Topic: The UFC Info and Prediction Thread - page 59. (Read 96930 times)

Sean O'Malley & Dustin Poirier were great fights to watch. Not a bad night for the UFC. I think this will end up being a better UFC than the 300 event they wanted to be so big.

The main event was alright...  Wouldn't call it boring but yeah, it was just alright.  I think Merab Dvalishvili should be next.

And Sterling wasn't really a 'long time champ'...  He also moved up to 145 after he lost the belt to O'Malley.


I was...  Lol.  Never thought Poirier still has that dog in him.  I really thought all the comforts of having a lot of money had made him kinda soft.  It was a huge win for him if we look at where he's it in his time with the UFC.

Anyway here are the results.

Sean O'Malley def Marlon Vera  UD
Dustin Poirier def Benoît Saint Denis  KO R2
Michael Page def Kevin Holland  UD
Jack Della Maddalena def Gilbert Burns  KO R3
Petr Yan def Song Yadong  UD
Curtis Blaydes def Jailton Almeida  TKO R2
Maycee Barber def Katlyn Cerminara  UD
Mateusz Gamrot def Rafael dos Anjos  UD
Kyler Phillips def Pedro Munhoz  UD
Philipe Lins def Ion Cuțelaba  UD
Michel Pereira def Michał Oleksiejczuk  SUB R1
Robelis Despaigne def Josh Parisian  TKO R1
Assu Almabayev def CJVergara  UD
Joanne Wood def Maryna Moroz  SD

UFC 299:  Post Fight Press Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_OQnxRF82s

But I am not surprised that Saint Denis has lost. He is very straightforward in his fights. Won usually due to having strong chin. But with Poirier that did not worked. In lightweight division, Poirier probably has best boxing and strongest punch (check records and wins by punches). Obvious thing happened in that fight. What Saint Denis did wrong - it was second round, but his hands were low he was tired, and he walked straight back and forward on the attack line of Poirier hands.

Boring main event. Both looked like non-championship fighters. I wonder how long Dana White protects this Pink Poodle from Dvalishvili. Cejudo was already taken care of. Long time champion Aljamain Sterling should've been given an immediate rematch but surprisingly his mind changed and is now moving up in weight, probably convinced or paid by Dana.

Great wins by Maddalena and Poirier but heart-breaking losses by Gilbert and Saint-Denis. Damn, Gilbert should've stayed it safe but he has a heart of a warrior and risked his position in the last seconds of the final round. Saint-Denis was a bit reckless there and was finally caught hard. 

MVP's debut was another uneventful one. He is already 37 years old though but I do not see him getting better or goes near the top rankings if he continues fighting.

Here are my predictions and picks for the UFC 299

Sean O'Malley VS Marlon Vera

Right now it is a great opportunity for Chito Vera to become champion, but the odds were for Sean O'Malley with 1.38 for Sean O'Malley and 3.10 for Marlon Vera it was like that 1st win for Marlon Vera was just a fluke, but we have seen the back of the knee kick wobbled O'Malley but it was really not considered as a loss by O'Malley and he really insists that it was a fluke for me Chito Vera is a very dangerous striker but this could end up with a decision as Sean O'Malley will be pretty much going to fight Chito with caution, as what has happened to their 1st fight but for sure I am seeing a ground game this time as both is training their wrestling if that happens Sean O'Malley will be on the advantage as he got good to reach that he can extend to grapple but for me, I think Marlon Vera will be really for this as my pick is Marlon Chito Vera.

Kevin Holland VS Michael Page

In this fight, Kevin Holland lost to Jack Della Maddalena and it was a split match as he had a hard time against Della Maddalena with the odds of 1.75 for Kevin Holland and 2.09 for Michael "Venom" Page this will be a fight against a striker versus a wrestler we all know that Kevin Holland is well rounded but Venom got the power to one strike Holland so Holland just got to be careful with that but I think Kevin Holland doesn't really need to take down and wrestle Page I think his striking is enough his counter and strike output is fast and for sure a great striker than Page so for this fight my pick is Kevin Holland.

Curtis Blaydes VS Jailton Almeida

For this fight, the odds are 2.02 for Curtis Blaydes and 1.80 for Jailton Almeida and this is a fight of a striker against a wrestler For me, Curtis Blaydes is an underrated striker but for me, he is pretty much good at what he does, while Jailton Almeida is not that good and doesn't have a great strike output but his BJJ is quite good at what he does but for me, this will be a hard time for Blaydes as Jailton Almeida is good at that and he can takedown Curtis Blaydes for sure so my pick is Jailton Almeida and it could be a ground and pound or a submission win.

The past fight from Sean O’Malley was rigged as hell, no one understand how he wins after been a punching bag all the rounds, and this time i have the feeling that he will lose by KO. That's the only option for Marlon Vera because if they go to points it will be a lose for him.

About the other fights i feel Michael Page and Dustin Pointer will win, but we know how crazy UFC can be, let's grab some popcorn and enjoy the event.

Petr Yan is a very interesting fighter, I just think he is in the wrong sport. He should have been in boxing since he is more up for it you can see how much skillful he is when it comes to footwork and throwing jabs.  If he is just a Dagi, my prediction would be more than 80% for him to win.

Yadong has more experience in grappling so if the fight goes his way, Petr will be in the losing position. But ultimately if this is just Karate vs Boxing, Petr can win this.

Petr Yan will fight Song Yadong. It's a fight in which the odds don't give much favoritism to either side. Petr Yan, 31 years old and born in Russia, had 21 fights, winning 16 fights and losing 5 fights. coming from 3 consecutive defeats, something very difficult for him as he was doing well before this sequence of defeats and even so he is being seen as a favorite by the bookmakers, perhaps the bookmakers hope that the sequence of bad results will end in this fight or the bookmakers are greatly underestimating Song Yadong who was born in China, is 26 years old, managed to have 30 fights of which he won 21 fights and lost in 7 seven fights

Of the 21 fights in which Song Yadong managed to win, 9 victories were by knockout, 9 victories were by decision and 3 victories were by submission. This shows that he is not the type of fighter who specializes in knockouts, but when given the opportunity he can win by knockout. well, looking at these two fighters, in my opinion they are currently going through very different stages, while the Russian Petr Yan is going through a very bad phase with a sequence of 3 defeats, on the other hand the Chinese Song Yadong is going through a good phase with 2 consecutive victories, probably the fight between these two fighters will go beyond 3 rounds and in the octagon both fighters will be more aggressive, and despite the bookmakers placing Petr Yan as the favorite, in my opinion Song Yadong can win this fight

Michael Page does have quite strong leg strength and very fast punches, even several times in Bellator he did unexpected things that made his opponents really feel how tough Michael Page legs were.
But all of that can't necessarily be repeated in fight against Kevin Holland because Holland is also quite strong fighter, this will be wild fight and we will see how the two of them hit each other to knock them out.
But what Michael Page did to Santos really surprised everyone because it happened when Michael Page did jumping knee to Santos face and hit him right in the skull on the forehead.

^    For sure...  But dunno man, Vera looks like he could party too.  


Between Page and Holland, I'd lean Page because Holland just makes a lotmof dumb decisions in there.  We've seen it time and time before.  But if he's smart, he'd use his grappling skills vs Page.  We'll see.

As for O'Malley wanting to make it a trilogy if he wins, I think it's just his way to stay the fck away from Merab Dvalishvili.  That guy is gonna do what his friend Sterling wasn't able to do.  :/

Here are the weigh in results.  There's one miss but not by much.

Champ Sean O’Malley (135) vs Marlon Vera (135)
Dustin Poirier (156) vs Benoit Saint-Denis (155)
Kevin Holland (170) vs Michael Page (170)
Gilbert Burns (171) vs Jack Della Maddalena (170)
Yadong Song (136) vs Petr Yan (135)
Jailton Almeida (261) vs Curtis Blaydes (257)
Maycee Barber (125) vs Katlyn Cerminara (125)
Rafael dos Anjos (156) vs Mateusz Gamrot (156)
Pedro Munhoz (135) vs Kyler Phillips (135)
Ion Cutelaba (205) vs Philipe Lins (206)
Michal Oleksiejczuk (185) vs Michel Pereira (186)
Robelis Despaigne (261) vs Josh Parisian (266)
Asu Almabaev (126) vs CJ Vergara (127)*
Maryna Moroz (126) vs Joanne Wood (125)

*Missed weight

Some final vids.

UFC 299:  Ceremonial Weigh In
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL5u6QZ4K8I

UFC 299:  Embedded Episode 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsuIOkubdEg

UFC 299:  Embedded Episode 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUMVmcFURCI

And here's the final call to jeremypwr's Multi Master.

UFC 299:  Multi Master Challenge
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/sportsbetio-ufc-299-multi-master-challenge-9-march-5487551

Fade or follow, up to you.

14. Sean O’Malley
13. Benoit Saint-Denis
12. Michael Page
11. Gilbert Burns
10. Petr Yan
9. Jailton Almeida
8. Katlyn Cerminara
7. Mateusz Gamrot
6. Kyler Phillips
5. Philipe Lins
4. Michel Pereira
3. Robelis Despaigne
2. Asu Almabaev
1. Joanne Wood

Gotta go Suga just because he’s way more entertaining and someone I’d actually enjoy hanging out with.

Page is well known to have an interesting style. I'm rooting for him to win. Hope it won't end up as a Lima swept.


It could be. Chito will give him the first rounds but once Chito hits Sean hard in the mid-round, he will stick Sean gradually in one corner to kick that leg again. Chito may have boring boxing skills but it works for him.

Earlier today I read that Sean wanted to make a deal for the trilogy in case Chito wins, that is kind of having doubts about himself. The doubts grew when the crowd didn't cheer for him.

Yes, I agree. He is definitely a good addition but the problem is, that UFC is currently valuing people who can talk better instead of people who can only fight better. Yes if they have a fighter who can talk well and fight well, it is great. But at this moment if a fighter can really talk well,  even if he is not that great or not proven in the UFC, he is still a great choice for Dana White.

Now it seems he is trying to find the second Conor McGregor,  and he is sad because he is unable to find someone who could talk like that.  He would really be happy if he could find someone who has the mouth of Conor McGregor and the skills of Khabib Nurmagomedov

Dont forget that Michael Page broke Evangelista Santos skull with a flying knee. Santos skull broke in forehead location, a place that supposed to be extra strong. What is this? Coincidence or his speed:strength was really that huge? That is actually so crazy everytime I think about that. One knee and the other guy will live entire life with a broken skull. And if the parts of the skull hit the brain. Tragedy might happen.

Almeida is mostly a BJJ guy.  So more likely it ends up as a submission finish for him than via KO if the match doesn't go the distance.

Mmm not sure about that about Vera but maybe in the later rounds.  At R1 to R3 I think it will mostly be for O'Malley beating Vera's face to a pulp kinda like what O'Malley did to Moutinho.  So that's possibly three rounds already scored for O'Malley.  If ever Vera wins, he'll need to finish O'Malley at R4 or at R5.  I guess if some of you guys really wanna bet Vera, go for the late round props.  Vera at R4 and R5 are at 25 and 35 respectively.    But I think O'Malley gets the W overall.

UFC 299:  Embedded Episode 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK_Sda7D77E

That Jailton Almeida VS Curtis Blaydes fight will be one heated fight for sure, and you are right that Curtis Blaydes is not that slick of a fighter everyone knows that if Tom Aspinall didn't get injured he would surely win that fight at that speed and that wrestling will surely get Blaydes deep into the waters, I don't really see Curtis Blayeds being champion while Jailton Almeida might have a chance against Aspinall, but still, Aspinall had many tools in his pocket that he could likely use against Almeida.

While MVP Michael Venom Page is one of the heavy hitters in the welterweight division and for the UFC to let Kevin Holland face such a beast is really a hard welcome for Holland in that division, but I really like Kevin Hollands wrestling if he can get into Venom's back that is while Venom Page could take the safe route by using his reach advantage against Holland and that Knee will be a devastating weapon for him.

---

We have a Joshua VS Ngannou fight right now and I think I will make some predictions later in the Boxing community thread we also got a Zhilei Zhang VS Joseph Parker rematch and this time it will be the real deal for sure, and Rey Vargas fight and this could be his win this time.

EDIT:

A decent fight indeed, that would surely test Jailton Almeida's offensive and defensive wrestling and grapple for sure if what level he is at, because I don't see him scramble that much in the ground and Tom Aspinall is a better indicator to see that, while Brock Lesnar rumors might not be true, and if he returns I think he can not win a fight anymore.

1. For a fighter to have a debut in UFC at 36 yo, this is already a disadvantage. He is old already for welterweight.
2. Problem of Page - to much self confidence. Come one Page, stick those fists to your chin or you will go to sleep. UFC is not Bellator. We have examples where Bellator or other promotion champions are only "two categories above average" in UFC. Chandler is the best example.
3. On the paper Page is good, but look at his record. Every single average fighter he has beaten, but as soon as he faces a serious opponent, he looses (lost to Lima and a split win later).

Page is a nice addition to UFC, he is fun to watch, specially all those taunting moves and faces. For sure he would help UFC to make sales, but I expect more or less fighters would beat his ass

The UFC is really observant in seeing business opportunities in the sport, after Page spent his contract in the bellator did not wait long for the UFC to immediately give him the opportunity to fight in the octagon, even though the fight will be Page debut in the UFC I think we cannot underestimate Page who does have extraordinary endurance and fighting ability even though he is now 36 years old,  His fighting skills may be quite brutal and this is why the UFC is so keen to bring in and organize his first fight in the UFC, but I think Page will be able to provide an interesting spectacle for us and of course in this case he should keep the heart out for Holland who has more experience in the UFC.

I think in facing Holland later Page will be more dominant in using his legs and jabs to knock Holland down, honestly I never like to see Holland fight especially before the fight he underestimated the opponent he will face, so I really hope that Page will be able to break Holland arrogance in the fight later but without having to break Holland head skull like Page did in Bellator it used to be  , even so, I think Holland will learn from his previous defeat against thompson by fighting more creatively against fighter kickboxing style.

But Petr Yan's 3 defeats are not defeats by complete dominance or TKO. Yan didn't really lose those 3 fights. This is not the same as Ferguson who lost 7 times in a row and among them he lost by domination and knockout. Song Yadong is an incredible fighter of the new era but I still favor Petr Yan to win that fight. Maybe Song will try to learn Yan's weaknesses from his 3 defeats but I think it will be very difficult to implement them. Yan is one of the best boxers in the UFC and Song also has good striking. Yan usually starts the fight with a slow start and Song usually plays quite aggressively. I think if this fight goes under 2 rounds it will be Song's win. But if you go past 2 rounds, Yan will be very dangerous.

Pay some attention to Michael Page vs Kevin Holland fight. Some facts about Page. He is from a martial arts family. His father was a successful kickboxer. He has 7 brothers who are kickboxers also (lol), he has won nearly everything in karate and kickboxing. He was on special notice in Bellator (basically Scott Coker thought that Page is his golden star and make he wont face many grapplers/bjj on his career. Just like O’Malley in UFC )

Now he is having a debut fight in UFC and already against top12. Page likes to taunt his opponents, often with low hands. He relies on his speed, reaction and unseen punch much. But with hands low. If Holland uses his fighting IQ, he would win easily, or will be beaten and humiliated.