GDT: UFC on ESPN: Smith vs. Teixeira

[Avs_19]

Date: May 13, 2020
Venue: VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
City: Jacksonville, Florida
Time: 9pm ET/6pm PT
Viewing: ESPN+, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, TSN 5)

Light Heavyweight bout: Anthony Smith vs. Glover Teixeira
Heavyweight bout: Ben Rothwell vs. Ovince Saint Preux
Lightweight bout: Alexander Hernandez vs. Drew Dober
Bantamweight bout: Ricky Simon vs. Ray Borg
Middleweight bout: Karl Roberson vs. Marvin Vettori

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, TSN 5)

Heavyweight bout: Andrei Arlovski vs. Philipe Lins
Lightweight bout: Michael Johnson vs. Thiago Moises
Women's Bantamweight bout: Sijara Eubanks vs. Sarah Moras
Lightweight bout: Gabriel Benítez vs. Omar Antonio Morales Ferrer
Bantamweight bout: Hunter Azure vs. Brian Kelleher
Heavyweight bout: Chase Sherman vs. Isaac Villanueva​

Click to read more...

 

[CDJ]

Kind of a low key card but it’s on a Wednesday so that’s to be expected

I like Vettori as a fighter. Super durable.

Dober vs Hernandez could be good

Lins won a PFL Heavyweight tourney for a milly. Beat a couple former UFC guys doing it too

Anthony Smith should be able to beat Glover but we’ll see. Glover is still pretty crafty


OSP at heavyweight should be interesting, I expect him to be a lot quicker than Rothwell

 

[m9]

Really interested in Arlovksi v Lins.

Main event is solid but not really exciting. I like Anthony Smith to win.

Good names all over the card. Not a great card but it's not like I have anything else to do.

 

[Avs_19]

There's nothing that stands out too much on this card but these days it's still a must watch because it's not like there's anything else going on.

I'm going with Smith in the main event. I was skeptical of him while he was beating guys like Rashad and Shogun but he's pretty legit and I'm a fan now.

I like Hernandez vs. Dober. Kelleher has also been in some fun fights.

 

[CDJ]

Yeah i started believing in Smith after the Volkan win, the two fights after that have only convinced me he’s legit. He is so young to have 46 career fights already too (he’s only 31)

he could be the champ if he wanted to be, ppl forget that

 

[Club]

Posting my picks in a few fights.

Vettori
Sherman
Azure
Lins
Hernandez
Smith

 

[pistolpete11]

Some names throughout, but a pretty 'meh' card under normal circumstances.

I think the main event is a low key banger, though. I don't think Glover gets enough credit. He's got some good wins on his resume and his losses are to the cream of the crop. And he's still doing the damn thing at 40 years old. I think Smith 'should' win, but it's still a good test. I'm still trying to figure out how good he really is.

 

[m9]

Smith looked great against Gus & had a nice finish vs Oezdemir. The Jones fight is a bit confusing because I thought he looked really bad there and when you combine that with how Jones looked recently it kind of makes you wonder where Smith ultimately lands. More than anything I just don't think Smith has any dynamic quality that would give him an advantage over someone like Jones where guys like Santos & Reyes have their striking ability.

But yeah, it's a decent matchup for Glover. His main weakness is that he is just so slow on the feet and I don't think Smith can really exploit that. But, I also don't think either guy will really be able to take the fight to the ground. We're probably looking at a stand-up/clinch fight and maybe Glover can land that big shot eventually.

Really interested to see OSP at HW as well. Always intrigued when the guys at 205lb step up see the power v speed matchup.

Was hoping the Eubanks/Moras odds would be closer as I think Eubanks is the biggest lock on the card. Looks like everyone else agrees though, she's like -400.

 

[CDJ]

Posting my picks in a few fights.

Vettori
Sherman
Azure
Lins
Hernandez
Smith

I have the exact same picks lol

 

[CDJ]

Some names throughout, but a pretty 'meh' card under normal circumstances.

I think the main event is a low key banger, though. I don't think Glover gets enough credit. He's got some good wins on his resume and his losses are to the cream of the crop. And he's still doing the damn thing at 40 years old. I think Smith 'should' win, but it's still a good test. I'm still trying to figure out how good he really is.

3 in a row against Krylov, Cutelaba, and Roberson ain’t bad for a 40 year old. Those are 3 guys that get after it too, they look to finish

 

[Club]

I have the exact same picks lol

That's what's up, my friend.

Should be a gooder

 

[member 51464]

Smith looked great against Gus & had a nice finish vs Oezdemir. The Jones fight is a bit confusing because I thought he looked really bad there and when you combine that with how Jones looked recently it kind of makes you wonder where Smith ultimately lands. More than anything I just don't think Smith has any dynamic quality that would give him an advantage over someone like Jones where guys like Santos & Reyes have their striking ability.

But yeah, it's a decent matchup for Glover. His main weakness is that he is just so slow on the feet and I don't think Smith can really exploit that. But, I also don't think either guy will really be able to take the fight to the ground. We're probably looking at a stand-up/clinch fight and maybe Glover can land that big shot eventually.

Really interested to see OSP at HW as well. Always intrigued when the guys at 205lb step up see the power v speed matchup.

Was hoping the Eubanks/Moras odds would be closer as I think Eubanks is the biggest lock on the card. Looks like everyone else agrees though, she's like -400.

I felt like the moment just seemed too big for Smith when it came to the Jones fight. I agree he lacks that particular dynamic skill, but he seems relatively smart and maybe the cerebral edge can be his if he has more fights on the big stage. He isn't that old either.

 

[m9]

I felt like the moment just seemed too big for Smith when it came to the Jones fight. I agree he lacks that particular dynamic skill, but he seems relatively smart and maybe the cerebral edge can be his if he has more fights on the big stage. He isn't that old either.

Smith is very articulate and very smart. Unfortunately while he's not articulate, Jon Jones (at least in the cage) is extremely smart himself so there won't be much advantage there either.

I could see Smith as champion, I just don't see him beating Jones to do it. But if someone like Reyes was champion there is definitely a path to it.

In terms of the moment being too big for him, maybe a bit of that but I think it's more about how well Jones did in terms of neutralizing the skills that Smith brings. Smith has even said that in interviews - Jones just did such a good job of shutting him down and he is using that as motivation because he knows he needs to be better to be champion.

Since we're talking about him, I hope the future includes some commentary from Anthony Smith as he does a great job on TV & on Sirius. Definitely think he has a long future in that realm.

 

[CDJ]

That's what's up, my friend.

Should be a gooder

you avoided the picks I struggled with making, I just bet the board because I have nothing better to do and I’m kind of a savage

Moises (I feel like Johnson’s been in too many wars)
Morales (mollywhopped dong Hyun ma in his last fight and is undefeated)
Simon (so much bigger than Borg and is a wrestler)
OSP (I think he’s gonna be a lot quicker than Rothwell)

are my others. So no dogs on those picks.

Ray Borg made weight so that’s nice. Karl Roberson is the only one that missed weight

 

[pistolpete11]

Smith looked great against Gus & had a nice finish vs Oezdemir. The Jones fight is a bit confusing because I thought he looked really bad there and when you combine that with how Jones looked recently it kind of makes you wonder where Smith ultimately lands. More than anything I just don't think Smith has any dynamic quality that would give him an advantage over someone like Jones where guys like Santos & Reyes have their striking ability.

Smith's whole path to this point is confusing to me.

Gus is a great name to have on your resume obviously, but it seemed like he kind of had one foot out the door already.

He did better against Jones than I thought he would in the sense I thought Jones would finish him. He got thoroughly dominated in that fight, though (even if he deserves all the props in the world for not taking the easy way out).

Volkan is just as confusing to me. He had a good run up to the title, but then got embarrassed by DC, lost to Smith, and then lost to Reyes. So it seemed like a flash in the pan and that was the big win that got Smith the title shot which seemed...thin. Now that Reyes beat Jones (I know, I know), it looks a lot better for Volkan (and Smith) and he's picked up a few more wins. So maybe he is a top 5 guy?

Other than that, he's got over the hill Shogun, over the hill Rashad, over the hill Lombard, and some MW's I don't don't know anything about.

A win over Glover isn't like "Holy shit! Give that man a title shot!" but I think it's still telling of where Smith is. Glover's 40 years old too, but he's still active and still winning.

But yeah, it's a decent matchup for Glover. His main weakness is that he is just so slow on the feet and I don't think Smith can really exploit that. But, I also don't think either guy will really be able to take the fight to the ground. We're probably looking at a stand-up/clinch fight and maybe Glover can land that big shot eventually.

I'm not sure how it would get to the ground, but I'd be interested to see it happen. They've both got a good submission game.

 

[m9]

Smith's whole path to this point is confusing to me.

Gus is a great name to have on your resume obviously, but it seemed like he kind of had one foot out the door already.

He did better against Jones than I thought he would in the sense I thought Jones would finish him. He got thoroughly dominated in that fight, though (even if he deserves all the props in the world for not taking the easy way out).

Volkan is just as confusing to me. He had a good run up to the title, but then got embarrassed by DC, lost to Smith, and then lost to Reyes. So it seemed like a flash in the pan and that was the big win that got Smith the title shot which seemed...thin. Now that Reyes beat Jones (I know, I know), it looks a lot better for Volkan (and Smith) and he's picked up a few more wins. So maybe he is a top 5 guy?

Other than that, he's got over the hill Shogun, over the hill Rashad, over the hill Lombard, and some MW's I don't don't know anything about.

A win over Glover isn't like "Holy shit! Give that man a title shot!" but I think it's still telling of where Smith is. Glover's 40 years old too, but he's still active and still winning.


I'm not sure how it would get to the ground, but I'd be interested to see it happen. They've both got a good submission game.

I agree it's really messy - depending on the matchup most of them could beat each other. I think the main thing I takeaway from all that is that it really shows the drop-off of Jon Jones as he wouldn't have had a problem with guys on this level in the past and he has struggled the last two fights. It's just much more likely that Jones got worse vs everyone else getting so much better.

 

[chicagoskycam]

I have to keep reminding myself this is on tonight so I don't miss it. So strange to be on Wednesday and then we have another one Saturday!

 

[CDJ]

Roberson/Vettori is off due to complications with Roberson’s weight cut

 

[I am not exposed]

Smith's whole path to this point is confusing to me.

Gus is a great name to have on your resume obviously, but it seemed like he kind of had one foot out the door already.

He did better against Jones than I thought he would in the sense I thought Jones would finish him. He got thoroughly dominated in that fight, though (even if he deserves all the props in the world for not taking the easy way out).

Volkan is just as confusing to me. He had a good run up to the title, but then got embarrassed by DC, lost to Smith, and then lost to Reyes. So it seemed like a flash in the pan and that was the big win that got Smith the title shot which seemed...thin. Now that Reyes beat Jones (I know, I know), it looks a lot better for Volkan (and Smith) and he's picked up a few more wins. So maybe he is a top 5 guy?

Other than that, he's got over the hill Shogun, over the hill Rashad, over the hill Lombard, and some MW's I don't don't know anything about.

A win over Glover isn't like "Holy shit! Give that man a title shot!" but I think it's still telling of where Smith is. Glover's 40 years old too, but he's still active and still winning.


I'm not sure how it would get to the ground, but I'd be interested to see it happen. They've both got a good submission game.

I thought Volkan won that fight against Reyes. Maybe I need to re-watch it, but I was very surprised when they called Reyes name.

But yeah, the light heavyweight division is weird. I agree with what you are saying.

 

[pistolpete11]

I thought Volkan won that fight against Reyes. Maybe I need to re-watch it, but I was very surprised when they called Reyes name.

But yeah, the light heavyweight division is weird. I agree with what you are saying.

Honestly, I know I watched it and I remember not being impressed with Reyes, but I don't remember anything else about that fight.

 

[pistolpete11]

I agree it's really messy - depending on the matchup most of them could beat each other. I think the main thing I takeaway from all that is that it really shows the drop-off of Jon Jones as he wouldn't have had a problem with guys on this level in the past and he has struggled the last two fights. It's just much more likely that Jones got worse vs everyone else getting so much better.

I think that's probably right, but I also keep going back to Jones smashing Gus in the rematch. That wasn't all that long ago. Who knows, though, maybe Gus fell off a lot, too.

 

[member 51464]

Gus got his brains scrambled by rumble and also had a full five rounds with DC before the Jones rematch. He was never as good as Jones at not taking damage.

 

[CDJ]

I thought Volkan won that fight against Reyes. Maybe I need to re-watch it, but I was very surprised when they called Reyes name.

But yeah, the light heavyweight division is weird. I agree with what you are saying.

he did, was a pretty clear 2 rounds to 1 in my eyes

Volkan doesn’t get a lot of credit but the dudes pretty good

 

[MD thaivuN]

this card feels like a tedious grind-fest. I'll check out Ben Rothwell vs OSP. I'm hoping for an hilarious submission finish. GoGo choke vs Von Flu

 

[CDJ]

this card feels like a tedious grind-fest. I'll check out Ben Rothwell vs OSP. I'm hoping for an hilarious submission finish. GoGo choke vs Von Flu

gotta call it the Von Preux at this point I think, how many does he have? Like 4 of the 6 ever in the UFC or some shit?


Always love it when a guy is know for a funky submission. Seems like we are there with Bryce Mitchell and the twister too.