- Keith Berish was very briefly linked to a bout with Jake Collier at the event. However, Berish pulled out due to injury on March 31 and was replaced by promotional newcomer Alberto Uda.
- Joe Proctor was expected to face Erik Koch at the event. However, Proctor pulled out of the fight on April 21 citing injury and was replaced by Shane Campbell.
- Carlos Diego Ferreira was expected to face Abel Trujillo, but was pulled from the event on May 13 due to a potential USADA anti-doping violation stemming from a recent out-of-competition sample collection. In accordance with the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, Ferreira has received a provisional suspension. Additional violation information will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Jordan Rinaldi.
Rekrul is a newb
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PuertoRican United States. May 21 2016 08:28. Posts 13044
soberstone United States. May 21 2016 19:37. Posts 2662
Agree, nice card.
Agree with all the picks except the main and co-main. I think they are very close fights but I lean Almeida and Stephens.
Barao is obviously faster and more technical but I have a feeling the minute Stephens lands even somewhat clean it's gonna hurt Renan whereas Jeremy is durable as hell.
Last edit: 21/05/2016 19:42
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Minsk United States. May 22 2016 03:57. Posts 1558
I'm beginning to think Masvidal is being underrated here, hes very game.
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traxamillion United States. May 22 2016 05:51. Posts 10468
I'm on garbrandt here
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PuertoRican United States. May 22 2016 08:57. Posts 13044
Rekrul is a newb
Last edit: 25/05/2016 07:06
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PuertoRican United States. May 24 2016 21:28. Posts 13044
Taken from some guy's post at another website: "I’m no longer very pumped for this fight. Dr. Johnny Benjamin was very vocal this morning on Twitter regarding his surprise at the NSAC clearing Story to compete after a 2 level cervical disk replacement. Between that and Saffiedine barely being cleared at fight, this just isn’t anything close to being two healthy, in-their-prime contenders ready to compete."
Stim_Abuser United States. May 25 2016 02:42. Posts 7499
I feel like a good counter boxer with power is a tough match up for Almeida, but at the same time Codys only fought 1 guy with a wiki page, Brimmage, who is 1-5 in his last 6 and it was a relatively competitive fight until Cody got the tko. Cody could have all kinds of holes in his game that we don't know about yet.
Barao vs Stephens is a pick em. Kind of a wild card with Barao because we don't know how good he'll be after those beatings TJ gave him. He took a lot of damage in those fights and the one fight in between looked very mediocre. The lack of one of the worst weight cuts in MMA might make him better though.
Think Tarec beats story if it happens. Better striking and good enough TDD to get it done.
Larkin beats Masvidal via overwhelming him with his power. Masvidal defense is slick but the power difference is too much.
Hey Im slinging mad volume and fat stackin benjies I dont got time for spellin n shit - skinny pete
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Minsk United States. May 27 2016 14:28. Posts 1558
Almeida > Garbrandt (too technical)
Barao > Stephens (don't doubt the heart of a champion)
Story vs Safferdine (Safferdine seems more stable mentally, don't know enough)
Mirranda vs Cammozi (Dont know enough)
Masvidal > Larkin (If I had to pick, Masvidal is scappy and doesnt fear strikers)
Felder > Burkman (close to a lock)
McMann > Eye (Seems like a good bet)
Campbell > Koch (Wouldn't bet it, but Campbell seems much better)
I think Almeida wins by KO. I see wild exchanges here and Almeida is pretty good at that, Garbrandt not so much.
Last edit: 27/05/2016 18:13
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iakim322 United States. May 28 2016 01:18. Posts 1335
I like Almeida here as well. Thought he handled the little bit of adversity against Pickett really well with composure and that was overlooked a bit due to the highlight reel KO that followed soon after so not quite as worried if Cody does catch him here and there while Thomas racks up more of the damage
Stephens > Barao just because Stephens is game as f and can't really back Barao until he actually shows how he does without his regular cut unless he was facing a chinny or fragile 145'er. And Stephens obv isn't that
Don't think you can really bet Tarec vs Story with all the health question marks for both fighters coming in. Would prob lean Story to grind out a split if forced
Think Larkin will use mainly a stick and move strat against Masvidal using what should be a noticeable hand speed advantage and should get the job done. Don't ever like betting much against Masvidal though since he sneakily gets his opponents to fight at his pace very often
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iakim322 United States. May 28 2016 01:20. Posts 1335
[QUOTE]On May 27 2016 13:28 Minsk wrote:
Barao > Stephens (don't doubt the heart of a champion)
QUOTE]
This is going to be my generic, blanket reasoning for backing Weidman when he gets healthy again
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PuertoRican United States. May 28 2016 02:37. Posts 13044
On May 27 2016 13:28 Minsk wrote:
Almeida > Garbrandt (too technical)
Barao > Stephens (don't doubt the heart of a champion)
Story vs Saffiedine (Saffiedine seems more stable mentally, don't know enough)
Miranda vs Camozzi (Don't know enough)
Masvidal > Larkin (If I had to pick, Masvidal is scrappy and doesn't fear strikers)
Felder > Burkman (close to a lock)
McMann > Eye (Seems like a good bet)
Campbell > Koch (Wouldn't bet it, but Campbell seems much better)
- What area is Almeida more technical than Garbrandt in? Almeida uses punches and knees, but his punches aren't more technical than Garbrandt's. Almeida has the better BJJ, but he never uses it and he won't submit Garbrandt. Garbrandt has the wrestling advantage. Defensively and movement wise, Garbrandt is better.
- Yes, Barao is a former champion. However, he is coming off 2 brutal knockouts in 2 of his last 3 fights. He had a close fight against Mitch Gagnon before Gagnon gassed out and slowed down from pushing the pace in the first two rounds. Stephens will be taller, stronger, he hits harder, and has the better chin. Remember that Stephens was a 155'er for a long time before dropping to 145, while Barao was a lifelong 135'er who is coming up to 145 for the first time.
- "Masvidal is scrappy and doesn't fear strikers" = You just described Larkin. Larkin is the bigger, stronger, faster, more diverse striker who used to fight at 205 and 185, while Masvidal is a lifelong 155'er who recently came to 170. Larkin is more active with his strikes, and since Masvidal doesn't have 1-punch KO power, he will be able to be more active than his last fight. Masvidal is also notorious for giving away fights he thinks he's winning (it's been his biggest problem for many years).
- Felder isn't a lock at all. If Burkman has a good weight cut this time, Felder will look as square as his previous 2 fights.
- I think Campbell will win, but you can't really say he seems much better, mostly because Koch hasn't fought in almost 2 years, so we don't know how he'll look. Skill wise in MMA, Koch is much better, but Campbell is improving in every fight. Campbell's problem is that he's still "green" in MMA, so he'll lose to pretty much anyone in the top 10 right now, but he has a lot of potential. Once he works on his TDD a bit more, he'll be able to use his professional kickboxing skills and own a lot of fighters.
Rekrul is a newb
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soberstone United States. May 28 2016 09:20. Posts 2662
I think Stevens via KO is a good prop at +350, as well as Eye and Camozzi have value as moderate dogs.
I like Story and Almeida at the odds they are at as well.
I'm really confident that Almeida is going to get the W, probably by KO in the middle rounds, but I don't really have any good reason to feel so confident. I think its because Garbrandt was unimpressive vs Briones and Almeida has shown me that he gets better when the going gets tough and when he goes into 5th gear its scary stuff.
Last edit: 29/05/2016 01:38
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soberstone United States. May 29 2016 01:41. Posts 2662
On May 28 2016 00:20 iakim322 wrote:
[QUOTE]On May 27 2016 13:28 Minsk wrote:
Barao > Stephens (don't doubt the heart of a champion)
QUOTE]
This is going to be my generic, blanket reasoning for backing Weidman when he gets healthy again
Ya solid, lol. But I can't talk.
It was subliminally my retarded reasoning when I lost over a grand on Weidman last year.
Consciously I had convinced myself he was better than Luke everywhere, but I was just fooling myself because I love the guy so much and thought he'd 'find a way' as long as it was a close fight.
Last edit: 29/05/2016 01:41
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PuertoRican United States. May 29 2016 02:55. Posts 13044
Thomas Almeida (136) vs. Cody Garbrandt (135.5)
Renan Barao (146) vs. Jeremy Stephens (146)
Tarec Saffiedine (170) vs. Rick Story (171)
Chris Camozzi (186) vs. Vitor Miranda (186)
Lorenz Larkin (171) vs. Jorge Masvidal (170.5)
Josh Burkman (156) vs. Paul Felder (155.5)
Jessica Eye (134.5) vs. Sara McMann (135.5)
Jordan Rinaldi (156) vs. Abel Trujillo (155.5)
Jake Collier (185.5) vs. Alberto Uda (185)
Shane Campbell (156) vs. Erik Koch (155.5)
Bryan Caraway (135.5) vs. Aljamain Sterling (135.5)
Chris DeLaRocha (243) vs. Adam Milstead (235)
Rekrul is a newb
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soberstone United States. May 29 2016 04:44. Posts 2662
Stephens with the shove, homie don't play
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Minsk United States. May 29 2016 05:16. Posts 1558
On May 27 2016 13:28 Minsk wrote:
Almeida > Garbrandt (too technical)
Barao > Stephens (don't doubt the heart of a champion)
Story vs Saffiedine (Saffiedine seems more stable mentally, don't know enough)
Miranda vs Camozzi (Don't know enough)
Masvidal > Larkin (If I had to pick, Masvidal is scrappy and doesn't fear strikers)
Felder > Burkman (close to a lock)
McMann > Eye (Seems like a good bet)
Campbell > Koch (Wouldn't bet it, but Campbell seems much better)
- What area is Almeida more technical than Garbrandt in? Almeida uses punches and knees, but his punches aren't more technical than Garbrandt's. Almeida has the better BJJ, but he never uses it and he won't submit Garbrandt. Garbrandt has the wrestling advantage. Defensively and movement wise, Garbrandt is better.
- Yes, Barao is a former champion. However, he is coming off 2 brutal knockouts in 2 of his last 3 fights. He had a close fight against Mitch Gagnon before Gagnon gassed out and slowed down from pushing the pace in the first two rounds. Stephens will be taller, stronger, he hits harder, and has the better chin. Remember that Stephens was a 155'er for a long time before dropping to 145, while Barao was a lifelong 135'er who is coming up to 145 for the first time.
- "Masvidal is scrappy and doesn't fear strikers" = You just described Larkin. Larkin is the bigger, stronger, faster, more diverse striker who used to fight at 205 and 185, while Masvidal is a lifelong 155'er who recently came to 170. Larkin is more active with his strikes, and since Masvidal doesn't have 1-punch KO power, he will be able to be more active than his last fight. Masvidal is also notorious for giving away fights he thinks he's winning (it's been his biggest problem for many years).
- Felder isn't a lock at all. If Burkman has a good weight cut this time, Felder will look as square as his previous 2 fights.
- I think Campbell will win, but you can't really say he seems much better, mostly because Koch hasn't fought in almost 2 years, so we don't know how he'll look. Skill wise in MMA, Koch is much better, but Campbell is improving in every fight. Campbell's problem is that he's still "green" in MMA, so he'll lose to pretty much anyone in the top 10 right now, but he has a lot of potential. Once he works on his TDD a bit more, he'll be able to use his professional kickboxing skills and own a lot of fighters.
Thanks.
I didn't know about the natural weight difference. That definitely changes my mind with Larkin.
Agree completely about Barao, but in the end, I'm on the (don't doubt the heart of a champion) line and scared to bet against him.
Completely disagree and agree completely with Soberstone on Almeida.
Still think Felder is a lock.
Also think Campbell is actually better overall and Koch sucks, but he might be in a Barboza vs Pettis spot where his narrow skillset outclasses Campbells wider one.
On May 28 2016 00:20 iakim322 wrote:
[QUOTE]On May 27 2016 13:28 Minsk wrote:
Barao > Stephens (don't doubt the heart of a champion)
QUOTE]
This is going to be my generic, blanket reasoning for backing Weidman when he gets healthy again
Ya solid, lol. But I can't talk.
It was subliminally my retarded reasoning when I lost over a grand on Weidman last year.
Consciously I had convinced myself he was better than Luke everywhere, but I was just fooling myself because I love the guy so much and thought he'd 'find a way' as long as it was a close fight.
Well, there's your flaw right there. The thing is Rockhold is also a champion...lol.
