Topic: The UFC Info and Prediction Thread - page 542. (Read 96909 times)

Jorge Masvidal has been now tested for covid19 and if he is negative we may see him in upcoming UFC main event facing Kamaru Usman!
This will be epic fight if it happens, and I will still give small advantage to Usman.
Some people think main event will not happen as Usman did not even board the plane from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi, but lets wait and see results of Masvidal testing...
https://twitter.com/espnmma/status/1279540116126498816

Khabib was very close to father. I reckon it has destroyed all of his desire to fight again. However, he might also have a farewell fight and similar to the show from anger that he created after his fight versus Conor, I also speculate that Khabib might make a speech that Xi Jinping might not like hehehehehe.

Also, Dana is a Trump supporter. He will approve of this storyboard hehehe.

I thought the UFC had time to negotiate for a replacement but since the fight is taking place in the UAE the possibility we could see the Usman fight is very slim and Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway might be the main event. If the fight was scheduled in the US i am sure the UFC will scramble to make the fight happen and Masvidal would have got the money he was demanding.

I do not see Khabib retiring but i hope he will see it as a motivation to make his dad proud and defend his title a few times before retiring.

Just one more week and i do not see any replacement.

Ooooo better match up with Masvidal imo.  But I wish they fought under better circumstances tho...  Like Masvidal going thru a full fight camp?  But who knows.  Some fighters come out better without it.

Edit:  Still..  Sucks with Burns out and Khabib's dad.  You guys think Khabib's really gonna retire?

Edit:  Looks like the main event is gonna be Volk vs Holloway from what I'm reading...  Usman vs Burns will be rescheduled.

Edit:  Seeing some people wanting Covington to step in...  I mean Usman vs him again?  I'd rather see Leon Edwards get in there if not Masvidal.

I'd like him to step up to take the fight but I really doubt Dana is going to step back and give him what he wants. He probably needs to stand firm. Otherwise it will just have a knock-on effect and many more fighters will just go on a protest asking for more money. Hopefully they can come to some compromise as this would be a huge fight for Masvidal and I can't see him fighting any time soon. With a belt on the line he should just take it, do his thing and perform well and maybe even win then he will be in a better position to get the big bucks for the big buck fights. Without a belt this is less likely to happen.

Oh yeah, I heard the news a while ago and it seems that shifting of events may result to a more interesting fight lol. The only thing we need to do is for Dana to say yes. It is a blessing in disguise (is it appropriate to say it? No offense intended).

However, I'm lowering my expectations regarding such possibility since we all knew that there's a bad blood between Masvidal and Dana lately. But I hope Dana will consider this, if were him I'll forget the issue for the meantime because what's more important is getting more money.

Jorge Masvidal was supposed to fight Kamaru Usman in this fight card but it was not scheduled because of payment issues and this is a great opportunity for Gamebred to get the money he is looking for by taking a short replacement fight but i doubt Usman will be willing to take him on a short notice.

It is not that easy as you think, there are strategies you do against an opponent studying their tapes and understanding patterns and if you are training for months for a single opponent and then there is a switch off opponent at the last moment it is not an advantage for anyone.

The prime example is Khabib and Al Iaquinta fight, there was 6 or 7 opponents changed during that fight week and Khabib was willing to fight anyone but it was not that dominating like the rest of his fights and the so called pundits were taking that fight to compare his flaws in taking down Al Iaquinta and his stand up issues even though he dominated Al Iaquinta every round, change of opponents is a major factor for anyone as these are not backyard fights and these are elite of the elite fighters and preparation means everything.

It is much deeper than what is in the surface, Khabib relates everything in his life through martial arts and training, if you can go back and watch his Russian TV interview while he was injured for over a year back in 2015, he said he felt he was in jail because he could not train nor he could fight and that is how he relates life, if he is frustrated or depressed he gets that relief if he trains hard and overcome that state of mind, it is a completely different philosophy altogether.

Too bad for Burns and his team but he'll probably get another shot at the title.

I wasn't expecting Masvidal to volunteer as a replacement fighter. It would have been a good chance to leverage his position to get a higher pay if Dana and UFC would want to keep that title match for the very first event on fight island.

That is bad news... but I think UFC will try to find anyone to fight, just to avoid main event not happening.
I am not sure if anyone is ready for this just one week away, and it all gives great advantage to Usman.
My bet is with Usman if they find someone willing to fight.

Jorge Masvidala and Colby Covington volunteered to face Kamaru Usman on short notice!
https://www.mmafighting.com/2020/7/4/21313116/jorge-masvidal-colby-covington-immediately-volunteer-to-face-kamaru-usman-on-short-notice

Another bad news guys! Burns tested positive for Covid 19, out of UFC 251. Tell me this is not happening . I'm so disappointed that the main event will not happen anymore but good for us there are two exciting title match remaining.

Hoping Burns and the rest of his team get well soon.

Rest in peace father. I speculate that Khabib might retire and Conor will return hehehe.

Also, another terrible news. Gilbert Burns has tested for the coronavirus. Where did this virus come from? It is destroying everything.



The UFC 251 main event has been derailed by the coronavirus, as Gilbert Burns has tested positive for COVID-19 and is out of his bout with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.

Multiple people close to the situation informed MMA Junkie on Friday night that Burns (18-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) has been pulled from his fight with Usman (16-1 MMA, 11-0 UFC), which takes place next week in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi. The fight is expected to be rescheduled at a later date. The people requested anonymity because the UFC has yet to make an official announcement.

Burns traveled from Florida, where he trained for UFC 251, to Las Vegas. The promotion is using the city as a hub to send athletes overseas to Abu Dhabi, testing them for COVID-19 before flying out to the Middle East. Burns’ test result came back positive, as well as his brother and cornerman, Herbert Burns, and coach Greg Jones.

Source https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/07/ufc-251-gilbert-burns-out-kamaru-usman-title-fight-coronavirus

With or without award he is a true legend. I'm sure, wherever Abdulmanap is, he is very proud of his son. Khabib follow what his father taught him — train everyday. Imagine, he still train despite of his father being in coma. I know it's very hard for Khabib's side because the psychological effect of such crucial situation can drain him but he still continue. What a brave man! Condolences for his beloved family .

He might look like teenager and so does Frankie Edgar who is 38 and Yoel Romero who is 43 but looks like he is ten years younger but these fighters are in elite competition for decades and the body cannot take damage anymore but Yoel Romero is an exception as he is still a tough fight for any elite fighter , look at Jose Aldo he is just 33 but his prime days are over and the same with Renan Barao who was once considered as the top pound for pound fighter but his prime days were over before 30 years of age.

It is a really sad news and during the past few weeks he used to post videos about training hard to relieve his stress because of his fathers condition and now he is no more and how it will affect Khabib is to be seen. About the record, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov is a legend of the sport but not sure about the world record as i searched the Guinness books of records but cannot find that record but it might be a Russian record or they never applied to get enrolled in Guinness.

Yeah it is sad news
Looking at recent news reports, main reason for his death may be covid19 and then heart attack, including several comas he had before.
He was a strong man, but not that strong...
Condolences to Khabib family.
https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/07/abdulmanap-nurmagomedov-dies-following-lengthy-battle-with-covid-19-reports

I bet you speak about Urijah. That guy just cant retire. He is 41, but looks like a teenager with balls chin

Reminder: his is going to be first ufc event outside the US during pandemic. Together with great fight, I'm expecting something unusual and exiting from UEA

Update:

Sad news guys, Khabibs father passed away few hours ago...

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov has raised 18 World Champions and is added in Russia's World Record book as the most successful combat sambo and wrestling coach.

^  He should've stayed retired.  Lol.

What do you guys think about the rematch with Volk vs Holloway?  I'm leaning towards Holloway.  I think he's gonna make all the proper adjustments (checking the leg kicks, fight southpaw, anticipate Volka's approach with a hard knee) and get that W back.

UFC Free Fight:  Usman vs Covington
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=107E61aOCxA

UFC Free Fight:  Volkanovski vs Holloway 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxwbGUg3h1o

Edit:  Here's Burns' last bout vs Woodley.  I think Burns has the better stand up compared to Covington and if he does fight Usman like he did Woodley, it could go under 4.5 rounds.  Dunno..  What do you guys think?

UFC Burns vs Woodley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRrafvudMTg

I just watched the Urijah Faber and Petr Yan fight and Yan is a tough opponent for Aldo and Urijah Faber looked off with his awkward left slaps and any shots that Yan landed was hurting Faber a lot and his face was a real mess and he should have remained retired rather than fighting a young prospect.

Anyone interested to watch the fight here is the free fight uploaded by the UFC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icVnEtbGfV0

You do not agree? I reckon Urijah Faber's face might disagree on your disagreement hehehe. Urijah was immediately retired after coming out of his retirement hehe.

However, agreed, Petr Yan and Jose Aldo might be fight of the night.

If Jose Aldo could make the weight without taking away much of his energy then he can defeat anyone, Conor McGregor fight was really different with all the mind games and that was main reason Aldo wanted to kick his ass without understanding the gameplan of McGregor and once he launched to attack Conor countered with a perfect left but Petr Yan is yet to fight someone like Aldo and if he overcomes the battle then he will go a long way.

Aldo and Cejudo was supposed to fight and because of the pandemic that fight was dropped and i see Sterling more deserving of the title shot and i would not mind him against Aldo rather than Yan, Moraes needs to win some fights to get back in the title contention.

Some people call it "Curse of McGregor". Fighters after loosing to him often perform worse than they used to.
One of the variants why this happens - Money. Fighting vs McGregor means earning a lot. After fight against him, his opponents wont see such huge paycheck in nearest future. So he looses motivation.