🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[Welsh]

All the UFC needs to do is bring on a talented heavyweight from other MMA organizations...  That's if the UFC could find them.  You guys watch PFL and Bellator more than me.  Who's good over there that the UFC could poach and bring over?

Ngannou . They've brought a few over recently, one of them obviously fighting this weekend as the main event. However, I don't think Teixeira is much different from what we've already got. He might win against Lewis, but I don't think he's anything that's going to take the world by storm.

He might climb the rankings quick just because of the lack of depth in the division, but outside of his clear advantages in height and reach he isn't all that technical like the rest of the division.

Unfortunately, we need a decent amount of new comers, because the division is stale from top to bottom. Tom, clearly is a very skilled fighter, but it almost seems wasted because there isn't anyone that's really going to challenge him. If he loses his belt, it'll be from something unexpected, then he'll get the rematch and win it back. I don't think anyone's going to out skill him in the division currently.

[tokeweed]

^  Fck yeah if they could bring Ngannou back!

All the UFC needs to do is bring on a talented heavyweight from other MMA organizations...  That's if the UFC could find them.  You guys watch PFL and Bellator more than me.  Who's good over there that the UFC could poach and bring over?

Usman Nurmagomedov (Khabib and Islam bro), Vadim Nemkov (train in Fedor Emelianenko team) from Bellator. Anatoly Malykhin from OneFC. Ngannou from PFL Undefeated LH Johnny Eblen from PFL. Not going to say that they will replace current UFC champions or top3, but they will be in top10 for sure.

Any comments on co-main event fight? Thompson vs Bonfirm. Thompson is 42 already and fights against a young guy with 17-1? Seems that Wonderboy got into Dana White's hate list for some reason This fight seems easy to predict.

Yeah that's a good list of fighters but I like Eblen and Usman Nurmagomedov the most for obvious reasons, but there's one guy I like in Bellator from a couple of years ago..  AJ McKee.  How is he these days?  Is he still good?  I fancied him to go over to the UFC in exchange for Max Holloway.    Kinda like how the UFC traded DJ for Askren.

Anyway, here are the weigh in results for this weekend's event.

Derrick Lewis (261) vs. Tallison Teixeira (259)
Gabriel Bonfim (171) vs. Stephen Thompson (170.5)
Steve Garcia (146) vs. Calvin Kattar (146)
Morgan Charriere (146) vs. Nate Landwehr (146)
Austen Lane (245) vs. Vitor Petrino (249)
Junior Tafa (206) vs. Tuco Tokkos (206)
Chris Curtis (170.5) vs. Max Griffin (170.25)
Jake Matthews (170.5) vs. Chidi Njokuani (170.5)
Eduarda Moura (126) vs. Lauren Murphy (126)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (238) vs. Valter Walker (244.5)
Mike Davis (155.25) vs. Mitch Ramirez (156)
Fatima Kline (115.5) vs. Melissa Martinez (116)

All made it.

[TopTort777]

Btw have you heard about situation with Ben Askren and his health? He has been in very bad condition; some fighters even announced his death. He had got lung transplant recently and now his is recovering. People used to talk a lot of shit about Jake Paul and his rigged boxing fight. However he has donated half a million to lung transplant operation. Check Askren recent photos, he looks terrible…

[pawel7777]

Btw have you heard about situation with Ben Askren and his health? He has been in very bad condition; some fighters even announced his death. He had got lung transplant recently and now his is recovering. People used to talk a lot of shit about Jake Paul and his rigged boxing fight. However he has donated half a million to lung transplant operation. Check Askren recent photos, he looks terrible…

Which fighters have announced his death? Maybe it was some misunderstanding on their part.
But yeah, I stumbled upon this video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-8CH9ux20Lc in which he didn't look very well, almost unrecognisable.

But I believe he's recovering and doing better now, here's some update from his X account posted ~4h ago: https://x.com/Benaskren/status/1944089701981250026 this is much improvement from the first video and looks like the worst is behind him.

[tokeweed]

Btw have you heard about situation with Ben Askren and his health? He has been in very bad condition; some fighters even announced his death. He had got lung transplant recently and now his is recovering. People used to talk a lot of shit about Jake Paul and his rigged boxing fight. However he has donated half a million to lung transplant operation. Check Askren recent photos, he looks terrible…

Damn..  I hope he recovers soon.  Yeah he was an arrogant character in the UFC but in real life he seems like a good guy.  His wife and kids love him from what I've seen.

And it's nice of Jake Paul to donate some money for the lung transplant.  Jfc...  A lung transplant.  That is fcking weird.  But yeah, Jake Paul is another 'character'.  Behind the scenes he's prolly a different guy.

Anyway here are the results.  I think the main event was stopped early.  The ref should've given the other guy a chance to continue as he looked like he was able to.

Derrick Lewis def. Tallison Teixeira
Gabriel Bonfim def. Stephen Thompson
Steve Garcia def. Calvin Kattar
Morgan Charrière def. Nate Landwehr
Vitor Petrino def. Austen Lane
Tuco Tokkos def. Junior Tafa
Chris Curtis def. Max Griffin
Jake Matthews def. Chidi Njokuani
Eduarda Moura def. Lauren Murphy
Valter Walker def. Kennedy Nzechukwu
Mike Davis def. Mitch Ramirez
Fatima Kline def. Melissa Martinez

UFC Nashville:  Post Fight Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MemfDljhNqg

[TopTort777]

It was actually a double lung transplant, which is ridiculous if we imagine how serious his health condition was.  That is pneumonia, that is from what a lot of people die quickly if there is no medical help. Btw, Askren is known also for crypto support He was actually among first UFC fighters who took crypto serious.

Btw have you heard about situation with Ben Askren and his health? He has been in very bad condition; some fighters even announced his death. He had got lung transplant recently and now his is recovering. People used to talk a lot of shit about Jake Paul and his rigged boxing fight. However he has donated half a million to lung transplant operation. Check Askren recent photos, he looks terrible…

Which fighters have announced his death? Maybe it was some misunderstanding on their part.
But yeah, I stumbled upon this video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-8CH9ux20Lc in which he didn't look very well, almost unrecognisable.

I think it all started from Caio Borralho



He has misunderstood info and has started news wave.

Recent event - Lewis has updated record for most KO in UFC history and most KO in heavyweight. With stats like his, its a huge question why he is so low on rank and was never a champ. His post fight speech was hilarious. Gnp his wife

[pawel7777]

So much for Tallison Taixeira being the new hope for the heavyweight. He was 8-0 with a 100% finish ratio. He was big, he was tall, he was quite fast for a heavyweight.
The UFC gave him a 40-year-old Derric Lewis so he could build up his name and probably jump into the top 10, but instead he got TKO within 35 seconds of the first round.

What's next for Lewis after that win? Maybe he would get a chance to test the UFC's new sign-up, Ante Delija? And maybe the winner would get to fight for the belt, but I think Gane would get that chance first.

[TopTort777]

UFC 318



Date: July 20, 2025

Early Prelims: Sun, Jul 20 / 1:15 AM GMT+3
Preliminary Sun, Jul 20 / 3:00 AM GMT+3
Main Card: Sun, Jul 20 / 5:00 AM GMT+3

Venue: Smoothie King Center

Main card (ESPN)
Lightweight: Max Holloway (c) vs. Dustin Poirier
Middleweight: Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov            
Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez            
Featherweight: Dan Ige vs. Patrício Pitbull            
Lightweight: Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira            
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen            
Welterweight: Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov            
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Robert Valentin

Early preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+ / Disney+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight: Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov            
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio            
Heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Łukasz Brzeski            
Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey            
Women's Flyweight: Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_318

[melinoe]

So much for Tallison Taixeira being the new hope for the heavyweight. He was 8-0 with a 100% finish ratio. He was big, he was tall, he was quite fast for a heavyweight.
The UFC gave him a 40-year-old Derric Lewis so he could build up his name and probably jump into the top 10, but instead he got TKO within 35 seconds of the first round.

What's next for Lewis after that win? Maybe he would get a chance to test the UFC's new sign-up, Ante Delija? And maybe the winner would get to fight for the belt, but I think Gane would get that chance first.

Even if you have facts on hand, you can't expect everything to go smoothly no matter what, that's sports and human factors for ya.

We will see what comes next of it, it should be fun no matter the matchup

[tokeweed]

UFC 318



Date: July 20, 2025

Early Prelims: Sun, Jul 20 / 1:15 AM GMT+3
Preliminary Sun, Jul 20 / 3:00 AM GMT+3
Main Card: Sun, Jul 20 / 5:00 AM GMT+3

Venue: Smoothie King Center

Main card (ESPN)
Lightweight: Max Holloway (c) vs. Dustin Poirier
Middleweight: Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov            
Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez            
Featherweight: Dan Ige vs. Patrício Pitbull            
Lightweight: Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira            
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen            
Welterweight: Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov            
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Robert Valentin

Early preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+ / Disney+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight: Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov            
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio            
Heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Łukasz Brzeski            
Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey            
Women's Flyweight: Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_318

Early prelims is in Disney+?  Lol.  That's crazy. 

But yeah for this event, not really sure why Poirier is the slight underdog in this spot.  I'm def taking him.  Ige is a decent favorite but I think there's some value in there, taking that too.  This Patricio guy will be in a world of wtf am I doing here being given decent to high level competition back to back.  The match makers should turn down the notch a bit and give him someone easy. 

Here's the countdown vid...  Enjoy.

UFC 318:  Countdown - Full Episode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9UPQDJDA6U

[pawel7777]

(...)
Recent event - Lewis has updated record for most KO in UFC history and most KO in heavyweight. With stats like his, its a huge question why he is so low on rank and was never a champ. His post fight speech was hilarious. Gnp his wife

As much as his KO ratio is really impressive (24 KOs out of total of 29 career wins), let's not forget that he also has 12 losses, so he's current rank at 8th place seems pretty fair. I'm not sure if this has been updated for his last win, but it's possible it will not get him any higher, as Taixeira was ranked below him.
Between 2022 and 2023 he was on a 3 losses streak, when he lost by KO, TKO and submission and it looked like he might be on a way out, but he rebounded nicely.

When asked by a reporter in the post-event interview, Dana white has confirmed that Derrick might be one win away from a title shot. That would be a great ending of his career (win or lose).
I wouldn't be surprised if Aspinal Vs Lewis generated more sales than Aspinal Vs Gane as Derrick is much more hypeable (at least right now).

[Pumared]

So much for Tallison Taixeira being the new hope for the heavyweight. He was 8-0 with a 100% finish ratio. He was big, he was tall, he was quite fast for a heavyweight.
The UFC gave him a 40-year-old Derric Lewis so he could build up his name and probably jump into the top 10, but instead he got TKO within 35 seconds of the first round.

What's next for Lewis after that win? Maybe he would get a chance to test the UFC's new sign-up, Ante Delija? And maybe the winner would get to fight for the belt, but I think Gane would get that chance first.

I think this fight was a disappointment for the UFC and the public. And one thing to note is that all the Brazilians who fought in the main event lost. This is a very interesting statistic and should be closely monitored.

Regarding the heavyweight bout, Teixeira had his chance. Now it's probably going to be a while before he appears in another fight.

[bbc.reporter]

(...)
Recent event - Lewis has updated record for most KO in UFC history and most KO in heavyweight. With stats like his, its a huge question why he is so low on rank and was never a champ. His post fight speech was hilarious. Gnp his wife

As much as his KO ratio is really impressive (24 KOs out of total of 29 career wins), let's not forget that he also has 12 losses, so he's current rank at 8th place seems pretty fair. I'm not sure if this has been updated for his last win, but it's possible it will not get him any higher, as Taixeira was ranked below him.
Between 2022 and 2023 he was on a 3 losses streak, when he lost by KO, TKO and submission and it looked like he might be on a way out, but he rebounded nicely.

When asked by a reporter in the post-event interview, Dana white has confirmed that Derrick might be one win away from a title shot. That would be a great ending of his career (win or lose).
I wouldn't be surprised if Aspinal Vs Lewis generated more sales than Aspinal Vs Gane as Derrick is much more hypeable (at least right now).

On a championship fight against Tom Aspinall, I agree that the Black Beast will certainly bring more hype than Ciryl Gane or than all of these fighters who might be fighting Tom for his next fights in the octagon. However, the Black Beast's only chance for a championship fight will be if a scheduled opponent for Tom is injured and the Black Beast will be chosen as a short notice replacement. It is headshaking but we can be very much certain that the Black Beast cannot defeat these fighters who has a higher rank than him that would give him the next championship fight.

[TopTort777]

Early prelims is in Disney+?  Lol.  That's crazy. 

Maybe I havent mentioned it when filling event form, but UFC and Disney has been together for a long period already. Maybe +5 years already. Disney only has contract with limited amount of events or fights they can show. If ESPN show everything, than Disney can show 10-20 events per year only (or something like that. I dont remember their deal now).

When asked by a reporter in the post-event interview, Dana white has confirmed that Derrick might be one win away from a title shot. That would be a great ending of his career (win or lose).
I wouldn't be surprised if Aspinal Vs Lewis generated more sales than Aspinal Vs Gane as Derrick is much more hypeable (at least right now).

I dont remember fighters name, but it was a heavyweight and most probably Lewis. So that guy told that he does not have champions ambitions. He likes fighting, but he does not like to train hard for title fight Lewis hasnt seen his wife for 2 weeks, that was his camp. That a super short camp (for example heavyweight boxer Olexander Usyk that is about to have a title fight, had 6 month camp). Lewis has 12 losses because he is imho lazy to train stamina. He feels that long fights is not for him. Remember that photo of a slim Lewis.

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah...  I heard he also likes to goof around with his phone during training and make memes then post them on Twitter.    Like this one.  Rofl.  



Anyway, who do you guys have on the main event this weekend?  Not really sure why Poirier is the slight underdog here.  I think he should be around 1.70 favorite...  1.60 even. 

I know everybody itt would say Holloway beat Gaethje but remember, he got Gaethje with a spinning back kick to the face and broke Gaethje's nose.  The fight went south for Gaethje after that.  It would've been a lot closer if it didn't happen and I don't think that exact same move will happen against Poirier.

[Balmain]

UFC 318

Main card (ESPN)
Lightweight: Max Holloway (c) vs. Dustin Poirier
Middleweight: Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov            
Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez            
Featherweight: Dan Ige vs. Patrício Pitbull            
Lightweight: Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira            
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen            
Welterweight: Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov            
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Robert Valentin

Early preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+ / Disney+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight: Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov            
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio            
Heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Łukasz Brzeski            
Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey            
Women's Flyweight: Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_318

Max Holloway's iconic BMF belt will be on the line in this match. He believes Poirier's technical superiority and boxing skills are balanced against Holloway's high-volume punches and stamina. Poirier's wrestling advantage and Holloway's cardio will determine the outcome of the match. Holloway's youth, stamina, and desire to recoup past losses by winning this match make him a dangerous opponent, even more so. With his cardio and technique, he's always been a dangerous BMF.

[Pumared]

(...)
Recent event - Lewis has updated record for most KO in UFC history and most KO in heavyweight. With stats like his, its a huge question why he is so low on rank and was never a champ. His post fight speech was hilarious. Gnp his wife

As much as his KO ratio is really impressive (24 KOs out of total of 29 career wins), let's not forget that he also has 12 losses, so he's current rank at 8th place seems pretty fair. I'm not sure if this has been updated for his last win, but it's possible it will not get him any higher, as Taixeira was ranked below him.
Between 2022 and 2023 he was on a 3 losses streak, when he lost by KO, TKO and submission and it looked like he might be on a way out, but he rebounded nicely.

When asked by a reporter in the post-event interview, Dana white has confirmed that Derrick might be one win away from a title shot. That would be a great ending of his career (win or lose).
I wouldn't be surprised if Aspinal Vs Lewis generated more sales than Aspinal Vs Gane as Derrick is much more hypeable (at least right now).

On a championship fight against Tom Aspinall, I agree that the Black Beast will certainly bring more hype than Ciryl Gane or than all of these fighters who might be fighting Tom for his next fights in the octagon. However, the Black Beast's only chance for a championship fight will be if a scheduled opponent for Tom is injured and the Black Beast will be chosen as a short notice replacement. It is headshaking but we can be very much certain that the Black Beast cannot defeat these fighters who has a higher rank than him that would give him the next championship fight.

That is, it is very unlikely because it takes many "and if" so that he can fight and have a chance of title. It is very unlikely for a fighter to injure himself, and even if someone will injure himself, it is still necessary that he is chosen among other possibilities of struggles.

[TopTort777]

Anyway, who do you guys have on the main event this weekend?  Not really sure why Poirier is the slight underdog here.  I think he should be around 1.70 favorite...  1.60 even. 

I think the reason Poirier is an underdog is because he often talk or people associate him with retiring from MMA sport. After his loss to Khabib (and that was sooo long ago) he has already started to doubt if he should continue. Then after every single loss he is like I dont know if I want to do this more. I feel like he has low motivation to fight or to earn through fighting. Also that BMF title is nothing to give all of yourself in the octagon

[tokeweed]

^  Maybe...  But here's the thing tho, Poirier has never had back to back losses in his time fighting in the UFC.  And he already fought Holloway twice and won them both.  So with that in mind and a slight underdog spot, sign me in for a small bet. 

Anyway, here are some vids to watch...  These ones are with my bets this weekend, Ige and Poirier. 

Dustin Poirier vs Benoît Saint-Denis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBqnkknefN4

Dan Ige vs Sean Woodson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1k_uPub1aI

Let's see how Patricio Pitbull's kicking game fares against Dan Ige...

[cabron]

UFC 318

Main card (ESPN)
Lightweight: Max Holloway (c) vs. Dustin Poirier
Middleweight: Paulo Costa vs. Roman Kopylov            
Welterweight: Kevin Holland vs. Daniel Rodriguez            
Featherweight: Dan Ige vs. Patrício Pitbull            
Lightweight: Michael Johnson vs. Daniel Zellhuber

Preliminary card (ESPN)
Bantamweight: Kyler Phillips vs. Vinicius Oliveira            
Middleweight: Marvin Vettori vs. Brendan Allen            
Welterweight: Francisco Prado vs. Nikolay Veretennikov            
Middleweight: Ateba Abega Gautier vs. Robert Valentin

Early preliminary card (ESPN2 / ESPN+ / Disney+ / UFC Fight Pass)
Welterweight: Adam Fugitt vs. Islam Dulatov            
Light Heavyweight: Jimmy Crute vs. Marcin Prachnio            
Heavyweight: Ryan Spann vs. Łukasz Brzeski            
Middleweight: Brunno Ferreira vs. Jackson McVey            
Women's Flyweight: Carli Judice vs. Nicolle Caliari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_318

Max Holloway's iconic BMF belt will be on the line in this match. He believes Poirier's technical superiority and boxing skills are balanced against Holloway's high-volume punches and stamina. Poirier's wrestling advantage and Holloway's cardio will determine the outcome of the match. Holloway's youth, stamina, and desire to recoup past losses by winning this match make him a dangerous opponent, even more so. With his cardio and technique, he's always been a dangerous BMF.

Nice work. Max still got the BMF belt even after losing against Topuria.
Doesn't really make sense to give 3rd match for this 2 as Dustin had defeated Max twice. Dana is too considerate to give Dustin a shot to the BMF belt for his retirement fight.  Or maybe he wants Dustin to stay for more fights if he still have the belt. The crowd number made Dana decide and in anyway, Max still stays in UFC win or lose.