January 23, 20223 yr Not overly exciting fight, but was also cool to see Ngannou show other technique and he’s not just a buster.
January 23, 20223 yr Gane fucked that whole fight up. He could have won easily after taking the first 2 rds just by volume alone, but he went and got himself taken down every rd after that.
January 23, 20223 yr 2 minutes ago, TexArcher said: Felt like he could've just peppered his way to an easy round on the feet and a W. At some point you have to fear what Ngannou is capable of. I'm not sure he had any strategy in the bank that was surefire to pull that out.
January 23, 20223 yr 1 minute ago, ztejas said: At some point you have to fear what Ngannou is capable of. I'm not sure he had any strategy in the bank that was surefire to pull that out. Yeah, but Francis never had that explosiveness tonight, probably on account of his knees. Gane was up 2-0 and all he had to do was keep his distance and keep firing kicks and jabs and he could've won every round. He surely wasn't expecting Francis to have improved so much at takedowns and grappling, but he also didn't ever have to get that close. He got close because he wanted to get cute with that spinning back elbow, and he got cute again with the heelhook attempts. Maybe he's tired of being called a point fighter, but he could've won every round tonight as a point fighter.
January 23, 20223 yr But I'll give Cyril credit for being really gracious in defeat just now. He grew on me a little there.
January 23, 20223 yr when i saw Ngannou +money, i jumped all over it. but i never excpeted to win my bet via decision. great night of ufc betting for me by taking both underdogs in the top 2 fights. also, can't wait for lewis vs tuivasa at 271.
January 23, 20223 yr 16 minutes ago, TexArcher said: Yeah, but Francis never had that explosiveness tonight, probably on account of his knees. Gane was up 2-0 and all he had to do was keep his distance and keep firing kicks and jabs and he could've won every round. He surely wasn't expecting Francis to have improved so much at takedowns and grappling, but he also didn't ever have to get that close. He got close because he wanted to get cute with that spinning back elbow, and he got cute again with the heelhook attempts. Maybe he's tired of being called a point fighter, but he could've won every round tonight as a point fighter. Right but saying that "all he had to do was keep his distance" is probably easier said than done. Staying on your feet for 5 rounds against someone like Ngannou seems precarious. Sure you could just try and win on points but every second you are on your feet up against a dude like that is another second that he could catch you off guard and land a KO against you. I don't pretend to know a lot about the sport so correct me if I'm wrong - just commenting off of what I saw in that fight. Ultimately - I think the better fighter won and the technique that Ngannou displayed on the ground was super impressive and maybe was something that Gane wasn't anticipating. Seemed sort of damned if he did damned if he didn't. Maybe he goes the other direction and catches a right to the face at some point and gets KOed. Idk. It was a good fight. Edited January 23, 20223 yr by ztejas
January 23, 20223 yr The chances of Francis KOing him drops significantly each minute that passes by in a fight.
January 24, 20223 yr 21 hours ago, TexArcher said: But I'll give Cyril credit for being really gracious in defeat just now. He grew on me a little there. Just being French makes a person automatically seem aloof and assholish to Americans, but everything about Gane seems like he's as decent a dude as a fighter can be. Even when he wrecked Black Beast in Houston he wasn't a dick about it.
January 24, 20223 yr Ciryl seems like a real good dude too. That was a close fought fight, and IMO the difference is mental/experience (same prob with Ngannou-Lewis) . He hasn't had had a fight of this profile (was champ of tiny promotions). Could get him in a rematch.
January 24, 20223 yr Gane has gotta muster up some KO power if he wants to beat Ngannou. He was like a gnat buzzing around a grizzly bear that entire fight. Francis was 100% confident marching into that shit to get his hands on him. And with (allegedly) a blown knee. Francis wins this 10 out of 10 times if Gane can't inflict real damage with his striking.
January 25, 20223 yr Went to this event on Saturday (first live MMA event I’ve been to). Really fun. Thoughts: UFC puts on a good show. No one works harder than Bruce Buffer. When the fight is not on, he’s always on the move. Walking around, talking to people, staying loose, etc. Took pics with everyone that came up to the rail. A LOT of fighters making their UFC debut. Only stinker in my mind was Gravely v. Oliveira. Frevola just steamrolled (ha!) his opponent. Dude took a beating and was tough as hell (probably too tough for his own good). Australian dude was impressive. In the lady fight, the girl got dropped hard but recovered and got the sub. Pretty crazy turnaround. Victor Henry took right on short notice and took just a bit to adjust then had a great fight. That was a “busy” fight Michael Morales might be a problem in the division. Young dude. Stamann looked like he was going to retire after getting subbed in under a minute. Said was like looking around when ref is asking him if he’s ready and then just caught him quick. Argentine dude needs to learn how to move. Pereira does a lot of unnecessary stuff but he’s entertaining Pops for Moreno were crazy. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they called that fight either way. Fig definitely landed the harder shots and the leg kicks looked worse because Moreno was always looking off balance. Fun fight. Crowd definitely lost juice after that one. Seeing the HWs in the ring after the little guys is a shock. Massive. I thought Gane had more tools, but I think too inexperienced here. Definitely looked super gassed around the 3rd. Francis is just so freaking strong. Surprised at his ability to dominate on the ground. Thought Gane screwed up going for the leg at some point. A lot of weed smell in the building. Loudest celebrity pop of the night to Iron Mike
January 25, 20223 yr 10 hours ago, Frieda’s Boss said: Stamann looked like he was going to retire after getting subbed in under a minute. Said was like looking around when ref is asking him if he’s ready and then just caught him quick. Umar...Said... Abubakar...Khabib... takeaway is dont fight any motherfucker named Nurmagomedov
January 27, 20223 yr Gaethje secured a fight with Oliveira on May 7th. YISS. I like chuckie but it's Justin time
January 27, 20223 yr Crawl said Ngannou out 9 months with a knee surgery. Which - makes that title defense kind of hard as fuck.
January 27, 20223 yr Probably a part of the contract gamesmanship - given he already just fought on a damaged leg. Automatic champ clause extended his current contract by 3 matches or 1 year, whichever comes first. If he holds out 1 year, hes free to pursue boxing match outside of UFC
January 27, 20223 yr In some senses though, let's forget about this injury, couldn't he triple his salary by fighting 3 times a year instead of just once? I get that he has reached the elite level of all of sports and deserves elite money, but Lewis is out there fighting again already.
January 27, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, JohnnyRage said: In some senses though, let's forget about this injury, couldn't he triple his salary by fighting 3 times a year instead of just once? I get that he has reached the elite level of all of sports and deserves elite money, but Lewis is out there fighting again already. yeah, but also 3x training camps, 3x opportunity to get damaged, 3x opportunity to lower his stock, etc. he was poking around with a fight with the jake paul camp (against some no-name dude). the paul boxers have been estimated to net 8 figures per fight (??)... the return on risk is way better that route.
January 27, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, 52-80 said: yeah, but also 3x training camps, 3x opportunity to get damaged, 3x opportunity to lower his stock, etc. he was poking around with a fight with the jake paul camp (against some no-name dude). the paul boxers have been estimated to net 8 figures per fight (??)... the return on risk is way better that route. Agreed for the top of the card, but the other fighters on their cards make dog shit. Their argument about UFC pay is stupid when the fighters on their cards make 1/10th UFC minimum wage. Ngannou has propelled himself into rarefied air in one of the most popular sports. I understand where he is coming from. However, his argument should also be a little less selfish in that he is fighting for the future of all fighters and their families. But that's the Union man in me. Edited January 27, 20223 yr by JohnnyRage
January 27, 20223 yr 3 minutes ago, JohnnyRage said: Agreed for the top of the card, but the other fighters on their cards make dog shit. Their argument about UFC pay is stupid when the fighters on their cards make 1/10th UFC minimum wage. Ngannou has propelled himself into rarefied air in one of the most popular sports. I understand where he is coming from. However, his argument should also be a little less selfish in that he is fighting for the all future fighters and their families. But that's the Union man in me. i think one of the vaild arguments is that mark hunt and alistair overeem were getting 800k guaranteed. ngannou's was fighting at 600k as defending champ. mark hunt was nowhere near championship contention, and overeem was non-PPV headliners. even with PPV cut in and champ bouses, ngannou has grounds for demanding higher base going forward
January 27, 20223 yr Ngannou is also 35. He only has a few paydays left and he absolutely sells pay-per-views at a higher level than just about anyone in the sport right now. He deserves a lot more money.
January 27, 20223 yr He said his main intention is not to simply quit the UFC, he wants the option to box with another promotion in his off time. He also does not want to have to give Dana White a cut of any boxing deal he might sign, a la McGregor/Mayweather. He's got a point. Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson both played for two different sports leagues and other than contract stipulations that forced them to make themselves available by certain dates (on the NFL side) I don't believe that they had to give the NFL a cut of their MLB money, or vice-versa.
February 6, 20223 yr Early FOY contender from Erosa and Peterson. I'd be happy to watch that whole thing again right now.
February 6, 20223 yr Hilarious commentating exchange with Bisping trying to describe Rakhmonov's calm demeanor. Goes on for a good 10-15 seconds the other guys went full single word thesaurus ribbing.
February 6, 20223 yr Ya know, for all of Sean Strickland's psycho act and talk about wanting to kill someone in the cage, he fought like a point fighter tonight. He avoids damage very well and he's an accurate striker, but he had no interest in finishing that fight. And now 8 of his last 11 wins are by decision. I'm not even knocking him for that, but the antics don't really match the fighter. It's weird.
February 6, 20223 yr Yeah, but he mildly won me back over after the fight with a more humble and gladiatorial attitude. But I feel like I’ve heard it before. Boring ass fight for a top ten matchup though. But he thorough outclassed Hermanson especially with a AA grade left jab. Edited February 6, 20223 yr by JohnnyRage
February 7, 20223 yr I can tolerate Strickland over some of these other dipshits because Strickland is just talking out of his ass for shock value.....some of these other dudes do cringey shit talk that is wack as fuck.
February 7, 20223 yr Looking forward to Islam vs. Dariush Fight Night late February, and Khamzat vs. Burns being added to UFC 273 and 273 in general.
February 7, 20223 yr No, those other guys are both top 5 gatekeeper killers. Khamzat's cardio has never been tested, and Dariush is one of the best grapplers in the business, no?
February 7, 20223 yr 4 hours ago, JohnnyRage said: No, those other guys are both top 5 gatekeeper killers. Khamzat's cardio has never been tested, and Dariush is one of the best grapplers in the business, no? I like Dariush, but the Dagestani wrestling code seems not to have been cracked, and Islam is the heir apparent to Khabib. For Khamzat agreed he hasn't been to war. Why I'm big on him is it's a 170/185 guy vs 155/170 guy.
February 11, 20223 yr Yes. Always liked Rob. That combo he throws that finishes with the high right kick is pretty sweet.
February 11, 20223 yr 5 hours ago, TexArcher said: Anybody else rooting for Whittaker to destroy Izzy tomorrow night? Not even a question
February 12, 20223 yr Mind you, I don't think it's going to happen. The most likely outcome has to be Izzy by decision. But I sure hope it's Whittaker by thunderous, humbling knockout.
February 12, 20223 yr 6 minutes ago, TexArcher said: Mind you, I don't think it's going to happen. The most likely outcome has to be Izzy by decision. But I sure hope it's Whittaker by thunderous, humbling knockout. Agreed on both. This card has some good bangers…
February 12, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, JohnnyRage said: You guys probably would have rooted against Mohamed Ali. His momma call him cassius, imma call him cassius
February 12, 20223 yr Anybody else rooting for Whittaker to destroy Izzy tomorrow night?Yes. Doubtful we get our result, but I will be there drunk af so i won't remember it anyway
February 12, 20223 yr Cannonier could show up to be a big problem in 185# again. Last fight he lost was whittaker and because he broke his arm in rd1. This could be his title contention statement noght
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