🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[pawel7777]

In contrast to the Islam vs Volk I match, I think apart from being a higher class, Volk's defeat that night at UFC 294 also exposed Volk's weaknesses which could be exposed by other fighters, namely that with Volk's short body he would be easy to reach and hit with kicks, let alone Taller fighters can certainly perform dangerous head kicks. I think all the fighters on Featherwight for now will try to expose this one gap to defeat Volk. Because often when a fighter loses a fight, his other opponents will analyze the cause of the defeat to make a good strategy when they have to fight.

That's not really a secret, that's bread and butter of fighting: utilise reach advantage over shorter opponent with jabs and kicks. Islam wasn't the first one to try that, but he was the first one to succeed. I wouldn't go as far as to call him "lucky" but that kick landed really well despite Volk blocking it. A small mistake by Volk with big consequences. Such things just happen sometimes, especially when he had a very short preparation camp.
Islam also got a bit careless in the past and got knocked out. It's just a nature of this sport.

Arlovski is going to lose to Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Even though this doesnt have a page on wiki (lol, that is a funny indicator to tell if a fighter is a nobody:D ), Arlovski is going to lose via KO. This Waldo is 10-1 (no all fights are in UFC), but in front of him is Arlovski with crystal chin. Arlovski is gonna turn 45 in less than a month. It is about time to retire.

Wait. This is a UFC fight? I've seen it listed on some betting site but thought it was some different organisation. How on earth did Arlovski manage to get another UFC contract at this age? Beats me.

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[notblox1]

UFC is finally coming back this weekend but I am not impressed with this fight card.
Ankalaev is a clear favorite in main event and I cant see how Johny Walker can win, but they better be careful with illegal kicks this time
Hard to find any value betting in this fight, maybe only Fight Not Going To Distance, when I see the odds.

[YuginKadoya]

I don't know Saint Denis very well, but his nickname as the god of war really intrigued me. He is still 28 years old which of course is well into his prime as an MMA fighter. So it makes sense that the UFC favors him even though it is a bit excessive because his opponent is the #3 UFC lightweight and a fighter full of experience. What I know from several previous matches is that Denis has great Jiujitsu skills and extraordinary knockout power. This is proven by 2 wins via knockout and 1 win via submission in the last 3 matches.

I think that Denis will excel in Jiujitsu and knockout power but Porier will excel in experience and stamina. To be honest, I haven't seen a match where Denis played in the championship rounds and he finished his last few matches in rounds 1 and 2. I see this like Khamzat Chimaev where Khamzat has a little bad stamina because he looked tired in the third round during his fight with Burns and Usman .

I think he got his nickname the GOD of War because of his beard I think, but the real reason behind that nickname was because of his brother's advice when he won his 3rd professional victory and this is because of his military and MMA warrior attitude, that his brother suggests that nickname and for sure his brother was playing more GOD of war, and surely watching Benoit Saint-Denis fights it is pretty much interesting to see how he finished his opponent and facing Dustin Poirier for me I like Benoit Saint-Denis more and because of his wrestling that is a weakness to some strikers I think he got the edge against Poirier,

What I'm curious about is why Tsarukyan didn't fight Islam straight away and he had to fight Oliveira first for the belt? Is this because Oliveira's previous fight was canceled and Volks replaced him? But that feels unfair to Arman because if he loses then he has to postpone the fight for the belt. I think that Arman will win that match but of course we can't underestimate Oliveira because we know that even though Oliveira is weak in wrestling he is very strong when fighting on the ground.

It is likely that Charles Oliveira is the gatekeeper for the Lightweight division and because he is available to fight Arman Tsarukyan this is a great opportunity for him to fight surely this is what the UFC has planned all along before he can get the Champion, but if Oliveira is not available or cancel this fight I think that Tsarukyan's opponent can then jump if Justin Gaethje or whoever is available on top of Tsarukyan but if there is no available fighter Tsarukyan will have to choose if he will continue to fight or just pick a much lower opponent, and because no one wants to fight Ilia Topuria in the Featherweight division so he will face the champion in the UFC 298,

[TopTort777]

Arlovski is going to lose to Waldo Cortes-Acosta. Even though this doesnt have a page on wiki (lol, that is a funny indicator to tell if a fighter is a nobody:D ), Arlovski is going to lose via KO. This Waldo is 10-1 (no all fights are in UFC), but in front of him is Arlovski with crystal chin. Arlovski is gonna turn 45 in less than a month. It is about time to retire.

Wait. This is a UFC fight? I've seen it listed on some betting site but thought it was some different organisation. How on earth did Arlovski manage to get another UFC contract at this age? Beats me.

Check out some of my latest posts (it has a link to wiki) or check ufc.com. Yes, Arlovski, we might call him a veteran already, is having another fight. This reminds situation with Ferguson. He keep loosing, but UFC keep on giving him fights. Arlovski keep on aging (lol) and loosing his form, but he still fights in UFC and keep on modifying "most fights in UFC" record. As long as his name make sales, UFC will keep on using him.

P.S. this guy is in UFC since 2000. FFS ! 24 years !

[Godday]

It is likely that Charles Oliveira is the gatekeeper for the Lightweight division and because he is available to fight Arman Tsarukyan this is a great opportunity for him to fight surely this is what the UFC has planned all along before he can get the Champion, but if Oliveira is not available or cancel this fight I think that Tsarukyan's opponent can then jump if Justin Gaethje or whoever is available on top of Tsarukyan but if there is no available fighter Tsarukyan will have to choose if he will continue to fight or just pick a much lower opponent, and because no one wants to fight Ilia Topuria in the Featherweight division so he will face the champion in the UFC 298,

I like Oliveira's attitude of not choosing his opponents. I think he is an interesting fighter to watch at the moment because several times we thought he had a difficult opponent but he managed to get the job done well. A fight against Arman will be interesting to watch because I see Arman's wrestling level above Dariush and so far Oliveira has fought some great wrestlers like Chandler and Islam. And it can be seen that Oliveira is quite easy to take down even though in the end the ground area is his territory. I think Arman has a level of wrestling that matches Islam even though nowadays Islam has evolved for the better.

[TopTort777]

I doubt that Arman gonna rely much on wrestling and wrestling is going to be his game plan. As he spend a lot of time in Tiger Muay Thai, imho he would focus on striking. That is something Oliveira does not like (after eating a good punch, he always falls on the back and wait for attack). Dont know why many prefer to dive in those deadly water, because I would allow or wait for him to stand up and continue striking. Early Oliveira did not like being punched. After a good punch, he somehow mentally wasnt ready to continue and goes full defence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98hEI18anCs check out fights against Swanson, Holloway, first damage taken from Felder and Cerrone. Oliveira felt some pain and immediately the warrior inside of him disappears. I remember how people fought with broken hands, ribs, noses, jaws and etc. And Oliveira, after receiving first serious damage or strike, quickly change his fight attitude.

[tokeweed]

Is Saint Denis really that good to be a favourite in a fights against Poirier? Or current form of Poirier is that bad ? I am not much familiar with Saint Denis. He has some experience in UFC, but I cant tell that his opponent were tough to consider him as a favourite. Poirier is going to be his biggest challenge so far. His record shows that he isnt much of a striker, but all of his submissions were before UFC; cant evaluate his real skills based on that.

Saint Denis is solid in that he has the heart to outlast the elite fighters in his weight division.  Poirier on the other hand seems like he has gone soft after making big money in his recent fights.  The hunger is gone and who could blame him...  He has done everything what he needed to do as a fighter and has made more than enough money to live his life comfortably with his wife and kid.

Anyway here are a couple of vids to watch before watching the main event this week end.

UFC Free Fight:  Ankalaev vs Smith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SD2vqmaBAo

UFC Free Fight:  Walker vs Cutelaba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQOEDNcBrnE

And here's jeremypwr's Multi Master.

UFC Fight Night 234:  Multi Master Challenge
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5480845.0

Enjoy...

[pawel7777]

Some cool new fights were announced recently. Dustin Poirier vs Benoît Saint Denis on UFC 299. And Arman Tsarukyan vs Charles Oliveira on UFC 300. While first fight looks a bit unusual to see, top3 vs top12 (even though I love to see fresh blood in a fight among top of the top), Tsarukyan vs Oliveira looks very promising. Both are after beating Dariush. BJJ master Oliveiravs vs one of Makhachevs hardest opponents. Winner going to have a title fight after, 99,99% sure with that.

Somehow I missed this post earlier.

Yup, I completely don't get the Poirier Vs Saint-Denis match-up, looks like a shot in the back for Dustin. He's got nothing to win here and a lot to lose. Saint-Denis is currently ranked No. 12 contender so pretty big gap. To be fair, I don't know much about him, maybe the UFC considers him an easy win for Dustin. I don't know.
Glad to see that Gamrot is on the main card as well. He was hoping to fight Oliveira but will be facing Dos Anjos instead, who is ranked one place above Saint-Denis.

As for the UFC 300, the main card is not as great as I expected, but Tsarukyan Vs Oliveira should be a good one. I think Charles will utilise his height and reach advantage and will outstrike Arman.

[TopTort777]

Yup, I completely don't get the Poirier Vs Saint-Denis match-up, looks like a shot in the back for Dustin. He's got nothing to win here and a lot to lose. Saint-Denis is currently ranked No. 12 contender so pretty big gap. To be fair, I don't know much about him, maybe the UFC considers him an easy win for Dustin. I don't know.

Agree with everything you have posted. I also dont know why Poirier has signed this fight contract. Probably UFC pushed on him. True, he wont get much from a victory, and risk loosing a lot of rank positions. On the other hand, I like that this match-up even happens. I have tired from fighters not willing to fight someone who is lower than their rank, as well as tired when fighters fight with those who are 1-2 ranks lower or higher than they. I think I have posted here about fighting tiers. This pauses division and gives new blood little hope to grow up.

I am not familiar with Saint-Denis much. Maybe there is a big gap between them, maybe not. We all remember how it took Pereira 2 or 3 fights to become a champion, and how he, while being something like on top13-15 place, beat Adesanya.

[CryptoBuds]

Some cool new fights were announced recently. Dustin Poirier vs Benoît Saint Denis on UFC 299. And Arman Tsarukyan vs Charles Oliveira on UFC 300. While first fight looks a bit unusual to see, top3 vs top12 (even though I love to see fresh blood in a fight among top of the top), Tsarukyan vs Oliveira looks very promising. Both are after beating Dariush. BJJ master Oliveiravs vs one of Makhachevs hardest opponents. Winner going to have a title fight after, 99,99% sure with that.

Yup, I completely don't get the Poirier Vs Saint-Denis match-up, looks like a shot in the back for Dustin. He's got nothing to win here and a lot to lose. Saint-Denis is currently ranked No. 12 contender so pretty big gap. To be fair, I don't know much about him, maybe the UFC considers him an easy win for Dustin. I don't know.
Glad to see that Gamrot is on the main card as well. He was hoping to fight Oliveira but will be facing Dos Anjos instead, who is ranked one place above Saint-Denis.

As for the UFC 300, the main card is not as great as I expected, but Tsarukyan Vs Oliveira should be a good one. I think Charles will utilise his height and reach advantage and will outstrike Arman.

^ I also take that the UFC thinks that he is going to be an easy fight for Dustin Poirier. That's probably the only reason why they have given him this fight. Maybe they also thought that people also want to see him win, I don't know. But it definitely makes a lot less sense at this moment when, correct me if I am wrong but I think a better fight could be made.

The event is definitely not as interesting as I thought it could be. Probably will only end up watching the Oliveira fight only.

[Ayers]

I doubt that Arman gonna rely much on wrestling and wrestling is going to be his game plan. As he spend a lot of time in Tiger Muay Thai, imho he would focus on striking. That is something Oliveira does not like (after eating a good punch, he always falls on the back and wait for attack). Dont know why many prefer to dive in those deadly water, because I would allow or wait for him to stand up and continue striking. Early Oliveira did not like being punched. After a good punch, he somehow mentally wasnt ready to continue and goes full defence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98hEI18anCs check out fights against Swanson, Holloway, first damage taken from Felder and Cerrone. Oliveira felt some pain and immediately the warrior inside of him disappears. I remember how people fought with broken hands, ribs, noses, jaws and etc. And Oliveira, after receiving first serious damage or strike, quickly change his fight attitude.

For Oliviera, I think it is just like the famous quote of Mike Tyson. If you want have a plan until they get punched in the face. I think a lot of elite level fighters can actually cope with that very well. But probably not Oliviera. But of course, I think I am talking trash a little too early and a little too much. Because sometimes this can also be a very good tactic for fighters. He gets bounced in the face and goes on defense because he is probably disoriented and knows that if he gets punched again, he is certainly going to go down. So probably that is the best plan for himself. And as long as he can get his head back again, he has a chance to win the fight. But if his head is spinning, he has no chance. Right?

[tokeweed]

The UFC's YT channel uploaded the first match up between Ankalaev and Walker which happened just a couple of months ago or so.  These guys were lined at dead evens before this match happened and just seeing around three minutes between these guys, it showed that Ankalaev has the strength advantage.  If he didn't throw those illegal blows, it's safe to say that he would've had the advantage going into R2 and would've won the fight.

UFC Free Fight:  Ankalaev vs Walker 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6npgX4OEC8I

Anyway, if I could do my picks at the Multi Master again, I'd take another shot with another underdog in Gaston Bolanos...  McGhee is so so.

[TopTort777]

I doubt that Arman gonna rely much on wrestling and wrestling is going to be his game plan. As he spend a lot of time in Tiger Muay Thai, imho he would focus on striking. That is something Oliveira does not like (after eating a good punch, he always falls on the back and wait for attack). Dont know why many prefer to dive in those deadly water, because I would allow or wait for him to stand up and continue striking. Early Oliveira did not like being punched. After a good punch, he somehow mentally wasnt ready to continue and goes full defence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98hEI18anCs check out fights against Swanson, Holloway, first damage taken from Felder and Cerrone. Oliveira felt some pain and immediately the warrior inside of him disappears. I remember how people fought with broken hands, ribs, noses, jaws and etc. And Oliveira, after receiving first serious damage or strike, quickly change his fight attitude.

For Oliviera, I think it is just like the famous quote of Mike Tyson. If you want have a plan until they get punched in the face. I think a lot of elite level fighters can actually cope with that very well. But probably not Oliviera. But of course, I think I am talking trash a little too early and a little too much. Because sometimes this can also be a very good tactic for fighters. He gets bounced in the face and goes on defense because he is probably disoriented and knows that if he gets punched again, he is certainly going to go down. So probably that is the best plan for himself. And as long as he can get his head back again, he has a chance to win the fight. But if his head is spinning, he has no chance. Right?

Dunno. Fighters used to survive more devastating strikes and still continue. The thing with Oliveiras lack of desire to fighter after a missing a strike can be explained by his bad sight. Maybe he is worried about that a lot. Because every punch to the head did not make his sight any better Not like he is afraid to get punched, not that he has no fighting spirit. Dunno why he behaved strange sometimes.

[Hanadawa]

Saint Denis is solid in that he has the heart to outlast the elite fighters in his weight division.  Poirier on the other hand seems like he has gone soft after making big money in his recent fights.  The hunger is gone and who could blame him...  He has done everything what he needed to do as a fighter and has made more than enough money to live his life comfortably with his wife and kid.

After his defeat with Oliveira, I saw Dustin's fire as a fighter begin to fade. He seemed to have lost motivation to fight in the UFC. I think he was very unlucky in his career because he once lost to Khabib in the fight for the belt, then won a few fights and was once projected to fight for the belt when Khabib retired, but he preferred a trilogy with McGregor. Although the fight brought him a lot of money. And then he failed to win the title again after losing to Oliveira in the same way, namely the RNC. The fight against Justin provided a bit of motivation as they were fighting for the BMF belt.

I think Dustin has lost his fighting spirit because failing to get the belt is very painful especially when you have lost two title fights and have to fight a young fighter who still has a long career in MMA.

[YuginKadoya]

Check out some of my latest posts (it has a link to wiki) or check ufc.com. Yes, Arlovski, we might call him a veteran already, is having another fight. This reminds situation with Ferguson. He keep loosing, but UFC keep on giving him fights. Arlovski keep on aging (lol) and loosing his form, but he still fights in UFC and keep on modifying "most fights in UFC" record. As long as his name make sales, UFC will keep on using him.

P.S. this guy is in UFC since 2000. FFS ! 24 years !

The case of Andrei Arlovski is pretty near the Tony Ferguson problem the only difference is Tony Ferguson is younger than Andrei Arlovski by 4 years and now got 7 consecutive losses while Andrei Arlovski is now 44 years of age and only got 2 consecutive losses, for sure Andrei Arlovski is just starting to making those losses, for me if he wins this like Lawler did, I suggest retiring, or even if he lost this one for sure he got to retire.

-snip-

I like Oliveira's attitude of not choosing his opponents. I think he is an interesting fighter to watch at the moment because several times we thought he had a difficult opponent but he managed to get the job done well. A fight against Arman will be interesting to watch because I see Arman's wrestling level above Dariush and so far Oliveira has fought some great wrestlers like Chandler and Islam. And it can be seen that Oliveira is quite easy to take down even though in the end the ground area is his territory. I think Arman has a level of wrestling that matches Islam even though nowadays Islam has evolved for the better.

Well, we will never know the real possibility why he canceled some of his bouts if it's a true injury or cut while he was training we will never know for sure, for if that is true then Charles Oliveira is a true dude who not choosing his fight for sure any fight that is given to him by the UFC he will accept it, just like Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev does but is it really that but for sure that next fight is a challenge for Oliveira but seeing his fight against Beneil Dariush he is a different fighter now that have power in his striking, for sure that fight event for him is an interesting one.

The UFC's YT channel uploaded the first match up between Ankalaev and Walker which happened just a couple of months ago or so.  These guys were lined at dead evens before this match happened and just seeing around three minutes between these guys, it showed that Ankalaev has the strength advantage.  If he didn't throw those illegal blows, it's safe to say that he would've had the advantage going into R2 and would've won the fight.

UFC Free Fight:  Ankalaev vs Walker 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6npgX4OEC8I

Anyway, if I could do my picks at the Multi Master again, I'd take another shot with another underdog in Gaston Bolanos...  McGhee is so so.

After Watching it again, it was a clear misunderstanding, but the real issue here was it could have been prevented if Magomedov Ankalaev hadn't thrown that illegal knee that led to the stoppage and cut to Johnny Walker's cut, that fight had been a translator for both fighters that can not understand English clearly Johnny Walker isn't aware that the fight is already finished, even Ankalaev don't want that result and was upset even though it was his fault in the 1st place, but here is the real culprit the doctor that checked Johnny Walker if he is OK.

[pawel7777]

Agree with everything you have posted. I also dont know why Poirier has signed this fight contract.

Looking at the rankings, there were not too many other options left. He could've been matched-up with Dariush, but it might have been too soon for Beneil as he just fought in December.
Other option would be Gamrot, but they are team mates so won't be keen on fighting each other as one of them would have to go elsewhere.
That leaves Hooker, Turner or Dos Anjos, all ranked higher than Saint-Denis, but unlike them, Saint-Denis is on uptrend with 5 win streak, all 1st or 2nd round finishes, so it's definitely a tougher opponent.
So looks like a bold move from UFC: if Saint-Denis wins, Poirier's ratings will go down a lot, but they'll have a new, exciting star. If Dustin wins, he solidifies his position in the top and they can carry on capitalising on his hype.

[TopTort777]

Agree with everything you have posted. I also dont know why Poirier has signed this fight contract.

Looking at the rankings, there were not too many other options left. He could've been matched-up with Dariush, but it might have been too soon for Beneil as he just fought in December.
Other option would be Gamrot, but they are team mates so won't be keen on fighting each other as one of them would have to go elsewhere.
That leaves Hooker, Turner or Dos Anjos, all ranked higher than Saint-Denis, but unlike them, Saint-Denis is on uptrend with 5 win streak, all 1st or 2nd round finishes, so it's definitely a tougher opponent.
So looks like a bold move from UFC: if Saint-Denis wins, Poirier's ratings will go down a lot, but they'll have a new, exciting star. If Dustin wins, he solidifies his position in the top and they can carry on capitalising on his hype.

Good analytics from UFC point of view. But what about Poirier? What would be the benefits he could receive? Hooker, Turner or RDA looks more popular, much easier opponents. At 34 yo, with zebra record during last years, I dont think that Poirier is in title race anymore. His best option would be stay longer in UFC, get more money. With Saint-Denis, it looks more like a +1 in his lose section in fighting record. According to bookies, Poirier is an underdog in this fight. Looks fair. I expect Poirier to be chocked in this fight.

[tokeweed]

The UFC's YT channel uploaded the first match up between Ankalaev and Walker which happened just a couple of months ago or so.  These guys were lined at dead evens before this match happened and just seeing around three minutes between these guys, it showed that Ankalaev has the strength advantage.  If he didn't throw those illegal blows, it's safe to say that he would've had the advantage going into R2 and would've won the fight.

UFC Free Fight:  Ankalaev vs Walker 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6npgX4OEC8I

Anyway, if I could do my picks at the Multi Master again, I'd take another shot with another underdog in Gaston Bolanos...  McGhee is so so.

After Watching it again, it was a clear misunderstanding, but the real issue here was it could have been prevented if Magomedov Ankalaev hadn't thrown that illegal knee that led to the stoppage and cut to Johnny Walker's cut, that fight had been a translator for both fighters that can not understand English clearly Johnny Walker isn't aware that the fight is already finished, even Ankalaev don't want that result and was upset even though it was his fault in the 1st place, but here is the real culprit the doctor that checked Johnny Walker if he is OK.

Yup, when I watched it live, I really thought Walker was out of it but watching it again with the replay, dunno...  I feel like he knew what he was doing and the fight should've been continued.

The pick is Ankalaev but do you really wanna bet on him at 1.19 knowing that Walker has the explosiveness and the KO power to get anybody out of there as long as the clock is running?  There are better spots in this event for favorites imho.

[Godday]

Good analytics from UFC point of view. But what about Poirier? What would be the benefits he could receive? Hooker, Turner or RDA looks more popular, much easier opponents. At 34 yo, with zebra record during last years, I dont think that Poirier is in title race anymore. His best option would be stay longer in UFC, get more money. With Saint-Denis, it looks more like a +1 in his lose section in fighting record. According to bookies, Poirier is an underdog in this fight. Looks fair. I expect Poirier to be chocked in this fight.

I remember the Gaetjhe vs Fiziev fight where at that time Fiziev was a young star who was shining as a knoucout artist. Justin ultimately won the fight and gave a signal that the top 5 Lightweights were very difficult to penetrate. Dustin vs Denis reminds me of that fight. Young stars vs old stars. Is Denis able to get through the gate of the top 5 lightweights and cement his position among the top 5 or is it Dustin who confirms to Denis that the top 5 is still not worthy of him. Even though I believe Denis will win, we should not underestimate Dustin's experience in the UFC.

[Welsh]

Walker has so much potential, but I feel he leaves his chin too open to be able to compete against the best of the best. If it wasn't for his wild style, which he has turned down a little bit in recent fights, he would probably be doing a little better against them. However, that turns down the entertainment factor, which is one of the reasons he's so popular. I thought the last stoppage was wrong, and might have actually been down to Walker not understanding the question or making a joke at probably the wrong time. However, that's walker for you. I'm really hoping he does well in this fight, but I'm worried about his open style compromising his chances. Since, he definitely does have a chance to win this.