Sweet. More fights. I can't wait. McGregor vs. Brandao is gonna be sweet!
Well, if by 'sweet', you mean Brandao is gonna be ripped apart and his pieces will be mailed to every favela in Brazil, then yes.
Ok so the main card is filled with hilariously one-sided matchups, but what about the undercard?
It's a lot better. I like this event's main card because like the last event, we're guaranteed finishes. But that doesn't change the weird, sadistic nature of Joe Silva's matchmaking on this one. I mean...Kotani? Really? Granted, I'll talk about Kotani for the main card (he's inexplicable earned his way back into the UFC), but these matchups are highly amusing. Expect something like Rambo vs. unnamed dark skinned extras when all is said and violently done.
I recognize Ilir Latifi for his bout against Gegard Mousasi on a five o'clock shadow shave's notice. Should we expect a little more from him?
Yep. Latifi is proving that he's more than just a guy willing to fight anyone, anytime. He's more than just Dana White's fantasy version of a real fighter. He's actually pretty talented. He has a knack for finding ways to finish bouts, and capitalizing on an opponent's mistakes, and he does so with a heavy top game and raw Bruce Banner level strength.
He's also in a very favorable matchup.
Is Chris Dempsey bad or something? He's 10-1, and 26 years old.
True. But he's training out of Cold Steel MMA, with MMA aficionados Elijah Garshnick, and Roy Merriman (pro record: 0-0). And his lack of polish really shows. He's a bit clumsy on the feet, moreso because he has some raw footwork. He's also a big guy carrying weight he could easily shed, and his style of lobbing big straight rights, and transitioning into a takedown makes him fairly predictable. Latifi will have no trouble taking care of him, probably in the same way he took care of Diabate.
Well that was a waste of my time. Just tell me about the prospects. Not the journeymen.
Well, for what it's worth, Patrick Holohan and Cathal Pendred (a name that sounds like an object used to treat your kidney disorder) both train with Conor McGregor and Gunnar Nelson. Both are 26 years old as well. Pendred has the easier matchup, facing off against Mike King, who didn't show much on the show. It won't be easy, but his savvy uppercut and overall ability should be able to get the necessary edge over the raw southpaw in King.
As for Holohan, I can't be bullish on fighters making a reputation on submission wins. Not these days.
Not only are the Royce Gracie vs. McDojo Instructor days over, but so are the Dustin Hazelett vs. 8-0 TBA days. Submissions are too hard to come by against a stable of athletes that are too aware of what is going when a fight hits the ground. Call it the Sass Principle: the more experienced a fighter is winning by submission early in the career, the more skeptical one should be about their future.
Still, he showed some good chops on the show, and is a hoot to watch regardless. The problem is that Josh Sampo is actually a solid fighter. He's well rounded, and fights just good enough that his facial similarities to Cub Swanson allow you to think you're watching Cub and not Josh. But only for a moment. I'm not about to hold Sampo's loss to Zach Makovsky against him because Zach is really good.
And Neil Seery vs. Phil Haris?
Seery took his fight on short notice against Brad Pickett, so the fact that he ended up losing is nothing to be ashamed of. His blue collar attitude is a quality he'll need against the tricksy Phil Harris. Look for Seery to do what he does best: work, throw searing combinations, and then go back to work.
Nikita Krylov is on this card. Just saying.
Krylov is turning into a bit of a punchline for losing to OSP the way he did. Yea it was amusing, and a little embarrassing-
A little?
Ok, majorly embarrassing, but I won't pretend to be any better, even as an athlete of movies and calories. Having rolled sparingly on my time here on Earth, you could drive your elbow across my neck and I'll eventually tap for being too awful to move your arm. I can only imagine what a 225lb athlete able to concentrate the pressure of his body weight with his shoulder onto your neck would feel like until I turn to more pleasant nightmares, like being attacked by Luigi from Mario Kart 8.
I feel bad for knowing about this meme. Is there such a thing as sub culture anymore?
No.