🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[notblox1]

The heavyweight division was really interesting in PRIDE and Strikeforce, but we rarely have interesting fights in the heavyweight division in the UFC.

I would not say we dont have interesting fight, but they are not on top heavyweight level like we had just few years ago.
We have some old fighters that are going to be retired soon, and Alex Pereira disappointed me in this division against Cyril Gane.
Aspinal has a goo winning strike but I dont see him holding the title for much longer.

[Upgrade00]

Islam defense by decision. That was a very close fight, Garry pressed hard growing in confidence as the fight wore on. That takedown from Islam in the 5th round was very important in swaying the judges. If that round had stayed on the feet with the confidence in the kicks of Garry and how Islam was tiring we may have had a new champion.

My takeaway is that Islam would have to strike more. He's very good at it but focuses on the grappling. It was very effective at lightweight,  but at middleweight the opponents are stronger, more difficult to take down and keep down.

Carlos Prates says he's next, that will be an interesting fight.

[eaLiTy]

The heavyweight division was really interesting in PRIDE and Strikeforce, but we rarely have interesting fights in the heavyweight division in the UFC.

I would not say we dont have interesting fight, but they are not on top heavyweight level like we had just few years ago.
We have some old fighters that are going to be retired soon, and Alex Pereira disappointed me in this division against Cyril Gane.
Aspinal has a goo winning strike but I dont see him holding the title for much longer.

During the PRIDE and Strikeforce days, the heavyweight division was the real attraction. There were some crazy fights, and it was really intriguing to anticipate a match simply because of the curiosity over how the fighters would perform against each other.

We have had certain good fights in the UFC's heavyweight division, especially the fights Brock Lesnar had; they were the most anticipated bouts during that period, but my all-time favourites were the first two fights between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. I do not know whether any other fights have ever given me that same drive and excitement. The next closest ones were the first two epic fights between Daniel Cormier and Stipe Miocic, as well as the first title fight between Francis Ngannou and Stipe Miocic.

Jon Jones and Tom Aspinall had that potential, even though age is not on Jon Jones' side.
What a great fight by Islam Makhachev, who recorded his 17th consecutive win to set the longest streak in UFC history. As expected, Makhachev was able to control Ian Garry on the ground, and there was a knockdown in the second round. However, I am impressed with the way in which Ian Garry was able to defend certain positions.

[TopTort777]

Islam defense by decision. That was a very close fight, Garry pressed hard growing in confidence as the fight wore on. That takedown from Islam in the 5th round was very important in swaying the judges. If that round had stayed on the feet with the confidence in the kicks of Garry and how Islam was tiring we may have had a new champion.

My takeaway is that Islam would have to strike more. He's very good at it but focuses on the grappling. It was very effective at lightweight,  but at middleweight the opponents are stronger, more difficult to take down and keep down.

Carlos Prates says he's next, that will be an interesting fight.

Saw good comment in instagram. "One won the fight. Other won the battle". Joe Rogan has asked Islam a very good question after the fight - Who was his toughest opponent. Right now I am also now sure who that was, Volk in first fight or Garry. Again Islam took more damage than his opponent. One of the judges even scored 48-47 for Islam, which means it was a very close fight. Welterweight division looks tough for Islam so far, not a single finish.

[Synchronice]

Islam defense by decision. That was a very close fight, Garry pressed hard growing in confidence as the fight wore on. That takedown from Islam in the 5th round was very important in swaying the judges. If that round had stayed on the feet with the confidence in the kicks of Garry and how Islam was tiring we may have had a new champion.

My takeaway is that Islam would have to strike more. He's very good at it but focuses on the grappling. It was very effective at lightweight,  but at middleweight the opponents are stronger, more difficult to take down and keep down.

Carlos Prates says he's next, that will be an interesting fight.

Saw good comment in instagram. "One won the fight. Other won the battle". Joe Rogan has asked Islam a very good question after the fight - Who was his toughest opponent. Right now I am also now sure who that was, Volk in first fight or Garry. Again Islam took more damage than his opponent. One of the judges even scored 48-47 for Islam, which means it was a very close fight. Welterweight division looks tough for Islam so far, not a single finish.

Honestly, in his first fight against Volk, I think that travel and a time zone of Australia played a huge role into his bad conditioning. He was simply in a bad condition and couldn't perform well. I stick with this opinion because he performed very well in his second fight but at the same time, Volk was unprepared for the fight since he took it on a very short notice. Anyways, I need to see the 3rd fight of these guys, both well prepared and in good condition to truly understand who is the real champ between them but I guess, this will never happen.

Islam got more damage but it doesn't mean anything. Topuria could easily finish Gaethje in the second round even though his face was brutally beaten and he would legitimately be a winner but he failed anyway. Also, damage is like, some people have very thin skin and easily get damaged, some have a coarse skin and don't get damage easily. I wouldn't say cosmetic thing matters in the fight. What matters is who dominates who, not bruises.

[Upgrade00]

Saw good comment in instagram. "One won the fight. Other won the battle".

Looked a lot like Garry was content doing that, just putting up a good fight. I know it's easy to talk from thr side but he should have taken the fight to Islam more in the 4th and 5th. Spam those head and body kicks that were starting to get through. You risk getting taken down but you can also score a finish.  Islam wasn't throwing anything with conviction from round 4.

The GOAT debate will intensify now as he passes Anderson's win streak setting a new record.

[BluebloodCXVI]

Saw good comment in instagram. "One won the fight. Other won the battle". Joe Rogan has asked Islam a very good question after the fight - Who was his toughest opponent. Right now I am also now sure who that was, Volk in first fight or Garry. Again Islam took more damage than his opponent. One of the judges even scored 48-47 for Islam, which means it was a very close fight. Welterweight division looks tough for Islam so far, not a single finish.

It’s the size, reach and physicality difference that is showing; he now has to face real 170 pound athletes who can actually carry him and scramble with him better than when he was in lightweight.

Although he seems to still be getting the job done with his wrestling and chain control but all those easy finishes and total dominance that he used to have in lightweight has not translated to welterweight yet.

Good for him that he is still a champ and P4P number 1 though.
It’s obvious that the division has no intention of giving him any free passes and now his next match up, whoever it’s gonna be, will show us just how permanent Islam’s step up is gonna be.

[LogitechMouse]

---
My takeaway is that Islam would have to strike more. He's very good at it but focuses on the grappling. It was very effective at lightweight,  but at middleweight the opponents are stronger, more difficult to take down and keep down.

Carlos Prates says he's next, that will be an interesting fight.

Saw good comment in instagram. "One won the fight. Other won the battle". Joe Rogan has asked Islam a very good question after the fight - Who was his toughest opponent. Right now I am also now sure who that was, Volk in first fight or Garry. Again Islam took more damage than his opponent. One of the judges even scored 48-47 for Islam, which means it was a very close fight. Welterweight division looks tough for Islam so far, not a single finish.

Dagestan fighters are well-known for being more of a grappler than a striker, so I don't know, but it's a bit surprising for me to see Makachev having some strikes more often than he is when he's on lower divisions. I guess it's because he know that it will be hard for him to take down his opponents since he's on a higher division already.

Anyway, I scored the fight 48-47 as well, but when I saw 2 judges scored the bout at 49-46, I guess that just shows that total control time is way better in scoring than total strikes. I mean we show that Makachev has more ground time especially in the final 2 rounds of the fight, but Garry threw some strikes as well. As for him fighting Prates, that would be an interesting match-up especially because Prates has been rolling in his last few fights, and he just embarrassed Edwards in their fight. I just don't know though if he has the capability to counter the grappling skills Makachev has.

As for Makachev, he's not known to be a prolific finisher or at least for me. Out of his 29 wins, 11 of them came from decision, and I guess we can also say that he's having a hard time submitting his opponents since he's on a Welterweight now.

[trendcoin]

Islam definitely had a tough time against Ian. At the end of the third round, Khabib told him he needed to win the last two rounds and that we couldn’t trust the referees. Indeed, at the end of the fight, Islam admitted he had been struggling.

Ian Garry reiterated his good intentions after the fight as well. I guess this guy doesn’t want to come across as unlikable anymore. This attitude has undoubtedly transformed him into someone who deserves respect.

Islam can’t secure an easy finish in this weight class, but we mustn’t forget that Ian’s fight record is also full of judge decisions. In other words, both fighters brought this fight to this point. Wrestling alone cannot explain how boring this fight was.

The clearest moment that stands out in my mind from the fight was Islam’s high kick. He could have secured a finish right then. Islam isn’t just an elite wrestler. He has many similar finishes in his career.

[tokeweed]

Islam defense by decision. That was a very close fight, Garry pressed hard growing in confidence as the fight wore on. That takedown from Islam in the 5th round was very important in swaying the judges. If that round had stayed on the feet with the confidence in the kicks of Garry and how Islam was tiring we may have had a new champion.

My takeaway is that Islam would have to strike more. He's very good at it but focuses on the grappling. It was very effective at lightweight,  but at middleweight the opponents are stronger, more difficult to take down and keep down.

Carlos Prates says he's next, that will be an interesting fight.

You mean welterweight...  But yeah.  Another way of looking at it is Ian Garry could have really good TD defense.

As for Prates, I think Makhachev will make easy work of him.  Prates has not faced an elite wrestler in his last few matches.  But we'll see.

Here are the results.

Islam Makhachev def. Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Mackenzie Dern def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Jalin Turner def. Kaue Fernandes via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 0:39
Dustin Stoltzfus def. Mansur Abdul-Malik via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:25
Esteban Ribovics def. Edson Barboza via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:32
Chidi Njokuani def. Joel Alvarez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Charles Johnson def. Eduardo Chapolin via submission (Scottish twister) – Round 3, 1:36
Donte Johnson def. Eric McConico via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 1:38
Tresean Gore def. Vicente Luque via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Lucas Fernando def. Rafael Tobias TKO (knee, punches) – Round 3, 1:10
Neil Magny def. Ramiz Brahimaj via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:20
Jeremiah Wells def. Myktybek Orolbai via technical submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 1:24

UFC 330:  Post Fight Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVkePUj_KBk

It was the night of the underdogs.  Lol.

[Balmain]

Islam won his next fight just like he said he would. The timing on the high kick he landed on Garry was great. If he had landed with his shin, it would've definitely been a knockout. Even though he didn't, the kick still rocked Garry pretty badly. Garry was good too, though. He wasn't completely dominated and had his moments where he managed to fight back. He generally tried to keep Islam at a distance with push kicks and land his shots at the right moments. But as always, Islam's wrestling made a huge difference.

[TopTort777]

---
My takeaway is that Islam would have to strike more. He's very good at it but focuses on the grappling. It was very effective at lightweight,  but at middleweight the opponents are stronger, more difficult to take down and keep down.

Carlos Prates says he's next, that will be an interesting fight.

Saw good comment in instagram. "One won the fight. Other won the battle". Joe Rogan has asked Islam a very good question after the fight - Who was his toughest opponent. Right now I am also now sure who that was, Volk in first fight or Garry. Again Islam took more damage than his opponent. One of the judges even scored 48-47 for Islam, which means it was a very close fight. Welterweight division looks tough for Islam so far, not a single finish.

Dagestan fighters are well-known for being more of a grappler than a striker, so I don't know, but it's a bit surprising for me to see Makachev having some strikes more often than he is when he's on lower divisions. I guess it's because he know that it will be hard for him to take down his opponents since he's on a higher division already.

Anyway, I scored the fight 48-47 as well, but when I saw 2 judges scored the bout at 49-46, I guess that just shows that total control time is way better in scoring than total strikes. I mean we show that Makachev has more ground time especially in the final 2 rounds of the fight, but Garry threw some strikes as well. As for him fighting Prates, that would be an interesting match-up especially because Prates has been rolling in his last few fights, and he just embarrassed Edwards in their fight. I just don't know though if he has the capability to counter the grappling skills Makachev has.

As for Makachev, he's not known to be a prolific finisher or at least for me. Out of his 29 wins, 11 of them came from decision, and I guess we can also say that he's having a hard time submitting his opponents since he's on a Welterweight now.

I think the reason why Islam has chosen more striking gameplan than grappling or trying to take down Garry, is because for him (or in this fight or against Garry) it will take more strength than throwing strikes. Garry is not easy to take down as some might think. If he fails and lose strength (but as well Garry would, however his fighting style and fights going full distance shows that he is confident with his stamina), Garry strikes (that were connecting well btw) might get to target and cause damage. Islam already got more face damage than Garry

[trendcoin]

Before this fight, Garry’s takedown defense rate was 80%:

his takedown defense makes him one of the best fighters.

After this fight, it dropped to 71%:

Islam lowered his rate slightly in this regard, but since Garry didn’t stay on the ground, this was virtually meaningless... On the other hand, Garry was unable to perform effectively on his feet because he was so focused on defending against takedowns...

It’s not easy to go against guys who are 1.90 tall. Islam is making a brave challenge in this weight class, but it’s a very risky move. I think he should have stayed in the lightweight division and played it safe. So, in my opinion, it’ll be hard for him to be as big a favorite as he used to be in his next fights here...

[tokeweed]

On to the next.  It's a filler event but I think Hernandez vs Rodrigues, Spivac vs Petrino, De Ridder vs Dolidze and Nzechukwu vs Gaziev could be decent match ups for a fight night event.

Here's the roster.

Date:  Saturday, Aug 22
Main Card:  8:00pm EST
Preliminary Card:  5:00pm EST
Venue:  Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California



Main Card
Middleweight:  Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory Rodrigues            
Heavyweight:  Serghei Spivac vs. Vitor Petrino            
Light Heavyweight:  Reinier de Ridder vs. Roman Dolidze            
Lightweight:  MarQuel Mederos vs. Mason Jones            
Women's Flyweight:  Carli Judice vs. Jeisla Chaves            
Heavyweight:  Terrance Chatman vs. Anthony Wint   

Preliminary Card
Featherweight:  Jamall Emmers vs. Lerryan Douglas            
Heavyweight:  Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Shamil Gaziev            
Lightweight:  Chris Padilla vs. Nasrat Haqparast            
Featherweight:  Márcio Barbosa vs. Ryan Kuse            
Lightweight:  Gauge Young vs. Stanley Dorsainvil            
Middleweight:  Wesley Schultz vs. Jackson McVey            
Women's Strawweight:  Shanelle Dyer vs. Elise Reed

And the match ups in next DCWS event could all be bangers.  Check them out...

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/142721-contender-series-2026-week-2

[BluebloodCXVI]

On to the next.  It's a filler event but I think Hernandez vs Rodrigues, Spivac vs Petrino, De Ridder vs Dolidze and Nzechukwu vs Gaziev could be decent match ups for a fight night event.

Here's the roster.

Date:  Saturday, Aug 22
Main Card:  8:00pm EST
Preliminary Card:  5:00pm EST
Venue:  Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California



Main Card
Middleweight:  Anthony Hernandez vs. Gregory Rodrigues            
Heavyweight:  Serghei Spivac vs. Vitor Petrino            
Light Heavyweight:  Reinier de Ridder vs. Roman Dolidze            
Lightweight:  MarQuel Mederos vs. Mason Jones            
Women's Flyweight:  Carli Judice vs. Jeisla Chaves            
Heavyweight:  Terrance Chatman vs. Anthony Wint   

Preliminary Card
Featherweight:  Jamall Emmers vs. Lerryan Douglas            
Heavyweight:  Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Shamil Gaziev            
Lightweight:  Chris Padilla vs. Nasrat Haqparast            
Featherweight:  Márcio Barbosa vs. Ryan Kuse            
Lightweight:  Gauge Young vs. Stanley Dorsainvil            
Middleweight:  Wesley Schultz vs. Jackson McVey            
Women's Strawweight:  Shanelle Dyer vs. Elise Reed

And the match ups in next DCWS event could all be bangers.  Check them out...

https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/events/142721-contender-series-2026-week-2

Perhaps you’re right.
I see a few fights here that look like they could be bangers.

The Fazil VS Brito and Paxton VS Perez lightweight scrap in particular seem to have a finish potential written all over them.

Contender series cards always tends to be a crapshoot with the way many fight contracts get handed out but i’m pretty impressed with this card.
The talent level this week looks pretty much solid enough that at least a couple of these guys can be able to impress Uncle Dana with their performances.

[Upgrade00]

You mean welterweight...  But yeah.  Another way of looking at it is Ian Garry could have really good TD defense.

As for Prates, I think Makhachev will make easy work of him.  Prates has not faced an elite wrestler in his last few matches.  But we'll see.

Yes, that's what I meant to say.
I don't think Prates will be that easy, he'll surely come out swinging and not be as cautious as Garry was.

Stoltzfus and Abdul-Malik was one of the more exciting fights for me on that card.

I think the reason why Islam has chosen more striking gameplan than grappling or trying to take down Garry, is because for him (or in this fight or against Garry) it will take more strength than throwing strikes.

Islam did go for more of a grappling game than striking. Asides the kick where he connected more with the toes and a few body shots he didn't really throw much. Chased ground control for the whole 5 rounds.

[Sandra_hakeem]

I think the reason why Islam has chosen more striking gameplan than grappling or trying to take down Garry, is because for him (or in this fight or against Garry) it will take more strength than throwing strikes.

Islam did go for more of a grappling game than striking. Asides the kick where he connected more with the toes and a few body shots he didn't really throw much. Chased ground control for the whole 5 rounds.

I doubt the user on your quote watched any of the rounds in that fight. Islam does more of the grappling game tactics than throwing punches and leg kicks--- infact, it's their thing. Khabib Nurmagomedov fought his whole career like that and broke so many records. Khamzat Chimaev also relies more on grappling and I can only imagine how uncomfortable it was for Garry to struggle the whole 5 rounds trying to either get out of a triangle trap, or a arm control whatever. That demands a different level of metal strength, because your muscles will eventually get tired.

[Pumared]

Islam lowered his rate slightly in this regard, but since Garry didn’t stay on the ground, this was virtually meaningless... On the other hand, Garry was unable to perform effectively on his feet because he was so focused on defending against takedowns...

It’s not easy to go against guys who are 1.90 tall. Islam is making a brave challenge in this weight class, but it’s a very risky move. I think he should have stayed in the lightweight division and played it safe. So, in my opinion, it’ll be hard for him to be as big a favorite as he used to be in his next fights here...

Garry tried more to defend than to impose his own rhythm. That's why Islam won the first round, and in the second he was already comfortable enough to land that unexpected kick. After that, it was all takedowns and control by Islam; Garry only did something in the last round, and when he did, his opponent dominated everything. I lost my bet on Garry, but it left the impression that he didn't even try, unfortunately.

[SPIDERMAN008]

I think the reason why Islam has chosen more striking gameplan than grappling or trying to take down Garry, is because for him (or in this fight or against Garry) it will take more strength than throwing strikes.

Islam did go for more of a grappling game than striking. Asides the kick where he connected more with the toes and a few body shots he didn't really throw much. Chased ground control for the whole 5 rounds.

I doubt the user on your quote watched any of the rounds in that fight. Islam does more of the grappling game tactics than throwing punches and leg kicks--- infact, it's their thing. Khabib Nurmagomedov fought his whole career like that and broke so many records. Khamzat Chimaev also relies more on grappling and I can only imagine how uncomfortable it was for Garry to struggle the whole 5 rounds trying to either get out of a triangle trap, or a arm control whatever. That demands a different level of metal strength, because your muscles will eventually get tired.

I agree with you. Islam is following Khabib completely. He is practicing grappling instead of knocking down. And his takedown technique is exactly like Khabib did . And once he starts grappling, the opponent can't dominate anymore. You don't really feel that much excitement watching this kind of fight, but you can see the combination of power, brain, skill, experience and legacy. I think Islam is fighting in the octagon but Khabib is controlling him. I watched the whole match yesterday. There was no aggressiveness from either of them. Garry didn't get much chance to attack Islam. It seemed like they could have been lying down and rolling for a long time.

Next the eagle Islam Makhachev

[BIT-BENDER]

Moving away from from the fight in the octagon and going to the fighters purse I would say it is very disappointing how the highest earner from that night was not even up to $5million
I know numbers and how hard is it to make $5million but it is robbery that Conor McGregor made over $30million the other night from his fight even though it was a disappointment but Islam going through actual fire made that small.
Although there are private perks this fighters earn that aren't disclosed j believe the money for this fighters putting themselves through hell is small.