🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[Pumared]

I think Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes will have the same result. I don't think Lopes has the ability to finish Volka, but Volka has the ability to knock Lopes out. So the challenger needs to be significantly superior to win by points. I think it will be a close fight and Volka will win. I hope Lopes brings something new this time.

[OgNasty]

Even after Dana White said there is no way Conor McGregor will be fighting in the White House event, he is still claiming he is. He’s doing a 100% training camp in preparation for the event. It will be interesting to see if Dana switches his stance and lets him fight after all.

https://x.com/happypunch/status/2016307242924916837

[bbc.reporter]

Or Paddy showed who he really is and his skill level. Opponents Paddy had are no match to opponents Gaethje had. Controversial win over Jared Gordon was the first flag to doubt if Paddy is really top of the top fighters of division. Gaethje did not manage to finish Paddy only because Paddy hasnt received enough damage in this game. One or two fights and getting as much damage as in last fight and crystal chin tag can slowly be applied on Paddy.

Both Paddy and Gaethje has nothing to do against Ilia. Paddy with eating most of strikes by head. Gaethje is almost straightforward, slow and old now. If striking masters like Holloway and Volk were twisting around Topuria, trying to avoid strikes and finding key to Topuria defense, then those two will be KOed (if they meet Topuria) with 100% probability.

I have very much expressed in this thread that I am a fan of Paddy the Baddy, however, you are correct on your assessment on him. It appears that uncle Dana has made a mistake and thought that Justin Gaethje's oldness will give Paddy the victory heheheheh. The big headed Ilia Topuria might also be very disappointed. We can be quite certain that he wants to knockout Paddy on his next fight and release all of his anger caused by his wife hehehehehehehehee.

[TopTort777]

Why Gaethje is not in p4p list ? As a champion, he should get at least 15th spot there. I find it fair if they replace Holloway with Gaethje, but put him lower than #10 place. Now as Gathje is a champ, Poirier start to talk about returning from retirement, because they have some unfinished business When Islam and Topuria were in town, he wasnt talking like that

Dan Hooker is making lame excuses before his fight that will be in few days. All of a sudden, after so much time has passed, he has revealed that he was fighting Arman with broken nose, and that is why he has lost. Arman headbutted him during faceoffs. How stupid it sounds, broken nose, no blood, he did not react, but start talking about that when so much time has passed. I had my nose broken when I was playing basketball, I was bleeding and it is impossible not to notice it, as it hurts every time you move your nose.

[tokeweed]

^  Ask the journos and various media members...  They make the P4P list, not the UFC.

I think Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes will have the same result. I don't think Lopes has the ability to finish Volka, but Volka has the ability to knock Lopes out. So the challenger needs to be significantly superior to win by points. I think it will be a close fight and Volka will win. I hope Lopes brings something new this time.

Yeah, Volk will prolly win convincingly in this spot.  Not sure if it's gonna be a KO tho.  Lopes has an iron cast chin.  And I'm not really sure why Lopes was given another shot so quickly.  Silva almost won against him if not for Silva's carelessness from what I remember.

Here are a couple of vids to watch...  Just can't get enough of that narrator.  The guy's voice puts me to sleep.  

UFC 325 Countdown:  Volk vs Lopes 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtugASXQ7jI

UFC 325 Countdown:  Hooker vs Saint Denis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzgCYINFnuk

[TopTort777]

Some UFC 350 fights announced. Here is the vid

https://youtube.com/shorts/aRTIkL3aA-8?si=Pjz2EztUDkqQ_hJA

P.S. please forget my inner kid, but I really wish they run such an event But they are missing biggest stars, Rambo vs Dutch  With ChatGPT that can write a script of a fight, AI that can generate any video, they can really make it happen.

[Pumared]

^  Ask the journos and various media members...  They make the P4P list, not the UFC.

I think Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes will have the same result. I don't think Lopes has the ability to finish Volka, but Volka has the ability to knock Lopes out. So the challenger needs to be significantly superior to win by points. I think it will be a close fight and Volka will win. I hope Lopes brings something new this time.

Yeah, Volk will prolly win convincingly in this spot.  Not sure if it's gonna be a KO tho.  Lopes has an iron cast chin.  And I'm not really sure why Lopes was given another shot so quickly.  Silva almost won against him if not for Silva's carelessness from what I remember.

I think it must be something to do with the audience that the fight brought in previously. And Diego Lopes, since he joined, has always delivered very good fights; even the first fight he lost was met with a standing ovation. So I think the UFC decided to give him this chance.

[TopTort777]

Give him chance and again freeze Evloev. In the first fight Volk was outclassing Lopes. Look at the fight stats http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/e733f148060bef2a. More than x2 advantage in significant strikes made. Only in round 2 Lopes showed something. From side look, I see no reason for Lopes to give another chance so quickly. Lopes was granted that opportunity because he is more media person than rest top guys in card. But I would say that he got that chance undeservedly.

[Synchronice]

Even after Dana White said there is no way Conor McGregor will be fighting in the White House event, he is still claiming he is. He’s doing a 100% training camp in preparation for the event. It will be interesting to see if Dana switches his stance and lets him fight after all.

https://x.com/happypunch/status/2016307242924916837

After so many cardio trainings, so many extreme weight cuts (probably steroids too after his injury) and so many white snow, how on earth is he still alive and not dead with a stroke or cardiovascular damage?
I think that Dana White doesn't have a hope of Conor McGregor fighting for the White House, that's why he declines it but if Conor really proves himself, then we might get a surprise announcement from Dana.

The big headed Ilia Topuria might also be very disappointed. We can be quite certain that he wants to knockout Paddy on his next fight and release all of his anger caused by his wife hehehehehehehehee.

Why do you dislike Topuria so much? His head isn't big I think that this divorce with wife would make him weaker instead of stronger because he wouldn't be able to workout well in the GYM, I mean less free time, thoughts about what happened and so on. It's hard to focus on training when you have issues inside your family.

[TopTort777]

Funny story.

There is such guy as Patchy Mix. He was a Bellator champ with 20-1 record before UFC signed him. Among 20 wins, 13 were by submission and 2 by KO. Rather scary dude on a paper and Bellator isnt a no-name promotion. This dude got signed for UFC this summer, lost 2 fights and got released Second loss what to a guy that was having a debut lol People were saying he would be nice addition to bantamweight. Turned out he did not

[tokeweed]

Give him chance and again freeze Evloev. In the first fight Volk was outclassing Lopes. Look at the fight stats http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/e733f148060bef2a. More than x2 advantage in significant strikes made. Only in round 2 Lopes showed something. From side look, I see no reason for Lopes to give another chance so quickly. Lopes was granted that opportunity because he is more media person than rest top guys in card. But I would say that he got that chance undeservedly.

What do you mean by 'freeze' Evloev?  Lolol.  If that means give him a title shot against Volk, then yup I totally agree.  But the UFC doesn't want to match Volk up against a guy like that rn.  The UFC is giving him a couple of winnable match ups before giving him a tough one.

I think for Evloev, he'll prolly be matched against fan favorite Jean Silva.  Pretty sure Evloev has a decent chance to win that one and build up a fan base.

[Pumared]

Give him chance and again freeze Evloev. In the first fight Volk was outclassing Lopes. Look at the fight stats http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/e733f148060bef2a. More than x2 advantage in significant strikes made. Only in round 2 Lopes showed something. From side look, I see no reason for Lopes to give another chance so quickly. Lopes was granted that opportunity because he is more media person than rest top guys in card. But I would say that he got that chance undeservedly.

I don't think it's unfair. I think if he's good at fighting, if he delivers a good fight, if the audience likes him, it's only fair to give him a chance. If other fighters don't have that charisma or don't train enough to deliver good fights, then it's not Lopes' fault. I don't think there was any injustice.

[TopTort777]

Give him chance and again freeze Evloev. In the first fight Volk was outclassing Lopes. Look at the fight stats http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/e733f148060bef2a. More than x2 advantage in significant strikes made. Only in round 2 Lopes showed something. From side look, I see no reason for Lopes to give another chance so quickly. Lopes was granted that opportunity because he is more media person than rest top guys in card. But I would say that he got that chance undeservedly.

What do you mean by 'freeze' Evloev?  Lolol.  If that means give him a title shot against Volk, then yup I totally agree.  But the UFC doesn't want to match Volk up against a guy like that rn.  The UFC is giving him a couple of winnable match ups before giving him a tough one.

I think for Evloev, he'll prolly be matched against fan favorite Jean Silva.  Pretty sure Evloev has a decent chance to win that one and build up a fan base.

Evloev is on pause or shadow banned from having a title fight like Makhachev, Anklaev, Dvalishvili, Khabib, Allen, Ferguson. All of them are and were on 9-11 win streak before they finally got a title shot. I dont know how to explain that. Some guys have few fights and then a title fight, or lose title fight and immediately get another chance, even though they lost by UD 50-45. But some wait for years and create win streaks and have to prove one more time, get tested one more time. Which is a double absurd if champions change

[pawel7777]

UFC 325 is approaching fast.
Odds for the main card fights (from 2up.io):

Quilian Salkilld x1.06 Vs Jamie Mullarkey x6.50
Talisson Teixeira x1.26 Vs Tai Tuivasa x3.30
Rafael Fiziev x1.86 Vs Mauricio Ruffy x1.78
Dan Hooker x3.37 Vs Benoit Saint-Denis x1.25
Alexander Volkanovski x1.60 Vs Diego Lopes x2.10

No surprises there, maybe except for Dan Hooker. I didn't expect him to be that much of an underdog, especially when he fights at home. I guess fighting just 2 months after he lost to Arman can look like he's just focused on the money at this stage, without caring too much about proper rest and sufficient preparation time. But who knows, maybe it can work to his advantage, like a one, long camp, without much of a break in between? I think BSD is much more likely to win, but odds for Dan are looking pretty tempting.

I wonder how Tai Tuivasa will approach his fight. He's on 5 losses streak, so really needs a win. Now, will he try to play it safe, keep a cool head and wait for potential openings, or will he just go all out in the first round, hoping to create some chaos and capitalise on that? For the sake of his future career, I think he should focus on giving a good show. Even if he loses after a great fight, the UFC might still keep him around.

[bbc.reporter]

@pawel7777. Agreed on your assessment on the Hangman Hooker heheheh. This is certainly another of their underestimations by the sportsbooks for this fight and they certainly have not considered the Hangman's experience. This French soldier Benoit certainly is not very skillful if we compare this to the Hangman's previous opponent Arman. I reckon Arman is the best fighter in the lightweight division, very much better than the present lightweight champion the bigheaded Topuria hehe.

[TopTort777]

I would call this video as pants of steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0CnN30DiZE

Aaron Tau tried to cheat and use DC trick during weigh-ins. He has used a privacy box and showed 122lb on scales, but commission found something weird in his behavior. They have asked him to weigh-in again and he showed 129lb on scales. That is 3lb extra for flyweight and fight got cancelled. That dude has failed in Contender series (lost), now failed at Road to UFC

[tokeweed]

Give him chance and again freeze Evloev. In the first fight Volk was outclassing Lopes. Look at the fight stats http://ufcstats.com/fight-details/e733f148060bef2a. More than x2 advantage in significant strikes made. Only in round 2 Lopes showed something. From side look, I see no reason for Lopes to give another chance so quickly. Lopes was granted that opportunity because he is more media person than rest top guys in card. But I would say that he got that chance undeservedly.

What do you mean by 'freeze' Evloev?  Lolol.  If that means give him a title shot against Volk, then yup I totally agree.  But the UFC doesn't want to match Volk up against a guy like that rn.  The UFC is giving him a couple of winnable match ups before giving him a tough one.

I think for Evloev, he'll prolly be matched against fan favorite Jean Silva.  Pretty sure Evloev has a decent chance to win that one and build up a fan base.

Evloev is on pause or shadow banned from having a title fight like Makhachev, Anklaev, Dvalishvili, Khabib, Allen, Ferguson. All of them are and were on 9-11 win streak before they finally got a title shot. I dont know how to explain that. Some guys have few fights and then a title fight, or lose title fight and immediately get another chance, even though they lost by UD 50-45. But some wait for years and create win streaks and have to prove one more time, get tested one more time. Which is a double absurd if champions change

Yeah but Evloev will prolly get his title shot later this year...  And win.    Hopefully it's against Volk.  He'll never be able to get back if he loses.  He's 37 years old and a guy who cuts a lot of weight to make 145.  He's getting old and that's why the bookies are lining the fight a little close.  If he was 5 years younger, the bookies will prolly put him at 1.35 or something.

Here are the weigh ins.  Enjoy...

UFC 325:  Ceremonial Weigh In
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgMzX6xIE8Q

The fight I'm really looking forward to is Fiziev vs Ruffy.  That's gonna be a banger.  Got my money on Fiziev as the slight underdog. 

[Hanadawa]

I think it must be something to do with the audience that the fight brought in previously. And Diego Lopes, since he joined, has always delivered very good fights; even the first fight he lost was met with a standing ovation. So I think the UFC decided to give him this chance.

Lopes played very well in their first meeting. While Volk dominated, it was one of Volk's toughest fights at featherweight. I still favor Volk to win this fight. However, it looks like the fight will end in another unanimous decision. I think Lopes needs to bring something new to the table if he wants a different outcome. I see Lopes becoming a champion in this division. But if Volk is still around, it will be very difficult for another fighter to take the belt from him.

Funny story.
There is such guy as Patchy Mix. He was a Bellator champ with 20-1 record before UFC signed him. Among 20 wins, 13 were by submission and 2 by KO. Rather scary dude on a paper and Bellator isnt a no-name promotion. This dude got signed for UFC this summer, lost 2 fights and got released Second loss what to a guy that was having a debut lol People were saying he would be nice addition to bantamweight. Turned out he did not

That reminds me of Ben Askren. He was one of the best welterweights in Bellator and ONE Championship. He had an undefeated record, and I remember the UFC trading him for Mighty Mouse Johnson. People believed he would be one of the greatest fighters in the UFC. But he actually came in and became one of the most enduring fighters in UFC history, becoming the fastest fighter to lose in UFC history. Next up was Demian Maia. People thought it would be a tough fight because both men were on the ground. But Askren lost via submission in the third round. Patchy Mix seems to be another story in the UFC. While he doesn't have Askren's highlights, I think this shows why the UFC is considered the best MMA promotion today.

[Pumared]

I think it must be something to do with the audience that the fight brought in previously. And Diego Lopes, since he joined, has always delivered very good fights; even the first fight he lost was met with a standing ovation. So I think the UFC decided to give him this chance.

Lopes played very well in their first meeting. While Volk dominated, it was one of Volk's toughest fights at featherweight. I still favor Volk to win this fight. However, it looks like the fight will end in another unanimous decision. I think Lopes needs to bring something new to the table if he wants a different outcome. I see Lopes becoming a champion in this division. But if Volk is still around, it will be very difficult for another fighter to take the belt from him.

I agree, and with Volka in the division, it's hard to count on him retiring or getting old enough to lose due to some slip-up. The guy has been active for a long time and is 37 years old; he fights against much younger guys and still manages to perform well. As long as Volka is active, few will get a belt in this division.

[pawel7777]

@pawel7777. Agreed on your assessment on the Hangman Hooker heheheh. This is certainly another of their underestimations by the sportsbooks for this fight and they certainly have not considered the Hangman's experience. This French soldier Benoit certainly is not very skillful if we compare this to the Hangman's previous opponent Arman. I reckon Arman is the best fighter in the lightweight division, very much better than the present lightweight champion the bigheaded Topuria hehe.

Sure BSD is not at the same level as Arman, but it's not like Dan caused any problems to Arman in their last fight. It was a one-sided show. Maybe it could've gone slightly differently if not for Hooker's attempt to guillotine Arman, which backfired badly each time he attempted that.

I would call this video as pants of steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0CnN30DiZE

Aaron Tau tried to cheat and use DC trick during weigh-ins. He has used a privacy box and showed 122lb on scales, but commission found something weird in his behavior. They have asked him to weigh-in again and he showed 129lb on scales. That is 3lb extra for flyweight and fight got cancelled. That dude has failed in Contender series (lost), now failed at Road to UFC

Lol, I think he would've gotten away with that if he held a bit steadier and didn't overdo it to 122 pounds. Why would he need a box if he was that light? There was no way they could let it slide.
I think this trick is officially dead. They will be extra cautious every time someone uses a box during weight-ins.