The UFC Discussion and Prediction Topic

[electronicash]

(...) but obviously Chandler is not going to make it. Dana still has plans for him i guess.

Chandler is 38 and will be 39 in April next year. So realistically he has maybe like 2-3 fights left in him before retiring or going the Tony Ferguson way. That's why I think they could match him up either against Hooker or Gaethje, none of whom has a shot at the belt, both prefer striking which would guarantee a good show and likely a KO, and Chandler would have a chance of winning against any of them which could keep him staying high in the ranks for his final fights.

he'd still be among the top dog even being inactive for years and defeated by Charles.  Dana set him up for Conor fight and because Conor is not ready to embarrass himself, Dana gave Oliveira thinking Chand will win this time. Hooker is likely.

Petr vs Figgy was 5 round of entertainment.  Figgy successfully knock down Yan but it wasn't doing any damage at all. 
nothing exciting after this fight anymore even the ufc 310 has lost its hype when Belal made n excuse.

[pawel7777]

he'd still be among the top dog even being inactive for years and defeated by Charles.  Dana set him up for Conor fight and because Conor is not ready to embarrass himself, Dana gave Oliveira thinking Chand will win this time. Hooker is likely.

Petr vs Figgy was 5 round of entertainment.  Figgy successfully knock down Yan but it wasn't doing any damage at all. 
nothing exciting after this fight anymore even the ufc 310 has lost its hype when Belal made n excuse.

Conor is done, we won't see him fighting again, unless he goes bankrupt and is desperate for money.

Yan Vs Figuiredo was an awesome fight and exceeded my expectations. It went to distance but was far from boring.

IMO, the UFC 310 looks very decent. I think the Rakhmonov Vs Gary could be a better fight to watch than Rakhmonov Vs Muhammad, the belt is not on the line, but it has a better entertaining potential.

Here are the odds for all the fights:

Bryce Mitchell x1.17 Vs Kron Gracie x5.00

Ciryl Gane x1.36 Vs Alexander Volkov x3.14

Shavkat Rakhmonov x1.27 Vs Ian Machado Garry x3.80

Alexandre Pantoja x1.40 Vs Kai Asakura x3.00

Vicente Luque x2.57 Vs Themba Gorimbo x1.52

Michael Chiesa x2.25 Vs Max Griffin x1.66

Clay Guida x6.00 Vs Chase Hooper x1.13

Cody Durden x2.30 Vs Joshua van x1.61

Chris Weidman x2.00 Vs Eryk Anders x1.81

Randy Brown x2.83 Vs Bryan Battle x1.44

Anthony Smith x3.60 Vs Dominick Reyes x1.30

Movsar Evloev x1.38 Vs Aljamain Sterling x3.10

Nate Landwehr x1.62 Vs Doo Ho Choi x2.30

I had no clue that Clay Guida was still active. The guy will be 43 on 8th Dec, so one day after the event. Will he earn himself a win for his birthday? The bookies say No, as he has the highest payout of x6.00.

[electronicash]

Clay Guida deserve a Hall of Fame award for being active since he has over 50 fights all in all. and he did fight last year. i think i remember him also being inter

ufc 310 is a full of great fighters. we shall see it Gary will ever survive if Rakhmonov get a hold of him.  but either way Rakhmonov do know how to box too so  but this is probably what is in Gary's mind too which he will be technical.  i'm almost sure Dana doesn't like him that's why he is matched to Rakhmonov 

Kai is fresh from Rizin. how lucky is this guy? and he is younger too.

[pawel7777]

Clay Guida deserve a Hall of Fame award for being active since he has over 50 fights all in all. and he did fight last year.

I remember him from the way back as he was pretty wild and always put up a good show (win or lose), but I haven't seen any of his recent fights.

(...) we shall see it Gary will ever survive if Rakhmonov get a hold of him.  but either way Rakhmonov do know how to box too so  but this is probably what is in Gary's mind too which he will be technical.  i'm almost sure Dana doesn't like him that's why he is matched to Rakhmonov 

Both know each other as, I think, they trained in the same club at some point (there is some footage of their sparring out there), so it might go to distance if they know each other strengths and weaknesses.
Garry is not very popular, but negative interest is still an interest and he brings the views. I don't think Dana necessarily wanted that match, it's just he had to save the show after Belal pulled out.

It is indeed Kai Asakura's UFC debut and he's getting a title shot straight away. I think it's justified, as Asakura was Rizin's bantamweight champion until he vacated the belt in June 2024. I think the other reason behind the UFC giving him a shot is that they want to attract more fans from Japan, who are always very supportive of their fellow countrymen performing well in martial arts. Plus, the flyweight is the least popular among all weight classes, so there's no harm in propping it up by acquiring new fighters and making it more interesting. I think it has the potential as fights there are usually pretty entertaining and fast-paced. It's just the fighters in that division are less known to the public (and the UFC can be blamed for this to some degree).

[electronicash]

Clay Guida deserve a Hall of Fame award for being active since he has over 50 fights all in all. and he did fight last year.

I remember him from the way back as he was pretty wild and always put up a good show (win or lose), but I haven't seen any of his recent fights.

(...) we shall see it Gary will ever survive if Rakhmonov get a hold of him.  but either way Rakhmonov do know how to box too so  but this is probably what is in Gary's mind too which he will be technical.  i'm almost sure Dana doesn't like him that's why he is matched to Rakhmonov 

Both know each other as, I think, they trained in the same club at some point (there is some footage of their sparring out there), so it might go to distance if they know each other strengths and weaknesses.
Garry is not very popular, but negative interest is still an interest and he brings the views. I don't think Dana necessarily wanted that match, it's just he had to save the show after Belal pulled out.

It is indeed Kai Asakura's UFC debut and he's getting a title shot straight away. I think it's justified, as Asakura was Rizin's bantamweight champion until he vacated the belt in June 2024. I think the other reason behind the UFC giving him a shot is that they want to attract more fans from Japan, who are always very supportive of their fellow countrymen performing well in martial arts. Plus, the flyweight is the least popular among all weight classes, so there's no harm in propping it up by acquiring new fighters and making it more interesting. I think it has the potential as fights there are usually pretty entertaining and fast-paced. It's just the fighters in that division are less known to the public (and the UFC can be blamed for this to some degree).

Asakura vs Pantoja is almost like a cross promotion fight. UFC is beginning to open its option for cross promotion, it won't be long there will be unification also in UFC. they pick the active market in Asia but the most popular here is the ONE Champion. Dana won't engage to ONEFC yet, Demetrius Johnson influence is still very fresh. there are two Asakura in Rizin, they are brothers and both are tough in the ring. i don't know if Kai can take Pantoja's shots though but fighters in this division are fasts.

i'm looking to parlay Pantoja,  Rakhmonov, Gane, Mitchell, Sterling, and Reyes.  any chance?

[pawel7777]

I'm starting to think that placing established fighters in prelims is some sort of punishment and a signal that the UFC does not intend to invest in promoting them anymore.
It reminds me of putting Mokaev in the prelims at the UFC 304 in Manchester, which is (or was) his hometown and he was pretty popular back then. I thought it was a tactical move to make sure the UK fans would watch the whole thing, despite unusual hours, but we all know what happened to him later.

Aljo is not holding back and openly expresses his disappointment about not being on the main card:
https://www.lowkickmma.com/aljamain-sterling-insulted-ufc-310-prelims/

i'm looking to parlay Pantoja,  Rakhmonov, Gane, Mitchell, Sterling, and Reyes.  any chance?

With a small wager? Why not.
But with 6 fights, it's almost guaranteed that at least one of them won't hit.

[electronicash]

With a small wager? Why not.
But with 6 fights, it's almost guaranteed that at least one of them won't hit.

yes why not. just $10 just so i can watch the live fight on the sports betting site. better than PPV.

I'm starting to think that placing established fighters in prelims is some sort of punishment and a signal that the UFC does not intend to invest in promoting them anymore.
It reminds me of putting Mokaev in the prelims at the UFC 304 in Manchester, which is (or was) his hometown and he was pretty popular back then. I thought it was a tactical move to make sure the UK fans would watch the whole thing, despite unusual hours, but we all know what happened to him later.

Aljo is not holding back and openly expresses his disappointment about not being on the main card:
https://www.lowkickmma.com/aljamain-sterling-insulted-ufc-310-prelims/

that's whats been said in the comments on the press conference video. i think they were right about it. Aljo being this outspoken will really be disliked by Dana. its not the first and then him didn't want to fight Merab. although Dana can deny that be been shafting those fighters, he is always part of the decision making.

there are negative stories about Mokaev though. maybe out of his frustration to the UFC that's why he did t it to Kape. still Mokaev did something a sportsman won't do.

[electronicash]

Evloev celebrated his win well eating something on his post press conference. But the win isn't as spectacular against Sterling though.

the coming card Merab vs Umar seem to be hyped pretty much these days that Merab have to pretend hes the boss trying to scare Umar. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_311
main event Islam Makhachev vs. Arman Tsarukyan can't be this bad to watch a wrestling match. Jiri vs. Jamahal Hill is among the main card too.  my guess who ever wins this will fight ankalev.

[pawel7777]

Evloev celebrated his win well eating something on his post press conference. But the win isn't as spectacular against Sterling though.

He doesn't have any spectacular wins, that's the problem. Him becoming a champion without changing his style is the UFC's biggest nightmare. He's not going to generate much sales if he cannot finish anyone.
Re Shavkat Vs Garry, it was a win-win in a way. Shavkat has won, kept his undefeated status and secured his title shot. Garry has lost, but it's a kind of loss that he doesn't have to be ashamed about (a bit like Michael Chandler, who gains in popularity despite losing most of his UFC fights). He made Shavkat look human and fought a pretty close fight to what anyone expected, so it should positively impact his career. I dislike him a little bit less after that fight.

Now, given the hard time Shavkat had trying to take Ian down, the question arises whether or not he has what it takes to take the belt of Belal. I'm sure he won't be as strong of a favourite as he was initially.

[electronicash]

Now, given the hard time Shavkat had trying to take Ian down, the question arises whether or not he has what it takes to take the belt of Belal. I'm sure he won't be as strong of a favourite as he was initially.

that's just about the comments i have been reading too. it appears Shavkat isn't as tough as he is when facing someone like Garry or its just that Garry is also well rounded. Garry managed to position a rare naked choke, if it were Khamzat choking Shavkat his teeth may have look like Whittaker's. Although Garry didn't win, he showed how to defeat a dominant fighter.

i agree Belal could fight back in a way that could upset Shavkat. we may be seeing this fight soon after all this is the original match before Garry.

[pawel7777]

Media are reporting that Ilia Topuria is moving up to the lightweight.
It's a good move in my opinion, at least money-wise. Lightweight is packed with high-profile names and the featherweight doesn't have much to offer, a rematch with Volk? Lopes? Evloev? None of these have any serious earning potential.
Media are reporting that he'll vacate the title, so it's not like he's aiming to hold two belts simultaneously.
It's a good timing. He could fight the winner of Islam Vs Arman (so most likely Islam) as there aren't that many deserving contenders in the lightweight. Oliveira is rumoured to get the next title shot, but he already lost to both, Islam and Arman, so giving it to Ilia would be way easier to hype.

Topuria is a bit small for the lightweight, he's 8cm shorter than Islam (according to Wikipedia) but his reach disadvantage is only 3cm, so it's not all that bad. And if Volkanovski could put up a good fight against Islam, so can Ilia.

[electronicash]

vacating the belt all for the money fights, seem fair when you are chasing the high profile fights on UAE. if he can handle 155 it should be good. he is going to be on the right track if he finishes Oliveira and then stay a champ after Islam. so that more fighters will come to try taking the belt from him. so many fighters that can actually upset him in this division.

even give Paddy the chance to get a title shot on London. that's a good place that needs entertainment like this. 

[pawel7777]

Any thoughts on the recent grappling match between Tsarukyan and Chimaev that kind of went viral?:

I don't quite understand how were they allowed to do that. I hear it was some part of a Russian reality show. Did they get a green light by the UFC, or was the (alleged) reality show actually produced by the UFC (i.e. a Russian version of the Ultimate Fighter?). Anyone has any more info on that?

Anyhow, Khamzat clearly dominated and pushed Arman to defense. The big size difference surely played its part, but I think Khamzat wrestling skills were also a bit higher. I'd really like to see him against Bo Nickal at some point.

[electronicash]

and what is Dana's reaction to this while both fighters are still under the UFC contract? not familiar with their contracts but normally they are not allowed to join combat fights from other promotions. big guy like Nickal  vs Big guy like Khamzat will more than likely just KO each other by throwing their fist. not wrestling like this one.

meanwhile, its a bloody fight n the UFC on ESPN 63 as Buckley win over Covington by Doc stoppage. even if Covington's eye lid wasn't cut, i think the result will still be a loss for Colby. 

[pawel7777]

meanwhile, its a bloody fight n the UFC on ESPN 63 as Buckley win over Covington by Doc stoppage. even if Covington's eye lid wasn't cut, i think the result will still be a loss for Colby.

Yup, he was compromised from early on, and he could use that as an excuse, but it's not like the cut was accidental or a result of an illegal move. It was the result of Colby getting beaten up by Buckley.
I think Colby just lost a desire to fight, possibly quite a long time ago, he fights sporadically, and in this one, just as in the Edwards fight, he was lacking the edge, looked bit sluggish and was ineffective in his takedown attempts.
After his loss to Leon, he called out Stephen Thompson, who was ripe for retirement and ranked much lower than him, so, to me, it was a sign he didn't have much confidence in his abilities anymore and wasn't aiming very high. After the last night's fight, I think Covington Vs Thompson would be a decent match up, after which, the defeated one could announce his retirement.