UFC 251: Usman v Masvidal *Fight Island Abu Dhabi*

Should be in Vegas, and should be there

Great card!

Usman is so big, but Jorge is such a savage.

If he can hold him off, could be a 3 piece extra crispy, and nothing to drink.,

I'm going to back Jorge as an emotional degen bet. Not like a normal 6 day notice fight, as he has been training for a fight all along. Poirier said he was in camp with him before his fight, and even when Burns got the fight with Usman, Masvidal kept training like he was going to be fighitng.

Would love Max to do it, but think Volkanovski will have more of the same.

Hope Aldo is getting paid well, because I think Yan is like a terminator, lol.

Rose to get that last one back.

I would like to Paige win, just because she gets a lot of **** for being nothing more than someone who is just YOLOing life and not taking herself too seriously.

Reality is, after another layoff and all her arm problems, I think Ribas will annihilate her.

Usman v Masvidal the most interesting fight by far. Can Jorge defend those takedowns and keep things on the feet so he can use his greater striking? If it turns into a takedown/wrestling grind for 5 rounds, going to be tough for Jorge not to gas out and get choked out. Hoping Jorge sparks him early!

Yeah, if he can stop the takedown, I think it's very interesting, or he might even light him up*

*Hoping

T-Mobile was incred when he murdered Askren last year, after all that ****, and did the 3-count flop after, too

That Usman v Covington fight at Xmas is still one of the best fights I've ever seen live. I was expecting them to hump each other, and they just brawled for all 5 rounds.

Hopefully he adopts the same tactic on Saturday, though it's obv very unlikely. Got a £20 free bet, so might chuck it on a Jorge/Aldo double for a sentimental gamble.

The flying knee to KO Askren in 3 seconds was the craziest thing I've ever seen in the UFC!

Jul 10, 2020 -- 6:13PM, wisewords wrote:

The flying knee to KO Askren in 3 seconds was the craziest thing I've ever seen in the UFC!

Friend from California had never been to a UFC card before, which had been pretty unspectacular apart from the Rockhold figh, and the crowd eruption scared her after he did that, lol.

it was epic! Askren is a good **** talker and then he just got shut down.. JUST LIKE THAT!

Yeah, so funny. To be fair, Askren handled it like a champ, though. He was talking to Ariel the other day, as it was the anniversary, and just laughing about it.

I stayed up later than usual all week, so I should be nice and fresh for a 7am finish tonight.

Just see they're planning on 19th December in Vegas for Fury/Wilder 3, and I'm booked to be out there from the start of Dec until NYE. Will definitely try and nick some nosebleeds for that if it's on.

Jul 11, 2020 -- 5:02PM, TimmyRiggins wrote:

Yeah, so funny. To be fair, Askren handled it like a champ, though. He was talking to Ariel the other day, as it was the anniversary, and just laughing about it.I stayed up later than usual all week, so I should be nice and fresh for a 7am finish tonight.Just see they're planning on 19th December in Vegas for Fury/Wilder 3, and I'm booked to be out there from the start of Dec until NYE. Will definitely try and nick some nosebleeds for that if it's on.

Yeah saw these chats with Ariel. The whole thing is so crazy because both Askren and Masvidal are both big personalities who aren't afraid to talk, and who both come across as authentic in their own ways. If Masvidal had flying knee KO'd in 3 seconds some total no namer it wouldn't be so special!

You think the boxing will go ahead with a huge crowd? Still feels doubtful somehow with how crazy the virus is in the USA right now

Should be a good card eh.

Ah wisewords is back.  Where's Mega, clacher these days do you know?

Nope I've not seen clacher for ages

Thug Rose is BACK!

Jul 11, 2020 -- 5:11PM, wisewords wrote:

Jul 11, 2020 --  5:02PM, TimmyRiggins wrote:Yeah, so funny. To be fair, Askren handled it like a champ, though. He was talking to Ariel the other day, as it was the anniversary, and just laughing about it.I stayed up later than usual all week, so I should be nice and fresh for a 7am finish tonight.Just see they're planning on 19th December in Vegas for Fury/Wilder 3, and I'm booked to be out there from the start of Dec until NYE. Will definitely try and nick some nosebleeds for that if it's on.Yeah saw these chats with Ariel. The whole thing is so crazy because both Askren and Masvidal are both big personalities who aren't afraid to talk, and who both come across as authentic in their own ways. If Masvidal had flying knee KO'd in 3 seconds some total no namer it wouldn't be so special!

They took so long to get Askren into the UFC, and he had such a reputation. Then after the (dubious) win over Lawler in his first fight, they were clucking for him to get murdered, lol.

I've no idea about the boxing, but I'd imagine they get get 20k into the Allegiant stadium and still be 'socially distanced'.

If the donald had his way, they'd all be back to 2019 rules now

Jul 12, 2020 -- 4:27AM, wisewords wrote:

Thug Rose is BACK!

That was superb. Love Rose, she's such a savage. Can't believe she was still trying to fight her in the same way, when she couldn't even see.

Aldo looked great, but just gassed and you can't do that against a savage.

Max was close, but could have gone either way, and could watch those 2 fight 10 times.

Usman was as we expected, but Jorge did better than most have against him.

Max/Volko was such a 50/50 call. I think the takedowns in the 5th really made the difference for Volko. Usman hugged Masvidal against the cage for 4 rounds. Disappointing main event, mainly from Marty Snoozeman's perspective as he'd had a full camp and his performance was lame. He won't be moving the PPV needle for the UFC with those kinda performances

Holloway was robbed IMO

You could make some sort of case for AV in each of the last 3 rounds, and he obviously won the 5th.

Crazy that the UFC prides itself on doing things better than Boxing but then copies one of the dumbest things about it: the 10-9 scoring system.

Holloway was a very clear winner of rounds 1 & 2. The 3rd and 4th you could score either way and they gave both to Alex.  So Holloway has been much better through 4 rounds but it counts for nothing and they are level.

Very slow stoppage in the Yan v Aldo fight.  I almost felt bad for him getting absolutely battered.

Agree sofa, should have been stopped about 20 seconds before it eventually was!

Jul 12, 2020 -- 6:09PM, tobermory wrote:

Holloway was robbed IMOYou could make some sort of case for AV in each of the last 3 rounds, and he obviously won the 5th.Crazy that the UFC prides itself on doing things better than Boxing but then copies one of the dumbest things about it: the 10-9 scoring system.Holloway was a very clear winner of rounds 1 & 2. The 3rd and 4th you could score either way and they gave both to Alex.  So Holloway has been much better through 4 rounds but it counts for nothing and they are level.

I agree that the system is flawed. But if you accept that is the system, Max needed to make more of an impression in the 4th and 5th rounds aka the Championship rounds. Often in a close fight it's the one who dominated the 5th round that gets the decision, especially if it's a reigning Champion. There's definitely a bias towards reigning Champions. We've seen it it with close Jon Jones fights recently

Let's hope they give us what we all want. Volko v Holloway 3 with a decisive winner!

Ten point must is flawed, but it is what it is, and Max definitely wasn't what I would call a robbery.

Dana's plan played out, feeding Paige to a future monster, and negates any need to make her a decent offer in free agency.

Aldo is going to have a headache for 3 weeks, as Joey Diaz said. That wasn't good at all, and I'd imagine that ref will have an earache today.

As wisewords says, the champion often gets the nod in close rounds, and you have to 'beat the champion'. I thought Max did enough to win, but wasn't surprised.

Usman just did what we thought he would. Not flashy, but he's trying to build a legacy, and someone is going to have to wrestle that belt off him.

When do you think we'll see the likes of Jon Jones and Conor McGregor return to action TR?

Conor likely won't fight until they can fill the T-Mobile, so I'd think it'll be 2021 at the earliest.

Jones is only going to fight his mandatories, because he tried strong arming Dana and got told to GTFO, as everyone does. I imagine he'll fight whoever is next in line sometime before Xmas at the Apex.

if that happens, who next for Conor? Khabib?

No idea, as so much can change between now and then. I know he wants Khabib, but who knows what will happen with him after his father passed away.

Dana giving him some space, but still expects him to fight Justin in September imo

Jul 14, 2020 -- 10:02PM, wisewords wrote:

Dana giving him some space, but still expects him to fight Justin in September imo

Love that fight, especially since Wittman has Gaethje fighting a bit smarter now.

Think that will depend on Khabib, though. Justin is next for him, and unless he's sitting out until next year because of his old man, no chance he fights Conor.

Makes sense for Dana to try and make that, as he wants Conor to rematch Khabib, too.

Ah, I misunderstood, you were talking about Khabib, not Conor.

Yeah, that makes sense, and Conor could fight Dustin, I guess.

I agree with what you've said about Conor, that he won't fight until 2021 and they can do crowds again. I think Khabib will end up fighting Justin at Fight Island in September or October. What's next for Jon Jones is more of a mystery to me. He won't actually retire, will he? Surely not.

They might do it at the Island, or maybe they'll do it somewhere they can have crowds, as they'll want maximum revenue for that.

I don't think he'll retire, but he'll just fight Reyes, Santos, and anyone else in line, rather than going up to fight Cormier at HW or Ngannou.

Feels like Jones is way past his peak and wants a big payday for his next tough fight because when he loses the level of money he can demand diminishes significantly

No doubt he is close to it, and fights much more cautiously in recent times, just getting the win, rather than trying to do anything snazzy.

I hope Dana meets his demands somewhere in the middle, so he can fight Ngannou, and get his clock cleaned!

Jones would take Ngannou down and dominate him on the ground?

He'd have to try, I think.

Interesting to see if he could get him there, and then hold him there.

Francis is like 265 shredded, and prob closer to 280.

40-50lbs is a decent chunk, and I think Francis' tdd is likely better than when he fought Stipe.

Stipe did it, made Ngannou look like a total novice!!

Stipe is a little bit higher up the wrestling food chain than Jon Jones, and that was 2 1/2 years ago.

I want to see it. Make the fight TR!

Jul 19, 2020 -- 6:31PM, wisewords wrote:

I want to see it. Make the fight TR!

I'd have had them fighting on the same card as Colby Usman if I had my way, lol.

Dana has shown everyone else up this last few months, seeing what he has put on, while boxing has been toiling.

Fast car will have the fights in his garden, which should be decent enough, but taken some time to get going.

I haven't even dare watch Uncle Bob's Vegas cards, as I can only imagine it was people they pulled out of CVS in half the bouts, from what I heard about them


Jon is going to have to get back on this planet, if he wants the fight to happen. He's not getting mid 8s for any fight, especially given how average his PPV numbers are.

Dana has indeed shown the world who's boss when it comes to combat sports. By the time Eddie puts on his first 'Fight Camp' show, the UFC will be on their 14th event the same night!!

14th event since the pandemic shut everything down and stopped crowds. Bob's cards in Vegas have been very boring, you've not missed anything important. I've only watched a couple of them

Jon Jones doesn't realise his PPVs don't draw the same way McGregor or Masvidal ones do. All the hardcores know him, but most of the casuals don't really know him. Especially the ones who've only really got into the UFC recently

I know the fighters don't get a big enough revenue cut from the company, but if they just moan about it in interviews, and don't try doing something, it's hard to feel too bad for them,

Jones thinks that because Dana says he's the GOAT, that means he'll bend over backwards, and that's not how it works. He has been given more rope than anyone, purely because Dana is a businessman, and is trying his luck. Can't blame him, but no dice, for sure.

Hasn't Bricktop claimed first back this side of the pond anyway? Didn't they have a show the other night?

Yeah they did, at the BT Sport Studios. The main event was Brad Foster v someone, a British title defence. The UFC have really flexed their muscle during this pandemic and shown Matchroom/boxing as a whole to be tinpot operations in comparison to the UFC. 13 shows before Eddie puts on anything at all in the UK or US! It's crazy how far ahead the UFC are

UFC had to do it, though. Think their obligation to ESPN is worth ~ 750m to them, and I got the impression they'd have been doing the 2016 style IFWs for the rest of the year if things had been held up too long.

I went to all 3 cards in 2016, and that even tired me out just watching, lol.

Khabib ruled himself out of UFC 253. who's Justin going to fight now?

Probably Dustin, but would imagine they'd like to do Conor.

Conor is RETIRED, TR!

Jul 25, 2020 -- 6:16PM, wisewords wrote:

Conor is RETIRED, TR!

He's as much retired, as I am a shrewd punter

Anyone watching Till v Whittaker?

Till's in trouble if he's kept on the floor.

Good fight that.

close fight, but Whittaker won imo. correct decision

Yeah, had Whittaker winning 3-4 of the rounds, def.

Not seen the presser, but was Till hurt as they got to middle of the fight?

Was interesting, and like to see them fight again down the line.

Till said that the knee stomp made his knee go pop and his movement was compromised from that point onwards. still, he said he was making no excuses

Jul 26, 2020 -- 8:11PM, wisewords wrote:

Till said that the knee stomp made his knee go pop and his movement was compromised from that point onwards. still, he said he was making no excuses

Ah, that makes some sense then. Good thing about most british UFC MMA fighters.

They don't make too many excuses when they lose, just shrug their shoulders, and crack on.

Doesn't look like we're going back to Fight Island until October now TR

Got an event every week until the Khabib fight, too

test

test. test. this is a test. hi Timmy!

Been away for a few weeks, and haven't bothered with a VPN on my laptop so seen nothing.

Think we might see Woodley get retired tonight, or sent to Bellator.

Woodley has way too punch shy these days. he doesn't let his hands go and loses by default

STOP STOP I HURT MY RIB

Price very happy with the draw but he fully deserved to win.

Ha the Donald called Colby while he was being interviewed.

Yeah, Woodley has been done for ages.

Too many fingers, in too many other pies.

Price got what he deserved, because he kept poking him in the ****g eye.

Would have certainly won the first two rounds, but for that.

Sep 20, 2020 -- 4:25AM, sofaking wrote:

Ha the Donald called Colby while he was being interviewed.

Lol, just saw that now.

Funny!

Timmy, how do you see Adesanya v Costa playing out?

Think Costa is going to walk around the cage after him like a robot, but Izzy will be too evasive and sharp with his striking.

Not going to be like the Romero fight, though.

Adesanya points decision then

Yeah, if it was 3 rounds I'd 100% be on that.

Costa never gone 5, though. Not sure how he's going to hold up if he tries going Romero pace for 25 minutes.

Costa to knock him tf out.

you think sofa?

Just a wild guess ww.  Hopefully a good fight.

Whoa, slugfest this.

Why didn't Toe Rogan go to Abu Dhabi?  Afraid of the 'rona?

Small lay of Reyes at 1.43 here.

he never travels for the international cards. just does the big US shows now

Sep 27, 2020 -- 4:51AM, wisewords wrote:

he never travels for the international cards. just does the big US shows now

Your prediction for this?

Greened up.

Good work Jan.  I'll go for Costa by KO, TKO or DQ.- 3.80

Costa been terrible here. Barely landed a punch.

Ricky got absolutely destroyed. 

Rogan only ever does the numbered events, mostly Vegas/Cali, unless it's a fight he really wants to see and will travel to NY.

Rogan has his own sauna and takes vitamin d, he's safe from the 'rona'.

Costa's legs as much use as mine after 5 minutes of that.

Some performance, we have our next superstar.

Where you at Jon Jones?

Sep 27, 2020 -- 6:48PM, TimmyRiggins wrote:

Rogan only ever does the numbered events, mostly Vegas/Cali, unless it's a fight he really wants to see and will travel to NY.Rogan has his own sauna and takes vitamin d, he's safe from the 'rona'.

yeah Timmy but he doesn't even do numbered events outside of the USA for quite a while now. he's only doing the US numbered events. Joe Rogan does what Joe Rogan wants!

Yeah, that's what I meant in saying that he'd travel to NY if he really wanted to see the event.

He's talked about it several times in the last few years, and negotiated his events down everytime it's due.

Baba 'o' Riley came on in a video advert today, and made me sad that I've not heard that at an event since last December

Sep 27, 2020 -- 6:52PM, wisewords wrote:

Sep 27, 2020 --  6:48PM, TimmyRiggins wrote:Rogan only ever does the numbered events, mostly Vegas/Cali, unless it's a fight he really wants to see and will travel to NY.Rogan has his own sauna and takes vitamin d, he's safe from the 'rona'.yeah Timmy but he doesn't even do numbered events outside of the USA for quite a while now. he's only doing the US numbered events. Joe Rogan does what Joe Rogan wants!

he's being silenced and censored by Spotify though.  The SJWs want to take him down because he said transgenders shouldn't fight in women's MMA. He knew he'd be censored at Spotify and only went there for the money though. Sold his soul a long time ago.

Going to be weird when Rogan isn't on YouTube anymore

Lol silenced, yeah, ok... A few morons are griefing him, like they do about something in almost every podcast.

Surprised you made it back in time from the Icke protests to watch this on Saturday, Sofa

Sep 28, 2020 -- 11:26PM, wisewords wrote:

Going to be weird when Rogan isn't on YouTube anymore

Mate of mine in LA has got a family account, with her sister and couple friends. She's going to add me to it, and I said I'll get her dinner in Vegas next summer.

I can just use that when he does finally migrate, but will definitely be odd for a while. Not sure how much an account is, but imagine it's not going to be too cheap for adfree etc.

Spotify is pretty cheap Timmy. I think that Family account for Spotify Premium is $14.99 a month

Sep 29, 2020 -- 12:21AM, TimmyRiggins wrote:

Lol silenced, yeah, ok... A few morons are griefing him, like they do about something in almost every podcast.Surprised you made it back in time from the Icke protests to watch this on Saturday, Sofa

Never been to an Icke protest. I don't even live in the UK.  Yes Joe has been silenced by the Spotify SJWs.  Any podcast he ever had with so-called eight wing figures is not available on Spotify. You think they'd ever allow Joe to have the likes of Alex Jones, Milo Yan....., Gabon McInnes etc on the show again. Joe took the knee and sold his soul a long time ago.

*right-wing. *Gavin. Ffs predictive text.

Sep 29, 2020 -- 3:00PM, wisewords wrote:

Spotify is pretty cheap Timmy. I think that Family account for Spotify Premium is $14.99 a month

That's not too bad, I won't just take her to panda express if it's saving me £100 a year, lol.

Sep 29, 2020 -- 10:47PM, sofaking wrote:

Sep 29, 2020 -- 12:21AM, TimmyRiggins wrote:Lol silenced, yeah, ok... A few morons are griefing him, like they do about something in almost every podcast.Surprised you made it back in time from the Icke protests to watch this on Saturday, SofaNever been to an Icke protest. I don't even live in the UK.