Topic: The UFC Info and Prediction Thread - page 488. (Read 96959 times)

And here it comes the fight that I have been waiting for, well because of Khabib Nurmagomedov's retirement I am placing my full support on Israel Adesanya now I think that Adensanya can make another record by not having a stain in his records just like Nurmagomenodov did, but after seeing Blachowicz gaining the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Belt after defeating Dominick Reyes I think Adesanya would surely be careful with Blachowicz Since he is stepping into Another Division higher than the usual fights he has, now Debuting in the Light Heavyweight division I am surely having chills, But still love in seeing how he would fight with Blachowicz.

As Adesanya fought against Costa, information about Costa appeared in my suggested videos on youtube. I had a better opinion about Costa before their fight. Usually fighters talk excuses why they had lost after few weeks from the fight. Costa did it next day and now has mentioned already hundred of excuses why he had lost. At first he said he has spasms before and during the fight.

Now he has a new excuse !!! Their fight was 9 AM and he had jet lag, also he was nervous and could not sleep. Wonder how he managed that problem? Got a glass of wine, that did not help and he got second. That did not help him to relax so he drank half of the bottle. And wonder what? That did not help either So he almost finished the bottle and as he said "during the fight he had spasms and felt hangover.

What a "fighter" The video was on Russian language, but here is something close to it on English https://www.tmz.com/2021/03/01/ufc-paulo-costa-drunk-hangover-israel-adesanya/

^  Yup...  This card is stacked!  And I think the dogs are barking.  

Nzechukwu, Elliott, Souza, Bontorin, Phillips, Cruz, Santos and Sterling all could win in these spots.  And the chalky lines I’m looking at aren’t priced that bad:  Askarov and over 2.5 rounds for the main event.

Here are some vids.  Give extra attention to Adesanya at the Embedded series and see any changes in size, muscle mass and what not.  It couldn’t be seen so far...

UFC 259:  Inside the Octagon - Adesanya vs Blachowicz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApdByJNdvSc

UFC 259:  Embedded Episode 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnIIQGzB6Y8

Adesanya vs Blachowicz, Dan Hardy’s War Room Breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybmsaK_SUTI

UFC 259: Błachowicz vs. Adesanya



Date: March 7, 2021
Main Card: SUN, MAR 7 / 5:00 AM EET
Prelims: SUN, MAR 7 / 3:00 AM EET
Early prelims: SUN, MAR 7 / 1:00 AM EET

Venue: UFC APEX, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Main card (ESPN)
Light Heavyweight: Jan Błachowicz (c) vs. Israel Adesanya
Women’s Featherweight: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Megan Anderson
Bantamweight: Petr Yan (c) vs. Aljamain Sterling
Lightweight: Islam Makhachev vs. Drew Dober            
Light Heavyweight   Thiago Santos   vs.   Aleksandar Rakić   

Preliminary card (ESPN+)
Bantamweight: Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney            
Bantamweight: Song Yadong vs. Kyler Phillips            
Flyweight: Joseph Benavidez vs. Askar Askarov            
Flyweight: Rogério Bontorin vs. Kai Kara-France            
Women’s Strawweight: Lívia Renata Souza vs. Amanda Lemos

Early preliminary card
Flyweight: Tim Elliott vs. Jordan Espinosa            
Light Heavyweight: Kennedy Nzechukwu vs. Carlos Ulberg            
Welterweight: Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews            
Lightweight: Uroš Medić vs. Aalon Cruz            
Bantamweight: Mario Bautista vs. Trevin Jones   

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_259

Havent seen such cool prelims for a long time. Every fight deserves to be watched. My predictions for 3 champ fight are: Adesanya, Nunes, Sterling.

You are correct on this, Benson was the first to implement calf kicks in the UFC (maybe not MMA as a whole, but at this point, it's hard to tell). It did take some time to catch on. I'd say he started that around 2015 and we can say that 2019 or 2020 was the first real start of widespread implementation of that kick.


Yan/Sterling - Sterling has more to adapt to and change his style than Yan has to. There is a clear cut in what Sterlings and is good at and what he is not, wrestling is his bread and butter but he lacks in boxing and kicking, lanky with awkward movement trying to keep everything at distance,while Yan is the dominant striker lacking in the wrestling department compared to Sterling Yan's adaptiveness in the Aldo fight had me thinking that Sterling does not have the same fight capacity to adjust like that. However, there is always a chance STerling could catch Yan early and just tire him on the ground.

Nunes/Anderson - Only two women in this division, that says it all XD Anderson could, in the future, become a legit contender, but compared to Nunes, her experience, aggressiveness and all-around technique, especially on the ground (even tho most see her as a stand-up fighter), will be to much for Anderson and her really slow output.

Blachowicz/Adesanya - There is so much going on here that it's hard to write in one post. The gist of it is that I agree with your sentiment, we have to take into consideration that Adesanya is fighting out of his usual weight class (or at least a weight class he has occupied for some time now), but it's not just because Blachowitz has Polish power in his hands, that's just selling Jan short. He showed, great movement in the Reyes fight, his bodywork and the ability to defend Reyes counters. Adesanya will have to deal with Jan walking through his punches and bringing the fight to his face and will have to adapt more than Jan will for that matter alone, and that could, in theory, make Adesanya screw up his timing and his footwork. Maybe. The other thing is that Adesanya thrives from fighters that try to blitz him as Whittaker did, so that's something that Jan has to overcome, but again, that type of forward movement is something Jan does  all the time. Hard one to call.

Final verdict: Yan, Nunes, Blachowicz

here is my prediction for upcoming event .

Petr Yan vs Aljamain Sterling
Prediction : Petr Yan win by TKO / Decision or Aljamain Sterling win it by submission before R3

In Depth: Based on the last fight with Aldo , we can see that petr yan totally have the technique/knockout power for the knock out ,but for the challenger aljamain Sterling will either perform a submission early on [ I DONT THINK aljamain sterling able to TKO petr yan ]  or it definitely will go in Petr Yan in later's round if he(petr yan) able to tired out Aljamain Sterling.

My Bet : Petr Yan win by TKO


Amanda Nunes vs Megan Anderson

Prediction : Amanda Nunes TKO Megan

In Depth : Will post afters

My Bet : Amanda Nunes win by TKO


The main event

Jan Błachowicz Vs Israel Adesanya


Prediction : Israel Adesanya by Decision

In Depth: Well , we all know that israel is totally a technical player , where he aim and shoot , and not spray and pray type. By this matchup i can see a similar match between Stipe Miocic (Israel) Vs Francis Ngannou(Jan Blachowciz) , Where Blachowciz will totally outplayed by Israel. But still we can't underestimate the Legendary Polish Power, if he caught Israel offguard , we will be see-ing a 1 shot KO from him.

Side notes : As Israel raising his weight from middle weight to Light heavyweight , we need to know that the previous records from Israel will not be accurate ( it will just for us to do some speculation ) , as we to know different weight class == different whole new fights , and we never know Israel gonna give up his agility ( speed ) for muscle.

My bet : Israel Adesanya by Decision

More update will be edited . ( Sorry english is not my main languages )

^  It shouldn’t be banned.  It’s part of the evolution of the sport.  I’m pretty sure some great thinkers in the game will come up with something to defend or negate calf kicks.

I think it was Benson Henderson and the guys at MMA Lab who came up with the calf kick during a time when fighters were mostly doing thigh kicks.

And yeah, I’m looking to fade Ankalaev vs toughter competition.

Edit:  Typo

Rivera and Munoz was for me the fight of the night (not sure if they got it tho). Did you see how Rivera started squaring up with Munoz after he obliterated his front leg and he just didn't or couldn't switch stances? At certain points, he was just dead squared in front of Munoz. Now, I know there are some benefits to the squared stance due to it being relatively open for left and right shifts, however, Rivera's mobility was heavily impaired so I am not sure where he was going with this. I didn't know Munoz had such versatility in his arsenal, that's what surprised me and that's what outclassed Rivera. Well, that and also the fact that Munoz was really good at implementing his calf kicks or low low kicks. I do wonder tho, Bisping had a point in the commentary to the fight, maybe it should be illegal to throw those kicks. Now, I know that's a sill notion and no, they should not, but a part of me does wonder if it will turn into a calf kicking and a calf endurance contest...


Regarding Ankalaev and Krylov, I would say I was more impressed with Krylov's performance than I was disappointed by Ankalaev's. Krylov looked so light on his feet and did not get sucked into Ankalaevs punches, always controlling both the short distance and the long distance. His punches were on point and his bodywork and TD threats had Ankanaev guessing the whole time. He also was able to shut down Ankalaev's offensive ground game.

^  Did you watch Jimmie River vs Pedro Munhoz?  Loved it.  It was a banger.  Ronnie Lawrence was a revelation.  I didn’t know he’s so good!  He could be top prospect.  Can’t wait for his next fight.

Thiago Moises fought well too imho.  His striking has improved by a looot.  But the guy that really disappointed me was Ankalaev..  I’m looking to fade him vs some guys in the top 5.

Except 1 fight, all others ended by decision... Unanimous decisions. Even tko was in third round. Looks like a candidate to be most boring event of 2021.  Strange tha Dana even gave bonus awards for such weak performances. Glad that in next event 3 championships fights are going to happen.

Jon Jones’ next fight will certainly be in heavyweight. He has already dumped the light heavyweight championship like a founder of an ICO hehehe. Why would he return to fight for the belt that he never lost? I speculate that it might also be versus Cyril Gane after his win hehe.

It is hard to predict whether the fight will go the distance or not. Take a look at today's cards, i did not expect the main event to go the distance as i did not expect Ciryl Gane and Jairzinho Rozenstruik will be able to throw for 5 rounds and i expected a finish by Ciryl Gane especially a submission but that did not happen. Jan Błachowicz style does not look flashy but he is powerful and Israel Adesanya has pin point accuracy in his strikes and i wont be surprised if they fight with caution and goes to a decision .

---

The co main event and main event ended up in a decision . Was an easy card to predict unlike the past cards.



Source: Wiki.

UFC 259 Countdown: Full Episode Oh boy!! I'm soo hyped that I've started doing push-ups while watching the video haha. For a guy who's almost done no physical activity since the pandemic started, thats high praise. The Last Style Bender vs Prince of Cieszyn(with the Legendary Polish power). I just cannot wait. For the co-main event, It kinda feels very underwhelming. I'm talking about Amanda Nunes vs Megan Anderson. One of them is a 2 weight class defending champion ..and the other? won 2 first round fights and she's already in the title match? Huh? Not impressed one bit. I'm rooting for Nunes as I always have.

The odds for Jan Błachowicz above 3 is attractive to place a bet and Israel Adesanya is a striking legend in the sport and the faints are part of his attack to observe the reaction of the opponent and the difference is the power of Jan Błachowicz as he could knockout anyone with his right hand and his ground game is underrated but Israel Adesanya has a good take down defense.

I am not expecting the fight to go the distance but it all depends upon how they approach the fight.

Did Jan Błachowicz hurt you in school and bullied you . Looking forward for that fight and if Adesanya wins i hope he fights Jon Jones rather than running away again after calling him out a year ago  .

My picks for this card is Ramazan Kuramagomedov, Ronnie Lawrence, Sabina Mazo, Magomed Ankalaev and Ciryl Gane.

I think that versatility is the reason why Gane would be doing better, because versatility is the fact that MMA is "mixed" and not just one fight style. Sure Rozenstruik is a great fighter as well, not like we are talking about two amateurs that has zero chance to do anything at all, they are both great fighters and we all know that fights sometimes go one side with one lucky shot to face, it is all depending on luck sometimes even though there is a better fighter in the game we see that changing very soon if one side lands a good punch.

I just think Gane would be better at the ground game and UFC have been a ground game thing for the past 3-4 years, many great wrestlers and good ground fighters have managed to beat much much better punchers, that started a year before Khabib versus Connor game but peaked and basically was a decided thing that ground is better with that famous match.

Fight Angela Hill vs Ashley Yoder was removed from fight card just hours before even started as someone tested positive for covid.

I am going for straight wins for Rozenstruik and Ankalaev in main and co-main events, and I am will skip watching most of the other fights.

Waiting for next event and Adesanya kicking some polish ass.

If my wife is a good manager then i do not underestimate her skills because she is my partner, you do not always think outside the box and pay someone to find the best manager to be a professional. When it comes to the ground skills, if you watched all the fights of Israel Adesanya you will understand that fighters have taken him down but they were not able to keep him down and he is yet to fight anyone who has a great ground game and then you will understand what i am talking about. For a change watch Marvin Vettori and Kelvin Gastelum fights to understand what i am talking about or whether it is completely bull shit and this time he is moving up a division and i bet if he fights Jon Jones he will kill him in the ground.

If Jon Jones stayed in the division no one would become a champion until he wanted to, that can be said about Daniel Cormier as well but Jan Błachowicz fought for the belt and won, if you look at Amanda Nunes, she had defeats in her career but now she is on a winning streak finishing everyone. So having losses does not mean anything as any fighter could go on a winning streak.

Jan Błachowicz is not a scientist, he is a bloody fighter and he is a champion because he knows how to fight and win championships, just watch the fight against Dominick Reyes and how he counters the leg kicks and forcing Reyes to move away so that he could get the space to strike his body, if it is not fight intelligence and game plan what would you call them  .

I will place a small bet on Jan Błachowicz because the game plan of Israel Adesanya is faints and then some leg kicks and circle away and force the opponent to advance, if it is a striking battle Israel Adesanya will win but if Jan Błachowicz mixes it up and get a chance to clinch he can hurt Adesanya and Jan Błachowicz has nasty triangle and rear naked chokes.

It’s not only about Roz’s death touch.  His experience vs top competition comes into play here imho.  But we’ll see..  The line on Gane could be justified come fight day.  But right now, I feel like the lines should be closer.

I don’t know much about Croom too except that he trains at Glory Fitness and MMA under James Krause.  His fighters have been on a good run lately, just last week Minner getting a win as the underdog.  And from watching some highlights on Croom, he has power in his hands, grinds opponents by the cage and a decent grappler.  He could stylistically be a problem for Caceres.

Tonights card is going to be a lot of fun no doubt! Expecting some very entertaining fights. Here's my predictions:

Max Grishin (Tko)
Ronnie Lawrence (Points)
Sabina Mazo (Points)
Thiago Moises (Points)
Alex Caceres (Points)
Jimmie RIvera
Mayra Bueno Silva (Sub or Points)
MAgomed Ankalaev (TKO)
Ciryl Gane (TKO)

As for the discussion on Jan being Amateur, I couldn't disagree more. Hes a seasoned fighter, and clearly knows how to have a war with his opponent. The only doubts are if he'll be able to impose his frame against Izzy, and be able to hopefully take him down. I don't see Jan winning this fight on the feet unless he just catches Izzy. I'm routing for Izzy, but I can't ignore that Jan could just catch Izzy with a big punch, and finish the night. Izzy is usually just so slick, and if he doesn't come into this fight complacent, which I'm sure he won't, then I do see him emerging victorious. Although, I do think Jan will stick around until the championship rounds, and if Izzy is to win it'll be via decision.