GDT: UFC Fight Night: Cejudo vs. Dillashaw

[Avs_19]

Date: January 19, 2019
Venue: Barclays Center
City: Brooklyn, New York
Time: 10pm ET/7pm PT
Viewing: ESPN+, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, TSN 5)

Flyweight Championship bout: Henry Cejudo (c) vs. T.J. Dillashaw
Heavyweight bout: Greg Hardy vs. Allen Crowder
Lightweight bout: Gregor Gillespie vs. Yancy Medeiros
Flyweight bout: Joseph Benavidez vs. Dustin Ortiz
Women's Flyweight bout: Paige VanZant vs. Rachael Ostovich
Light Heavyweight bout: Glover Teixeira vs. Karl Roberson

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN, TSN 5)

Lightweight bout: Donald Cerrone vs. Alexander Hernandez
Women's Flyweight bout: Joanne Calderwood vs. Ariane Lipski
Light Heavyweight bout: Alonzo Menifield vs. Vinicius Moreira
Bantamweight bout: Mario Bautista vs. Cory Sandhagen

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, UFC Fight Pass)

Lightweight bout: Dennis Bermudez vs. Te Edwards
Welterweight bout: Belal Muhammad vs. Geoff Neal
Welterweight bout: Chance Rencountre vs. Kyle Stewart​

Click to read more...

 

[Avs_19]

Pretty strong card for a fight night event. The bout order is a bit strange because they want the Cerrone fight on ESPN but it doesn't really change anything for us. We might actually see more of that going forward.

I like the stylistic match up in the main event and both guys are well rounded so it should be a good one. I still like Dillashaw because I think he's a better fighter but I'm less certain about it since it's at 125 lbs. Have you guys seen some of the pictures he has posted recently? He already looks like a skeleton and apparently still had another 10 lbs to go as of last week. It'll be interesting to see just how much this weight cut takes out of him.

If Dillashaw can't make weight, which can't be ruled out right now, I like the idea of moving it to BW and having him defend his 135 lb belt instead. I have no idea if that's realistic or not but I saw Cejudo's coach suggest it and it makes sense to me. I much prefer that than a catchweight fight or having Cejudo defend against Benavidez.

 

[zombie kopitar]

I think TJ will make weight.
If this fight goes to 135 TJ is going to absolutely destroy him....TJ is top 3 p4p in the UFC imo, he should destroy him at 125 as well.

 

[1specter]

Pretty strong card for a fight night event. The bout order is a bit strange because they want the Cerrone fight on ESPN but it doesn't really change anything for us. We might actually see more of that going forward.

I like the stylistic match up in the main event and both guys are well rounded so it should be a good one. I still like Dillashaw because I think he's a better fighter but I'm less certain about it since it's at 125 lbs. Have you guys seen some of the pictures he has posted recently? He already looks like a skeleton and apparently still had another 10 lbs to go as of last week. It'll be interesting to see just how much this weight cut takes out of him

If Dillashaw can't make weight, which can't be ruled out right now, I like the idea of moving it to BW and having him defend his 135 lb belt instead. I have no idea if that's realistic or not but I saw Cejudo's coach suggest it and it makes sense to me. I much prefer that than a catchweight fight or having Cejudo defend against Benavidez.

IMO Dillashaw will be fine. He has one of the best teams in the business as far as his training and nutrition go, he's truly got it down to a science and they've been very methodical in their approach. Perhaps the weight cut depletes his injury levels, but he was 13 lbs out last week, which he says is actually less than how many lbs he would be out if he was cutting for 135 around the same time frame. Considering guys routinely cut like 7-10 lbs in the 24-48 hrs before weigh-ins, being 13 lbs out with ~10 days is a good sign.

I still favour him heavily over Cejudo..Dillashaw is an elite and dynamic striker, one of the UFC's best, and I think he will dominate Cejudo on the feet. Cejudo may have the advantage in wrestling but I think Dillashaw will be able to nullify that with his TDD and being able to catch Cejudo as he tries to shoot.

Pretty excited as I love watching Dillashaw fight, IMO he's the most fun guy to watch in the UFC.

 

[Avs_19]

I think TJ will make weight.
If this fight goes to 135 TJ is going to absolutely destroy him....TJ is top 3 p4p in the UFC imo, he should destroy him at 125 as well.

IMO Dillashaw will be fine. He has one of the best teams in the business as far as his training and nutrition go, he's truly got it down to a science and they've been very methodical in their approach. Perhaps the weight cut depletes his injury levels, but he was 13 lbs out last week, which he says is actually less than how many lbs he would be out if he was cutting for 135 around the same time frame. Considering guys routinely cut like 7-10 lbs in the 24-48 hrs before weigh-ins, being 13 lbs out with ~10 days is a good sign.

I still favour him heavily over Cejudo..Dillashaw is an elite and dynamic striker, one of the UFC's best, and I think he will dominate Cejudo on the feet. Cejudo may have the advantage in wrestling but I think Dillashaw will be able to nullify that with his TDD and being able to catch Cejudo as he tries to shoot.

Pretty excited as I love watching Dillashaw fight, IMO he's the most fun guy to watch in the UFC.

Hope you guys are right. He appears to be confident about making weight:

 

[Neutrinos]

Why is Cerrone on the preliminary card?

 

[m9]

Why is Cerrone on the preliminary card?

He's headlining the ESPN part of the card.

 

[m9]

Lots of fun fights on this card.

Hernandez is a big favorite over Cerrone. Quite the opportunity for him.

 

[Neutrinos]

He's headlining the ESPN part of the card.

I thought the whole card was on ESPN

 

[m9]

I thought the whole card was on ESPN

No, ESPN+.

 

[td_ice]

Damn, ESPN+, $4.99 a month

 

[1specter]

Hope you guys are right. He appears to be confident about making weight:

T.J. Dillashaw at flyweight: The 'most intricately executed' weight cut in MMA history

Check out this read. This is pretty much exactly why I had zero concerns with Dillashaw being able to make weight, he's got a really smart group of people helping him out.

 

[m9]

T.J. Dillashaw at flyweight: The 'most intricately executed' weight cut in MMA history

Check out this read. This is pretty much exactly why I had zero concerns with Dillashaw being able to make weight, he's got a really smart group of people helping him out.

I never really had any concerns about Dillashaw making weight.. I just hate guys ruining their bodies by doing these unneeded weight cuts. In this fight you have a guy who has never fought at 125lbs fighting a guy who has always had trouble making 125lbs.

But hey, it's done so hopefully they both make weight and we get a great fight.

 

[1specter]

I never really had any concerns about Dillashaw making weight.. I just hate guys ruining their bodies by doing these unneeded weight cuts. In this fight you have a guy who has never fought at 125lbs fighting a guy who has always had trouble making 125lbs.

But hey, it's done so hopefully they both make weight and we get a great fight.

Dillashaw wants that extra strap and distinction of double champ, that's really what it's about. It talks about it in the article and they mention how if he gets the 125 lb belt then he'll want to try 145 and fight Max.

 

[m9]

Dillashaw wants that extra strap and distinction of double champ, that's really what it's about. It talks about it in the article and they mention how if he gets the 125 lb belt then he'll want to try 145 and fight Max.

I understand why he wants to do it, I just don't really understand why the UFC played along with it given how it was the perfect time to kill off 125lbs and not have these guys cut the extra weight.

 

[1specter]

I understand why he wants to do it, I just don't really understand why the UFC played along with it given how it was the perfect time to kill off 125lbs and not have these guys cut the extra weight.

It held a lot more appeal for me with DJ fighting instead of Cejudo. Unfortunately the judging for DJ vs Cejudo was a farce and then DJ set off for ONE.

 

[pistolpete11]

A bunch of good fights and some names.

TJ-Cejudo - I had/have no concerns about TJ making weight. He's such a disciplined guy with a great team. I fully believe they have every aspect of it planned out perfectly. All the focus is on TJ, which I get, but Cejudo is the guy that has missed weight a couple of times. If someone does miss weight, I love the idea of putting the 135lb belt on the line. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the belts are essentially made up by the UFC. So as long as the athletic commission sanctions the fight, I don't see why the UFC couldn't declare it for the 135lb belt . As far as I know, there is only a limit for the weight class, not a minimum. I know some (all?) commissions have a maximum difference between the fighters rule. But I'll assume at the minimum they will be around 125....and that's under 135...so....

As far as the fight goes, hard not to pick TJ. I think he's just a much better fighter in every aspect. He's a couple of split decisions away from having one of the best streaks in the UFC. The only thing that gives me pause is that I feel like he's been more smug than usual in this lead up. That usually doesn't go well. But again, he's so disciplined. I believe he's put in the work and will prove it on Saturday.

Cowboy-Hernandez - I really want to see this fight. Nothing against Hernandez, but it would be awesome for Cowboy to insert himself back into the fray at 155. He looked good at 170, but I think he's just too small for the top guys. He's surely nearing the end, so one more run at the title would be fun...even if it's unlikely.

Hardy-Crowder - I'm guessing this guy is a can for Hardy to smash? I see he's a Contender Series guy who then lost his first UFC fight in 15 seconds. It was against Willis, so no shame in losing to him, but I don't know. I feel like the UFC has invested so much in Hardy, they are going to pick the easy fights for him. But hey, at least there's an easy villain to root against.

Gillespie-Medeiros - This could be a great fight. I'll predict it is the Fight of the Night. Looking forward to this one.

PVZ-Ostovich - Looking forward to this one as well for...reasons.

 

[Deen]

A bunch of good fights and some names.

TJ-Cejudo - I had/have no concerns about TJ making weight. He's such a disciplined guy with a great team. I fully believe they have every aspect of it planned out perfectly. All the focus is on TJ, which I get, but Cejudo is the guy that has missed weight a couple of times. If someone does miss weight, I love the idea of putting the 135lb belt on the line. Somebody can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the belts are essentially made up by the UFC. So as long as the athletic commission sanctions the fight, I don't see why the UFC couldn't declare it for the 135lb belt . As far as I know, there is only a limit for the weight class, not a minimum. I know some (all?) commissions have a maximum difference between the fighters rule. But I'll assume at the minimum they will be around 125....and that's under 135...so....

As far as the fight goes, hard not to pick TJ. I think he's just a much better fighter in every aspect. He's a couple of split decisions away from having one of the best streaks in the UFC. The only thing that gives me pause is that I feel like he's been more smug than usual in this lead up. That usually doesn't go well. But again, he's so disciplined. I believe he's put in the work and will prove it on Saturday.

Cowboy-Hernandez - I really want to see this fight. Nothing against Hernandez, but it would be awesome for Cowboy to insert himself back into the fray at 155. He looked good at 170, but I think he's just too small for the top guys. He's surely nearing the end, so one more run at the title would be fun...even if it's unlikely.

Hardy-Crowder - I'm guessing this guy is a can for Hardy to smash? I see he's a Contender Series guy who then lost his first UFC fight in 15 seconds. It was against Willis, so no shame in losing to him, but I don't know. I feel like the UFC has invested so much in Hardy, they are going to pick the easy fights for him. But hey, at least there's an easy villain to root against.

Gillespie-Medeiros - This could be a great fight. I'll predict it is the Fight of the Night. Looking forward to this one.

PVZ-Ostovich - Looking forward to this one as well for...reasons.

Good break down. I think T.J handles Cejudo. Hardy is a lock. PVZ is going to smoke Ostovich. Hernandez beats Cowboy and Gillespie is a contender for the belt.

 

[m9]

It held a lot more appeal for me with DJ fighting instead of TJ. Unfortunately the judging for DJ vs Cejudo was a farce and then DJ set off for ONE.

Eh, it was a close fight. Would have liked to see the trilogy fight.

TJ v DJ a couple years back (when it was discussed) would have been fun too.

 

[zombie kopitar]

I understand why he wants to do it, I just don't really understand why the UFC played along with it given how it was the perfect time to kill off 125lbs and not have these guys cut the extra weight.

Why kill the division and put all those other guys who spent their life to get there out of work....

I mean it will probably happen eventually but TJ fighting in this division is good for the sport imo, even if only once

 

[m9]

Why kill the division and put all those other guys who spent their life to get there out of work....

I mean it will probably happen eventually but TJ fighting in this division is good for the sport imo, even if only once

Because nobody cares about the division in North America. They tried, it didn't work. Time to move on.

And no, having two fighters cut an additional 10lbs of weight just so one of them can potentially say "champ champ" isn't worth it to me. Unnecessary weight cuts are a major problem in the sport and should be avoided whenever possible.

 

[1specter]

Eh, it was a close fight. Would have liked to see the trilogy fight.

TJ v DJ a couple years back (when it was discussed) would have been fun too.

Just realized I made a typo, meant to say DJ fighting instead of Cejudo. Yeah it's too bad we won't get TJ vs DJ.

 

[pistolpete11]

Good break down. I think T.J handles Cejudo. Hardy is a lock. PVZ is going to smoke Ostovich. Hernandez beats Cowboy and Gillespie is a contender for the belt.

It's tough for me to pick Cowboy fights. Sometimes he comes out and it's like he's playing a video game. Other times, it looks like he'd rather not be there. He's the type of guy to fight with an injury he probably shouldn't, so maybe that's it sometimes. I don't know. He has the skills everywhere to beat anybody in the division. But he's also beatable for everybody in the division.

I'm glad to see Gillespie fighting someone I've heard of before. I've been impressed by him, but I question the competition. Yancy will be a good test for him. If he passes and Felder beats Vick, I think they would make a great next fight for each other.



Forgive me if I've ranted about this before, but the new UFC website is dogshit. It's so hard to find any information. You used to be able to go to a fighter's page and see their upcoming fight, click on their opponents to go to their page, they would separate out their records in MMA and the UFC, you didn't have to scroll down 10 pages to see their physical stats, you didn't have to click 'load more' 10 times to see their entire record. They tried to make it look 'nice' but forgot about the functionality.

 

[m9]

It's tough for me to pick Cowboy fights. Sometimes he comes out and it's like he's playing a video game. Other times, it looks like he'd rather not be there. He's the type of guy to fight with an injury he probably shouldn't, so maybe that's it sometimes. I don't know. He has the skills everywhere to beat anybody in the division. But he's also beatable for everybody in the division.

I'm glad to see Gillespie fighting someone I've heard of before. I've been impressed by him, but I question the competition. Yancy will be a good test for him. If he passes and Felder beats Vick, I think they would make a great next fight for each other.



Forgive me if I've ranted about this before, but the new UFC website is dog****. It's so hard to find any information. You used to be able to go to a fighter's page and see their upcoming fight, click on their opponents to go to their page, they would separate out their records in MMA and the UFC, you didn't have to scroll down 10 pages to see their physical stats, you didn't have to click 'load more' 10 times to see their entire record. They tried to make it look 'nice' but forgot about the functionality.

Yeah, it sucks. I don't use it for anything anymore.

I usually use mmajunkie "rumours" for looking at the upcoming cards. Tapology is a great resource for seeing upcoming fights, though it's kind of a mess as well. But if you want to look at a division and see who has fights coming up and who doesn't, I think it's the best out there. For example, if you want to check out 145lbs:

The Current Best MMA Featherweights | 145 lbs. | Tapology MMA Rankings

 

[pistolpete11]

Yeah, it sucks. I don't use it for anything anymore.

I usually use mmajunkie "rumours" for looking at the upcoming cards. Tapology is a great resource for seeing upcoming fights, though it's kind of a mess as well. But if you want to look at a division and see who has fights coming up and who doesn't, I think it's the best out there. For example, if you want to check out 145lbs:

The Current Best MMA Featherweights | 145 lbs. | Tapology MMA Rankings

I like how Tapology shows fights that were booked and fell through, but yeah, it's kind of a mess as well.

I just don't understand why the UFC changed their website. It was perfectly fine. Make some aesthetic changes if you want, but the functionality was perfectly fine.