🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[TopTort777]

Topuria just threw in the towel, wow, that was a brutal fight. I expected Gaethje to be tough to fight but the was way more fired up than I expected. Ilia was hurt so bad in that fight, I don't think he could see from either eye at the end of that 4th round.

Topuria’s eye got messed up in the first round by a jab from Justin, that was were his problem started from. And with what i just finished watching, i don’t think ilia is any match for Islam makachev. Justin got knocked out by Islam and now Justin just rag dolled Topuria like it was nothing. After all Topuria’s hype, i thought he would have done more to win but it ended being all talk. I was rooting for topuria though; i feel like crying right now 🥲

It also looked that after second round Ilia ran out of stamina, his boxing has changed greatly. Speaking about boxing. I did not see that "best boxing in UFC" this night. Best boxing did little against brawler Gaethje. Best boxing had his face turned into beetroot, while Gaethje barely had any damage on his face. I dont know what has happened with Topuria. He was so confident. Was telling that it will be enough 3 min to KO Gaethje, that taunts with rose... Either he wasnt expecting Gathje to hit that strong, or his divorce knocked him down.

[trendcoin]

Uncle Dana was very much appearing similar to a 12 year old boy smiling when the Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds flew over the Whitehouse!

I hope he doesn’t look happy about the innocent children they killed in Iraq and Vietnam. These weapons may not have beards, but their records aren’t all rosy either...

I dont know what has happened with Topuria. He was so confident. Was telling that it will be enough 3 min to KO Gaethje, that taunts with rose... Either he wasnt expecting Gathje to hit that strong, or his divorce knocked him down.

There’s a huge difference in size between them. To be honest, Ilia put up a good fight despite that, but Gaethje is like a honey badger.



Ilia and Alex lost some major fights last night in terms of their careers, but what’s worse is that they did it while acting like clowns in front of a king. I wish they’d gone through this during a normal fight, because even losing has its honor and dignity...

[tokeweed]

Like...  Holy sht!  What an event.  Toptort, you were right about Gaehtje!  Wow.  That was some of the best matches I've seen.  I mean one of those ones that ended with the underdog winning the fight.  So good.

Here are the results.

Justin Gaethje def. Ilia Topuria via TKO (retirement) – Round 4, 5:00
Ciryl Gane def. Alex Pereira via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:27
Sean O'Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:02
Josh Hokit def. Derrick Lewis via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:09
Mauricio Ruffy def. Michael Chandler via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:29
Bo Nickal def. Kyle Daukaus via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:34
Diego Lopes def. Steve Garcia via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:42

UFC Freedom 250:  Post Fight Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNENxRyxb0E&ra=m

Watch the press conference.  It was said that Arman Tsaruyan's friend bet 1 mil USD on Gaethje and won over 5.2 mil.  Damn...  That's a lot of dough.

[TopTort777]

Like...  Holy sht!  What an event.  Toptort, you were right about Gaehtje!  Wow.  That was some of the best matches I've seen.  I mean one of those ones that ended with the underdog winning the fight.  So good.

Here are the results.

Justin Gaethje def. Ilia Topuria via TKO (retirement) – Round 4, 5:00
Ciryl Gane def. Alex Pereira via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:27
Sean O'Malley def. Aiemann Zahabi via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:02
Josh Hokit def. Derrick Lewis via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:09
Mauricio Ruffy def. Michael Chandler via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:29
Bo Nickal def. Kyle Daukaus via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:34
Diego Lopes def. Steve Garcia via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 2:42

UFC Freedom 250:  Post Fight Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNENxRyxb0E&ra=m

Watch the press conference.  It was said that Arman Tsaruyan's friend bet 1 mil USD on Gaethje and won over 5.2 mil.  Damn...  That's a lot of dough.

Honestly, I was joking about when I talked that Gaethje can win this and tried to persuade you to pick him, as he was a huge underdog... This second time few people give Gaethje a chance, and from the very start of the fight he shows everyone how everyone were wrong. He took first round, probably lost second or it was even. Dominated third round. Whole fight looked like Topuria is an underdog.

I cant recall any other event where each fight did not get not only to judges, but it was a knockdown. Feel sad tat Lewis has lost. Feel neutral that Chandler lost. Can this guy at least win someone in UFC except retiring Ferguson? It is time to retire himself. Nickal surprised with TKO, as I was looking for submission. Definitely not a round 1 finish. Lopes, O'Malley, Gane - I was sure that these guys are going to win.

[chinhar]

Yeah, I have also noticed and read that Ilia stance might be his disadvantage. Weird that nobody ever tried to keep him on distance and always go to close distance or start exchange of punches. I also dont remember that anyone ever pushed on Ilia. No one has either hit Ilia as hard as Gaethje can. He always work as Nr.1 in octagon. If Gaethje changes something in his gameplan, then he has chances of winning. If we see same Gaethje we see everyday, then expect a knockout.

This is why fighting styles make for interesting fights. Gaethje has potential, but he must compensate with stamina, breath, agility, and the ability to take hits well. In a fight like this, especially if you're dealing with a fighter with a monstrous punching output, you need to know how to use movement.

[Upgrade00]

Topuria almost got Gaethje in the second round with those body shots, but we know how long Gaethje has been in the lightweight division. Experience wise, he already got everything and he knows how to adjust during the game while for Topuria, this is just his 2nd fight in the division and his first title defense.

It was bad for Ilia that Gaethje went down during that attack. He says that he's good in the grapple but his submission attempts on a sprawling opponent did not show that. If Gaethje had stayed up during that period he should have been able to finish it off.

The fight almost stopped on the 4th when the doctor said that his eyes can't see anymore, but the referee just allowed the fighter to continue. After that, Topuria's brother said that they will finish the fight, but the team said that they will throw the towel already hence, giving Topuria his first loss and possibly going down on the pound-for-pound list.

They had to protect their asset. He did well considering the damage he took and even won the 4th round to me but he was taking too much damage that would have made recovery longer.

[rdbase]

Unexpected heavyweight to be tough for Pereira but I didn't expect him to get knocked out that way. He was a tad I've confident on that one, disregarded completely the advice of his team to feint more and then he kept pressing the more he was hit which led him to walk into that jab. People will underestimate Game less now, great win for his career.

Time to see Ilia fight. He is one of the most exciting fighters for me but there has been so many bug upsets recently and tonight, do we have one more in store?

Some were saying that Pereira packed on so much weigh and it showed. I think he outweighed Gane by 3 pounds by the time they both walked into the octagon. That must of affected the way he is use to fighting as he was alot faster in his reaction time and he did look slower so the move up to heavy weight was a bad decision. Since it cost him his championship title.

Another new champion was declared with Justin Gaethje. This was a good fight and looked to be Ilia's fight from the first round.
That knee to his ribcage right before the end of the round had him not be able to sit on the stool without help from his corner which had the referee stop the fight even before the final round started.
Thought the doctor stopped the fight before the fourth round but Topuria convinced the referee he was alright and could see those hand movements just fine. Could of sworn I saw the doctor wave his hand in the air signaling he was calling the fight.

[Pumared]

Simply a great event, I ended up losing the bet I made on Poatan. However, the event itself made up for it. There were few fights but they were well worth it. Diego Lopes' fight, with that striking sequence, was very good. And even taking a lot of punishment, Pereira didn't go down, which is something to respect. And to finish, Topuria was crushed. Few people expected that.

[trendcoin]

Ilia Topuria's Instagram bio still shows 18-0.

https://www.instagram.com/iliatopuria/

He didn’t lose this fight because of a lucky punch, and he didn’t lose this fight by a referees decision. He lost this fight because he couldn’t continue. I don’t think there’s anything more unlikable than a conceited person...

I considered it normal when he was constantly winning, but today I think it’s embarrassing...

Simply a great event, I ended up losing the bet I made on Poatan.

Alex fought a striking fighter, so it was a perfect match for him; the UFC had once again paved the way for him, but despite that, he couldn’t win. If Aspinall had been healthy and faced him, a much worse outcome would likely have awaited him...

[pawel7777]

I couldn't watch the event live and just catching up with the results. One fight at a time.
You don't often see events with 100% KO/THO ratio.

I just finished watching the extended highlights of Topuria Vs Gaethje. Topuria looked decent in the first two rounds, but I think he made a mistake on trying to deliver of his promise of an early KO and was overcommitting instead of being patient. The difference in size of these two was hard to ignore. Maybe moving to 155 was a bit too ambitious for Ilia.
A huge win for Justin, he did his usual thing, got nearly KO'd early on but bounced back and ended up at the top.

I see a clip of Ilia's post fight interview where he announced he'll be going to Dagestan for 2 or 3 years. I'm not sure how serious he is, and would that mean he will be taking a time off during that time.

[jeremypwr]

Ilia Topuria's Instagram bio still shows 18-0.

He's removed the record from his IG profile.
Cut the guy a break; maybe he was in the hospital but he did eventually remove it.
I saw some clips online and it looked like a brutal fight.

[pawel7777]

(...)
I saw some clips online and it looked like a brutal fight.

It sure was. Topuria probably suffered more damage than in all his previous fights combined. Justin looked relatively unharmed in terms of visible damage, but he ate his portion of head punches and complained about suffering from body shots.
The fight was better than I expected it would be.

Just got through Pereira Vs Gane. A fairly even first round but Gane got him bad in the 2nd.
That's probably not the result most people were hoping to see, including the UFC. Having Gane as the heavyweight champion is not the best look. It will be hard to convince people that he's the "baddest man on the planet" when we all know he lost to Ngannou and got absolutely destroyed by now retired Jon Jones. Aspinal returning to take his revenge is also not ideal as there are a lot of tensions between Tom, his manager and the UFC, with a big chance of Tom not wanting to renew his contract when it comes to an end. I wouldn't be hugely surprised if Aspinall and the UFC agreed to terminate his contract early.
As for Pereira, if he stays in the heavyweight, he could get a rematch against Cyril, as currently there aren't too many good options for Gane if Tom doesn't return soon.
Josh Hokit got his 10th straight win by TKO'ing Derrick Lewis, which puts him in a good spot to either fight Pereira or Gane.

[jeremypwr]

Ilia Topuria released the following statement...

"Justin, congratulations. You said you’d leave your mark on my face… and you did.
You took the sight from my right eye in the first round, and by the end of the second, from my left too.
No excuses.
I had one of the best camps of my life. I came in sharp, prepared, and ready. Last night was your night.
That’s the nature of this game. Glory and pain walk side by side.
I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous.
And trust me… this story between us is far from over.
We will have our rematch."

[OgNasty]

Ilia Topuria's Instagram bio still shows 18-0.

He's removed the record from his IG profile.
Cut the guy a break; maybe he was in the hospital but he did eventually remove it.
I saw some clips online and it looked like a brutal fight.

The tattoo should be next to get removed… He has got to be embarrassed about that.

It was a good event. I thought it was nothing to complain about. I would’ve liked to have seen Conor McGregor fight at this one, but that is coming soon enough.

[Balmain]

It was an incredible card. I want to start with the main match right away. Ilia and Justin Gaethje were the match of the night, and perhaps the match of the year this match will be unforgettable. Gaethje took down Ilia's zero. In the fourth round, he couldn't continue; his face was a mess. Ilia's biggest mistake was in the second round if he hadn't continued on the ground after grabbing Gaethje by the liver, he would have used up all his energy and couldn't finish his opponent. It was probably the only round he won. I have renewed respect for Jon Jones. Ciryl Gane had no trouble against Poatan.

[notblox1]

Most funny thing from the last UFC event was Josh Hokit calling out Michelle Obama to be a male, and even Dana White had to denounce this later publicly   
I was really surprised by poor performance of Alex Pereira but maybe his jump to heavyweight category was to quick, and he didnt adjust correctly.
It was a great win for Justin Gaethje, I didnt expect to see that, and odds on him was amazing.

[trendcoin]

Ilia Topuria's Instagram bio still shows 18-0.

He's removed the record from his IG profile.
Cut the guy a break; maybe he was in the hospital but he did eventually remove it.
I saw some clips online and it looked like a brutal fight.

Maybe he had trouble logging into his account with Face ID, but we can’t blame him for that because it’s Zuckerberg’s fault...

Ilia Topuria released the following statement...

"Justin, congratulations. You said you’d leave your mark on my face… and you did.
You took the sight from my right eye in the first round, and by the end of the second, from my left too.
No excuses.
I had one of the best camps of my life. I came in sharp, prepared, and ready. Last night was your night.
That’s the nature of this game. Glory and pain walk side by side.
I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous.
And trust me… this story between us is far from over.
We will have our rematch."

There are many fighters waiting in line for a belt fight. He didn’t defend his belt in the Featherweight division. He went directly to a belt fight in the Lightweight division. The “C” in UFC means circus, but it shouldn’t be like this. Ilia needs to prove he truly deserves a belt fight before getting one...

[Balmain]

Most funny thing from the last UFC event was Josh Hokit calling out Michelle Obama to be a male, and even Dana White had to denounce this later publicly   
I was really surprised by poor performance of Alex Pereira but maybe his jump to heavyweight category was to quick, and he didnt adjust correctly.
It was a great win for Justin Gaethje, I didnt expect to see that, and odds on him was amazing.

Cirly Gane welcomed Alex Perreira to the heavyweight division. I agree, it should be a quick transition he was struggling even in middleweight. It's very difficult for him to withstand the punches of the heavyweights, and if he wants to stay in this weight class, he needs to adapt a lot. Will he try to stay in this weight class? I don't think it's his weight class; doing so could be a mistake.

[BluebloodCXVI]

Ilia Topuria released the following statement...

"Justin, congratulations. You said you’d leave your mark on my face… and you did.
You took the sight from my right eye in the first round, and by the end of the second, from my left too.
No excuses.
I had one of the best camps of my life. I came in sharp, prepared, and ready. Last night was your night.
That’s the nature of this game. Glory and pain walk side by side.
I’ll heal. I’ll rest. And I’ll return stronger, wiser, and far more dangerous.
And trust me… this story between us is far from over.
We will have our rematch."

Justin already said he doesn’t think that Ilia deserves to get a rematch and he may be right. Because it’s not like the fight went the distance or there was any uncertainty about who won. It was a very clear win and even an embarrassing one at that. Although it would be nice if they have a rematch, atleast we the UFC fans would get too see some action from the both of them again and maybe Topuria could even find some redemption then or still get flatlined again by Justin; you never can tell. But if it happens that they don’t rematch, then i feel like Arman should be next in the conversations of who Justin gaethje is gonna be fighting next. Unless of course if gaethje decides to retire as a reigning title holder in the lightweight division.

[LogitechMouse]

Ilia Topuria's Instagram bio still shows 18-0.

He's removed the record from his IG profile.
Cut the guy a break; maybe he was in the hospital but he did eventually remove it.
I saw some clips online and it looked like a brutal fight.

I agree with this. Let's give the man ample time to recover because this lose hurts him physically and mentally as well because it's his first lose.

If anybody saw his face after the fight and during the time that they're going out of the Octagon, his face is just like Margarito's face when he fought Pacquiao. Both eyes are swelling, cuts everywhere, and you can't recognize his face anymore. I had an opportunity to watch the fight and his right eye has already swelled at the very first round, and the left eye in the second round. In that fight, we've seen why many lightweights are saying that Gaethje is the hardest puncher in that division that even Khabib also said it.

It's a brutal fight indeed, and Topuria in one post already congratulated him. Aside from that, he also said that he will be having a rematch with him, and for sure it will be given to him. I wonder though if Topuria will get the rematch immediately, or he will be fighting at least one fighter on the division before giving it to him.