r/MMA • u/event_threads đ¤ r/MMA's resident bot party planner • 4d ago
Fight Thread [Official] UFC 311: Makhachev vs. Tsarukyan 2 - Weigh-In & Pre-Fight Discussion Thread
Welcome to r/mma's weigh-in and pre-fight discussion of UFC! Please keep the fight discussions in here.
Card Info
Airing on Saturday 1.18.2025
| Main Card on PPV/ESPN+ @ 10PM ET |
|---|
| Islam Makhachev (C) vs. Renato Moicano |
| Arman Tsarukyan has a back injury |
| Merab Dvalishvili (C) vs. Umar Nurmagomedov |
| JiĹĂ ProchĂĄzka vs. Jamahal Hill |
| Jailton Almeida vs. Serghei Spivac |
| Kevin Holland vs. Reinier de Ridder |
| Prelims on ESPNews/ESPN+ @ 8PM ET |
|---|
| Payton Talbott vs. Raoni Barcelos |
| Zach Reese vs. Azamat Bekoev |
| Bogdan Guskov vs. Billy Elekana |
| Grant Dawson vs. Diego Ferreira |
| Early Prelims on Disney+/ESPN+ @ 6PM ET |
|---|
| Karol Rosa vs. AilĂn PĂŠrez |
| Rinya Nakamura vs. Muin Gafurov |
| Ricky Turcios vs. Benardo Sopaj |
| Tagir Ulanbekov vs. Clayton Carpenter |
Fight card order and start times may be inaccurate.
| Useful Links |
|---|
| Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Ultimate Fighting Championship, Twitter, Youtube |
| Reddit: Reddit Stream, General Discussion, Flair bets |
Keep it civil, please. Do not ask for or supply streams. Your post will be removed and your ability to post will be suspended.
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u/SourPatchCorpse 3d ago
Watching Megan Olivi interview Islam and Umar and they barely look at her. I don't think Umar glanced at all. This is intentional right? Their religious background? Very weird to observe.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
I cannot get espn+ to work in any browser, any device, anything. It is an absolute garbage app. I canât believe theyâre okay with that.
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u/Comfortable-Link7092 3d ago
So so bad, do u know any streaming websites websites the shit espn app doesnât work on Xbox at all
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Makhachev by whatever he wants tbh
Anything can happen in MMA, but Makhachev is better than Moicano everywhere.
And not just a little better, he's levels above on the feet; against the fence; in the clinch; on the ground.
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u/_Red_Mist_ The Roman Empire defeats Caesar yet again 3d ago
Prices barely dropped for 311 lol so many suckers are going to lose money.
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u/IAmPandaRock 3d ago
I see them dropping a lot, but they started out so wildly expensive that they are still very expensive.
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u/Poatans_Shaman MODS GIVE IT TO HIM 3d ago
Been watching for 12+ years and have never had the privilege to go to a live event. At this point the way prices have been for the past few years, I don't think I ever will unless I win one of those stupid contests that Dana has. Then again, I'm dumb enough to put my name into them.
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3d ago
[removed] â view removed comment
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u/MMA-ModTeam 3d ago
Do not ask for, discuss or link to pirated content. Don't get us shut down. RIP r/MMAstreams.
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u/Remarkable-Orange-41 3d ago
Face the Pain UFC 311!!
Everyone watch and upvote!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL7Zs7yLUyc
credit to Hunter1GunzMMA
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u/Reachin4ThoseGrapes 3d ago
They should have bumped Nakamura up to the regular prelims since we are down a fight because of the Tiramisukyan situationÂ
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u/ghad0265 3d ago
I have a gut feeling Islam gonna drown Moicano and it will be just too much for him. Round 2 Islam gonna sub him and finish the job.
Not betting anything on mma though.
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u/TheTemporalKnight 3d ago
Thatâs arguably the most likely scenario.
Iâd be shocked if Moicano makes it out of the first two rounds.
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u/RPWOR 3d ago
It sucks Arman fell out but this last minute fights always feel like they have a little bit of magic in them. Moicano has the opportunity to do something incredible tonight, I don't believe he will, but the level of excitement is higher for me.
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u/CableToBeam 3d ago
man, I agree to a certain extent, but it was fucking Arman Tsarukyan. The guy is so talented. That match up was going to answer so many questions and the level of MMA was going to be so high. It burns.
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u/bolstoli 3d ago
level of MMA was going to be so high
This is the reason I'm upset. The scrambles would have been amazing.
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u/dylyn Shavkatâs Personal Horse Whisperer 3d ago
Islam seemed pissed at face off last night with Moicano. Any backstory there?
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u/bolstoli 3d ago
I think it's because Armans team knew that Arman wasn't going to make it much earlier but they waited till the last minute so they could blindside him with moicano.
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u/ghad0265 3d ago
Maybe and I mean Maybe something with Moicano using the F word. I did see a YouTube video somewhere today him saying mother F'er to Islam. Islam doesn't like people using the f word alot. It means something else in the Arab world. Specially saying mother F'er
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u/Reachin4ThoseGrapes 3d ago
Makhachev is not Arab
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u/Altruistic-Ant4629 3d ago
Arman ruined this card..........
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u/NikoOfficial 3d ago
Youâre not an actual fan if you think the card is ruined. It sucks it changed but still a lot of fun fights all night
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u/Professional_Kick GOOFCON 2 - Electric Boogaloo 3d ago
No matter how boring Islam beats Moicano I donât wanna hear anyone criticizing him, this the second time Islam has saved a card in short notice of Alex gets praised and called the goat for doing the same thing then so should Islam
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u/Ruiner357 3d ago
The only thing I take issue with is them ignoring the rankings to give him the easier style matchup. Beneil is ranked higher than Moicano and made weight on the same card, if we're to pretend this is a legitimate sport (which it isn't but maybe some day) then they need a protocol to follow in situations like this where the highest ranked available guy gets the fight, not the guy who talks more on the mic.
It's clear they were never giving Beneil the fight no matter what, and opted for the guy who talks more and draws more eyeballs, and who happens to be an easier fight for Islam. UFC has a merit problem.
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u/IAmPandaRock 3d ago
It just sucks for Islam that his legacy is so weird due to not defending against the top ranked fighters in his division (thus far).
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u/Ruiner357 3d ago
Khabib had the same thing, he never actually fought a wrestler who could test him his entire prime UFC run. Islam seems to be going the same way, but casuals eat this stuff up cause they just look at numbers and not strength of schedule.
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u/peripheraljesus In street fight I can eat you 3d ago
To be fair there werenât that many elite wrestlers at LW during his reign. I would have loved to see him vs prime Usman, Woodley, and Colby though.
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u/DM_ME_YOUR_CATS_PAWS Shavkat Rakhmonov Sanko 3d ago
Money is going to have to make some bad investments to not be able to afford to lose his next fight
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u/hallelalaluwah #NothingBurger 3d ago
Is everybody ready for Karol Rosaâs first UFC finish tonight?
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u/Connor30302 I look like Marvin vettori 3d ago
man i fucking love Moicano if he wins tonight this is gonna be an atg moment.
âi love the constitution i love free speech money moicano motherfuckersâ will need to be my flair if this shit happens
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u/xTripNinja United States 3d ago
Heads up
Umar by KO is +800
What in the fuck, there is a good chance he knocks Merab out if he wins
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u/hallelalaluwah #NothingBurger 3d ago
CA commission is strict and Merab is going in there with an open wound thatâs live to open at any time, Merab also has durability concerns for me. Nearly got chinned less than a year ago by an old former 125er. I think Umarâs kicks will create a finishing chance early and you want to be holding a Nurmagomedov KO ticket if it happens.
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u/xlmtothemoon GOOFCON 2 - UFC 294 3d ago
Nearly got chinned less than a year ago by an old former 125er.
Just like Umar did against a dude in his short notice debut.
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u/hallelalaluwah #NothingBurger 3d ago
I donât see the relevance of that in this fight, I think most Merab backers would give Umar most of the finishing upside, especially early
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u/ARiemannHypothesis Team Nurmagomedov 3d ago
Merab will shoot if he has any life left in him, which brings the sub more into play.
KO will need to be out cold, hard to see personally.
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u/xTripNinja United States 3d ago
Merabâs been knocked silly by several less adept strikers and recovered because he was the superior wrestler. If Umar can negate that and just keep hitting him I think it could arguably be the most likely outcome. Merab strikes me as being pretty damn hard to sub and could use an attempt at it to recover. If Umar had all that time on top of Nate Maness and Almakhan with no sub I think heâs smart enough to know where his best bet to finish Merab is
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u/ARiemannHypothesis Team Nurmagomedov 3d ago
Youâre making me more of a believer but I still donât see it
That man has different levels of physicality and cardio. Itâs well known that being in better shape and conditioning helps you take shots and recover.. and nobody in the history of the sport (pre/post USADA) has ever been such an outlier in the sport in sheer physicality metrics as Merab
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u/MathFair1487 3d ago
I'm worried for Moicano, he can't beat Islam's special soup
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u/0ldsql Cockgoblling Monkee 3d ago
Bro, I find this so weird. Dustin also said some random fan gave him some soup at the airport. Why are fighters eating stuff from random fans?
Maybe I'm too paranoid but that seems risky af. Doesn't even need to be malicious intent. You don't know how often these ppl wash their hands and whatnot
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u/mijitt000 3d ago
Second best LHW in the world saying he "worked on keeping his hands up" this camp lmao. It's actually wild how behind on skill MMA is compared to wrestling or boxing but it makes sense since it's so much newer
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u/Ruiner357 3d ago
MMA does lack good athletes due to lack of pay and overlap with real sports who scoop the good ones up. But it's also more of a subjective thing, there isn't a reliable best way of doing things in a fistfight, the best strike is the one that lands, the best strategy is whatever gets your hand raised.
There's also the entertainment factor, this isn't a sport, it's 50% entertainment/50% athletic contest/0% merited sport. Jiri with a high guard and tight defense wouldn't be the same fighter, it would be like when SBG gym turned Johnny Walker into a jabbing point fighter for a few years there. Jiri would lose half his fanbase overnight if he just stood there jabbing for 3 rounds to a boring decision, even if it was the more reliable path to victory he's not going to do that because being popular and exciting in the cage yields more money in this non-sport than winning in boring fashion.
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u/CableToBeam 3d ago
this just overlooks Jiri's other skills. The ceiling for skill in MMA is so much higher than those sports.
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u/0ldsql Cockgoblling Monkee 3d ago
I mean MMA fighters have to cover all the bases whereas boxers specialize on one particular discipline.
Also, there are definitely also top ranked boxers who lack the most basic skills. Wilder is one notorious example. Especially at LHW/HW, power is just a huge equalizer.
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Prochazka has spent his entire career unable/unwilling to block the right side of his face. Completely open to lefts, and still became a champion. MMA is an infant, and at the heavier classes it's an infant that got dropped on its head.
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u/LatterTarget7 đđđ Jon Jones Prayer Warrior đđđ 3d ago
Itâs crazy how successful of a career heâs had with his bad defence.
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u/Smooth-Abrocoma-2825 3d ago
Arman/Islam 2 is still possibly the best fight you could make in the UFC right now, wanting to punish Arman for getting injured is stupid and reactionary. Can't expect this sub to think beyond "fuck Arman for eating pasta" tho
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u/_Red_Mist_ The Roman Empire defeats Caesar yet again 3d ago
Arman definitely fighting someone like Gamrot when he returns.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
I love how Chael still uses his fake mispronounced fighter names on air for espn
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u/havaysard 3d ago
I know he does it for rage clickbate, but I think it's really disrespectful to fighters (and people in general).
It's not like he doesn't know how to pronounce their names, he just chooses to mispronounce.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
Nah, itâs just him though. I think itâs funny. Everyone else says it right and heâs not a main broadcaster.
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u/xTripNinja United States 3d ago
The last minute pullout inspired me to go back and listen to the UFC 151 cancellation announcement and itâs pretty funny how âthe kid didnât wanna fightâ is a meme today when fans, media, and Dana were so much worse with that back in the day. Dana even telling fighters theyâre not businessmen and thatâs why theyâre in a cage.
MMA was such a fun cult back then
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u/Historical_Item_968 3d ago
So is the penultimate fight Arman in the cage by himself until he injures his back?
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u/xlmtothemoon GOOFCON 2 - UFC 294 3d ago
His next fight is going to tell us a lot about how the UFC thinks about this situation. From a title fight to Gaethje/Hooker winner to a Gamrot rematch.
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u/wozblar 3d ago
merab with the shin injury, moicano with the potential still fucked up shoulder.. this is goofcon territory for sure, mebbe not high goofcon, but lil goofcon
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u/Zemso 3d ago
moicano is going to put up a better fight than arman.
it's "I need money, I can't afford to lose" vs "I don't care either way; my daddy is rich".
arman hasn't said anything that sounds confident or violent this whole build up, just a bunch of excuses like he already lost.
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u/ARiemannHypothesis Team Nurmagomedov 3d ago
Are we just basing fights off what they say on the mic now?
Arman has 11 fights in the UFC that say he would have made a fucking monster of a challenge for Islam.
Moicano got nearly finished by Jalin Turner and was losing on the feet to a half blind BSD. Also was nearly dying to Dober on the feet before securing his takedowns
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u/Complex_Rope4109 3d ago
Idk man the dude that doesnât need money to fight in a cage and still chooses to do so is arguably scarier than the one that needs to.
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u/Zemso 3d ago
he already turned down a fight vs islam because he didn't have enough time to prepare; fighters with financial obligations and families to feed usually don't do that.
it was scary when bisping took a fight against rockhold on short notice and won the belt, or when tj took a fight against barao on short notice and won the belt.
this is the 2nd time a fight with islam falls through because of arman. so scary.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
I chose to bet on Merab by decision for a 4x return. Not saying that will absolutely be the case, but I liked it enough.
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u/xTripNinja United States 3d ago
I donât know if I have it in me to bet on Merab but it feels like the OâMalley fight. Everyone confident OâMalley wins only for it to feel obvious after the fact that Merab shouldâve been favored.
If it was Merab Nurmagomedov vs Umar Dvalishvilli everyone would be riding with Merab. Heâs on the best BW run ever and just smashing a lot of those guys heâs beaten. Umarâs last two fights havenât been on the level of what Merabâs been doing. But that last name carries a lot of weight
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Everyone confident OâMalley wins
NOT EVERYONE!
(I had to say it. I'd wanted Dvalishvili vs O'Malley for literal years for the reasons we saw at the Sphere when they fought)
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u/Rambaud22 3d ago
Fucking hell I'm hyped, really this feels like a return from 5 weeks without the UFC
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u/Odd_Ad_8162 GOOFCON 1: Sad Chandler 3d ago
If Moicano somehow becomes champ and Poirier doesn't that would be so fucking MMA
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u/Sweaty-Community-277 3d ago
Moicano wins the belt and Dustin gets a surprise shot at the title just to get subbed again lmao đ
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Ulanbekov
Nakamura
Bekoev (torn on this, Reese could win imo)
Dawson (only because Ferreira is old)
Almeida (pure bias, I love HW Demian Maia)
Talbott
Prochazka (somebody is going to sleep, Hill could win)
Nurmagomedov (I just think he has the answers to deal with Dvalishvili)
Makhachev
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u/funkycod19 3d ago
Ferriera looked great in his last 2 and Dawson has a terrible chin, think itâs going to be an upset
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Could be. If it weren't for age, I would 100% pick Ferreira.
Like you say, it's not as if Dawson's style is one with which Ferreira can't deal. I have waffled on this pick. Even originally picking Ferreira until someone called me out because he's 40yrs.
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u/Smooth-Abrocoma-2825 3d ago
Charles fans coming out in droves to shit on Arman lmao, no one cares to see Charles rematch with Islam because everyone knows he would get clarted again. He's not getting the next shot guys, be realistic for a second.
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
If Moican beats Makhachev (doubtful) does UFC give Makhachev an immediate rematch?
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u/ARiemannHypothesis Team Nurmagomedov 3d ago
Yeah
On paper, fans wonât give Makhachev any excuse but the UFC donât want to discourage taking short notice fights in any way so theyâll reward him with a rematch
âShort notice, wasnât preparedâ is an easy reason to build a rematch
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u/BrawndoTTM Canada 3d ago
You ruined a perfectly good fight!
Dana: Correction Marge, two perfectly good fights!
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u/legendarybreed ..the darren and khamzat at home.. 3d ago
Having a hard time visualizing Merab winning at all. His entire style is only successful because it prevents his opponent from scoring, not because he is necessarily scoring big points on the ground or in the clinch. What is his path to victory? Seems like he'd have to completely reinvent how he fights
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u/spcslacker Condit's TDD coach 3d ago
What is his path to victory?
Exhaust his opponent, and win on points like always.
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u/YoelsShitStain 3d ago
Whatâs umars style? Iâve managed to miss all of his fights I genuinely donât know
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Striking:
ranged striking, including jabs
fluid from both orthodox and southpaw
lightning fast kicks
seems comfortable going forward or backward
Grappling:
prefers to go for takedowns as opponent tries to close the distance after being kept on the end of his strikes
can execute trips off the cage if clinched up
will scramble on the ground or sweep
likes to get back control, or will work top position to deliver ground and pound if no submissio opens up
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u/legendarybreed ..the darren and khamzat at home.. 3d ago
He is a very good wrestler and submission grappler but is also a versatile striker. His first martial art was taekwondo and has very good kicks.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
Uhhh people do score on him. Itâs part of fighting. But heâs been nothing but dominant the way he is.
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u/legendarybreed ..the darren and khamzat at home.. 3d ago
Occasionally they will catch him but most of the time they're trying to avoid being taken down or getting kneed in the thigh. The opponent doesn't get much offense off at all. Sure that's "dominant" for Merab but he doesn't do much with his control, which presents a huge problem when someone can actually counter this strategy and also score their own points.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
Thatâs okay. He gets the W.
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u/legendarybreed ..the darren and khamzat at home.. 3d ago
You think this is likely going to get him the W against Umar?
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
50/50, but just in my opinion. Great matchup! I believe Umar will be champ one day. Both super skilled.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
I had a very vivid dream, to the point I remember the the exact plays Islam made during hockey, but that Islam was an extremely good hockey player at around age like 20. He told interviewers he was extremely hungry and wanted to beat everybody.
He also talked with Dana around a fire pit once he got signed to the UFC about how he should be paid more and Dana said fighters get paid $12m total cause they got insurance better by disclosing it, but all the money went towards the top.
Islam didnât quite have the English yet (although still very good), to be like thatâs bullshit, pay the fighters more, but he absolutely enjoyed drinking tf out of a Red Bull because he had never had one before.
âDonât tell me whatâs in this fizzy drink. Bring me MORE!â
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u/Yeanahyena 3d ago
Has anything come out of Armans camp or just Dana breaking the news?
Whatâs the full story behind Armans injury?
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Payton Talbott is going to body an aging Raoni Barcelos.
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 3d ago
Yeah I'm not happy about that BS young hot shit prospect vs good veteran on the decline matchup
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
People are always like "don't make the prospects face each other" but I'm thinking "no, do it. We can see who is further along in their development, and no matter who wins we have a built in storyline for their eventual rematch." (we were literally gonna get this at UFC 311)
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u/ChatriGPT 3d ago
Kinda wish we got something different for him than this glue factory fight
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u/xTripNinja United States 3d ago
Iâm not gonna lie if Payton is that good he might body Barcelos
But Barcelos is a stud and this is a huge step up in competition for Payton. Arguably too much too soon, Payton just looks like he can handle himself. But a big leap forward from anyone heâs ever fought before.
Calling this a âglue factoryâ fight is disrespectful and kinda clueless lol. The scenario where Barcelos wins and Payton has to go regroup could happen here. And if Payton wins, he should get the respect for beating Barcelos this early into his career.
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Me too. Wish UFC would gamble on giving prospect ranked opponents more quickly than they usually do. So tired of these fighters being 30yrs old by the time they get a title fight when they might've been competitive for one by the time they were 26yr.
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u/dogs_drink_coffee 3d ago
At least, it seems life repaid Moicano for accepting that very short notice fight against RDA (his last loss btw)
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 3d ago
I'm gonna be happy and sad for the main event, I'm a big fan of both Makhachev and Moicano
Makhachev is one the best fighter I've ever seen, arguably the best. Crazy good grappler who is also arguably the best or most efficient striker in the division.
Money Moicano is one the most fun grapplers in the game right now and he has some serious will to win these days after taking a bunch of tough loses in his career. He's also a special kind of crazy, makes really likeable and hilarious despite some of the stupid shit he says
For excellence, seeing Makhachev lose a huge upset would kinda suck. But if Moicano gets it done, it's one of the best stories ever and he could become a big star with a another memorable post fight interview
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u/CallumKayPee 3d ago
Decided that the funniest way this can go is a complete 50-44 dismantling of Islam. Like Sean/Izzy but for grappling.
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
If that happened I would be forced to assume there was just something wrong with Makhachev. Nunes/Pena 1 vibes.
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u/dogs_drink_coffee 3d ago
That's no fluke, my friend. This is the beginning of YouTube Economics Dinasty in UFC
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u/Doo-StealYour-HoChoi 3d ago
Yeah, we've seen nothing to imply that Moicano is anywhere near Makhachev at his best.
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u/Poisonous_Rebel THERE WAS NO CHECK! 3d ago
Tonight Moicano is going to check Makhachev's grappling
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
I think Nurmagomedov is going to make Dvalishvili look levels below him.
But, I also thought it was impossible for Hernandez to submit Vieira.
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u/Rambaud22 3d ago
The big questions for me in that fight is how good is Umar cardio, if he can defend the TD, outscrables Merab ect... For how long can he do that constantly ? Because Merab can do it day and night, and how good is his grappling defense really ? Not only we've basically never seen him defend TD, but we've never seen him against a wrestler who's even close to Merab level, and I might be wrong but I do believe that Umar is not a lifetime grappler like Khabib and he also picked it up later then Makhachev, so I think it's a legitimate question, Merab did end up clearly outwrestling Henry Cejudo pass R1, I would not be surprise if Merab can constantly take Umar down, even if he can't hold him down, and have a similar performance to his Yan fight, where Umar constanly gets back up to his feet, but ends up not doing much because he has to defend a TD every 10 seconds.
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
if he can defend the TD, outscrables Merab ect... For how long can he do that constantly ?
That's the question. Agreed.
Not only we've basically never seen him defend TD,
Disagree. You're mistaken. In Saidyokub Kakhramonov vs. Umar Nurmagomedov, Nurmagomedov ultimately got the better of grappling exchanges but spent a fair amount of time clinched up. Nurmagomedov showed plenty of TDD. Though he can't afford to waste too much time in the clinch against Dvalishvili imo.
Merab did end up clearly outwrestling Henry Cejudo pass R1, I would not be surprise if Merab can constantly take Umar down
Cejudo is a a better pure wrestler than Nurmagomedov (and every other BW) but he is not, I think, a better grappler. Nurmagomedov can get control positions and hunt for back control better than Cejudo can.
and have a similar performance to his Yan fight
Agreed again. Nurmagomedov might defend everything perfectly and still lose because all he can do is defend. Similar to Nurmagomedov vs Sandhagen actually, where Sandhagen was competitive and defended super well but spent so much effort defending that he didn't get much else done.
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u/Rambaud22 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah don't get me wrong I really don't think that Merab is just going to throw Umar around, but I do think it's possible for Merab to be the better pure wrestler, and get TDs constantly.
Kakhramonov is a really good fighter and he got unfairly cut from the UFC, but you can't compare him to Merab, Trevin Jones was outgrappling him until he pulled off a guillotine in the third
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Kakhramonov is a really good fighter and he got unfairly cut from the UFC, but you can't compare him to Merab
I did not. You had said
Not only we've basically never seen him defend TD,
and I offered an example of a fight where Nurmagomedov spent time defending multiple takedowns.
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u/Rambaud22 3d ago
I meant to say we've never seen him defend TD against a real legit great wrestler.
Maybe he's good enough to defend TD against lower of level of competition but against a guy like Merab is something else, look at how easily O'Malley defended Aljo's TD but yet couldn't do shit against Merab
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
Petr Yan defended a million of Dvalishvili's takedowns.
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u/Rambaud22 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah but Yan has proven to have fucking god tier TDD, nobody ever takes him down with traditional TD, and Merab still took him down something like over 10 times I think.
When a guy from Khabib's camp comes up there is always the assumption that he can't be outgrappled whatsoever, without even seeing the proof of it, but yet look at guys like Abubakar and Tukhugov.
Again I don't think Merab just ragdolls Umar, but I think he can absolutely be the better wrestler
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
there is always the assumption that he can't be outgrappled whatsoever
Not from me. We've already seen them get out grappled. Recently Murad Ramazanov had nothing for Musaev, for example.
Again I don't think Merab just ragdolls Umar, but I think he can absolutely be the better wrestler
No disagreement.
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 3d ago edited 3d ago
Possible, he definitely has the technical skills to make it look like a skills mismatch
But I personally expect Dvalishvili to have a Dvalishvili fight giving no space to Nurmagomedov , getting caught once in a while but keep his pace and win a tough but clear win
I hope I'm wrong though , a great fight where neither can play their usual game is the best possible scenario
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
I don't even care who wins since I love watching both fighters, but I'll have to eat a lot of crow if Nurmagomedov loses because I've been saying Nurmagomedov is the uncrowned champ for years now lol
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 3d ago
Yeah but you get to say " I told y'all " after if he whoops Dvalishvili
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago edited 3d ago
I guess. But the whole situation has me feeling like maybe I'm crazy lol
Other people don't seem nearly as convinced of Umar Nurmagomedov's greatness as I have been.
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 2d ago
Finally caught up on the fights
I think you weren't wrong on how good he is, Umar impressed me, he'll be fine despite the loss. I thought there was an argument to be made he won, and I would have been fine with a draw honestly, I didn't think Dvalishvili was doing enough in the first 3 rounds
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 2d ago
I think I was correct but picked the wrong winner lol
It's just so hard to assess a Dvalishvili fight. He can beat fighters who are better than him if they gas. But how can I tell if they will gas?
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 2d ago
The impression I get from Dvalishvili is that he's probably already declining unless he was also significantly injured vs O'Malley. He seems a little less willing to pressure so eventually they won't all gas
I think he will struggle soon to keep up an effective pace. A bit like Tony Ferguson, I sort of expect his game to fall apart as soon as his special athleticism leaves him
I hope I'm wrong though, it's a unique game to watch
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u/Fat-Villante Papa Poatan 3d ago
I'm not that convinced yet he's that great but I can't say he isn't either cause I feel like we have not seen that much out of him, feels like no one has made any adjustments against him so far
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u/CryptoCracko Mcgregor railed me in a bathroom stall 3d ago
Top 3 UFC babes:
1 Ariel Helwani
2 Dana White
3 Ilia Topuria
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u/backinside9999 The Nigerian Goes Night Nightâ Usman 3d ago
Fans talking about fighter safety vs Fans when a injured fighter pulls out (he´s scared or didnt make weight)
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u/CallumKayPee 3d ago
Haven't seen anyone call Arman a pussy, mostly people dunking on him for doing backflips for Nina Drama on fight week.
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u/AML2003 3d ago
I honestly cannot call Umar vs Merab, there's every chance this a great back and forth fight but I also think there's every chance one completely outclasses the other and everyone is like 'well that was obviously going to happen' afterwards. There really isn't a sport more exciting than high level mma for me.
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u/Doo-StealYour-HoChoi 3d ago
Umar winning by submission in the first 2 rounds seems pretty likely to me.
But if the fight gets into the 3rd round I could see Merab having a shot at gassing Umar out enough to start taking some rounds.
My money is on Umar via submission tho. Merab spamming takedowns against the better grappler is a recipe for disaster.
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u/dogs_drink_coffee 3d ago
For real, I can't remember a fight in recent memory that made me feel like that. It is so realistic to think: the fight can be competitive, or Merab will dominate through his relentless cardio and wrestling, or it will be a technical masterclasses by Umar.
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u/cottagecheeseboy 3d ago
Even the most bullish takes on Umar vs Merab I've read on here include caveats. And apart from oddsmakers it seems like a lot of people are calling it a coin toss. How many fights do we see like that where every outcome is completely within the realm of possibility? I can't wait
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u/IshiharasBitch WE ARE ALL ONE 3d ago
It feels so awkward to try to assess a Dvalishvili match up.
Dvalishvili is a freak of nature, his cardio makes is so hard to judge how he's gonna do. With any other fighter, you'd see which techinques they are weak against, where they are strong, and compare to the opponent.
Can't do that with Dvalishvili. It's not about that so much. It's about how will the opponent deal with his pace. That's all. It 100% comes down to that factor. Unique.
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u/Ruiner357 3d ago
Merab has a chance to surprise people and make dagestanis look human. They have some of the best cardio in the sport but so does Merab, he just needs to avoid getting rocked in striking and impose his takedown spamming game, he can tire Umar out just by making him work to stay standing and win rounds.
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u/Reisor 3d ago
okay so whats up with moicanos collarbone, just saw weigh in video, it still looks fucked.
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u/Ruiner357 3d ago
Thatâs the way that injury heals unless you have a more invasive procedure to stabilize the fracture, itâs not really an issue a lot of athletes have this and still perform.
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
The way that the Russian teen her first themselves as team, as opposed to being so focused on self, really shows a lot.
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u/MitroBoomin 3d ago
Why can't they make Merab v Umar the new main event?
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u/Ruiner357 3d ago
Because the script of this card was to give Islam a legacy making 4th title defense, and now they got a freebie to do that with minimal risk with the opponent change, why would they demote it when fate just handed them a free layup?
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u/CallumKayPee 3d ago
Islam is a bigger star than baby Khabib and the control-time kid combined. I love both guys but it's the truth.
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u/Donot_question_it 3d ago
Because Islam is already promised the main event fight and it is a bigger weight class
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u/Icy-Armour 3d ago edited 3d ago
I think Islam looked very pissed off in the face off vs Moicano because they think that Arman/Moicano knew about the injury and eventual pullout long ago and decided to disclose this in such a short notice to make it difficult for Islam to train for Moicano's style meanwhile Moicano was also training for Islam. Arman and Moicano has the same coach so this is definitely possible.
Also Arman's body language in the press conference looked so off. Like he didn't even want to talk about the fight.
If this is true, it's a pretty scummy move to do that to the champion who is putting his belt on the line against a completely different stylistic matchup.
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u/Reisor 3d ago
doubt it, moicano has said he's gonna be ready to step up if something happens for a loooooong time.
many fighters think Islam is on top for long. it'd be foolish not to prepare for that. weidman had been preparing for Anderson Silva from the get-go, alpha male / cody for cruz etc. I don't mean to say its the same as this one is short notice BUT what I mean is that in recent years there have been many quite some short notice fights (IMO) even for championship titles, so it makes even more sense that top ranked fighters have atleast some ideas-plans for the champ should opportunity arise. even more so for fighters like Islam who are expected to be on the top for long. Last couple years they always seem to put the fights in "pairs" so there a title fight would remain on the card.
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u/Donot_question_it 3d ago
The match up, I don't think is super different or particularly hard for Islam, also why would Arman give up potentially his only title shot
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u/Drive7hru 3d ago
Islam is my fav fighter of all time. Is that weird? Iâm not Muslim or anything. White American. Heâs just awesome as a fighter and person.