UFC 221: Rockhold vs. Romero (February 10, 2018)

[MMANick]

Anybody see a path for victory for Matthews here? He has looked absolutely horrible in his last couple of fights. Had double hip surgery in late 2016 early 2017 and it looks like it's affected his athleticism a bit. Also looks hesitant to throw. I guess Matthews can try to grind Li out like he tried against Bojan in that first round. But Matthews gassed himself badly doing that, and Li seems bigger and stronger than Bojan. Li also used to be a pressure grinder as well and his counterwrestling seems improved since early days.

Was expecting Li to be too chalked to bet especially after an impressive 1st round performance against Ottow but he's hanging around at -195 still. Think he wins more than 66% of the time against Matthews.

I'm not sure of Matthews path to victory here. I guess he can try grinding on Li, but his gas tank is suspect. Li will pressure, throws with power and has a pretty darn good chin. I could see Jake winning the first round possibly, but I'd say that's about it. The only thing that worries me is that the fight is in Australia. If he lands a TD in any round they may just give him the damn fight.

[Hugo de Naranja]

Pedro/Tuivasa parlay = Winning?

Hard to lay (-290) on Tuivasa even though I think the most likely outcome is Tuivasa R1 TKO. His gas tank is terrible. Might be better to play Tuivasa R1 instead.

[GoBlue77]

Goin big on Tuivasa, Asker's a dead man!

i think so as well

[JIBBBY]

There is a UFC event every week now.. I do like this...

[JIBBBY]

I actually think blades should be the favorite. Looked tough in his fights and Mark hunt getting hold. If blades can handle ngannous punches and still stand then he can handle hunts punches.

Mark Hunt is a 100 years old now also.. I'm favoring Blaydes as well...

[JIBBBY]

Luke Rockhold ITD rd 4 finish
best 185er on the planet

I think you gotta like Luke in this one, he's just gotta watch out for the early punching power of Romero and not get clipped.

As soon as Romero gasses which he will Luke should finish.. I can see him grinding on Romero just like he did with Chris Weidman in the 2nd fight...

[PaperTrail07]

All depends what Rockhold shows up.... His wins don't impress me as of late and his loss to BIS was a huge letdown....this would be the biggest win of his career IMO... He will have to do it with standup as well.....Yoel's TDD is legit...

[firekillex]

All depends what Rockhold shows up.... His wins don't impress me as of late and his loss to BIS was a huge letdown....this would be the biggest win of his career IMO... He will have to do it with standup as well.....Yoel's TDD is legit...

beating a 40 year old Yoel Romero wouldnt be his biggest win in his career imo

His win over Jacare was his biggest win until he beat Chris Weidman for the 185 world championship

Of course beating Romero is a huge feather in anybodys cap but id put it #3 when he wins this

[Shagdogy]

Who likes o1.5 -160 for Rockhold/Romero?

[PaperTrail07]

I mean .....this win would be over a guy that has wins over HIS BEST WINS back to back RECENTLY.........Romero beat Weidman and Jacare....also after his HUGE win over Weidman...Weidman dropped his next (2) fights....so that big W didn't really even look that great as time went on...

beating a 40 year old Yoel Romero wouldnt be his biggest win in his career imo

His win over Jacare was his biggest win until he beat Chris Weidman for the 185 world championship

Of course beating Romero is a huge feather in anybodys cap but id put it #3 when he wins this

[PaperTrail07]

Will be fireworks for sure....cant wait.....

[Demonata]

I mean .....this win would be over a guy that has wins over HIS BEST WINS back to back RECENTLY.........Romero beat Weidman and Jacare....also after his HUGE win over Weidman...Weidman dropped his next (2) fights....so that big W didn't really even look that great as time went on...

Well with how hard Romero hit Wiseman with that knea that made his head explode it was still impressive. This will be a tough fight.

[JIBBBY]

Yup, gotta watch out for those flying knees from hell and the early striking explosions from Romero.. He's basically a one round fighter then his cardio starts being taxed.. Luke should clinch and wear him down against the cage early on maybe?







He can drop ya with punches too... Luke doesn't exactly have a granite chin either..

[Hugo de Naranja]

KO is definitely Romero’s path to victory here.

[WolfTicketDealer]

Yup, gotta watch out for those flying knees from hell and the early striking explosions from Romero.. He's basically a one round fighter then his cardio starts being taxed.. Luke should clinch and wear him down against the cage early on maybe?







He can drop ya with punches too... Luke doesn't exactly have a granite chin either..

I wouldn't really call Romero a one round fighter when most of his wins in the UFC have been either a 3rd round finish or decision. In fact he only has one first round finish in the UFC.

Tough fight to call, Rockhold is more skilled but a tad chinny and Romero has more power than most of the guys Rockhold has faced to this point. It is worth noting that all of Rockhold's losses have been in the first round.

[JIBBBY]

I wouldn't really call Romero a one round fighter when most of his wins in the UFC have been either a 3rd round finish or decision. In fact he only has one first round finish in the UFC.

Tough fight to call, Rockhold is more skilled but a tad chinny and Romero has more power than most of the guys Rockhold has faced to this point. It is worth noting that all of Rockhold's losses have been in the first round.

I guess you're right, Romero does gas quickly though and begins to slow down considerably after round 1 and 2.. We've seen him hold on for close decision wins.. He's always dangerous though, I stand corrected.. NOT A ROUND 1 fighter only...

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Yoel-Romero-60762





Note - We've seen Romero so gassed out that he cheats to buy time illegally between rounds though...

[PaperTrail07]

lets not forget he TKO's Tim Kennedy after getting off that STOOL LOL LOL....

I guess you're right, Romero does gas quickly though and begins to slow down considerably after round 1 and 2.. We've seen him hold on for close decision wins.. He's always dangerous though, I stand corrected.. NOT A ROUND 1 fighter only...

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Yoel-Romero-60762





Note - We've seen Romero so gassed out that he cheats to buy time illegally between rounds though...

[PaperTrail07]

I think he even smashed TK's orbital bone and got him a 6 month medical ban

[JIBBBY]

I think he even smashed TK's orbital bone and got him a 6 month medical ban

Tim Kennedy had his moments.. Romero has a GRANITE chin though..

[Hugo de Naranja]

Tim Kennedy had his moments.. Romero has a GRANITE chin though..

Notice that Kennedy is grabbing the inside of Romero’s glove illegally in that clip.

[Thrilla]

We'll see buddy.

We will see what? Not going H2H with you in this fight he probably be big favourite. Just saying lets not get overexcited. Which impression I get from his YouTube video comments.

After main and co event. This fight is what I wanna see the most on the card.

[Hugo de Naranja]

We will see what? Not going H2H with you in this fight he probably be big favourite. Just saying lets not get overexcited. Which impression I get from his YouTube video comments.

After main and co event. This fight is what I wanna see the most on the card.

Fair enough. I get that he's unproven and hasn't fought elite competition but what more can you ask for then 11 KOs in his 11 MMA fights so far?

[Hugo de Naranja]

I think you gotta like Luke in this one, he's just gotta watch out for the early punching power of Romero and not get clipped.

As soon as Romero gasses which he will Luke should finish.. I can see him grinding on Romero just like he did with Chris Weidman in the 2nd fight...

What do you mean by second fight? I think they were scheduled to rematch at UFC 199 but it never happened.

[JIBBBY]

What do you mean by second fight? I think they were scheduled to rematch at UFC 199 but it never happened.

I was gonna post the Michael Bisping vs Luke Rockhold ko gifs and ended up posting the Chris Weidman gif instead.. Forgot to delete the 2nd fight comment... Ooooops...

My original thought was Luke better be careful not to clipped early on like in his second fight with Bisping.. Chin is a little suspect...

Safe to say Romero hits a little harder then Bisping..

[Demonata]

Yup, gotta watch out for those flying knees from hell and the early striking explosions from Romero.. He's basically a one round fighter then his cardio starts being taxed.. Luke should clinch and wear him down against the cage early on maybe?







He can drop ya with punches too... Luke doesn't exactly have a granite chin either..

That knee he did to weidman was so brutal. Man that would have kiilled me

[JIBBBY]

That knee he did to weidman was so brutal. Man that would have kiilled me

That was knee bone on skull connect.. Very brutal strike. Dem.. Weidman lucky to walk out of the octagon after that.. Agreed..

[rsynweap84]

Im planning on taking romero 1-3

rockhold 3-5 and by dec

[Hugo de Naranja]

I was gonna post the Michael Bisping vs Luke Rockhold ko gifs and ended up posting the Chris Weidman gif instead.. Forgot to delete the 2nd fight comment... Ooooops...

My original thought was Luke better be careful not to clipped early on like in his second fight with Bisping.. Chin is a little suspect...

Safe to say Romero hits a little harder then Bisping..

Got it. Makes more sense now.

[Hugo de Naranja]

That knee he did to weidman was so brutal. Man that would have kiilled me

I love that knee. Romero vs. Weidman was my single biggest win on a fight.

Pick: Yoel Romero Round 3 TKO (Punches and Elbows)

Fight #8: Weidman vs. Romero:
Romero Scorecards = No Action (+135) +2.7u
Romero Scorecards = No Action (+160) +1.6u
Romero KO/TKO (+330) +6.6u
Romero Round 3 (+1425) +17.8125u
Weidman/Romero Draw (+6500) -.25u

Hedge(s):
Weidman Decision (+226) -1u
Weidman Round 2 (+700) -1.25u

Added:
Romero Decision (+425) -1u

Result: Yoel Romero Round 3 KO (Flying Knee)
Fight: +25.2125u

[Hugo de Naranja]

I'll post a trivia question in an hour if anyone wants to participate.

[Demonata]

I love that knee. Romero vs. Weidman was my single biggest win on a fight.

Pick: Yoel Romero Round 3 TKO (Punches and Elbows)

Fight #8: Weidman vs. Romero:
Romero Scorecards = No Action (+135) +2.7u
Romero Scorecards = No Action (+160) +1.6u
Romero KO/TKO (+330) +6.6u
Romero Round 3 (+1425) +17.8125u
Weidman/Romero Draw (+6500) -.25u

Hedge(s):
Weidman Decision (+226) -1u
Weidman Round 2 (+700) -1.25u

Added:
Romero Decision (+425) -1u

Result: Yoel Romero Round 3 KO (Flying Knee)
Fight: +25.2125u

Nice man ! You really have reason to like impressive!

[Hugo de Naranja]

Hugo's 100 Point Trivia Question:
Continuing with the hot topic of today's conversation, list the UFC opponents that Yoel Romero has Knocked Out in Round 3. First correct response gets 100 BetPoints from me.

[firekillex]

Hugo's 100 Point Trivia Question:
Continuing with the hot topic of today's conversation, list the UFC opponents that Yoel Romero has Knocked Out in Round 3. First correct response gets 100 BetPoints from me.

hes knocked out
Ronny Markes
Derek Brunson
Tim Kennedy
Machida
and Chris Weidman in round 3 crazy stat

and before the UFC he tkod Michal Fijalka in IFF before the UFC
Yoel Soldier of ROUND 3 Romero

[TPowell]

Hugo's 100 Point Trivia Question:
Continuing with the hot topic of today's conversation, list the UFC opponents that Yoel Romero has Knocked Out in Round 3. First correct response gets 100 BetPoints from me.

Weidman
Kennedy
Brunson
Markes
Fijalka (before the UFC)

EDIT: Late lol. Still crazy how many R3 finishes he has

[TPowell]

Anybody see a path for victory for Matthews here? He has looked absolutely horrible in his last couple of fights. Had double hip surgery in late 2016 early 2017 and it looks like it's affected his athleticism a bit. Also looks hesitant to throw. I guess Matthews can try to grind Li out like he tried against Bojan in that first round. But Matthews gassed himself badly doing that, and Li seems bigger and stronger than Bojan. Li also used to be a pressure grinder as well and his counterwrestling seems improved since early days.

Was expecting Li to be too chalked to bet especially after an impressive 1st round performance against Ottow but he's hanging around at -195 still. Think he wins more than 66% of the time against Matthews.

I'm not sure. I think Jake has to keep getting better but it was certainly an underwhelming WW debut against Bojan. I thought he could muscle Bojan (a small WW) around pretty easily but it didn't happen. Matthews is still filling out frame wise but I doubt this short break has helped anything. I made Jingliang -150 as I think he's ONLY fought bruisers like Nash, Camacho, and Ottow who he finished before Ottow could grind much with him. Matthews by decision at +250 or so is what I'm looking for. He COULD sub Jingliang I guess but I think more likely for Matthews path to victory is him using Li's aggression against him and timing takedowns/clinching. This being in Australia could help because it would be a close fight.