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The UFC 287 Main Event Was Somewhat Surprising

Although I wasn't rooting for Izzy myself, his winning by second-round knockout, was definitely in the realm of bizarre possibilities. He rocked Periera in the first fight, and he has more experience under his belt. Now, when Adesanya made it to the second round I questioned myself how in the hell he'd be able to stop Pereira without dragging the fight all the way out and being perfect for 25 minutes,. And I immediately thought that whoever faints the most wins. But Pereira was also a kickboxer, he knows that shit, as well.

Watching Pereira fight anyone is scary. It's just a matter of time before he finishes it. But I think we all know that Izzy has won and lost tons of championships. It doesn't matter that Pereira knocked him out twice, Israel has the edge in experience when it comes to MMA. And honestly, I wasn't really sure what to expect after the first round. Izzy was winning the first fight for 23 minutes. And then he lost. Trying to get the decision against someone like Alex isn't a safe path to victory. 

But seemingly out of nowhere, Izzy backs up from their exchange in the middle of the cage all the way to the fence. Pereira obviously follows him and pressures him and starts teeing off. But unlike the first fight, he isn't really tagging Izzy. And then Izzy peeks out and hits Alex so hard that he stumbles back. And then as Alex is raising back up from getting rocked, Izzy hits him again and Alex falls onto the canvas. Izzy mounts him to go for the hammer fist, but it is clear that Pereira is already completely out.

I was halfway expecting Israel to drag the shit out to a decision by avoiding Pereira's left hand. But nah, this man stepped into the fire and went back to the same position that he lost the first fight in.

And instead of losing again, he fucking knocked out Pereira this time. 

This shit is so smooth, it feels scripted.

On further reflection, this was probably one of my favorite moments of watching MMA. I don't think I ever screamed as loud as I did when Izzy knocked out Pereira. I remember being on the edge of my seat the whole time during their first fight, waiting for a whole five rounds for Izzy to take that left hand and fall down. So this time I had that same tension. 

But Izzy pulled out the one damn thing I knew he could. Experience. Why in the flying fuck would someone repeatedly and intentionally back themselves up against the cage? And when Pereira got hit the first time, it's like time slowed down. And then Izzy hit him again and mounted him and I was about to fall off the couch. And I couldn't help but yell. I think I yelled for like a whole two or three minutes.

I was rooting so hard for Usman to get his belt back and he just couldn't do it. So seeing Pereira out cold on the fucking canvas was somewhat cathartic. I like Pereira. I think we all do. You can't not like him. He's a freak of nature with a death touch and he was a massive talent in his sport. Everyone loves those guys. Then he comes over to MMA and beats the reigning champion. Alex is a fucking badass. 

But he damn near lost the fight and I will maintain that from the second round onward Izzy fought like a jackass. That said I did get a vibe of "This guy is a fucking amateur and I wasn't taking him seriously last time" from Izzy. 

And Alex was motherfucking out. It looked really bad. There are just so many things to take away from that still of him unconscious on the canvas. One, that motherfucker is freakishly large, and two, he's old. He stayed out for a good ten to fifteen seconds. I don't like seeing that shit. He shouldn't be fighting again until at least November or December.

 

Fighters I'm Looking Forward to Watching

Editors Note: I meant to publish this prior to UFC 287 and fucking forgot. The content is still up to date for the most part, so I'm publishing it now. To be proofread and revised. 

I get accused of being a casual MMA fan quite frequently. And honestly I understand the accusations. But, it's not that I'm a casual, I catch every PPV, and almost every card. It's that I've only been watching MMA for a year and a half. And there's a difference between researching the history of a sport, and actually watching it unfold live. 

Let me explain further.

Now that I follow MMA and give a shit about it, I actually pay more attention to the narratives around the fights. But the thing is no matter what, I can't experience all of the stuff the same way by rewatching fights that have already happened. 

For example, If I already knew that Alex Pereira was going to TKO Izzy when I watched UFC 281 (which I kinda did, but that's beside the point), I wouldn't have given a flying fuck about what I was watching. But I was gripped by every fucking aspect of the fight. Every punch that landed, every kick that was loud enough to hear. Every time someone slightly looked they were getting dropped. I was glued to everything that was going on. And we know why. Izzy had been champion for years and had completely cleared the fuck out of the middleweight division. But he couldn't win at light-heavyweight. His entire game plan was nullified by someone because they were bigger than him. And there was all the complaints about every defense being a lackluster point fight. 

And here came his Kryptonite. A massive kickboxing double champion, that could knock people out wihh one punch. In fact, he beat Izzy twice already, and the last time he knocked him out and retired him from the sport. He'd already knocked out a ranked fighter. This guy was the perfect person to dethrone Izzy and get the middleweight division back to exciting sluggers, instead of embarrassing snoozefests. He was as big as a light-heavyweight (the only loss of Izzy's career was at that weight). And he could close the distance and hit Adesanya. And he could also knock you out with one untelegraphed punch. I knew it was Izzy's time when he rocked Pereira in the first round, and the dude was still standing two rounds later. But I didn't actually know for certain. That was the fun of it. Watching all of these questions being answered live from my TV.

Now if someone were to have started watching MMA in January of this year, all they'd know about the Izzy vs. Pereira fight is that Izzy lost his belt. It doesn't really mean much. It already happened.

I've only just recently moved into the former category. So I understand when people don't like my takes or tell me I don't understand MMA, or call me a casual over and over again. So I figured it made sense to talk at length about the little MMA I have watched, and the shit I'm excited for in the future.

Of course, I'm heavily looking forward to Masvidal vs. Burns, this weekend. I think that Masvidal is going to get battered and submitted. It is not going to be good. I'm honestly looking forward to how the entire welterweight title picture will slip and slide this year.

Charles Oliveira

His next fight is going to be up against a tested veteran with insane submission skills. He's already beaten the shit out of the other top-two-ranked guys. Before his belt was stolen he was on an insane streak of submissions, that made him look like a monster. I love when he'd get slightly tapped and then would fall onto the canvas on his back waiting for his opponent to get on the ground, like he was hurt. 

And the way he fights is captivating.  Watching Charles fight is a display in the Art of Eight Limbs. He's like a whirlwind of action, throwing knees, kicks, elbows, and punches from every direction. I call it "Octopus-Style" fighting. And once he gets the fight to the ground, he's lightning-fast in his submission attempts. He's the epitome of a badass fighter in my mind.

When I first got into MMA, Charles was the lightweight champion, and everyone was raving about how stacked that division was. So naturally, I started seeing him as the baddest man in the sport. And honestly, I still do. Unless losing the belt has seriously messed with his head, he's going to be a tough nut to crack for anyone who steps in the cage with him. Anyone that can beats him will definitely shine brightly in the MMA world.

Alex Pereira Against Anyone That Isn't Israel Adesanya

He's got that monster left hook. And now he's knocked out the fucking champion and may do it again. Watching him fight is like watching a horror movie. You just hope and pray for his opponent to be able to stop him from getting close enough to hit them. But you just know every time, he's going to hit him them on the chin and it's going to immediately be over. 

I don't know or care or understand whether Izzy can beat Alex. It wouldn't seem likely that he's going to out of nowhere stop this double-champion in his former sport, who's already beaten him three times. And I also really think Izzy doesn't give a flying fuck on a rolling donut about the belt anyway.

Clearly, he's trying to collect all six Infinity Belts, and he already has his UFC stone.

But I also think the division will suffer if Izzy wins and doesn't rematch him again later on. And also in that scenario who the fuck else does Izzy fight? He's already ran through everyone in the division. He obviously can't win at light-heavyweight. He's too big to move to welterweight. Maybe Khamzhat will get a title shot? Izzy winning honestly would mess up the middleweight division's progress. 

But speaking of Khamzhat - 

Khamzat Chimaev

I understand that as an athlete (especially from a restrictive country like Chechneya) you have to maintain a distinct image and promote yourself. And being Chechneyan, you're not in this to just win a belt and go home. You're out here to somehow try to literally prove that your country has the best fighters in the entire world every single time that you step in front of a camera. I can understand the need to maintain an image. 

But it's just that this image is obviously fake. This guy is not crazy and not stupid enough to literally fight anyone, anywhere just so his ass can get arrested, deported, and likely worse. He's not some Chechneyan mobster who made it to the big leagues and can't contain himself. 

Or maybe he is... 

Either way, he's never underperformed. For all his antics about wanting to fight everyone, and not committing to one division, Khamzat has destroyed all but one of his opponents. I honestly don't think he'd continue to keep doing that at welterweight, but at middleweight I'm unsure. And he could definitely viably compete at light-heavyweight. 

I honestly don't care, win or lose, I'm interested in seeing how whoever stops him, stops him. Because he's definitely getting stopped before he touches a belt. 

Magomed Ankalaev

He ran through the light-heavyweight division and beat the former champion Jan Blachowicz. This is the guy that should fight Jiri Procházka and whoever eventually gets the title. He's the light-heavyweight number-one contender until Jiri gets back. I'd argue that Jiri should fight him first. But ultimately no matter what happens, whether he fights Jamahal Hill for the title or further down the line, whether he fights Jiri for the title or not, or whether he can continue to beat the fuck out of whoever the hell manages to climb up the light-heavyweight ranks, this guy is a helluva fighter. And I'd argue that he's the real light-heavyweight champion. 

Francis N'Gannou

Honestly, it's looking like this dude is going to negotiate himself into being retired. But he's Francis N'Gannou. If he goes to Bellator, he's going to take that motherfucking belt from Ryan Spann, easily.  If he goes to PFL, there's no one to really challenge him. He can go to RIZIN and do super-fights until he retires. He can get this boxing shit underway and contribute to the MMA striking vs. boxing debate. I'd love it if Jon Jones loses/vacates/gets stripped of the title, and Francis is still out there somewhere tearing through people. 

Also, it's Francis N'Gannou. 

Francis is just genuinely fucking scary, without having two human off-switches for haands. He is absolutely huge and has the physique of a superhero, he's from the bad part of Africa and he literally bled, sweat, and cried to get to Western Civilization. 

The man has talked about climbing over barb-wire fences, hiking through the desert, and having to trek through the forest eating out the garbage to get to America. With the life he's had, Francis could be 350 pounds, working at McDonald's and chainsmoking Marlboro's, and still be one of the scariest people on the planet. But he's a fucking professional fighter and an endurance athlete. 

I can't think of any other heavyweight in the world that should fight him. And unless Francis falls off, if someone beats him, that'll be the next guy to watch.

Anyone with the Last Name Nurmagomedov

I can't rely on my strategy of relying on anyone from the country of Dagestan to deliver my stellar MMA. So my new strategy is to invest my time in the tried and tested Nurmagomedov camp.

But there's indeed a catch. With Khabib gone, it's entirely possible that his affiliates will suffer horribly. I don't want to see that. I don't want to see Umar show up drunk to a press conference and misses weight and lose. I don't want to see Usman gas out and forget how to strike. That will probably turn me into a jaded MMA fan. I saw Islam gas out and be incapable of submitting a smaller man. I can't help but wonder whether this is because Khabib is gone. It's 95% likely that it isn't but I don't know yet.

And that's my point about the difference between being an MMA fan and just casually paying attention to it. I wouldn't give a flying fuck about any of the Nurmagomedov's if I'd never seen Khabib absolutely maul everyone get fought. 

Christian Lee

I don't know much about this motherfucker, but I do know he was the Lightweight One FC Champion, lost his belt, and then beat the FLYING FUCK out of the guy who took his belt in the rematch. It looked like he was fighting some amateur off of Streetbeefs or PFL. That's the kind of story I like to see in MMA. If Usman knocked Leon out in the second round in their rematch, I'd have loved it. If Valentina gets a rematch and knocks out whoever the hell just beat her, I'd love it. If my boy, Reinier De Ridder can come back and reclaim his heavyweight belt, I'd love it. 

The point is that Christian Lee did some cool shit and he looked cool, so now I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Though as an aside, I'm genuinely starting to wonder if ONE has some fight-throwing issues because every other card a top contender or a champion gets his ass absolutely whooped. Dudes on unrealistically long winning streaks will all of a sudden lose so badly it's like they've only fought in their cousin's backyard. The talent gaps can't be that damn large. Maybe ONE just likes booking mismatched fights. If Christian Lee falls off after this, I'm not watching anymore ONE FC until they sign Ciryl Gane in four years.