MMA-UFC UFC 226 - Stipe v Corimer The Superfight

[phantom13]

Huge card

Heavyweight Stipe Miocic (c) vs. Daniel Cormier
Featherweight Max Holloway (c) vs. Brian Ortega
Heavyweight Francis Ngannou vs. Derrick Lewis
Lightweight Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis
Light Heavyweight Gökhan Saki vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.
Middleweight Uriah Hall vs. Paulo Costa
Welterweight Yancy Medeiros vs. Mike Perry
Bantamweight Raphael Assunção vs. Rob Font
Welterweight Curtis Millender vs. Max Griffin
Lightweight Dan Hooker vs. Gilbert Burns

Obviously the main event is for the Heavyweight strap and is the Champ v Champ fight but some other great fights and stories on the card.

Max v T-City - featherweight is still a bit of a mess and is haunted by the ghost of the little Irishman, Max is a bonafide killer but will he resonate with fans? T-City on the other hand feels like the new wave, super cool and charismatic, almost a new Urijah Faber but is this shot too soon?

Francis v Derrick - Francis was meant to be "the guy" heaviest puncher, terrifying new Brock style phenom who would rule the division, then he ran into Stipe and found out you need more than one tool in the sport. Derrick will be game and this might just be who lands first

Hall v Costa - Remember when Hall KO'd Cella on TUF with that head kick? Then had Bubba crying about having to fight him, that was a long time ago and for all his gifts Hall has just never put it together in the actual UFC. Costa just beat Hendricks but the Johnny weve seen of late is a shell of the Johnny that won the W/Weight title. Costa is 27 and a win here probably means more than it should because we know what Hall is capable of, Hall on the other hand might just be at a crossroads (which is crazy given he has only lost to reeeeeally good fighters) but we expect a lot of him

Hooker v Burns - Im all in on the Hangman, loved him as the lightweight champ at AFC level and want him to keep going

 

[00Stinger]

Max v T-City - featherweight is still a bit of a mess and is haunted by the ghost of the little Irishman, Max is a bonafide killer but will he resonate with fans? T-City on the other hand feels like the new wave, super cool and charismatic, almost a new Urijah Faber but is this shot too soon?

how is the featherweight division still a bit of a mess?

 

[phantom13]

how is the featherweight division still a bit of a mess?

Number 2 is Aldo who Holloway has stopped twice, Frankie in 3rd just feels floaty and then Stephens and Cub who seem like gate keepers. Its an overstated thing (still more related to Conor fans saying he never lost etc.). Feels a little like Middleweight did when Silva finally got starched. Not as ugly as lightweight but this fight feels like it cleans everything up finally.

 

[00Stinger]

Number 2 is Aldo who Holloway has stopped twice, Frankie in 3rd just feels floaty and then Stephens and Cub who seem like gate keepers. Its an overstated thing (still more related to Conor fans saying he never lost etc.). Feels a little like Middleweight did when Silva finally got starched. Not as ugly as lightweight but this fight feels like it cleans everything up finally.

Fair point. It is more about there not being a great deal of depth in the division rather than the division itself being a mess

Will be even more of a mess when Max moves up a division

 

[phantom13]

Fair point. It is more about there not being a great deal of depth in the division rather than the division itself being a mess

Fair call, I think either outcome in this fight gives us a direction moving forward.

 

[00Stinger]

Fair call, I think either outcome in this fight gives us a direction moving forward.

Not really.

If Holloway loses he moves up a division I reckon, which will make the division even more weak.

If Max wins, he really only has a couple more fights before he moves up anyway

 

[phantom13]

Not really.

If Holloway loses he moves up a division I reckon, which will make the division even more weak.

If Max wins, he really only has a couple more fights before he moves up anyway

Agree to disagree then.

 

[JG22]

Not a lot until this card but should be worth the wait.

Backing in Holloway for the defence despite the Ortega hype.

Will look forward to seeing the rooster Paulo Costa.

UFC226*

 

[phantom13]

Not a lot until this card but should be worth the wait.

Backing in Holloway for the defence despite the Ortega hype.

Will look forward to seeing the rooster Paulo Costa.

UFC226*

Good pickup.

 

[Gigantic]

For a time the 145 division was looking very exciting, but yeah I do agree it's starting to look a bit stale. There are a few up-and-comers and the rise of Ortega really has spiced things up quite a bit but it's lacking a bit. I guess a lot of the controversies, re McGregor, Yair, Korean Zombie's inactivity etc have really not helped.

I wish the Korean Zombie and Doo Ho Choi could be fighting more often.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

For a time the 145 division was looking very exciting, but yeah I do agree it's starting to look a bit stale. There are a few up-and-comers and the rise of Ortega really has spiced things up quite a bit but it's lacking a bit. I guess a lot of the controversies, re McGregor, Yair, Korean Zombie's inactivity etc have really not helped.

I wish the Korean Zombie and Doo Ho Choi could be fighting more often.

I'm so excited for Zabit Magomedsharipov's to get a couple wins and move up to fighting the top 5.

That alone makes it a really exciting division for me. I hope Max and him fight before he moves up, even if he isn't champ.

 

[DazalenkoUBewty]

Fantastic card. Top three fights are sick.

 

[the_interloper]

Fantastic card. Top three fights are sick.

Agreed. Lewis v Ngannou should be fun as hell. And for those punters out there Cormier is at 3.10, good price for a bloke who has only lost to the GOAT and was undefeated at HW. I'm not sure who will win but at those odds worth throwing something on DC.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

Agreed. Lewis v Ngannou should be fun as hell. And for those punters out there Cormier is at 3.10, good price for a bloke who has only lost to the GOAT and was undefeated at HW. I'm not sure who will win but at those odds worth throwing something on DC.

Stipe is the rightful favourite but man, they are juicy odds for DC.

DC has a massive advantage in cardio and work rate. Stipe is a very good wrestler but not even close to the same level as DC.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see DC spike Stipe on his head from a high crotch single.

* I'm excited for that fight.

 

[the_interloper]

Stipe is the rightful favourite but man, they are juicy odds for DC.

DC has a massive advantage in cardio and work rate. Stipe is a very good wrestler but not even close to the same level as DC.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see DC spike Stipe on his head from a high crotch single.

**** I'm excited for that fight.

If DC can rag doll Josh Barnett he can do it to anyone I reckon.

 

[Crimson Azure]

DC has a massive advantage in cardio and work rate. Stipe is a very good wrestler but not even close to the same level as DC.

And he doesn't even have to cut. He'll likely come in around 225 and wont have any effect of what always seems to be a brutal cut for him to get to 205.

The only thing is he hasn't fought anyone as big in total size for a few years so that may be taxing. Jones was huge in height and reach but from memory memory, maybe 215-220 or a little more and Stipe is usually around 240 from memory. 10kg of muscle is a lot of human. I guess he did beat bigfoot who is an enormous human. Not a Stipe's level but a big boy.

The more I think about, the more I realise I have no idea who wins this.

 

[JG22]

Think they may be very close in the weigh ins, won’t be surprised to see DC at 235

 

[phantom13]

Stipe is a 6’4” (ish) 240-245 and he’s lean, DC is a 5’11” and doughy 225-230. I’m not saying DC can’t win it but the size discrepancy will be huge.

 

[Crimson Azure]

Stipe is a 6’4” (ish) 240-245 and he’s lean, DC is a 5’11” and doughy 225-230. I’m not saying DC can’t win it but the size discrepancy will be huge.

I think that’s seems to work for his body type. You know the old jokes about old man strength and fat man strength and so on, they usually seem to have some truth to them.

With DC being naturally strong with some additional weight to utilise may just work for him.

On another note, how did Stipe ever lose to Struve? He must have come a million miles since then.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

I just had a look at the weigh-in results from his last two fights at HW. Against Mir he came in at 235 and then against Roy he fought at 225.

From memory, there was heaps of talk about him moving down at that time and it was all but confirmed. Pretty sure he had been slimming down over those last fights.

It's will be a really big talking point in fight week.

I honestly don't think the weight will be a massive issue, because I don't anticipate offensive wrestling to be apart of Stipes game plan.

If they see the third round, the odds heavily swing in favour DC for mine and the more I think about it, the more I reckon he will be my tip.

 

[phantom13]

I just had a look at the weigh-in results from his last two fights at HW. Against Mir he came in at 235 and then against Roy he fought at 225.

From memory, there was heaps of talk about him moving down at that time and it was all but confirmed. Pretty sure he had been slimming down over those last fights.

It's will be a really big talking point in fight week.

I honestly don't think the weight will be a massive issue, because I don't anticipate offensive wrestling to be apart of Stipes game plan.

If they see the third round, the odds heavily swing in favour DC for mine and the more I think about it, the more I reckon he will be my tip.

I’d say his ability to hold defensively will be far more important. Cormier pushing him against the fence and grinding away on him, Stipe has the cardio we know that but does he have the strength (with the size advantage) to hold him out of takedowns for long enough

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

I’d say his ability to hold defensively will be far more important. Cormier pushing him against the fence and grinding away on him, Stipe has the cardio we know that but does he have the strength (with the size advantage) to hold him out of takedowns for long enough

Does he have the cardio though? Against JDS the pace was pretty high for 5 rounds, but from memory there wasn't much grappling (correct me if in wrong); against Hunt he was still going strong in round 5, but he was on top the whole time.. not exactly taxing; and then against Francis he gassed hard by round 3, but Francis gassed a lot worse.

Apart from a few 3 rounders most of his fights finish early..

On the other hand, DC has been in some of the most taxing fights of all time and at the end he was still moving forward. I feel like the cardio levels are so far apart and if DC can make him work grappling, even just defensively, Stipe will run out of gas pretty early..

I could be completely wrong though lol i think that's why this is so intriguing. A genuine super fight!

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Does he have the cardio though? Against JDS the pace was pretty high for 5 rounds, but from memory there wasn't much grappling (correct me if in wrong); against Hunt he was still going strong in round 5, but he was on top the whole time.. not exactly taxing; and then against Francis he gassed hard by round 3, but Francis gassed a lot worse.

Apart from a few 3 rounders most of his fights finish early..

On the other hand, DC has been in some of the most taxing fights of all time and at the end he was still moving forward. I feel like the cardio levels are so far apart and if DC can make him work grappling, even just defensively, Stipe will run out of gas pretty early..

I could be completely wrong though lol i think that's why this is so intriguing. A genuine super fight!

I think whoever controls the distance will win the fight. The type of fight Cormier will likely bring to Stipe will be different to what he's seen before as I don't believe he's ever taken a fight where he wasn't the superior wrestler. Having said that, I'm not even sure Cormier will be able to utilise his wrestling much as Stipe's footwork and reach means he'll be extremely hard to close the distance on. I'd lean towards Stipe just, but certainly wouldn't be surprised by Cormier winning a clinch filled fight.

The questions on Stipe's cardio have surprised me a bit. He did fade against Francis, but I think that has a lot to do with getting cracked multiple times early in the fight more than having an issue with his endurance. His cardio has looked fantastic in most of his other fights and I think it would be a focus when coming in against a grinder like Cormier.

 

[the_interloper]

Lets not forget Saki fighting again as well, really hope he can go on a tear, such a great striker to watch, I'm sure he'll be able to light up Rountree.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

I think whoever controls the distance will win the fight. The type of fight Cormier will likely bring to Stipe will be different to what he's seen before as I don't believe he's ever taken a fight where he wasn't the superior wrestler. Having said that, I'm not even sure Cormier will be able to utilise his wrestling much as Stipe's footwork and reach means he'll be extremely hard to close the distance on. I'd lean towards Stipe just, but certainly wouldn't be surprised by Cormier winning a clinch filled fight.

The questions on Stipe's cardio have surprised me a bit. He did fade against Francis, but I think that has a lot to do with getting cracked multiple times early in the fight more than having an issue with his endurance. His cardio has looked fantastic in most of his other fights and I think it would be a focus when coming in against a grinder like Cormier.

Im not saying Stipe has bad cardio.. he is elite for that at heavyweight. I just feel it's DCs biggest advantage in this contest and will be central to a victory.

I watched Stipe vs Overeem again today. Man, he got cracked hard, twice and recovered almost immediately. One thing im very confident of, DC has to be very weary when trading hands.

Im looking forward to seeing the analysis that comes out during fight week.

Also, rumours swirling Brock Lesnar will be cageside and will step in to have a face-off with the winner