MMA-UFC UFC 207: Nunes v Rousey

Dignan

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My NYE celebrations will be starting a little early this year.

  • Amanda Nunes v Rounda Rousey (C)
  • Dominick Cruz v Cody Garbrandt (C)
  • Fabricio Werdum v Cain Velasquez
  • TJ Dillashaw v John Lineker
  • Johny Hendricks v Neil Magny
  • Dong Hyun Kim v Tarec Saffiedine
  • Mike Pyle v Alex Garcia
  • Louis Smolka v Ray Borg
  • Tim Means v Alex Oliveira
  • Antonio Carlos Junior v Marvin Vettori
  • Brandon Thatch v Niko Price
Main card looks the goods, there's some fun fights on the prelims too.

Nunes and Rousey is a really intriguing fight. Nunes looked fantastic against Tate, and against Shevchenko before that. She's great on the feet and has insane power for a female fighter. She's physically strong, is a BJJ black belt, but there's been some questions over her cardio. Rousey is Rousey. Can she get it to the ground and submit Amanda? Highly unlikely she wins the stand up, so maybe she can try and turn it into a tough slog for a few rounds to gas her? I kinda didn't give Conor much of a chance against Nate the second time around and he definitely proved me wrong, so I'm certainly not writing off Ronda, but I still think Nunes wins this.

Cruz and Garbrandt should be good. I think the footwork of Cruz will really trouble Garbrandt, but with the power Cody has it only takes one to connect and Cruz could be in trouble.

Feels like we've been waiting forever for Werdum-Velasquez 2. Winner gets Miocic. I'm leaning towards Velasquez getting the W here.

Dillashaw v Lineker rounding out the main card looks like a really fun fight on paper.

Hendricks really needs a win. He's a different fighter to the one he used to be it seems, hope he can turn it around. Magny was on a good run before losing to Larkin. Good fight to headline the prelims.

Keen to see what Means can do against the other Cowboy after his brutal win at 202.

Few other fights I like the look of but I'll leave it at that.
 
If Rousey is mentality sound and patient she'll beat Nunes easy.

You take out that kick she got from Holm, she would have got her on the ground eventually like Tate did.
What about the 30-40 almost unanswered strikes to the head that lead to that kick?

She was being dominated by Holm but I agree a more patient Rousey who didn't just rely on a hip toss for the takedown would likely take the win.

But a Nunes blitz is hard to find a way through if she starts landing. A good single or double leg (see GSP technique and timing) would be a good option to get her down. Then she wins.
 
Jul 24, 2009
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If Rousey is mentality sound and patient she'll beat Nunes easy.

You take out that kick she got from Holm, she would have got her on the ground eventually like Tate did.

Take out that kick and you still have her being a punching bag for 7 minutes. I don't see what she could have done differently with her skill set and Holm's athletic and striking advantage.
 
Should have been the wake up call that she needed a new coach, when entire MMA fanbase and your own mother thinks he's a flog, it's time for a change.

She was comprehensively beaten but that was far from the best Ronda we saw at UFC 193.
 
Take out that kick and you still have her being a punching bag for 7 minutes. I don't see what she could have done differently with her skill set and Holm's athletic and striking advantage.
Miesha found a way......took her 5 rounds but got it done.
Rousey was doing ok despite getting hit....she did land shots herself.

Not particularly going for Rousey at 207, just think its an easy fight for her if she's switched on.
 
Jul 24, 2009
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Miesha found a way......took her 5 rounds but got it done.
Rousey was doing ok despite getting hit....she did land shots herself.

Not particularly going for Rousey at 207, just think its an easy fight for her if she's switched on.

Meisha's a wrestler which means she can start her take down attempts from further away. Ronda's takedowns come from the clinch and she wasn't quick enough or skilled enough to get there with Holly. Yeah, she landed a few shots in the fight but she wasn't "doing OK" and she certainly wasn't on the way to winning that fight.
 
It all depends on Amandas gameplan imo..

Amandas great at going forward but im not sure how she will handle going backwards.

Rousey will move forward and if nunes doesnt go backwards, they will end up clinching and she will go for a ride. If nunes wants to move foward they will end up clinching and she will go for a ride.

The fight favours rousey in terms of style imo BUT Nunes is the best pressure fighter she has ever fought.

Will be incredibly interesting.
 
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It all depends on Amandas gameplan imo..

Amandas great at going forward but im not sure how she will handle going backwards.

Rousey will move forward and if nunes doesnt go backwards, they will end up clinching and she will go for a ride. If nunes wants to move foward they will end up clinching and she will go for a ride.

The fight favours rousey in terms of style imo BUT Nunes is the best pressure fighter she has ever fought.

Will be incredibly interesting.

Yep, it's a very interesting fight. Ronda's mindset going in to this one is a big question mark. 18 months ago she would have been a massive favourite, but with her loss to Holm and her year long lay off I'm interested to see how she approaches this fight. Nunes has always been an interesting match up for Ronda as her physical strength, striking and BJJ are all at a very high level and like Ronda she is a fast starter so there should be fireworks early regardless of who is getting the better of things.

I'll be interested to see if Rousey is able to clinch and throw Nunes as easily as you have suggested. She got in to the clinch a few times with Holm and I think she was shocked by how strong Holly was and how well she defended against the throws. Like Holm, Nunes is very strong and if she's worked on her clinch defence, she may well be able to hold her own in the clinch battles.
 
Yep, it's a very interesting fight. Ronda's mindset going in to this one is a big question mark. 18 months ago she would have been a massive favourite, but with her loss to Holm and her year long lay off I'm interested to see how she approaches this fight. Nunes has always been an interesting match up for Ronda as her physical strength, striking and BJJ are all at a very high level and like Ronda she is a fast starter so there should be fireworks early regardless of who is getting the better of things.

I'll be interested to see if Rousey is able to clinch and throw Nunes as easily as you have suggested. She got in to the clinch a few times with Holm and I think she was shocked by how strong Holly was and how well she defended against the throws. Like Holm, Nunes is very strong and if she's worked on her clinch defence, she may well be able to hold her own in the clinch battles.


Id have to watch the ronda v holm fight again but im pretty sure she threw her once early (holm popped back up) and after that she was getting pieced up as holm was moving backward while ronda was chasing, not cutting off the cage.

Imo Nunes is a better MMA fighter than holm, BUT Rousey is an on a totally different level when it comes to the clinch and the way she scrambles. Holm avoided that at all costs, which is her style, and im not sure Nunes has the style to be effective if she plans to have a counter heavy gameplan.

Rousey has fought high level grapplers, at least on the same level as Nunes and they have never lasted long.

In saying all that, i wont be suprised if rouseys head is bouncing off the canvas within 2 minutes after being extreamly tentative.
 
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Id have to watch the ronda v holm fight again but im pretty sure she threw her once early (holm popped back up) and after that she was getting pieced up as holm was moving backward while ronda was chasing, not cutting off the cage.

Imo Nunes is a better MMA fighter than holm, BUT Rousey is an on a totally different level when it comes to the clinch and the way she scrambles. Holm avoided that at all costs, which is her style, and im not sure Nunes has the style to be effective if she plans to have a counter heavy gameplan.

Rousey has fought high level grapplers, at least on the same level as Nunes and they have never lasted long.

In saying all that, i wont be suprised if rouseys head is bouncing off the canvas within 2 minutes after being extreamly tentative.

There was a scramble in the first round where Ronda went for the arm bar, but I don't recall that being from a throw. I do recall a Ronda had the clinch against the cage for a decent amount of time and Holm was able to defend well from that position though. My point wasn't that Nunes was going to win the clinch battles; hell she'll be doing pretty much whatever she can to avoid them, but Holm was largely able to neutralise Ronda's ability in the clinch as a relative novice in MMA by getting her arm between herself and Rousey as soon as Ronda did manage to get to the clinch.

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I don't necessarily think that Nunes will look to counter in this fight, but the opportunities will certainly be there to do so. She's got great range on her punches and should be able to lead the striking exchanges against what I expect will be Ronda's usual wide punches. Her footwork will be key to the fight though and that's something I hope she's spent plenty of time on. Holm was able to turn Ronda constantly by moving off the line rather than running backwards. Tate even did it a few times in the second fight when she wasn't throwing the overhand right and blasting double legs from half way across the octagon.

I agree that Rousey has beaten some very good grapplers and will hold an advantage in that area. Nunes also has a habit of getting wild which leaves her in bad positions which Ronda could well take advantage of. Zingano was able to get to the clinch in this example when Nunes loaded up on both the leg kick and the follow up punch:

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It's for that reason I favour Ronda in this fight, but can certainly see Nunes winning if she is well prepared for dealing with Ronda's bull rushes. She's the heaviest hitter Ronda has come up against and probably the most well rounded fighter too which is what has me looking forward to it.
 
There was a scramble in the first round where Ronda went for the arm bar, but I don't recall that being from a throw. I do recall a Ronda had the clinch against the cage for a decent amount of time and Holm was able to defend well from that position though. My point wasn't that Nunes was going to win the clinch battles; hell she'll be doing pretty much whatever she can to avoid them, but Holm was largely able to neutralise Ronda's ability in the clinch as a relative novice in MMA by getting her arm between herself and Rousey as soon as Ronda did manage to get to the clinch.

ChiefInbornBird.gif


I don't necessarily think that Nunes will look to counter in this fight, but the opportunities will certainly be there to do so. She's got great range on her punches and should be able to lead the striking exchanges against what I expect will be Ronda's usual wide punches. Her footwork will be key to the fight though and that's something I hope she's spent plenty of time on. Holm was able to turn Ronda constantly by moving off the line rather than running backwards. Tate even did it a few times in the second fight when she wasn't throwing the overhand right and blasting double legs from half way across the octagon.

I agree that Rousey has beaten some very good grapplers and will hold an advantage in that area. Nunes also has a habit of getting wild which leaves her in bad positions which Ronda could well take advantage of. Zingano was able to get to the clinch in this example when Nunes loaded up on both the leg kick and the follow up punch:

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It's for that reason I favour Ronda in this fight, but can certainly see Nunes winning if she is well prepared for dealing with Ronda's bull rushes. She's the heaviest hitter Ronda has come up against and probably the most well rounded fighter too which is what has me looking forward to it.
bringing the gifs for the breakdown... look out Dan Hardy ;)

I agree tho.. just not as eloquently. Should be exciting.

How do u feel about cruz v cody?

I think cruz frustrates the s**t out of him and while im looking forward to seeing cruz fight again i honestly dont see it being to competitive.
 
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bringing the gifs for the breakdown... look out Dan Hardy ;)

I agree tho.. just not as eloquently. Should be exciting.

How do u feel about cruz v cody?

I think cruz frustrates the s**t out of him and while im looking forward to seeing cruz fight again i honestly dont see it being to competitive.

Ha, I do love a good gif! Helps refresh my memory on what has happened in fights and helps me to try and get my points across.

I think it's too soon for Garbrandt to be honest. His best win is against Almeida who was taking a beating from Pickett not too long ago (and Pickett hasn't looked great for a while now). I had a great back and forth with BradWCE regarding the Cruz and Dillashaw fight about this time a year ago and re-watched a lot of Dom's fights in the lead up to it. He looks ahead of the game on the feet even though he's lost a step since all his injuries (his speed was seriously frightening in the WEC) and I think you're right that he'll bamboozle Cody and win a wide decision where he doesn't take much damage.
 
Looking forward to seeing Cruz again.

The fight the intrigues me is TJ vs Lineker. TJ probably wins with his movement but if Lineker lands we've seen what he can do.

Win or lose I want to see TJ fight Dodson again, but if he wins it's likely a title shot. Does he get along with Cody after leaving TAM?
 
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Nunes starts out strong but has shown cardio issues in the past. She was all over Zingano in the first round but then was taken apart after that, and she also faded and survived against Shevchenko in the third round after easily winning the first two. Just over a year ago Rousey would have been one of the heaviest favourites in UFC history going into this fight. It's hard to know if her dodging all the media in the next week is because she's mentally shot or she's more focused than ever. Given how rare one-shot KOs are in the women divisions I'm leaning towards Ronda surviving the first round or two if need be and then getting the sub.

Feel like (or maybe hope that?) Cruz will take Garbrandt apart and eventually crack him and get the stoppage.

I'd have normally backed Cain but him saying that he's already got a surgery booked after the fight and then reading reports that he's been getting high to deal with his pain in the meantime makes me ask how he's even allowed to take this fight.
 
I'd have normally backed Cain but him saying that he's already got a surgery booked after the fight and then reading reports that he's been getting high to deal with his pain in the meantime makes me ask how he's even allowed to take this fight.
Lol its CBD oil.. non psychoactive. Helps with inflammation and a bunch of other stuff. Better than taking opioids.

If his fighting and talking about it openly, i dont think it will have much effect. I think he said it was having a bone scraped in his back to take pressure of a nerve. No ideal but im sure elite athletes have similar things to deal with all the time. Just a pain management thing.
 

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I'm a bit sad that Velasquez is out, but from what he said in interviews around a week ago (and from what I know from having a buggered back myself) it sounds like the right call. And if Nevada won't let you fight it probably means you really shouldn't be fighting.

I don't think being excited to see Rousey is necessarily the "cool" thing, but I can't wait to see her again. I'm an unabashed fan of stories of redemption in sport, and hearing her talk about what she went through after the Melbourne fight makes me want to see her redeem herself.

I had decided that I wasn't going to buy the event with the Velasquez/Werdum fight off, but I think I've changed my mind. If she wins, I guess there's a chance that she might aim for a rematch with Holm, but it's just that - a chance. I think that win or lose she is likely to give it away after this fight, so I really want to see it live.
 
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