GDT: UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev/Bellator 289: Stots vs. Sabatello

[pistolpete11]

Guida is awful to watch, I think that's about the worst fight they could make for Paddy.

That fight last night was bad - you can't have another snoozer lined up. Have to make something that will be fun to watch.

If they are slow playing him, it's about giving him a winnable fight where he can look good more than it is about being fun going into it. Paddy's a legitimately good grappler and that's basically all Guida can bring. Paddy would be younger, faster, stronger, hit harder, and better in pretty much every aspect than Guida at this stage.

Has he lost any hype after that performance?

I'm sure someone has already done a mash up of his pre fight promo and the post fight interview. "I finsh fights and get the performance bonus" to "I took the 3rd round off"

I think for sure he has, especially since it seems most people thought he lost.

 

[CDJ]

A blessing in disguise for Smith TBH.

Idk, his ground game is miles ahead and he’s pretty durable so I think he’d be able to eat shots before getting it down to the ground

Def don’t think it was a gimme for Hill

 

[pistolpete11]

Idk, his ground game is miles ahead and he’s pretty durable so I think he’d be able to eat shots before getting it down to the ground

Def don’t think it was a gimme for Hill

Agreed. I was actually kind of looking forward to that one, but get why the UFC is doing what they are doing.

 

[16Skippy]

I actually just finished rewatching that fight. I'm actually seeing not much wrong at all with giving Jan rounds 1-3. Round 1 is very close and could honestly go either way. Ankalaev's inactivity early in the fight hurt him. All he needed was one of those early rounds convincingly and the belt was all his.

I initially thought that it was an easy Ankalaev win but I'm starting to see that a draw maybe wasn't all that bad..

I had it as a draw too. I wouldn't even mind a rematch honestly, don't think it was as boring as everyone else.

Going from 3 round fight to a 5 rounder on short notice, both of them toughed it out to the end, it was super competitive. Neither should be written out of the title picture.

And props to Jan for being so humble and also to walking out to Skyrim music lol

 

[CDJ]

The more I think on it a draw in the main event is a justifiable scorecard. It’s not what I had, but it can be explained

2 judges giving Pimblett round 1 on the other hand…

 

[m9]

If they are slow playing him, it's about giving him a winnable fight where he can look good more than it is about being fun going into it. Paddy's a legitimately good grappler and that's basically all Guida can bring. Paddy would be younger, faster, stronger, hit harder, and better in pretty much every aspect than Guida at this stage.


I think for sure he has, especially since it seems most people thought he lost.

I don't think it's a given he looks good vs Guida though. Guida can drag him into something boring.. really boring.

Could see it happening though as he's a name at least.

 

[pistolpete11]

The more I think on it a draw in the main event is a justifiable scorecard. It’s not what I had, but it can be explained

2 judges giving Pimblett round 1 on the other hand…

I think all the outcomes were justifiable. It just so happens we got a combination of 3 cards that didn't declare a winner. What are ya gonna do?

I don't really feel bad for either guy, though. Ankalaev fought like an idiot. Hopefully for his sake, lesson learned. Jan got his ass kicked in R4 and R5. To give him a win would have been the backdoor of all backdoor title wins. I guess I feel a little bit bad for Jan because he had to put up with Rogan berating him into saying he lost, but I don't really think he should be champ either.

I don't think it's a given he looks good vs Guida though. Guida can drag him into something boring.. really boring.

Could see it happening though as he's a name at least.

There's a better chance he looks good against Guida than a ranked opponent and if he can't look good against Guida, then he's probably not worth this much consideration anyway.

I just think Guida's a good matchup for Paddy, though. Paddy's biggest weakness is his striking defense, but Guida doesn't have the striking or power to really take advantage of that. Paddy's biggest strength is his grappling and Guida has been submitted 11 times in his career.

 

[m9]

I think all the outcomes were justifiable. It just so happens we got a combination of 3 cards that didn't declare a winner. What are ya gonna do?

I don't really feel bad for either guy, though. Ankalaev fought like an idiot. Hopefully for his sake, lesson learned. Jan got his ass kicked in R4 and R5. To give him a win would have been the backdoor of all backdoor title wins. I guess I feel a little bit bad for Jan because he had to put up with Rogan berating him into saying he lost, but I don't really think he should be champ either.

Agreed with all this.

I looked on MMA decisions and I believe there were 5 different scorecards from media and 5 different scorecards over 8% based on fan polls. So yeah, just how it goes sometimes.

 

[CDJ]

Honestly Guida is a perfect next opponent for Paddy/The UFC

won’t have to worry about being chinned

 

[TerminatorBlue]

I watched this with friends last night so catching up on everything now.

The big surprise to me after this was that Dana was so furious at Jan and Ankalaev. Ankalaev had his legs destroyed and pursued the only option he had to win which was to wrestle Jan to death. It's a title fight and with his legs messed up I don't blame him at all for doing what he did. It seems to me like Dana has been a bit spoiled recently with Holland and Chandler basically just having the "all fun, all the time" approach to MMA but that's not what someone in Ankalaev's position is going to do. Wasn't this fight basically Ngannou v. Gane except the leg injury happened in the cage? I don't remember Dana being mad about that fight.

I can more understand the frustration over Gordon with his approach in the third round. He was having success with his hands early on so pressing Paddy against the wall and trying to cruise to a decision win probably wasn't the best method.

Get ready for Ariel to push open scoring again hard on the MMA Hour tomorrow.

And rightfully so, this shit show has to stop. you know what's messed up about the Gordon/Paddy fight, Dana getting mad at Gordon for not doing more in the 3rd round but Padyy is the one who said he coasted in the 3rd because he thought he had 1st and 2nd rounds in the bag....which is total non sense.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Paddy’s the biggest boot licker in the game, makes sense he’s protected from Dana’s ire despite being a clear and obvious bum. Not even gatekeeper material. Will end up accomplishing less than Till

Dana actually went after Gordon after the fight saying he had a stupid game plan lol.

True but the way he announced Glover v. Hill at the presser seemed like a direct missile strike against Jan and Ankalaev specifically like Dana bullying two guys who don't have the biggest names or fanbases. I think other fighters who are tighter with Dana don't get spoken about like that if there's a similar fight or situation. Paddy sucked tonight too and yet it seemed like all Dana's ammo was saved for Jan, Ankalaev and Gordon. Paddy called for a bonus after basically not doing anything for 15 minutes lol.

It was definitely a direct missile he said the fight was flat out terrible and he zoned out in the third period and barely watched.

 

[CDJ]

Johnson would win

 

[CDJ]

Semi the Jedi wants him too. He hits like a truck and would probably flatten him. Ufc should be tried for homicide if they put him in against a ranked guy. Only one he has a remote chance against is Tony

 

[Neutrinos]

If the 1st round of the Till fight wasn't scored 10 - 8, I don't know why they even have 10 - 8 as an option

 

[m9]

If the 1st round of the Till fight wasn't scored 10 - 8, I don't know why they even have 10 - 8 as option

2/3 judges scored it 10-8 at least

Johnson would win

I like this matchup actually.

*3rd fight from the top works though, give us a real co-main

 

[BGDDYKWL]

Paddy did not win that fight. And true to form he says he coasted in the third because he knew he was winning. He got pieced up in the first and didn't fare a whole lot better in the second. He might be the most delusional guy in the sport. Certainly the one that talks the most. Everyone wants to try the Conor routine, but Conor was actually damn impressive.

The Glover interim title fight was definitely a shot at the guys in this one. I know it wasn't a thriller but Jan really dominated early which I must admit surprised me. Ankalaev could literally barely walk, for him to manage to grind that out was pretty impressive.

Scoring that one was interesting. I'm not a big 10-8 guy so I actually had it 48-47 for Jan (winning the first three). But I also see where Jan was coming from post fight when he said he definitely didn't win. He was so outclassed on the ground it's just a bad look when it makes it to a decision.

I truly think it's impossible to dislike Jan. Guy is such a class act.

I like the Paddy/Tony idea. I think you've gotta give him a name. Too risky to have him lose to an unranked unknown (again).

I don't feel like Hill deserves a title shot but it's a good and quick solution to the draw. Running it back would've really screwed an aging Glover.

 

[CDJ]

2/3 judges scored it 10-8 at least



I like this matchup actually.

*3rd fight from the top works though, give us a real co-main

Michael’s hands are still fast and he can wrestle, I’ll watch him spark Paddy in the main event of a fight night!


Tony has a shot against Paddy too. If he’s striking like he did in the first round of the Chandler fight he’d win

 

[ColbyChaos]

I've seen this being mentioned. Can you please explain why?

The main event ending in a draw is probably the worst thing that could have happened. So how exactly do you consider it rigged? What benefit of it ending in a draw is good for the UFC?

Conspiracy (I dont actually believe this lol) but it makes 283 actually interesting. Before this draw, there wasnt a whole lot of star power save for Moreno. At least if there is 2 title fights it will get more eyes watching.

 

[MMC]

 

[m9]

Conspiracy (I dont actually believe this lol) but it makes 283 actually interesting. Before this draw, there wasnt a whole lot of star power save for Moreno. At least if there is 2 title fights it will get more eyes watching.

It's true that how it played out - if that fight gets added to UFC 283 - it's a nice boost to that PPV for hardcore fans. But that card was going to sellout in Brazil anyway and I don't think it's a big PPV either way. It's doing to be a dud in the US with NFL playoffs that night anyway.

Dana was in a pissy mood Saturday and I think he knew the event was kind of a flop. They couldn't get Jon Jones on that card. Then Glover/Jiri fell out. Then the main two fights - the only ones most of the crowd cared about - were both pretty bad fights with very questionable judging. There was a bad energy in that crowd by the end of the night, and you get that sometimes when the main event is between two guys the fans don't really care about. The last PPV of the year used to be a big event for the UFC and this one really ended up falling flat.

 

[pistolpete11]

Was listening to Ariel vs. Paddy Round 2 on Ariel's show and that ran into them talking about the fight itself.

They brought up 2 points.

1. Ariel's speculation (and he made it clear it's complete speculation) is that Crosby is judging fights based on what he thinks the promotion wants.

2. When the UFC/Dana had a problem with Mazzagatti or Yamasaki, they were able to get rid of them.

They didn't connect these 2 points, but it got me thinking....what if these terrible decisions routinely went against the UFC's desired outcome? Would the UFC want to get rid of those judges? Would they try? Would it work?

They also said that fighters can request to not have certain judges/refs. Like apparently there is an issue with Crosby and Longo, so Crosby is never assigned to Serra-Longo fighters. What if enough fighters said they didn't want this guy to judge their fights? I'm guessing it's just a request, so the commission could tell them to go pound sand, but maybe there would be a bigger stink about it that doesn't go away in a couple of days?

 

[m9]

Was listening to Ariel vs. Paddy Round 2 on Ariel's show and that ran into them talking about the fight itself.

They brought up 2 points.

1. Ariel's speculation (and he made it clear it's complete speculation) is that Crosby is judging fights based on what he thinks the promotion wants.

2. When the UFC/Dana had a problem with Mazzagatti or Yamasaki, they were able to get rid of them.

They didn't connect these 2 points, but it got me thinking....what if these terrible decisions routinely went against the UFC's desired outcome? Would the UFC want to get rid of those judges? Would they try? Would it work?

They also said that fighters can request to not have certain judges/refs. Like apparently there is an issue with Crosby and Longo, so Crosby is never assigned to Serra-Longo fighters. What if enough fighters said they didn't want this guy to judge their fights? I'm guessing it's just a request, so the commission could tell them to go pound sand, but maybe there would be a bigger stink about it that doesn't go away in a couple of days?

I find Ariel's speculation.. well, completely stupid. The UFC has decisions go against them all the time as well, they just never get brought up because it's a non-story. Like, you don't think the UFC would want Gane to beat Ngannou this year if that's what was really going on? Or make sure Jon Jones loses those close decisions to give a massive rematch? I just don't really understand the speculation. It's well-established that Crosby is a nutjob who does his own thing. If this is what he was doing, why not go 48-47 Sabatello on Friday night? How do you explain the other judging issues with Paddy outside of Crosby?

It's a systemic issue with judges. Put them in a box with an HDTV, explain to them the criteria, and hold them accountable. It's not that difficult. Or maybe it is more difficult than that, but at least try something so we know for sure.

 

[pistolpete11]

I find Ariel's speculation.. well, completely stupid. The UFC has decisions go against them all the time as well, they just never get brought up because it's a non-story. Like, you don't think the UFC would want Gane to beat Ngannou this year if that's what was really going on? Or make sure Jon Jones loses those close decisions to give a massive rematch? I just don't really understand the speculation. It's well-established that Crosby is a nutjob who does his own thing. If this is what he was doing, why not go 48-47 Sabatello on Friday night? How do you explain the other judging issues with Paddy outside of Crosby?

It's a systemic issue with judges. Put them in a box with an HDTV, explain to them the criteria, and hold them accountable. It's not that difficult. Or maybe it is more difficult than that, but at least try something so we know for sure.

Crosby wasn't a judge in the Francis-Gane fight or any of the Jones fights...?

 

[chicagoskycam]

Love Diaz

 

[chicagoskycam]

I find Ariel's speculation.. well, completely stupid. The UFC has decisions go against them all the time as well, they just never get brought up because it's a non-story. Like, you don't think the UFC would want Gane to beat Ngannou this year if that's what was really going on? Or make sure Jon Jones loses those close decisions to give a massive rematch? I just don't really understand the speculation. It's well-established that Crosby is a nutjob who does his own thing. If this is what he was doing, why not go 48-47 Sabatello on Friday night? How do you explain the other judging issues with Paddy outside of Crosby?

It's a systemic issue with judges. Put them in a box with an HDTV, explain to them the criteria, and hold them accountable. It's not that difficult. Or maybe it is more difficult than that, but at least try something so we know for sure.

One thing they talked about on Ariel’s show I completely agree with is the crowd effect. Paddy defiantly benefits from this as do other stars. The judging does need to be overhauled. Didn’t Crosby judge a fight Friday where he scored it 5-0 for the loser? How does that even happen?