UFC 173: Barao vs. Dillashaw (May 24, 2014)

[Kermit]

I have kidney stones and I penetrating want to die so I'll be laid up watching this tomorrow.

Been there a few times my man. Drink lots of beer. Get well soon.

[Bumdeal]

thanks for the kind words, gents.

Been there a few times my man. Drink lots of beer. Get well soon.

damn thing won't come out of me. i've drank about 300 glasses of water the past two days. i'm going to drown myself.

[Thor4140]

I have kidney stones and I penetrating want to die so I'll be laid up watching this tomorrow.

Don't even know how u have time to type that Fukin things are brutal. Drink drink drink and pop pain pills and if that don't work head to the hospital.

[Thor4140]

thanks for the kind words, gents.



damn thing won't come out of me. i've drank about 300 glasses of water the past two days. i'm going to drown myself.

sometimes when i get them i i drink so much and all the sudden i can't piss so i start puking. I can't remember that piss pill but i have them on hand just in case. Flomax i believe they are called.

[Bumdeal]

sometimes when i get them i i drink so much and all the sudden i can't piss so i start puking. I can't remember that piss pill but i have them on hand just in case. Flomax i believe they are called.

yep im on the flomax already haha. went to the hospital 2 days ago with unbelievable stabbing pain. they gave me pain meds and flomax and told me GL. been chugging water perpetually ever since.

also one funny part of my hospital visit:

dr: do you smoke?
me: uh, only marijuana.
dr: how often?
me: occasionally..
dr: how often is occasionally?
me: every day.

[BIGDAY]

Best of luck tomorrow fellas!

Tony Ferguson will be my largest wager tomorrow.

I'm finding value in Ellenberger as well.

[Skel]

Just rewatched Barao vs. Mcdonald. Very competitive fight until Mcdonald gassed. If Michael made the move to an elite camp I could see him improving enough to really threaten Barao. Where the hell is this guy, by the way? I haven't heard anything since his loss to Faber.

[MD]

Just rewatched Barao vs. Mcdonald. Very competitive fight until Mcdonald gassed. If Michael made the move to an elite camp I could see him improving enough to really threaten Barao.

I can't.

No one with McDonald's skill-set will ever be much of a threat to Barao, he needs to completely reinvent himself if he wants to stand anything outside of a puncher's chance.

[Skel]

I can't.

No one with McDonald's skill-set will ever be much of a threat to Barao, he needs to completely reinvent himself if he wants to stand anything outside of a puncher's chance.

Could you elaborate?

[MD]

Could you elaborate?

On the feet, he only has one range at which he's comfortable, and two at which he's dangerous. No matter how good he is at his optimal range, Barao can just choose not to engage him there, as he ended up doing in their fight by spacing McDonald out with leg and body kicks when the boxing was relatively even. Yes, he can stuff a takedown, yes, he has a good guard, yes, he has frankly unbelievable power with pretty sharp hands/timing, but I don't think any of us believe that he'll sub Barao off of his back, or take/hold Barao down, which leads to the question "how does McDonald win?"

If McDonald's best shot is to KO or out-point Barao with his hands, and Barao can just refuse any meaningful boxing engagements pretty much whenever he wants, what can McDonald really do to improve his chances outside of drastic remodelling*? Outside of a few slick subs off of his back and some good positioning, he's a pretty one-dimensional guy. Dillashaw is a far bigger threat, and is pretty much better in every area than McDonald is, IMO. His fluidity and diversity actually afford him some wiggle room against Barao, and I think that he's the best fighter Barao has faced to date.

*To reframe this question with a more obvious comparison, how does Rani Yahya beat Jose Aldo if Jose Aldo refuses to take him down?

[Skel]

On the feet, he only has one range at which he's comfortable, and two at which he's dangerous. No matter how good he is at his optimal range, Barao can just choose not to engage him there, as he ended up doing in their fight by spacing McDonald out with leg and body kicks when the boxing was relatively even. Yes, he can stuff a takedown, yes, he has a good guard, yes, he has frankly unbelievable power with pretty sharp hands/timing, but I don't think any of us believe that he'll sub Barao off of his back, or take/hold Barao down, which leads to the question "how does McDonald win?"

If McDonald's best shot is to KO or out-point Barao with his hands, and Barao can just refuse any meaningful boxing engagements pretty much whenever he wants, what can McDonald really do to improve his chances outside of drastic remodelling*? Outside of a few slick subs off of his back and some good positioning, he's a pretty one-dimensional guy. Dillashaw is a far bigger threat, and is pretty much better in every area than McDonald is, IMO. His fluidity and diversity actually afford him some wiggle room against Barao, and I think that he's the best fighter Barao has faced to date.

*To reframe this question with a more obvious comparison, how does Rani Yahya beat Jose Aldo if Jose Aldo refuses to take him down?

I see your point that the lack of diversity in Mcdonald's offense is a major limitation. However, I do think takedown defense paired with superior boxing can be a successful combination against a more versatile opponent (Gustafsson/Jones is an example of this.) Furthermore, Mcdonald had more success against Barao than anyone else in the UFC so it's hard to say that his style matches up horribly against Barao. We'll see tomorrow how Dillashaw does; I think he could be a big threat in a year or so but he's being a bit rushed here. TJ has to deal not only with arguably the best P4P fighter in MMA but the nerves that come with a PPV main event when he's never really been in the limelight before. I have trouble seeing how Dillashaw finishes Barao, while Barao is amazing at capitalizing on openings and taking his opponents out. If TJ takes Barao down he's faced with some of the best BJJ in the UFC. Dillashaw's a legit talent but he has his hands full here.

[PaperTrail07]

Agree Just has been a long time coming...

It's been a popular sport for a while now PaperT..

I agree that the cards are getting more stacked and impressive these days and that's because we have alot of good fighters that have made names for themselves in MMA over the years... We still only have a few really good MMA organizations promoting fights..

With that being said - Cards are getting stacked now.. Many big names and not so many big places to fight...

[MD]

I see your point that the lack of diversity in Mcdonald's offense is a major limitation. However, I do think takedown defense paired with superior boxing can be a successful combination against a more versatile opponent (Gustafsson/Jones is an example of this.) Furthermore, Mcdonald had more success against Barao than anyone else in the UFC so it's hard to say that his style matches up horribly against Barao. We'll see tomorrow how Dillashaw does; I think he could be a big threat in a year or so but he's being a bit rushed here. TJ has to deal not only with arguably the best P4P fighter in MMA but the nerves that come with a PPV main event when he's never really been in the limelight before. I have trouble seeing how Dillashaw finishes Barao, while Barao is amazing at capitalizing on openings and taking his opponents out. If TJ takes Barao down he's faced with some of the best BJJ in the UFC. Dillashaw's a legit talent but he has his hands full here.

The difference in the Jones/Gustafsson fight is that Jones has always had pretty bad boxing, he's never really shown good hands. Barao is arguably a better boxer than McDonald, and doesn't carry the defensive liabilities that Jones does due to his weak boxing game.

As far as TJ goes, I think he can definitely finish Barao. He's actually the most well-rounded finishing threat Barao has faced, IMO; certainly not the striker that Barao is, or the grappler, but he's an incredible scrambler and is fantastic at finding subs from certain positions, in addition to setting up his strikes better than possibly anyone at 135. He also has elements to his game that I think very few people have actually put into practice against Barao.

Still think TJ should be around +400, but that's a better chance at victory than I've given pretty much anyone else against Barao.

[JIBBBY]

Rory McDonald is a physical specimen and very solid fighter but he needs to rely on his wrestling and God given talents more.. Changing camps and coaches certainly couldn't hurt.. He has alot of GSP in him.. ..

The fun starts today gents!!!! It'ssssss Tiiiiiiiimmmmmmeeeeee!!!! Been waiting for this card to go down all week!!!........................................ ...

[Vaughany]

Rory McDonald is a physical specimen and very solid fighter but he needs to rely on his wrestling and God given talents more.. Changing camps and coaches certainly couldn't hurt.. He has alot of GSP in him.. ..

The fun starts today gents!!!! It'ssssss Tiiiiiiiimmmmmmeeeeee!!!! Been waiting for this card to go down all week!!!........................................ ...

Lol

Jibbehhhhhh

[Ron_Paul_2012]

Whats the deal with SBR not posting odds for UFC173?

[marzwoody]

Whats the deal with SBR not posting odds for UFC173?

Find your own odds niqqa

[JIBBBY]

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!! This show is about to fire up.. Good way to kick off this Memorial Day Weekend here in the States..

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Found myself parlaying alot of dogs on this card and probably doing this against my better judgement gents..

I do think alot of these fights are tight matchups and some of the dogs could easily win.. So I'm throwing darts at the board in this one..

The only dogs I won't play on this card for legit money are Dan Henderson and TJ... I'm really confident both of those guys will catch a beating.... All other bouts on the main card and prelims anything can go in my opinion..

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!! Just win those chips....

[NunyaBidness]

Find your own odds niqqa

Ever try to not look like a dumbass? Maybe just for a day?

[Bumdeal]

Find your own odds niqqa

such an idiot

[marzwoody]

Ever try to not look like a dumbass? Maybe just for a day?

What do u mean dawg? i bet winnerz all days ery day son. song about my life dawg.

[Ron_Paul_2012]

Find your own odds niqqa

Um...... What does that have to do with the SBR sports book not posting odds for play? Is English your second language?

[marzwoody]

Um...... What does that have to do with the SBR sports book not posting odds for play? Is English your second language?

Means look for yourself niqqa don't expect someone else to do it for u broke ass hoe

[Vaughany]

Ohh marzy!

[Vaughany]

Um...... What does that have to do with the SBR sports book not posting odds for play? Is English your second language?

Barao, camus, and varner fights are on there for me randomly. None of the others tho

[Skel]

Michaud -150 2 units to win 1.35 units
Barao by Submission +417 1.5 units to win 6.25 units
Holdsworth + Njokuani 3 units to win 2.3 units
Cormier/Henderson O2.5 + Dos Santos 2 units to win 1.18 units
Dilashaw/Barao U4.5 + Cormier/Henderson O2.5 + Munoz/Mousasi O2.5 1.5 units to win 4.7 units
Rockhold + Barao + Not Bisping ITD 4 units to win 2.4 units
Not Jones in R1 + Barao 2.5 units to win 1.3 units
Lawler + Varner + Ferguson + Njokuani + Iaquinta 0.5 units to win 2.4 units
Barao/Dillashaw U4.5 + Lawler 1 units to win 1.5 units

[Ron_Paul_2012]

Barao, camus, and varner fights are on there for me randomly. None of the others tho

What time is it over there in the UK? Is Marz really this stupid? Or has he already started imbibing cheap swill? My question seems to have completely gone over his head.

[Ron_Paul_2012]

Means look for yourself niqqa don't expect someone else to do it for u broke ass hoe

Well looks like mama's little man is having a bad day. I am already aware of the current betting odds. Everyone on this board is aware of bestfightodds.com. The inquiry was in regards to the SBR sports book not having any lines posted for play. Just because you still live with your mother in her basement doesn't give you the right to take your frustration's out on everyone who you're jealous of. But I suppose hater's are gonna hate.....

[Ron_Paul_2012]

HUGE play parlays on Iaquinta, Ferguson, Cormier & Barao in different combos.Medium play's on Holdworth & Chiesa. Small on Njokuani. GL All (even mama's little man Marz)!

[rocky16]

Well looks like mama's little man is having a bad day. I am already aware of the current betting odds. Everyone on this board is aware of bestfightodds.com. The inquiry was in regards to the SBR sports book not having any lines posted for play. Just because you still live with your mother in her basement doesn't give you the right to take your frustration's out on everyone who you're jealous of. But I suppose hater's are gonna hate.....

Rupaul.

Get over it.

You whinly little phaget.

Would starch your punkass.

[Dwil125]

First fight is walking out now.

[Beelzebubzy]

got it

[shabang]

who took the first round ??

[rocky16]

who took the first round ??

The chink.

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

good luck boys