The MMA Thread

Just saw Saturday's card starts at 3am EST

Then realized it's in China. Guessing Trump won't be in attendance for this one.

Even he knows the card is dead.

10 fighters making their UFC debut. Is that the most on a single card?

UFC 2 had 14 if my math is right, but 10 is likely to be the most under the current format

Deiveson Figueiredo looks a bit like the villain from Sin City.

It's a grizzly question but what is to keep these guys from getting serious or catastrophic neck injuries in the choke holds? You have a guys neck from behind, you start jerking it instead of just holding, as strong as they are the worst could happen it seems. They could snap it easily. Is there a rule for the choke holds that you can't do any violent motions with it? Even if there is a rule, they could lose it in uncontrolled anger and aggression and do it anyway of course.

Jones is a fascinating character to me. He has some ugly aspects to him admittedly no doubt mixed in with the incredible fortitude. He's just off the charts.

Can someone more in the know explain how Kai Asakura gets a shot at the FW title tonight in his UFC debut?

Has that ever happened before?

I'm more amazed at Clay Guida still being on UFC cards.

They needed a second title fight because Belal vs. Shavkat alone doesn't sell (and was later canceled anyway) and Asakura and his Rizin highlight reel is way easier to market than Kai Kara France or some rando.

Has happened many times before (probably 10+) including several people who actually defended the UFC title in their first UFC fight.

Not sure it's happened in the last 15 to 18 years tho.

Henderson fought Rampage but he'd already been in the UFC prior. I thought maybe Jake Shields but he had a fight against Kampmann first. Askren didnt. Jiri didn't. Cyborg didnt.

Even guys like Rampage, Shogun, and Crocop didn't get immediate shots back in the day.

I'm curious if someone slipped my mind tho.

Within the last 15 years:
Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz in 2011 after the WEC merger. Ronda Rousey and Gilbert Melendez in 2013 after the Strikeforce merger. Joe Soto vs TJ Dillashaw on 24 hour notice in 2014. Tim Elliott in 2016. Roxanne Modafferi vs Nicco Montaño in 2017.

Matt Hughes fought promotional newcomers twice for the belt, but that was longer than 18 years ago.

👍

When are they announcing the next Pereira fight?

Because he's by far the most interesting ufc roster fighter at this time.

He's got the ****ing aura. You know when you're watching him that youre watching something special.

I say give him one more 205er then let him fight for the HW title.

Remember when I said the Jones Stipe fight meant nothing and it was exactly that.

Extremely controversial decision for Gane in this fight. Watched the entire thing, but off and on as I was watching Oregon Penn State too, in the sportsbook and thought it was obvious the Russian won

Volkov clearly won, very bad decision

boring fight though and neither 1 of them looked ready to challenge aspinall

Shavkat looked meh, Garry won the totality of the 25 mins i'd say

just didn't win 3 rounds

That was a snooze fest .

Why not Jones versus Peirera, then Aspinal, then Ngannou if he keeps winning. See how GOAT a GOAT can get.

Why would a legendary fighter potentially affect negatively his legacy by almost insuring himself by eventually being defeated by putting himself through a reverse Martingale...???

you know Colby fell off when this fight has 0 posts

maybe he turns back the clock and makes the welterweight division great again

is buckley a future champ? dude seems like he solved weight cutting, looks like he weighs 200 in the cage

tough to be impressed with a win over colby though, who is completely washed

doubt he could beat anyone in top 10 anymore....maybe they do him and usman on a fight night in like 6 months

It's crazy how much people fall off in MMA. Everyone who is great in the present ends up being a washed bum in 5 years time in this sport.

Colby was always a bit of a 1 trick pony, had a style that worked...until it didn't

but he definitely faded fast, went from losing that close war with Usman in late '21 to looking awful vs Edwards and seeming like he didn't belong in the top 10 by the time late '23 came around.

Tough to gauge how good he was in his prime since he didn't really fight anyone besides Usman with Woodley/Masvidal both being totally washed when he fought them.

Brilliant gimmick to go MAGA when no one else in MMA was doing it though, now basically the whole promotion is so doesn't even really work anymore

Well, they are mega blockbuster fights and the main contenders. Who do you want him to fight?