Honestly, I don't really find myself hanging out in this corner of the forum anymore. I was active here for about a year, maybe a little longer, but for the most part, everything felt pretty much dead. Things only started picking up once we began launching dedicated threads for specific events, but I really wanted to step things up and actually build something meaningful, you know? I had the drive to make it happen. I even reached out to one of the moderators with some actual suggestions, but I didn't get so much as a "hey" back—nothing at all. So, I guess I just gave up on the whole thing.
If you're interested, you should probably head over to where I am now. I'm a moderator there, and I've already set up discussion threads for all the upcoming UFC events that have been announced so far. It’s way cleaner because every event gets its own space for comments, which makes everything much easier to follow.
I haven't actually managed to sit down and watch any of that yet, though I'll probably get around to it eventually 👍
Here is that other countdown timer as well:
Hardyev's breakdown of the main event:
And just a few minutes ago, the first episode of the series dropped, so we can see what the fighters have been up to lately and kind of get a feel for how they're "breathing" heading into the fight:
It’s honestly great they managed to find a replacement for Zabit 👍 though, if I'm being totally honest, I think he's a legitimate prospect. He feels like one of those serious contenders who could actually threaten the top 10, so we'll just have to wait and see. I don't think he's one of those guys where you get hyped up and then end up disappointed, like I did with Fili, for instance. Actually, the one who really let me down was Erik Silva; I thought he had so much potential, but hey, life happens...
Yeah, yeah, I definitely remember that story about Woodley when he told Gastelum he didn't want to take his money since he hadn't even dropped the weight yet—it was a pretty class move, I guess 🙂 though, I can't say I'm exactly a huge fan of Woodley, especially considering how passive and frankly boring those title defenses were. Still, I kind of want to see him pull off a win here 🤔 maybe after this fight with Till, he should move up to middleweight, and then maybe we can finally get Colby set up to face Woodley 🙏
It’s such a bummer for Yair, honestly, because I was actually looking forward to that fight quite a bit. 😢 Plus, the whole situation with him is just bizarre; first, there’s this rumor he got let go because he wouldn't take the fight, and now suddenly he’s "injured"... hmm... and who on earth is going to step up against Zabit by next weekend if everyone is apparently dodging him?
Woodley vs. Till, huh. I have to say, I’m pretty disappointed that Colby isn't the one stepping up, because he’d know right away if this was going to be an absolute war. This matchup might work, but it could easily turn into a total snooze fest. I guess maybe I’d rather see Woodley pull off the win just so we can catch him fighting Colby down the road.
Anyway, Kamaru Usman is training like everything is totally fine and he's definitely slated for this fight—I suppose the UFC told him he’s good to go, and apparently, he’ll even be doing the official weigh-in. It’s all a bit risky, though, especially if Till misses weight again or if Woodley ends up pulling out due to some injury.
boldfox26 said:Man, it's just awful... Mighty Mouse has been acting like such a stingy gatekeeper for a few years now, basically dodging anyone actually worth fighting.
I mean, the truly awful part to me is that he hasn't even secured a belt in his current division yet, but he's already out there calling out champions in a higher weight class. 🤦I really don't care for that move, and honestly, he isn't the only one doing it—it seems like this has just become standard practice lately. Every fighter should defend their own belt in their own division. I can totally get why DC or Miočić would make moves like that in divisions where there's a glaring lack of decent contenders, but in bantamweight? There are plenty of people ready to step up. So why is Cejudo trying to squeeze himself in there and snatch someone else's spot? Logically, TJ vs. Moraes makes way more sense right now. And given their reputations and how that first fight went, you could easily throw Cruz into the mix with TJ too, since enough time has passed since that bout which, if I'm being honest, probably could have gone either way.
As for MM, I could never bring myself to say anything that nasty about him; the guy is incredibly close to GOAT status, and if some people can't see that or just choose not to, well, that's their problem. Especially when you look back at that finish against Borg, it was nothing short of miraculous. 🙏
Susan Sullivan6 said:But, hey, I know what you mean. That unwritten rule has been brought up a million times, and I've always felt the same way—that it just doesn't make logical sense.😬
Of course that unwritten rule exists; it’s always been that way. 👍It's actually pretty wild that Cejudo managed to snag that belt via a split decision; I think that might be the only other time we've seen Lawler pull something like that against Hendricks in their second fight.
Nicholas Nguyen said:It almost looked like DJ wasn't even disappointed by the loss, like he actually felt a sense of relief once the belt was off his waist. Maybe he just hit a wall, or maybe that shoulder surgery took away a bit of his versatility and power, who knows...
That's a great point, I was thinking the exact same thing. 🙏Plus, with his third kid arriving, maybe he really did just reach a point of total burnout. It can't be easy to stay motivated and go through that level of preparation over and over again after defending a title so many times.
What an absolute rollercoaster of a round between TJ and Cody 🙏
Man, this rivalry is just incredible, isn't it? Their fights always turn into something special, but I have to say, I’m really not a huge fan of these immediate rematches. I honestly feel like this could be a dangerous move for Cody right now; his career might actually start sliding downhill if things don't go his way, and then you're left wondering when he'll ever get another shot at the belt. It probably would have made more sense for him to build up some momentum against someone else before jumping straight back into it with TJ, but hey, here we are. It reminds me of how I felt about that sudden rematch between JJ and Rose—I guess we'll just have to see if JJ ends up in a similar spot.
DJ definitely had a massive opportunity to make some serious money in a potential matchup with TJ, but honestly, it feels like that window has slammed shut now. In my opinion, trying to pair them up again just doesn't make much sense anymore; I think that whole idea is pretty much dead in the water.
Cejudo was pretty incredible, but was it actually enough to secure the win? Honestly, I’m not even sure, I probably need to go back and rewatch the whole thing. Now Cejudo is already gunning for the belt and jumping straight up to 135... 🤦which is just absolute chaos..
quietorca24 said:I mean, let’s be real here—Cruz is just on an entirely different level when it comes to his verbal game and his actual intellect. You could really see that depth in the way he handled himself after losing the belt; the way he stood there in front of the press was just different, I guess. He carries himself with this composure that you just don't see from most guys, and maybe that's why he's able to process things so much more clearly than others. It was pretty obvious to me that his mental toughness and how he articulates his thoughts puts him in a league of his own.
That was honestly such a masterclass; it was basically the perfect blueprint for how you can actually be legendary even when you're taking a loss. 👍
Ethan Chavez3 I guess what they're saying is... I’ve gotta say, I am absolutely loving Cody as a fighter lately. There is just something about his style that hits different—the way he pulls off those slick evasions, the timing on his counters, and honestly, that sheer level of confidence he carries into the cage is just something else. It’s pretty infectious to watch. 🙏 I guess I’ll give him a slight edge here. Now that things are heating up, he's definitely going to be looking to bruise that ego a little bit, so he might play it a bit more cautious—probably won't be dropping his hands quite as low as he usually does.
I mean, it’s probably gonna look and sound a little bit stupid, if we're being honest. It definitely will. Honestly, Cruz is basically a wizard when you look at how he handles both of them.
I mean, look, Cody really put on a masterclass against Cruz, and honestly, it was probably the absolute best fight of his entire career. Don't get me wrong, those knockouts he pulled off before were seriously impressive, but that specific performance? That was his magnum opus, his true peak. 🙏 I mean, that little dance he was doing to try and get under Cruz's skin during the fight? Honestly, it was just phenomenal. It was such a move.
I guess I’m just feeling a little bummed out that we're rushing into yet another rematch between TJ and Cody so quickly. It feels like they aren't even giving a second thought to guys like Moraes—or maybe Cruz, honestly, why wouldn't they?—and other fighters who probably deserved a legitimate crack at a title shot. To me, it feels a lot like that whole whirlwind trilogy between Cain and JDS; seeing them fight that frequently probably did some serious damage to their careers since they both started sliding down that downward trajectory almost immediately after. It’s like they just completely beat the life out of one another in those fights, leaving them totally exhausted and physically broken, so by the time the injuries and those unconvincing performances started rolling in, they just weren't the same fighters anymore.
I really wouldn't want to see history repeat itself with TJ and Cody, especially since they both probably have a few more years left where they can hang near the top of the rankings. Honestly, it feels like a massive waste of time to jump straight into a rematch right now when we have so many other high-level fighters on the roster just waiting for their shot. It seems kind of foolish to pass over all that talent just to settle an old score immediately.
That opening fight was honestly nothing short of phenomenal, even if it didn't even make it through two full rounds. If we really take a second to look back at how things unfolded, I mean, if that first round had lasted maybe just four or five seconds longer, Cody might have walked away with the win; he actually had him down, and TJ looked totally unsteady, stumbling back toward his corner in total disarray. And then, out of nowhere, we witnessed that absolutely wild turnaround 🙏
I’m also inclined to agree that there’s a massive amount of mutual respect there, because if I recall correctly, that press conference back this spring really set the tone for all the upcoming fights we've been waiting for, including their own matchup. Most importantly, once that presser wrapped up and the audio finally cut out, I caught a glimpse of them still hanging out in the arena, and I saw Cody walk right over to TJ to give him a hug and a pat on the back 👍
I’ve gotta say, I can't stand Cody either, but man, you have to respect his game inside the cage. I’ve always been a fan of Faber, though I suspect he might have gone a bit overboard back then. It seems like TJ really found his groove working with Ludwig, and honestly, I think that partnership is exactly what helped him evolve into the fighter we see today. Still, that whole era was such an incredible spectacle—the drama in that scene was wild (there’s a ton of censoring in this video, especially from the 42-second mark onwards 😁):
Yeah, putting TJ and MM on the same card definitely wasn't some random coincidence. 😁 There’s been rumors swirling about those two fighting for ages, and honestly, I’d love to see it happen. It’s kind of a bummer to me that this massive TJ vs. Cody matchup is happening right out of the gate; I guess I was hoping they might give Cody one more tune-up fight before jumping straight into the title shot, especially since the top 10 in the bantamweight division is absolutely stacked right now. But hey, it’s pretty obvious that with the UFC, it all comes down to the bottom line—it's all about the money.
I really think TJ vs. Cody is one of those rare fights where if they went at it ten different times, every single bout would be a toss-up, and I genuinely wouldn't have a clue who would come out on top.
UFC 227: Dillashaw vs. Garbrandt 2 (August 4, 2018)
Crypto.com Arena | Los Angeles, California
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET) Champ TJ vs. Cody Garbrandt – for the bantamweight title Champ Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo – for the flyweight title Renato Moicano vs. Cub Swanson JJ vs. Polyana Vian Kevin Holland vs. Thiago “ Marreta
PRELIMINARY CARD (FX, 8 p.m. ET) Brett Johns vs. Pedro Munhoz Montel Jackson vs. Ricky Simon Irena Aldana vs. Bethe Correia Sheymon Moraes vs. Matt Sayles
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:15 p.m. ET) Alex Perez vs. Jose Torres Kyung ho Kang vs. Ricardo Ramos Daniella Taylor vs. Weili Zhang Wuliji Buren vs Marlon Vera
Ethan Chavez3 said:Alex Murphy3, did you finally catch the fight? Give us some thoughts! 🙂
hehe, I did watch it 😁 but I’m pretty slammed right now, plus I actually decided to take a two-week break from my laptop since there's no UFC scheduled—just trying to cut back on screen time and dose my internet usage a bit 😁
This event marks the eighth straight week of UFC action, so honestly, it’s probably a good thing we have this little breather coming up because the pace has been absolutely brutal 😛
I was most stoked for Ortega since I've been following him for quite a while, though I was genuinely worried that Edgar just wouldn't be his style, especially considering Ortega stepped up on such short notice while Edgar had a full training camp behind him (not to mention the fact that nobody has really managed to stop him yet). Ortega is just incredible 🙏 I mean, almost every time you're watching one of his fights, you start thinking his opponent has them figured out, and then he just pulls some absolute madness out of nowhere 🙏
MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET) Champ Cris Cyborg (144.75) vs. Yana Kunitskaya (144) – for the women’s featherweight title Frankie Edgar (146) vs. Brian Ortega (145.5) Sean o ’ Malley (136) vs. Andre Soukhamthath (135.25) Andrei Arlovski (247.5) vs. Stefan Struve (266) Ketlen Vieira (136) vs. Cat Zingano (135.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, 8 p.m. ET) Mackenzie Dern (116) vs. Ashley Yoder (115.5) Beneil Dariush (156) vs. Alexander Hernandez (155) John Dodson (134.5) vs. Pedro Munhoz (135) C.B. Dollaway (185.5) vs. Hector Lombard (185.5)
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET) Zak Ottow (171) vs. Mike Pyle (170) Bryan Caraway (135.5) vs. Cody Stamann (135.75) Jordan Johnson (206) vs. Adam Milstead (205)
At first glance, the card looks a little thin, I guess, but honestly, huge props to the women who basically saved this whole event 🙏 because we really only had two paths here—either this whole thing turns into just another standard Fight Night or they pull the plug entirely.
It’s such a bummer that Bobby Green got sidelined with an injury last week, too; he was supposed to face off against Dariush 😢 though, I have to say, the preliminary lineup is actually looking pretty solid 👍
So, this marks my eighth straight weekend glued to the UFC, and I’m pretty sure I’ll need a little breather after this one.
The whole plan was for Max and Edgar to headline this thing, but since Max ended up getting injured—for the second time now, if you can believe it—that fight is officially off the table. Now, we've got Cyborg and Yana stepping up at the absolute last minute to save the day, while Edgar has been handed a new opponent in Ortega, who, honestly, has been looking pretty incredible lately.
