GDT: UFC 259: Blachowicz vs. Adesanya

[Deen]

Felder is right. Fighting up in weight in kickboxing isn't the same as MMA. Izzy can definitely fight at light heavyweight but he'd need to take some time and change his body properly.

I don't see it. He has chicken legs. Anytime Jan kicked him his knee buckled. He would be good at 170 though.

 

[CDJ]

I don't see it. He has chicken legs. Anytime Jan kicked him his knee buckled. He would be good at 170 though.

I think he’s too big to make 170 comfortably, he has skinny legs but he’s also like 6’4 and his shoulders are relatively broad. He’s got a big frame

 

[CDJ]

I gotta say Yan really does live up to his nickname lol


Also he has taken responsibility for the foul on social, showing accountability. Probably knows he’s winning the rematch. Makes it a little easier to swallow

 

[Deen]

I think he’s too big to make 170 comfortably, he has skinny legs but he’s also like 6’4 and his shoulders are relatively broad. He’s got a big frame

Yeah. He's even light for 185, Not sure where he could shave 15 pounds.

 

[Chaels Arms]

I hope Till gets back in the game soon. One or two wins and he's next up for Izzy.

 

[Moncherry]

Those two are unbearable together.

My laptop is in for repairs so didn't watch the fights. I knew this card wouldn't live up to the hype. Didn't actually excite me that much on paper, which is one of the reasons why I took my laptop in this weekend haha

I also thought the hype for the card was a bit overblown.

 

[CDJ]

Don’t look now but Jans run is wildly impressive:

Clark
Cannonier
Manuwa
Krylov
Rockhold
Jacare
Anderson
Reyes
Izzy

that’s a damn good resume. 9 of his last 10.


BONUSES

FOTN: Ulberg vs Nzechukwu (sloppy but still wildly entertaining)

POTN: Kai Kara France and Uros Medić

 

[BGDDYKWL]

I really like DC and Rogan a lot, but if you had been listening to that fight on the radio you would've thought Adesanya was absolutely picking Jan apart. That simply didn't happen. I couldn't argue with either 48-47 or 49-46 for Jan, but none of those rounds was a 10-8.

I think many (me at least) thought Adesanya was this eras version of Anderson. He's very good, but Anderson he is not. Jan impressed me tonight. I wish he had gone to the wrestling a little earlier as I was definitely worried after 3, but he did a lot of things very well tonight. And he couldn't be a more likable guy.

Someone mentioned it but 185 is where Adesanya needs to be. Size does matter when you're dealing with relatively similar ability. He looked pretty helpless on the ground, and Jan's not what you'd consider an elite grappler.

My guess is the UFC would've preferred a highlight KO from Adesanya tonight, but IMO this was best case scenario for them. Jan legitimizes himself (for those who felt he still needed to), and Adesanya doesn't really lose much of his luster because he held his own against a bigger champion.

The only fight for Nunes is Shevchenko, and the problem there is if you run that back you essentially have one champion for three divisions. Not ideal.

Aljamain had a bad enough night without people getting on him for milking/faking the injury. At the end of the day he doesn't feel like a champion, and he knows he has nothing for Yan in a rematch. That's bad enough. I know the judges had that fight nearly tied, but outside of the first few minutes there was zero doubt Yan was winning that one.

 

[chicagoskycam]

I really like DC and Rogan a lot, but if you had been listening to that fight on the radio you would've thought Adesanya was absolutely picking Jan apart. That simply didn't happen. I couldn't argue with either 48-47 or 49-46 for Jan, but none of those rounds was a 10-8.

I think many (me at least) thought Adesanya was this eras version of Anderson. He's very good, but Anderson he is not. Jan impressed me tonight. I wish he had gone to the wrestling a little earlier as I was definitely worried after 3, but he did a lot of things very well tonight. And he couldn't be a more likable guy.

Someone mentioned it but 185 is where Adesanya needs to be. Size does matter when you're dealing with relatively similar ability. He looked pretty helpless on the ground, and Jan's not what you'd consider an elite grappler.

My guess is the UFC would've preferred a highlight KO from Adesanya tonight, but IMO this was best case scenario for them. Jan legitimizes himself (for those who felt he still needed to), and Adesanya doesn't really lose much of his luster because he held his own against a bigger champion.

The only fight for Nunes is Shevchenko, and the problem there is if you run that back you essentially have one champion for three divisions. Not ideal.

Aljamain had a bad enough night without people getting on him for milking/faking the injury. At the end of the day he doesn't feel like a champion, and he knows he has nothing for Yan in a rematch. That's bad enough. I know the judges had that fight nearly tied, but outside of the first few minutes there was zero doubt Yan was winning that one.

Nunes is not going down to 125 so that's not happening. I think Valentina is too small to compete with her on a regular basis at 135, I felt like Shevchenko won the last fight but the scorecards didn't go her way. There is probably a 20lbs difference in the cage with those two. A fight with Zhang at 125 would be good for Shevchenko depending on what goes on with the Rose fight. They could do another Nunes vs. Valentina but it's really not fair for Valentina. Both Nunes and Shevchenko are clearing out their divisions.

We definitely didn't get Megan's best performance last night, she looked petrified in there. Reminded me a bit of Gaethje vs. Khabib. Not that it would have mattered but it made for an awful fight.

 

[m9]

Nunes is not going down to 125 so that's not happening. I think Valentina is too small to compete with her on a regular basis at 135, I felt like Shevchenko won the last fight but the scorecards didn't go her way. There is probably a 20lbs difference in the cage with those two. A fight with Zhang at 125 would be good for Shevchenko depending on what goes on with the Rose fight. They could do another Nunes vs. Valentina but it's really not fair for Valentina. Both Nunes and Shevchenko are clearing out their divisions.

We definitely didn't get Megan's best performance last night, she looked petrified in there. Reminded me a bit of Gaethje vs. Khabib. Not that it would have mattered but it made for an awful fight.

I don't think any version of Megan Anderson would have been competitive. Her resume of wins is one of the least impressive lists to get to a title fight I've ever seen. Zero legit wins over a good fighter her entire career.

 

[SoundwaveIsCharisma]

Good on a couple of fighters calling out the commentary, if you only listened to the fight you’d think Jan was on his death bed after the beating Izzy gave him. DC at least started to even it out as the fight went along, but Joe was 10000000% behind Izzy. I’m surprised he didn’t do the Cruz commentary of “Izzy’s just tiring Jan out!” when they were on the ground

 

[pistolpete11]

Overall, the night didn't live up to the hype, but still a lot to talk about came from it.

Jan's run is pretty crazy and as Luke Thomas always brings up, he lost 4 of his first 6 fights in the UFC. I think that's important to remember when we talk about 'hype trains getting derailed'. Some guys stay undefeated and shoot right to the top like Izzy did. Some guys take some L's along the way like Jan. Just a cool story. Speaking of cool stories, Glover's got next. That should be a good one.

I think it's also important to not bury Izzy. He took a chance and lost a close fight (the 10-8's were bullshit IMO). It didn't work out this time, but it doesn't mean he's never going to be able to do it or that he's now going to lose at MW. If Izzy has a weakness in the striking department, it might be too much patience. It looks great when you're getting guys to bite on every feint like Jan was doing and then you get the read and KO the guy. But when you don't get the KO and you're feinting more than you are landing strikes, you're leaving it up to the judges with not much to score on. Those first 3 rounds were there for the taking. He just didn't do enough. April is going to be a telling month for the MW division with Whittaker-Costa and Vettori-Till. Whittaker deserves the shot now IMO. Beating Costa would remove any argument. Vettori is the only other one that I think deserves a shot with a win.

OK, not much to talk about with the co-main.

Yan-Sterling, it sucks for both guys, but that was the right call. I said before the fight I hope it's a good fight and we get to see a rematch down the road. Not what I had in mind. It sucks too because Yan was winning that fight. Not sure what Sterling is going to be able to do in the rematch differently, but now we have to hold up the division while they fix this. Who knows, maybe Sterling will conserve his energy better and get a legitimate win, but I think we got the answer of who's the better fighter and it wasn't the guy who's walking away with the belt. I guess Sandhagen-TJ in the mean time?

Islam dominated. Hopefully he stays active and they can find him a ranked opponent willing to take that fight. Maybe try to make RDA-Islam again? RDA struggles with wrestlers, so I think Islam would wipe him out, but RDA's a decently big name and obviously game to take that fight even if it's not in his best interest. Maybe if Kevin Lee is healthy? I think they had some back and forth in the past. Or shoot him all the way to the top and give him Oliveira or Chandler.

Kind of boring win for Rakic. With Glover getting next, I think next after that depends on Reyes-Jiri. Could definitely see Jiri winning in spectacular fashion and jumping Rakic. If Reyes wins, probably secures Rakic getting next.

All good wins for Cruz, Phillips, Askarov, and KKF in the prelims. Askarov probably gets the winner of the Fig-Moreno rematch.

 

[Epictetus]

Islam called out Tony Ferguson, so maybe there's something there.

 

[m9]

Overall, the night didn't live up to the hype, but still a lot to talk about came from it.

Jan's run is pretty crazy and as Luke Thomas always brings up, he lost 4 of his first 6 fights in the UFC. I think that's important to remember when we talk about 'hype trains getting derailed'. Some guys stay undefeated and shoot right to the top like Izzy did. Some guys take some L's along the way like Jan. Just a cool story. Speaking of cool stories, Glover's got next. That should be a good one.

I think it's also important to not bury Izzy. He took a chance and lost a close fight (the 10-8's were bullshit IMO). It didn't work out this time, but it doesn't mean he's never going to be able to do it or that he's now going to lose at MW. If Izzy has a weakness in the striking department, it might be too much patience. It looks great when you're getting guys to bite on every feint like Jan was doing and then you get the read and KO the guy. But when you don't get the KO and you're feinting more than you are landing strikes, you're leaving it up to the judges with not much to score on. Those first 3 rounds were there for the taking. He just didn't do enough. April is going to be a telling month for the MW division with Whittaker-Costa and Vettori-Till. Whittaker deserves the shot now IMO. Beating Costa would remove any argument. Vettori is the only other one that I think deserves a shot with a win.

OK, not much to talk about with the co-main.

Yan-Sterling, it sucks for both guys, but that was the right call. I said before the fight I hope it's a good fight and we get to see a rematch down the road. Not what I had in mind. It sucks too because Yan was winning that fight. Not sure what Sterling is going to be able to do in the rematch differently, but now we have to hold up the division while they fix this. Who knows, maybe Sterling will conserve his energy better and get a legitimate win, but I think we got the answer of who's the better fighter and it wasn't the guy who's walking away with the belt. I guess Sandhagen-TJ in the mean time?

Islam dominated. Hopefully he stays active and they can find him a ranked opponent willing to take that fight. Maybe try to make RDA-Islam again? RDA struggles with wrestlers, so I think Islam would wipe him out, but RDA's a decently big name and obviously game to take that fight even if it's not in his best interest. Maybe if Kevin Lee is healthy? I think they had some back and forth in the past. Or shoot him all the way to the top and give him Oliveira or Chandler.

Kind of boring win for Rakic. With Glover getting next, I think next after that depends on Reyes-Jiri. Could definitely see Jiri winning in spectacular fashion and jumping Rakic. If Reyes wins, probably secures Rakic getting next.

All good wins for Cruz, Phillips, Askarov, and KKF in the prelims. Askarov probably gets the winner of the Fig-Moreno rematch.

What they do with Islam next will be interesting. I'm sure many will want to see the Kevin Lee fight now, but honestly I think he's already past Lee. I think we'll learn a ton about who the UFC doesn't like at 155lbs because that's who his next opponent is. RDA would be my choice.

Since the 125lb title fight isn't happening until June and since he missed weight, I wouldn't mind Askarov getting another fight lined up. Kai-Kara France won tonight and I think would be a fun fight. I just don't think you can have Askarov sitting around since the fight is so late and if Moreno wins a close one they probably do the trilogy anyway. Just give Askarov someone winning fights in the top 10. Alex Perez would be appropriate but he already has a fight lined up. If Perez wins that, Perez/Askarov would work too.

I don't think that boring win will get Rakic any favors with the UFC and Jiri is definitely up next if he beats Reyes and it's interesting at all. Rakic v Ankalaev is the fight to make next.

 

[pistolpete11]

What they do with Islam next will be interesting. I'm sure many will want to see the Kevin Lee fight now, but honestly I think he's already past Lee. I think we'll learn a ton about who the UFC doesn't like at 155lbs because that's who his next opponent is. RDA would be my choice.

Since the 125lb title fight isn't happening until June and since he missed weight, I wouldn't mind Askarov getting another fight lined up. Kai-Kara France won tonight and I think would be a fun fight. I just don't think you can have Askarov sitting around since the fight is so late and if Moreno wins a close one they probably do the trilogy anyway. Just give Askarov someone winning fights in the top 10. Alex Perez would be appropriate but he already has a fight lined up. If Perez wins that, Perez/Askarov would work too.

I don't think that boring win will get Rakic any favors with the UFC and Jiri is definitely up next if he beats Reyes and it's interesting at all. Rakic v Ankalaev is the fight to make next.

I don't think the UFC doesn't like RDA. I think RDA's just the only one with big enough balls to take a fight he's probably going to lose against a guy who doesn't have a big name. I think Lee would be a good test. Islam looks dominant, but he doesn't have any wins against a ranked opponent. Lee is a big-ish name and presents some challenges. So if they wanted to take it a little slower, it makes sense IMO. Given Islam's relative inactivity, it might even be the right way to go.

Didn't realize Fig-Moreno wasn't until June. Askarov-KKF makes sense.

Rakic-Ankalaev is a good one, but I'd wait until after Reyes-Jiri to do anything.

 

[pistolpete11]

Islam called out Tony Ferguson, so maybe there's something there.

Finally get Tony-Khabib

 

[m9]

I don't think the UFC doesn't like RDA. I think RDA's just the only one with big enough balls to take a fight he's probably going to lose against a guy who doesn't have a big name. I think Lee would be a good test. Islam looks dominant, but he doesn't have any wins against a ranked opponent. Lee is a big-ish name and presents some challenges. So if they wanted to take it a little slower, it makes sense IMO. Given Islam's relative inactivity, it might even be the right way to go.

Didn't realize Fig-Moreno wasn't until June. Askarov-KKF makes sense.

Rakic-Ankalaev is a good one, but I'd wait until after Reyes-Jiri to do anything.

Yes, I should have worded that better. I would do RDA/Makhachev as I think it's an appropriate fight.. but I'm not sure they will. If I go by my logic of who the UFC doesn't like being up next for Islam, then maybe Makhachev v Oliveira works though I'm sure Oliveira woudn't be happy about that one. I don't think of the ranked guys at 155lbs are even currently booked right now which is kind of weird, so we're kind of just guessing.

As for LHW, hopefully they can get Jan/Glover pretty quick. Jan didn't really take much damage and obviously Glover is ready. If they could do a quick turnaround of May/June for either UFC 262 or 263 that would be great and keep things moving.

 

[CutOnDime97]

And yet both Rogan and DC spent the entire fight talking about Jan biting on feints and being tired.

The commentary was bizzare. I guess Rogan wore his Izzy goggles to the Apex.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Did I lose the last leg of a parlay on an illegal knee? Maybe...

 

[CutOnDime97]

Sterling was on the ground and took a Petr Yan knee to the temple and people are calling him out saying he was acting hurt. Hilarious.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Put Thiago in there with like Devin Clark or something, if the fireworks don’t come back he should call it a career

so many KO wins in his career that he’ll have a lot of happy memories to replay in his head in retirement


I will say this- if he was truly washed Rakic would have taken his head off. That kid is legit. I know his last couple of fights weren’t thrilling but the kid is a player at 205 with Ankalaev. Part of the next wave. Can include Jiri P too

I actually think he’ll get demolished by Ankalaev. He’s definitely still growing as a fighter but I think he may just be an elite athlete at this point.

 

[pistolpete11]

Yes, I should have worded that better. I would do RDA/Makhachev as I think it's an appropriate fight.. but I'm not sure they will. If I go by my logic of who the UFC doesn't like being up next for Islam, then maybe Makhachev v Oliveira works though I'm sure Oliveira woudn't be happy about that one. I don't think of the ranked guys at 155lbs are even currently booked right now which is kind of weird, so we're kind of just guessing.

As for LHW, hopefully they can get Jan/Glover pretty quick. Jan didn't really take much damage and obviously Glover is ready. If they could do a quick turnaround of May/June for either UFC 262 or 263 that would be great and keep things moving.

I do think Islam vs. Oliveira (or Chandler) would be a great fight, but LW is murderer's row. It would be kind of shitty for Islam to be put into what is essentially a #1 contender fight based on 1 win in 2 years against a guy that wasn't even ranked. I think Islam can probably hang with the top of the division if not beat them outright right now, but there's something to be said for working your way up. I mean, we talk about Oliveira not really having that undeniable resume for a title shot right now, but he at least beat Lee before getting Tony and took Tony on short notice if I'm not mistaken.

All of this is to say, I think RDA is the most logical fight . They were booked before. It's not a massive jump up in the rankings, but it still gets him into the title conversation with a win.

It is weird that no one in LW has a fight booked. I guess once Poirier-Conor 3 is made official and they decide whether it will be for the belt or not, things will start to fall into place.

Yeah, Jan took very little damage and I think it would be smart for him and the UFC to keep the ball rolling after coming off a big win like that. He seems to fight about every 5 months, but a little quicker would be better IMO.

 

[m9]

Wondering if they try to get all 3 WMMA champs on the same card in a couple months:

Nunes v GDR 2 - I know Nunes won the first two times, but their 2nd fight was somewhat competitive. GDR also said that she will retire if she losing to Nunes's again, so that adds some fun.

The rest of the card is already booked:
Shevchenko v Andrade
Zhang v Rose
Weidman v Uriah Hall
Anthony Smith v Jimmy Crute

 

[chicagoskycam]

Did I lose the last leg of a parlay on an illegal knee? Maybe...

so did I lol

 

[VanillaCoke]

Fascinating how badly that main card went after so much hype, and no fans was very noticeable. I remember being bored multiple times.