GDT: UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez
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Avs_19
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- Jun 28, 2007
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Such a good and entertaining card tonight. It had a bit of everything and pretty much every single fight delivered. One of the better ones in a while.
Volk is incredible. Maybe the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC right now. He was in complete control early and then when Yair turned it on and let loose, Volk just took him out with ease. I hope he gets another crack at 155 at some point. I’m also all for a Topuria fight.
I was surprised Pantoja did it for a third time. I had Moreno going in and felt confident about it after that second round when you could really see the speed difference. Credit to Pantoja though, he stepped it up and put on a good performance. I had it 48-47 for Pantoja in a close one. Great fight.
DDP over Rob was another surprise for me. I honestly gave DDP next to no shot going in. Impressive win but I’ve got Izzy with ease.
Turner/Hooker was another great fight. No idea how Hooker took that head kick.
Time for a big step up for Nickal. This was last minute but even before that it wasn’t going to be in question. He’s 27, it’s not like like a 21 year old prospect. Let’s see what he’s got. He’s probably a future champion tbh so let’s find out.
Volk is incredible. Maybe the most well-rounded fighter in the UFC right now. He was in complete control early and then when Yair turned it on and let loose, Volk just took him out with ease. I hope he gets another crack at 155 at some point. I’m also all for a Topuria fight.
I was surprised Pantoja did it for a third time. I had Moreno going in and felt confident about it after that second round when you could really see the speed difference. Credit to Pantoja though, he stepped it up and put on a good performance. I had it 48-47 for Pantoja in a close one. Great fight.
DDP over Rob was another surprise for me. I honestly gave DDP next to no shot going in. Impressive win but I’ve got Izzy with ease.
Turner/Hooker was another great fight. No idea how Hooker took that head kick.
Time for a big step up for Nickal. This was last minute but even before that it wasn’t going to be in question. He’s 27, it’s not like like a 21 year old prospect. Let’s see what he’s got. He’s probably a future champion tbh so let’s find out.
Avs_19
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This dude had the nerve to say he’s a real African unlike Izzy, Francis, and Usman and would be the first African champion but people are mad online about Izzy? Come on now. 
The whole thing is dumb anyways. Just give me the fight and keep the rest of the nonsense.
The whole thing is dumb anyways. Just give me the fight and keep the rest of the nonsense.
- Jan 23, 2010
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This dude had the nerve to say he’s a real African and would be the first African champion unlike Izzy, Francis, and Usman but people are mad online about Izzy? Come on now.
The whole thing is dumb anyways. Just give me the fight and keep the rest of the nonsense.
Izzy had a canned genealogy line that he completely botched and then called a white dude the n-word like 8 times
It was weird, bad, cringy and Izzy deserves whatever people say about him on this one
He never actually claimed that he was a "real African" and they weren't. He said he would be the first African champion in context of the fact that he's the only one who still lives and trains in Africa. You can still think that's wrong, but don't misconstrue what he said.This dude had the nerve to say he’s a real African unlike Izzy, Francis, and Usman and would be the first African champion but people are mad online about Izzy? Come on now.
The whole thing is dumb anyways. Just give me the fight and keep the rest of the nonsense.
Bunk Moreland
Registered User
Yep he basically said ngannou, Usman and Izzy left to live and train elsewhere. He said he wants to be the first to be born, live and train in Africa to win and bring the belt back to Africa.... but people turn anything into drama.
It's going to be an uncomfortable build up to that fight with an obvious racial component.
IIRC, Edwards made the same claim about being the first British champion, for the same reasons. It's a sentiment I don't agree with, especially with regards to Ngannou, but obviously there's a heightened sensitivity when it's coming from a white South African. Throw Adesanya's insecurity into the mix, and now it's been blown out of proportion into a narrative the UFC probably won't be too happy about.
16Skippy
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- Sep 12, 2009
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I mostly agree except for the bolded part. I think the UFC is going to milk the shit out of it lol
16Skippy
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Like they'll probably ignore any nuance and just hype it as "look at all this bad blood bro! this fight is personal!"
SoundwaveIsCharisma
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That moment where they start playing the highlight video for Robbie and his lip quivers is such a great moment. What a way to go out for a legendary career.
Bunk Moreland
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1000000% Dana already said he doesn't give a shot about it "we are in the fight business"
BGDDYKWL
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- Jul 16, 2007
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The judge who scored it 49-46 Moreno should be out of a job.
Was shocked Du Plessis handled Whittaker so easily. I thought Whittaker would coast to a win. I often like it when they do a face-off in the ring to promote the next title shot, but this one did not work at all. It was so cringe. Adesanya's a tough dude to like.
Pretty much run out of things to say about Volkanovski, the guy's unbelievable. He should be free to do whatever he wants, whether it be 45 or 55.
I know Nickal beat a last minute replacement but I was impressed with how aggressively he was throwing absolute bombs in that fight. As mentioned, time to give him a ranked opponent.
Was shocked Du Plessis handled Whittaker so easily. I thought Whittaker would coast to a win. I often like it when they do a face-off in the ring to promote the next title shot, but this one did not work at all. It was so cringe. Adesanya's a tough dude to like.
Pretty much run out of things to say about Volkanovski, the guy's unbelievable. He should be free to do whatever he wants, whether it be 45 or 55.
I know Nickal beat a last minute replacement but I was impressed with how aggressively he was throwing absolute bombs in that fight. As mentioned, time to give him a ranked opponent.
Taytro
Registered User
Agree with every thing you said except it is absolutely not time to give Bo a ranked fighter. He literally beat a guy who wasn't UFC material, and was only signed to the promotion becuase he took this fight. Bo's only other UFC win was against a guy on a two fight losing streak. Bo is only 24, bring him along slowly. He barely has 1 full round of total MMA fight time. He has plenty of time to develop and improve, no rush to start moving him up so quickly, let him keep improving his hands and getting more experience before giving him a shot at the rankings.
I am not exposed
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- Jan 23, 2010
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That judge is actually considered a really good judge, but yeah that's a bad scorecard.
As for Nickal, yeah you can give him a solid step up (maybe a top 25-30 guy) and then if he wins you put him in there next vs a ranked gatekeeper Tavares-level type guy.
Taytro
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Avs_19
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The cringe part isn't even up for debate. He's always cringy in these settings and I thought it was cringe when he hadn't even said a word and was outside staring him down.
I also think DDP knew exactly what he was doing when he made those comments and I can see why Izzy and others would be upset.
pistolpete11
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- Apr 27, 2013
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Saw the results, but only saw the Lawler fight so far. Will just wait until they put it on ESPN+ to see it. I'll save my comments until then.
Really cool moment for Robbie, though. Legends like Lawler rarely announce it's their last fight while leaving on good terms with the UFC to create a moment like this, so it's special when it does happen. They never get to go out on a 1st round, dominant KO win.
Really cool moment for Robbie, though. Legends like Lawler rarely announce it's their last fight while leaving on good terms with the UFC to create a moment like this, so it's special when it does happen. They never get to go out on a 1st round, dominant KO win.
pistolpete11
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Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Yair Rodriguez (ic)
Volk's just incredible. Wasn't easy. He did get cut up and Yair was landing in R3 before he got finished, but there wasn't a ton of doubt who was going to win from the jump. His fights aren't always the most fun to watch, but he's getting to that point where he's must watch simply because you know you're watching greatness.
Gotta be Topuria next with Islam-Oliveira getting booked since. Who knows when if he's getting surgery, but I think the LW belt is probably going to be the Islam-Oliveira and Poirier-Gaethje winners for the next like 6-9 months anyway.
Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Alexandre Pantoja
What a great f***ing fight. I know it was a split decision, but I'm surprised there's not more controversy on this one. I think you can easily make a case for Moreno 2-3-4. Can't believe either of them made it 5 rounds at that pace, but especially Pantoja. He looked gassed middle of R2.
Eventually one of these guys is going to make it clear who the best 125er is.
Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis
This was a "I gotta see it to believe it" type of result and I'm still shocked. It wasn't even like he just caught him. He looked like he belonged in there every second of that fight. I'll eat my crow. Haven't had this much to eat since Pena beat Nunes.
I really don't get the Izzy controversy. Is it something I would have done? No (and not just because I'm not black), but I guess he just doesn't rub me the wrong way like he seems to with others. The biggest mistake was Rogan bringing Izzy into the interview and then trying to continue the interview with just DDP. "OK, thanks for stopping by Izzy. So Dricus, I know you were just called the n-word like 30 times, but tell us what you thought about the fight."
LOL @ Anik saying "Just be careful on the basketball court" when they showed Jamahal Hill on the broadcast after the fight.
Last LOL from this fight, DDP said he had a poster of Whittaker on his wall growing up. Like, bro....he's 3 years older than you
Jalin Turner vs. Dan Hooker
What a fight and good, legitimate win for Hooker. He needed it. He's still far too hittable, though. Something about him when he gets hit....I don't know. It feels like he takes the full brunt of shots more often than other fighters without it KOing him. He does this thing where he almost freezes after getting hit, too.
Dan, cut your f***ing hair. So annoying to see him brush it aside after every exchange.
Bo Nickal vs. Val Woodburn
Level of competition and all of that, but man. If he was just wrestlef***ing everybody, it's one thing. But he's tapping out and KOing dudes. I still want there to be a slower build for him, though. Like Paul Craig next is too big of a jump IMO. I get why Craig called him out this last weekend, but a few more steps would be ideal. I watched the press conference and Woodburn said something like "Let's give them a war" and Bo very calmly said "I don't know about a war, but something's going to happen." I don't know if he said that because he knew it was going to be a cakewalk or if he's smart enough to not get into wars.
Also, LOL at his walkout song. Don't know what it was, but it was something that would be nice to fall asleep to.
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Great main card + Lawler's win. Wasn't the typical IFW card on paper, but the fights all delivered.
Seemed like a long night, though. Pros and cons waiting until it's free on ESPN+ 2 weeks late, guess.
Poor Mexico. Could probably get away with a Mexico PPV with Moreno or Yair + Grasso, but can't do it with just Grasso.
Volk's just incredible. Wasn't easy. He did get cut up and Yair was landing in R3 before he got finished, but there wasn't a ton of doubt who was going to win from the jump. His fights aren't always the most fun to watch, but he's getting to that point where he's must watch simply because you know you're watching greatness.
Gotta be Topuria next with Islam-Oliveira getting booked since. Who knows when if he's getting surgery, but I think the LW belt is probably going to be the Islam-Oliveira and Poirier-Gaethje winners for the next like 6-9 months anyway.
Brandon Moreno (c) vs. Alexandre Pantoja
What a great f***ing fight. I know it was a split decision, but I'm surprised there's not more controversy on this one. I think you can easily make a case for Moreno 2-3-4. Can't believe either of them made it 5 rounds at that pace, but especially Pantoja. He looked gassed middle of R2.
Eventually one of these guys is going to make it clear who the best 125er is.
Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis
This was a "I gotta see it to believe it" type of result and I'm still shocked. It wasn't even like he just caught him. He looked like he belonged in there every second of that fight. I'll eat my crow. Haven't had this much to eat since Pena beat Nunes.
I really don't get the Izzy controversy. Is it something I would have done? No (and not just because I'm not black), but I guess he just doesn't rub me the wrong way like he seems to with others. The biggest mistake was Rogan bringing Izzy into the interview and then trying to continue the interview with just DDP. "OK, thanks for stopping by Izzy. So Dricus, I know you were just called the n-word like 30 times, but tell us what you thought about the fight."
LOL @ Anik saying "Just be careful on the basketball court" when they showed Jamahal Hill on the broadcast after the fight.
Last LOL from this fight, DDP said he had a poster of Whittaker on his wall growing up. Like, bro....he's 3 years older than you
Jalin Turner vs. Dan Hooker
What a fight and good, legitimate win for Hooker. He needed it. He's still far too hittable, though. Something about him when he gets hit....I don't know. It feels like he takes the full brunt of shots more often than other fighters without it KOing him. He does this thing where he almost freezes after getting hit, too.
Dan, cut your f***ing hair. So annoying to see him brush it aside after every exchange.
Bo Nickal vs. Val Woodburn
Level of competition and all of that, but man. If he was just wrestlef***ing everybody, it's one thing. But he's tapping out and KOing dudes. I still want there to be a slower build for him, though. Like Paul Craig next is too big of a jump IMO. I get why Craig called him out this last weekend, but a few more steps would be ideal. I watched the press conference and Woodburn said something like "Let's give them a war" and Bo very calmly said "I don't know about a war, but something's going to happen."
I don't know if he said that because he knew it was going to be a cakewalk or if he's smart enough to not get into wars.Also, LOL at his walkout song. Don't know what it was, but it was something that would be nice to fall asleep to.
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Great main card + Lawler's win. Wasn't the typical IFW card on paper, but the fights all delivered.
Seemed like a long night, though. Pros and cons waiting until it's free on ESPN+ 2 weeks late, guess.
Poor Mexico. Could probably get away with a Mexico PPV with Moreno or Yair + Grasso, but can't do it with just Grasso.
