#Zhabit Magomedsharipov

[thesportssoundoff]

Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Yair Rodriguez and Cub Swanson vs Renato Moicano both added to UFC 227 in August

per Lance Puigmire.

UFC 227 is lookin’ mighty fine in my eyes.

[thesportssoundoff]

“Watch This Show, Dudes” The UFC 223 preview

Joey

April 1st, 2018

Fights: 13

Debuts: 1 (Mike Rodriguez)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 (Mairbek Taisumov OUT, Olivier Aubin Mercier IN vs Evan Dunham)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 16 (Tony Ferguson, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Rose Namajunas, Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Anthony Pettis, Michael Chiesa, Al Iaquinta, Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Felice Herrig, Ray Borg, Brandon Moreno, Joe Lauzon, Evan Dunham, Alex Caceres, Artem Lobov, Bec Rawlings)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 5  (Bec Rawlings, Joe Lauzon, Chris Gruetzmacher, Alex Caceres, Artem Lobov)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  9 (Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson, Rose Namajunas, Calvin Kattar, Al Iaquinta, Paul Felder,Olivier Aubin-Mercier, Felice Herrig, Zabit Magomedsharipov)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2016 (in the UFC): 21-6

Tony Ferguson- 3-0 Khabib Nurmagomedov- 3-0 Renato Moicano- 3-0 Calvin Kattar- 2-0 Michael Chiesa- 2-1 Anthony Pettis- 2-4 Al Iaquinta- 1-0 Paul Felder- 5-1

Too High Up- Karolina Kowalkawiecz vs Felice Herrig

I get it I get it. The winner of this fight could in theory be the #1 contender given the dearth of options at 115 lbs. Karolina K has a rivalry with Joanna and a win over Rose Namajunas so she's a natural fit. Felice Herrig is not the world's most exciting fighter by any stretch of the imagination but she has a pretty sizable winning streak going and has a cult-ish following-ish out there. Here's the problem; this division doesn't produce many finishes if at all. It's a dry division when it comes to fight finishes as evidenced by its recent stretch of split decisions and so-so fights. This is the prelim headliner to get us into the PPV. You probably want a really exciting back and forth fight or a killer finish to get us into the PPV all hot and bothered. It's just not going to happen here chances are. I get putting it on the FS1 prelims but I'd prefer a different headliner.

Too Low- Zabit Magomedsharipov vs Kyle Bochniak

So let's talk about Zabit Magomedsharipov right quick. He's a really talented 145er. It would not be a stretch to suggest that Magomedsharipov right NOW is a top 10 featherweight just without the wins to prove it. He can wrestle, he's a funky flashy striker and when it's on the ground, he's just swamping dudes with ease. He hasn't been tested yet which is why Kyle Bochniak, the sort of dude who can live as a high level gatekeeper, is a great matchup for him. The problem? Magomedsharipov is not blessed with the sort of personality that sells and has no home market to go to where he's insanely marketable. Making matters worse is he's the ultimate low reward high risk for a fighter in an era where fighters are choosier than ever before. As such, he's buried on the prelims on Fight Pass. I know Magomedsharipov is a no sell type of fighter but you HAVE to at least try. Put him on FS1.

Stat Monitor for 2018: Debuting Fighters (Current number: 7-11):  Mike Rodriguez

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 7-3): Olivier Aubin Mercier

Second Fight (Current number: 9-10):

Cage Corrosion (Current number: 5-9):  Al Iaquinta

Undefeated Fighters (Current number: 12-9): Khabib Nurmagomedov

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- What is a fair buyrate for this event? This is Khabib's first shot as a headliner in any capacity (although he did co-main the NYE card) so right off the jump, we're in uncharted waters. Tony Ferguson has headlined events in the past and his first PPV fight vs a guy with no real name value did in the low 200K range. Joanna Champion as a co-main event has been apart of some major shows but without the BIG main event, she's been a comfortable support for events that do in the 300K range. This isn't the big numbers of 2015 and 2016 either so what's a fair buy rate? I'm thinking low 300Ks would be a success for this show. This is an awesome card people SHOULD be excited for. If they're not excited for it then I just dunno what to say to y'all, man.

2- On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it that Conor faces the winner?

3- What can be said of this main event? I don't think it's unrealistic to refer to Ferguson vs Nurmagomedov as the most proven pure talent fight since Garbrandt vs Dillashaw back in November. It might even blow by that fight as well. There's seriously no title fight I've been as excited for as this one; Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Tony Ferguson is the title fight that MMA fans have been waiting for for the most part since the end of 2016. Khabib vs T-Ferg features the best wrestler at 155 lbs vs the division's most compelling submission grappler. Two of the best cardio machines in the entire UFC clashing over five rounds, both with punishing styles in their own capacities. So much is made of Khabib's wrestling but the fact is that his striking on the feet is no joke either. Khabib can generate power in short distances and he's got this weird smothered forearm-y thing that he uses from time to time which does some damage (he kind of buzzed Thiago Tavares with one prior to the finish). On the other hand, Tony Ferguson is sort of the total package without the fight finishing one shit one kill power. He just overwhelms and overworks dudes with volume, intensity, a variety of attacks from a variety of different angles and a total "Not give a fuck" style of fighting. Get taken down? Whatevs. Get mounted? Whatevs. Get rocked? Whatevs. Ferguson is just one of those guys who has a tremendous belief in himself with the ability It's not entirely unrealistic to refer to this as a battle of stubborn (Khabib Nurmagomedov) vs creativity (Tony Ferguson). Khabib has a gameplan and he's going to try to implement it whereas Tony Ferguson seems like the sort of guy who ha sno idea what he plans on doing from one second to the next. He's the sort of dude who can make reads on the fly, adjust and adapt and find new ways to flummox a dude over the course of a twenty five minute fight. Making matters even more complicated is we have no idea if we've seen the best version of either guy yet.

4-  Can Ferguson get Khabib's neck ONE time and if so, is that all he'll need?

5- We know that Ferguson can get taken down. Kevin Lee, Danny Castillo, Yves Edwards all found ways to get Ferguson down even if just momentarily. He's very comfortable and adept in scrambles and I get the feeling even vs Khabib, he's not going to panic if he winds up on his back for a stretch of time. My question is----will Ferguson be willing to get taken down if it puts him in position to challenge with submissions? Against Danny Castillo, Ferguson was taken down quite a bit but always seemed to use that to chase a d'arce or a guillotine choke. If desperate, will Ferguson be willing to wrestle to try and find a submission attempt? Similarly what are Khabib's submission chops? He had opportunities I felt against Barboza to score a sub. I remember him having a shot or two against Darrell Horcher as well. Could he sub Ferguson?

6- It sounds like it was Joanna's idea to try to reclaim her title vs Rose Namajunas again. It's not the worst idea in the world but given her struggles with weight, why even risk it? You have to at least admire Joanna's heart and fighting spirit to give it another go at a weight class she's clearly uncomfortable with going forward.

7- I don't know if this is by design or what but I like the idea of using the 3rd fight on these cards to try and showcase a potential future star. It's somewhat slick; putting them in a PPV card in a high capacity spot where you can, in theory, showcase them to a new audience. It's an imperfect act that at least has some purpose behind it. Sean O'Malley at UFC 222 was a good use of the concept, same for Tai Tuivasa I suppose at 221. If the UFC website is to be believed then Dern is third on the PPV card for UFC 224 as well. Here you have Calvin Kattar, who has been ultra impressive through two UFC fights, getting the 3rd billing vs the fantastic Renato Moicano. It's a really good FW fight and with Ortega and Holloway mowing through every 145er on two legs; the winner of this fight could get a quick bump up. Moicano probably has had the most success of anybody vs Ortega so a rematch would be pretty juicy.

8- If you had to describe Anthony Pettis' legacy in one word, what would you use?

9- The UFC tends to be a pretty reactive organization when it comes to problems with fighters but some of the labor hawks they've had on their roster tend to not get much blowback. I wonder if that'll change with Al Iaquinta who by all accounts they really don't like. If he loses, it might get a touch awkward.

10- Mike Rodriguez has a lot of pressure on his shoulders after Magomed Anakaleav's failure in his UFC debut. 205 needs more guys getting their careers off on the right foot and Rodriguez can be another guy in that mix, fresh off of a 30 second DWTCS win. Trains with Joe Lauzon, has a 9-2 record and could be valuable as an East Coast attraction going forward.

11- Can somebody at 115 lbs please finish a fight? I'm not asking for too much here!

12- The failures of the likes of Elias Thoeodoru and Hakeem Dawodu turns the attention back to Olivier Aubin-Mercier as the young fighter by whom Canada turns its lonely eyes to. There's no doubt Olivier Aubin-Mercier can grapple as he's found plenty of success on the mat with four submission wins in his six UFC wins----but the problem is what happens when the grappling doesn't work. Mercier has showcased solid striking in the past but it's so infrequent and inconsistent that it's hard to really get a feel for how good he is. There's an element of panic to his game. Sometimes he doesn't respond well to pressure in his face and his first inclination is to grab at something and hope like hell the fight goes to the ground. Evan Dunham has only been submitted once in his UFC career, vs Donald Cerrone in a fight where he was pretty much dead on the feet at that point. This is a really good test for OAM.

Must Win

1- Tony Ferguson

I LOVE Tony Ferguson as a fighter and wish more people loved him. I even enjoy his stupid zany off the wall madness that he tends to produce outside of the cage. In a sport searching for guys who are "different", Ferguson is different and he's just so weird. On the other hand, it's obvious to me that the UFC doesn't see Ferguson the way I do----and perhaps the fans see him in the same spectrum the UFC does. Ferguson is not the chosen one at 155 lbs; that would be Khabib Nurmagomedov who may be the key to some Russian windfall. Ferguson is a bit like RDA; reliable and dependable but not "the guy" as the uFC attempts to find out who "the guy" at 155 lbs is. Ferguson needs to not be like every other Khabib opponent or risk the long road back that RDA had.

2- Michael Chiesa

So there's a little bit of an issue here with Michael Chiesa. Chiesa is clearly a good fighter and he's the kind of guy who can rack up win after win vs the mid levels of the division. Wins over Jim Miller, Beneil Dariush and Al Iaquinta (before he developed into the fighter he is today) suggest he can be one of the best fighters at 155 lbs. That said, every single time he gets a step up, he gets quickly checked back to base level. Losses to Masvidal, Joe Lauzon and Kevin Lee all put him back to trying to prove himself in a division where a backwards step can be a killer. THIS is the sort of fight that Chiesa has to win; it's a somewhat faded version of a guy who has become more of a struggling grappler over the past few years. This is a fight he pretty much has to win if he plans on really making a run at 155 lbs.

3- Karolina Kowalkiewicz

I really like Karolina K. I think it says a lot about you as a person if you DON'T like Karolina K. She's a fun fighter who has good action fights and has this great personality. The downside is that after wins over the likes of Rose Namajunas and Randa Markos, she lost two straight to the very good Claudia Gadelha and then champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk. She rebounded vs Jodie Esquibel but whether Esquibel is UFC quality remains to be seen at this point. Karolina gets Felice Herrig in what is on paper a UFC title contender fight.

Five Can't Miss Fights

1- Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov

2- Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Kyle Bochniak

3- Joanna Jedrzejcyk vs Rose Namajunas

4- Paul Felder vs Al Iaquinta

5- Ray Borg vs Brandon Moreno

[thesportssoundoff]

Zhabit Magomedsharipov decisions Kyle Bochniak in an amazingly fun fight

Zhabit Magomedsharipov is so much fun to watch and seeing him on a PPV may be the only great thing to come out of this weekend's bullshit. Zhabit Magomedsharipov's grappling style combined with his explosive as shit striking style reminds me so much of Anthony Pettis except his wrestling is world's better already. I figure some people are going to say things about his cardio but let's be fair; if you fight fifteen minutes throwing wild shit and flowing through transition after transition you might need a breather. On the other hand, Bochniak was buckled in and ready to through down for however long it took. His corner gave him great advice and he acted on it (for the most part) but no corner advice can overcome a serious talent gap. Great on him to make it fun and exciting though. The combinations were just so much fun to watch from both guys and that last minute of the fight is the shit of legend.

Big props.

[thesportssoundoff]

A PPV Audience is going to get to experience Zhabit Magomedsharipov

Disapprove at your own risk.

[thesportssoundoff]

Zhabit Magomedsharipov is so much fun

Just a treat and a joy.

[thesportssoundoff]

Zhabit Magomedsharipov submits Mike Santiago in the second round!

Everything and anything he wanted to do he did eve. The only thing you could possibly say was wrong was that he seemed prone to getting popped into the body but even then he adjusted to that. Spinning attacks, step in offense, quick jabs, great grappling, fucking insane RNC. Santiago is a damn fine regional fighter who probably has UFC potential and Zhabit gave him all kinds of work.

They weren’t lying about this guy. 

[thesportssoundoff]

Zhabit is fun to watch

Getting some good looks fromb oth guys, enjoying watching him put offense together.

God DAMN man he just went from a spinning wheel kick to a run up the cage Pettis style attempt. Good shit. 

[thesportssoundoff]

“A Damn Good PPV But....” The UFC 235 Preview

Joey

February 24th, 2019

The first PPV offering was a dud. A weak card on paper made weaker by Robert Whittaker's last minute pull out.  This card is world's better although it doesn't come with some risks. It's got two title fights, a main card loaded with intriguing fights, an ESPN prelim slate filled with fights that wouldn't seem out of place as UFC Fight Night headliners, the WMMA fights are intriguing and relatively well put together as well plus you have some damn good busywork at 205 and 135 lbs. Unfortunately there are some bad vibes to be picked up on given some of the matchmaking. There's a good chance this card turns into a lecture on numbers not equating good fights. Ah well. Has a Jon Jones fight ever let ya down before? Let's do some numbers and the like!

Fights: 13

Debuts: Ben Askren

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 4 (Holly Holm vs Aspen Ladd CANCELLED/Song Yadong OUT, Cody Stamman IN vs Alejandro Perez/Thomas Almeida OUT, Frankie Saenz IN vs Marlon Vera, OSP out, Johnny Walker IN vs Misha Cirkunov)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 12 (Jon Jones, Robbie Lawler, Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, Cody Garbrandt, Jeremy Stephens, Misha Cirkunov, Diego Sanchez, Mickey Gall, Tecia Torres, Diego Sanchez)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC: 1 (Tecia Torres)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 10 (Johnny Walker, Anthony Smith, Kamaru Usman, Tyron Woodley, Pedro Munhoz, Zhabit Magomedsharipov, Marlon Vera, Alejandro Perez, WEili Zhang, Frankie Saenz)

Main Card Record Since Jan 1st 2017 (in the UFC): 21-8-1

Jon Jones- 1-0-1 Anthony Smith- 5-1 Tyron Woodley- 3-0 Kamaru Usman- 5-0 Ben Askren- 0-0 Robbie Lawler- 1-1 Weili Zhang- 2-0 Tecia Torres- 3-2 Cody Garbrandt- 0-2 Pedro Munhoz- 4-1

Fights By Weight Class (yearly number here):

Bantamweight- 3 (11) Welterweight- 3 (11) Light Heavyweight- 2 (8) Women’s Strawweight- 2 (6) Women's Bantamweight- 1 (1) Featherweight- 1 (7) Middleweight- 1 (5)

Lightweight-  (12) Women’s Flyweight- (7) Heavyweight- (4) Flyweight- (4)

2019’s Records We Keepin Track Of:

Debuting Fighters (4-12): Ben Askren

Short Notice Fighters (3-5): Frankie Saenz, Cody Stamman, Johnny Walker

Second Fight (15-3):  Hannah Cifers, Macy Chiasson

Cage Corrosion (Fighters who have not fought within a year of the date of the fight) (4-6): Robbie Lawler

Undefeated Fighters (4-8): Ben Askren, Edmen Shahbazyan, Macy Chiasson

Fighters with at least four fights in the UFC with 0 wins over competition still in the organization (1-2): Mickey Gall

Weight Class Jumpers (Fighters competing outside of the weight class of their last fight even if they’re returning BACK to their “normal weight class”) (5-5): Macy Chiasson

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- I wonder if this is the best card with the highest propensity of having a bad boring no good very bad main card. Every fight on UFC 235's main card (and half of the prelims really) are compelling as shit clashes with stories to be told. You have the closest thing to a Rocky story in Jon Jones' career; the ultra dominant champion who tends to lose focus at a moments notice vs the hard luck tough guy dragging himself up through the ranks. You have a dominant contender facing a dominant champion where they stylistically could cancel each other out en route to a potentially exciting fight. Ben Askren makes his debut against either a potentially cooked or a renaissance Robbie Lawler. Weili Zhang vs Tecia Torres is a great prospect vs established ace fight. Cody Garbrandt's potential renaissance is as compelling as any fight above it. Now for the cold water; there's a chance Jon Jones carries Anthony Smith out of pity a la Glover Teix or OSP. There's a REALLY good chance Woodley vs Usman is a fight contested entirely in the clinch against the fence as Usman crashes too hard whiffing on takedowns while Woodley is content to throw one punch every 30 seconds  and clinch up. Askren vs Lawler could look a lot like Lawler's Strikeforce fights where the threat of the takedown turned him into a pensive weak pressure fighter. Tecia Torres is very hit or miss in terms of action and when she realizes she's outgunned, she shells up. The only fight I'd feel remotely comfortable in betting on action potential meeting action quality is Munhoz vs Garbrandt. Chances are this card could be QUITE disappointing for some folks.

2- How many MINUTES does Anthony Smith have to get Jon Jones' respect before Jones just decides "Okay there's nothing to be worried about here?"

3- SO I suppose if one is looking for a potential avenue for Anthony Smith, it's that he IS new in a few facets. For one, 30 year old Anthony Smith is Jon Jones' youngest opponent since a 26 year old Alexander Gustafsson back in 2013. Even if Daniel Cormier is an otherworldly athlete (seriously you don't reach the olympics without being a special athlete), you can't replicate youth and speed. Smith will at least bring those in bunches which....I mean I guess gives him something to hang his hat on. One could argue he's the best moving LHW Jones has faced when you consider that Gus looked very very shopworn in their fight. He's also very versatile offensively as every tool in his toolbox gets used and is used with a threat of finishing someone. Elbows, kicks, uppercuts, knees all backed by a decent enough grappling game (for 205 lbs) gives Smith an element of danger even if it's fleeting. He brings some of the tools Gustaffson often uses except whereas Gus is a touch and go type of striker, Smith is a high level fight finisher. It's just hard to believe anybody can really hurt Jon Jones plus we're talking about a guy in Smith who tires pretty easily if the pace isn't to his liking.

4- Maybe it's JUST me but I actually really like Smith getting the title fight, not just because he stalls for guys like Dominick Reyes and Johnny Walker to get some more work in. It's one of those things I always found kind of endearing about flyweight or HW, the path to a title shot is always JUST a run away. Imagine being one of these guys at 155 lbs who can win three fights in a row and BARELY be scratching the top 15. Anthony Smith went from middling 185er to fighting the best fighter of my era and I think that's a cool story. It's always a bit of fun when we know the lamb to the slaughter personally.

5- I was really confident Kamaru Usman would beat Tyron Woodley (basically doing what Colby Covington tends to do but way better) but the closer I get to it, the more I think that's not gonna happen. Beating Woodley requires a commitment to touching him from a safety range or smothering him in close, stifling the power he can generate on the counter right. You also have to have a competent counter wrestling game. What Usman can do well is pressure, clinch when he's concerned or confused about what to do next, chain his wrestling together and if he can get somebody down, he tends to give them plenty of problems with his output. Also we've seen him throw consistent paprika for 25 long minutes so if this turns into one HIS kinda fights then I can see him overwhelming Woodley. The problem is I don't think Usman has the fight IQ to do that intelligently for 25 minutes and I wish I had seen him hit clean enough in the past to judge and gauge his recovery skills when he's in trouble. I'm not about to squish on this though.

6- Okay so what happens if Woodley wins and then Askren wins? Do we just cancel this stupid division once and for all?

7- Two fights against TJ DIllashaw exposed some of the flaws in Cody Garbrandt's game and his break from being TAM's defender against the Dillashaw/Cruz combo is a similar enough fighter to where a coin toss pick em isn't out of the question. At the very least, I think we can bet on Cody Garbrandt having a fun fight against a like minded opponent who will probably give him plenty of avenues to pop off offensively.

8- Could Johnny Walker leapfrog Thiago Santos in the LHW WAR rankings if he finishes Misha Cirkunov?

9- I kinda wonder if Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Jeremy Stephens could've been better suited for a main event overseas. I mean if it's Volkov vs Overeem or Stephens vs Zhabit in St. Petersburg which makes more sense?

10- Macy Chiasson looked like a redeemable prospect at 145 lbs, built like a big featherweight, showcasing some damn good pressure based striking, heavy on top, big with activity on the ground and blessed with submission chops. With the division seemingly on the rocks she's made the choice to drop DOWN to 135 lbs in what should be a pretty scary looking weigh in. Chiasson gets Gina Mazany who bounces between good enough and god awful depending on what day of the week it is. I'm excited to see Chiasson back in there, assuming of course she makes the weight.

11- MARLON VERA IS BACK! My favorite bantamweight!

12- If you allow your minds to dispel cynicism, there's a lot of fun to be had between Diego Sanchez and Mickey Gall. Both guys are probably going to do some wacky grappling, Diego is not likely to take a ton of damage and Mickey Gall's love of fighting stupid should give us a few occasional glimpses of wacky Diego Sanchez action.

[thesportssoundoff]

“So how early is too early, how soon is too soon and why am I up at 4:30 AM watching China’s best fight in the UFC?” A preview of the UFC Fight Night live from Shanghai

Joey

November 19th

WHEW Boy! First and foremost, for those of y'all in the states I hope you have a kick ass Thanksgiving. Eat plenty, drink plenty if that's your thing, shop plenty on a Friday and then for those of you who are MMAddicted, you got yourself a show on Saturday morning! The UFC has tried and tried and tried and FINALLY they broke through into Shanghai! The Chinese market has been opened up and the dam has busted. Fight fans who are so interested in MMA will be greeted to QUITE the show on Thursday morning. This was set up to be Anderson Silva vs Kelvin Gastelum but drug tests ruin the best of things. To their credit, the UFC found Michael Bisping for the role and now things are humming towards a Chinese showdown. The rest of the main card pits the best of China vs two solid mid level UFC talents plus the debut of one of MMA's more exciting talents. The prelims have one FANTASTIC fight and the debut of 8 different fighters; 1 from Brazil, 1 from India and 6 from China.  Plenty of reason to get excited am I right? Guys? Guuuuuuys?

Fights: 12 (11 if they can't find a dude for Cyril Asker)

Debuts: 10 (Sheymon Moraes, Bharat Khandare, Yanan Wu, Wuliji Buren, Yan Xiaonan, Wang Guan, Muslim Salikov, Kenan Song, Yadong Song, Yan Xiaonan )

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations:  3 (Anderson Silva OUT, Michael BIsping IN vs Kelvin Gastelum/Liu Pingyuan OUT, Yadong Song IN vs Bharat Kandare, James Mulheron OUT, TBD vs Cyril Asker)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC):  3 (Michael Bisping, Alex Caceres, Kelvin Gastelum)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  4 (Rolando Dy, Cyril Asker, Bobby Nash, Kailin Curran)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Chase Sherman, Li Jingliang)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 38-30)- Sheymon Moraes, Bharat Khandare, Yanan Wu, Wuliji Buren, Yan Xiaonan, Wang Guan, Muslim Salikov, Kenan Song, Yadong Song, Yan Xiaonan

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 22-33-1)- Michael Bisping, Yadong Song

Second Fight (Current number: 25-37)- Gina Mizani, Zabit Magomedsharipov

Cage Corrosion (18-13-1)- 0

Twelve Precious Ponderings

1- I suppose we can begin with trying to piece together this Scooby Doo-esque mystery on Michael Bisping taking the fight. Anderson Silva falls out via drug test gone bad (or good depending on your view of it) and Kelvin Gastelum needs a fight for the main event. Given how vital this show is to THAT market, this is a big deal. Limited options + short notice + Visa + tough as shit opponent = trouble. Under any other circumstance this capsizes a show. The UFC's chasing an opponent for Brunson and Bisping isn't available because he's injured---right? Well according to Bisping, he reached out to the UFC and told them he was fine and ready to fight on short notice vs Gastelum. A week after fighting GSP for the title. Now there are many serious questions we all need to parse through. 1) Should Bisping be fighting? 2) What about his medical suspension? 3) What does he have to gain from this? 4) Is this too soon? Whatever the case may or may not be, you gotta at least give the parties involved some credit for somehow pulling this shit off. For my money, Bisping vs Gastelum is a far greater fight than Anderson/Gastelum.

2- On a scale of 1- Of Course, what are the odds Gastelum somehow finds a way to miss weight?

3- A lot of credit needs to go to Bisping for taking this fight. He probably made more money  than he ever has vs GSP and when most dudes would be fat and happy and ready to just take time off, he's back in there less than a month later. Not everybody loves Michael Bisping but the # of Bisping types is declining rapidly so enjoy the one we have while we got 'em.

4- At this point all I ask of Gastelum is that he doesn't beat Bisping up so badly that Michael can't retire in March in London.

5- Perhaps not enough credit is to be given to Kelvin Gastelum for basically saving his career. Gastelum completely lost track of his career at 170 lbs after missing weight and then the UFC basically told him to move up or move out. Since moving up to 185 lbs, he's 2-1 (1-1-1 in actuality but I dont think he needed WEED to beat up Vitor Belfort)  with wins over Belfort and Tim Kennedy. His sole loss was to Chris Weidman in a fight where he gave Weidman problems, dropping him before losing due to the size difference. Gastelum is in that Jake Shields category of really needing that 175 lb weight class where he can prosper. His hands have come a long, long way since TUF and he's still a killer wrestler. His grappling in my estimation has been his weak spot as he tends to get too lax on the ground (his inability to handle Magny's grappling probably cost him the fight and Weidman outworked him and submitted him). Very excited to see how he handles Bisping because Gastelum's youth, team and skill set gives him a chance to be a real find in the coming years.

6- "The Leech" Li Jingliang has had a very odd track in the UFC. He hasn't really improved but he's so strong and stubborn as a fighter that it works for him. The Leech  is never in a boring fight outside of one time where Nadine Taleb turned him into a fifteen minute grappler type. The leech just looks like a miserable sort of dude to fight; a hard headed hard hitting stubborn as shit dude who can wrestle you and ground and pound plus he's one of those guys who gets better as the fight goes on. Zack Ottow is a weird fight for him; a dude who could be undefeated in the UFC or 0-3 in the UFC depending on how you look at it. Ottow is the epitome of the "mid level veteran" who will test you but probably not beat you.

7- Wang Guan's UFC debut is surely going to be "a happening" as one would put it. Guan feels like a fighter who has been tied indirectly to the UFC for quite some time and now hes here and he draws a tough first out in Alex Caceres. Caceres speaks to how highly the UFC thinks of Guan or how lowly they think of Caceres because he's the weird mix of unorthodox, flashy and blessed with endless cardio. They might regret this booking.

8- A lot of folks are excited about the debut of Muslim Salikhov and again this is another one of those deals where youre either REALLY confident in a guy or really, really low on the person he's facing. Alex Garcia is a big rocked up 170er who has proven to be pretty durable in his fights. Not an easy fight for a dude in his debut.

9- I'm SURE they'll be a lot of people who will whine about the fact that just about everybody on the undercard is debuting.. To that, I'll offer a few simplistic retorts. 1) The prelims will start at 3 FUCKING 45 AM on a Saturday. There has NEEEEEEVER been an undercard you could avoid as easily as this one. Just SLEEP through it. 2) Consider this like an Asian TUF where the TUF guys are fighting for their jobs. Most of this undercard is debuting Asian talent trying to find a home in the UFC---chances are half of these fighters if not more will be gone before 2018 ends. Treat them as one offs. 3)   There's actually some really solid matchmaking here on the prelims. 4) Consider this,

10- Bobby Nash is a tough guy to get a handle on. He had Li Jingliang all kinds of hurt and gave Danny "Hot Chocolate" Roberts all kinds of problems as well. The problem is that if you have little head movement and a shaky chin, more often than not somebody will find it. Nash has two fights and has that "he was winning until he lost" thing going on. He takes on Kenan Song on the prelims.

11- I have not had the chance to talk up how fucking great this Sheymon Moraes-Zhabit Magomedsharipov fight but hot DAMN is it a good 'un. This should be fifteen minutes of pure standup and if it hits the ground then both guys are more than capable there as well. Magomedsharipov has big time star potential in my estimation.

12- Bharat Kandare is the UFC's first Indian born fighter (Arjen Bhullar is a Canadian of Indian heritage) but apparently this could've been a done deal a lot sooner. Per Bharat, the UFC wanted to sign him back in 2014 but SFL blocked it. Either way, I'm just glad we're getting more fighters of different nationalities in the Octagon. It's good for all of the sport!

Must Wins

1- Kelvin Gastelum

Michael Bisping's legacy is secure. Everything Bisping related is locked and set in stone. He will retire with the UFC's best strength of competition in my eyes. We're talking Silva, Belfort, GSP, Hendo twice, Luke Rockhold twice, Thales Leites, Rashad Evans, "Mayhem" Miller, Wanderlei, Chael Soonen and Cung Le all inside the Octagon. He won the title, defended it and then made a PPV payout in his loss to GSP. The guy is secure and approaching one final retirement fight. Kelvin Gastelum is going from a going ticket to an even more golden ticket in Bisping and right now Kelvin Gastelum is in his prime and only getting better. A win over Bisping and he'll have the Bisping win that has eluded other MWs. Remember that the folks who beat Bisping eventually go on to fight for the title so he is very much the golden door for the MW division.

2- Wang Guan

IF Li Jingliang is going to be THE guy in China, he would've been it by now. Wang Guan is being tasked with that role. He's been given a main card spot on the first ever show in China against a reputable opponent in Alex Caceres. At 31, Guan is not blessed with youth on his side so the sooner he can try to make a run, the better of he'll be.

3- Chase Sherman

Chase Sherman's UFC run thus far is a very complicated one. His losses are to reputable competition in Justin Ledet and Walt "The Big Ticket" Harris while his wins are to guys who are no longer in the UFC (Coultier is probably on his way out and Grabowski was sent packing). Sherman has some tools like above average athleticism and great conditioning that should make him a HW of note over time. He's also under 30 so he's rocking the trifecta.

Five Fights You Can't Miss

1-  Michael Bisping vs Kelvin Gastelum

2- Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Sheymon Moraes

3- Li Jingliang vs Zack Ottow

4- Alex Caceres vs Wang Guan

5- Bharat Khandare vs Yadong Song

[thesportssoundoff]

Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Sheymon Moraes

The real real main event

Obvious size difference is obvious but both guys are exchanging. When there's range, Moraes has a solid understanding of what Magomedsharipov is considering. He's gotten through a few times but Zhabit is just bigger and clearly stronger. Magomedsharipov catches a kick, gets the takedown and good luck, Sheymon. Dominant grappling from Zhabit.

Failed throw gives Moraes a chance and he winds up on top. He gets mount and Magomedsharipov flips him over and Moraes challenges with an armbar and then a triangle! The two are flowing and the size difference is giving Magomedsharipov a serious advantage. He's soooo smooth on the ground. Dare I say, nice and flowy. Another dominant grappling round from Magomedsharipov.

Zhabit Magomedsharipov had the chance to get on the ground and decides to let a fucking kickboxing wizard to get to his feet. That's b alls. Moraes momentarily makes him pay and then gets crunched with a spinning back fist that hurt him bad. Magomedsharipov brings it back to the mat and he just has Moraes forced to try and pick his poison. Mark Henry is shouting for Zhabit Magomedsharipov to try and finish this fight but he's not pushing it. Almsot ON CUE he snatches on an anaconda and he subs him!

Magomedsharipov is gonna be a problem at 145 lbs and Moraes will be a big addition to 135 lbs. Not AS flashy as his last fight but still a killer performance vs a good opponent.

[thesportssoundoff]

A Return To Normalcy Through Rotterdam; UFC Fight Card Preview

Joey

August 30th

So y'all ready to get back to common sense yet? If so then the MMA world gets back to doing it's usual with a card from Rotterdam, Netherlands by way of the UFC. It's a Fight Pass show which means its quality ranks somewhere between "Oh that looks intriguing" and "Oh my god what is this garbage?!" It's also been damaged by injuries up and down the build but we can get to that. The headliner is a really intriguing HW fight between former Bellator HW Alexander Volkov and UFC long timer Stefan Struve. The co-main was supposed to be a VERY intriguing on paper fight between Germaine De Randamie and Marion Reneau but GDR pulled out and so Brazilian Talita de Oliveira is tasked with taking the fight. The main card undercard stuff is blecch (Barberena vs Edwards should be dull but important and worth watching) BUT there's some very intriguing preliminary stuff worth keeping your eye on.  It's been a while so let's run through our metrics before we delve into this show:

Fights: 12? (Thibault Gouti vs Andrew Holbrook seems to be confirmed except not really except hold on except yeah except no so...)

Debuts:   7 (Mads Burnell, Talita de Oliveira, Rob Wilkinson, Aleksandr Rakic, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Mike Santiago, Abdul-Kerim Edilov)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: (Abu Azatair out, Rob Wilkinson IN vs Siyar Bahadurzada/ Germaine de Randamie out, Talita de Oliveira IN vs Marion Reneau/ Marcos Rogerio de Lima vs Sairbek Saparov cancelled/ Nick Hein out, Mike Santiago IN vs Zabit Magomedsharipov/Islam Mackachev out, Mads Burnell IN vs Michel Prezares)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 4 (Marion Reneau, Stefan Struve, Andrew Holbrook, Rustam Khabilov)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  1 (Thibault Gouti)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC: 6 (Leon Edwards, Alexander Volkov, Stefan Struve, Mairbek Taisumov, Michel Prezares, Rustam Khabilov)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 22-20)- Mads Burnell, Talita de Oliveira, Rob Wilkinson, Aleksandr Rakic, Zabit Magomedsharipov, Mike Santiago, Abdul-Kerim Edilov

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 17-21)- Rob Wilkinson, Talita de Oliveira, Mads Burnell, Mike Santiago

Second Fight (Current number: 22-25)-  Desmond Green, Felipe Silva

Cage Corrosion (8-5)- Siyar Bahadurzada, Mairbek Taisumov, Thibault Gouti

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Let's start with the main event. Along with, say, Curtis Blaydes, Francis Ngannou, Junior Albini and Justin Ledet, it's reasonable to refer to Volkov as one of the fresher faces in the HW division. He's 2-0  in the division with wins over credible names although to deem them impressive wins would probably be stretching it. On the other hand, Stefan Struve is the second longest tenured current UFC heavyweight behind JDS. He probably is what he is; a well rounded competent big guy who will never dance among the elites of the division no matter how many wins he racks up. There is a ceiling and he's just about hit it, incoming jokes about his height aside. At the same time, the same could be said about Alexander Volkov who has already won gold elsewhere, is probably maxed out in terms of his potential and his place in the MMA universe. It's a good fight but one where the only upside for the winner is getting squashed by one of the top stars in the division.

2- Does Stefan Struve finally showcase some head movement in a fight or has that horse left the barn?

3- Stipe probably fights either Cain or Ngannou, JDS is suspended for PEDs, Overeem has fought Struve before, Werdum is fighting Lewis----so who does the winner of this thing face?

4- Bryan Barberena's run since defeating Sage Northcutt; main card fight vs highly touted Warrely Alves, prelim fight against a better version of himself in Colby Covington, undercard rebound fight vs a good fighter in Joe Proctor and now a Fight Pass card fight vs really great stylistic matchup in Leon Edwards. I'm sure it's nothing personal.

5- So one of the things which has been discussed recently is the development of Leon Edwards' overall MMA game and where he can fit into the welterweight scene. Edwards has always showcased solid defensive wrestling but since his loss to Kamaru Usman, it's like he's discovered the importance of offensive wrestling as well.  We've seen his hands before but the challenge is always going to be whether he can show everything all at once (plus unleashing his usually good kicks more consistently) as he moves up the ranks. Edwards could be a sleeper at 170 lbs.

6- Mairbek Taisumov went from potentially fighting Anthony Pettis in the Spring to fighting Felipe Silva on the prelims of a Fight Pass card for no good reason other than that Pettis didn't want the fight (unless there's some VISA issue with Taisumov). MMA is harsh sometimes.

7- I wonder if people realize how good the LW and WW fights on this card are.  Even if I have zeo interest in watching Edwards vs Barberena, it's a worthwhile fight at 170 lbs given that both guys are under 30 at a division that's in need of a few new guys to freshen up the scene a little.  Darren Till vs Bojan Velikovic is a really good fight that figures to be action packed judged by Till's prior performance and Bojan's career resume of crazy action fights. At 155 lbs, Mairbek Taisumov is all action all the time and Felipe Silva had a very impressive UFC debut. Michel Prezares is starting to finish fights now plus you have a debuting fighter in Mads Burnell who will likely be a tough challenge for what Prezares likes to do. Rustam Khaiblov vs Desmond Green is a stylistic nightmare (two cardio heavy wrestlers) but both are deserving of their plaudits plus they have enough other tools to not be completely one dimensional. Ignore the fight between Thibault Gouti and Andrew Holbrook for a second because it's kinda trash.

8- Mike Santiago fought on the Dana White Tuesday Night Contender's Series last Tuesday at 155 lbs. He'll travel to Rotterdam to fight a top level prospect in Zabit Magomedsharipov at 145 lbs. MMA, again, is fucking harsh.

9- Marion Reneau vs Talita de Oliveira is primarily interesting if only to see how long it takes Reneau to get the job done. She is at times a play with her food type fighter.

10- I wonder if the UFC will mention the ties that Abdul-Kerim Edilov's ties to the Chechen dictator? Can't really run from it, ya know?

11- Bojan Mihajlovic and Thibault Gouti on the same card oh lord help us.

12- With Brian Stann likely stepping out and new commentators possibly stepping up, I wonder if Dan Hardy will up his game?

Must Wins

Alexander Volkov

You can say plenty of things about Stefan Struve but one thing you can't say is that he loses to nobodies. His worst loss is probably Jared Rosholt but just about every fighter who has beat him has either been in a #1 contender fight or fought for the title. Struve's fought two former UFC champs (JDS and Miocic) plus guys who fought for the title like Overeem and Hunt. Volkov is 28, he's well rounded, he's got size to him and he fights in a division where your ability is your activity. A win over Struve and the doors are wide open.

Darren Till

We know this shit is said all the time BUT the UK is going to need new faces eventually.  Darren Till, despite training/living out in Brazil, can be one of those guys given his youth, skill set and his size. After gassing out hard vs Nicholas Dalby, Till took some time off, healed up, missed weight (:/) and returned to put on a really impressive display of skills vs Jessin Ayari. Bojan Velickovic is a different animal entirely, simply a much better fighter than Ayari plus a tougher stylistic matchup. This is a good test for Till.

Mairbek Taisumov

If Mairbek Taisumov was Glenn Johnson, he'd be headlining an event at this point. That's not to suggest that the UFC is holding him back because he's Russian but to point out that no big name wants to fight some unknown Russian dude who seemingly only fights, suspiciously, in the UK these days. Taisumov is a fantastic striker with other aspects of his game rounding out but he needs this win vs Felipe Silva because at some point a dude who has finished five fights in a row will be due for a big step up.

Five Fights You Shouldn't Miss

1- Mairbek Taisumov vs Felipe Silva

Mairbek Taisumov has finished four fights in a row, he's gotten two 50K bonuses in a row, and he's fighting an unheralded Brazilian who finished his UFC debut vs a good striker. That's all ya need really.

2- Leon Edwards vs Brian Barberena

This may not be a pretty fight but it's a divisionally relevant fight with implications on the UK fight scene. If Edwards turns out to be what we all figure he CAN be then maybe the UK has a new top 10 WW to get really excited about.

3- Alexander Volkov vs Stefan Struve

Two stand up strikers at a division where one punch can end the night for both guys? I mean it should be fun. Struve is almost always fun.

4- Francimar Barroso vs Aleksandr Rakic

I would never ever ever ever suggest a Framcimar fight BUT Aleksandr Rakic is a really intriguing 205 lb fighter under 30 years old. We know that division needs help so let's see if he's a guy who can do something.

5- Zhabit Magomedsharipov vs Mike Santiago

Mark Henry, Frankie Edgar and Eddie Alvarez have all raved about Zhabit so his UFC debut is of some interest to me. More importantly I wanna see how Mike Santiago looks after fighting a week ago at 155 lbs.