🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[trendcoin]

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Merab is now #2 p4p fighter, higher than Bones. If Makhachev loses to Maddalena, it will make Merab first, which is a huge surprise.

If Islam loses his match against JDM, Merab will definitely be number one. However, if Islam wins his match against JDM, his place at the top will be undisputed. There is a very exciting and active competition... By the way, I think Jones should be moved down a few spots among such active fighters. He shouldn't be at the top of the list just because he defeated older firefighters. Legal action should be taken against him by public authorities for beating up old firefighters... :)

I checked UFC's P4P list and it was amazing to see Merab as number 2 P4P fighter. I was also thinking that but I don't think that one loss will contribute to that. If Islam loses to JDM and Merab wins against Coby, then I'm sure Merab will become the number one P4P fighter but just one loss won't change much. When Volk lost against Islam for the first time, he was still number one P4P.
Jon Jones is Dana White's BF, so don't expect him to move down. By the way, did this guy retire?

If Ilia defeats Charles, he could move up to number 3, and Charles could fall off the list. Islam, Merab, and Ilia... It's very difficult to say which one is number 1. I think we'll have to watch the Islam vs. Ilia match to find out...

Btw, Kamaru Usman won by unanimous decision. Buckley was helpless against Usman's wrestling. The welterweight division has now become a more complicated division. Islam, JDM, Usman, Shavkat, Garry, and others...

[TopTort777]

Well-well-well. Usman surprised everyone. I think nobody believed in his victory, but according to scorecards, Bucklet took only last round. Surprisingly, Usman defeated an opponent whi supposed to KO him in first rounds. Tokeweed, did you placed that +3.00 bet? Please say you did. So what is next for Usman? Will he continue to be a trampoline for new perspective guys, or try to get his belt back? Volk managed to do this, so why not Usman also try?

[Synchronice]

I don't have a problem with Merab being ranked 2nd, he deserved it, mostly by defeating Umar, who was the toughest possible opponent in the division, the 2nd win against O'Malley was just a cherry on top.

I rewatched the entire fight of Merab VS Umar yesterday and I saw much more things this time. Umar is really very good, it was a very close fight but in the last 2 minutes of round 5, Umar was too tired and exhausted, barely alive but he was very good, he didn't step back. I think it was one of the hardest fight for Merab. I also rewatched Merab VS Sean, first fight and then second fight. In the first fight, Sean was able to fight for the 5 round but in the second fight, he was a walking dead in the 3rd round, he was barely conscious, Merab got him that tired. I also saw an extreme improvement into Merab's striking. Now I would really love to see Merab VS Umar 2, it will be one of the most interesting fight. Merab is only getting better in every aspect and in fight against him, he will be a real beast, a real monster but I'm also sure that Umar will significantly improve because Khabib will personally take this loss and will do everything he can to prepare Umar against Merab. This will be a very interesting fight, one of the best, I'm sure.

O'Malley dropped out of the ranking entirely and Tsarukyan is in at the 15th place.

Tsarukyan left me and probably everyone very disappointed.

I just watched face-offs and realised how much taller Usman is compared to Buckley. I checked their Wiki stats, and apparently there's a 10cm height difference between them. That makes the x3.0 odds for Usman even more attractive. Although their reach is said to be exactly the same, so not sure if the height itself is actually that much of an advantage. It still could be i.e. when it comes to kicks etc.

Height is a huge advantage in fight. I don't know how to convince a non MMA guy that a short guy like Merab can beat a tall guy like Sean.

If Ilia defeats Charles, he could move up to number 3, and Charles could fall off the list. Islam, Merab, and Ilia... It's very difficult to say which one is number 1. I think we'll have to watch the Islam vs. Ilia match to find out...

Both, Ilia and Merab have the potential to be number one but I think that Merab will become N1 from these two but still, everything depends on Makhachev. If he beats JDM, then he will cement it but you know what will be funny? If Ilia beats Charles and then moves up in Welterweight and beats Islam, then I think that Ilia will permanently be the first P4P but Merab's resume is too good too

[tokeweed]

Well-well-well. Usman surprised everyone. I think nobody believed in his victory, but according to scorecards, Bucklet took only last round. Surprisingly, Usman defeated an opponent whi supposed to KO him in first rounds. Tokeweed, did you placed that +3.00 bet? Please say you did. So what is next for Usman? Will he continue to be a trampoline for new perspective guys, or try to get his belt back? Volk managed to do this, so why not Usman also try?

Nope sorry...    I was tempted to, but no.  Lol.  I didn't even watch the event as I had to do some stuff irl.  But yeah, would have been a good bet.

As for Usman getting the belt back, I don't think he could do it now with guys like Shavkat Rakhmonov, Ian Garry and even Michael Morales.  It's a tough line up, JDM should thank his lucky stars that he's given a money match with Islam Makhachev.  If Makhachev wins, he'll have a tough line up ahead of guys bigger than him.

[TopTort777]

You know, Buckley is a strange guy. He has lost, was active all 5 rounds (in 5th rounds Usman was very tired btw), and it seems that he was ready for more 5 rounds. Why save so much gas tank? Why he started defending take downs only in 5th round? Also he attacks, as he did damage to Usman, then stopped and did not know what do to next, as his previous opponents were KOed after those attacks. He had such good positions for striking, and did not use them at all. As if he is in UFC only to make KO highlight video for YouTube and leave

[Balmain]

You know, Buckley is a strange guy. He has lost, was active all 5 rounds (in 5th rounds Usman was very tired btw), and it seems that he was ready for more 5 rounds. Why save so much gas tank? Why he started defending take downs only in 5th round? Also he attacks, as he did damage to Usman, then stopped and did not know what do to next, as his previous opponents were KOed after those attacks. He had such good positions for striking, and did not use them at all. As if he is in UFC only to make KO highlight video for YouTube and leave

Buckley has never fought 5 rounds before but he held on great, he was taken down many times before the 5th round but he seemed less tired than Usman. On the contrary, Usman was tired in the last round, if he had pressed a little more he might have knocked him out. Or since he has energy he could have used it in the previous rounds and looked for a knockout again or he could have put more effort into takedown defense. Usman came back after a long time, even though the Buckley match reminded him of himself. Is the nightmare back or will the nightmare soon disappear? The ranking is quite complicated now.

[pawel7777]

Usman is back!
I told you not to write him off just yet 
He came prepared and looked really decent, especially against much younger and aggressive Buckley. Takedowns and ground control turned out to be the key to success.
I can't tell if Usman was so good in his takedowns or if it was Buckley's takedown defense that was lacking, as some of them were telegraphed and didn't even seem well-timed. Buckley did correct that in the last round, but it was too late.

I said I wouldn't be betting on Usman, but I actually did in the last minute. It was literally only a few bucks though, so not much of a win there.

That win puts Usman back there on the list of the top contenders, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's paired against Belal or Shavkat. Earlier in the year, Shavkat said he was promised a title shot against the winner of Belal/JDM, but it looks like it will go to Islam, so Shavkat would probably have to fight someone else.

[TopTort777]

UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.



Date: June 21

Preliminary Sat, Jun 21 / 7:00 PM GMT+3
Main Card: Sat, Jun 21 / 10:00 PM GMT+3

Venue: Baku Crystal Hall

Main card (ESPN)
Light Heavyweight: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.            
Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes            
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai            
Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev            
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta            
Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad   

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum            
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Park Jun-yong            
Women's Bantamweight: Melissa Mullins vs. Daria Zheleznyakova            
Heavyweight: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman            
Welterweight: Ko Seok-hyun vs. Oban Elliott            
Women's Bantamweight: Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Syguła

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_on_ABC:_Hill_vs._Rountree_Jr.

First time UFC will be hosting an event in Azerbaijan.

[Pumared]

Usman is back!
I told you not to write him off just yet 
He came prepared and looked really decent, especially against much younger and aggressive Buckley. Takedowns and ground control turned out to be the key to success.
I can't tell if Usman was so good in his takedowns or if it was Buckley's takedown defense that was lacking, as some of them were telegraphed and didn't even seem well-timed. Buckley did correct that in the last round, but it was too late.

I said I wouldn't be betting on Usman, but I actually did in the last minute. It was literally only a few bucks though, so not much of a win there.

That win puts Usman back there on the list of the top contenders, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's paired against Belal or Shavkat. Earlier in the year, Shavkat said he was promised a title shot against the winner of Belal/JDM, but it looks like it will go to Islam, so Shavkat would probably have to fight someone else.

You can't give up on a great fighter like that, that's why I believed in Usman's victory. Obviously he looked very difficult before the fight, maybe time had slowed him down, but apparently he continues like a young man fighting for the first time.

[TopTort777]

How come he be "like a young man" if his knees are destroyed and his destroyed knees are already a meme? Imho its not Usman that great at such age and in recent fight, but Buckley was overhyped after beating two old guys. Thompson who is 42 and Covington who said that hadnt trained for that fight at all. Usman future is misty. Who should be his next opponent? Rakhmonov? I think he would lose that fight. Belal ? Belal is trying to make this fight happen, but nobody seems to remember that Maddalena? By the time Usman gets this fight, he would be 40+. Brady? Chances are low.

[tokeweed]

UFC on ABC: Hill vs. Rountree Jr.



Date: June 21

Preliminary Sat, Jun 21 / 7:00 PM GMT+3
Main Card: Sat, Jun 21 / 10:00 PM GMT+3

Venue: Baku Crystal Hall

Main card (ESPN)
Light Heavyweight: Jamahal Hill vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.            
Lightweight: Rafael Fiziev vs. Ignacio Bahamondes            
Lightweight: Tofiq Musayev vs. Myktybek Orolbai            
Heavyweight: Curtis Blaydes vs. Rizvan Kuniev            
Lightweight: Nazim Sadykhov vs. Nikolas Motta            
Featherweight: Muhammad Naimov vs. Bogdan Grad   

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Flyweight: Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Azat Maksum            
Middleweight: Ismail Naurdiev vs. Park Jun-yong            
Women's Bantamweight: Melissa Mullins vs. Daria Zheleznyakova            
Heavyweight: Hamdy Abdelwahab vs. Mohammed Usman            
Welterweight: Ko Seok-hyun vs. Oban Elliott            
Women's Bantamweight: Irina Alekseeva vs. Klaudia Syguła

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_on_ABC:_Hill_vs._Rountree_Jr.

First time UFC will be hosting an event in Azerbaijan.

The main event is meh but there are some nice match ups peppered in there.  I like Rafael Fiziev vs Ignacio Bahamondes, Nazim Sadykhov vs Nikolas Motta, Ismail Naurdiev vs Park and maybe Muhammad Naimov vs Bogdan Grad...  I'm a Fiziev fan but he hasn't been looking good as of late.  Bahamondes is a step down in competition but he's way bigger than Fiziev.  Lol.  He's an over sized 155'er. 

Anyway, here's a replay with Hill.

UFC Free Fight:  Jamahal Hill vs Thiago Santos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg_Qp9cFcsg

Enjoy...

[TopTort777]

The main event could have been cancelled, as Hill first refused to fly to Baku, Azerbaijan because of the conflict in Middle East. Azerbaijan is close to Iran. Or he dont want a third KO in his record However, odds are quite close, 2.1 Hill vs 1.7 Rountree.

Fiziev is fighting a guy that is outside top15, but he needs that win, as Rafa is on a series of 3 losses. Not good. If he wasnt that high in top, he would be released probably. Gonna be not an easy fight for Fiziev, as reach and height advantage is on Bahamondes side, not to mention that Bahamondes has a lot of KO in his win record.

UFC is bringing new show: BJJ, road to title. First episodes is available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61M_EvA1eyU

[Pumared]

The main event could have been cancelled, as Hill first refused to fly to Baku, Azerbaijan because of the conflict in Middle East. Azerbaijan is close to Iran. Or he dont want a third KO in his record However, odds are quite close, 2.1 Hill vs 1.7 Rountree.

Fiziev is fighting a guy that is outside top15, but he needs that win, as Rafa is on a series of 3 losses. Not good. If he wasnt that high in top, he would be released probably. Gonna be not an easy fight for Fiziev, as reach and height advantage is on Bahamondes side, not to mention that Bahamondes has a lot of KO in his win record.

I never understand Hill's "Marketing". He should be training to win this fight, otherwise he will fall even further into oblivion. The only thing he does to keep his name somewhere is to generate this kind of meaningless content. Very poorly advised.

[pawel7777]

How come he be "like a young man" if his knees are destroyed and his destroyed knees are already a meme? (...)

Is the knees thing real, or was that just a meme started by Buckley? I thought it was the latter, but I've seen/read somewhere briefly that it's a real issue, so I don't know. It can't be that bad if he's still able to wrestle that well.

(...) Usman future is misty. Who should be his next opponent? Rakhmonov? I think he would lose that fight. Belal ? Belal is trying to make this fight happen, but nobody seems to remember that Maddalena? By the time Usman gets this fight, he would be 40+. Brady? Chances are low.

Assuming Usman is still hungry for the belt and not just for the money, I think he will be asking to fight someone ranked above him, which would open the door for the title fight. The UFC owns him that, after he took the risk to fight Chimaev on a short notice in a higher weight class and after defeating Buckley.
So yeah, I think it will be one of the three: Belal, Shavkat, or Brady. I don't think a trilogy against Leon is realistic.

[TopTort777]

How come he be "like a young man" if his knees are destroyed and his destroyed knees are already a meme? (...)

Is the knees thing real, or was that just a meme started by Buckley? I thought it was the latter, but I've seen/read somewhere briefly that it's a real issue, so I don't know. It can't be that bad if he's still able to wrestle that well.

I havent got a knee injury, surgery or any kind of such problems, so I cant explain how real that is, but Usman say that has had numerous meniscus issues and surgeries. Due to that he cant run normally, and prefer to walk on grass instead of hard surface. For an average athletes his knees might be ok, for competition on such level as UFC and professional sport, his knees are bad

[cabron]

How come he be "like a young man" if his knees are destroyed and his destroyed knees are already a meme? (...)

Is the knees thing real, or was that just a meme started by Buckley? I thought it was the latter, but I've seen/read somewhere briefly that it's a real issue, so I don't know. It can't be that bad if he's still able to wrestle that well.

(...) Usman future is misty. Who should be his next opponent? Rakhmonov? I think he would lose that fight. Belal ? Belal is trying to make this fight happen, but nobody seems to remember that Maddalena? By the time Usman gets this fight, he would be 40+. Brady? Chances are low.

Assuming Usman is still hungry for the belt and not just for the money, I think he will be asking to fight someone ranked above him, which would open the door for the title fight. The UFC owns him that, after he took the risk to fight Chimaev on a short notice in a higher weight class and after defeating Buckley.
So yeah, I think it will be one of the three: Belal, Shavkat, or Brady. I don't think a trilogy against Leon is realistic.

That explains the loss. I didn't expect Usman to dominate Buckley but he made it look like Buckley isn't as effective as he was in his previous fights. Must be a good profit to have rooted for him. Usman and Belal would be a good fight. Someone close to Usman's age would be fairer than Brady or Shavkat  who will just ragdoll him.  Maybe he will have the title shot after.

[TopTort777]

Conor McGregor is in new scandal. Conor McGregor caught on video knocking out man in Ibiza nightclub. Even though its said knocking out, he has landed two punches but hasnt knocked that guy. Just what he plans to do against Chandler? Joking I am curious if he is still running for Irish presidency or dropped this idea? As this incident going to affect him for sure. People have forgotten his recent sexual assault case, but Conor loves to stay in the spotlight

[Synchronice]

How come he be "like a young man" if his knees are destroyed and his destroyed knees are already a meme? (...)

Is the knees thing real, or was that just a meme started by Buckley? I thought it was the latter, but I've seen/read somewhere briefly that it's a real issue, so I don't know. It can't be that bad if he's still able to wrestle that well.

I havent got a knee injury, surgery or any kind of such problems, so I cant explain how real that is, but Usman say that has had numerous meniscus issues and surgeries. Due to that he cant run normally, and prefer to walk on grass instead of hard surface. For an average athletes his knees might be ok, for competition on such level as UFC and professional sport, his knees are bad

Luis Suárez (former Liverpool & Barcelona forward, which now plays in Inter Miami with Messi) has a serious knee issues too. I don't know whose knees are f-ed up but I have read articles about Suárez and according to him, his knees are extremely f-ed. He said that his first steps in the morning are very painful and he takes three pills at night and as I remember, hours before play, he also injects corticosteroids in his knee. But he still plays in Inter Miami and shout-out to this guy for that.
By the way, I was scrolling UFC subreddit yesterday and someone said that Usman greatly exaggerates how bad his knees are to throw off his opponents. That makes sense to me.

Conor McGregor is in new scandal. Conor McGregor caught on video knocking out man in Ibiza nightclub. Even though its said knocking out, he has landed two punches but hasnt knocked that guy. Just what he plans to do against Chandler? Joking I am curious if he is still running for Irish presidency or dropped this idea? As this incident going to affect him for sure. People have forgotten his recent sexual assault case, but Conor loves to stay in the spotlight

Someone has to take care of him. Since he is an experienced fighter, he thinks that it's cool if he beats random guys. What about to do that to Dustin Poirier? Oh, Dustin will beat his ass. Conor is like, no brain no shame.

[tokeweed]

The main event could have been cancelled, as Hill first refused to fly to Baku, Azerbaijan because of the conflict in Middle East. Azerbaijan is close to Iran. Or he dont want a third KO in his record However, odds are quite close, 2.1 Hill vs 1.7 Rountree.

Fiziev is fighting a guy that is outside top15, but he needs that win, as Rafa is on a series of 3 losses. Not good. If he wasnt that high in top, he would be released probably. Gonna be not an easy fight for Fiziev, as reach and height advantage is on Bahamondes side, not to mention that Bahamondes has a lot of KO in his win record.

UFC is bringing new show: BJJ, road to title. First episodes is available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61M_EvA1eyU

Yup, Hill prolly just making up a reason not to fly to Baku and get another KO.  Lololol.    But as for Fiziev, he lost Justin Gaethje in their first fight but it was competitive.  His loss to another tough opponent, Gamrot, was because his knee popped in the middle of the match.  Can't blame Fiziev for that.  At his rematch against Gaethje, it was in short notice...  Like a few days short notice, so we can't really fault him for losing.

If he losses this one against Bahamondes, I think the UFC will cut him some slack and give him a couple more chances to get back on the saddle.  He's a good fighter, just got into a rut.

[Pumared]

Conor McGregor is in new scandal. Conor McGregor caught on video knocking out man in Ibiza nightclub. Even though its said knocking out, he has landed two punches but hasnt knocked that guy. Just what he plans to do against Chandler? Joking I am curious if he is still running for Irish presidency or dropped this idea? As this incident going to affect him for sure. People have forgotten his recent sexual assault case, but Conor loves to stay in the spotlight

As always, he does everything he can to stay in the media. Connor really shows more and more what not to do to become a good fighter. Newcomers just need to look at what he did after his career ended and do everything in reverse, and success will be guaranteed.