Kfogg1991 Posted March 30 Posted March 30 Wow this ended up being the best UFC show of the year and I believe slightly longer. The first main card all ending by finishes which is the first since 2022 with 150 cards between. How heartbreaking seeing the end of the road and career for Izzy you just don't want him to lose let alone getting finished, his last win was 2023 and third KO/submission we unfortunately have the last stylebender he isn't that has gone. Joe pyfer Will go to the 4th ranking from 14 and finishing a icon of the game in Izzy, man his post fight interview moved me and made me cry. The disease of mental health doesn't discriminate which really got me. That co-main holy shit that finish was fucking scary I was genuinely concerned and worried it wasn't nice at all I hope she is okay and recovered. Seriously what a fantastic card this was Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 30 Author Paid Members Posted March 30 I said the other day that the Vallejos vs Emmett card at the Apex was the show of the year so far and it was. This one has definitely surpassed it. What a card this turned out to be. This can sod off though. Not even a big fan of Izzy but this was really deflating. It’s been looking like he was on the slide for a few fights now. Not just losing but getting stopped by Joe Pyfer is all the evidence I needed to confirm it. It was a better fight to watch than I expected and Adesanya looked really up for it early on. He seemed to be feeling it and I did find myself thinking that, although I definitely think he’s declined, this was a case of levels and I thought he looked well on his way to proving that early on. Then it just all went tits up. I have to begrudgingly give Pyfer some credit. He did fight a little bit less like a mindless meathead here. But I don’t know. I’ll sound like a hater but I feel like this was more about Adesanya fading than Pyfer genuinely being the real deal. Adesanya still look good when he’s on the offence but as soon as Pyfer started getting into it, that’s when you see that Adesanya’s reaction times aren’t what they used to be and he seems to make bad decisions under pressure. Seeing how quickly this seemed to go from a winnable fight to Pyfer on top of him raining down punches was concerning. Losing like this, to a guy like Pyfer, I think the universe is trying to send Izzy a message that it’s time to get out and go and do something else with his life. His post-fight interview suggests he’s gonna keep going until he’s BJ Penn levels of shot though. While I’m here, @Egg Shen touched on Pyfer going religious earlier in the thread and his change of attitude during fight week. He’s said since the fight that he recently tried to kill himself because he cheated on his girlfriend, and that he turned to religion and it saved him. When it comes to religion and beliefs, each to their own. Believe what you want, if it makes life more bearable or gives you some direction. But to me this absolutely reeked of Pyfer manipulating his girlfriend with the classic guilt trip of ‘If you leave me, I’ll kill myself.’ I think he thought he was giving some inspirational speech telling that story but it just made him seem an even more detestable cunt. Cheats on his Mrs then somehow tries to make himself the victim, threatens suicide to make her stay, tells the story publicly to put even more pressure on her, then to top it all off he does the ‘found God’ bit so he can act like a new man. Glad he didn’t top himself but he’s somehow managed to come off as an even bigger shitbag to me with all this. That Alexa Grasso finishing sequence and aftermath was barmy. Never seen anything quite like it. All happened in a flash. She was clearly already out from the punch, the fact there was zero resistance to the choke as she lay there limp tells you that. Grasso basically knocked her out and submitted her at the same time! I was expecting a decent fight going in, to be fair. But I did think it was probably gonna go the distance with Grasso edging it. Nah. She decided to go out and murder Maycee Barber. Been seeing people say it might be the greatest finish in UFC history and all sorts. Yeah, calm down. Whenever there’s a crazy finish, you always get that kind of talk and hyperbole in the immediate fallout. It was nuts for sure. But the thing that made it so unusual was what happened after the fight was stopped. This got really uncomfortable to watch. Grasso let go of the choke, Barber kind of half came to, was moving and seemed to be almost about to try to grapple the ref. We’ve seen all that before. Whatever. But then her just flopping to her back and lying there with her eyes wide open, while the camera stayed on her face for what felt like an eternity, was really fucking weird. As was Cormier and Cruz going ‘She’s fine, she’s fine’ while there was clearly something not quite right going on with her. Hopefully she’s alright but with her going through some health problems over the last year or two, her having that seizure right before the walkouts which cancelled the Blanchfield fight last year etc, it’s a worrying one. Makes you wonder if there’s something underlying going on with her. But for Grasso? This was exactly what she needed. It’s been a rough couple of years for her, she badly needed a win here and she did it in devastating fashion. Definitely gonna be up there in the Knockout Of The Year convo come December. Only problem now is, the names above her in the Flyweight rankings - I think Blanchfield and Fiorot are bad matchups for her and Natalia Silva just beat Grasso already last year. I like her but I think the fans screaming that ‘she’s back’ after this win are setting themselves up for disappointment. As much as I like Grasso, I think this is about as high as she can go. Sounds mad considering she did dethrone Shevchenko but I don’t see her consistently beating the top few in the division to the point she regains the belt and holds it for any significant length of time. Michael Chiesa had about as ideal a send-off as he could’ve really hoped for. Him subbing Niko Price was always the most likely outcome but he did it so quickly and with such ease, he couldn’t have scripted it better himself. Nice post-fight bit as well. Seen all the miserable twats moaning about ‘Why all this for Chiesa? It’s only Chiesa’ that type of stuff. I was never even a big fan of him but I don’t begrudge stuff like this being done for retiring fighters. Did feel a bit bad for Niko though. It most likely won’t stick anyway but this was his retirement fight as well and it couldn’t have gone worse. He’s now been on the wrong end of two retiring fighters bowing out by running through him in highlight reel fashion. Robbie Lawler and now Chiesa. Sadly, the way this played out I think it almost guarantees Niko fights again. He’s not gonna want to go out like that but how many more losses is he gonna take trying to chase one more win? It’s a slippery slope and a dangerous game to play. I’m a fan of Lerryan Douglas already. Fuck me. What a debut. Erosa’s a scrappy sod and has had some really good fights over the years. Douglas absolutely set about him. It was like he flipped a switch, the red mist descended and he was like a man possessed. He was not gonna be denied. Just based on this short fight, I’ve seen enough to know he’s gonna be a fun addition to the Featherweight division. So many potential barnburners to be made with him at 145. Yousri Belgaroui, just two fights into his UFC run, is quickly becoming a highlight for me. Thought he looked really good here. Think a lot of people expected big things from Mansur Abdul-Malik but, like I said in the opening post, him having a competitive fight against Cody Brundage a couple of fights ago gave me doubts on him. But man, Belgaroui messed him up here. I really liked what I saw in his debut against Bekoev but, even with my doubts on Malik, I did think his wrestling might cause Belgaroui issues. Needn’t have worried. Not sure how far he can take this but his first couple of performances in the UFC have been very impressive. Thought he showed some solid defensive wrestling as well, which is always naturally a concern when it comes to Kickboxers who’ve made the transition to MMA. He’s clearly putting the graft in with Glover and whoever the wrestlers are that they have in that gym. Not saying he’s gonna be champ or anything but he’s shown signs in his first couple of fights that make me think he might end up being a bit of a problem in the Middleweight division. I’m convinced Terrance McKinney is never ever ever gonna go to the scorecards. Win or lose, his fights just aren’t lasting long either way. This time he needed just 24 seconds to smoke Kyle Nelson. He’s now 26 fights into his career and he’s yet to go to a decision even once. 22 of those fights never even made it past the first round. At this point the judges might as well just go on a break when he fights. They’re obviously not needed. I can’t believe McKinney has still never received a bonus in the UFC. How? Even boring arse Strickland has had five bonuses yet McKinney’s never got one? Musayev vs Bahamondes was an absolute bloodbath. Jesus. What a battle. Musayev was the clear winner but Bahamondes definitely had his moments. Cormier was right though, Musayev grabbing the fence when he did felt like it had a direct impact on changing the momentum of the fight. There was also a headbutt when they were on the ground that looked intentional and dirty as fuck. No wonder Bahamondes face was a bloody mess. And the ref did fuck all. Really good fight to watch but it’s a shame it was marred by that stuff. Lance Gibson Jr had a much better showing against Chase Hooper here than he did in his debut against Bobby Green. Bashed him up for the first round stoppage. Can see the argument that the ref was a bit quick to jump in but I didn’t have a huge problem with it. Could’ve done without Gibson practically begging the crowd to be nice to him though. I always hate when a crowd is booing a fighter and they go ‘hey I know you guys are booing me but I love this city’, or in Gibson’s case ‘I was born down the road’, then the crowd cheers. Piss off. Don’t know what I dislike more, the fighter grovelling or the crowd changing their tune just because someone named their city. The old cheap pop. Tyrell Fortune outwrestled Tybura to the scorecards. Wasn’t much good to watch. Think Buffer must’ve dozed off himself cageside because he royally fucked up the call at the end there, somehow announcing Tybura as the winner then having to get back on the mic and correct it. Bruce should’ve retired along with Chiesa. Lay the mic down on the canvas, it’s over. In fairness, it’s the only talking point coming out of this fight. Casey O’Neill blitzing Gabriella Fernandes for the first round finish was a pleasant surprise. Wasn’t expecting much from this at all, especially considering O’Neill was coming off almost a two year layoff. If anything I was thinking Fernandes was probably gonna spoil her comeback. Wrong. Good stuff. You could actually see how much that moment meant to her. Still not convinced about her but she’s still the right side of 30 so if she can stay active now she’s got some time yet. Her Scottish/Aussie hybrid accent is mad though. Navajo Stirling got the easy win over Bruno Lopes. Proper battering this was, although doesn’t tell us much because Lopes isn’t very good. Ref let it go a bit too long for my liking. Feel like he could’ve saved Lopes from unnecessary punishment, it was clear he wasn’t getting out of that position. Could really, really do without Dominick Cruz doing some variation of “I wish I would’ve been given that chance to fight out of it” every single bastard time a ref lets a fight go too long. Jesus Christ man. That Cejudo fight was six whole years ago! Is he ever gonna shut up about it? Give it a rest. The Ricky Simon vs Adrian Yanez fight ending up as a draw has caused quite a stir. I had Yanez winning, thought he won the first and third rounds. I’d have to watch it again to really score it properly but looking at the scorecards all three judges had Simon winning the first round. The only thing that saved Yanez from a loss and made it a draw is the fact that two of the judges gave him the third 10-8. Not sure I agree with that either, Yanez definitely won the third but I felt like Simon did enough in that round for it not to be 10-8. But in a way it’s kind of warped justice because I felt like he was well on his way to getting shafted by the judges. Fuck knows though. Maybe I scored the first round wrong? It was one of them fights. Yeah, quality show that was. Shame we’re back at the Apex this week for what looks like the weakest card of the year on paper so far. Quote
Dai Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Belgaroui reminded me of a middleweight Semmy Schilt. Just a lanky guy who actually uses the range well. Price deciding to grapple with Chiesa was not exactly the wisest decision, was it? What a stupid error. Wand, can you hook me up a gif of the Grasso finish from the original angle, and in normal speed? Ive rewatched it at least 20 times, as the reaction from punch to fully locked in choke must have been less than a second. Super scary. Was like an alligator attacking something at the rivers edge. Izzy was looking good and in control, and then it was like a flip switched, and he looked wrecked/gassed in an instant. It wasnt even as if he got hit with anything that rattled him, which is the scary part if youre an Izzy fan. It was like the Izzy balloon got popped, and within 2 minutes he was done. Mother nature catching up with him. Also our monthly reminder that Cruz is the absolute shits in the commentary box. Cant remember what fight it was, but Anik had to literally talk over Dom as he was waffling to such an extent. Never seen the likes of that before. It is either the vortex of Cruz, but DC was crap too. Maybe hes checked out now too and in auto pilot? The UFC model these days is to make as little effort as possible, and to have no personalities, but a little injection of some current/fairly recent fighters to the booth would do a lot to freshen it up. Failing that, and I know Wand would agree with me on this one, but what is Frank Mir up to these days? Get him back with a live microphone to talk about intricacies of details of manoveres. Quote
Kfogg1991 Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Just look at this fucking fight night card then this week's.... This week's is so bad I'm not even bothering I'll look next week it is the absolute shits Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 31 Author Paid Members Posted March 31 (edited) 2 hours ago, Dai said: Wand, can you hook me up a gif of the Grasso finish from the original angle, and in normal speed? Ive rewatched it at least 20 times, as the reaction from punch to fully locked in choke must have been less than a second. Super scary. Was like an alligator attacking something at the rivers edge. Certainly… Ruthless. She jumped on that choke so fast it would have just been pure instinct, she had no idea she was choking what was already pretty much a corpse. 2 hours ago, Dai said: Failing that, and I know Wand would agree with me on this one, but what is Frank Mir up to these days? Get him back with a live microphone to talk about intricacies of details of manoveres. You know what? I know you’re joking around but I’ve always begrudgingly admitted that Mir was a good colour commentator. Hate to admit it but I actually remember enjoying his work in WEC in that role. Way better than the current crop of ex fighters who do it. Felder’s alright but DC, Cruz, Bisping can get in the bin. I’d happily swap the lot of them for Mir and Brian Stann. I don’t mind Laura Sanko on commentary actually either. Edited March 31 by wandshogun09 Quote
jimufctna24 Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) Despite the rather steep decline in recent years, Izzy's peaks were incredible (the first Whittaker bout + comeback KO against Poatan), and while the Romero fight was indeed pish to watch, it was at least a win over a very tricky opponent who few look good against. To go 4-1 against Whittaker x2, Poatan x2 and Romero is something that few middleweights in MMA history could hope to match. 5 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said: You know what? I know you’re joking around but I’ve always begrudgingly admitted that Mir was a good colour commentator. Hate to admit it but I actually remember enjoying his work in WEC in that role. Way better than the current crop of ex fighters who do it. Felder’s alright but DC, Cruz, Bisping can get in the bin. I’d happily swap the lot of them for Mir and Brian Stann. I don’t mind Laura Sanko on commentary actually either. How about Mauro and Big John? Edited March 31 by jimufctna24 Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 31 Author Paid Members Posted March 31 19 minutes ago, jimufctna24 said: How about Mauro and Big John? You’ll be suggesting Damon ‘The Dawg’ Perry next. Quote
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted March 31 Paid Members Posted March 31 17 hours ago, wandshogun09 said: Tyrell Fortune outwrestled Tybura to the scorecards. Wasn’t much good to watch. Think Buffer must’ve dozed off himself cageside because he royally fucked up the call at the end there, somehow announcing Tybura as the winner then having to get back on the mic and correct it. Bruce should’ve retired along with Chiesa. Lay the mic down on the canvas, it’s over. In fairness, it’s the only talking point coming out of this fight. Ive been saying it for years. Buffer fucking sucks, he's way past his sell-by date. He makes loads of mistakes and over time has inch by inch tried to make it all about him. He's fucking rubbish, the people who like Bruce Buffer are the same ones who consider Mike Goldberg the greateat pbp man in the MMA. If anything, just do what they do with his brother. Give him the night off and just wheel him out for the main event so he can do his "it's time" bit. Fuck off. Quote
jimufctna24 Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Aye, I can take or leave Buffer personally. I wouldn't care if he retired. Quote
Dai Posted March 31 Posted March 31 1 hour ago, wandshogun09 said: Certainly… A thing of beauty! Cheers. Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted March 31 Author Paid Members Posted March 31 48 minutes ago, Egg Shen said: Ive been saying it for years. Buffer fucking sucks, he's way past his sell-by date. He makes loads of mistakes and over time has inch by inch tried to make it all about him. He's fucking rubbish, the people who like Bruce Buffer are the same ones who consider Mike Goldberg the greateat pbp man in the MMA. If anything, just do what they do with his brother. Give him the night off and just wheel him out for the main event so he can do his "it's time" bit. Fuck off. Completely agree. People act like it’s blasphemy or something if you have a pop at Buffer but he’s been shit for years. Just a shouty prick in his even louder suit jackets to try to distract from the fact he’s crap. He’s definitely been overstepping and trying to be the main character for ages now. Fist bumping fighters during the intros, going right up to their face while he’s announcing them etc. Shouldn’t even be on camera in that moment but he just has to get in the shot. Then you see shite like this… What is he doing? Warming up and acting like he’s a fighter…just to read some names off a card. Twat. Quote
Tamura Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) Every time I see Buffer I think of Boyd Pierce from Mid-South Wrestling. And don't get me started on the phrase "over to Bruce Buffer to make it official". Erm no, it's official when the referee stops the fight. There's nothing in the unified rules of MMA that says a result is only official when some cunt in a stupid jacket tells the crowd who won. Edited March 31 by Tamura Quote
Kfogg1991 Posted April 1 Posted April 1 Right who controls and manages the fucking rankings. Joe pyfer #14 defeated and knocked out in round 2..... Israel adesania #4... Even the commentators said pyfer moves to #4 and inside the top 5 on Tuesday....... So how the fuck is he #6 and Izzy is #9 That man without question deserves to be where Izzy was with that performance being ranked 14th he knocked out a two time champion and one of the biggest names they have. But he gets 6 and Izzy 9 The rankings are completely redundant and have no meaning now. They were a goal and contended ladder showing where you stand as the greatest company in the world's listings but it's a fucking joke now Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 1 Author Paid Members Posted April 1 (edited) The rankings have always been bollocks. Always. There wasn’t a time since they were brought in that they had actual credibility. They’ve always been just a bullshit tool that they manipulated to suit their needs and push whoever the promotional/Dana favourite of the day was at any given time. They’ve never ever been legit. I don’t think this Pyfer example is the example to lose your head over. Beating a guy ranked #4 doesn’t automatically mean you take his exact place in the rankings with a win. It’s never been a given that it works like that. And going from #14 to #6 after one win over a washed up Izzy isn’t bad going at all. For a real example of the rankings being total dogshit, look at the incessant fuckery they pulled with Paddy Pimblett to justify him moving up the rankings. He somehow just got placed at #5 before the Gaethje fight, despite not holding one single solitary win over anyone in the Top 10. He’s still at #6 now somehow despite losing the Gaethje fight, I’m sure he stayed at #5 even after that loss for a bit as well. There are many cases that prove the rankings are just manufactured, artificial shite, much worse examples than Pyfer jumping up eight spots with one win. The Paddy one is the worst and most blatantly obvious though. Edited April 1 by wandshogun09 Quote
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted April 1 Author Paid Members Posted April 1 It was a good fight but… Nah. Just no. How do you call anything ‘Fight Of The Month’ when Mason Jones vs Axel Sola went down just a week before? Not having it. Quote
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