The UFC Discussion and Prediction Topic

[notblox1]

Ankalaev was seriously pissed off at Walker for not wanting to continue the last time around. So he'll probably want to rip his head off. I expect him to be aggressive from the start.

I cant see any other outcome other than Ankalaev winning this fight in dominant way.
This card dont have many big name fighters and I looked at calendar for next few events, it is the same situation.
UFC 300 event is something I really want to watch but that is few months away in April 

[pawel7777]

I cant see any other outcome other than Ankalaev winning this fight in dominant way.
This card dont have many big name fighters and I looked at calendar for next few events, it is the same situation.
UFC 300 event is something I really want to watch but that is few months away in April 

They've just added 2 fights to the UFC 300 main card: Cody Garbrandt Vs. Deiveson Figueiredo and Weili Zhang Vs. YanXiaonan. But I think I'm looking forward more to UFC 297 Sean Strickland Vs. Dricus Du Plessis or UFC 298 Alexander Volkanovski Vs. IliaTopuria.
There will surely be a lot of good fights before the UFC 300.

[notblox1]

They've just added 2 fights to the UFC 300 main card: Cody Garbrandt Vs. Deiveson Figueiredo and Weili Zhang Vs. YanXiaonan. But I think I'm looking forward more to UFC 297 Sean Strickland Vs. Dricus Du Plessis or UFC 298 Alexander Volkanovski Vs. IliaTopuria.
There will surely be a lot of good fights before the UFC 300.

I think it is a bad decision to make this main event of the card, but Dana White is slowly making UFC into Titanic sinking ship 
From this same card UC300 I really want to see Jiri Prochazka fight against Aleksandar Rakic.
Both of this fighters had serious injuries so it is  going to be interesting how they will comeback after that.
Stakes and big and winner of this fight could soon face champion Alex Pereira.

[Zed0X]

Ankalaev won as we expected but I'm disappointed with how Walker went out after all that showing at the end of the first round. He kept circling to the left and then as if he walked right into Analaev's right hand. I guess his last name Walker is there for good reason

[electronicash]

his name lives up. the spinning back fist is just not working and he can't also strike straight because he'd likely be open for offense from Ankalaev. Johnny never attempted to take down nor just keep kicking the legs  so he can throw jabs after. 

when Ankalaev caught his kick the first time, the light bulb brightens. he already anticipated to catch it again and he was willing to take a hit from that kick just to catch it. there were already rumors the next fight for Ankalaev will be Poatan. this will be a big fight, maybe Ankalaev will be KOed.

[pawel7777]

Ankalaev won as we expected but I'm disappointed with how Walker went out after all that showing at the end of the first round. He kept circling to the left and then as if he walked right into Analaev's right hand. I guess his last name Walker is there for good reason

He was kind of funny (especially his reaction to Ankalaev's illegal kick to the groin), but looked desperate at the same time. It didn't look like he had any real strategy for that fight and was pulling all the stunts hoping that would somehow work.

The fight's highlights for those who haven't seen it (only 5 mins long):

[notblox1]

Next up is UFC 297 with main even Strickland vs Du Plessis.
This is fight for Middleweight Championship and I think small things will decide winner in this fight.
Strickland is favorite but I expected lower odds on him after he defeated Adesanya few months ago.
This is not easy one to predict and rest of the fights on this card are similar.

[pawel7777]

Next up is UFC 297 with main even Strickland vs Du Plessis.
This is fight for Middleweight Championship and I think small things will decide winner in this fight.
Strickland is favorite but I expected lower odds on him after he defeated Adesanya few months ago.
This is not easy one to predict and rest of the fights on this card are similar.

I have a feeling Du Plessis will be taking the belt from Sean. But from more logical approach, Sean's defence is pretty solid when he stays focussed and has a better cardio, so that's a slight advantage. The problem is both like to be the aggressive ones who keep pressing forward. If that happens, the risk of brawl increases, which benefits Du Plessis more. So the question is: will Sean be able to stay on the outside and play the long game?
It's pretty much a 50/50 fight, that's what makes it interesting. I can't wait.

[electronicash]

Next up is UFC 297 with main even Strickland vs Du Plessis.
This is fight for Middleweight Championship and I think small things will decide winner in this fight.
Strickland is favorite but I expected lower odds on him after he defeated Adesanya few months ago.
This is not easy one to predict and rest of the fights on this card are similar.

I have a feeling Du Plessis will be taking the belt from Sean. But from more logical approach, Sean's defence is pretty solid when he stays focussed and has a better cardio, so that's a slight advantage. The problem is both like to be the aggressive ones who keep pressing forward. If that happens, the risk of brawl increases, which benefits Du Plessis more. So the question is: will Sean be able to stay on the outside and play the long game?
It's pretty much a 50/50 fight, that's what makes it interesting. I can't wait.

when it comes to boxing, Sean is superior against Du Plessis.  they fight for 5 rounds standing and Sean will still have the stamina to carry out his strikes. he could do the same approach with Izzy to defend his title.

what could go wrong however is that Du Plessis can take him down which Du Plessis could dominate in the end. he was the first to have hyped to fight Izzy until Sean put himself in the picture. that was the time they both start trash talking  then.

[notblox1]

when it comes to boxing, Sean is superior against Du Plessis.  they fight for 5 rounds standing and Sean will still have the stamina to carry out his strikes. he could do the same approach with Izzy to defend his title.

I didnt watch Du Plessis fighting so far, and I think he is going to have harder time adapting to Canadian weather and different time zone from South Africa.
Looking a his stats it is clear that is better with submission game, he is few years younger than Strickland, and I dont expect this fight to last all five rounds.
Another fight worth watching is Movsar Evloev vs Arnold Allen, to see if Evloev can continue his perfect 17-0 record.

[pawel7777]

when it comes to boxing, Sean is superior against Du Plessis.  they fight for 5 rounds standing and Sean will still have the stamina to carry out his strikes. he could do the same approach with Izzy to defend his title.

what could go wrong however is that Du Plessis can take him down which Du Plessis could dominate in the end. he was the first to have hyped to fight Izzy until Sean put himself in the picture. that was the time they both start trash talking  then.

Du Plessis is known to be a very awkward guy to fight against. He might not seem like a great striker as he moves a bit unconventionally, but he has been very effective in his striking so far.
I remember him knocking out Roberto Soldic back in his KSW days, when he was in his early 20s. Soldic was a phenomenal striker and was undefeated, but yet, DDP managed to KO him (he lost the rematch though).
As for the ground game - I don't know. Strickland has a wrestling background and allegedly has a very good takedown defence and both seem to prefer striking, so we might not see any ground action at all.

[electronicash]

when it comes to boxing, Sean is superior against Du Plessis.  they fight for 5 rounds standing and Sean will still have the stamina to carry out his strikes. he could do the same approach with Izzy to defend his title.

what could go wrong however is that Du Plessis can take him down which Du Plessis could dominate in the end. he was the first to have hyped to fight Izzy until Sean put himself in the picture. that was the time they both start trash talking  then.

Du Plessis is known to be a very awkward guy to fight against. He might not seem like a great striker as he moves a bit unconventionally, but he has been very effective in his striking so far.
I remember him knocking out Roberto Soldic back in his KSW days, when he was in his early 20s. Soldic was a phenomenal striker and was undefeated, but yet, DDP managed to KO him (he lost the rematch though).
As for the ground game - I don't know. Strickland has a wrestling background and allegedly has a very good takedown defence and both seem to prefer striking, so we might not see any ground action at all.

looks like its one of the highlight of his career. i don't follow DDP but i just watched that fight, he can box and he caught Soldic in the open while carrying out his offense.  the hit comes out of the blue. but  DDP was winning in the first round, almost rare naked choke.

DDP brings out the worse of Sean with his crying about daddy issues. Sean will make mistakes in the cage, he loses his control recently just want to attack DDP anywhere.  if he wins, his celebration though will quickly end once he learns his next fight is Pereira.

[pawel7777]

DDP brings out the worse of Sean with his crying about daddy issues. Sean will make mistakes in the cage, he loses his control recently just want to attack DDP anywhere.  if he wins, his celebration though will quickly end once he learns his next fight is Pereira.

DDP hit the nerve there, but I don't think they hate each other, quite the opposite, they seem to have a lot of mutual respect. Sean might have made some death threats but that's just what he does.

Here are the video from the press conference. Sean did not disappoint:

&t

And here's Dricus' one:

[pawel7777]

I just watched a live pre-fight conference. Strickland said it was never personal and they both shook hands on the agreement to fight to the death or something. It was nice and respectful 

In terms of odds, I'm leaning towards DDP now. Strickland made it clear that he's going there to brawl and will keep pressing forward, which is not a smart tactic for him. Dricus is visibly much bigger and stronger than him so he should be focussing on utilising his cardio advantage. Hopefully, his team will talk some sense into him before the fight.

[notblox1]

I just watched a live pre-fight conference. Strickland said it was never personal and they both shook hands on the agreement to fight to the death or something. It was nice and respectful 

It is going to be hot MMA night in cold Toronto 
I hear that winter this year is colder and maybe that wont be ideal condition for Dricus Du Plessis, that is my main reason to go with Strickland winning this fight.
It is much harder to defend the title than to win it for the first time, so I am giving Strickland only a small advantage.
Odds are good I think.