🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[TheNineClub]

Big news for UFC and middleweight category is that kickboxing champion Alex Pereira signed a deal with UFC!
He is 34 years old coming from Brazil and his first UFC fight will be in November against Andreas Michailidis in UFC 268 Usman vs Covington 2.
This fight card is going to be epic with more fights like Rose Namajunas vs Weili Zhang, Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler, Al Iaquinta vs Bobby Green and others.
I knew UFC was looking for fresh blood in middleweight division to challenge Adesanya, so they are looking in all directions now, but I am not sure if Pereira will be good enough.

I am surprised as he had a solid winning streak until his loss a couple of days ago, but I guess Glory doesn't have the financial capability as UFC does. That being said, I am sceptical of kickboxers transitioning to MMA big leagues that suddenly. Gokhan Saki had more or less the same MMA background when coming into the UFC and unfortunately had nothing to show.

[YuginKadoya]

I am surprised as he had a solid winning streak until his loss a couple of days ago, but I guess Glory doesn't have the financial capability as UFC does. That being said, I am sceptical of kickboxers transitioning to MMA big leagues that suddenly. Gokhan Saki had more or less the same MMA background when coming into the UFC and unfortunately had nothing to show.

There are different transitions for every fighter switching careers not all people could be as good as Anderson Silva from boxing to the UFC but we can never know until Alex Pereira would simply know what he is doing inside the ring and as a kickboxer, I think he has established his striking very well but he can surely add wrestling into the mix well it is up to a fighter if he would go that route or just stick in plain striking, let's just wait when he fights inside the ring.

[tokeweed]

Check out the roster for UFC 266.  It’s that high up in name value but it is stacked!  

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/78601-ufc-266

Worth the wait imho...  and the payment for the PPV.  Everybody be sure not to miss the matches from the prelims all the way to the top.  I know some people who ignore the prelims.  It’s really where value is found from a betting perspective.

Edit:  I meant the event is not that high up in name value.

[CryptoBuds]

I am surprised as he had a solid winning streak until his loss a couple of days ago, but I guess Glory doesn't have the financial capability as UFC does. That being said, I am sceptical of kickboxers transitioning to MMA big leagues that suddenly. Gokhan Saki had more or less the same MMA background when coming into the UFC and unfortunately had nothing to show.

There are different transitions for every fighter switching careers not all people could be as good as Anderson Silva from boxing to the UFC but we can never know until Alex Pereira would simply know what he is doing inside the ring and as a kickboxer, I think he has established his striking very well but he can surely add wrestling into the mix well it is up to a fighter if he would go that route or just stick in plain striking, let's just wait when he fights inside the ring.

Yes, I think he should add wrestling as one of his skill sets. Because we know he can kick pretty well but what if someone doesn't give him the space he needs. And that is surely going to happen when he faces someone who has really good grappling skills. A good grappler will always try to close the gap to score takedowns and try to go for ground and pound. If he has wrestling skills he will be able to defend himself in that situation far better. And if he does not consider learning wrestling, he better stay on his feet in the ring because if he goes down it will be trouble for him.

[YuginKadoya]

Yes, I think he should add wrestling as one of his skill sets. Because we know he can kick pretty well but what if someone doesn't give him the space he needs. And that is surely going to happen when he faces someone who has really good grappling skills. A good grappler will always try to close the gap to score takedowns and try to go for ground and pound. If he has wrestling skills he will be able to defend himself in that situation far better. And if he does not consider learning wrestling, he better stay on his feet in the ring because if he goes down it will be trouble for him.

Well, it is up to him to add something to his arsenal and the best way to do it is to add wrestling, but it is still OK if he will go to a Striking route just like Israel Adesanya, he will need to polish his takedown defense to ready himself with an opponent that has Wrestling moves, but yes takedown still has a huge score for the judge, but I think he already polishes with his striking with punch and kicks because he comes from kickboxing so he is really ready when it comes to that aspect, but when it comes to a well-rounded game inside the octagon.

[TopTort777]

34 years old fighter? He will be an easy win for any fighter with wrestling or BJJ base. I dont know what he is going to show against more younger fighters. I think that the peak of his form has already gone. He will be just a regular fighter to fill the card imo.

[eaLiTy]

~
Well, it is up to him to add something to his arsenal and the best way to do it is to add wrestling, but it is still OK if he will go to a Striking route just like Israel Adesanya, he will need to polish his takedown defense to ready himself with an opponent that has Wrestling moves, but yes takedown still has a huge score for the judge, but I think he already polishes with his striking with punch and kicks because he comes from kickboxing so he is really ready when it comes to that aspect, but when it comes to a well-rounded game inside the octagon.

It is not that easy as it is said, to add wrestling at a later stage in career will not be easy, if so everyone would be transitioning well who has a striking background, they would spend time wrestling and they will be the best. There are some fighters like GSP who had a striking background but he is known for his wrestling skills inside the MMA community because he was quick to learn them and implement them against the best wrestlers but you cannot expect everyone to be like GSP.

The best they can do is basic takedown defense and if you are against elite wrestlers like Khabib it wont work either.

[kro55]

~
Well, it is up to him to add something to his arsenal and the best way to do it is to add wrestling, but it is still OK if he will go to a Striking route just like Israel Adesanya, he will need to polish his takedown defense to ready himself with an opponent that has Wrestling moves, but yes takedown still has a huge score for the judge, but I think he already polishes with his striking with punch and kicks because he comes from kickboxing so he is really ready when it comes to that aspect, but when it comes to a well-rounded game inside the octagon.

It is not that easy as it is said, to add wrestling at a later stage in career will not be easy, if so everyone would be transitioning well who has a striking background, they would spend time wrestling and they will be the best. There are some fighters like GSP who had a striking background but he is known for his wrestling skills inside the MMA community because he was quick to learn them and implement them against the best wrestlers but you cannot expect everyone to be like GSP.
The best they can do is basic takedown defense and if you are against elite wrestlers like Khabib it wont work either.

Transitioning can be tough, but it has been done before. But as it was done by a lot of great fighters, maybe they made it look easy than it actually was.
In Usman vs Covington, I will say Usman has better chances of winning because he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve that people often underestimate. His method is often not popular but effective, and Adesanya is in just fabulous form right now, whoever challenges him feels like an idiot inside the ring. Or maybe Adesanya makes his opponent feel like that. I think it will need a great fighter to beat him right now.

[TopTort777]

I've updated UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann post, and are having some worth watching fight next weekend.

Ion Cutelaba vs. Devin Clark is definitely worth watching. Cutelaba was very good before he joined UFC, and Clark impressed Dana White during "Dana White Looking For a Fighter" that he signed him immediately.

[Welsh]

Proud of Jack Shore, I know I'm a little late on commenting about him, but this week has been absolutely manic. Anyway, I thought he dominated on the stand up, and showed complete control in the grappling situations. I think he has a bright future ahead of him, however I'm trying to not get too excited about his future, not yet anyway.

I'll probably get my fight predictions for the up, and coming event tomorrow.

[TheNineClub]

I am surprised as he had a solid winning streak until his loss a couple of days ago, but I guess Glory doesn't have the financial capability as UFC does. That being said, I am sceptical of kickboxers transitioning to MMA big leagues that suddenly. Gokhan Saki had more or less the same MMA background when coming into the UFC and unfortunately had nothing to show.

There are different transitions for every fighter switching careers not all people could be as good as Anderson Silva from boxing to the UFC but we can never know until Alex Pereira would simply know what he is doing inside the ring and as a kickboxer, I think he has established his striking very well but he can surely add wrestling into the mix well it is up to a fighter if he would go that route or just stick in plain striking, let's just wait when he fights inside the ring.

Anderson from Boxing to UFC? Not really, he had a couple of boxing fights at the same time as doing MMA and actually started as doing MT and BJJ at the same time.

~
Well, it is up to him to add something to his arsenal and the best way to do it is to add wrestling, but it is still OK if he will go to a Striking route just like Israel Adesanya, he will need to polish his takedown defense to ready himself with an opponent that has Wrestling moves, but yes takedown still has a huge score for the judge, but I think he already polishes with his striking with punch and kicks because he comes from kickboxing so he is really ready when it comes to that aspect, but when it comes to a well-rounded game inside the octagon.

It is not that easy as it is said, to add wrestling at a later stage in career will not be easy, if so everyone would be transitioning well who has a striking background, they would spend time wrestling and they will be the best. There are some fighters like GSP who had a striking background but he is known for his wrestling skills inside the MMA community because he was quick to learn them and implement them against the best wrestlers but you cannot expect everyone to be like GSP.

The best they can do is basic takedown defense and if you are against elite wrestlers like Khabib it wont work either.

Exactly this. Adding something so late in his fighting career is so much harder than just training wrestling. It's not a technique thing, it's a mental thing because you need to start thinking in a completly different way.

[Bttzed03]

I don't want to cast doubt on Alex Pereira's ability to compete yet just because he's known for his kickboxing. It seems he had some background with MMA prior to signing with the UFC (early career).  He also hails from Brazil where many MMA legends came from. That said, UFC fighters are still of a different level though.

[YuginKadoya]

~
Well, it is up to him to add something to his arsenal and the best way to do it is to add wrestling, but it is still OK if he will go to a Striking route just like Israel Adesanya, he will need to polish his takedown defense to ready himself with an opponent that has Wrestling moves, but yes takedown still has a huge score for the judge, but I think he already polishes with his striking with punch and kicks because he comes from kickboxing so he is really ready when it comes to that aspect, but when it comes to a well-rounded game inside the octagon.

It is not that easy as it is said, to add wrestling at a later stage in career will not be easy, if so everyone would be transitioning well who has a striking background, they would spend time wrestling and they will be the best. There are some fighters like GSP who had a striking background but he is known for his wrestling skills inside the MMA community because he was quick to learn them and implement them against the best wrestlers but you cannot expect everyone to be like GSP.

The best they can do is basic takedown defense and if you are against elite wrestlers like Khabib it wont work either.

Well, he may not priorities it, and it is just a suggestion if he can have a piece of knowledge with the wrestling or just he can stay with striking and just up his takedown defense he can surely do whatever he wants, but if he has a style like Izzy then surviving is not a problem, I have seen an article that Alex Pereira can KO'ed Israel Adesanya in this division well we can see if does is really true.

Anderson from Boxing to UFC? Not really, he had a couple of boxing fights at the same time as doing MMA and actually started as doing MT and BJJ at the same time.

I am saying he does a couple of boxing and I think he pretty much does doing good on boxing but yes he had started on MT and BJJ back then and pretty much Silva is pretty versatile when he is in UFC, but again because of that interval time that he stop because of his injury and with his age right now that is why he is not that much of a fighter in the Octagon but I guess it is a different story with boxing, pretty much I really want him to try Paul Logan.

[Welsh]

Alex Pereira's ability to kickbox is fantastic, however when you add in the threat of take downs, I don't think he's going to be able to perform to his best ability. What's great about Israel is he knows how to avoid being taken down, at least so some extent. The fight against Jan was a little different, mainly the size difference. Alex on the other hand has proven to be a fantastic, and probably an elite level kickboxer, but as we've seen time, and time again you can't just switch careers into MMA, and expect to perform to the same standard. If Israel, and Alex fought in the UFC I'd expect Israel to mix it up, due to losing previously against him.

However, I don't expect Pereira to be a top five fighter, and I have my doubts about him reaching the top ten.

[tokeweed]

You know I’m bored when I’m talking ahead about future UFC PPV events.  But here’s an event with good name value and really worth your PPV buy. 

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/81402-ufc-268-usman-vs-covington-2

Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler deserves their own Fight Night as a main event imho just for the name value alone...  And as 5 rounder.

[why]

Photo Source
I think Connor's angry right now. You know, UFC now started selling a new toy version of Connor , which most likely resembles Connor sleeping after his first knockout. You know what happened? People didn't leave the chance of mocking him now. Even the YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul made a fun video with Connor's toy. He previously lost to Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov via submission and Conner broke his leg while Poirier checked one of his kicks .

Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/mma/conor-mcgregor-dustin-poirier-ufc-b1916214.html

[eaLiTy]

~
Transitioning can be tough, but it has been done before. But as it was done by a lot of great fighters, maybe they made it look easy than it actually was.
In Usman vs Covington, I will say Usman has better chances of winning because he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve that people often underestimate. His method is often not popular but effective

Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington are elite wrestlers who won major college competitions during their early days and they transitioned to MMA and then striking and they are good at that and when they fought they never tested their skills in the wrestling department but it was a striking contest and Usman have a heavy punch obviously and Colby is durable and his stamina is off the charts.

Adesanya is in just fabulous form right now, whoever challenges him feels like an idiot inside the ring. Or maybe Adesanya makes his opponent feel like that. I think it will need a great fighter to beat him right now.

Israel Adesanya is a great fighter and his striking game is excellent but he is yet to face any legit wrestling challenge in his division and i still think Khamzat Chimaev would be a great challenger for Adesanya if Khamzat Chimaev figures out which division he wants to stay and he is healthy.

~
Exactly this. Adding something so late in his fighting career is so much harder than just training wrestling. It's not a technique thing, it's a mental thing because you need to start thinking in a completly different way.

Yes there are many nuances you need to study and these wrestlers will be having a minimum of 100 to 200 competitive matches in wrestling and that is a huge experience rather than just sparring in the gym and you cannot match that with just experiencing them in the gym and it is whole different ball game.

~
Well, he may not priorities it, and it is just a suggestion if he can have a piece of knowledge with the wrestling or just he can stay with striking and just up his takedown defense he can surely do whatever he wants, but if he has a style like Izzy then surviving is not a problem, I have seen an article that Alex Pereira can KO'ed Israel Adesanya in this division well we can see if does is really true.

Israel Adesanya climbed the ranks in a short period of time and he is an elite striker and he is having over 100 professional fights overall and there is no doubt about his striking skills and he proved against everyone and had battles and proved his fighting IQ and if Alex Pereira can do the same good for him and the fans to see a great battle.

[YuginKadoya]

Alex Pereira's ability to kickbox is fantastic, however when you add in the threat of take downs, I don't think he's going to be able to perform to his best ability. What's great about Israel is he knows how to avoid being taken down, at least so some extent. The fight against Jan was a little different, mainly the size difference. Alex on the other hand has proven to be a fantastic, and probably an elite level kickboxer, but as we've seen time, and time again you can't just switch careers into MMA, and expect to perform to the same standard. If Israel, and Alex fought in the UFC I'd expect Israel to mix it up, due to losing previously against him.

However, I don't expect Pereira to be a top five fighter, and I have my doubts about him reaching the top ten.

I am sure having doubts aswell for Pereira if he is able to be on the top five in a short span of time as well, and you are right we surely don't need to expect something big about him when he is just starting into UFC,

And the thing is why I am talking about Alex Pereira, is it because he is new to UFC, and I surely am curious about what he may do and what he may show us, and because of the Contender series of Dana White I am into the newbie's now and what they can show us moving forward into the future of UFC.

[TheNineClub]

Alex Pereira's ability to kickbox is fantastic, however when you add in the threat of take downs, I don't think he's going to be able to perform to his best ability. What's great about Israel is he knows how to avoid being taken down, at least so some extent. The fight against Jan was a little different, mainly the size difference. Alex on the other hand has proven to be a fantastic, and probably an elite level kickboxer, but as we've seen time, and time again you can't just switch careers into MMA, and expect to perform to the same standard. If Israel, and Alex fought in the UFC I'd expect Israel to mix it up, due to losing previously against him.

However, I don't expect Pereira to be a top five fighter, and I have my doubts about him reaching the top ten.

I am sure having doubts aswell for Pereira if he is able to be on the top five in a short span of time as well, and you are right we surely don't need to expect something big about him when he is just starting into UFC,

And the thing is why I am talking about Alex Pereira, is it because he is new to UFC, and I surely am curious about what he may do and what he may show us, and because of the Contender series of Dana White I am into the newbie's now and what they can show us moving forward into the future of UFC.

The problem is that Pereira as starpower has certain weight to it and I doubt he will be matched up with other newcomers to UFC. I think we will see the same situation as Saki, and that is unfortunate. However, I am still interested, let's se what he does.

[YuginKadoya]

Alex Pereira's ability to kickbox is fantastic, however when you add in the threat of take downs, I don't think he's going to be able to perform to his best ability. What's great about Israel is he knows how to avoid being taken down, at least so some extent. The fight against Jan was a little different, mainly the size difference. Alex on the other hand has proven to be a fantastic, and probably an elite level kickboxer, but as we've seen time, and time again you can't just switch careers into MMA, and expect to perform to the same standard. If Israel, and Alex fought in the UFC I'd expect Israel to mix it up, due to losing previously against him.

However, I don't expect Pereira to be a top five fighter, and I have my doubts about him reaching the top ten.

I am sure having doubts aswell for Pereira if he is able to be on the top five in a short span of time as well, and you are right we surely don't need to expect something big about him when he is just starting into UFC,

And the thing is why I am talking about Alex Pereira, is it because he is new to UFC, and I surely am curious about what he may do and what he may show us, and because of the Contender series of Dana White I am into the newbie's now and what they can show us moving forward into the future of UFC.

The problem is that Pereira as starpower has certain weight to it and I doubt he will be matched up with other newcomers to UFC. I think we will see the same situation as Saki, and that is unfortunate. However, I am still interested, let's se what he does.

He can certainly box and is a power puncher, and from the kickboxing perspective I think he is supreme when he defeated Dustin Jacoby in the Glory 14: Zagreb that was a left hook KO, he surely has that accuracy and power in his strikes, but I think if they would fight again this time in the UFC octagon, maybe Jacoby could have a slight chance because he has more experience with the MMA and even though he doesn't have a takedown or slightly have he is able to beat guys that is well rounded than him.