UFC FN 98: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson - Page 2

RDA is like my perfect MMA fighter. Insanely aggressive and violent, uses every single aspect in MMA from boxing to leg kicks to wrestling and BJJ. Even his slaps at the end of the Nate fight are violent as fuck. None stop cardio and humble as fuck. He made no excuses after Alvarez beat him nor did he say it was a lucky punch. Just said Alvarez was the better man that night and he'd be back.

He's got insanely unlucky and hurt his foot 11 days out of the Conor fight and went from making 5+ million in that fight to headlining a fight night against Alvarez and didn't bitch once.

RDA is the fucking man, I hope he comes back and destroys fools and gets his big payday with Conor and destroys him as well.

Fucking cannetti I was Waiting for that rematch

offtopic (of this thread) but still ontopic (of mma in general)
i was just watching highlights of dillashaw vs cruz and I think that was the best fight ive seen this year from a technical point of view. these guys are def among the p4p best fighters out there imo, it was such a crazy display of ability. what you guys think? i think there were more exciting fights (cant think of any right now but im fairly sure other fights were more entertaining for me this year just cant single out one to make a point right now) but this one was probably that one that made me in awe of how great both fighters were.

It was such a crazy display of agility* -- they're probably the best at that respective style, and probably among top p4p, but its not to say that style's technique is on another level.

Joe Soto steps up on 4.5 days notice to fight Marco Beltran in Mexico City.

Soto is known for good cardio and overwhelming his opponents in Rounds 2 & 3. Beltran will have the technical striking advantage (mostly kicks) and height + length advantage, but Soto will have the wrestling + BJJ + higher striking output advantage. If this fight wasn't on short notice, I'd take Soto all day.

Since Soto is taking it on 4.5 days notice and he's fighting at extremely high elevation and never fought there before, I'm not sure who I'm picking to win just yet. If it goes to a split-decision, Beltran could get the decision just cuz he's a Mexican fighter from Mexico.

Beltran

• longer + taller
• better kicker
• better movement
• hometown advantage

Soto

• wrestling advantage
• massive BJJ advantage
• more aggressive / in your face
• better boxing
• higher striking output
• better cardio, but he's taking this on short notice at extremely high elevation

Update: Soto vs. Beltran will be contested at a catchweight of 140 lbs.

• Barzola: well-rounded fighter as seen on TUF and his real UFC fights where he showed wrestling skills in one fight, and striking skills in others; his line of -550 is a joke and means he's a lock to win this fight, and Barzola shouldn't be -550 against anyone in the UFC, but they pick him to win. Avila: he's a poor version of the Diaz brothers; he's young and might be able to make big improvements in-between fights.

• Reyes: he takes a bunch of punches to land a bunch of punches; he got knocked out against Horacio Gutierrez, and got dropped by Dong Hyun "Maestro" Kim and seems chinny; Reyes goes life-and-death against jobbers in MMA, and is always vulnerable against low level fighters because he's a brawler with low fight IQ; he doesn't have a winning style, it's a blood bath style; Novelli: trains at Cerrone's camp in New Mexico; Novelli will be the taller and rangier guy; he'll have the longer strikes and better jabs. Both pick Novelli to win.

• Alex Nicholson lives and trains in Florida, the state with the lowest elevation in USA. He went to Mexico City 2 weeks before his fight to acclimate to the super high elevation. They pick Alvey to win because Nicholson leaves himself open to counters.

• Andrade: he's explosive but has low striking output, and this is his first fight outside of Brazil; he gasses in his fights, and this fight is at super high elevation; Andrade hasn't fought in 1.5 years. Briones: a brawler with a good chin; good cardio; hometown advantage in Mexico; Briones hasn't fought in over a year. Both pick Briones to win.

• Griffin: good striking with his hands; he showed nothing in his UFC debut, and didn't use his hands when he was given the chance to stay on the feet; Montano: terrible take down attempts; low fight IQ. Both think Griffin will win if he keeps the fight where he wants it.

• Soto vs. Beltran is a 140 pound catchweight. Soto is more skilled in every area, but the 5-day short notice at super high elevation is the deciding factor, especially since Beltran has the hometown advantage.

• Arantes' main training partner for striking is Thomas Almeida. Arantes only loses to big featherweights, and Perez isn't big. Arantes said he doesn't need to worry about high elevation, and he travelled to Mexico City during fight week (he didn't come early to acclimate). Perez does the thing that Arantes doesn't like his opponents to do: close the distance and smother him.

• Grasso vs. Clark: both think Grasso will win, and they don't really care about the fight.

• Magomedov: calm; calculated; slows down the fight and sets his own pace; good at counters; Tony Martin took Magomedov down and almost submitted him; Gilbert Burns took down Magomedov; this is a step up in competition for Magomedov; this Saturday marks 1 year since Magomedov last fought; Magomedov spent his training camp in Florida, the flattest state in USA; Magomedov is a thinking-striker, as shown in the fight with Burns, as he countered his kicks every time. Dariush: if he gets Magomedov down, he'll likely submit him; good left kicks to the body and his striking is improving in every fight, thanks to Master Rafael Cordeiro; he lost in the clinch to Ramsey Nijem, but fixed this issue in his later fights; Dariush fought and beat a higher level of competition than Magomedov; Dariush addressed the altitude issue by training in Mammoth Lakes, which has slightly higher elevation than Mexico City; Dariush isn't a thinking-striker and strikes how Cordeiro does, and should be easy for Magomedov to counter once he figures him out; Dariush wilted in the Chiesa fight, and got knocked out by Nijem, and seems a little chinny.

• Lamas: more heart, but more chinny; it's possible that Lamas might get old over night, like Dana White says many fighters do. Oliveira: less heart, better chin; he's taking this fight on short notice.

• Sanchez: possible chin issues; not from Mexico, but he's Mexican and will be a fan favorite in Mexico. Held: not impressive at all; overrated; his striking isn't good; he has cardio issues, and he's fighting at super high elevation in his UFC debut against a guy who is known for good cardio; expected to get tired and lose a decision to Sanchez.

• RDA: he trained at Mammoth Lakes for this fight, which has slightly higher elevation than Mexico City; prior to getting rocked by Eddie Alvarez, he lacked the forward pressure and body kicks that he is known for; the fight against Alvarez wasn't the first time he got rocked, he got rocked and did the chicken dance in his fight against Gleison Tibau, and this was after RDA's titanium jaw surgery when people thought RDA would somehow have a stronger jaw cuz of the medal; we've seen what RDA has to offer and has had a resurgence in his career where he made himself into a new fighter that looked unstoppable, however, it's highly unlikely RDA will transform into a 3rd version of himself and be as dominant as he once was, and we've essentially seen RDA's ceiling as a fighter which may or may not work against him in this fight. Ferguson: he walked through everything Barboza threw at him and kept the pressure, and was smart enough to use a dirty move (illegal kick) and only got a warning (warnings are standard, and works in favor of the guy doing the damage); Ferguson spent his camp at Big Bear, which is not the same as Mexico City, but still high elevation; he got knocked down once by Lando Vannata, not twice like most people think (he slipped on the Metro PCS logo when he went to stand up and fell back down); Ferguson's head movement defense and feet movement defense isn't good and he eats a lot of shots, but has the ability to eat punches so that he can throw his own strikes and keep the pressure on you until you can't take it anymore; Ferguson is younger in fight years, on the rise, wants it more, taken less damage over high career, murderous puncher, amazing willpower, sneaky everywhere; cardio wise, he might look tired, but he'll never stop trying to kill you and RDA will be the one who will take breaks in the fight, if either of them do; Ferguson's elbows don't get enough credit; they both pick Tony Ferguson to win.

• Their best fight pick: Under 3.5 rounds at +115, and they'd still take it at even odds.

Side note: the first Mexico City card had 11 fights on it. Out of the 11 fights, 7 fights went to a decision, while 4 ended ITD. Out of the 4 fights that ended ITD, 1 of them ended two minutes into Round 3, and the other ended in-between Rounds 2 and 3 when Marquardt's coach threw in the towel and didn't want his fighter to keep taking shots for another 5 minutes because he was a sitting duck to a fighter in Gastelum who couldn't finish Marquardt.

funny that light weight is peso ligero instead of peso leve. lol i just watched the fake weigh in video, the announcer seems to be rooting for rda and what a shitty translator that woman is holy shit

Fight Pass just started. Barzola vs. Avila is up first.

Go Barzola

On November 05 2016 22:50 alejandicto wrote: Go Barzola

I'm pretty sure that I could've gave Barzola a tougher fight than Chris Avila did. xD

Haha yeah avila sucks balls

Thank goodness the Fight Pass fights are over. Those kinda sucked.

The next 10 fights will be on Fox Sports 1.

Briones is fighting better than I expected. I bet on Andrade Soto and Puelles

Shit briones is tough as fuck

What a fucking fight. Briones is fucking durable.

Fight of the night for sure and possible ko of the night for Andrade

Early stoppage in the Briones/Andrade fight.

Yeah thats for sure but I was afraid of Andrade getting robbed. Briones could have continued for sure.

Nice win for Max Griffin.