🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[OgNasty]

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Petr Yan VS Sean O'Malley will be an amazing fight to watch, I'm sure about it. In this fight, we will really see striking skills. The first fight was so amazing and Yan was terribly robbed.

This is the matchup to make right now. Even Sean O'Malley is calling for the title shot, and it is possible we will see this matchup next. The other opponent option is Song Yadong, after his upset win over Umar Nurmagomedov. With the way Petr Yan won against Merab, Yan will be the favorite going into the match.

In the second fight (if it happens) Yan will be robbed again UFC would put a lot of effort to make their milking cow O'Malley have belt again. Sean is way more media guy than Yan and he would definitely sell more and bring more people to follow UFC. There no secret how fight would go. Sean will take first round, then all he needs to do is not to let Yan dominate and he will win 29-28 again. As a champ Yan will be a favorite by bookies, but that is also exactly what I and UFC need

I am not sure the UFC has any say in the appointment of the referee or the ringside judges. If my understanding is correct, the commission overseeing the event handles these aspects. It is true that the UFC would prefer Sean O'Malley as their champion, as he has the ability to generate hype.

I don’t think Yan got robbed against Suga Sean. I think he just matches up horribly against him. He’s way too short and Sean has a crazy reach for that weight class. That matches Sean’s biggest strength with Yan’s biggest weakness. Yan might even be the better fighter overall, but in this matchup I think Suga wins.

[pawel7777]

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I don’t think Yan got robbed against Suga Sean. I think he just matches up horribly against him. He’s way too short and Sean has a crazy reach for that weight class. That matches Sean’s biggest strength with Yan’s biggest weakness. Yan might even be the better fighter overall, but in this matchup I think Suga wins.

When I watched the fight, I thought Yan did enough to win. He was the favourite and Sean did well neutralising most of Yan's attempts, which was a positive surprise and he did better than I expected, but I still saw Yan as the winner.
Even Sean initially said that he thought he lost. He later changed his mind, saying he re-watched the fight and thought he rightfully scored more points.

Anyhow, a controversy is a good thing, and it helps to sell the rematch.
Unless one of them gets injured, I can't imagine the UFC not pairing them up for their next fight. I think both of them would want it.

[TopTort777]

I'm hearing rumours about Islam's potential retirement.
Mainstream media are already reporting on this: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/articles/cq70p7lx04eeo but according to this article, he said that his next fight will be "one of the last" in his career, so not the last one.
It would be a shame if he retired after his next fight. He just turned 35 a few days ago and I expected him to fight for at least another year, maybe two. Justin Gaethje reached the top of the toughest weight class at 37, so Islam calling it a day at 35 would seem a bit premature, but he knows himself best, and it's his decision to make.

The UFC won't be the same without him. When Khabib retired, Islam carried on his legacy, but with Islam departure, the era of undefeatable Dagestanis comes to an end. Umar is not quite up there in terms of expectations. Maybe if Usman Nurmagomedov signs up with the UFC the story will continue, but I don't think he's the same calibre.

Islam holds a record for the longest win streak in UFC history, currently at 17.

If he listens to Khabib, who has said about fighter has only one prime and after 33 should retire, then Islam should have retired long time ago. I think its not right to use age factor as some kind of measurement how long fighters should keep fighting. Gaethje took belt at 37, but nobody believed in him, the same as nobody believe he would beat Pimblett. Randy Couture took belt at 44, Texeira at 42, Anderson Silva defended title when was almost 40. That does not mean that Islam should fight till he turns 64 (that is the age when men in Russia can go to pension officially)

If we look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_UFC_records#Most_wins I dont see what record could Islam beat if he keep on fighting. He could have returned to lightweight and have 2 more wins to set record by wins in single division.

[Synchronice]

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I noticed a recent news about Islam Makhachev, where he hinted at his retirement. Looking at the headline of the news, it seemed that the next match could be his last match. But he has not clarified the matter yet. Khabib's retirement came quite unexpectedly, where he mentioned the death of his father and said that he would not fight again. Islam Makhachev's fight match is now equal to Khabib's. He is in a good position now. Even during Khabib's time, he decided to retire at the best of his career. Although, if his father had not died, we could have seen some more fights.

It looks like Islam Makhachev has hinted about having his last fight through his social media page. He wants the winner between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. If that turns out to be his very last fight, I won't be surprised. He has turned 35, and Umar Nurmagomedov just suffered a knockout defeat. These factors are more than enough to trigger serious discussions about retirement, and that might be why they reached this conclusion.

He said it will be one of his last fight, not his latest fight in UFC, which means that maybe he will fight once more again after this upcoming fight and then he will retire.
Honestly, he is 35 years old and has a perfect record. He is also in a higher division, which, I think that makes things easier for him in terms of weight cut but it also makes his every fight riskier because he has to face bigger opponents. It will be the perfect move for him to finish his career after two fights. He will keep an amazing record and he will also have lots of money in the pocket.

[BluebloodCXVI]

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Petr Yan VS Sean O'Malley will be an amazing fight to watch, I'm sure about it. In this fight, we will really see striking skills. The first fight was so amazing and Yan was terribly robbed.

This is the matchup to make right now. Even Sean O'Malley is calling for the title shot, and it is possible we will see this matchup next. The other opponent option is Song Yadong, after his upset win over Umar Nurmagomedov. With the way Petr Yan won against Merab, Yan will be the favorite going into the match.

In the second fight (if it happens) Yan will be robbed again UFC would put a lot of effort to make their milking cow O'Malley have belt again. Sean is way more media guy than Yan and he would definitely sell more and bring more people to follow UFC. There no secret how fight would go. Sean will take first round, then all he needs to do is not to let Yan dominate and he will win 29-28 again. As a champ Yan will be a favorite by bookies, but that is also exactly what I and UFC need

I am not sure the UFC has any say in the appointment of the referee or the ringside judges. If my understanding is correct, the commission overseeing the event handles these aspects. It is true that the UFC would prefer Sean O'Malley as their champion, as he has the ability to generate hype.

I don’t think Yan got robbed against Suga Sean. I think he just matches up horribly against him. He’s way too short and Sean has a crazy reach for that weight class. That matches Sean’s biggest strength with Yan’s biggest weakness. Yan might even be the better fighter overall, but in this matchup I think Suga wins.

OG let’s be honest here, Petr Yan was robbed against O Malley and nobody can convince me otherwise cos i watched it live.
The most correct possible outcome of that fight should have been a draw but someway somehow they just had to tilt it to favor Sean O Malley when the fight stats and the media were saying otherwise; c’mon now we know how all these things go but let’s pretend like we don’t.

I hope Yan gives Sean that rematch though, would love to see them run it back especially with Yan current form. Merab beat Sean twice but Yan beat merab twice too, i think that shows that he’s a better all round fighter than Sean even currently and if they were to fight, i strongly believe he would win, hell i would even bet on it especially if it’s a five round fight.

[TopTort777]

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I noticed a recent news about Islam Makhachev, where he hinted at his retirement. Looking at the headline of the news, it seemed that the next match could be his last match. But he has not clarified the matter yet. Khabib's retirement came quite unexpectedly, where he mentioned the death of his father and said that he would not fight again. Islam Makhachev's fight match is now equal to Khabib's. He is in a good position now. Even during Khabib's time, he decided to retire at the best of his career. Although, if his father had not died, we could have seen some more fights.

It looks like Islam Makhachev has hinted about having his last fight through his social media page. He wants the winner between Carlos Prates and Michael Morales. If that turns out to be his very last fight, I won't be surprised. He has turned 35, and Umar Nurmagomedov just suffered a knockout defeat. These factors are more than enough to trigger serious discussions about retirement, and that might be why they reached this conclusion.

He said it will be one of his last fight, not his latest fight in UFC, which means that maybe he will fight once more again after this upcoming fight and then he will retire.
Honestly, he is 35 years old and has a perfect record. He is also in a higher division, which, I think that makes things easier for him in terms of weight cut but it also makes his every fight riskier because he has to face bigger opponents. It will be the perfect move for him to finish his career after two fights. He will keep an amazing record and he will also have lots of money in the pocket.

We can look on situation with Makhachev retirement differently. Despite Prates and Morales, who deserve or have chance to beat him? This should be a guy with big skulls in his record and good series of wins (lets say 3-4 win streak as minimum). Maybe Bonfim only is a decent opponent, but Makhachev also need for Bonfim to win his next fights, otherwise he misses title chance. It will be again, waiting for Islam. Waiting is no good for him. Then maybe he is thinking about retirement, because sees lack of challenge in nearest time. Fighting everyone just to fight also is not the best option.