#this also bout the polish and brazilian one now i fucking guess

[cant-get-no-worse]

Funny how after the most boring, eventless, dragging international game you can think of I’ll still find a way to praise the losers from my club like yeah, visca your country or whomever. that one pass you did? would put Messi and De Bruyne to retirement. you warmed that bench like no other bitch. my magnificent boys, jewells of my club, pride of my eyes, you best think imma spam those pics of you and your international europa league or whatever. anyway come home xoxoxo

[thesportssoundoff]

UFC At A Glance: October Edition

Joey

September 27th, 2017

Heavyweight

Fights Scheduled: 4

Theme Of The Month: Someone's gotta stand out

Ranked Fighters: 2 (Derrick Lewis and Fabricio Werdum)

Four heavyweight fights booked. Of those eight fighters, four are coming off losses, two are coming off of wins and two are making their debuts. With Stipe Miocic in almost a Mikey Garcia type hold out while he negotiates a new deal, there isn't much movement for the HW division. Making matters more complex, JDS and Josh Barnett are out with PED test failures, Overeem is hurt, Cain is ALWAYS hurt and Francis Ngannou is just kind of in limbo. The next title contender isn't going to come from any of these fights but somebody has to stand out and make a name for himself. The always enigmatic Fabricio Werdum has lost his finishing touch seemingly after finishing Mark Hunt and Cain Velasquez in 2014 and 2015. You can't shame a guy for losses to Overeem and Miocic but the steam on his career turnaround seems pretty much gone. Derrick Lewis has come a long way since being the guy who was finished by Shawn Jordan with wins over Roy Nelson, Travis Browne and Gabriel Gonzaga to name a few. At the end of the day, Lewis' "lose until you win" style fell apart vs Mark Hunt as he was gassed out and then retired only to unretire. It's a good fight on paper but with two wild cards emotionally, there's no telling what we're getting. The rest of the month is just there although I still think Will "The Big Ticket" Harris has some upside (3-2 in his UFC return with 3 TKO finishes). If he wins, it'll be pretty. If he loses? Woof.

The key fight: Derrick Lewis vs Fabricio Werdum  (UFC 216/October 7th)

This is a really important fight, a really interesting stylistic clash and a good example of card depth as it could probably headline a free show. The problem is that who knows what you'll get out of Werdum who has looked so disinterested recently. Derrick Lewis has the capability to finish just about anybody he faces but he's so often listless and I think by his own admission Lewis would admit he's kind of sort of not a guy who really enjoys fighting. It could be great OR it could suck.

Key Debut: Adam Wieczorek (Fight Night: Cerrone vs Till in Poland/October 21st)

Maybe it was  a cosmic sign that Wieczorek went from making his debut in Anaheim in July to making it at home in Poland. He's an under 30 HW who beat the guy who beat Francis Ngannou and has only gone to a decision win; a decision loss in his SECOND fight ever to UFC HW Marcin Tybura.

Light heavyweight

Fights Scheduled: 2

Theme Of The Month: Who Cares?

Ranked Fighters:  1 (Jimi Manuwa)

I mean think of a top 5 in your head. Just sit and really focus on a top 5 for the 205 lb division. Done it? Okay here's mine:

1) Jon Jones- Suspended after his latest bout with his own stupidity/recklessness/carelessness/arrogance.

2) Daniel Cormier- Probably out into 2018?

3) Alexander Gustafsson- Fought in May, MIA as of right now, seems to be balking at a Volkan fight

4) Volkan Oezdemir- Apparently sitting around and waiting for a fight

5) Jimi Manuwa- Maybe fighting in Poland, maybe boxing David Haye off in Carajo Land.

205 lbs is trying to develop some new names and faces but that takes time. In the mean time, who cares really? Until DC is back and until Gus is found and until we know what's up with Jones and until Shogun's knees are cleared up, I mean who can really care? Come on up Weidman and Rockhold, we're waiting on you guys! So we're lost, confused and perplexed at 205 lbs and we've only got two fights in October to keep us busy. One of which may not actually happen depending on Manuwa's schedule.

Key Fight: Devin Clark vs Jan Blachowicz (Fight Night Cerrone vs Till, October 21st)

I mean it speaks to the state of this division where Jan Blachowicz is in a key anything. Blachowicz has lost 4 out of his last 5 fights (!) although he gave Pat Cummins all kinds of problems before he gassed out down the stretch. Ignoring Blachowicz for a second, Devin Clark is a pretty nifty fighter worth keeping an eye on. He's 27 years old and his sole UFC loss came at MW. Since then, he's 2-0 with improvement in both fights at 205 lbs. He's going to be tasked with killing the territory vs Blachowicz in Poland.

Key Debut: Whoever winds up fighting Jimi Manuwa in Poland (Fight Night Cerrone vs Till, October 21st)

I mean....duh? I guess

Middleweight

Fights Scheduled: 6

Theme Of The Month: Creating A Pecking Order

Ranked Fighters: 3 (Derek Brunson, Thales Leites and Thiago Santos)

The middleweight division has long since been the butt of the jokes in the UFC. To deny that would be foolish. Michael Bisping as champion kills its credibility for plenty of people and it's not my job to convince you that such a snarky attitude is the wrong one to have. Instead I'll just state that the division HAS seen a bit of a turnaround recently. More and more we're seeing more younger exciting middleweights emerge and the top of the division seems to be getting its ass back in gear. Robert Whittaker has the chance to be a potential star over time. Kelvin Gastelum hasn't disappointed as the addition to the room. An influx of European fighters gives us some new names and faces to discuss.  Middleweight will never have the quality assurance that a fight from 145 to 170 lbs has but of the bigger weight classes, I think we're seeing some growth here. Things are kind of turning around and October is a pretty good month for middleweights.  The big fight is a headline bout between Lyoto Machida after a PED related layoff and Derek Brunson who got back in the winner's circle after KO-ing a grandad shortly after losing a decision to a granddad. Even though he totally froze vs Anderson Silva, Brunson's come a long way since being labeled a boring wrestling out of Strikeforce. He's finished five of his last six fights plus his only losses in the UFC are to the two guys who fought for the MW title in July plus a legend. He's not a bad fighter and well worthy of going out of your way to see. Beyond that, you have two debuting middleweights on the Poland card who are worth keeping an eye on, two middle of the pack fights at MW including a fucking war and a half with Thiago Santos vs Jack Hermansson. Throw in a quality veteran vs veteran fight in Thales Leites vs Brad Tavares and it ain't half bad at all!

Key Fight: Lyoto Machida vs Derek Brunson

It can't be lost on anybody that the last we saw Machida, he was getting smelted by the likes of Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold. He remains a fixture in Brazil for the UFC and while he's not the fighter he used to be, I gotta admit there's some fights I'd love to see Machida take at 185 AND 205 lbs. Brunson is an intriguing test because Machida historically has eaten up guys like Brunson before. If he struggles vs Brunson, it'll speak to not just how much better Brunson has gotten but also how far Machida's fallen.

Key Debut: Oskar Piechota

The youth is on the side of Piechota as a 24 year old middleweight. If you've watched some of Piechota (and he has a Cage Warriors fight on FP you can scope), the guy has crazy power in his strikes. The most obvious question is why a great young Polish fighter didn't wind up in KSW but hey, UFC's gain I guess.

Welterweight

Fights Scheduled: 5

Theme For The Month: The Haves Vs the Have Nots

So let's take a quick peek at the top 10 right quick:

1) Stephen Thompson- 34 years old, coming off a loss, fought Tyron Woodley twice. 2) Demian Maia- 39 years old, coming off a loss, fought Tyron Woodley. 3) Robbie Lawler- 35 years old, coming off a win, fought Tyron Woodley 4) Jorge Masvidal- 32 years old, coming off a loss 5) Rafael Dos Anjos- 32 years old, two fight winning streak 6) Donald Cerrone- 34 years old, two fight losing streak 7) Carlos Condit- 33 years old, two fight losing streak, fought Tyron Woodley 8) Colby Convington- 29 years old, four fight winning streak 9) Santiago Ponzinibbio- 31 years old, five fight winning streak 10) Neil Magny- 30 years old, Coming off a loss

So as you can tell, there's a lot of talent but also a lot of dead weight floating around. Woodley at the helm means you've got some hard sells so you need a few fighters who can step up and generate some excitement at 170 lbs. Of the five fights scheduled for this month, it features two intriguing "young vs old" matches in the 170 lb division which could go a long way. At least top 10 wise, Colby Convington vs Demian Maia is the more interesting clash. Covington is a tough dude to figure out; while Mike Perry gets most of the heat for being a prickly personality, Covington's had his share of issues as well. Covington has gotten some social media buzz despite his lackluster fighting style and he's on a run going up against the best BJJ expert in the 170 lb division. Beyond that you have a tremendous fight between Donald Cerrone vs Darren Till which will be a really really great five round that could give us a new UK/Brazillian star if he can beat Cerrone. Give me that fight for sure. Beyond that, there's some mid level regional-y fights but on the Brazilian card is Elizeu Zaleski. The UFC sort of stumbled upon Zaleski on short notice as a replacement vs Nicholas Dalby and since that loss (where most felt he won), Zaleski has gone onto win three in a row with two of those being fight of the night worthy. He faces Max Griffin who flunked out on TUF but was a regional finisher who has gone 1-1 thus far in what should be a fantab fight.

Key Fight: Donald Cerrone vs Darren Till (UFC Fight Night: Till vs Cerrone; October 21st)

I don't really think I need to sell this much. Donald Cerrone has gone up in weight and he's been successful but there's been some cracks in the armor recently. Maybe a very long fight career is beginning to weigh on him or maybe going up in weight is too much for him but Cerrone's looked troubled vs Masvidal, Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler recently. Now even HAVING SAID THAT, he could be 2-1 in those fights. Darren Till has looked fantastic since coming back from injury and his size, length and skills give him a damn good shot at beating Cerrone. At the same time, Donald Cerrone is BY FAR the absolute best fighter Till has ever faced and Till has struggled at times with pacing before.

Key Debut: 0

Lightweight

Fights Scheduled: 7

Theme For The Month: A Down Month For The World's Best Division

Ranked Fighters: 4 (Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson, Beneil Dariush, Evan Dunham) PS: How is Francisco Trinaldo not ranked?

I've long since made the argument that it's hard to find a bad fight in the lightweight division.  I stand by that although I have to admit, this month might be pushing it a little. The key is that the top of the helm pits one of the best lightweight fights possible; a clash between the over the top great Tony Ferguson taking on grappling savant Kevin Lee for the interim lightweight title. While we'd all prefer Khabib vs Tony Ferg or Gaethje vs Ferguson, you gotta accept what you get and move on. Ferguson vs Lee is literally one of the top 5 fights you could do at 155 lbs; a perfect test of whether Ferguson can face a multi faceted guy who can cancel out his greatest strengths (squirrely wrestling) and for Lee, it's the perfect test of whether or not he can go five rounds vs a freakish athlete who can attack from a multitude of angles. On the same card, you've got an on paper good fight between Beneil Darisuh and Evan Dunham plus busted signing Will Brooks vs Nik Lentz and slumping prospect Lando Vannata.  After that? It's not...it's not what what you'd want even if the fights are fine. Jim Miller vs Francisco Trinaldo should be very entertaining at the very least in Brazil.

Key Fight: Tony Ferguson vs Kevin Lee (UFC 216; October 7th)

I mean it's a fucking great fight over fight rounds and chances are this is the guy who is your long term champ after Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor retire.

Key Debut: 0

Featherweight

Fights Scheduled: 3

Theme For The Month: Slow Month

Ranked Fighters: 0

I would be flabbergasted, stunned and gobsmacked if you told me there were more HW fights this month than featherweight fights but there ya go, reality strikes on ya. For some reason wikipedia has Duquesnoy vs Stamman at FW but every other site has them at bantamweight so I don't need think that's accurate. Beyond that? Well Poland has Artem Lobov vs Andre Fili which should be fun I guess. Josh Emmett vs Felipe Arantes is a weird fight where a 155er is facing a 135er in what should be an interesting-ish fight. Hacran Dias vs Jared Gordon is really interesting I suppose because Gordon is a capable regional FW trying to find his way in the UFC and Dias is on a slump. So yeah, a down month.

Key Fight: Artem Lobov vs Andre Fili (UFC Fight Night; Cerrone vs Till; October 21st)

At this point, we all gotta be tired of Andre Fili's continuous flops and faux pas in the UFC. He's very talented wrestler who is developing as a striker----but I feel like he's totally lost his stride since coming to the UFC. His win vs Hacran Dias seems like he's going to get his shit together but Chris Kattar put a poo poo to that. Lobov is one of those guys custom made for Fili but I'd be petrified to bet money on him.

Key Debut: Josh Emmett (UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs Till; October 21st)

I mean he's going into the weight class! THAT is a debut!

Bantamweight

Fights Scheduled: 5

Theme For The Month: LET'S GO BOYZ

Ranked Fighters: 3 (John Lineker, Pedro Munhoz and Rob Font)

Of ALL the weight classes, THIS is the one to be really excited about this month. There's but five fights but each fight is really, really intriguing in its own way. We can start at UFC 216 where Tom Duquesnoy, one of the best prospects in MMA today, returns to try and stake his claim in the division. Duquesnoy draws Cody Stamman, a pretty solid regional fighter who debuted on short notice at 145 lbs but seems to be dropping down to 135 lbs. It's a great test for FireKid as he could be the biggest thing in Europe potentially. Moving to Poland, Damian Stasiak returns to the cage to take on Brian Kelleher in a solid regional fight between two grapple happy dudes with limited athleticism. THEN we go to Brazil and fuck me we've got some god damn good fights. We can start with Augusto Mendes vs Boston Salmon where Mendes has struggled in the transition from superstar prospect to UFC fighter, albeit with some caveats. We're talking about a guy who took on  Cody Garbrandt on short notice and gave problems to Frankie Saenz and Aljamain Sterling for cripes sake. Boston Salmon is one of the top prospects in MMA with one of the best/worst names ever. On the main card, we've got two AMAZING fights worth discussing as John Lineker returns to take on the uplifting story of Marlon "Chito" Vera. Vera's been a freakishly athletic raw prospect and we all know what Lineker brings to the table as a power brawler. I'm all about this. Pedro Munhoz vs Rob Font is a fucking AWESOME fight as both guys are known for exciting wacky fights. Font seems to have recovered mentally from struggling vs John Lineker to finish two fights and rack up some bonus money while Pedro Munhoz is really beginning to hit his stride. Long story short, this is a fucking hot month for BW action.

Key Fight: Tom Duquesnoy vs Cody Stamman (UFC 216; October 7th)

There are more meaningful fights, namely every single fight on the Brazil card. There are more amusing fights, again also on the Brazil card. At some point though the UFC is going to need a new European star to replace McGregor in time. Tom Duquesnoy has that ability; a young good looking striker with high upside and that "Woah!" potential to his name.

Key Debut: Cody Stamman

Again, he's dropping down in weight at least!

Flyweight

Fights Scheduled: 4

Theme Of The Month: Protected History

Ranked Fighters: 3 (John Moraga, Mighty Mouse, Ray Borg)

There's not much quantity here but there IS quality. We can begin with Mighty Mouse and Ray Borg and MM is the best today. Ray Borg's just a guy really but he has some skills to at least give Mighty Mouse a moment's notice. Deiveson Figueiredo vs Jarred Brooks in Brazil is a really great fight on the undercard pitting two unheralded flyweights against one another on the prelims. There's some Ray Borg weight snafu protection as well with Magomed Bibulatov vs John Moraga on the prelims.

Key Fight: Mighty Mouse vs Ray Borg (UFC 216; October 7th)

There's only three WMMA fights this month and neither is particularly relevant (unfortunately!) so there's really no point in discussing those I don't feel.