The UFC Discussion and Prediction Topic

[electronicash]

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More interesting news coming from Alex Pereira who released a video about his comeback that is planned for this year in November or December.
This could be fight against Magomed Ankalaev or anyone else that UFC offers to him. 
He already defeated Prochazka, Hill, and Blachowicz, so Ankalaev and Rakic are only two top fighters left.

I also saw in one of the Facebook posts (legit FB page) that he doesn't care who he will be fighting with.

His main priority is the belt, and he doesn't care who the opponent will be. Maybe let's add Aspinall and Jon Jones to the list as well because who knows. We might see him going to Heavyweight and try to make history as the first UFC fighter to win in 3 divisions. If I remember correctly, he doesn't want to down on weight anymore and face Adesanya (or it's the other way around). Anyway, whoever he will be fighting with, it willa always be an interesting fight.

Jones vs Miocic is planned for UFC 309 in New York during November.

If this happens, then exclude Jon Jones to the list of possible fighters that Pereira might face in his next match then. Aspinall might be, or if there will be a rematch between him and Hill since he wants a rematch.

shouldn't Hill be fighting someone else in this division to earn his rematch? that loss isn't a close fight where one can argue to be just points. it was a dominated KO. Hill went crazy for months in twitter claiming Alex cheated him.

why don't they try Hill and Anka fight for their shot to Alex. or Hill vs Jiri, i think this also make sense before they could fight Alex.  however Alex can fight who will win in the fight between Aspnal vs Blaydes  if he really is going to HW.

[notblox1]

Thanks for the update. I was worried it might be something big, that could get him suspended again, but according to the video he only got charged with "minor" misdemeanour, so probably that's nothing serious.
November seems pretty far away from now, but at least we have a date and some indication of when we can expect the fight to happen.
Meanwhile, we're less than 2 weeks away from Tom Aspinall defending his interim heavyweight belt, something that shouldn't really be happening but hey.

Main problem in this incident was woman who works with UFC for testing samples.
I am not defending Jon Jones but he posted a short video from his house when he is giving hi-five to the same woman in the end.
He is not known for being a nice guy but he didnt deserve any punishment this time.

[pawel7777]

UFC isn't making Tommy vs Curtis 2 a grander event. (...)

Blaydes is a solid fighter but he's nowhere near the superstar level. Tom is also not that much of a showman, but he lets his performance speak for itself.
Plus, the event is probably aimed primarily at the UK fans, although the time of the event is far too late for any British fan's liking. It's scheduled to start at 11pm and the main events are expected to take place around 3am. I think this and the high ticket prices are the reasons it's not yet fully sold out (I'm assuming it's not as there are still tickets available for sale from the official site).

[notblox1]

Blaydes is a solid fighter but he's nowhere near the superstar level. Tom is also not that much of a showman, but he lets his performance speak for itself.
Plus, the event is probably aimed primarily at the UK fans, although the time of the event is far too late for any British fan's liking. It's scheduled to start at 11pm and the main events are expected to take place around 3am. I think this and the high ticket prices are the reasons it's not yet fully sold out (I'm assuming it's not as there are still tickets available for sale from the official site).

Compared with boring UFC fight card scheduled for this weekend, Aspinall vs Blaydes sounds like a heavyweight title fight, oh wait it is but Interim title fight
Aspinall will be motivated to win after losing from Blades in 2022 and I think he has a chance in front of home crowd in Manchester.
Blaydes has a slight reach advantage and he has a chance to win again, I am just waiting to see odds on this fight to make my decision.

[electronicash]

this is also the reason why Pereira wasn't interested to fight Aspinall all for the interim belt. he wants to directly fight for the HW champ belt Jones. people will doubt whether he could take Jones but being so inactive, i think he could actually.  i don't think Pereira will mind losing, he lost several times and recovered quickly.

UFC isn't making Tommy vs Curtis 2 a grander event. (...)

Blaydes is a solid fighter but he's nowhere near the superstar level. Tom is also not that much of a showman, but he lets his performance speak for itself.
Plus, the event is probably aimed primarily at the UK fans, although the time of the event is far too late for any British fan's liking. It's scheduled to start at 11pm and the main events are expected to take place around 3am. I think this and the high ticket prices are the reasons it's not yet fully sold out (I'm assuming it's not as there are still tickets available for sale from the official site).

too early to say but it could be because these fighters are not saleable even when they add Paddy the baddy.  Belal is the most boring fighter and then matches to an also boring Edwards.  Blaydes vs Aspinall is like a consolation fight for those who expects a big KO.

[pawel7777]

There's some news from Dustin Poirier on his future plans. Apparently he doesn't want to retire yet, he wants to do it with a win. He called out Nate Diaz, who, to me, would be a rather  disappointing opponent for Dustin's last fight, but he's still popular and can sell a fight so not a bad call.
Diaz apparently didn't get paid for his last fight against Masvidal (and is suing the organiser), so who knows, he might go for that if the money is right.

A list of opponents that Poirier said he'd be happy to fight: Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, and Colby Covington

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/ufc/dustin-poirier-retirement-next-fight-ufc-b2581158.html

[Zed0X]

UFC isn't making Tommy vs Curtis 2 a grander event. (...)

Blaydes is a solid fighter but he's nowhere near the superstar level. Tom is also not that much of a showman, but he lets his performance speak for itself.
Plus, the event is probably aimed primarily at the UK fans, although the time of the event is far too late for any British fan's liking. It's scheduled to start at 11pm and the main events are expected to take place around 3am. I think this and the high ticket prices are the reasons it's not yet fully sold out (I'm assuming it's not as there are still tickets available for sale from the official site).

too early to say but it could be because these fighters are not saleable even when they add Paddy the baddy.  Belal is the most boring fighter and then matches to an also boring Edwards.  Blaydes vs Aspinall is like a consolation fight for those who expects a big KO.

Yeah, Paddy wasn't a draw as organizers expect and at some point, he was also compared to Conor

I still think the main card is decent but I don't expect a record breaking PPV and gate sales. If Tom wins by KO here, it will be much easier to sell his fights.

[pawel7777]

Compared with boring UFC fight card scheduled for this weekend, Aspinall vs Blaydes sounds like a heavyweight title fight, oh wait it is but Interim title fight
Aspinall will be motivated to win after losing from Blades in 2022 and I think he has a chance in front of home crowd in Manchester.
Blaydes has a slight reach advantage and he has a chance to win again, I am just waiting to see odds on this fight to make my decision.

There's no way Tom will lose in front of his own crowd unless his knee gives up again.
The odds are pretty much where you would expect:


I imagined Tom would be even bigger favourite than this, but this is MMA, so one lucky punch could shift it in an underdog's favour.

this is also the reason why Pereira wasn't interested to fight Aspinall all for the interim belt. he wants to directly fight for the HW champ belt Jones. people will doubt whether he could take Jones but being so inactive, i think he could actually.  i don't think Pereira will mind losing, he lost several times and recovered quickly.

If both, Jones and Aspinall win their fights, there's no way in the world Tom will not get the shot against Jones. If Jones was to refuse and only wanted to fight Pereira instead, he would have to be stripped of his belt. Otherwise the UFC would lose any credibility as a sports organisation and any rankings would be rendered useless.
The only way for Pereira to fight Jones for the HW title is to replace Stipe in the upcoming fight.

[notblox1]

A list of opponents that Poirier said he'd be happy to fight: Nate Diaz, Conor McGregor, Alexander Volkanovski, Justin Gaethje, Max Holloway, Charles Oliveira, and Colby Covington

Dustin already lost from Gaethje and Oliveira so it would be interesting to see another fight between them.
I said that Islam Makhachev will be Lightweight champion and I was right, but competition is very strong between all other fighters.
Arman Tsarukyan is another candidate but I think he is going against Makhachev next, after losing from him in 2019.

[pawel7777]

Dustin already lost from Gaethje and Oliveira so it would be interesting to see another fight between them.
I said that Islam Makhachev will be Lightweight champion and I was right, but competition is very strong between all other fighters.
Arman Tsarukyan is another candidate but I think he is going against Makhachev next, after losing from him in 2019.

I think Holloway would be the best opponent for Dustin, but Max is rumoured to fight Ilia Topuria for the featherweight belt, so I don't think that's likely to happen.
Yes, Tsarukyan Vs Makhachev 2 is not yet announced (as far as I know) but everyone expects it to happen. Tsarukyan was banned for 9 months (till Jan 2025), but he could get this reduced to six months if he produces an anti-bullying public service announcement. This means he could be available for late October.

[notblox1]

Yes, Tsarukyan Vs Makhachev 2 is not yet announced (as far as I know) but everyone expects it to happen. Tsarukyan was banned for 9 months (till Jan 2025), but he could get this reduced to six months if he produces an anti-bullying public service announcement. This means he could be available for late October.

This could be interesting fight for the end of 2024 but I still see Makhachev as the clear winner against Tsarukyan.
I dont know if Makhachev still have any connection with Khabib but he one of his weak spots, russian government could expand investigation to him and other Khabibs friends.

[electronicash]

Yeah, Paddy wasn't a draw as organizers expect and at some point, he was also compared to Conor
I still think the main card is decent but I don't expect a record breaking PPV and gate sales. If Tom wins by KO here, it will be much easier to sell his fights.

maybe it will sell in UK. and there's Mokaev however who soon to be the baddest in the flyweight. though he wasn't hyped much by Dana, he is undefeated and 6-0 in UFC, besides Taira, this is the Dagestan that will wipe the ranked fighters.

Dustin already lost from Gaethje and Oliveira so it would be interesting to see another fight between them.
I said that Islam Makhachev will be Lightweight champion and I was right, but competition is very strong between all other fighters.
Arman Tsarukyan is another candidate but I think he is going against Makhachev next, after losing from him in 2019.

I think Holloway would be the best opponent for Dustin, but Max is rumoured to fight Ilia Topuria for the featherweight belt, so I don't think that's likely to happen.
Yes, Tsarukyan Vs Makhachev 2 is not yet announced (as far as I know) but everyone expects it to happen. Tsarukyan was banned for 9 months (till Jan 2025), but he could get this reduced to six months if he produces an anti-bullying public service announcement. This means he could be available for late October.

Max Holloway vs Ilia Topuria seem set already they just have no date yet i think its ufc 306-307. they already want Tuporia to fight the BMF for his first title defense fight. he could have just say no first and fight someone like Brian Ortega and then reserve the big fight in Spain which he seem to demand from the start.

[Zed0X]

Yeah, Paddy wasn't a draw as organizers expect and at some point, he was also compared to Conor
I still think the main card is decent but I don't expect a record breaking PPV and gate sales. If Tom wins by KO here, it will be much easier to sell his fights.

maybe it will sell in UK. and there's Mokaev however who soon to be the baddest in the flyweight. though he wasn't hyped much by Dana, he is undefeated and 6-0 in UFC, besides Taira, this is the Dagestan that will wipe the ranked fighters.

I never heard of Mokaev and had to watch yt for highlights. He looks like a hybrid Dagestani fighter that's good on the feet and on the ground. If no serious injuries, he'll most likely get to the top in two to three years. If he's also good at talking or selling fights, his journey will be shorter

[electronicash]

Yeah, Paddy wasn't a draw as organizers expect and at some point, he was also compared to Conor
I still think the main card is decent but I don't expect a record breaking PPV and gate sales. If Tom wins by KO here, it will be much easier to sell his fights.

maybe it will sell in UK. and there's Mokaev however who soon to be the baddest in the flyweight. though he wasn't hyped much by Dana, he is undefeated and 6-0 in UFC, besides Taira, this is the Dagestan that will wipe the ranked fighters.

I never heard of Mokaev and had to watch yt for highlights. He looks like a hybrid Dagestani fighter that's good on the feet and on the ground. If no serious injuries, he'll most likely get to the top in two to three years. If he's also good at talking or selling fights, his journey will be shorter

paddy was compared to conor, we know he isn't though. he isn't the provoking kind and can't back his words as well.  this card however is better than this UFC Vegas 94 despite the main event edwards vs belal.   Tom loses against Curtis for the 2nd time, will mess up this HW.

when ufc picked Mokaev to fight a top dog a few months ago, it was also expected to see Taira heading up the rank as well. these new flyweights are climbing up to.  ufc is bringing new breed on the table.

[notblox1]

I started following Alex Pereira youtube channel more and he is not so cold like many people describ him.
He is helping and visiting sick kids in Melbourne, Australia hospital, he even shaved head of one kid that has cancer and that made him very emotional.