Okay, let’s talk about UFC. Let’s talk about men and women punching each other in the face and choking one another unconscious.
But seriously, UFC 196 was great. Even if I really wanted McGregor to win and he lost.
Pic via Shutterstock
Here are some of my notes…
— All the fights on the main card sucked except the co-main and main.
— Felt terrible for Holly Holm who was well on her way to winning a decision before being choked out in the fifth. I expect her to win the title back, possibly before Ronda returns.
— McGregor was teeing off on Diaz big time. But at one point during the second I remember being shocked at how gassed McGregor was. I knew he was in trouble at that point.
— I feel like McGregor will be back. Those shots would have melted every featherweight on the planet (and most lightweights). He was unwise to take a fight with one of the best chins in MMA.
I have a lot more thoughts, but I’m keen to hear yours! I will be in the comments!
Comments
14 responses to “Off Topic: UFC 196”
I made a very solid return betting that Conor’s power wouldn’t be enough to intimidate Diaz and that once his power was gone he wouldn’t have the skillset to win. He doesn’t have the skills to point fight with a good boxer, or the gas tank to throw hard volume for multiple rounds, or the wrestling to dictate the fight and his ground game is a liability.
Basically power has its limits and without a huge power advantage he’s a tremendously diminished fighter.
He’s still a nasty prospect for the FW division though providing he can keep cutting the weight, I do have Frankie beating him though. That upper crust a LW is going to beat him consistently when he can’t get the KO, a guy like Tony Ferguson has better power, chin, cardio and grappling…. I think he’ll get mauled there.
Tate’s got heart for days and Holm’s ground game is as terrible as could be imagined. It occurred to me halfway through the 3rd that while Holm is a beloved person, she was going to be a boring as f*ck Champion. Nobody else is as bullheaded as Ronda and Holm wants no part in engaging if she doesn’t have too.
That event was amazing though. I had money on Diaz, Tate and Filthy Tom and almost got all three (stupid judges). Coming off the Silva Bisping fight the week before, it’s been an awesome run of fights!
I preferred 195. The twist in UFC 196 sucked. But everyone knows UFC 69 was the best.
195 made me sad. Every single fighter that I wanted to see a win from lost.
Won money on Tate but didnt end up putting money on my boy Diaz (was planning on making a sportsbet account and forgot) . I dont think I’ve ever been so happy with an MMA win, the way Nate smiled when he rocked Conor with that straight left behind the right jab had me ecstatic all evening.
Still over the moon right now honestly, the fact that it was a Diaz bro to shut Conor up makes it that much more sweeter. Of course, Conor will be back and he will continue to be a beast in lighter divisions but I’m just happy all the talk of him fighting Lawler will finally be put to rest.
209 Stockton motherfuckers! No one can take that left hand!
I’m not surprised, motherfuckers.
I don’t like McGregor at all (well, his public persona at least, I’ve never met him). So I was pleased to see him finally take an L, and to have it happen in a nothing fight against an opponent who had about 2 weeks notice allowed me to feel all smug.
But obviously he’ll be back. This feels big, but he’s still a champion. He’s got my respect for not backing down when everything changed and he had nothing to gain from taking the fight (well, nothing besides a whole lot of money). He’s certainly lived up to his promise to fight anyone, anywhere, any time.
– Connor definitely gassed too early (which isn’t really a surprise when he moves up 25 pounds for a fight) and he wasn’t smart enough to adapt mid fight (with the arrogant hands down approach costing him). I don’t think the ground game was really an issue at all in this fight (though it’s clearly not a strength for him); he was all but knocked out on his feet by that Diaz left hand.
– I wonder if Diaz gets a shot? Probably not lol, poor guy.
– I want to see Connor v Frankie. I think Connor beats him, but it would be his toughest fight in FW.
– Felt so bad for Holm. Out-fought Tate for pretty much 4 rounds and loses. But that’s the fighting game. I think she will come back even better for the loss and retake the belt.
– Agree with Mark that the rest of the card sucked.
– Filthy was very stiff to lose that.
I think Frankie puts an MMA clinic on him. He’s eaten punches from the best of the best at FW AND LW and nobody else has been able to put him away.
If you bet on McGregor you’d essentially be betting that Conor can land a cleaner, harder strike than anyone else has and that when he does Frankie will go down…. that’s possible but really, it’s unlikely given his long history of high level fights against much bigger men (than both himself and Conor).
On the other hand, Frankie wins in every other scenario. He’s tougher (never been stopped, Conor has been 3 times now), his cardio is much better, his wrestling is much better and the grappling would be a purely one-sided affair.
The UFC will spinning this story as hard as they can to justify giving Aldo another crack before Frankie gets one.
I agree. Frankie has an iron chin, outstanding grappling, and boxing on par with any. I think he will win, and to be honest I don’t think it will be very close. That’s not to say I don’t respect Connor as a fighter, he’s great, certainly one of the best.
However I do think they will give Edgar the shot rather than an Aldo rematch, as I think at this point it is the more marketable fight.
They may want to do it for UFC 200 though, and Frankie may not be 100% healthy
If he’s not 100%, the UFC might use that as an excuse to give Aldo the shot:
1. There’s an established rivalry there and it’s an easier build on shorter notice (this is actually good for Aldo too, who does get hurt occasionally)
2. He can definitely beat Aldo
3. If he doesn’t beat Aldo, it’s easier to spin from a PR perspective losing to a guy he already beat. A particularly given he’d be dropping two straight.
4. Aldo is less likely to completely embarrass him, even if he KO’s him it won’t be as bad as if Edgar takes him down and outstrikes him by several hundred percent.
I agree fully that Frankie is the rightful next contender, although they both deserve shots. I just think the UFC will want to protect Conor a bit while he’s stinging from the Diaz fight.
You have some good points. From what I have read his trainer wants to Aldo rematch, for what I would assume are similar reasons. I guess only time will tell.
I hope Frankie gets it though.
if this is a sports blog as well now could you post nba news too for me? thanks.
I get the feeling McGregor really hurt his cardio by jumping up to 170. I mean, he fought Aldo at 145 like 3 months ago, there’s no way your body can adapt to adding that much weight as quickly. I still think he has a shot at doing some damage at 155. Just wasn’t his time.
But I think the blueprint has been laid down. Take this guy down to the ground and he’s basically done. It’s a huge hole in his game.
Oh, also Holly Holm lost. That kinda sucks because I really wanted to see that rematch.
It would of went to a draw from the score cards. Tate would probably have won the last round due to ground position. They scored second round a 10-8 to tate. Ive seen worse 10-8 rounds but not may if that was the case. Holm looked like her earlier ufc fights where she was not very aggressive and her striking looked mostly ordinary.