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❏ UFC 206 review
Max Holloway is the new interim champ and will face Jose Aldo to unify the titles. First time ever that Pettis has been finished. Showed great timing, patience and aggression as well. Holloway seems to be acting differently and more outlandish.
Anthony Pettis – Not a good event for Pettis. He missed weight, broke his hand early in the fight. Admits he needs to go back to lightweight. He has the talent to still be relevant but needs to really get focus back and avoid the depression that accompanies many fighters after a loss.
Donald Cerrone – He showed a great deal in this fight, having come back from adversity and being rocked. I’m not sure I remember him ever having come back from being as badly hurt as he was at points in this fight. This was the greatest headlock knockout since Gonzaga-CroCop and maybe the best ever.
Matt Brown – Really tough loss for Brown, he showed so much in this fight. This is his third fight in a row. My indifference toward him changed, this fight made me like him quite a bit.
Cub Swanson – Is this for real? Like, seriously, did this dude really just do what I saw. This was quite possibly the best stand up battle in UFC history. Cub Swanson made my night, he made a lifelong fan out of many and this was truly a performance of a lifetime. He stole the show. If you missed it, you done messed up. Cub Swanson is why you don’t not watch some PPV cards. This was truly a can’t miss fight.
Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Doo Ho Choi – This kids got some serious potential. All of the things said about Swanson apply as well to Ho Choi. Now this guy just has to learn English so he does not limit his potential earnings and status. Unbelievable performance and heart of a true warrior.
Kelvin Gastelum – He looked very good… and … I hate that he is insisting on returning to welterweight. He needs to stay at middleweight. He missed weight 3 out of 7 times at welterweight. Not good enough. And beating Tim Kennedy at middleweight proves he can be a top fighter there. DUDE, YOU CAN’T CONSISTENTLY MAKE 170!
Tim Kennedy – Not his best performance, he didn’t seem to be the fighter we all know and love. A second fight will determine if it was rust or if he just isn’t what he used to be.
Drew Dober – what happened?
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Performances of the Night: Lando Vannata and Max Holloway
Fight of the Night Cub Swanson vs. Dooho Choi
Top fight of the year discussed on the Top MMA Podcast
❏ Cerrone/Dana White/Bjorn Rebney
Dana quotes – “The only thing that I need to know is that the biggest scumbag in the history of combat sports, Bjork, is involved in this thing. There are three unions out there right now battling against each other, and if you’re a fighter, all these guys are looking to get in your pocket. It’s a business where guys are going to make money. As a fighter, if this is what you want to do, you need to figure our whose hand you want in your pocket. I guarantee you don’t want Bjork’s hand in your pocket.”
White seemed genuinely baffled that Cerrone would be a part of the newly formed association. He recalled an incident that, according to him, led to legal intervention due to an altercation while Donald was on one of his boating trips. White claims that he paid for the criminal defense attorney out of his own pocket, to the tune of $100K.
“I was shocked that Cerrone didn’t give me a call. He has headlined three [UFC events]; never held a title in WEC or UFC. A couple of years ago, he was on his boat and gets into a beef with a guy on another boat, and he’s in big trouble. Who does he call? He calls me. What do I do? I go out and find him the best criminal defense lawyer and spent $100,000 of my own money. So, when I see “Cowboy” standing up there I’m like, ‘really?’”
Bjorn Rebney – “When the UFC, Jason, got sold to WME-IMG… Dana White walked away with roughly four hundred million dollars. Every year prior to that he was making in excess of 20 million dollars a year.
I can say it again – when the UFC sold to WME-IMG Dana White who just belittled Cowboy Cerrone and talked crap about a valiant warrior who has fought in the cage innumerable times and who fans love, made close to four hundred million dollars. That man, that gluttonous pig. And he got twenty million a year, on average before that to run the UFC. And he’s got the cojones to step up and to belittle Cowboy? How many fights did Dana have? How many times did Dana step into the cage in the WEC and in the UFC? But he made close to four hundred million dollars when the organization was sold. Please. Are you kidding me?”
Cerrone after speaking to Dana – “It went very good. It wasn’t a lunch, he just pulled me aside after the media scrum,” Cowboy said about speaking to the UFC president. “We talked for about 15-20 mins. He’s a happy man, and I’m a happy man.”
“We were just talking about what I wanted, like what I discussed with (the media), and what he expected out of me. It went very well. (He was) 1000% receptive, definitely.
“We were always in a good place. It’s like when you get in trouble with your dad and they don’t ground you, but just tell you how disappointed they are — which is even worse. It’s kinda what he did to me. It was kind of like a slap in his face. I should’ve let him know what I was going to get involved with. It is what it is, but we’re on the up and up now.”
❏ UFC Fight Night Albany
Derrick Lewis did not look good but finally showed some urgency and got the takedown and destroyed Abdurakhimov from there.
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❏ Tyron Woodley called out Nick Diaz for UFC 209
Tyron Woodley’s Tweet:
Tyron T-Wood Woodley ✔@TWooodley
@MMAFighting @arielhelwani Is @nickdiaz209 Free to Scrap to? Perfect time 4 #UFC209 I have the perfect person in mind🤔 @malkikawa @danawhite https://twitter.com/mmafighting/status/806591181702524928 …
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He obviously wants big payday but Dana White has already said that Wonderboy rematch is next for Woodley
❏ Goldberg out the door?
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❏ UFC on Fox 22 on Saturday, Dec 17th
UFC on FOX 22 Fight Card
Paige VanZant (7-2) vs. Michelle Waterson (13-4)
Urijah Faber (33-10) vs. Brad Pickett (25-12)
Sage Northcutt (8-1) vs. Mickey Gall (3-0)
Takeya Mizugaki (21-10-2) vs. Eddie Wineland (22-11-1)
James Moontasri (9-4) vs. Alex Morono (12-3)
Alan Jouban (14-4) vs. Mike Perry (9-0)
Bryan Barberena (12-3) vs. Colby Covington (10-1)
Josh Emmett (10-0) vs. Scott Holtzman (9-1)
Sultan Aliev (13-2) vs. Bojan Velickovic (14-3-1)
Paul Craig (8-0) vs. Luis Henrique da Silva (12-0)
Fredy Serrano (3-1) vs. Hector Sandoval (12-3)
Cole Miller (21-10) vs. Mizuto Hirota (17-7-2)
Irene Aldana (7-2) vs. Leslie Smith (8-7-1)
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