🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[bittraffic]

Maybe they wanna let Paddy climb up for this purpose so that Tuporia vs Pimblett will finally materialize. Yes Paddy vs Gaethje would be good to  consider unless Paddy loses that would be a bummer in this situation.

[pawel7777]

I hear that Smotherman Vs Turcios fight has been cancelled following Smotherman's collapse.
Meanwhile, Smotherman posted an update thanking everyone for their support and assured he's perfectly fine. He said that he's not sure what has happened there, as the weight cut wasn't particularly big, as he only needed to lose a little bit of weight.

I have to share this horribly timed Michael Bisping's comment:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/W8VNf9863Zg
He went on a little rant, criticising those who miss weight, saying "it's not that hard". A second later, Smotherman collapses on stage right behind him.

Maybe they wanna let Paddy climb up for this purpose so that Tuporia vs Pimblett will finally materialize. Yes Paddy vs Gaethje would be good to consider unless Paddy loses that would be a bummer in this situation.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t force it to drink.
The UFC did all they could to fast-track Paddy to the top, but if he can't go past Justin, he simply doesn't deserve the interim belt or fighting Ilia. He has to do some of the work himself.

[pawel7777]

OK, I'm going in. I'm placing a small bet on Justin to win. I have a gut feeling he can pull that off + I like betting on underdogs.

Furthermore, I checked with different AI agents for their opinion:
ChatGPT (Fight Analyst Advanced), I asked twice for a good measure, both times it pointed Justin to win, either by KO or TKO, with 82%/88% confidence.
DeepSeek: also points Justin to win by KO/TKO
French Mistral AI is apparently so advanced that it predicts the future:

At the time of posting only the early prelims have started.

So looks like I'm 100% destined to win and my only regret will be not betting more 

[OgNasty]

Suga Sean looked strong at the beginning and end of his fight. That knee to the face left his leg covered in blood in the 3rd. I was glad to see him get the W. I thought he might go down in the 2nd…

Now for the Paddy fight…

[joeperry]

Now for the Paddy fight…

Paddy got destroyed. The first two rounds were crucial, Justin pokes Paddie's eyes which results into receiving heavy strikes from Justin. Although in third round Justin slows down and Paddie managed to give some heavy blows. Paddie is a submission oriented fighter and it's really hard to go against a heavy striker like Justin and commend to Justin, his heavy strikes were on point and really devastating. I thought we'll see a knockout or a tap out match but it was a unanimous decision. Congrats to both fighter, that's an intense match!

[OgNasty]

Now for the Paddy fight…

Paddy got destroyed. The first two rounds were crucial, Justin pokes Paddie's eyes which results into receiving heavy strikes from Justin. Although in third round Justin slows down and Paddie managed to give some heavy blows. Paddie is a submission oriented fighter and it's really hard to go against a heavy striker like Justin and commend to Justin, his heavy strikes were on point and really devastating. I thought we'll see a knockout or a tap out match but it was a unanimous decision. Congrats to both fighter, that's an intense match!

Those eye pokes were a lot to deal with. I think that had a big effect on the fight. Paddy didn’t seem to complain though. A shame he lost since I think he is the better fighter, but he said he took a body shot in the first round that he never recovered from.

A good fight. I’m glad most of it was done on their feet. A lot of blood tonight. It seems like the UFC might be moving away from the grappling that has been dominating the sport in recent years. 

[TopTort777]

So, how do you like first event of this year?

First of all I want to share my thought on Nurmagomedov vs Figueiredo fight. Even though Umar won, he want able to finish Deiveson. Striking was better, did not show famous Nurmagomedov wrestling. Damn, I dont know Umar is going to do if plans to face Yan. He isnt ready. His surname opens doors for him, while he yet isnt on elite level.

O'Malley vs Yadong. Even though Sean won, but it was sooooo close. I would give a draw.

Main event. Lol, Danas boy got beaten Did not expect Justin to be that good (but bad at ground games, instead of trying to knock out with a punch, he should better choke his opponents. That is not the first time I see Justin try to hold with one hand, while punch with other. But where are positioning fighting? Submission attempt?). Dunno what Paddy could do against Topuria and Arman. Hooker, Fiziev are his level. Congrats Justing, second time interim champ 15 of 15 fights are got bonuses. Nice achievement.

[Welsh]

Gutted for Paddy. You can clearly see he's skilled, but I think he leaves himself too open. He was tagging Justin also, hurt him a few times. I just think Paddy needs to really work on his defensive side of the game. He has the offensive skills, he has the cardio and he definitely has the heart. I just hope he can tighten things up. He is fairly young still though, 29 I believe.

Hopefully he can recover and kick on.

[OgNasty]

Gutted for Paddy. You can clearly see he's skilled, but I think he leaves himself too open. He was tagging Justin also, hurt him a few times. I just think Paddy needs to really work on his defensive side of the game. He has the offensive skills, he has the cardio and he definitely has the heart. I just hope he can tighten things up. He is fairly young still though, 29 I believe.

Hopefully he can recover and kick on.

He seemed like he wasn’t taking the fight seriously enough in the beginning. I think he thought he was going to win easily.

I’m pretty sure he’s 31.

Still, fight of the night and a great night it was. The Arizona fighters showed out taking both the fights in the co-main events.

[pawel7777]

So, how do you like first event of this year?

I couldn't watch it live and still catching up, but it looked decent. The main card was all decisions except for Derek Lewis Vs Cortes-Acosta, which ended up with a weird looking TKO, but it was still entertaining.
I hear that Paramount decided to play commercials during all walk-ins, which is a slap in the face to all mma fans. Walk-ins are important part of the show.

First of all I want to share my thought on Nurmagomedov vs Figueiredo fight. Even though Umar won, he want able to finish Deiveson. Striking was better, did not show famous Nurmagomedov wrestling. Damn, I dont know Umar is going to do if plans to face Yan. He isnt ready. His surname opens doors for him, while he yet isnt on elite level.

Umar did have some successful take-downs early on, but it didn't lead to anything so maybe he decided to just not waste energy and carry on with striking, especially when he knew he was leading on the scorecards. There's also apparently a pressure on fighters to not spend too much time on the ground, as this is seen as boring by some of the fans, so maybe he was trying to be more entertaining.

Main event. Lol, Danas boy got beaten Did not expect Justin to be that good (but bad at ground games, instead of trying to knock out with a punch, he should better choke his opponents. That is not the first time I see Justin try to hold with one hand, while punch with other. But where are positioning fighting? Submission attempt?). Dunno what Paddy could do against Topuria and Arman. Hooker, Fiziev are his level. Congrats Justing, second time interim champ 15 of 15 fights are got bonuses. Nice achievement.

I made a spontaneous bet on Justin, so can't complain about the result, but I feel a bit sorry for Paddy at the same time. Him fighting Ilia for the undisputed belt would be a perfect ending to their old beef, but it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Justin did a good job and deserves the interim belt. He said in one of the post-fight interviews that he would prefer to fight the winner of Oliveira/Holloway (UFC 326, 7th March) rather than Arman, but he will accept whatever opponent the UFC tells him to fight.

[Balmain]

Paddy took a good beating. Even Khabib said before when asked that Gaethje doesn't hit normally, but in this fight, Gaethje had some very hard punches and stopped Paddy with them. Paddy doesn't have a bad head movement he stays very still in position. That's why Gaethje's punches are more accurate. The only thing I can admire about Paddy is that despite taking so many blows, he didn't give up his chin is really strong.

[TopTort777]

Main event. Lol, Danas boy got beaten Did not expect Justin to be that good (but bad at ground games, instead of trying to knock out with a punch, he should better choke his opponents. That is not the first time I see Justin try to hold with one hand, while punch with other. But where are positioning fighting? Submission attempt?). Dunno what Paddy could do against Topuria and Arman. Hooker, Fiziev are his level. Congrats Justing, second time interim champ 15 of 15 fights are got bonuses. Nice achievement.

I made a spontaneous bet on Justin, so can't complain about the result, but I feel a bit sorry for Paddy at the same time. Him fighting Ilia for the undisputed belt would be a perfect ending to their old beef, but it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
Justin did a good job and deserves the interim belt. He said in one of the post-fight interviews that he would prefer to fight the winner of Oliveira/Holloway (UFC 326, 7th March) rather than Arman, but he will accept whatever opponent the UFC tells him to fight.

Again Arman is out of the business Dont know how long UFC are going to hide champion from Arman. I dont know who next would Arman fight if he isnt getting a title shot next. Fight Topuria when Gaethje defend his belt against Oliveira/Holloway?

Any thought on O'Malley vs Yadong fight guys ? Seans victory did not look that impressive or dominant. He has lost second round 100%. But he asks for a title fight Will Dana make it happen or we would see Yan vs Dvalishvili 3? Because others did not look like to be ready for title fight. Nurmagomedov isnt ready for Yan.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

I was disappointed that Paddy Pimblett lost but wow, that guy is a warrior. He took some really heavy shots throughout but still didn’t get knocked out. Most fighters wouldn’t have been able to take that much damage without the fight getting stopped. This loss won’t harm his career, he will win a title one day, I am sure.

[Pumared]

So, how do you like first event of this year?

First of all I want to share my thought on Nurmagomedov vs Figueiredo fight. Even though Umar won, he want able to finish Deiveson. Striking was better, did not show famous Nurmagomedov wrestling. Damn, I dont know Umar is going to do if plans to face Yan. He isnt ready. His surname opens doors for him, while he yet isnt on elite level.

O'Malley vs Yadong. Even though Sean won, but it was sooooo close. I would give a draw.

Main event. Lol, Danas boy got beaten Did not expect Justin to be that good (but bad at ground games, instead of trying to knock out with a punch, he should better choke his opponents. That is not the first time I see Justin try to hold with one hand, while punch with other. But where are positioning fighting? Submission attempt?). Dunno what Paddy could do against Topuria and Arman. Hooker, Fiziev are his level. Congrats Justing, second time interim champ 15 of 15 fights are got bonuses. Nice achievement.

Nurmagomedov vs. Figueiredo: both showed why they were in the preliminary fight. It was a very boring fight; they walked more than they exchanged punches.

As for the others, they were very good. But I didn't see anyone here complaining about the insistent Paramount commercials. If they don't change them, they'll lose viewers. It's very annoying.