🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[tokeweed]

Date:  Friday, October 23
Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+):  2:00pm EST / 6:00pm BCT
Preliminary Card (ESPN+):  12:00pm EST / 4:00pm BCT
Early Prelims (ESPN+):  10:30am EST / 2:30pm BCT



Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+)

Lightweight:  Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje
Middleweight:  Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier            
Heavyweight:  Alexander Volkov vs Walt Harris            
Light Heavyweight:  Magomed Ankalaev vs Ion Cuțelaba            
Middleweight:  Jacob Malkoun vs Phil Hawes
         
Preliminary card (ESPN+)

Heavyweight:  Stefan Struve vs Tai Tuivasa            
Welterweight:  Alex Oliveira vs Shavkat Rakhmonov            
Light Heavyweight:  Da Un Jung vs Sam Alvey

Early Prelim (ESPN+)

Catchweight (140 lbs):  Nathaniel Wood vs Casey Kenney            
Women's Flyweight:  Liana Jojua vs Miranda Maverick            
Lightweight:  Joel Álvarez vs Alexander Yakovlev

^  Here's the big one folks.  The co main's match up for this one deserves to be a main event in its own card imo.  But I think the UFC is setting up Whitaker to lose this bout in a three rounder.  Lol.  Whitaker has a higher chance of winning if it was 5 rounds imo since Cannonier tends to slow down.

And here's a vid to set the mood.  

UFC 254:  Countdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmzx5PJVoSM

[1715489922]

1715489922

[hilariousetc]

Date:  Friday, October 23
Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+):  2:00pm EST
Preliminary Card (ESPN+):  12:00pm EST
Early Prelims (ESPN+):  10:30am EST



Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+)

Lightweight:  Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje
Middleweight:  Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier            
Heavyweight:  Alexander Volkov vs Walt Harris            
Light Heavyweight:  Magomed Ankalaev vs Ion Cuțelaba            
Middleweight:  Jacob Malkoun vs Phil Hawes
         

I haven't really watched any UFC in a while but this is the fight I've been waiting for and I'll probably stay up to watch it. I think Khabib should win this comfortably. It could go the distance but I think Khabib is too strong and very dangerous if the gets you on the ground. Gaethje hasn't fought anyone too troubling really looking at his fight history.

I wonder if the McGregor/Poirier fight will happen? Dana says they've both been offered it and looks to be just down to contract negotiations now. It's probably a good fight for Conor to return to. He's beat him before so use that as a warm up and start fighting better opponents. Diaz trilogy, Masvidal or Khabaib rematch eventually.

[tokeweed]

^  Me and a friend are actually thinking of splitting a 100 USD bet on Gaethje via submission to win something like 2300 USD if based on early lines.

It feels like Khabib's neck is due to be caught in a guillotine choke.  Lolol.  Poirier had it tight.  Gaethje could do better.  He's a division 1 wrestler, something in his back pocket which isn't really highlighted.

[TopTort777]

^  Me and a friend are actually thinking of splitting a 100 USD bet on Gaethje via submission to win something like 2300 USD if based on early lines.

It feels like Khabib's neck is due to be caught in a guillotine choke.  Lolol.  Poirier had it tight.  Gaethje could do better.  He's a division 1 wrestler, something in his back pocket which isn't really highlighted.

I think that Gaethje tactics will be quick low kicks with 1-2 punch series, while trying to get inside, mount and finish with TKO. Khabibs tactics will be as usual.

On one hand I wish to see Gathje win. Spectators are tired of this "blanket" aka wrestle tactics of Khabib. On the other hand. if Khabib wins, he will have 29-0 record and there is a huuuge possibility of JSP vs Khabib match to happen.

Stefan Struve in prelims. This gigant was usually in main card...

[seoincorporation]

It was a long time since the last fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, it will be awesome to see him fight and to place some money on him, i know he is the under-dog, but x1.3 isn't bad to get. So, let's save some money this week to get an easy profit this Saturday.

[btc_angela]

What can you say about the Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier, Jared slightly favourite to win, but the odds for Robert is very much attractive, I was looking for some reason, and to my surprise it's just 3 round as @tokeweed mentioned, Jared has power no doubt, but Robert might be a bad stylistics for him? what are your thoughts? Stefan Struve odds is also attractive.

[Bttzed03]

Interestingly, bookies thinks the fight between Khabib and Justin will likely go the distance. Odds right now is at over/under 4.5 instead of the usual 2.5. Justin opened up as an underdog at 3.55 (Bitsler) with other bookies slightly higher/lower.

I'm waiting the odds for Justin win by KO or submission. It should be around 15.xx or more. He has a better stand up game and probably the same or slighly less level with Khabib on the ground. We'll see a lot of scrambling for sure.

[yazher]

It was a long time since the last fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov, it will be awesome to see him fight and to place some money on him, i know he is the under-dog, but x1.3 isn't bad to get. So, let's save some money this week to get an easy profit this Saturday.

Khabib is more than ready with his upcoming fight we might see another unexpected submission from him. When I was a teenager, I thought submission is just a boring way to win the fight. since this is a mixed martial art way to compete with each other, I consider knockout was the best way to defeat the opponent. But since I saw Khabib fought in the ring, he bring it to the next level like how he defeats McGregor, I'm looking to see every opponent he fights now to tap in his arms like the last time he fights with Poirier.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgJXG3wP87g

[Bttzed03]

~
Khabib is more than ready with his upcoming fight we might see another unexpected submission from him.

It won't be "unexpected" if he wins by submission again.

Let's look at his records in 28 fights:

• 10 - submission
• 8 - KO
• 10 - Decision

^ He finishes his opponents by either ground and pound (TKO) or by submission.

If the argument is surprising because it's Justin, who is also a high level wrestler, then I can understand that. 

[YuginKadoya]

The level of competition in One FC in lower weight divisions is really high and we know what happened to Eddie Alvarez and the losses he had and Demetrious Johnson who dominated every opponent in the UFC had two tough fights and these opponents are literally unknown to the western world but the level of competition is really high.

Coming to Mark Striegl i am yet to watch his fights and he faced Said Nurmagomedov who has a grappling pedigree and that level of threat will always open the knockout, if he gets to a good camp i am sure he will improve tremendously as 80% is mental toughness and confidence is necessary in a fight game.

Yes! you can see from both fighters movements on who's really formidable in the ring and Striegl really doesn't stand a chance, Said Nurmagomedov in the other hand, had a great performance in his previous fights and I surely know from the start that Mark Striegl will have a difficult time with Nurmagomedov but I didn't expect that it will be this fast to put down Striegl.

I have seen One FC's fights and the level of competitiveness in the UFC is pretty much way to great.  

This fight was a title eliminator and Brian Ortega will be facing the champion next.

Well, I just want to see another fight before the champion fight because maybe I am still questioning Ortega's skill as a fighter it looks to me that it is not enough.

Date:  Friday, October 23
Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+):  2:00pm EST / 6:00pm BCT
Preliminary Card (ESPN+):  12:00pm EST / 4:00pm BCT
Early Prelims (ESPN+):  10:30am EST / 2:30pm BCT



Main Card (ESPN/ESPN+)

Lightweight:  Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje
Middleweight:  Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier            
Heavyweight:  Alexander Volkov vs Walt Harris            
Light Heavyweight:  Magomed Ankalaev vs Ion Cuțelaba            
Middleweight:  Jacob Malkoun vs Phil Hawes
         
Preliminary card (ESPN+)

Heavyweight:  Stefan Struve vs Tai Tuivasa            
Welterweight:  Alex Oliveira vs Shavkat Rakhmonov            
Light Heavyweight:  Da Un Jung vs Sam Alvey

Early Prelim (ESPN+)

Catchweight (140 lbs):  Nathaniel Wood vs Casey Kenney            
Women's Flyweight:  Liana Jojua vs Miranda Maverick            
Lightweight:  Joel Álvarez vs Alexander Yakovlev

^  Here's the big one folks.  The co main's match up for this one deserves to be a main event in its own card imo.  But I think the UFC is setting up Whitaker to lose this bout in a three rounder.  Lol.  Whitaker has a higher chance of winning if it was 5 rounds imo since Cannonier tends to slow down.

And here's a vid to set the mood.  

UFC 254:  Countdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmzx5PJVoSM

Whoa! This is the fight I have been waiting for and it is finally here, I really am a fan of Nurmagomedov after I see how he handles things inside the ring when his opponent doesn't really know what he may do next, because Khabib is always clinging.

[notblox1]

the-sun.com

No Mercy! We have fantastic and long awaited UFC 254 event in just few days!
Main card is packed full with Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Justin Gaethje and Robert Whittaker vs Jared Cannonier

Khabib is heavy favorite if we look at the bookie odds, and man has no defeat so far, and I give him early advantage for win!
Odds are almost even for middleweigh clash Whittaker vs Cannonier and I expect to see real war here.

Watch new Vlog episode UFC 254 Embedded:
https://youtu.be/uAgtrZoApSg

Latest Khabib interview with Mike Swick:
https://youtu.be/_qOuVkFaUZg

[Yaunfitda]

~
Khabib is more than ready with his upcoming fight we might see another unexpected submission from him.

It won't be "unexpected" if he wins by submission again.

Let's look at his records in 28 fights:

• 10 - submission
• 8 - KO
• 10 - Decision

^ He finishes his opponents by either ground and pound (TKO) or by submission.

If the argument is surprising because it's Justin, who is also a high level wrestler, then I can understand that. 

Yes, and this what makes the fight more interesting, a very high grapler (we might say the best right now) vs a high level wrester in Justin, so who are going to win. Can Justin take down Khabib with his wrestling? or Khabib taking down Justin and then his usual pounding until you get your neck exposed to him. Khabib though is overlooking Justin, as he has GSP in mind next already.

[7788bitcoin]

^  Me and a friend are actually thinking of splitting a 100 USD bet on Gaethje via submission to win something like 2300 USD if based on early lines.

It feels like Khabib's neck is due to be caught in a guillotine choke.  Lolol.  Poirier had it tight.  Gaethje could do better.  He's a division 1 wrestler, something in his back pocket which isn't really highlighted.

Are you seriously going for a submission win by Justin Gaethje, he is a NCAA Division I wrestler but he is not great at submission and throughout his career he just have one submission win in his entire career and that too in 2012 and that too against an unknown fighter and he is not known for his BJJ skills either.

The only chance i give Justin Gaethje is a knockout win but i still go with Khabib Nurmagomedov because of his dominance throughout his career.

[tokeweed]

^  For 100 to now win 2500 USD?  Yup!    And the line is going higher.  It's prolly better to wait til after the weigh ins.  The Russians are prolly still shoveling money on Khabib.  Lol.

Here's more vids to set the mood.  

UFC 254:  Inside the Octagon - Khabib vs Gaethje
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyOcXwmmPEw

UFC 254:  Free Fight - Khabib vs Poirier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9HqXzhGX5U

UFC 254:  Free Fight - Gaethje vs Ferguson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT7In0pjz_4

UFC 254:  Free Fight - Cannonier vs Hermansson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtDCkdDUwQc

UFC 254:  Free Fight - Whitaker vs Brunson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqekNTxAL4c

[uray]

Yes, and this what makes the fight more interesting, a very high grapler (we might say the best right now) vs a high level wrester in Justin, so who are going to win. Can Justin take down Khabib with his wrestling? or Khabib taking down Justin and then his usual pounding until you get your neck exposed to him. Khabib though is overlooking Justin, as he has GSP in mind next already.

Khabib is the best grappler in MMA history and Justin Gaethje was a high level wrestler but he never used wrestling in MMA for over a decade and Khabib comes from Dagestan who produces the best wrestlers in the world and no one can replace that level of caliber nor Gaethje would get a sparring partner that could replicate Khabib, so lets rest that.

When it comes to GSP he is retired and even though Khabib wanted to have a legacy fight there is no update regarding that and how can Khabib overlook Gaethje and look for a fight that is not even scheduled and GSP said in multiple interviews that he cannot cut down to 155 pounds.

[Jating]

^  Me and a friend are actually thinking of splitting a 100 USD bet on Gaethje via submission to win something like 2300 USD if based on early lines.

It feels like Khabib's neck is due to be caught in a guillotine choke.  Lolol.  Poirier had it tight.  Gaethje could do better.  He's a division 1 wrestler, something in his back pocket which isn't really highlighted.

Are you seriously going for a submission win by Justin Gaethje, he is a NCAA Division I wrestler but he is not great at submission and throughout his career he just have one submission win in his entire career and that too in 2012 and that too against an unknown fighter and he is not known for his BJJ skills either.

The only chance i give Justin Gaethje is a knockout win but i still go with Khabib Nurmagomedov because of his dominance throughout his career.

Still Khabib's stand up though is under-rated, he knock down Conor with one punch, which we thought is not possible, but he shows that he has a great power as well, slight advantage for Justin, but I don't think that he can knock out Khabib because Khabib has a good chin as well.

So it's hard to see how he is going to win, and his BJJ skill is questionable, how can he defend himself on the ground, Poirier summarises it, "You know what's Khabib gonna do and anticipate it", and he doesn't look strong, but when he is on top, you can't do anything", not exact but along that line.

[7788bitcoin]

~
Still Khabib's stand up though is under-rated, he knock down Conor with one punch, which we thought is not possible, but he shows that he has a great power as well, slight advantage for Justin, but I don't think that he can knock out Khabib because Khabib has a good chin as well.

When the opponent is worried about the take down, then you are open to strikes and that is what happened in the Conor McGregor fight, if you look back you can see when Khabib level changed for the over hand right Conor was preparing to defend the take down and that is when he got floored and that level of take down scare was evident in the Khamzat Chimaev fight, Gerald Meerschaert was expecting a take down in the fence and he was expecting that but instead got knocked out cold.

So it's hard to see how he is going to win, and his BJJ skill is questionable, how can he defend himself on the ground, Poirier summarises it, "You know what's Khabib gonna do and anticipate it", and he doesn't look strong, but when he is on top, you can't do anything", not exact but along that line.

Everyone in Khabib's camp as well as his old opponents will testify that everyone will be confident just before facing him, the moment he catches inside the cage then you will understand the pressure and the technique.

[notblox1]

We are all focused on main event Khabib vs Gaethje but let's not forget other great fights on this card, and one of them is Alexander Volkov (31-8) vs. Walt Harris (13-8).
Looking at bookies odds Volkov is big favorite here: https://www.bestodds.ai/odds/sport-mma/ufc/alexander-volkov-vs-walt-harris
We have two tall heavyweight giants fighting here, with slight reach advantage for six years younger Volkov.
They are both coming from loses against Curtis Blaydes and Alistair Overeem, so this is must win for both.
Volkov is a better fighter and striker and if he manages to survive the first round he will win in later rounds.
I am going for Volkov win here.

[TopTort777]

but let's not forget other great fights on this card, and one of them is Alexander Volkov (31-8) vs. Walt Harris (13-8).
I am going for Volkov win here.

I also think that Volkov would win. This is not the first time Alexander is facing such big guy. Harris has 13 wins and all of them are by KO. I predict he will run out of stamina, as only 3 of his fight ended by decision. What Alexander should do is to survive round 1 and finish tired Harris by KO in third round. But he must be always careful if dont want to lose his winning fight in last second like against Lewis, as even tired Harris has good knockout power.

[mich]

Im staying up late tonight to watch this -

UFC 254: Pre-fight Press Conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNseUnqPLc8