UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2 (December 29, 2018)

[CasaBonita]

Just Max bet Jon Jones

Any thoughts about montel jackson kelleher fight? Herd lots of comments but havent rlly watch any tape on it

[Hugo de Naranja]

Just Max bet Jon Jones

Any thoughts about montel jackson kelleher fight? Herd lots of comments but havent rlly watch any tape on it

Here's a man who knows what he's talking about. Jones all day.

I've got Jackson. Crazy physical tools, and Jackson has the wrestling credentials to keep it up. Kelleher doesn't have the offensive wrestling of Simon. I also think Jackson has a slight striking edge. Should be a fun battle on the feet.

[Fedor]

Here's a man who knows what he's talking about. Jones all day.

I've got Jackson. Crazy physical tools, and Jackson has the wrestling credentials to keep it up. Kelleher doesn't have the offensive wrestling of Simon. I also think Jackson has a slight striking edge. Should be a fun battle on the feet.

I know a few things about MMA...

1. Trust Hugo
2. Watch tape (I always picture Hugo pulling out an 8mm projector )


3. I got 'tape' to watch (DVR'd 1st Jones/Gust fight)

4. GOAT discussions: Can we talk about fighters (I don't know, maybe Fedor?) vs 'I am suspended but can fight soon. Not in Nevada, but maybe California')? Truly disgusts me.

Maybe I'm biased.

[praisebuddha]

Does this video make anyone else want to put at least 1 unit on Hall by Sub @ +330?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFdFpp1tIAM

[rsynweap84]

Definitely see most parlays of the night with, Cyborg and Jonny "PoppinHot" Jones...

Not sayin' Gus is complete sh!t, but I dunno, Manuwa still clipped him a few times, though the damage from those really didn't factor in, heck Gus ate em' and kep movin' forward seemingly unaffected, and in their first fight Bones seem to land the head kicks without to much difficulty, which his most recent head kick absolutely demolished DC...

Aside from seeming somewhat pissed, what exactly is Gus's plan here?

Not sayin' I won't sprinkle on a few Gus'n'Cyborg parlays, but...prolly not many. I think the only thing anyone taking all-in on Gus can hope for is some JJ/OSP ring rust...but...he won that too. So...yea.

Anyone taking Penn? Not sure where I am for that one...prolly a pass imo...

[JIBBBY]

Prelim write ups -



135 lbs.: Nathaniel Wood vs. Andre Ewell

Nathaniel Wood (14-3) lived up to his name with a series of impressive victories on the British circuit, winning and twice defending the Cage Warriors Bantamweight title before joining UFC in June. After a tough first round that saw him rocked by Nova Uniao veteran Johnny Eduardo, “The Prospect” capitalized on a failed takedown attempt to submit Eduardo with a bonus-winning d’arce choke.
He has scored nine professional knockouts and three submissions.
Andre Ewell, the CES Bantamweight champion, hopped right into the deep end in his UFC debut against former champion Renan Barao in Sao Paulo. He came up big in hostile territory, taking home a split decision over the one-time Bantamweight great.
He steps in for the injured Tom Duquesnoy on short notice.
Wood vs. Duquesnoy had the better storyline, but this is still a terrific match up between strong prospects. Though Wood has more time to develop, being five years younger, both are worth keeping tabs on as they rise through the ranks at 135 pounds.
In what’s a pick-‘em fight both on paper and the sportsbook, the X-factor could be dimensions. Ewell is six inches taller than Wood and has a seven-inch reach advantage. Wood’s key weakness is that he’s hittable, which had him in trouble against Eduardo until the latter foolishly attempted a takedown. Expect Ewell to outland him at distance, racking up left hands and surviving the heavy blows coming back his way to take a narrow decision.
Prediction: Ewell via split decision

185 lbs.: Uriah Hall vs. Bevon Lewis

Uriah Hall (13-9), who became the first man to knockout Gegard Mousasi in 2015, is just 1-4 since that victory, including three (technical) knockout losses. Following his comeback knockout of Krzysztof Jotko, which snapped a three-fight losing streak, “Primetime” took on the rising Paulo Costa, who battered him into submission midway through the second round.
He has knocked out nine professional foes and submitted another two.
Bevon Lewis (6-0) dispatched Elias Urbina on the first season of “Contender Series,” but didn’t earn a contract in the process. After a decision in LFA, “The Extraordinary Gentleman” returned for Season Two, knocking out Alton Cunningham in the first round.
He will have three inches of height on Hall.
Hall is genetically engineered to piss off mixed martial arts (MMA) pundits — he has the athleticism and power to pull out a win from the depths of defeat alongside the fight IQ to pull out a defeat from the depths of victory. I don’t even know why I bother predicting his fights.
Oh, right. Because they pay me.
Lewis is a young, well-rounded prospect out of an excellent camp in Jackson-Wink. He looks to be durable enough to withstand Hall’s sporadic power punches and force it into the clinch, where his height, knees and elbows should pay dividends. He exploit’s Hall’s legendarily terrible ring craft to pin him against the fence and put him away late in the first.
Prediction: Lewis via first-round technical knockout

170 lbs.: Curtis Millender vs. Siyar Bahadurzada

A pair of highlight-reel head kicks extended Curtis Millender’s (16-3) win streak to six and set up a February UFC debut against veteran Thiago Alves. “Curtious” wound up starching Alves with a knee in the second round, earning “Performance of the Night,” then outclassed Max Griffin five months later.
He is three inches taller than Siyar Bahadurzada (24-6-1) and will have a 3.5-inch reach advantage.
“The Great,” who missed all of 2014 and 2015, is undefeated (3-0) with three finishes since returning to action in March 2016. After choking out Brandon Thatch, he proceeded to knockout Rob Wilkinson and Luan Chagas, earning “Performance of the Night” for his starching of the latter.
Thirteen of his 20 stoppage wins have come by form of knockout.
I’ll readily admit that I consistently underestimate Bahadurzada. He looks like a mediocre slugger, consistently winging straight-armed punches with nary a jab to be found, but he’s so relentless and hits so hard that it often doesn’t matter. I’m still going to pick against him, though, because his lack of set ups mean he’ll struggle to close the distance against the rangy Millender. And the threat of his wrestling is likewise mitigated by range at which he’d have to initiate his takedowns.
The threat of the one-hitter quitter is there, but the likeliest outcome sees Millender patiently take apart Bahadurzada at long range.
Prediction: Millender via unanimous decision

135 lbs.: Brian Kelleher vs. Montel Jackson

I’m just going to go ahead and copy-paste what I wrote when these two were booked to fight at UFC 230 as a Christmas present to myself.
Wrestling, aggression and sheer grit carried Brian Kelleher (19-9) past Damian Stasiak and Renan Barao on his way to contendership. Those weren’t enough against John Lineker, who out-brawled Kelleher before knocking him stiff with a left hook.
“Boom” has five wins by guillotine, including one over fellow undercard fighter Julio Arce.
Montel Jackson (6-1) — whose “Contender Series” victory was marred by a series of fouls — got the UFC call anyway when Benito Lopez pulled out of a fight with Ricky Simon. Though he put forth a strong effort, he couldn’t overcome his foe on short notice and suffered his first career loss by decision.
He was supposed to fight Kelleher last month, but the latter withdrew due to illness.
Jackson is still somewhat green and came up short against Simon, but even on short notice, this is a much more winnable fight for him. He’s four inches taller than Kelleher and will have nearly a foot of reach on him. Kelleher gets inside through sheer tenacity, which just isn’t going to work against someone this rangy and hits this hard.
Kelleher’s only real chances of victory lie in Jackson gassing late or going for a takedown and leaving his neck out. Neither seems likely. Jackson plugs him with power shots at range to take a clear decision victory.
Prediction: Jackson via unanimous decision


265 lbs.: Andrei Arlovski vs. Walt Harris

Once the terror of the Heavyweight division, Andrei Arlovski (27-17) is just 2-7 in his last nine fights, including four stoppage losses. Though he put together a two-fight win streak with decisions over Junior Albini and Stefan Struve, “The Pitbull” has since lost two straight to Tai Tuivasa and Shamil Abdurakhimov.
Walt Harris’ (11-7) decision to fight Fabricio Werdum on short notice got him tapped in 65 seconds, after which he cost himself what looked to be an easy win over Mark Godbeer by landing an illegal head kick. “The Big Ticket” returned to action seven months later, knocking out Daniel Spitz in the waning seconds of the second round. All 11 of his wins have come by knockout within two rounds.
Save for a few entertaining moments against Josh Barnett, Arlovski hasn’t looked good in a fight since thrashing Travis Browne in 2015. Even his wins were dull — Frank Mir and Junior Albini barely fought, while the extremely shopworn Stefan Struve had no answers for Arlovski’s wrestling. Admittedly, he hasn’t been knocked out in a while, but I’ve seen nothing to suggest he can handle Harris, who is probably the best fighter to go 4-6 in UFC.
“The Big Ticket” is bigger, faster and stronger than Arlovski, and though his takedown defense remains mediocre, Arlovski doesn’t have the gas tank consistently muscle him to the mat. Admittedly, Harris has an astounding ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but there’s too much going his way. Arlovski, who turns 40 in February, goes down early.
Prediction: Harris via first-round knockout
Related
Hunt Unloads On ‘B*tch’ Dana White, ‘Cheating Rat’ Jon Jones


145 lbs.: Megan Anderson vs. Cat Zingano

Megan Anderson (7-3) scored three consecutive (technical) knockouts to earn a crack at the Invicta interim Featherweight title, which she won in dominant fashion with a head kick finish of Charmaine Tweet. She was originally supposed to debut against Cris “Cyborg,” but instead took on Holly Holm, who exploited the Aussie’s shaky ground game to win a dominant decision.
She is six inches taller than Cat Zingano (10-3) and will have a four-inch reach advantage.
“Alpha” Cat had a rough go of things from Feb. 2015 to March 2018, fighting just three times and losing all three. She finally got back in the win column in July by snapping Marion Reneau’s four-fight unbeaten streak in Boise.
Half of her wins have come by (technical) knockout.
In the pantheon of prospect red flags, getting out-wrestled by Holly Holm is way up there. Not that the Jackson-Wink product can’t defend a takedown, but if she’s initiating the wrestling and torching you on the mat, something is deeply wrong with your game.
Something that can’t be fixed in six months.
Zingano showed against Reneau that she’s willing to bring her offensive wrestling prowess to bare, and even with the considerable size difference she’s facing, that’s enough for me to give her the nod. Unfortunately for Anderson, “Alpha” is a bit nastier from top position than Holm. Zingano pounds her out from top position sometime in the second.
Prediction: Zingano via second-round technical knockout
Related
UFC 232 - New Blood!


135 lbs.: Petr Yan vs. Douglas Andrade

Petr Yan (10-1) — the ACB Bantamweight Champion — made his Octagon debut in triumphant fashion with a knockout of never-before-KO’d Teruto Ishihara at UFC Fight Night 132. He was booked to face Andrade in November, but instead fought late replacement Jin Soo Son, battering the indestructible Korean in the evening’s “Fight of the Night.”
He will give up 1.5-inch of reach to Douglas Andrade (25-2).
Andrade, now 33, has fought just once a year in the UFC, going 3-1 since losing his 2014 debut to future brawl participant Zubaira Tukhugov. His most recent bout saw him score a mild upset over TUF: Latin America vet Marlon Vera in February. He’s scored 19 knockouts as a pro, including a 10-KO streak at one point.
This is a Fight of the Night sleeper pick. Yan is arguably the best prospect in the division and consistently puts on a show, while Andrade hits like a truck. Both have sufficiently good takedown defense to keep it standing of one or the other feels inclined to take it to the mat and the durability to punish one another for all fifteen minutes.
This may boil down to output; Andrade can be surprisingly passive despite his considerable power, and though Yan is a little linear and hittable, the Brazilian slugger is going to find himself deep in a statistical hole if he can’t hurt Yan early. “No Mercy” has a tougher time than expected, but ultimately outworks his foe to win a unanimous decision.
Prediction: Yan by unanimous decision
Related
The Jones Fiasco, As Told By A UFC 232 Fighter


155 lbs.: B.J. Penn vs. Ryan Hall

B.J. Penn (16-12-2) — 2.5 years after his disastrous Featherweight debut against Frankie Edgar — returned to the cage in the main event of UFC Fight Night 103, where he was summarily destroyed by Yair Rodriguez. He then lost a majority decision to Dennis Siver despite dropping the veteran, increasing his current losing streak to five.
This will be his first fight in 18 months.
Ryan Hall (6-1) scored a pair of rapid heel hooks on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 22 before running into Saul Rogers, but got a spot on the Finale anyway after Rogers was found to have lied on his ****.
He will also be returning from a considerable hiatus, having last fought in Dec. 2016.
I mean, if you had to pick someone for Penn to fight who’s unlikely to give him further brain trauma, it’s Hall. Hall is unequivocally there to grapple, though he’ll land some decent ground-and-pound if given the opportunity. Penn’s the better striker by a huge margin, but Hall’s endless range kicking and takedown bait will make it difficult for “The Prodigy” to establish his boxing game.
The result? Black belt vs. black belt on the mat.
Penn’s credentials on the mat hold up to Hall’s, but at 40 years old with a history of beatings and cardio failure, one can’t reasonably expect him to keep up with Hall for all 15 minutes. Penn starts strong, but fades down the stretch as he always does while Hall establishes dominant position after dominant position, too tough to finish but too broken to compete.
Prediction: Hall via unanimous decision

[Hugo de Naranja]

Definitely see most parlays of the night with, Cyborg and Jonny "PoppinHot" Jones...

Not sayin' Gus is complete sh!t, but I dunno, Manuwa still clipped him a few times, though the damage from those really didn't factor in, heck Gus ate em' and kep movin' forward seemingly unaffected, and in their first fight Bones seem to land the head kicks without to much difficulty, which his most recent head kick absolutely demolished DC...

Aside from seeming somewhat pissed, what exactly is Gus's plan here?

Not sayin' I won't sprinkle on a few Gus'n'Cyborg parlays, but...prolly not many. I think the only thing anyone taking all-in on Gus can hope for is some JJ/OSP ring rust...but...he won that too. So...yea.

Anyone taking Penn? Not sure where I am for that one...prolly a pass imo...

Don’t forget Rumble Knocked Gus the Fuckk Out

[PaperTrail07]

Lets also not forget Rumble Knocked just about everyone else the fuckkkk out as well LOL.Rumble was on an absolute ROID RAGE lol....I mean KO...Nog, Gusta, Jimi, Bader, Glover with a tooth in the air...no shame in that.....

Don’t forget Rumble Knocked Gus the Fuckk Out

[marvmyster]

UFC 232 Trivia

[Hugo de Naranja]

Lets also not forget Rumble Knocked just about everyone else the fuckkkk out as well LOL.Rumble was on an absolute ROID RAGE lol....I mean KO...Nog, Gusta, Jimi, Bader, Glover with a tooth in the air...no shame in that.....

Biggest puncher of all time imo, no shame getting KO’d by Rumble but it is extra damage that Gus has taken which Jones hasn’t.

[PaperTrail07]

Correct....HOWEVER....lets not act like he's developed some weak chin.....he TOOK rumble's punch better than almost anyone....even after the ground shots his lights didn't turn off.....not saying he shrugged them off LOL....be the lights stayed on......that's TOUGH as nails IMO....and that's his only TKO/KO loss.......no worries on the damage IMO.....this is going to be a great fight...

[Thrilla]

Jones vs. Gustafsson 2

[JIBBBY]

I do remember Gus had the wrestling advantage in the first fight.. Wonder if he will go back to that and milk it? He was getting timely double leg takedowns.

Could this land perhaps?

1007 Gustafsson wins by 5 round decision

+347

[Thrilla]

Go inside the lives and training camps of four athletes preparing for UFC 232. Pound-for-pound great Jon Jones returns from a chaotic layoff to face Alexander Gustafsson in a rematch of their Fight of the Year, once more for the 205-pound title. And in a true superfight, bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes ventures to featherweight to take on that division’s dominant queen, Cris Cyborg.

[Hugo de Naranja]

I do remember Gus had the wrestling advantage in the first fight.. Wonder if he will go back to that and milk it? He was getting timely double leg takedowns.

Could this land perhaps?

1007 Gustafsson wins by 5 round decision

+347

Gus absolutely does not have the wrestling advantage in this one. No opponent has landed more takedowns than Jones in any fight on his career. Gus got literally one TD in the first fight and Jones immediately got up.

[JIBBBY]

Gus absolutely does not have the wrestling advantage in this one. No opponent has landed more takedowns than Jones in any fight on his career. Gus got literally one TD in the first fight and Jones immediately got up.

You're probably right.. Gus was successful in that first fight, had the boxing edge I thought for the first 3 rounds.. This fight is no gimmie either way.. These fighters match up well as seen in their first fight.

[firekillex]

Gus absolutely does not have the wrestling advantage in this one. No opponent has landed more takedowns than Jones in any fight on his career. Gus got literally one TD in the first fight and Jones immediately got up.

he got the takedown because Jones didnt expect it ... pretty obvious lol
DC is the best wrestler IMO and he cant really do shit to Jones with the wrestling

pumped for this fight ... cant wait to see who wins , will be cheering for Gus

[Hugo de Naranja]

You're probably right.. Gus was successful in that first fight, had the boxing edge I thought for the first 3 rounds.. This fight is no gimmie either way.. These fighters match up well as seen in their first fight.

Gus did show good boxing in the first fight and it was a close bout but I think Jones pieces Gus up in the clinch and at range to win this fight more clearly.

[Hugo de Naranja]

Gustafsson might have the most overrated "footwork" in the UFC. Literally jogged away from Teixeira every time he closed distance. That is not energy efficient. In the first round of their fight, he jogged away for several seconds per time no less than six times. He continued this behavior throughout the fight and did it at least once every round.

He does have a very solid Rear Uppercut that Jones will need to avoid.

[Thor4140]

Gus absolutely does not have the wrestling advantage in this one. No opponent has landed more takedowns than Jones in any fight on his career. Gus got literally one TD in the first fight and Jones immediately got up.

The fact is Jones had no clue he was even going to attempt that takedown. That is why he got it. He isn’t taken him down in this fight.

[Thor4140]

he got the takedown because Jones didnt expect it ... pretty obvious lol
DC is the best wrestler IMO and he cant really do shit to Jones with the wrestling

pumped for this fight ... cant wait to see who wins , will be cheering for Gus

lol didn’t even see your post. Jibby has a way of making people react quickly to his post instead of me reading them all first.

[Thrilla]

In this feature from December 2016, Outside the Lines chronicled the issues with weight cutting in MMA and featured the struggles Cris Cyborg made making 140 pounds for one of her early bouts in the UFC.

[KingHawkins]

Amanda looking better in the leadups to me than Cyborg. I took some over 2.5 at -150 .... I don't think I'll fire any on Cyborg though. Also leaning JJ now instead of Gus. Took some Under 4.5 there, not exactly sure why, but I did.

[JIBBBY]

Gustafsson might have the most overrated "footwork" in the UFC. Literally jogged away from Teixeira every time he closed distance. That is not energy efficient. In the first round of their fight, he jogged away for several seconds per time no less than six times. He continued this behavior throughout the fight and did it at least once every round.

He does have a very solid Rear Uppercut that Jones will need to avoid.

Gus does jog or even run away from aggressive situations in fights. It's his style though and it works for him guess. I think his length gave JJ problems in that first fight.. JJ dominates the shorter fighters but seemed spell bound fighting Gus. Gus didn't fear JJ's punching power either. We'll see if any of that changes in the rematch???

[marvmyster]

Jon Jones (Jokingly) Disses Andre Ewell, Then Forced To Weigh In Without Phone

[PaperTrail07]

I don't usually have some much trouble picking a side....going to end up on JJ.....

[UncleChael]

I don't usually have some much trouble picking a side....going to end up on JJ.....

So the shitstain of MMA your taking? Ok...

I hope Jones gets headkicked and physically thrown out of the octagon lol....guy is a shitstain on the MMA world....

Faker than Jon Jones

[kcchiefs]

Gustafsson might have the most overrated "footwork" in the UFC. Literally jogged away from Teixeira every time he closed distance. That is not energy efficient. In the first round of their fight, he jogged away for several seconds per time no less than six times. He continued this behavior throughout the fight and did it at least once every round.

He does have a very solid Rear Uppercut that Jones will need to avoid.

Sounds a little similar to the great Floyd Mayweather except Gus is not boring at all.

[kcchiefs]

I don't usually have some much trouble picking a side....going to end up on JJ.....

Undercard has been very tough for me to figure out.

[Hugo de Naranja]

Sounds a little similar to the great Floyd Mayweather except Gus is not boring at all.

Floyd actually has good footwork even though he is boring.

If anything, Jones is the Mayweather of MMA. People root/bet against him but he always wins.

[Teem]

What do you guys think about Condit/Chiesa? I really want to back Condit here. I hate Chiesa ha. Worried Condit may just get smothered though. Also, If I do bet Condit I want to throw in either Mendes (currently at -140) or Millender (currently at -140). And what do you guys think about Uriah Hall at +110 on 5Dimes? He's frustrating to bet on but does this Bevon Lewis guy deserve to be the slight favorite?

[mdunlap3]

Hugo and Jibs what’s your biggest bet on this one?

[TheRifleman]

cyborg down to -229 at pinny....don't see her losing though.

[TheRifleman]

Condit is one of my favorite all time fighters, but, he looked thoroughly washed up his last 2 fights....don't know what to think....

[praisebuddha]

Ceremonial Weigh-ins!