[wandshogun09]

Something that might be worth noting that I’ve just remembered, this is gonna be the first UFC show where those recent rule changes are gonna come into effect.

• 12-6 elbows now become legal.

• No more gaming the system by putting one hand or the tips of your fingers on the canvas to constitute being a ‘downed opponent’. You need a knee or shoulder touching the mat now or you’re fair game to eat knees to the dome. 

These might well not come into play on this card but might be something worth watching for. I’m thinking someone like Kayla Harrison in particular, with her grappling game, could really benefit from this. Oh and not that I expect there to be any grappling in the main event but can you even imagine the destruction Pereira or Rountree could cause with 12-6 elbows? 

Edited September 25 by wandshogun09