GDT: UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Neal

[Avs_19]

Date: December 19, 2020
Venue: UFC Apex
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 7 pm ET/4 pm PT
Viewing: ESPN+, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, TSN 5)

Welterweight bout: Stephen Thompson vs. Geoff Neal
Bantamweight bout: José Aldo vs. Marlon Vera
Welterweight bout: Michel Pereira vs. Khaos Williams
Bantamweight bout: Marlon Moraes vs. Rob Font
Women’s Flyweight bout: Gillian Robertson vs. Taila Santos
Heavyweight bout: Marcin Tybura vs. Greg Hardy

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, TSN 5)

Welterweight bout: Anthony Pettis vs. Alex Morono
Women's Bantamweight bout: Sijara Eubanks vs. Pannie Kianzad
Catchweight (195 lb) bout: Deron Winn vs. Antônio Arroyo
Middleweight bout: Tafon Nchukwi vs. Jamie Pickett
Lightweight bout: Christos Giagos vs. Carlton Minus
Flyweight bout: Jimmy Flick vs. Cody Durden​

Click to read more...

 

[CDJ]

Good card, hopefully we don’t lose anything else


Top 4 fights are sick

 

[m9]

Looking forward to most of this card. Hope it holds up until Saturday.

 

[m9]

Roberson/Lungiambula off due to covid.

As long as the top 4 fights, Tybura/Hardy and Pettis/Morono hold up I'm good.

 

[Chaels Arms]

Is it weird that I want to throw some money down on Vera? The beating Aldo took from Yan just seemed the type of thing we look back on as the point he falls off a cliff.

 

[m9]

I'm too wec-biased to get involved in any Aldo or Pettis bets.

 

[CDJ]

Is it weird that I want to throw some money down on Vera? The beating Aldo took from Yan just seemed the type of thing we look back on as the point he falls off a cliff.

Vera beat Song Yadong too ppl forget that. Judges don’t matter, eyes do. UFC is trying to build a chinese star and that’s what happened there. Chito is just a great fighter though, He’s tough anywhere the fight goes


I think my big bet will be on Wonderboy. The experience difference + Neal almost dying puts it over the edge for me

 

[m9]

Vera beat Song Yadong too ppl forget that. Judges don’t matter, eyes do. UFC is trying to build a chinese star and that’s what happened there. Chito is just a great fighter though, He’s tough anywhere the fight goes


I think my big bet will be on Wonderboy. The experience difference + Neal almost dying puts it over the edge for me

Yes, the UFC is going to risk their entire legitimacy to get Song Yadong a win over Marlon Vera. It was a close fight.

 

[CDJ]

Yes, the UFC is going to risk their entire legitimacy to get Song Yadong a win over Marlon Vera. It was a close fight.

did it with the Cody Stamann fight before that and that wasn’t particularly close AND Song lost a point during it. Still the worst collective judging I’ve ever seen.

Anyway it’s mostly irrelevant to this card other than to say Vera hasn’t really lost decisively in a long ass time. But it’s weird to me Song came out on top in back to back splits like that- ESPECIALLY the Stamann one. I mean look at those numbers and then consider the fact Song was deducted a point. It doesn’t add up.


Vera is durable, he’s going to give Aldo problems imo

 

[CDJ]

Everybody made weight again

 

[Byron Bitz]

Vera beat Song Yadong too ppl forget that. Judges don’t matter, eyes do. UFC is trying to build a chinese star and that’s what happened there. Chito is just a great fighter though, He’s tough anywhere the fight goes


I think my big bet will be on Wonderboy. The experience difference + Neal almost dying puts it over the edge for me

The idea that the ufc would bribe judges is completely asinine. The only thing the UFC does that is remotely close to fixing fights is give preferential stylistic match ups to fighters they are trying to build up, which is completely legal.

 

[CDJ]

The idea that the ufc would bribe judges is completely asinine.

Yeah you’re right there’s never been corruption scandals in sports before and Dana White is a totally upstanding figure, 0% possibility of anything weird going on

I didn’t say anything about bribery per say but it definitely has me raising an eyebrow when a young rising star in the largest market the ufc is trying to develop gets two straight splits, one of which being an inexplicable draw where he lost every phase of the fight and got a point taken from him and the other being a close fight to Chito where the slight majority of outlets had Chito winning.

so idk what’s going on but I know I’m not betting against Song, and it’s not 100% due to his talent. Dudes lucky at the very least.


All this is to say Chito has been active the last couple of years and has outright won or lost by a razor thin margin- I don’t see Aldo coming out and whooping him, not after the potentially career altering beating he took towards the end of his last fight

 

[m9]

Yeah you’re right there’s never been corruption scandals in sports before and Dana White is a totally upstanding figure, 0% possibility of anything weird going on

I didn’t say anything about bribery per say but it definitely has me raising an eyebrow when a young rising star in the largest market the ufc is trying to develop gets two straight splits, one of which being an inexplicable draw where he lost every phase of the fight and got a point taken from him and the other being a close fight to Chito where the slight majority of outlets had Chito winning.

so idk what’s going on but I know I’m not betting against Song, and it’s not 100% due to his talent. Dudes lucky at the very least.


All this is to say Chito has been active the last couple of years and has outright won or lost by a razor thin margin- I don’t see Aldo coming out and whooping him, not after the potentially career altering beating he took towards the end of his last fight

The media scoring the fight was pretty split.

MMADecisions.com

That you would use this low-level fight as a case for the UFC fixing fights is.. something.

 

[CDJ]

The media scoring the fight was pretty split.

MMADecisions.com

That you would use this low-level fight as a case for the UFC fixing fights is.. something.

like I said the slight majority of outlets had Vera winning. If it was this fight by itself you wouldn’t hear me a say a thing about it but it’s eyebrow-raising when you look at the Stamann decision one fight before that.

let me wear my tinfoil hat

 

[m9]

Last card of the year - thanks @Avs_19 for getting these threads going every week.

 

[CDJ]

Yes much appreciated @Avs_19!

Took me way too long to find this board into my HF posting run but I’m glad I did. I love the knowledgeable MMA discussion I have with you fellow barbarians and savages


I’m feeling like a little sprinkle on a Pettis/Tybura parlay. My only bet


Sike Rob Font NEW ENGLAND CARTEL

 

[Avs_19]

There's a lot to like about this card. Good match ups throughout, some decent sized names, and the potential craziness of a fight like Pereira/Williams. Moraes/Font is kinda flying under the radar but could be the best fight on the card.

I hope we don't end the year on a sad note with Aldo and Pettis. Too much of that lately with some of the other legends and former champs. It's been rough for Brazil in particular with Anderson, Shogun, Jacare, and JDS.

I love the early start time too.

Last card of the year - thanks @Avs_19 for getting these threads going every week.

Yes much appreciated @Avs_19!

Took me way too long to find this board into my HF posting run but I’m glad I did. I love the knowledgeable MMA discussion I have with you fellow barbarians and savages


I’m feeling like a little sprinkle on a Pettis/Tybura parlay. My only bet


Sike Rob Font NEW ENGLAND CARTEL

No problem!

 

[ZDH]

Vera is better than Aldo, I don't see him losing this. Gotta take the dog here.

 

[member 51464]

If you want to see highlights from Pereira's last fight. He is just so dynamic and goofy, lol. I hope he knows how to calibrate that up and down because otherwise he may get plastered early tonight.

I like Pereira, though, fun and entertaining.

 

[CDJ]

If you want to see highlights from Pereira's last fight. He is just so dynamic and goofy, lol. I hope he knows how to calibrate that up and down because otherwise he may get plastered early tonight.

I like Pereira, though, fun and entertaining.

Him slapping the shit out of Imadaev after dominating him the entire fight was amazing. Imadaev slapped him at the weigh ins, that’s why Pereira did that. Pereira has grown on me- I thought he was a circus side show but he’s got legitimate talent. Imadaev has since been released for supporting terrorism (and also losing 3 in a row)

 

[CDJ]

Pretty easy win for Giagos, Minus is awful on the ground and bad at keeping it standing.... bad combo

 

[CDJ]

Flying triangle from jimmy flick, that guys a ton of fun


Nchukwi didn’t gas like I figure he would

 

[Avs_19]

Pretty dominant win for Santos in a division that badly needs good fighters.

 

[member 51464]

Arroyo/Winn just looks like a high schooler bullying a middle schooler for stretches here in the 1st.

Winn closing the gap in the 2nd.

I hope the 3rd is decided by skill and not exhaustion alone, haha.

 

[m9]

Ugly fight.