The UFC Discussion and Prediction Topic

[electronicash]

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.

it didn't stop him from dissing everyone during his press con. even Lebron was wrecked by his loud mouth. he wasn't very pissed anyway when the doc decide to end the fight, so he surely agreed to be stopped. everyone got worried about him losing more blood.  career is over for him i think.

among the card that made the most spectacular win is Manel.  his groin was kicked was deliberately, once is something you could just slide but 3 times in the whole fight. the ref had to deduct 1 point from Bruno de Silva.

[pawel7777]

it didn't stop him from dissing everyone during his press con. even Lebron was wrecked by his loud mouth. he wasn't very pissed anyway when the doc decide to end the fight, so he surely agreed to be stopped. everyone got worried about him losing more blood.  career is over for him i think.

Lebron is an insufferable cunt, so no surprise here lol
But yeah, I think Colby wanted that stoppage, he didn't have much going for him in that fight, so that's the most "honorable" way of losing for him. A one that he can blame the doctor for and fans could keep speculating on what the fight could look like if not for that cut.
Given how rarely he has been fighting in recent years, I think Colby lost his desire to fight quite some time ago and it has been all about the money for him and nothing else.

[target]

Colbye is getting old.  After trying hard to get a title for the third time, Colby could be losing hope to get a title again. He was a great wrestler but he is older now.

When he saw Shavkat wasn't able to win vs Gary by way of submission the idea came back that he could win vs Shavkat and Belal for a title.

[electronicash]

it didn't stop him from dissing everyone during his press con. even Lebron was wrecked by his loud mouth. he wasn't very pissed anyway when the doc decide to end the fight, so he surely agreed to be stopped. everyone got worried about him losing more blood.  career is over for him i think.

Lebron is an insufferable cunt, so no surprise here lol
But yeah, I think Colby wanted that stoppage, he didn't have much going for him in that fight, so that's the most "honorable" way of losing for him. A one that he can blame the doctor for and fans could keep speculating on what the fight could look like if not for that cut.
Given how rarely he has been fighting in recent years, I think Colby lost his desire to fight quite some time ago and it has been all about the money for him and nothing else.

can't remember where i read this but they actually rob Buckley of win by KO against a high profile. if we are to make the fight continue, it would likely to win the fight of the year as this fight seem to he hyped well due to Colby being the most favoured guy of Dana. bloody fight like this will always be remembered by someone in the crowd. its like reliving the diaz vs conor fight, it lives long in someone's memory.

losing the desire to fight is not going to make him money he still claims he will be fighting for UFC as if there will be  promotion interested to pirate him.

[Zed0X]

Colbye is getting old.  After trying hard to get a title for the third time, Colby could be losing hope to get a title again. He was a great wrestler but he is older now.

When he saw Shavkat wasn't able to win vs Gary by way of submission the idea came back that he could win vs Shavkat and Belal for a title.

His body may be failing him now but his mouth could still fight at a high level

Once his contract is up, I think him and Dana will have a serious discussion about the renewal. I'm sure Colby won't have the same leverage as he used to when negotiating but he can still be a gatekeeper in his division.

[pawel7777]

Once his contract is up, I think him and Dana will have a serious discussion about the renewal. I'm sure Colby won't have the same leverage as he used to when negotiating but he can still be a gatekeeper in his division.

Is his contract expiring soon? How many fights has he got left on the current one?
He would be a good gatekeeper for the top of the welterweight but only if he was willing to fight more often. I think his current average is something around 1 fight a year and given he's on the decline and is not getting any younger, so, at this pace, he could have maybe 2 more fights while still being on a decent level before retiring.

[electronicash]

Once his contract is up, I think him and Dana will have a serious discussion about the renewal. I'm sure Colby won't have the same leverage as he used to when negotiating but he can still be a gatekeeper in his division.

Is his contract expiring soon? How many fights has he got left on the current one?
He would be a good gatekeeper for the top of the welterweight but only if he was willing to fight more often. I think his current average is something around 1 fight a year and given he's on the decline and is not getting any younger, so, at this pace, he could have maybe 2 more fights while still being on a decent level before retiring.

Colby won't be a gate keeper. he will end up like el cucuy if he fights 2-3 fights a year. lets say Prates and MVP fights him just next year. i doubt he'd be in the top 15 after the 2 fights. but yep i think he can shake the division pulling up those below and finally get rid off himself out of UFC for good.

stop already his fantacy to get a belt, he tried his best and fought Usman in his prime. that was courageous. Khabib was appreciated well when upon retiring early, he voided getting battered in his decline but for Colby, he did get a belt yet but already battered.

[pawel7777]

The Fight Night on 1 Feb in Saudi Arabia looks really decent.
It will be a big test for Adesanya, after which we should know whether he still "got it" or has he lost it for good. He has lost 3 out of his last 4 fights, some say his decline started after that loss to Alex Pereira, but he took a successful revenge and knocked Alex out, which didn't seem like a big thing back then, but now, when Alex is dominating the light heavyweight, maybe we should give Izzy more credit for that.

Shara Vs Page is guaranteed good entertainment, those two do not hold back. Shara is a x1.66 favourite, but anything can happen in that fight. Both are ranked 14th and 15th respectively, so the winner probably won't move up the ranking too much.

Pavlovich Vs Rozenstruik is also interesting, both have a good finishes ratio, including first-round finishes, so I don't expect it to go for more than one round.

[electronicash]

The Fight Night on 1 Feb in Saudi Arabia looks really decent.
It will be a big test for Adesanya, after which we should know whether he still "got it" or has he lost it for good. He has lost 3 out of his last 4 fights, some say his decline started after that loss to Alex Pereira, but he took a successful revenge and knocked Alex out, which didn't seem like a big thing back then, but now, when Alex is dominating the light heavyweight, maybe we should give Izzy more credit for that.

Shara Vs Page is guaranteed good entertainment, those two do not hold back. Shara is a x1.66 favourite, but anything can happen in that fight. Both are ranked 14th and 15th respectively, so the winner probably won't move up the ranking too much.

Pavlovich Vs Rozenstruik is also interesting, both have a good finishes ratio, including first-round finishes, so I don't expect it to go for more than one round.

nice. izzy now a 2nd class fighter, no PPV after just losing just 3 times.  if izzy still loses to Imanov, his going to plunge his rank further. he should win this time because one way he could go back to PPV is fighting Pereira. he needs to move to light heavyweight.

i feel like Venom Page is going to win this one. lets face it, the blind guy is no match to the speed of Page. but it seem like the bookmakers pick him as the favorite. they are tricking the bettors it's definitely worth going for Page.

[pawel7777]

nice. izzy now a 2nd class fighter, no PPV after just losing just 3 times.  if izzy still loses to Imanov, his going to plunge his rank further. he should win this time because one way he could go back to PPV is fighting Pereira. he needs to move to light heavyweight.

It might be all or nothing for Izzy. I wouldn't be surprised if he was to announce his retirement if he was to lose to Imanov.

In other news, Paddy Pimblett is rumoured to face Michael Chandler as his next opponent, which could happen on March 22nd when the event is scheduled to take place in London.
https://bloodyelbow.com/2024/12/23/paddy-pimblett-drops-major-hint-regarding-next-potential-ufc-opponent-as-fight-announcement-looms/
This is only a speculation at this point, but I think it's a good match-up. Pimblett has earned his right to fight a top guy and Chandler, given his only win in the last 5 fights was over Tony Ferguson, should be fighting down against someone ranked below him, and Paddy is a perfect guy for him, as, despite being only ranked 13th, is still a big enough name.

[electronicash]

nice. izzy now a 2nd class fighter, no PPV after just losing just 3 times.  if izzy still loses to Imanov, his going to plunge his rank further. he should win this time because one way he could go back to PPV is fighting Pereira. he needs to move to light heavyweight.

It might be all or nothing for Izzy. I wouldn't be surprised if he was to announce his retirement if he was to lose to Imanov.

In other news, Paddy Pimblett is rumoured to face Michael Chandler as his next opponent, which could happen on March 22nd when the event is scheduled to take place in London.
https://bloodyelbow.com/2024/12/23/paddy-pimblett-drops-major-hint-regarding-next-potential-ufc-opponent-as-fight-announcement-looms/
This is only a speculation at this point, but I think it's a good match-up. Pimblett has earned his right to fight a top guy and Chandler, given his only win in the last 5 fights was over Tony Ferguson, should be fighting down against someone ranked below him, and Paddy is a perfect guy for him, as, despite being only ranked 13th, is still a big enough name.

this was the joke back when Chandler was eyeing to fight Conor which they doubt and said he will be fighting Pimblet instead. well its happening and its not funny anymore because Paddy looks great already after his best to Green.

Paddy suddenly has become really good in his last fight.  maybe Paddy can handle someone like Chandler, its time to give Paddy someone bit challenging. this is a good fight, Paddy has somehow mature and i think this is the most legit fighter that Paddy can fight for now.

[Zed0X]

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Paddy has somehow mature

It could be because Topuria leapfrog him suddenly. I remember these two fighters having war of words on their pre and post fight interviews. Paddy was the more popular and higher ranked fighter back then but Ilia is the champ now so...

[electronicash]

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Paddy has somehow mature

It could be because Topuria leapfrog him suddenly. I remember these two fighters having war of words on their pre and post fight interviews. Paddy was the more popular and higher ranked fighter back then but Ilia is the champ now so...

and he was more experienced than Ilia but Ilia got first ppv bout and become  champ first.  and Ilia move up too. if they fight either which class, Paddy will lose that's for sure and so is chandler versus Ilia.

Paddy needs to grow more experience in fighting toe to toe with some form the upper rank. this could be very degrading for Chandler as he is being put to fight Dana's boy while he feels he isn't worse as Tony yet.

[pawel7777]

~
Paddy has somehow mature

It could be because Topuria leapfrog him suddenly. I remember these two fighters having war of words on their pre and post fight interviews. Paddy was the more popular and higher ranked fighter back then but Ilia is the champ now so...

Haha, that could be it. Many didn't even know who Ilia Topuria was when that beef with Paddy happened and look at him now. In Paddy's defence, he has won all of his fights but he just happens to be in the toughest weight class in the UFC, packed with big names.
Maybe we'll see those two matched against each other one day, if Ilia decides to move up to the lightweight as he said he would.

[pawel7777]

So apparently Conor McGregor will be returning after all, but it won't be MMA but boxing.
Media are reporting the fight between Logan Paul and Conor is due to be finalised, it will take place in India, and the purse is either $250 million, or £400 million ($500m):
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/32539878/conor-mcgregor-logan-paul-fight-annoucement-teased/
https://www.gbnews.com/sport/boxing/conor-gallagher-logan-paul-fight-2670697324

Is there actually anyone interested in such fight to pay (anything) for a PPV? I'm not even sure if I'll be bothered watching highlights of it. How on earth can they afford to pay such amounts? It's either more of a hot air or they got some huge grant from India to promote their country.
But if there's indeed half a billion $ on the line for those two, it's almost like money is hardly worth anything anymore.