GDT: UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Hill/PFL 7

[MMC]

Date: August 6, 2022
Venue: UFC Apex
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 10 pm ET/7 pm PT
Viewing: ESPN, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (ESPN, TSN 5)

Light Heavyweight bout: Thiago Santos vs. Jamahal Hill
Welterweight bout: Vicente Luque vs. Geoff Neal
Heavyweight bout: Zac Pauga vs. Mohammed Usman
Women's Flyweight bout: Brogan Walker vs. Juliana Miller
Heavyweight bout: Augusto Sakai vs. Sergey Spivak
Women's Flyweight bout: Ariane Lipski vs. Priscila Cachoeira

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, TSN 5)

Middleweight bout: Sam Alveyvs. Michal Oleksiejczuk
Welterweight bout: Takashi Sato vs. Bryan Battle
Lightweight bout: Terrance McKinney vs. Erick Gonzalez
Welterweight bout: Jason Witt vs. Josh Quinlan
Women's Strawweight bout: Miranda Granger vs. Cory McKenna
Women's Bantamweight bout: Mayra Bueno Silva vs. Stephanie Egger​

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[MMC]

Date: August 5, 2022
Venue: Hulu Theater
City: New York City, New York
Time: 10 pm ET/7 pm PT
Viewing: ESPN, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (ESPN, TSN 2)

Lightweight bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Stevie Ray
Light Heavyweight bout: Josh Silveira vs. Omari Akhmedov
Lightweight bout: Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Alex Martinez
Light Heavyweight bout: Rob Wilkinson vs. Delan Monte

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, TSN.ca)

Light Heavyweight bout: Marthin Hamlet vs. Cory Hendricks
Heavyweight bout: Dylan Potter vs. Marcelo Nunes
Welterweight bout: Mahmoud Fawzy vs. Itso Babulaidze

POSTLIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, TSN.ca)

Featherweight bout: Ricardo Jimenez vs. Brahyan Zurcher
Lightweight bout: Elvin Espinoza vs. Corey Jackson
Welterweight bout: Lucas Barbosa vs. Elmar Umarov
Lightweight bout: Alexei Pergande vs. Elvis Lebron Quiles​

 

[MMC]

Also APEX Fight Nights still suck.

 

[pistolpete11]

Minus the TUF fights that I know nothing about, the UFC card isn't too bad. Top 2 fights are bangers and I at least recognize all the other names on the main card.

 

[Taytro]

I know Sam Alvey is the ultimate company man but he hasn't won in 4 years (8 fights). When is enough, enough? Putting him in there with a guy 10 years younger who is reasonably skilled should be illegal.

Very few interesting fights here for me. Hill should pick apart Santos, Santos has looked like a shell of himself since his knees went. Luque vs Neal could be fun or could be slow and strategic, we'll see.

Other than that the next most interesting fight might be Terrance McKinney down on the prelims. This is a card that can be missed, PFL looks like the more interesting card out of the two to me.

 

[CDJ]

Rob Wilkinson looks like a killer this year in the PFL. He may end up getting another ufc run at some point

 

[pistolpete11]

I know Sam Alvey is the ultimate company man but he hasn't won in 4 years (8 fights). When is enough, enough? Putting him in there with a guy 10 years younger who is reasonably skilled should be illegal.

Very few interesting fights here for me. Hill should pick apart Santos, Santos has looked like a shell of himself since his knees went. Luque vs Neal could be fun or could be slow and strategic, we'll see.

Other than that the next most interesting fight might be Terrance McKinney down on the prelims. This is a card that can be missed, PFL looks like the more interesting card out of the two to me.

Santos hasn't looked great, but he's fought nothing but hammers since coming back (Glover, Ankalaev, and Rakic). Time will tell how much of a step down Hill is (I'd guess not much). At 38, though, his best days are behind him. Hopefully he's got a little more in the gas tank.

I think Luque-Neal will be a fun fight. Luque always brings it. His only decisions in the UFC are against Belal, Wonderboy, and Edwards. Wonderboy and Edwards are both long, technical, and hard to hit and Belal mostly just took him down. Neal's (probably) not going to take him down and he's not nearly as good defensively on the feet as Wonderboy or Edwards.

 

[Taytro]

Santos hasn't looked great, but he's fought nothing but hammers since coming back (Glover, Ankalaev, and Rakic). Time will tell how much of a step down Hill is (I'd guess not much). At 38, though, his best days are behind him. Hopefully he's got a little more in the gas tank.

I think Luque-Neal will be a fun fight. Luque always brings it. His only decisions in the UFC are against Belal, Wonderboy, and Edwards. Wonderboy and Edwards are both long, technical, and hard to hit and Belal mostly just took him down. Neal's (probably) not going to take him down and he's not nearly as good defensively on the feet as Wonderboy or Edwards.

I agree with Santos, I just think he's looked very hesitant to engage/exchange lately. Hill will pick him apart if he looks like that again.

I think there's a big skill gap between Luque and Neal so I also see Luque just being patient and earning a win. If Neal wants to brawl then it could he fun but I don't see it happening.

 

[m9]

Santos v Hill is a pretty appropriate fight for the division.. but it's hard to be too excited given how bad Santos has looked lately. Like @Taytro said above he just doesn't really look the same. Those were devastating injuries he suffered vs Jones and is much older. He also just had a kid 2-3 months ago, so I really wonder where he is at right now.

Luque v Neal should be fun. Kind of not sure what it means for either guy but I expect Luque to take care of business here.

Don't know anything about the TUF guys other than Usman's family ties. Usman lost to Mayes who just fought this weekend (and isn't good) so I don't know how great his future is. Pauga seems to not be able to finish guys even at lower levels which is always a bad sign.

Terrance McKinney is still an intriguing guy and Bryan Battle has potential.

 

[pistolpete11]

I agree with Santos, I just think he's looked very hesitant to engage/exchange lately. Hill will pick him apart if he looks like that again.

I think there's a big skill gap between Luque and Neal so I also see Luque just being patient and earning a win. If Neal wants to brawl then it could he fun but I don't see it happening.

I just think if Luque can figure out what his opponent is doing (which he couldn't against Wonderboy, but I think he will against Neal), he's going to be the all action fighter we know and love.

Luque v Neal should be fun. Kind of not sure what it means for either guy but I expect Luque to take care of business here.

With how starved they are for contenders at WW (assuming Usman keeps winning), the path to a title shot is not very long. I could see something like the winners of Belal/Brady and Luque/Neal fighting each other for the next title shot after Chimaev. Rakhmonov fits in there somewhere, too, but anybody who hasn't lost to Usman already could be given a shot before they 'should'.

 

[m9]

With how starved they are for contenders at WW (assuming Usman keeps winning), the path to a title shot is not very long. I could see something like the winners of Belal/Brady and Luque/Neal fighting each other for the next title shot after Chimaev. Rakhmonov fits in there somewhere, too, but anybody who hasn't lost to Usman already could be given a shot before they 'should'.

It's just hard to say with the uncertainty around Usman's future right now and where Colby is at. I think you could map out a path for Luque/Neal getting a title shot if they won 3 fights in a row (including this one) but I'm not so sure either guy is good enough to beat 3 of the top guys in a row. Though Neal already does have a win v Belal, so who knows.

 

[I am not exposed]

It's just hard to say with the uncertainty around Usman's future right now and where Colby is at. I think you could map out a path for Luque/Neal getting a title shot if they won 3 fights in a row (including this one) but I'm not so sure either guy is good enough to beat 3 of the top guys in a row. Though Neal already does have a win v Belal, so who knows.

Luque was on a good run until he lost to Belal. If he had won that fight, he should have been next imo. Of course, he lost the fight, so not too sure where he really stands. 3 wins in a row should do, but the division is a bit of jumbled mess at the moment.

 

[pistolpete11]

It's just hard to say with the uncertainty around Usman's future right now and where Colby is at. I think you could map out a path for Luque/Neal getting a title shot if they won 3 fights in a row (including this one) but I'm not so sure either guy is good enough to beat 3 of the top guys in a row. Though Neal already does have a win v Belal, so who knows.

Yeah, if Usman loses or for whatever reason leaves the division, then it's going to be absolute chaos because you can throw Colby, Edwards, Chimaev, Burns, etc. right back into the mix.

But if Usman keeps winning and keeps taking on the next guy up, I think they could get there in 2 wins, especially Luque. He's still ranked #6. A win vs. Neal 'should' get him a top 5 opponent and a win there could get him a title shot.

 

[bov]

Edit-Misread something and thought Mercier wasn't in the playoffs.

I think he takes home the $1 million.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Watching contender series tonight... into the third fight it looks like the fighters got Dana's message to fight for their lives cause it's been pretty exciting.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

This was by far the best contender series card they've had. Every fight was a banger. All the winners got a contract. I feel for Charlie Campbell local kid thought he had Duncan tuned up and ate a vicious right to get starched. I think Campbell is definitely UFC caliber he should get another shot on this show.

 

[td_ice]

Yeah, If you have access to Contender Series, you gotta watch this episode that aired tonight.

Dana White was pissed last week on the lack of finishes/exciting performances last week, and read the riot act to tonight's participants before the show. And it worked.

Best episode I've ever seen. What a card.

 

[Taytro]

Edit-Misread something and thought Mercier wasn't in the playoffs.

I think he takes home the $1 million.

He just beat the guy who won it last year after OAM pulled out due to injury, so I think he has to be the favourite.

 

[CDJ]

That DWCS card was amazing, definitely must-watch if you have ESPN+. Comebacks, intense violence, and even some serious talent (I think Francis Marshall is going to be a high end talent)

 

[MMC]

What type of Mickey Mouse shit is going on in the PFL now? No ambulance delay?

 

[CDJ]

What type of Mickey Mouse shit is going on in the PFL now? No ambulance delay?

I was catching up on it right now and just got done watching. When I got to that point my exact words were “Mickey mouse operation” lol

They gotta get the live stats off the screen, that also makes them look Mickey Mouse because I’m convinced they’re just randomly pressing buttons and throwing numbers up there

Rob Wilkinson should get another shot in the ufc. He’s looked sensational this PFL season. Anthony Pettis should possibly retire. Can’t lose to Stevie Ray twice. Canadian Gangster looked good. Akhmedov looked good.

Hit on my OAM/Nunes/Wilkinson parlay. Hit on Akhmedov as a dog. I actually bet on pettis this time after betting on Stevie Ray and winning last time. Got too cute. Lost on Hendricks-Hamlet

 

[Taytro]

What type of Mickey Mouse shit is going on in the PFL now? No ambulance delay?

I was catching up on it right now and just got done watching. When I got to that point my exact words were “Mickey mouse operation” lol

Can y'all tell me what happened? I didn't watch it.

 

[CDJ]

Can y'all tell me what happened? I didn't watch it.

The two fights prior to Wilkinson-Monte required a couple of fighters to go to the hospital (Hendricks had a broken nose and I didn’t watch the fight right after but apparently somebody from that needed to go). So 2 ambulances were used to transport those guys and none were left at the arena. They’re not allowed to start a fight until they have an ambulance on-site. So Wilkinson and Monte were just standing around in the cage waiting

 

[MMC]

 

[MMC]