🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[pawel7777]

I think it's just him buying more time. To be honest, doesn't this look like Connor getting more time? Whether it's to prepare or to earn another 30 million dollars without having a fight with a decent beginning and end for the viewer.

Do you mean he's faking the injury? It's a possibility, but I have no reason to believe that. It looked real, he landed weird and those things just happen.
And, if he's to return at all, I wouldn't be surprised if they put a special clause that takes away a portion of his earnings if he's unable to fight.

In other news, Jan Blachowicz will remain on the 1st August fight night card and will face an undefeated Navajo Stirling, who's 28 years old with a perfect 10-0 record (6 KO, 4 decision wins).
According to Jan, he was originally offered an Ankalaev fight on 25th July, but wasn't sure if he could make the weight on such short notice, so he agreed on the condition that they would fight in a catchweight. Ankalaev's team rejected the offer. After a discussion with his team, Jan went back to the UFC and agreed to fight in a light heavyweight limit, but they had already given the fight to Guskov.

Blachowicz is ranked 4th in the Media ranking but is ranked 15th in the Meta ranking. Navajo Stirling is ranked 11th in Meta but unranked in Media, which goes to show how drastically different those two rankings can be.

[rdbase]

Dricus deserved to win this fight against Usman, but I was right when I predicted this fight will go full distance.
I am interested to see who is going to be next opponent for Dricus, maybe it is to early for another fight against Khamzat Chimaev.
Jared Cannonier lost another fight and I think it is time for him to slowly retire.

Didn't think I was going to place any bets on this card but glad I did start to watch the last five fights.
It was a good fight night to wager on since those fights the favorites won, even Chase Hooper who lost his last three fights from what I recall they said during his post fight interview.
Christian Leroy Duncan seemed to have trouble putting away Cannonier but eventually those lethal shots he landed got the better of Jared.
As for the main event, DDP looked as if he was going to knockout Usman with some of those shots early on in the fight. But Kamara just kept eating his toughest punches so even in his old age he can still take alot of damage.
Overall was a great card to watch and having placed bets on the late favorites on the main card.

[OgNasty]

As an admitted casual fan of the UFC, I really just want to see Paddy fight again. He’s the only grappler I’ve ever enjoyed watching him fight. I think it is because he just ends people and doesn’t roll around for long periods of time. It seems like he is in his prime too. Would love to see him get a belt.

[Balmain]

Dricus deserved to win this fight against Usman, but I was right when I predicted this fight will go full distance.
I am interested to see who is going to be next opponent for Dricus, maybe it is to early for another fight against Khamzat Chimaev.
Jared Cannonier lost another fight and I think it is time for him to slowly retire.

He absolutely deserved it it was a well-deserved victory. When making my prediction, I had a little more faith in Usman. I thought that no matter how much pressure Dricus put on him, Usman's experience and defense would allow him to counter it, and that he could even put Dricus in difficult situations with some good counter-attacks. I was especially expecting such a scenario because of Usman's resilience against elite-level opponents in the past. Dricus surprised everyone again with his usual style.

[TopTort777]

You what fight would be a cool one? DDP vs Chimaev and the winner gets a title shot. DDP will have a chance to rehabilitate himself after getting dominated by Chimaev. Chimaev will have a chance to rehabilitate himself after losing split decision to Strickland (but imho Strickland beat him fair and square).

Btw, on RAF 11 (wrestling league), Tsarukyan (who boast that he is a next champ and unbeatable) lost to Colby Covington who has retired from MMA and is quite old for top opponents Lol. I think this is a shame to lose if you are in prime to guy who used to be all-american 15 years ago

Colby is still good at trashtalking. On RAF 11 he had some beef with Belal Muhammad (again familiar face, so many active UFC fighters are in RAF already) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/fYiFHvLflbQ which lead to this https://www.youtube.com/shorts/t6nSK6lI8cs

[tokeweed]

UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Guskov



Date: July 25

Main Card: Sat, Jul 25 / 7:00 PM GMT+3
Prelims: Sat, Jul 25 / 4:00 PM GMT+3

Venue: Etihad Arena (UAE)

Main card (Paramount+)
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Ankalaev vs. Bogdan Guskov            
Flyweight: Steve Erceg vs. Ramazan Temirov            
Welterweight: Islam Dulatov vs. Wellington Turman            
Lightweight: Magomed Zaynukov vs. Damian Rzepecki            
Heavyweight: Rizvan Kuniev vs. Tyrell Fortune            
Lightweight: Ismael Bonfim vs. Axel Sola

Preliminary card (Paramount+)
Heavyweight: Valter Walker vs. Thomas Petersen            
Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio vs. Sam Patterson
Light Heavyweight: Muhammad Said vs. Dustin Jacoby               
Light Heavyweight: Magomed Tuchalov vs. Brendson Ribeiro            
Lightweight: Nurullo Aliev vs. Mike Davis   

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_Fight_Night:_Ankalaev_vs._Guskov

Another filler event with a slightly better main event.  Would be funny to see Guskov get lucky again and win via KO.    Everybody I knew irl was so sure he'd lose against Błachowicz..  But to everybody's surprise it ended with a draw.  And the more surprising part was Guskov had the cardio to go all three rounds.  Let's see if he could go 5...

Not sure why the UFC is putting this up their channel. 

Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0r8DKjJtE

[Pumared]

I think it's just him buying more time. To be honest, doesn't this look like Connor getting more time? Whether it's to prepare or to earn another 30 million dollars without having a fight with a decent beginning and end for the viewer.

Do you mean he's faking the injury? It's a possibility, but I have no reason to believe that. It looked real, he landed weird and those things just happen.
And, if he's to return at all, I wouldn't be surprised if they put a special clause that takes away a portion of his earnings if he's unable to fight.

It's not a matter of pretending. He must have omitted a lot. Because I don't think it was just a coincidence. But there will certainly be clauses in the next fights, which, by the way, the UFC should have had a long time ago, or if something happens, they don't receive everything, etc.

[TopTort777]

Another filler event with a slightly better main event.  Would be funny to see Guskov get lucky again and win via KO.    Everybody I knew irl was so sure he'd lose against Błachowicz..  But to everybody's surprise it ended with a draw.  And the more surprising part was Guskov had the cardio to go all three rounds.  Let's see if he could go 5...

Not sure why the UFC is putting this up their channel. 

Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0r8DKjJtE

It took Ankalaev only one loss to become a guy now fight in filler events One loss and former champ turns back into being no-name. Another confirmation that in modern UFC media recognition, fame and love plays a huge role

You know why Guskov surprised everyone in a fight against Blachowicz? Because he is Robbie Lawlers alt/younger skin He forgot to relogin



But to be serious, Jan is just old and gained too much damage during career, and Bogdan is much younger and has a decent record. Fighting math is like -1 and +1 equals 0 aka a draw Why it is a draw btw? 29-28/28-28/28-28. Shouldnt it be 2-1 in Blacowicz favor?

[Pumared]

Another filler event with a slightly better main event.  Would be funny to see Guskov get lucky again and win via KO.    Everybody I knew irl was so sure he'd lose against Błachowicz..  But to everybody's surprise it ended with a draw.  And the more surprising part was Guskov had the cardio to go all three rounds.  Let's see if he could go 5...

Not sure why the UFC is putting this up their channel. 

Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0r8DKjJtE

It took Ankalaev only one loss to become a guy now fight in filler events One loss and former champ turns back into being no-name. Another confirmation that in modern UFC media recognition, fame and love plays a huge role

He's become an average fighter, and from now on I believe he'll only fall further down the rankings until he loses his prominence within the UFC. His game is very bad, his engagement is terrible, and he doesn't deliver anything the UFC needs.

[BluebloodCXVI]

As an admitted casual fan of the UFC, I really just want to see Paddy fight again. He’s the only grappler I’ve ever enjoyed watching him fight. I think it is because he just ends people and doesn’t roll around for long periods of time. It seems like he is in his prime too. Would love to see him get a belt.

Paddy is overrated in my opinion. Dude hasn’t beaten any top level contender in his weight class yet, only washed up fighters like Tony Ferguson and chandler with long loss streaks . Even his win against BSD is debatable and yet he thinks he can beat Topuria; jokes on him. He was clamoring for a title shot at one point but got exposed by gaethje, further proving that he is not yet champion material

[pawel7777]

It took Ankalaev only one loss to become a guy now fight in filler events One loss and former champ turns back into being no-name. Another confirmation that in modern UFC media recognition, fame and love plays a huge role
(...)

Yup, it's a show business first and the sport second. But even if we want to focus only on the sport side, Ankalaev wasn't really that much of a sportsman. A lot of his fights were just scoring points and winning rounds without taking any risk. Fans could excuse his lack of self-promotion and no English if he delivered a show inside the octagon, but that was rarely the case.
Here are Winna.com odds for the upcoming event, all 13 fights:

Aliev,Nurullo x1.48 Vs Davis,Mike x2.50
Gibson,Cody x4.05 Vs Hussein,Abdul x1.21
Tuchalov,Magomed x1.12 Vs Ribeiro,Brendson x5.50
Ponzinibbio,Santiago x3.95 Vs Patterson,Sam x1.22
Jacoby,Dustin x1.57 Vs Said,Muhammad x2.30
Walker,Valter x1.52 Vs Petersen,Thomas x2.40
Vagaev,Abubakar x1.39 Vs Izagakhmaev,Saygid x2.84
Bonfim,Ismael x2.55 Vs Sola,Axel x1.47
Kuniev,Rizvan x1.32 Vs Fortune,Tyrell x3.15
Zaynukov,Magomed x1.27 Vs Rzepecki,Damian x3.50
Dulatov,Islam x1.10 Vs Turman,Wellington x6.00
Erceg,Steve x1.83 Vs Temirov,Ramazan x1.92
Ankalaev,Magomed x1.16 Vs Guskov,Bogdan x4.70

I didn't expect Guskov to be that much of an underdog. I suspect this could be due to him taking the fight on short notice, but I think Guskov was also in the middle of a camp for his original fight against Jan Blachowicz. Could it be a good value bet? I'm not sure.

[TopTort777]

We have to wait for expert in underdog betting to say his thought on Guskov

Btw Ankalaev had to fight Blachowicz when Rountree withdrew to injury, but Jan rejected offer because he had no time to make weight. All ends with Santa-Barbara that Anklaev is fighting Guskov who was preparing to fight Blachowicz August 1, leaving Jan overboard... I dont think Guskov is underdog due to short notice. Its former champ vs #9 fight.

[Synchronice]

You what fight would be a cool one? DDP vs Chimaev and the winner gets a title shot. DDP will have a chance to rehabilitate himself after getting dominated by Chimaev. Chimaev will have a chance to rehabilitate himself after losing split decision to Strickland (but imho Strickland beat him fair and square).

On paper, DDP VS Chimaev sounds cool but when I watched that fight, I got so bored that I don't think I want to watch their fight ever again. Chimaev was basically hugging the guy for 5 rounds and there was no action. Yes, he controlled him and won the fight fairly but don't get me wrong, we need some actions, not only just win.
I would be happy to see DDP VS Strickland again and I think that DDP deserves to fight for the title.

Strickland beat Chimaev, Chimaev beat DDP. DDP beat Strickland two times, so, yes, this fight is very interesting for me. Maybe for the 3rd time, Strickland beats him too or maybe DDP finally proves that Strickland simply has no chance against him.

[BluebloodCXVI]

You what fight would be a cool one? DDP vs Chimaev and the winner gets a title shot.

Nah, their last match was boring i can’t even lie. Even though Khamzat was able to dominate the entire fight, there was not much action to witness.

Is it just me or does anybody else wanna see Strickland vs Imavov?

DDP will have a chance to rehabilitate himself after getting dominated by Chimaev. Chimaev will have a chance to rehabilitate himself after losing split decision to Strickland (but imho Strickland beat him fair and square).

Well it’s up to Dana white and the UFC to decide who is getting the title shot next, we can only speculate.

Btw, on RAF 11 (wrestling league), Tsarukyan (who boast that he is a next champ and unbeatable) lost to Colby Covington who has retired from MMA and is quite old for top opponents Lol. I think this is a shame to lose if you are in prime to guy who used to be all-american 15 years ago

Lmao nah, you’re reaching too hard TopTort777. Let’s not forget that Arman is a beast MMA fighter first and he’s also a top UFC lightweight contender who’s been smoking everyone in the RAF before his wrestling match with Colby; dude was like 7:0 in RAF before that Colby matchup.

Covington on the other hand is a legit NCAA All-American with real wrestling DNA so even though he is more older than Arman and retired from MMA to fight in the RAF, it’s not like he’s a push over or something; the dude is fucking strong, even Tyron Woodley attested to it that Colby is a strong dude. And besides, their fight was a close decision, not like he dominated Arman or anything.

In my opinion, Arman losing to a crafty veteran like Colby on the mats doesn’t mean that he is washed or a fraud, especially when he’s still in his prime and crushing it everywhere else. One wrestling L after a crazy win streak doesn’t erase the fact that he is built for the Octagon so chill with the shame talk TopTort777 😂, Arman will be champ, you just watch.

[tokeweed]

Another filler event with a slightly better main event.  Would be funny to see Guskov get lucky again and win via KO.    Everybody I knew irl was so sure he'd lose against Błachowicz..  But to everybody's surprise it ended with a draw.  And the more surprising part was Guskov had the cardio to go all three rounds.  Let's see if he could go 5...

Not sure why the UFC is putting this up their channel. 

Magomed Ankalaev vs Alex Pereira
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj0r8DKjJtE

It took Ankalaev only one loss to become a guy now fight in filler events One loss and former champ turns back into being no-name. Another confirmation that in modern UFC media recognition, fame and love plays a huge role

You know why Guskov surprised everyone in a fight against Blachowicz? Because he is Robbie Lawlers alt/younger skin He forgot to relogin



But to be serious, Jan is just old and gained too much damage during career, and Bogdan is much younger and has a decent record. Fighting math is like -1 and +1 equals 0 aka a draw Why it is a draw btw? 29-28/28-28/28-28. Shouldnt it be 2-1 in Blacowicz favor?

It actually does play a huge role...  Not just in the UFC.  It's everywhere.  If the people doesn't want to watch you even if you're champ then the first minute you get a small setback, you're at the bottom of the list.  I mean not that I hate the guy but Ankalaev is kinda boring to watch.

That's Anthony Smith btw.  Lol. 

Anyway, now come to think of it...  This fight was kinda of a surprise too. 

Bogdan Guskov vs Nikita Krylov
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow3PM0Uburw

[Pumared]

We have to wait for expert in underdog betting to say his thought on Guskov

Btw Ankalaev had to fight Blachowicz when Rountree withdrew to injury, but Jan rejected offer because he had no time to make weight. All ends with Santa-Barbara that Anklaev is fighting Guskov who was preparing to fight Blachowicz August 1, leaving Jan overboard... I dont think Guskov is underdog due to short notice. Its former champ vs #9 fight.

I think anyone who fights Ankalaev now will dominate him; they just need stamina and to withstand the initial pressure of the first/second round. After that, he'll tire, and if the opponent is in good shape, he'll win by points alone. Pereira showed well how to win.

[TopTort777]

We have to wait for expert in underdog betting to say his thought on Guskov

Btw Ankalaev had to fight Blachowicz when Rountree withdrew to injury, but Jan rejected offer because he had no time to make weight. All ends with Santa-Barbara that Anklaev is fighting Guskov who was preparing to fight Blachowicz August 1, leaving Jan overboard... I dont think Guskov is underdog due to short notice. Its former champ vs #9 fight.

I think anyone who fights Ankalaev now will dominate him; they just need stamina and to withstand the initial pressure of the first/second round. After that, he'll tire, and if the opponent is in good shape, he'll win by points alone. Pereira showed well how to win.

I think we are talking about different Ankalaev now. He was on a series of 12 wins and many of the fights went to either full distance or more than 2 rounds. Was a champion who took belt from Pereira, and not from accidental champ like Jamahal Hill (who is not even in top15 anymore). Does not look like he is now an easy target for LH roster. Who he has lost to? Only to Pereira. I think it is to early to say his career is in decline and he will turn into next Fergusson with 0-8 record in last fights

[khatarnak]

We have to wait for expert in underdog betting to say his thought on Guskov

Btw Ankalaev had to fight Blachowicz when Rountree withdrew to injury, but Jan rejected offer because he had no time to make weight. All ends with Santa-Barbara that Anklaev is fighting Guskov who was preparing to fight Blachowicz August 1, leaving Jan overboard... I dont think Guskov is underdog due to short notice. Its former champ vs #9 fight.

I always end up betting underdogs, but I don't see Guskov pulling this one off.
He is dangerous early, that is where most of his wins come from.
Against good wrestlers he slows down a lot.
The bet I might go for is Ankalaev by decision.
Odds : 4.2

[Pumared]

We have to wait for expert in underdog betting to say his thought on Guskov

Btw Ankalaev had to fight Blachowicz when Rountree withdrew to injury, but Jan rejected offer because he had no time to make weight. All ends with Santa-Barbara that Anklaev is fighting Guskov who was preparing to fight Blachowicz August 1, leaving Jan overboard... I dont think Guskov is underdog due to short notice. Its former champ vs #9 fight.

I think anyone who fights Ankalaev now will dominate him; they just need stamina and to withstand the initial pressure of the first/second round. After that, he'll tire, and if the opponent is in good shape, he'll win by points alone. Pereira showed well how to win.

I think we are talking about different Ankalaev now. He was on a series of 12 wins and many of the fights went to either full distance or more than 2 rounds. Was a champion who took belt from Pereira, and not from accidental champ like Jamahal Hill (who is not even in top15 anymore). Does not look like he is now an easy target for LH roster. Who he has lost to? Only to Pereira. I think it is to early to say his career is in decline and he will turn into next Fergusson with 0-8 record in last fights

I think he'll enter a losing spiral precisely because his game has been exposed by Pereira. So, I think a young talent should be enough to start accelerating that losing streak. The fighters aren't so afraid of him anymore.

[pawel7777]

Btw Ankalaev had to fight Blachowicz when Rountree withdrew to injury, but Jan rejected offer because he had no time to make weight. All ends with Santa-Barbara that Anklaev is fighting Guskov who was preparing to fight Blachowicz August 1, leaving Jan overboard... I dont think Guskov is underdog due to short notice. Its former champ vs #9 fight.

Nah, Jan didn't reject Ankalaev's fight. He initially proposed to do it in a catchweight but Ankalaev refused. Blachowicz's team then went back and agreed to get it done in the light heavyweight but it was too late as Guskov had already accepted it. That's according to Jan at least, who explained it on X.
And Jan didn't get left overboard. He's going to fight Navajo Stirling, a young, undefeated prospect (10-0), on 1 August, which is the date the fight against Guskov was originally scheduled.