GDT: UFC on Fox: Lee vs. Iaquinta 2

[Avs_19]

Date: December 15, 2018
Venue: Fiserv Forum
City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Time: 10pm ET/7pm PT
Viewing: Fox, TSN 5

MAIN CARD (Fox, TSN 5)

Lightweight bout: Kevin Lee vs. Al Iaquinta
Lightweight bout: Edson Barboza vs. Dan Hooker
Bantamweight bout: Rob Font vs. Sergio Pettis
Lightweight bout: Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira

PRELIMINARY CARD (FS1, TSN 5)

Welterweight bout: Zak Ottow vs. Dwight Grant
Lightweight bout: Bobby Green vs. Drakkar Klose
Lightweight bout: Jared Gordon vs. Joaquim Silva
Middleweight bout: Gerald Meerschaert vs. Jack Hermansson
Featherweight bout: Dan Ige vs. Jordan Griffin
Women's Flyweight bout: Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Andrea Lee

PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass)

Light Heavyweight bout: Adam Milstead vs. Mike Rodriguez
Middleweight bout: Trevor Smith vs. Zak Cummings
Heavyweight bout: Chris de la Rocha vs. Juan Adams​

Click to read more...

 

[m9]

Fun main event, though I think Lee takes it pretty easily.

Very interested in the co-main. Hooker isn't a big name, but he's been on fire since dropping to 155lbs. A win over Barboza puts him in the top ten of a stacked division.

 

[Avs_19]

I have Lee winning rather easily as well. I think there's only a couple of fighters at 155 who can beat him at this point. The striking still isn't great but I think he's getting better in that area and he's an excellent grappler.

It's a pretty big step up in competition for Hooker. He has looked great though and it should be a fun fight.

Tough fight for Pettis in his return to 135.

 

[Moncherry]

Lee isn't winning easily at all. This guy might be the most overrated fighter in the UFC.

 

[MD thaivuN]

Yeah, easy win for Lee.

can't see Pettis have much success at 135 lbs. His chin is too normal for that violence-filled division and, just like his previous run, doesn't the enough power in his strikes.

fun main card, but the prelims is filled with fighters i can't be bothered to care about. seeing Zack Ottow on top the prelims already saps away at my interest.

 

[m9]

Lee isn't winning easily at all. This guy might be the most overrated fighter in the UFC.

I don't know how good Lee is, but I think Iaquinta is quite overrated himself. I'll be really surprised if Iaquinta wins.

 

[Egg]

I don't know how good Lee is

He is very good, if we are talking technically.

What makes him a threat, is his heart. He is a scary fighter just like Tony Ferguson and seems to dig his deepest when on the brink of a loss.

Iaquinta is a similar fighter in terms of the amount of heart he fights with. I just don't think their skill set is comparable.

Only way Iaquinta wins, is if Lee makes a mistake.

Lee fights a smart fight, and it's a finish.

Otherwise expect an Iaquinta knockout win.

 

[Neutrinos]

Kevin Lee reminds me of Woodley

They're both incredible physical specimens, and elite level athletes with a background in wrestling

Having just turned 26, I think it's only a matter of time before Lee is wearing the 155 strap

People may forget, but there was a 2 year stretch from '12 - '14 where Woodley was just 3 - 3, but now he's an unbeatable champion

 

[Jasper]

Kevin Lee reminds me of Woodley

They're both incredible physical specimens, and elite level athletes with a background in wrestling

Having just turned 26, I think it's only a matter of time before Lee is wearing the 155 strap

People may forget, but there was a 2 year stretch from '12 - '14 where Woodley was just 3 - 3, but now he's an unbeatable champion

I definitely remember those days. Back when Woodley lost to the likes of Jake Shields he looked like a gate keeper at best. Would never have guessed he'd be where he is now back then.

 

[pistolpete11]

I'm not ready to put Lee in the same conversation as the guys at the top of the division. Sure, he beat Barboza, but he also almost got KO'ed by Barboza. And sure, he looked good against Tony until he got finished, but he still got finished and Tony seems to always be in some trouble in his fights.

I think Lee beats Al, but I'm more curious in how he looks doing it. Al is a good enough all-around fighter that I don't think he is an 'easy' fight for anyone. So if Lee starches him, then OK, he's in the title picture. If he struggles or worse, loses, then I think it's a big step back for him. I'm also curious how easily he makes weight.

Huge step up in competition for Hooker. That could be a fun fight and a real coming out party for Hooker.

The other 2 fights on the main card could be good, fun scraps, but are kind of unimportant to me. I don't think any of them are anything better than gatekeepers. I guess maybe it will be interesting to see if Pettis can hang at 135?

 

[m9]

I'm not ready to put Lee in the same conversation as the guys at the top of the division. Sure, he beat Barboza, but he also almost got KO'ed by Barboza. And sure, he looked good against Tony until he got finished, but he still got finished and Tony seems to always be in some trouble in his fights.

I think Lee beats Al, but I'm more curious in how he looks doing it. Al is a good enough all-around fighter that I don't think he is an 'easy' fight for anyone. So if Lee starches him, then OK, he's in the title picture. If he struggles or worse, loses, then I think it's a big step back for him. I'm also curious how easily he makes weight.

Huge step up in competition for Hooker. That could be a fun fight and a real coming out party for Hooker.

The other 2 fights on the main card could be good, fun scraps, but are kind of unimportant to me. I don't think any of them are anything better than gatekeepers. I guess maybe it will be interesting to see if Pettis can hang at 135?

I think Pettis will do a bit better this time around at 135lbs as he has definitely made improvements over the last few fights. I don't think Pettis can hang with the top of the division though.. he'll stick around as a ranked guy, though.

And I agree on Lee. I actually like him quite a bit over Iaquinta and I think he will finish him, though. If they do Ferguson/Khabib I would like to see Poirier/Lee on that undercard to a) protect against an injury and b) figure out a top contender.

 

[pistolpete11]

I think Pettis will do a bit better this time around at 135lbs as he has definitely made improvements over the last few fights. I don't think Pettis can hang with the top of the division though.. he'll stick around as a ranked guy, though.

And I agree on Lee. I actually like him quite a bit over Iaquinta and I think he will finish him, though. If they do Ferguson/Khabib I would like to see Poirier/Lee on that undercard to a) protect against an injury and b) figure out a top contender.

Poirier-Lee on the undercard of Khabib-Tony makes a lot of sense, but what are you doing with Conor then?

It's kind of pointless to guess until we know about Khabib and Conor's suspensions. But there's not a bad fight to make with Khabib, Tony, Conor, Poirier, and Lee (assuming he beats Al) and you can throw other big names in there like Max, Nate, and Cowboy. I would still like to see the mini-tournament thing with Khabib-Tony and Conor-Poirier, but I'd be excited to see basically any fight in the 155lb division.

 

[m9]

Poirier-Lee on the undercard of Khabib-Tony makes a lot of sense, but what are you doing with Conor then?

It's kind of pointless to guess until we know about Khabib and Conor's suspensions. But there's not a bad fight to make with Khabib, Tony, Conor, Poirier, and Lee (assuming he beats Al) and you can throw other big names in there like Max, Nate, and Cowboy. I would still like to see the mini-tournament thing with Khabib-Tony and Conor-Poirier, but I'd be excited to see basically any fight in the 155lb division.

Conor doesn't seem like the type to run things back unless they didn't go his way the first time, so I just don't think the Poirier fight will happen. But yeah, fairly pointless until we know about the suspensions.

 

[pistolpete11]

Conor doesn't seem like the type to run things back unless they didn't go his way the first time, so I just don't think the Poirier fight will happen. But yeah, fairly pointless until we know about the suspensions.

I think he would if he thought it was the way to make the most money.

And I think it's the way to make the most money in the long term. Most important is getting a win in his next fight. Of the realistic possibilities, I think Poirier is the best matchup for Conor. Max or Cowboy or someone like that might be a bigger fight than Poirier, but I think they are much harder matchups for Conor. Besides, Conor's still got enough drawing power that he's going to sell a ton of PPVs regardless of the opponent. At least for now. I don't think the risk/reward is high enough to take a bigger but harder fight.

Poirier makes sense in terms of where the division is right now, too, so it would be tough for anyone to argue it and to accuse Conor of taking an 'easier' fight or something like that...if that even matters to Conor.

 

[Neutrinos]

Poirier isn't a big enough name for McGregor

 

[pistolpete11]

Poirier isn't a big enough name for McGregor

Right, but my point is that even though Poirier might not be the biggest fight to make right now, he should win it which will set him up for a title fight which will be bigger than the difference between fighting say Poirier next or Max.

Conor is not going to stick around much longer. I think he will take one more run at the belt, finish off the Nate trilogy, and retire. That's why I think when picking his next fight, a likely win is more important than how many PPV's it's going to sell. Besides, there is still enough Conor shine that a fight with Poirier is still going to sell over a million PPVs.

Possible opponents for his next fight:
Poirier - I think it's the best matchup for him and sets up at least a couple of huge paydays.
Max - It's probably the biggest fight to make, but I think that's a nightmare matchup for Conor. He beat a 19 year old Max. Not this guy.
Cowboy - I thought Cowboy was a good option until he accepted the fight with Hernandez. If he wins, it's still a possibility. If he loses, I think he gets crossed off.
Nate - Like I said, I think he is saving Nate for his retirement fight. People will want to see that fight no matter what happens.
Lee - If he beats Raging Al, but is he a bigger name than Poirier? And I think he's a worse matchup than Poirier.
Tony - Something screwy would have to happen with Khabib for Tony-Conor to happen.

Nobody else really stands out as a possibility for me. Unless I'm missing someone...

 

[member 51464]

Are we even sure Conor ever comes back again? He is still loaded financially, and he just doesn't seem to have the hunger anymore he did when he was on his way up.

 

[m9]

He'll be back, he not going out like that.

 

[pistolpete11]

Are we even sure Conor ever comes back again? He is still loaded financially, and he just doesn't seem to have the hunger anymore he did when he was on his way up.

Pretty sure. He's certainly talking like he will. I don't know why he'd file for a continuance on his NSAC hearing if he was just going to retire anyway either.

 

[member 51464]

These early fights have been pretty entertaining.

 

[Avs_19]

Fun fight between Green and Klose. It was close but I thought Green did enough to take the first two rounds.

 

[td_ice]

Wow, Oliveira dispatches Miller in 75 seconds.

 

[Avs_19]

Oliveira made that look so easy. It was over as soon as it hit the mat.

 

[td_ice]

Oliveira made that look so easy. It was over as soon as it hit the mat.

Yeah, as soon as Miller missed with the leg kick, it was over. Oliveira took him down and goodnight.

 

[Diddy]

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Let's go fellas. JBG Bless