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UFC on FOX Dillishaw vs Barao II

Main Card:

T.J. Dillashaw (C) vs. Renan Barao for the Bantemweight Championship of the world
Jessica Eye vs. Miesha Tate
Edson Barboza vs. Paul Felder
Takanori Gomi vs. Joe Lauzon

Preliminary Card:

Tom Lawlor vs. Gian Villante
Danny Castillo vs. Jim Miller
Kenny Robertson vs. Ben Saunders
Bryan Caraway vs. Eddie Wineland

Preliminary Card (4 PM ET, Fight Pass)

Daron Cruickshank vs. James Krause
Andrew Holbrook vs. Ramsey Nijem
Jessamyn Duke vs. Elizabeth Phillips
Zak Cummings vs. Dominique Steele


We got a very interesting rematch tomorrow: Dillishaw-Barao II after the incredible performance by TJ that was undoubtedly one of the finest performances in the history of the sport. He utilized amazing footwork and put on a kick-boxing clinic on the former top 5 p4p ranked Barao who was on a 32 fight win streak! A large part of this success is due to his coach former ufc fighter Duane 'bang' Ludwig, who is responsible for one of the biggest improvements in a fight Team's performance I've ever seen. the technical striking and Intelligent gameplans he implemented(ala TJ vs Barao in the first fight) resulted in title-shots for multiple fighters like uriah faber, chad mendes, joseph beneviedez while.  TJ still trains at both alpha male and with Duane after he moved, which will be a big help for him in preparation for this fight.

I think TJ's gameplan will be much the same as the first fight, maybe initiating grappling exchanges more in an attempt to tire Barao. his movement will be key here as he has a speed advantage over the larger Barao, who has struggled to make weight several times, even cancelling the rematch in the first place at ufc 177(?) by passing out during the weight cutting process. I'll be watching the weigh ins closely to see how he looks. Another factor to keep in mind is TJ's less than spectacular 1st defense of the belt against joe soto, who accepted the title fight on 1 day's notice while NEVER having fought in the ufc before when barao pulled out of the rematch. TJ eventually got the finish and you can let him of the hook a bit as his gameplan had to completely change on such short notice along with his fighting style, and soto was a real prospect at the time.

Barao on the other hand Trains at Nova uniao alongside the real featherweight champ Jose Aldo (sorry connor! :P ). These are without doubt the 2 best camps for Lower weight classes in the sport and there is a bit of rivalry between them. He's very strong for the weight class, has excellent striking and fantastic jiu jitsu. there's just to many things stopping me from betting on him though, his weight cut issues, where he literally looks like he walked straight out of auscwitz after the weigh ins. Also his 1st fight after losing the belt was against mitch gagnon who is a tough guy and a good fighter but really should of been outclassed by someone of Barao's lvl. But while Renan Ultimately won he looked less than stellar in the process. I'm wondering if he's just not the same fighter anymore. he took a devastating amount of punishment from TJ in the 1st fight.

I think I'll put a small bet on tj outright, and hedge with barao ITD, or by sub if the lines are good enough.

Here's the market: https://www.betfair.com/exchange/mixed-martial-arts/event?id=27492311

sorry for the wall of text.

some pics from 189, that lawler/macdonald fight was one of the best ever, might of been my favorite moment in the sport at the end of round 4 when they were just stood in the middle of the octagon, both faces busted up badly, just standing there staring at each other, neither abcking down.

found out after the fight that mcgregor had a pretty bad knee injury going into the fight, and that he had about the same time in training camp as mendes. but just found out he did NO wrestling practice for this fight..

Was so close to a nice payout at the weekend.

Miesha Tate @ 1/2, was always a definite bet.  Her take down skills are so much better than the rest (apart from Ronda of course).  Happy to see she has another chance at the title but sadly she will be a gallant loser if she fights Ronda again in that title fight.

Edson Barboza @ 8/11, close fight so maybe got a bit lucky with this one.  Almost shed a tear with the spinning back kick that landed flush on Felders groin !! 

All going onto....
Kenny Robertson @ 10/11, I watched the fight and maybe I was presuaded by my bet but I thought Robertson won the fight from the first two rounds.  Surprised why he decided to take Saunders down in the last round as that was where Saunders was most dangerous from his guard and he paid the penalty. 

Missed out on a decent treble there.  I admit I had a little bit on Barao @ 19/10 as I thought the price was too big for a guy who steamrolled the division prior to losing to TJ the 1st time.  That said, it was no fluke and TJ's constant array of accurate shots proved too much. 

Happy that Tom Lawlor won, just for his entrances to both weigh ins and fights.  His Hulk Hogan entrance is the only thing that comes close to both Anderson Silva's Michael Jackson entrance at Pride and Bisping at Manchester in terms of sheer quality.

been busy the the last few days, TJ looked absolutely phenomenal. I barely remember Barao landing anything in the fight, he noticeably looked slower, and worse than in the past. I really think Barao will struggle in the later stages of his career, he's stuck in no man's land at bantamweight, could move up to 145 but there's just such a deep pool of top fighters there that I can't see him getting top 5 the way he looks now. TJ on the other hand, I think Bermudez might be next in line. Then a Mega fight vs Cruz (if he get's healthy).

@Nugget yeah Chad landed some decent shots, but his best offence by far was with the elbows on the ground, he was simply outclassed on the feet. Wouldn't say McGregor was dominant but an amazing win regardless. I would really like to see Chad and Connnor fight again though, when they are bit healthy with full camps. Aldo McGregor is going to be insane though. there's talk it could be in cowboy's stadium...
yeah some great fights in the lower divisions to look forward too, we got Dodson/mighty-mouse rematch as well, that's an underrated one imo

Unlucky WA I was gonna back Miesha for the same reason(even though she ended up out striking eye) but chickened out before the event. I bet Saunders too, but have yet to see the fight. I'll try and find it tonight and give it a watch. Saunders is really fun to watch. Barboza's fight was quality, some amazing technique from both fighters, need to re-watch but those kicks from Edson were possibly the fastest I've ever seen. Both have got good prospects after that fight.

regarding the next card, rousey @ 1.06/1.08 seems generous in all honesty. this is going to be a 1 sided beat-down the likes of which we haven't seen since..well Ronda's last fight. I've been parleying Rousey with most of my top picks for the last 6 months, so it's time for a nice big payday. it should be more like 1.02 for Rousey imo, the gap in talent IS that big.

Just been watching the open workouts of both Rousey and Correia

Correia has some thighs on her, and her low kicks and single strikes look like they pack some power

And... erm... thats about it. Rousey looks superior in just about every other area. Correia looks like a flat-footed, slow, lumbering hulk in comparison

The difference in intensity, energy and sharpness is incredible.

And on the ground, Correia literally looks like a floundering fish out of water, flapping around without a clue.

Razz - I wasn't aware of any hype about Correias hitting power, I was just going on what I saw from her padwork in the open workouts. Her single strikes and low kicks look solid and hefty. But of course this is against a compliant target with little fatigue.

Everything else... the combinations, the speed, the footwork, the sharpness, the clinch, the groundwork, look a long way off Rouseys level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCfWbsXfDsc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqiBodzIDl0

Even if you know nothing about the fighters records, it obvious very quickly from these which is the heavy favourite.

Now if it was a powerlifting competition, that would be different. I bet Correia could squat a fair bit of weight

Maia impressed me, complete domination on the ground, great jiu jitsu on display. surprised how easy that was for him

Funny that Shogun Rua and little Nogeira are fighing again 10 years after their first fight at Pride.  I initially thought easy win for Rua on the bounce back, but he always looks tired in his fights of late.  I think he's 2W-5L in his last 7.  In saying that he has never lost 3 in a row I believe and A.R Nogueira is pretty old.  Tough one to call.

damn this aguilar chick is having her face messed up

I think aguilar is moving up in weight class because her's doesn't exist in the ufc. she does look a bit smaller. Gadelha could easily be the champion right now

Thanks for the info on Shogun. 
Keep the updates between rounds coming guys if you get the chance. cheers

Did he stop trt before or after he was given a 2nd shot at Velasquez?

I must admit it's hard to keep up with who was or wasn't on trt. I thought that was not disclosed?

a lot of them openly did it as it was legal until like last year

"stopped after, he got caught for elevated lvl's at the hunt fight"

hmm... next two fights he lost via 1st round KO.  thanks

silva saved by the bell there

if soa get's in that position again with a  bit of time, it's gsm