There's nothing quite like seeing someone from your own neck of the woods absolutely crush a record in international competition. It makes the whole community feel a little bit bigger and more connected to the rest of the world. Does anyone else find that watching local athletes succeed changes the vibe of the whole town?
I’m digging through this article too. It’s pretty clear he’s playing a different game than what we all predicted, acting like he’s the next logical choice for a title shot. Good luck to him, honestly, but if Jiri recovers on schedule, there’s no way anyone cuts the line ahead of him—especially after making such a gentlemanly move.
I actually get where Glover is coming from here. If he hadn't choked up against Ankalaev, he wouldn't even be sitting in second place right now; they'd probably be pushing him toward retirement.
My mention of Rakić was a bit of a reach, but it’s not entirely off base. That’s basically the only legitimate top five in the division, and Rakić is going to need a massive opponent for his comeback fight if he wants to stay in the title conversation instead of just taking some random tune-up.
So, here’s my projection for next year: a new champ facing Jiri by mid-summer, with Glover - Rakić on the same card, and one of those two grabbing a title shot in the fall or winter.
What a damn shame. 😢 I doubt they could have topped that first fight, but still, what a letdown. I was one of those rare people who actually bet on Glover during the first bout, and honestly, I still think he threw away his win by being reckless—but now? Now I think Jiri would just steamroll him.
Mad respect to Jiri for grabbing that belt and wishing him a speedy recovery!
Man, this is a nightmare scenario for Glover. Jan / Ankalaev is basically the new champ, looking at his first title defense against Jiri in 7 or 8 months, while the old man is stuck on the sidelines for a year. I’m not even kidding, if they put Rakić on the same card where Jiri fights for the vacant belt, he might just retire him with a single high kick.
Yeah, aside from the light heavyweights headlining the main and co-main events, we’ve got Mitchell and Topuria, plus Lawler on the main card. Then you have Till - du Plessis Rozenstruik - Daukaus and Buckley - Curtis on the preliminary card. Definitely some solid picks for the betting slips. 🙂
So, here’s the deal: your favorite moderator just grinded through those brutal qualifiers and officially made it to the World Series of gambling.
It was a total stress fest. Plus, being the new guy meant getting underestimated by some of the old-timers, so I figured I needed a place to brag a little.🤣
For the next month, I’ll be dropping the best betting PDFs on this forum. Don't even try to mess with me!
We were all holding out hope they’d announce Jones-Miocic for UFC 280, but no luck there. Still, the lineup looks solid, headlined by a massive rematch that's been brewing all year.
Main card:
Blachowicz - Ankalaev (for the vacant light heavyweight title)
Pimblett - Gordon
Ponzinibbio - Lawler
Mitchell - Topuria
Shahbazyan - Lungiambula
Preliminary card:
Till - du Plessis
Rozenstruik - Daukaus
Curtis - Buckley
Cancelled:
Prochazka - Teixeira due to Jiri's shoulder injury
Try hiking in the mountains for three days wearing Merino wool versus some cheap Bangladeshi polyester, then tell me if you can actually feel the difference. 🙂
I skipped the rest and went straight to the next video, where this boxer isn't actually protecting his girlfriend—he just can't stomach seeing some lowlife mess with her, so he waits until everything is already over before stepping in to start swinging. That’s not self-defense, and it sure as hell isn't what martial arts are about. It's just pure lack of self-control and a massive ego problem; honestly, that's the exact thing any decent coach in the States teaches kids from day one when they start training. If my daughter were in that situation, I'd tell her to run for the hills to get away from a guy like that, because his inability to act sooner basically left them both wide open to getting absolutely wrecked.
My apologies if you felt targeted there. Your question was perfectly valid, but unfortunately, the conversation started spiraling toward a "who's bigger" debate, so bluemason3 and I stepped in to steer things back to the actual topic.
I’m glad bluemason3 rebranded this as self-defense, because training combat sports just so you can go out and pick fights is the absolute worst kind of nonsense. The core purpose—the entire point—of martial arts is anything but gaining an edge in some random street brawl.
But if we frame it as "what should I train to stay safe," then it actually sounds reasonable. The best way to defend yourself is simply avoiding trouble and staying away from the places where thugs hang out. I grew up during the war years when things were way more dangerous and intense, and honestly, I never once had to use any specific fighting skills.
Feel free to suggest how you'd reorganize things, but just a heads-up: creating a dedicated sub-forum just for betting isn't on the table. We're actually merging the chat and the status indicators, which should help slim down the thread count.
Not even close, that was just some article listing what they thought were the most logical matchups. Maybe they overlooked the friendships involved, but we've seen good buddies square off before. I mean, weren't Arlovski and Brown basically best friends? And look how that turned into a total slugfest.
And those are just some of the lightweight and welterweight fights being floated after UFC 277 (honestly, most of this is basically set in stone by now).
I left Usman - Edwards off the list on purpose, since that one's pretty much a done deal—we're just waiting to see if Usman can actually get the green light from his doctors.
Look, when it comes to water polo, the average kid under five who can even swim won't make it across a standard 25-meter pool without stopping. You’re looking at at least three or four years of basic swimming lessons before they can even think about joining a water polo team.
Track and field has this great concept of "athletic preschools" and youth academies. Most of the time, those kids are just playing around, doing drills and exercises that end up being useful in pretty much any sport later on.
Before that, you can get them into gymnastics or multi-sport programs where they try a little bit of everything through play.
That’s why things like triathlon are actually pretty cool—they combine everything, and you can just take them out for a bike ride on the weekend or something.
Honestly, having big ambitions for preschoolers is pointless. Results don't matter at all; the whole point is just keeping them active and letting them socialize.
Trying to plan for water polo before seeing if your kid can even handle a pool is—sorry to say it—pretty ridiculous. Swimming is healthy and it’s a foundational skill, sure, but it isn't for everyone. For kids who are naturally high-energy and social, sitting in a lane can be incredibly boring. It’s better to let them explore different sports and develop various skills until they and their coaches figure out what actually sticks.
As far as combat sports go, wrestling and judo are solid foundations. They build a huge range of motor skills and hit every muscle group. Plus, kids learn how to fall properly. It's also a great option for heavier kids who might need that extra push to find a productive outlet.
Bottom line: a decent coach and a good group of peers matter way more than the specific sport itself. The goal is movement and socialization—building that sense of belonging and responsibility that comes with team sports.
I checked in early for my kid, and if I recall correctly, they said nothing before elementary school.
In a city like Chicago, once kids hit 3 or 4, it’s mostly just little athletes doing gymnastics, track, or swimming. Most of it feels more like organized playtime than actual training or picking up specific skills.