🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[pawel7777]

We see fighters defending their belts four times a year because Dana doesn't open the tap. What should Merab do, work in construction? What should Islam do, raise sheep and cows? What should Alex do, work in a tire shop?

By the way, I think two belt defenses in a year is quite enough. Any more than that seems like an unnecessary risk to me. I'm sure every fighter in the division would love to get that chance, but even if the champion's nickname is “The Machine,” he is not a real machine...

I can't argue with that, we all know the UFC is not famous for their generosity. But there's another angle to this. Fighters know they have a relatively short time of the performance peak. Usually, it takes many years to get into the top 10 and the vast majority of aspiring fighters would never get that far. So when they are at the top, they don't necessarily want to waste any time, but would rather milk the opportunity dry. And sometimes it could backfire. I'm not sure was it the case with Merab, but it's possible that physical/mental fatigue played a big role in his defeat.
It depends on personality and motivation too, we've seen some of the top guys staying inactive for prolonged periods of time, while others are asking to fight as often as possible.
I would imagine both Islam and Merab are huge in their home countries, and they can probably earn big bucks just from sponsoring contracts (+ the cost of living there is not as high as in the west), so hopefully they have already achieved financial security for themselves and their families.

[tokeweed]

That BMF belt looks like a farewell gift. When a fighter was a champion or failed many chances to become one, he has been in business for years and has a huge fanbase, you cant free him like a regular guy by not resigning his contract. UFC came up with that BMF belt. It means you are very cool in sport, but here is your last trophy (because we cant give you more shiny belt, nor you can take it yourself) and bye-bye

At first, when UFC presented that belt, I thought they would give to guys like Diaz brothers, who are real gangsters, Masvidal who used to be a street fighter, Sonner or Conor for their trash talk. But not every one fight for that belt Its strange that this belt has not weight categories and its played among lightweights.

No...  The BMF started as a kind of those one fight deals that fan favorites would love to watch.  At the time Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal were the 'baddest mofos' back then and the fans were talking about how it would be good if they fight in the cage and see how the 'real baddest mofo' is.

As the 'who's the real baddest mofo' in the UFC became viral on Twitter, the UFC picked up on it, Dana White saw dollar signs and liked it, so they went with it.

It was supposed to end with Masvidal vs Diaz but the UFC saw the fans wanted more and they also saw more dollar signs, so now it is what it is.

[Pumared]

What did you think of the BMF title fight? Oliveira hasn't accomplished anything this year and is resorting to anything, going for the BMF instead of improving his stand-up game. I strongly believe he will lose to Holloway. What do you think? How do you see this fight?

What about victory over Gamrot ? He is #7 of lightweight division.

Holloway and Oliveira already met long ago and Max won that fight because Oliveira got an injury during fight (but everyone thought that Oliveira surrendered early in that fight and has no spirit). As to the fight, everything can happen. Both are chinny now, not in prime. It is hard to tell who has more fighting IQ now. Will Oliveira avoid open brawl against better striker, or Max will avoid any deep waters.  As to BMF title, that is such a joke. A belt that is not a belt, but a consolation prize Kinda gift that you give to second child to make him not cry when his other brother or sister is having a Bday party

I wouldn't say it's a consolation prize, I'd say it's a prize for the audience. A title fight is a fight where you can be sure you'll have an extreme fight. And that's very valuable on cards where the main event only thinks about takedowns and controlling the opponent against the cage to win by points.

[TopTort777]

You know what is funny with Merab? We have saw so many his fights, so many records set and achieved in UFC. He has been fighting for years. He is 34 but by the face he looks much older. But it looks like he has only started

Btw, after jokes about jacuzzi on press conference, after the fight, those two have started to throw poops on each other again in social media. Their managers are creating soil for trilogy? Merab is now very motivated to get his belt back. Yan isnt motivated to give it back, so he would probably call out other guys. Like O'Malley to avenge loss, or Sandhagen as easy money (if he wins next fight).

[shield132]

One of the reasons why Merab lost I think was his wish to make another record. Nobody ever defended belt 4 times in one year. He had winning streak that if he get one more win, he would set another record. And Merab is the guy who does not avoid opponents or fight. He is always ready. To bad this time he has made a little mistake, but he will return better. What is next for him, I dont know. He has cleaned already top of division. I guess he should face some new blood next.

I don't know if the reason of his loss was his 4th fight and 4th weight cut but he said multiple times that he was feeling very good and he can even fight more than 4 times because it doesn't affect him badly. It's his words, not mine.
I watched his new videos where he said additionally that the reasons why he lost was that his plan didn't work out, then he got excited during the fight and he also said that he thinks it was better for him to fight via his old tactics. He should have wrestled more instead of boxing more.

If anyone wants to watch the full fight on YouTube for free in HD quality, here is the URL - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN4WpVPQ5WM

[tokeweed]

You know what is funny with Merab? We have saw so many his fights, so many records set and achieved in UFC. He has been fighting for years. He is 34 but by the face he looks much older. But it looks like he has only started

Btw, after jokes about jacuzzi on press conference, after the fight, those two have started to throw poops on each other again in social media. Their managers are creating soil for trilogy? Merab is now very motivated to get his belt back. Yan isnt motivated to give it back, so he would probably call out other guys. Like O'Malley to avenge loss, or Sandhagen as easy money (if he wins next fight).

Yeah if it were up to me, I'd rather see Yan fight somebody else than seeing him fight Dvalishvilli again after that kind of beat down.  If the match was close, then sure..  Make it a rematch.  But how it really went..?  Nah and the UFC is prolly thinking the same.

And as for Yan and Dvalishvilli camps throwing sht at each other, yeah...  Dvalishvilli needs it more than Yan at this point.  You're also right about going for O'Malley next, esp if O'Malley wins spectacularly against Song Yadong.

[TopTort777]

On Russian MMA forum, they have suggest Yan to call out for Umar @ Spring 2026. It will be a Ramadan time, Umar would not confirm that fight, and that would give Yan an opportunity to call anyone Because Umar dont want to fight, Yan would pick someone who has wins and did not fight with him before (or fought only once). Yadong might win O'Malley, would be on series of two wins and possible will be granted a title fight. Crazy theory. Zahabi btw comes on a good series of wins. Lately win fights by decision, so he could be a good candidate.

[Hanadawa]

One of the reasons why Merab lost I think was his wish to make another record. Nobody ever defended belt 4 times in one year. He had winning streak that if he get one more win, he would set another record. And Merab is the guy who does not avoid opponents or fight. He is always ready. To bad this time he has made a little mistake, but he will return better. What is next for him, I dont know. He has cleaned already top of division. I guess he should face some new blood next.

I don't know if the reason of his loss was his 4th fight and 4th weight cut but he said multiple times that he was feeling very good and he can even fight more than 4 times because it doesn't affect him badly. It's his words, not mine.
I watched his new videos where he said additionally that the reasons why he lost was that his plan didn't work out, then he got excited during the fight and he also said that he thinks it was better for him to fight via his old tactics. He should have wrestled more instead of boxing more.

Yes, Merab is very motivated to break another record. He's an elite-level wrestler with insane cardio. This guy can fight more than any other fighter in a year. Yan got the win on the judges' scorecards. And I don't think Yan completely dominated the fight and overwhelmed Merab. But Yan played a better game plan and scored some points from takedowns and significant strikes. After the fight, I looked at the stats and they were pretty close. I think this should have been a reason for a trilogy. But I think if I were Petr Yan, I would have tried a different, easier fighter. Merab is a really tough opponent, and going straight for a trilogy would be very risky for Yan as the belt holder.

[Pumared]

You know what is funny with Merab? We have saw so many his fights, so many records set and achieved in UFC. He has been fighting for years. He is 34 but by the face he looks much older. But it looks like he has only started

Btw, after jokes about jacuzzi on press conference, after the fight, those two have started to throw poops on each other again in social media. Their managers are creating soil for trilogy? Merab is now very motivated to get his belt back. Yan isnt motivated to give it back, so he would probably call out other guys. Like O'Malley to avenge loss, or Sandhagen as easy money (if he wins next fight).

I think the best fight for Yan would be against Merab himself; I don't see the point in ending their fight this way. Merab helped the UFC a lot, fought hard, delivered a great show in every fight, and certainly sold a lot of merchandise. So, it's only fair to give him a chance. But I believe Merab should start thinking about resting too.

[trendcoin]

I think the best fight for Yan would be against Merab himself; I don't see the point in ending their fight this way. Merab helped the UFC a lot, fought hard, delivered a great show in every fight, and certainly sold a lot of merchandise. So, it's only fair to give him a chance. But I believe Merab should start thinking about resting too.

I also want Merab to get a rematch because I think he deserves it based on what he is given so far. However, I think this depends on his recovery. If Merab's recovery takes 4-5 months, the belt will be locked up. If Merab returns before he is fully recovered, it would be meaningless. It seems like we are entering a period in this weight class where careful calculations and personal interests will come into play, and this situation will give us plenty of material to talk about...

[pawel7777]

I also want Merab to get a rematch because I think he deserves it based on what he is given so far. However, I think this depends on his recovery. If Merab's recovery takes 4-5 months, the belt will be locked up. If Merab returns before he is fully recovered, it would be meaningless. It seems like we are entering a period in this weight class where careful calculations and personal interests will come into play, and this situation will give us plenty of material to talk about...

I think Dana White didn't have much sympathy for Merab at first, especially after he dethroned Sean O'Malley, but I would risk saying Merab turned out to be much more entertaining and interesting than Sean.
Sport-wise, Merab 100% deserves the immediate rematch, but I don't think the UFC would waste the opportunity to bring O'Malley back to relevancy. Yes, he lost his last two fights, but both times he lost to Merab. He's ranked a number 3 contender, so it wouldn't be totally weird if he got a shot. But most of all, he defeated Petr Yan by a controversial decision, so the two of them have unfinished business and the fight would be easy to hype.

One thing is sure, it won't be easy for Yan to defend his belt, whether it's O'Malley, Merab or Umar.

[Synchronice]

Maybe Cejudo needs money badly? Have you noticed how after the fight he talked or asked Dana if this was a fight of the night? What was that for? Did he asked for 50k?

Oh no, I haven't seen that.

Rematch? This was already a rematch. It is said that in first fight Yan had injured hand and could not show his full potential. Now we saw default version of Yan, slow on start but add with every round. Maybe they would meet again, but that should not be an immediate rematch. Yan had to win 3 fights to get a title shot again. Something of that kind Merab must do to make it fair. Pantoja vs Van are the only ones who must have an immediate rematch

Yes, I want to see a rematch. This was a rematch, okay but what then? I do not really like excuses if Yan had injuries, then he shouldn't have fought or if you step into the octagon, shut up and do not state excuses. He wouldn't state excuses if he has won that match.
Yan had to win 3 fights to get a title shot again? Are you serious? Petr Yan lost three times in a row, that's why he had to fight three times in a row to get a title shot and seriously, c'mon man, we are talking about Merab Dvalishvili, a guy who had a 4 title defense run in a single year and you are really telling me that he doesn't deserve an immediate rematch? If he doesn't deserve, then who deserves? Was it fair that Suga got a title shot immediately? Or was it fair that Pereira got a title shot immediately? And Merab doesn't deserve it after everything? C'mon, please.

Does an immediate rematch mean rematch as soon as possible?

An immediate rematch means that the fighter who lost the belt will fight the next fight for the belt again, i.e. he will not have to win another fight to get a title shot.

[tokeweed]

On Russian MMA forum, they have suggest Yan to call out for Umar @ Spring 2026. It will be a Ramadan time, Umar would not confirm that fight, and that would give Yan an opportunity to call anyone Because Umar dont want to fight, Yan would pick someone who has wins and did not fight with him before (or fought only once). Yadong might win O'Malley, would be on series of two wins and possible will be granted a title fight. Crazy theory. Zahabi btw comes on a good series of wins. Lately win fights by decision, so he could be a good candidate.

Yan vs Umar would actually be nice imho.  Don't really care what's really going on in the background whether he's on a fast or not.  I just wanna see the best possible match ups after winning against Dvalishvilli.

But yeah, like O'Malley, Umar Nurmagomedov also has a fight at UFC 324 this January.  I think if one of them wins spectacularly then it's the guy who won spectacularly who'd prolly get the title shot.  If both of them won spectacularly, it'd be O'Malley...  Same if both won unspectacularly. 

Anyway, here are the weigh results for the event.

Brandon Royval (126) vs. Manel Kape (126)
Giga Chikadze (146) vs. Kevin Vallejos (145)
Cesar Almeida (186) vs. Cezary Oleksiejczuk (185.5)
Morgan Charriere (145.5) vs. Melquizael Costa (145.5)
Marcus Buchecha (251.5) vs. Kennedy Nzechukwu (243)
Lance Gibson Jr. (158.5) vs. King Green (158.5) – catchweight bout
Amanda Lemos (115.5) vs. Gillian Robertson (116)
Joanderson Brito (145.5) vs. Isaac Thomson (146)
Yaroslav Amosov (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)
Steven Asplund (261) vs. Sean Sharaf (251)
Melissa Croden (136) vs. Luana Santos (136)
Allen Frye Jr. (242) vs. Guilherme Pat (238)
Tereza Bleda (126) vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (126)

[trendcoin]

...
Yaroslav Amosov (171) vs. Neil Magny (171)
...

Yaroslav Amosov is my clear favorite. His betting odds are low anyway. There is a video circulating on Twitter of him wrestling with Khamzat... On the other hand, Neil Magny has the advantage of height and reach, but he's 38 years old...

By the way, the large number of Brazilians at the event immediately catches attention. If I were Brazilian, I would have preferred to be a footbal player. The financial rewards and low risk of injury in football are very attractive compared to martial arts. Still, I should thank the Brazilian people for giving us such great legends... :)

[TopTort777]

Its a good question why we see so many Brazilians in MMA. I think the answer is in surrounding and fact of not being the safest country. People go train any martial arts only to be ready to protect themselves on the street. Some of them succeed in training and become professional fighters. It maybe because population of Brazil is huge and there are people with different talents there; maybe that is the reason why we have lots of them in MMA. By population Brazil is in top10, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Indonesia is close to it, but we dont get lots of fighters from those country. Fighting has been always popular in Brazil. They have their own promotions and styles long before UFC. Vale Tudo is most known.

[Synchronice]

I also want Merab to get a rematch because I think he deserves it based on what he is given so far. However, I think this depends on his recovery. If Merab's recovery takes 4-5 months, the belt will be locked up. If Merab returns before he is fully recovered, it would be meaningless. It seems like we are entering a period in this weight class where careful calculations and personal interests will come into play, and this situation will give us plenty of material to talk about...

I think Dana White didn't have much sympathy for Merab at first, especially after he dethroned Sean O'Malley, but I would risk saying Merab turned out to be much more entertaining and interesting than Sean.
Sport-wise, Merab 100% deserves the immediate rematch, but I don't think the UFC would waste the opportunity to bring O'Malley back to relevancy. Yes, he lost his last two fights, but both times he lost to Merab. He's ranked a number 3 contender, so it wouldn't be totally weird if he got a shot. But most of all, he defeated Petr Yan by a controversial decision, so the two of them have unfinished business and the fight would be easy to hype.

One thing is sure, it won't be easy for Yan to defend his belt, whether it's O'Malley, Merab or Umar.

I don't understand why so many people don't like Merab, I feel like his hate is forced. He is such a nice guy, funny too and most importantly, he is showboating. I don't understand why you wouldn't get fun from showboating. The way he humiliates fighters is very entertaining for me.

I would really love to see O'Malley VS Umar, this is a very interesting matchup. It will be totally weird if O'Malley gets a title shot because he doesn't deserve it. The guy lost 2 times in a row and now give him a chance for the third title shot? He is not that special. By the way, Sean O'Malley hasn't defeated Petr Ya, that was one of the biggest robbery in UFC!

By the way, the large number of Brazilians at the event immediately catches attention. If I were Brazilian, I would have preferred to be a footbal player. The financial rewards and low risk of injury in football are very attractive compared to martial arts. Still, I should thank the Brazilian people for giving us such great legends...

Brazil is a very tough country to live in. When you grow up in a tough area, your best bet is to learn MMA, boxing, wrestling or any other similar sports to not become a victim of abuse. Every top UFC fighter comes from tough country or from tough neighborhood. We don't see fighters from Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and similar countries.
If I could, I would become a footballer too. This is my dream sport but it's too late for me now. Football is the best sport ever. Every time I watch Messi, I simply don't have enough words to describe how amazingly he plays and the magic tricks he does with the ball.

[TopTort777]

Some people dont like Merab because he does not speak English fluently, and due to his face injuries (scars and nasty broken nose), people dont find him attractive. Foreigner and looks innatractive - enough today to not like person. Add that he beats fighters who are local stars and we get a perfect villain Even thiugh he is funny or try to be, he is scary to meet on the street. Add aggresion (maybe fake). Situation when he scared fan who showed him middle finger.

[rdbase]

Its a good question why we see so many Brazilians in MMA. I think the answer is in surrounding and fact of not being the safest country. People go train any martial arts only to be ready to protect themselves on the street. Some of them succeed in training and become professional fighters. It maybe because population of Brazil is huge and there are people with different talents there; maybe that is the reason why we have lots of them in MMA. By population Brazil is in top10, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Indonesia is close to it, but we dont get lots of fighters from those country. Fighting has been always popular in Brazil. They have their own promotions and styles long before UFC. Vale Tudo is most known.

For UFC Fight Night Vegas 112 Royval vs Kape being the last event of the this year, it seemed that every fight had a Brazilian fighting somebody from another country in the prelims going into the main card.

Kape winning by knockout was a surprise because Royval is a tough guy to knock down.
Also had Vallejos beating Chikadze on my betslip so glad that it was a sweat-free night for those who picked these favorites on the main card.

The one bout frustrating fans was Kennedy Nzechukwu and Marcus Buchecha who fought to a draw.
Those two wrestling skills were rough to watch with Kennedy just grappling and elbowing his leg in the last round while Marcus was trying to get a heel hook but failed at every attempt.

Not the greatest fight night but atleast they had promotions of the UFC numbered cards under the Paramount+ deal for next year.
They did show alot of fights that I am excited for to watch.

[trendcoin]

...

By the way, the large number of Brazilians at the event immediately catches attention. If I were Brazilian, I would have preferred to be a footbal player. The financial rewards and low risk of injury in football are very attractive compared to martial arts. Still, I should thank the Brazilian people for giving us such great legends... :)

Brazil is a very tough country to live in. When you grow up in a tough area, your best bet is to learn MMA, boxing, wrestling or any other similar sports to not become a victim of abuse. Every top UFC fighter comes from tough country or from tough neighborhood. We don't see fighters from Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco and similar countries.
If I could, I would become a footballer too. This is my dream sport but it's too late for me now. Football is the best sport ever. Every time I watch Messi, I simply don't have enough words to describe how amazingly he plays and the magic tricks he does with the ball.

Our behaviors and naturally some of our important choices are largely determined by the dominant conditions outside of us or above us. If we lived in Norway, we would probably be interested in skiing. If I lived in a mountainous region, endurance sports would probably come easily to me. I feel like a hamster trapped in a cage at the gym... :) Or If I had been born into a wealthy family, I might have played tennis. By the way, that's why I have great respect for Arman. He is doing the really hard thing.

I don't want to outside from the topic, but this conversation reminded me of Capoeira (the legendary movie of my childhood). It is also a martial art that emerged within its own deterministic conditions. By the way, I say Ronaldo because he didn't go to the farmer leagues until he was forced to. So, like Arman, he is an athlete who successfully overcame environmental influences... :)

Kape winning by knockout was a surprise because Royval is a tough guy to knock down.

He knocked his opponent to the ground with a single punch; he probably hit him very hard, but I think his speed was even more impressive. He got inside his opponent's guard in an instant and finished the job very quickly. And he lifted his opponent off the ground and punched him again... :)

[bbc.reporter]

Some people dont like Merab because he does not speak English fluently, and due to his face injuries (scars and nasty broken nose), people dont find him attractive. Foreigner and looks innatractive - enough today to not like person. Add that he beats fighters who are local stars and we get a perfect villain Even thiugh he is funny or try to be, he is scary to meet on the street. Add aggresion (maybe fake). Situation when he scared fan who showed him middle finger.

It would be headshaking if there are some people do not like Merab. I reckon he is not ugly and his english is not very bad. Also, we can be quite certain that there a more people who like him than these people who hate him. Merab is similar to Anderson Silva. Anderson's english was also not very good and his voice was very much similar to a girl's voice. He also had some people who hated him, however, he is one of MMA's most greatest fighter. This implies there is more love for him than hate.