Official MMA Appreciation Thread

[[MERIT]]

Originally Posted by Dr_Rez

why are you filling this thread with news posts....? We can see this on google, this thread is for actual conversation.

So that the 3 people who read this thread can converse about said news.

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► The rule set has been announced for the upcoming New Year's
Eve RIZIN 14 exhibition bout between undefeated boxing magnate
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and undeafeted kickboxer and MMA star
Tenshin Nasukawa. The bout will feature three 3-minute rounds.
There will be no kicking or grappling, just straight boxing. Both
fighters will wear 8-ounce boxing gloves. There will be no judges
scoring the bout, and the outcome will not affect either fighter's
professional record.



► Bellator MMA President Scott Coker has proposed the idea of
cross-promotional title fights between Bellator MMA and the
Japanese-based Rizin FF. Former NCAA Division 1 wrestling Champion,
2-time All-American wrestler and 2-time Bellator Bantamweight
Champion Darrion Caldwell [13-1 MMA, 10-1 BMMA] will face former
Shooto Rookie Tournament winner, 2-time Shooto Bantamweight
Champion, UFC Flyweight Championship challenger and RIZIN
Bantamweight Grand-Prix winner Kyoji Horiguchi [25-2 MMA, 7-0 RFF]
for the RIZIN Bantamweight Championship at RIZIN 14 on New
Year's Eve. Coker and RIZIN FF President Nobuyuki Sakakibara
hope that this bout leads to further cross-promotion in the future.

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UFC President Dana White wants 3-time UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway [19-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC] to move up to
the Lightweight division. White feels that Holloway is too big for the 145-pound Featherweight division, fearing that the
weight cuts will have permanent negative effects on Holloway.



Holloway has fought in the 155-pound Lightweight division before, capturing the X-1 Lightweight Championship in 2011. He
is scheduled to defend the UFC Featherweight Championship against former RFA Featherweight Champion and 2-time
RTC Featherweight Champion, the undefeated Brian Ortega [14-0-0-1 MMA, 6-0-0-1 UFC] attomorrow night's UFC 231 PPV
which emanates from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.



This will be Holloway's first fight in over a year. Ortega last fought in March at UFC 222, where he defeated Frankie Edgar via knockout.

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<[ EDIT: Mods, thanks for combining my posts into one big jumblefuck . . . again. As basically the only person who puts any effort into this thread, please stop fucking with my shit. ]>

[[MERIT]]

Thoughts on tomorrow night's UFC 231 PPV? I'm looking forward to seeing if Max Holloway can continue his greatness. Hopefully he doesn't suffer from ring rust after his year-long layoff.

But more so, I'm looking forward to the Women's Flyweight Championship fight between Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valentina Shevchenko! I wonder if Jerdzejcyk can perform as well against the bigger opponents after moving up from Strawweight [115 pounds]. Shevchenko used to fight at Bantamweight [135 pounds]. Jerdzejcyk is taller [5'6'' vs. 5'5''], but Shevchenko looks to be thicker and stronger.

[ManifestBlasphemy666]

Boogeywoman 2 Div Champ

[[MERIT]]

Max Holloway became a 4-time UFC Featherweight Champion and handed Brian Ortega his first professional loss with a TKO victory as Ortega was unable to continue at the end of Round 4. Holloway dominated all 4 rounds, even scoring a few 10-8's.


Valentina Shevchenko defeated Joanna Jedrzejczyk via unanimous decision [49-46, 49-46, 49-46] to win the vacant UFC Women's Flyweight Championship.


FULL RESULTS: https://mmajunkie.com/2018/12/ufc-23...y-live-results

[ManifestBlasphemy666]

Shevchenko vs Joanna = borefest...Valentina is good but not very fun to watch imo

Ortega vs Holloway = Great fight...Not sure why i keep underestimating Max everytime i pick him to lose he wins impressively and this was no different. He bloodied up and murked Ortega

Great stoppage as well Ortega had to much heart and would've continued that's one of those fights that can change a fighters career where they take a beating so bad they aren't gonna the same after that only time will tell if Ortega bounces back.

[[MERIT]]

I figured that Shevchenko would win, being the bigger fighter. It was nice seeing 2 former champions go at it for a title, sort of like a super-fight. I like both fighters. They are among a handful of female MMA fighters that I follow.


MAAAD props to Holloway for coming off of a year-long layoff and whooping that ass!


And props to the homie ManifestBlasphemy666 for helping me keep this thread alive!

Originally Posted by ManifestBlasphemy666

Valentina is good but not very fun to watch imo

Ortega vs Holloway = Great fight...Not sure why i keep underestimating Max everytime i pick him to lose he wins impressively and this was no different. He bloodied up and murked Ortega

Great stoppage as well Ortega had to much heart and would've continued that's one of those fights that can change a fighters career where they take a beating so bad they aren't gonna the same after that only time will tell if Ortega bounces back.

I love to watch Shevchenko fight. I enjoyed the bout. Could it have been better from a fan's POV? Of course, but these 2 individuals are basically risking their lives for our entertainment, so I suck up all bad sentiments about the fight. Fighting inside the cage yourself offers up a better POV, psychologically, when watching others fight.

If Conor McGregor can make 145-pounds, I would LOVE to see a rematch! Holloway would WHOOP that frail Irish ass!

[Dr_Rez]

RIP Ortegas beautiful face. What I cant decide is did he play the standup game purposefully like how Rousey did after getting better? Which obviously came back to bite them both in the ass since the ground and takedowns is where they rule. OR was Max's td defense so good and striking so good he really just couldnt get him down.

[[MERIT]]

Originally Posted by Dr_Rez

RIP Ortegas beautiful face. What I cant decide is did he play the standup game purposefully like how Rousey did after getting better? Which obviously came back to bite them both in the ass since the ground and takedowns is where they rule. OR was Max's td defense so good and striking so good he really just couldnt get him down.

Me thinks "Blessed" to be just that damn good!

[[MERIT]]

Lots of MMA coming up this weekend! We've got 2 Bellators and a UFC on FOX [also a Cage Fury Fighting Championship and Invicta, but no one gives a shit about them LOL].

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First up is Bellator's Salute To The Troops on Friday night. There are only 2 fights
that I care about on this card:

Bellator 2011 Lightweight Tournament winner and 5-time Bellator Lightweight Champion
Michael Chandler [18-4 MMA, 15-4 BMMA] faces undefeated Bellator Lightweight
Champion Brent Primus [8-0 MMA, 6-0 BMMA] for the title. This is a rematch of
their June 2017 bout, which saw Primus beat Chandler for the title. This will be
Primus' first fight since then, as he's been dealing with a bad knee injury. Chandler,
however, has racked up 2 victories in this interim.

I'm calling this victory for Chandler. He only lost their first fight because the doctors
stopped it due to his leg getting injured. If that hadn't have happened, he would have
most likely kept the belt.

MY PREDICTION: Michael Chandler wins via TKO in Round 1.



The other fight on the card that I want to see is the heavyweight bout between
Javy Ayala [10-7 MMA, 5-4 BMMA] and 2-time UFC Heavyweight Champion
Frank Mir [18-12 MMA, 0-1 BMMA]. Both fighters are on losing streaks. They
both REALLY need this win, but Ayala probably needs it more, as he doesn't
have the fame or drawing power that Mir has. Mir can afford a loss; Ayala really
can't. I've loved Frank Mir every since he spoiled that juice-head Brock Lesnar's
UFC debut. I'm rooting for Mir in this one. I would love to see him put a few wins
together and challenge for the Heavyweight Championship in 2019 or 2020.

MY PREDICTION: Frank Mir wins via Unanimous Decision.



Then we have Bellator 213 on Saturday. This card also has 2 bouts that are worth watching:

Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Bellator 2013 Summer Series
Light Heavyweight Tournament winner and 2015 RIZIN Heavyweight Grand Prix
winner Muhammed Lawal [21-7-0-1 MMA, 10-5 BMMA] faces former ICO British
Light Heavyweight Champion, Bellator 2014 Summer Series Light Heavyweight
Tournament winner and 2-time Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Liam McGeary
[12-3 MMA, 9-3 BMMA].

Both fighters are coming off of losses. I would like to see King Mo win, but I
don't think it's gonna happen.

MY PREDICTION: Liam McGeary wins vis TKO in Round 2.



After that, we have 2-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and former Middleweight
Championship challenger Lyoto Machida [24-8 MMA, 0-0 BMMA] making his
Bellator MMA debut against former Smash Fight Middleweight Champion and
4-time Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Carvalho [15-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA]
in a Middleweight bout.

Machida is on a 2-fight win streak, while Carvalho is coming off of a loss, which
cost him the Bellator Middleweight Championship. We'll have to see how Machida
fares in new waters. This one is almost too close to call.

MY PREDICTION: Rafael Carvalho wins via Unanimous Decision.

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Also on Saturday is UFC On FOX 31. This card has 3 fights on the main card that I care about and 1 on the
undercard that I think may be a dark horse.

The main event is a Lightweight bout between former TWC Lightweight Champion and former UFC Lightweight
Championship challenger Kevin Lee [17-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC] and former ROC Lightweight Champion Al Iaquinta
[13-4-1 MMA, 8-3 MMA].

Lee's last fight was a victory, while Iaquinta's was a loss. Both fighters are in their prime. This is gonna be a good fight!

MY PREDICTION: Kevin Lee wins via TKO in Round 2.



After that, we have a Lightweight bout between former SFC South Pacific Lightweight Champion and
3-time AFC Lightweight Champion Dan Hooker [17-7 MMA, 7-3 UFC] and 3-time Renaissance
MMA Lightweight Champion and ROC Lightweight Champion Edson Barboza [19-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC].

Hooker is on a 4-fight win streak, while Barboza is coming off of 2 losses. Barboza is a BEAST! He's
WAY better than his record reflects. This fight with Hooker isn't going to be a cake walk, but I think that
he can pull it off!

MY PREDICTION: Edson Barboza wins via submission in Round 2.



Then we have former RF Lightweight Champion, 2-time CF Lightweight Champion and former USKBA
Welterweight Champion Jim Miller [29-12-0-1, 18-11-0-1 UFC] taking on PFC 2008 Welterweight Grand Prix
winner Charles Oliveira [24-8-0-1 MMA, 12-8-0-1 UFC] in a Lightweight bout.

Miller broke a 4-fight losing streak with a submission victory in his last fight. Oliveira enters the bout on a
2-fight win streak, with both wins by way of submission.

Do you appreciate MMA? If you do, then you are going to want to watch this fight! Miller is a brawler-turned-gate-keeper
for the Lightweight division and Oliveira holds the UFC record for the most victories via submission [at 11]. It's gonna
be a barn burner!

MY PREDICTION: Charles Oliveira wins via submission in Round 1.



Then we have the undercard fight that I am interested in, a Welterweight bout between former MCC Middleweight Champion
and Light Heavyweight Championship challenger Zak Cummings [21-6 MMA, 6-3 UFC] and Trevor Smith [15-8 MMA, 5-5 UFC].

Both fighters are coming off of losses.

MY PREDICTION: Zak Cummings wins via TKO in Round 1.

[[MERIT]]

The upcoming UFC 233 PPV that was scheduled for January 26th has been canceled. The event was scheduled
to feature the UFC debut of undefeated Ben Askren [18-0-0-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC] vs. Robbie Lawler [28-12-0-1
MMA, 13-6 UFC]. The card's bouts are expected to be rescheduled and redistributed amongst other fight cards.

The event was designed to air as counter-programming against Bellator 214, which is scheduled to feature Ryan
Bader [26-5 MMA, 4-0 BMMA] vs. Fedor Emelianenko [38-5-0-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA] for the Bellator Heavyweight
Championship, Gegard Mousasi [45-6-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA] vs. Rafael Lovato, Jr. [9-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA] for the
Bellator Middleweight Championship and the MMA debut of former WWE star Jake Hager [a.k.a. "Jack Swagger"].





UFC fighter Kamaru Usman [14-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC] has signed a bout agreement to fight Tyron Woodley [19-3-1 MMA, 9-2-1
UFC] for the UFC Welterweight Championship. Woodley, who is still recovering from an injury, has yet to sign the agreement.





UFC Bantamweight Dominick Cruz [22-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC] is injured once again [imagine that . . ],
most likely forcing him out of his upcoming fight against John Lineker [31-8 MMA, 12-3 UFC].





The California State Athletic Commission has granted UFC Light Heavyweight Jon Jones [22-1-0-1 MMA, 16-1-0-1 UFC] a temporary
license to fight, paving the way for his upcoming rematch against Alexander Gustafsson [18-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC] at UFC 232 on December 29th.

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Singapore-based ONE Championship, Asia's largest mixed
martial arts organization, has signed a deal with TNT to
broadcast their events. Beginning in 2019, the deal will see
24 ONE events aired in the U.S. across all Turner television
platforms. A ONE reality show is also expected.