🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[YuginKadoya]

My picks for the UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simón

Yadong Song VS Ricky Simón

The stake odds for this fight are 199 for Yadong and 1.83 for Simon, For me Ricky Simon is a dedicated wrestler and for a pure striker like Yadong, Simon is his weakness for sure I am seeing a Petr Yan VS Merab Dvalishvili vibe in this fight and as you all know Ricky Simon defeated Merab Dvalishvili with a guillotine choke, so for me, Ricky Simon has the gas tank to takedown Song Yadong like what Merab Dvalishvili did to Petr Yan this is what I am seeing what may happen in this fight, but if Song Yadong doesn't mix Striking with some wrestling he will not win against Ricky Simon,

Caio Borralho VS Michał Oleksiejczuk

The stake odds for this fight are 1.28 for Borralho and 3.75 for Oleksiejczuk For this fight Michał Oleksiejczuk is a striker with power in his punch so Borralho will need to be very careful in taking that shots, while Caio Borralho has a good leg kick that could always pressure Oleksiejczuk with it, and could also shoot some takedowns when needed for a decent defense from that power shots of Oleksiejczuk, Caio can end this fight with his kicks or even on the ground so my pick is Caio Borralho,

Cody Brundage VS Rodolfo Vieira

The stake odds for this fight are 1.43 for Viera and 2.85 for Brundage, for this fight I can see that Rodolfo Viera was good on the ground while Cody Brundage surely has some ground skill but he is also great on stand-up but like everyone said here a dedicated wrestler will surely prevail if he shoots takedowns dedicatedly, so my pick Rodolfo Viera,

[1714289040]

1714289040

[owengtam09]

I believe all good fighters have learn both of wrestling and striking because you can easily lose with either one technique you're not mastered. If a fighter only learn wrestling striking, he will not able to defend himself when his opponent taking him down. If a fighter only learn about wrestling, you can got KO'ed when you're too close or don't have a sense to predict his next move.

Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya are the example they have learn wrestling in order to defend and escape from ground fight and they still comfortable to rely on their striking technique.

I believe that most fighters now learning both Striking and Wrestling and it is really essential for fighters to be well-rounded in these sports, and Israel Adesanya is pretty much aware that being a champion needs dedication to his work if you watch his youtube channel you can see that he is practicing wrestling because his striking is fluid now because of his kickboxing days, he is more into training wrestling now, While Pereira is just to training wrestling but he is into it, and going up the division I don't really know if it is a good thing or a bad thing for him, but let's just wait and see,

What I dont like about Nate behaviour, is not that he has used his professional skills against a regular guy (it does not look like he trains something), but the fact that after the guy was out, he releases him and unconscious body felts back. The guy fells back on back of his head on a concrete. If there were a border, the could have died from that hit. Also, if a guy is unconscious and on back, he could swallow his tongue and choke. That is why he should be left on a side. That is one of things I was taught in gym. If the guy is KOed, rotate him on side and never leave on back.  

He also attacked the guy with the knee, I don't really know what the guy is saying to Nate Diaz, or why is he approaching him, while there are so many are happening in the back, there are other people fighting, but then Nate Diaz is choking the Logan Paul Look alike, maybe Nate though it was Logan Paul all along, that is why he attacked him,


And here are what I think about a few fights on the UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simón with Sportsbet odds

Yadong Song(1.99) VS Ricky Simón(1.83)

For this fight, Song Yadong is a decent striker, surely he got power in his punch that could deal Ricky Simon great damage when connected but because Ricky Simon is a wrestler I really think that he can out-takedown Yadong if Song Yadong got decent takedown defense then I guess this will be a hard fight for Ricky Simon, but if Ricky Simon pretty much consistent and don't give up with his takedown a takedown can eventually done against Yadong, you can say that Yadong also have his wrestling game but not as good as Ricky Simon, that is why my pick is Ricky Simon,

Caio Borralho(1.28) VS Michał Oleksiejczuk(3.75)

For this fight Michal Oleksiejczuk, if I pronounce his name I would surely destroy it for sure, but Oleksiejczuk sure has power in his punch that could knock out his opponent with just 1 punch, while Caio Boralho style he would likely want to have some distance between them so he can execute those kicks and he is a well-rounded fight so he can have many ways on taking Michal Oleksiejczuk whether it will be a knee, kick or in the ground,

[tokeweed]

My picks for the UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simón

Yadong Song VS Ricky Simón

The stake odds for this fight are 199 for Yadong and 1.83 for Simon, For me Ricky Simon is a dedicated wrestler and for a pure striker like Yadong, Simon is his weakness for sure I am seeing a Petr Yan VS Merab Dvalishvili vibe in this fight and as you all know Ricky Simon defeated Merab Dvalishvili with a guillotine choke, so for me, Ricky Simon has the gas tank to takedown Song Yadong like what Merab Dvalishvili did to Petr Yan this is what I am seeing what may happen in this fight, but if Song Yadong doesn't mix Striking with some wrestling he will not win against Ricky Simon,

Caio Borralho VS Michał Oleksiejczuk

The stake odds for this fight are 1.28 for Borralho and 3.75 for Oleksiejczuk For this fight Michał Oleksiejczuk is a striker with power in his punch so Borralho will need to be very careful in taking that shots, while Caio Borralho has a good leg kick that could always pressure Oleksiejczuk with it, and could also shoot some takedowns when needed for a decent defense from that power shots of Oleksiejczuk, Caio can end this fight with his kicks or even on the ground so my pick is Caio Borralho,

Cody Brundage VS Rodolfo Vieira

The stake odds for this fight are 1.43 for Viera and 2.85 for Brundage, for this fight I can see that Rodolfo Viera was good on the ground while Cody Brundage surely has some ground skill but he is also great on stand-up but like everyone said here a dedicated wrestler will surely prevail if he shoots takedowns dedicatedly, so my pick Rodolfo Viera,

The line is prolly just right in the Vieira vs Brundage bout but I feel like Brundage could get the upset here.  If he could hold on and have the match go to the third round, I think Vieira's cardio might not last and Brundage could finish him off.  Dunno...  He should defend all take downs as hard as he can until Vieira gasses.

Anyway here are the weigh ins and the face off.  A couple of fighters missed weight but no cancellations.  The UFC couldn't afford to as there just 11 matches.

UFC Vegas 72:  Weigh Ins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrkEsIezzT0

UFC Vegas 72:  Face Off
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqCpoY1epPE

Ricky Simon (136) vs Song Yadong (136)
Caio Borralho (185.5) vs Michal Oleksiejczuk (185.5)
Cody Brundage (185.5) vs Rodolfo Vieira (186)
Julian Erosa (145.5) vs Fernando Padilla (145.5)
Waldo Cortes-Acosta (258) vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima (262.5)
Josh Quinlan (169) vs Trey Waters (171)
Martin Buday (265) vs Jake Collier (265.5)
Cody Durden (126) vs Charles Johnson (125.5)
Irina Alekseeva (140)* vs Stephanie Egger (135)
Marcus McGhee (140) vs Journey Newson (138.5) – 140-pound contract weight
Hailey Cowan (137.5)* vs Jamey-Lyn Horth (135.5)

*Missed weight

Last call...

UFC Fight Night 223 - Multi Master Challenge
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5450122.0

[Welsh]

Vieira has definitely had trouble with his gas tank in the past. I vaguely remember him squeezing for a finish a while ago, and then looked exhausted after he didn't get it. I'm sure that was him, but only vaguely remember it. My memory definitely isn't what it used to be . I wonder if Vieira will look for the takedowns as soon as possible to avoid the stand up of Cody.

I missed the predictions, but here's my betting slip:

Martin Buday
Horth
Egger
Vieira
Caio Borralho
Ricky Simon
Josh Quinlan

A rather speculative betslip, but I'm feeling confident-ish. Egger is fighting right now, so will probably mess it up as per usual. Not that Egger has messed up my betting slip, but I usually end up losing early in the night .

Update: There ya go, Egger loses. It's like clockwork I'm telling you .

[YuginKadoya]

The line is prolly just right in the Vieira vs Brundage bout but I feel like Brundage could get the upset here.  If he could hold on and have the match go to the third round, I think Vieira's cardio might not last and Brundage could finish him off.  Dunno...  He should defend all take downs as hard as he can until Vieira gasses.

Rodolfo Vieira didn't wait for him to be gassed out he has a solution to the problem and that is to finish Cody Brundage fast, but Rodolfo Viera in the interview that they are expecting Brundage to press the guillotine choke on him so he jumped and switched off to the triangle choke and that have gotten Cody Brundage to tap, in pain,


These are the results of my picks on the UFC Fight Night: Song vs. Simón

Yadong Song VS Ricky Simón ROUND 5 KO/TKO - LOST

Song Yadong got power in his punches no doubt about it, but the key for him to victory is to pressure Ricky Simon on the fence because this could diminish Ricky Simon's aggression and some of his takedowns could be predicted by Song Yadong, surely I lost the bet but I also have seen that Song can also win this fight, and Song Yadong can definitely wait for the right timing to slip his punches to be effective and he is using faints now, and that knockout punch in Simon surely seen the power in it that knockdown Simon, then follow up to the ground with a hammer fist,

Caio Borralho VS Michał Oleksiejczuk ROUND 2 SUBMISSION - WIN

It was a dominating fight his reach definitely made the fight easy and going into the double leg takedown he said for sure that he got the best double leg in the division, that surely got Michal Oleksiejczuk, and why do I see Paulo Costa on him, but surely Caio Borralho got a big win and he is now challenging Derek Brunson for a fight,

Cody Brundage VS Rodolfo Vieira ROUND 2 SUBMISSION - WIN

Rodolfo Vieira was really expecting that Guillotine Choke from Brundage it was a great performance to withstand that Guillotine choke and switch to a triangle choke of his own, which led Brundage to tap, I think even though Rodolfo Vieira doesn't have much on his gas tank if he can finish the fight in 1 to 2 rounds then that gas tank issue is not really a problem,

[owengtam09]

I missed the predictions, but here's my betting slip:

Martin Buday
Horth
Egger
Vieira
Caio Borralho
Ricky Simon
Josh Quinlan

Winning bets for you are Marin Buday, Jamey-Lyn Horth, Rodolfo Vieira, and Caio Borralho, while Stephanie Egger, Josh Quinlan, and the main event Ricky Simón, it was an unexpected turn of events and I thought that Ricky Simon will be a different fighter here but he was really still the same he surely had a couple of different move on his sleeve but nothing so shocking but Son Yadong he is a different fighter, now he has decent takedown defense so decent that Simon throws 9 and Yadong have defended 7 of it, and that slipping punch of Yadong was really a game changer for him, it was a great watch in my opinion,

While Caio Borralho had a dominating performance against Michał Oleksiejczuk and only in round 2 he can win the fight, it was a tremendous win and after that, he challenge Derex Brunson,


Yadong Song(1.99) VS Ricky Simón(1.83) - LOST

Song Yadong has power for sure and he got a decent takedown defense Ricky Simon can surely throw takedowns but most of them were defended by Song Yadong, and from what I see Yadong Song does have a great counter and it is not some ordinary counter but you can see that he is evading the punch of Simon at the same time, pretty much Yadong is a good observer and he surely observe Simon well and that is why he surely knows what punch comes next for Simon and he timing that Knockout punch on him, That is why I lost this fight and rely more on fighters that Wrestle,


Caio Borralho(1.28) VS Michał Oleksiejczuk(3.75) - WIN

Caio Borralho was dominating the fight and that double-leg takedown was the key to his finish but the thing is Caio Borralho is also good at the stand up and those kicks because of his height he got long reach kicks for sure but going into the ground he is really amazing in finishing Michal Oleksiejczuk,

[eaLiTy]

~
Rodolfo Vieira didn't wait for him to be gassed out he has a solution to the problem and that is to finish Cody Brundage fast, but Rodolfo Viera in the interview that they are expecting Brundage to press the guillotine choke on him so he jumped and switched off to the triangle choke and that have gotten Cody Brundage to tap, in pain,

It was a really close fight when you asses the striking aspect, at one point i thought Cody Brundage would finish Rodolfo Vieira as he was rocked really hard multiple times and the referee could have called off the fight but the referee gave ample time and when it comes to the ground game Rodolfo Vieira was able to switch the positions when Brundage went for the guillotine and it was tight but his hands got tired and Vieira was able to survive, reverse the position and went for the finish.

[YuginKadoya]

It was a really close fight when you asses the striking aspect, at one point i thought Cody Brundage would finish Rodolfo Vieira as he was rocked really hard multiple times and the referee could have called off the fight but the referee gave ample time and when it comes to the ground game Rodolfo Vieira was able to switch the positions when Brundage went for the guillotine and it was tight but his hands got tired and Vieira was able to survive, reverse the position and went for the finish.

Yes, it was really a close striking game for both fighters Rodolfo Vieira got 81.1% while Cody Brundage has 80.4% total strikes while on significant strikes Vieira got 66.7% and Brundage got 69.0 but those takedowns from Rodolfo surely has a point aswell, those Submission attempts is what Rodolfo Vieira was ready at that Guillotine Choke they also say that they are expecting Cody Brundage to execute it and that is the timing that they will jump to the triangle choke for that good finish on Brundage, and I think Rodolfo Vieira's camp pretty much did a great job in making a plan like that, so kudos to them,


Congratulation to Song Yadong, Caio Borralho, Rodolfo Vieira, and Marcus McGhee for taking the POTN or UFC Pay Off The Night because of their amazing performance and finishes they really deserve it, and a debut fight for Marcus "Maniac" McGhee this is his 1st fight in the UFC from LFA to UFC, he really deserves it,

[owengtam09]

Congratulation to Song Yadong, Caio Borralho, Rodolfo Vieira, and Marcus McGhee for taking the POTN or UFC Pay Off The Night because of their amazing performance and finishes they really deserve it, and a debut fight for Marcus "Maniac" McGhee this is his 1st fight in the UFC from LFA to UFC, he really deserves it,

Congrats to those guys that won Pay of The Night for sure they really deserve this payment for that incredible Performance that they have shown, the win was really worth it, and now that the event is finished I think we are ready to move on to the next Main event, and this is the UFC 288

UFC 288: Sterling vs. Cejudo



Saturday 05.06.2023 at 06:00 PM ET
Promotion: Ultimate Fighting Championship
Location: Newark, New Jersey, United States

MAIN EVENT
Aljamain Sterling VS Henry Cejudo

CO-MAIN EVENT
Belal Muhammad VS Gilbert Burns

MAIN CARD
Jéssica Andrade VS Xiaonan Yan
Movsar Evloev VS Bryce Mitchell
Kron Gracie VS Charles Jourdain

PRELIMINARY CARD
Drew Dober VS Matt Frevola
Devin Clark VS Kennedy Nzechukwu
Khaos Williams VS Rolando Bedoya
Marina Rodriguez VS Virna Jandiroba
Parker Porter VS Braxton Smith
Ikram Aliskerov VS Phil Hawes
Zhalgas Zhumagulov VS Rafael Estevam
Joseph Holmes VS Claudio Ribeiro
Daniel Santos VS Johnny Munoz Jr.

Information was from Tapology: https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/97782-ufc-fight-night

[TopTort777]

Now that is the main event fight that people should not miss. I think Henry, after a 3 year pause, is still able to take compete on a high level and become a champion. I think he is same prodigy fighter like Jon Jones (even though I dont like him), that is always ready to perform on high level. I also think that it will be a repeat of Jones vs Gane fight, when a fighter after a pause is still a favorite and Henry would win. Anyway, this is going to be a cats and mice game, who will be first to catch his opponent and submit.

[Synchronice]

I recently saw a video of DC where he says that if John Jones wasn't using PEDs every time, he may wouldn't be able to beat him. And now, I was thinking about what's the sanction for Steroid usage in UFC and I'm really amazed, it starts from Public Warning to usually max 2 years suspension. I don't understand the logic here, one can abuse steroids for years, for example from 17 to 24 and then start fight in UFC. In 7 years with many cycles, one can gain a lot of strength and power, even if he has to come off from cycle forever, scientifically, past steroid user has a huge advantage over full natural guy, it has to do thing with permanent dna change, muscular memory, increased muscle-mind connection. What's the logic? Why isn't there stricter sanctions?

UFC Wada Sanctions

[tokeweed]

Now that is the main event fight that people should not miss. I think Henry, after a 3 year pause, is still able to take compete on a high level and become a champion. I think he is same prodigy fighter like Jon Jones (even though I dont like him), that is always ready to perform on high level. I also think that it will be a repeat of Jones vs Gane fight, when a fighter after a pause is still a favorite and Henry would win. Anyway, this is going to be a cats and mice game, who will be first to catch his opponent and submit.

Yup...  Cejudo remained somewhat active in training during his days in retirement.  But more on training other fighters for their matches rather than training himself for a match.  And I think he's pretty good at it at Fight Ready MMA with Eddie Cha.

It could even make him more of a cerebral fighter as he has now a lot of inputs in how these different fighters fight in the cage because he studied them a lot.  The line is a coin flip tho.  Would've preferred Cejudo as the underdog.

Anyway here are some vids to watch.

UFC 288:  Countdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAS3Tr6Xx2c

UFC Free Fight:  Cejudo vs Moraes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vaom9LWarQ

UFC Free Fight:  Sterling vs Sandhagen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prc8lWaMTTo

[CryptoBuds]

I recently saw a video of DC where he says that if John Jones wasn't using PEDs every time, he may wouldn't be able to beat him. And now, I was thinking about what's the sanction for Steroid usage in UFC and I'm really amazed, it starts from Public Warning to usually max 2 years suspension. I don't understand the logic here, one can abuse steroids for years, for example from 17 to 24 and then start fight in UFC. In 7 years with many cycles, one can gain a lot of strength and power, even if he has to come off from cycle forever, scientifically, past steroid user has a huge advantage over full natural guy, it has to do thing with permanent dna change, muscular memory, increased muscle-mind connection. What's the logic? Why isn't there stricter sanctions?
UFC Wada Sanctions

^You guys remember when Nick/Nate Diaz openly said that everybody is on steroids? As days go by I keep thinking if that was actually true or not. Steroids are obviously going to have an advantage.

Actually, it will have a very big advantage when we compare the guy who is not taking any steroids with a guy who has taken even a little bit of it. I think the punishment should be if someone is caught using steroids he is not going to be able to have any type of contract with the UFC for 6 years. That is going to keep them off the juice.

[jeremypwr]

Sportsbet.io - UFC 288 - Multi Master Challenge - (Saturday)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5450877.0

[YuginKadoya]

Now that is the main event fight that people should not miss. I think Henry, after a 3 year pause, is still able to take compete on a high level and become a champion. I think he is same prodigy fighter like Jon Jones (even though I dont like him), that is always ready to perform on high level. I also think that it will be a repeat of Jones vs Gane fight, when a fighter after a pause is still a favorite and Henry would win. Anyway, this is going to be a cats and mice game, who will be first to catch his opponent and submit.

A great fight to behold I always thought that Henry Cejudo is still active because of his training with other fighters not just coaching them with stuff and how the grapple works but training with them personally not what if He had some sparring sessions with Jon Jones he doesn't show in the camera, that was a heavyweight he was training with and imagine if he can manage to submit Jon Jones then Aljamain Sterling should be careful about it Cejudo might have retired but doesn't mean that he isn't training at all,

Yup...  Cejudo remained somewhat active in training during his days in retirement.  But more on training other fighters for their matches rather than training himself for a match.  And I think he's pretty good at it at Fight Ready MMA with Eddie Cha.

It could even make him more of a cerebral fighter as he has now a lot of inputs in how these different fighters fight in the cage because he studied them a lot.  The line is a coin flip tho.  Would've preferred Cejudo as the underdog.

Anyway here are some vids to watch.

UFC 288:  Countdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAS3Tr6Xx2c

UFC Free Fight:  Cejudo vs Moraes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vaom9LWarQ

UFC Free Fight:  Sterling vs Sandhagen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prc8lWaMTTo

I also think the same Henry Cejudo is still in shape with those training partners he has and judging from his fight with Moraes, you can see that Cejudo doesn't have the height but I think he can catch up to Aljamain Sterling with his strength I think he is conditioning for the grappling for sure because he knew that Sterling will be active with the grapple, but in my opinion, Aljamain Sterling will stay in the stand-up and will unleash multiple strikes because he knew the power of Cejudo on the ground, but I think Cejudo will manage to get him on the ground for sure,

Sportsbet.io - UFC 288 - Multi Master Challenge - (Saturday)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5450877.0

Oh, you have posted the Multi-Master Cool will check up on it later because I am still fixing my picks for the coming event.

[TopTort777]

Kamaru Usman has started throwing fight calls against  Chimaev After two losses, I think people have started to forget about former champion, and now he has started to show some activity in media. Previously, when Usman was a champ, he has refused offers to fight from Chimaev. Now, when Chimaev is planning to face Costa in middleweight, Usman, a welterweight is calling Chimaev for a fight. That would be really interesting to watch imho.

[Apocollapse]

Now that is the main event fight that people should not miss. I think Henry, after a 3 year pause, is still able to take compete on a high level and become a champion. I think he is same prodigy fighter like Jon Jones (even though I dont like him), that is always ready to perform on high level.

Yeah high likely, he's a slight favorite in this match even though he out from the rank table, so most people are predicting he will win this fight. He have two titles before, which mean he should be better than Sterling. I think there's a high possibility if Henry will win via KO, maybe after this win Henry will become top 2 men's pound for pound top rank

The another good fight is Gilbert Burns vs Belal Muhammad, I think Gilbert Burns will able to beat Belal because he's well rounded than Belal.

Now, when Chimaev is planning to face Costa in middleweight, Usman, a welterweight is calling Chimaev for a fight. That would be really interesting to watch imho.

I bet for Chimaev, I think he's a rising star like Makhachev.

[Synchronice]

I recently saw a video of DC where he says that if John Jones wasn't using PEDs every time, he may wouldn't be able to beat him. And now, I was thinking about what's the sanction for Steroid usage in UFC and I'm really amazed, it starts from Public Warning to usually max 2 years suspension. I don't understand the logic here, one can abuse steroids for years, for example from 17 to 24 and then start fight in UFC. In 7 years with many cycles, one can gain a lot of strength and power, even if he has to come off from cycle forever, scientifically, past steroid user has a huge advantage over full natural guy, it has to do thing with permanent dna change, muscular memory, increased muscle-mind connection. What's the logic? Why isn't there stricter sanctions?
UFC Wada Sanctions

^You guys remember when Nick/Nate Diaz openly said that everybody is on steroids? As days go by I keep thinking if that was actually true or not. Steroids are obviously going to have an advantage.

Actually, it will have a very big advantage when we compare the guy who is not taking any steroids with a guy who has taken even a little bit of it. I think the punishment should be if someone is caught using steroids he is not going to be able to have any type of contract with the UFC for 6 years. That is going to keep them off the juice.

I genuinely believe that Khabib has never been on steroids, I believe he is 100% natural. The dedication and the mentality he had, the area where he grew, his childhood, he is just a natural talent with enormous discipline. Other UFC fighters are more likely on Steroids, I would confidently say that 99.9% of them would cheat at some point in their life, including PEDs, HIV Hydration or some other kind of indirect performance enhancers that are not so known or used specifically for performance.

And the punishment is really, really weak. The permanent advantage it gives to fighters far outweighs the months or 2-4 years suspension. But Dana White loves money so much and enhanced fighters can make so good match, I bet he wants 0 punishment but he has no choice.

[TopTort777]

I recently saw a video of DC where he says that if John Jones wasn't using PEDs every time, he may wouldn't be able to beat him. And now, I was thinking about what's the sanction for Steroid usage in UFC and I'm really amazed, it starts from Public Warning to usually max 2 years suspension. I don't understand the logic here, one can abuse steroids for years, for example from 17 to 24 and then start fight in UFC. In 7 years with many cycles, one can gain a lot of strength and power, even if he has to come off from cycle forever, scientifically, past steroid user has a huge advantage over full natural guy, it has to do thing with permanent dna change, muscular memory, increased muscle-mind connection. What's the logic? Why isn't there stricter sanctions?
UFC Wada Sanctions

^You guys remember when Nick/Nate Diaz openly said that everybody is on steroids? As days go by I keep thinking if that was actually true or not. Steroids are obviously going to have an advantage.

Actually, it will have a very big advantage when we compare the guy who is not taking any steroids with a guy who has taken even a little bit of it. I think the punishment should be if someone is caught using steroids he is not going to be able to have any type of contract with the UFC for 6 years. That is going to keep them off the juice.

I genuinely believe that Khabib has never been on steroids, I believe he is 100% natural. The dedication and the mentality he had, the area where he grew, his childhood, he is just a natural talent with enormous discipline. Other UFC fighters are more likely on Steroids, I would confidently say that 99.9% of them would cheat at some point in their life, including PEDs, HIV Hydration or some other kind of indirect performance enhancers that are not so known or used specifically for performance.

And the punishment is really, really weak. The permanent advantage it gives to fighters far outweighs the months or 2-4 years suspension. But Dana White loves money so much and enhanced fighters can make so good match, I bet he wants 0 punishment but he has no choice.

Imho Khabib trick was a combination of talent and ability to cut weight. It is not a secret that every fighter is bigger on a fight day than he was during weight ins. But Khabib was always heavier than most of the fighters. I think that because cutting weigh was always difficult for him. As to talent, everyone are talented in UFC, otherwise they would have been on amateur level forever. But I agree that he has perfect discipline. A mix of talent, discipline and proper coach is what makes fighter a champion.

[tokeweed]

Yup...  Cejudo remained somewhat active in training during his days in retirement.  But more on training other fighters for their matches rather than training himself for a match.  And I think he's pretty good at it at Fight Ready MMA with Eddie Cha.

It could even make him more of a cerebral fighter as he has now a lot of inputs in how these different fighters fight in the cage because he studied them a lot.  The line is a coin flip tho.  Would've preferred Cejudo as the underdog.

Anyway here are some vids to watch.

UFC 288:  Countdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAS3Tr6Xx2c

UFC Free Fight:  Cejudo vs Moraes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vaom9LWarQ

UFC Free Fight:  Sterling vs Sandhagen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prc8lWaMTTo

I also think the same Henry Cejudo is still in shape with those training partners he has and judging from his fight with Moraes, you can see that Cejudo doesn't have the height but I think he can catch up to Aljamain Sterling with his strength I think he is conditioning for the grappling for sure because he knew that Sterling will be active with the grapple, but in my opinion, Aljamain Sterling will stay in the stand-up and will unleash multiple strikes because he knew the power of Cejudo on the ground, but I think Cejudo will manage to get him on the ground for sure,

Playing stand up vs Cejudo could prove detrimental for Sterlng as Cejudo has the power and is the more explosive guy.  I think the best match to watch to somehow gauge Cejudo and how he might fare against Sterling is Cejudo's match up vs Dominick Cruz.  Cruz is an unorthodox striker just like Sterling and was also a collegiate wrestler, again like Sterling.

https://www.mma-core.com/videos/Henry_Cejudo_vs_Dominick_Cruz_Full_Fight_UFC_249_Part_I/10352059

So yeah, it all depends what kind of Cejudo shows up in the cage.  If it's the prime Cejudo then he's gonna finish Sterling imho.

Kamaru Usman has started throwing fight calls against  Chimaev After two losses, I think people have started to forget about former champion, and now he has started to show some activity in media. Previously, when Usman was a champ, he has refused offers to fight from Chimaev. Now, when Chimaev is planning to face Costa in middleweight, Usman, a welterweight is calling Chimaev for a fight. That would be really interesting to watch imho.

I think it's a good match up for both.  Usman will be a good litmus test for Chimaev and if Chimaev gets the W then we def now know he's good to go for a title shot.  On the other hand if Usman wins his stock goes back up again.  And the fight would be a banger.