Good day to you fellow Sports aficionados, as you noticed, it's been pretty calm lately on the blockchain sea, I wanted to take a week break and eat some Cheetos, but I won't miss out on an opportunity to talk about this incredible title lightweight bout, between two well deserving contenders, that will hopefully make Khabib Nurmagomedov (I can't believe I didn't need to spellcheck that) out of retirement.
Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira are next in line to get a shot at the gold, in a stacked division where nobody is safe.
On the same card, Tony Ferguson is doing us the honour to come back from his recent losses against Beneil Dariush, and it will give him a chance to showcase his top tier skills, though I believe the Iranian/American fighter won't be a walk in the park. Even the prelims will be entertaining, with the return of Jacare Souza, Lando Vannata, Edson Barboza and the dude that nobody is talking about, but should, Jordan Wright.
Lightweight·Main event
Charles Oliveira (30 - 8 - 0 1N) vs Michael Chandler (22 - 5 - 0)
Every time I write a preview, I normally have a bunch of notes, bios, videos, where I study the fighters before making my opinion, to discover who has a chance to win the fight.
This time around, I could really talk about this main event, eyes closed and freestyle for hours about it.
I am actually gonna enjoy, taking my time while writing this preview, because I have been waiting for a fight of this magnitude for a long time.
You need to understand, Khabib Nurmagomedov was the uncontested, undisputed, king of the division, before going into retirement, and left a gap that will never be replaced. That being said, life goes on, and there are still incredible potential matchups at bay, Chandler and Oliveira is one of them.
Chandler's Path to Greatness
If you want to understand, the road that Michael Chandler took to get a well deserved title shot, say no more, our friend MixedMollyWhoppery made an incredible video, that Chandler's himself commented on:
Michael Chandler isn't your average fighter. and possess a work ethic that is solely responsible for his current success: Incredible wrestling background (four–time NCAA Division I qualifier) with more than a 100 wins, Strikeforce competitor, Bellator MMA champion (twice), and by far one of the fittest, dedicated fighter to have entered the octagon.
At 35 years, he waited for this moment to show his elite skills in the UFC, for a very, very long time. He is probably the example of what patience and resilience can make you accomplish, given the right push by fate.
His UFC debut, was one of the most impressive win for a newcomer, especially against a fierce striker in the like of Dan Hooker ranked 6th at the time:
Almost make you forget that Chandler isn't a striker, when you witness such a fluidity, and power in one punch. Truth is, Dan was expecting a take down, and kept his hands low, not expecting a haymaker to send him to "Lalaland", it happened so fast...
The man that Michael is fighting, is another very deserving title contender, and we're about to discover his journey.
Charles Oliveira's Path to Greatness
Some fighter's path to gold take a little bit longer than others, for Charles, it took 11 years, and 27 fights in the UFC for getting a title shot.
If you want to understand in which area Charles excels, it's simple, he is good everywhere. Of course, as a BJJ 3rd degree black belt, rest assured that most of his opponents focus on defending his snappy attacks from the back, his rear naked chokes, guillotines, and anacondas. I truly think that Charles has been victim of his own mastery on the ground, which cost him a pricey loss against Jim Miller by knee bar submission 10 years ago:
Now, if you want to understand how much improvement Charles has made, let's look at the same fight that happened in 2018:
It's pretty clear that Charles won't allow himself to make the same mistake anymore. He does have losses against strikers in the like of Donald Cerrone (at a time when cowboy was invincible), and got knocked out by Cub Swanson, but both of these fights were remarkable moments in Cub's and Cowboy's career.
Also, Charles was killing himself competing at 145, and much of his improvement comes from moving a weight class. He still lost at 155, against Paul Felder for example, or Ricardo Lamas, so we might still see a glimpse of that older self, in a division where one second of inattention cost you the fight.
The odds are slightly in favour of Oliveira, it might be due to his range, I personally love this matchup, it can go both ways, and I am not making a prediction for this one, you are on your own 😁.
Lightweight·Co-main
Tony Ferguson (26-5-0) vs. Beneil Dariush (20-4-1)
Tony Ferguson is the type of guy that will make any events, any conversations, and interviews interesting with his candid personality, and unorthodox style of striking.
MMA fans have a short memory span, the expression is that "you are only as good as your last fights", Tony lost 2 of those in a row, but people might have forgotten his 12 fights win streak, so here is a reminder on how good Tony is:
"El Cucuy" seems to have went back to the basics with his coaches, and during the recent press conference, admitted that he did not have time to watch the recent Canelo fight (boxing) because he was "too busy pushing a truck, or slamming something, I don't take vacations", whatever the fuck that means... I kind of understand him, he is staying focused, and always seemed to thrive in adversity.
I am not sure that he wants to bring that chaos against the Iranian-American fighter Beneil Dariush, that has incredible skills on his feet (Muay Thai Black Belt) and tremendous ground skills, transitions, tons of heart and strength.
Check his most recent wins:
He seems to always find a way to win, my favourite win of his was against James Vick, or the types of bombs he threw against Drakkar Klose, after being rocked, and winning the fight like a boss, it was just beautiful to witness!
I really hope that Tony doesn't try those spinning shits against him, because MMA Maths here are telling me that Dariush will probably win this fight, with 3.91 strikes landing per minute, against 3.75 absorbed by Ferguson, well... You do the maths...
Also, Tony is always full of suprises, the odds are against him with +130 against -170 for Dariush.
If you are interested in the rest of the card, a little overshadowed by the main and co-main, you will still find some interesting fights, up to the prelims, remember that there will be fans during the event, and we saw how much it affected the fighters at UFC 261 few weeks ago. My fingers are sore from writing, so I will continue my review speaking out loud to myself...
Cheers!! 😁
Rest of the card:
Bantamweight
Matthew Christopher Schnell (15-5-0) vs. Rogerio Bontorin(16 - 3 - 0 , 1NC)
Women Flyweight
Katlyn Chookagian (15-4-0)vs Viviane Araujo (10-2-0)
Featherweight
Shane Burgos (13-2-0) vs. Edson Barboza (21-9-0)
Middleweight
Ronaldo Souza (26-9-0,1NC) vs. Andre Muniz (20-4-0)
Featherweight
Lando Vannata (11-5-2) vs. Mike Grundy (12-2-0)
Middleweight
Jordan Wright (11-1-0, 1NC) vs. Jamie Pickett (11 - 5 - 0)
Women Flyweight
Andrea Lee (11-5-0)vs. Antonina Shevchenko (9-2-0)
Women Flyweight
Gina Mazany (7-4-0) vs ???? (who???) (9-3-0)
Featherweight
Kevin Aguilar (17-4-0) vs. Tucker Lutz (11-1-0)
Lightweight
Christos Giagos (18-8-0) vs. Sean Soriano (14-6-0)
They love these UFC commentaries dude. Nice start, congrats!
By the way I lost my phone yesterday so nowhatsapp until monday or tuesday!
This my friend, I learned it from the best: The intro is everything
One cool Cali dude has always the best intros, even if the post is about nothing in particular 😄
Oh just for the ima put up nothing that's something because Krizz Kaliko said so and it has nothing to do with being unable to corral my thoughts since receiving Pura's medical diagnosis.
Everywhere everywhere everywhere everywhere
Medical diagnosis?
Yeah..
Shit we can talk on discord if you want, while I am getting a new sim card
I'll just be all over the place more than I Mornally am anyway for a minute I think is all probably.
It wasn't cancer yet so that's good. 2 of three tests said not yet and we're waiting on the third result. Makes me put together short articles like I did today otherwise my thoughts will be publicly wild like this response and I really have no clue wtf I'm trying to say.
Was worse than we expected, though, that's not good especially when mufukers like Steve Jobs died from it and he had all the money in the world.
This would be a really tough fight. I hope Chandler make use of his chance at the title shot
They are both freaking amazing and at their primes. It either will be done in a round, or it will be a gruelling 5 rounds chess game.
Chandler has the cardio for it, and Oliveira tends to give up in later rounds.
Chandler would be a great ambassador for the division though, what a cool guy...
Yh. Would love to see them go 5 rounds
BRuh with the pressure of the crowd, I am not sure they will last haha. Prelims started and already the tension in palpable
"...Dan was expecting a take down, and kept his hands low, not expecting a haymaker"
Great insight as to the context of the weapon used's effectiveness!
Same happened in Usman V Masvidal!
You are damn right, the main difference is that Oliveira is probably better on the ground than Masvidal, but not as good as him on his feet.
I can't help but thinking that Masvidal knew what was coming...
Also, something I forgot, but Oliveira doesn't do well with live audience, and chandler feeds off it.
Probably better on the ground?!?...dude, I think Oliveira would wipe the floor with Masvidal, especially in an MMA grappling match! Masvidal def has better stand up, but the space between his skill level and Oliveira's striking skill is smaller than the jiu-jitsu gap between them!
This is exactly the train of thought I had hahah I was being polite, I am just wondering if a good wrestler could cancel that BJJ game, but then Oliveira fought Kevin Lee and wrecked him, I actually can't remember the fight at all.
I know a Michael Chiesa could also grind hard and make him give up, and of course Usman.
Nice to see these still being rewarded. 👍🏿
👁🗨 <-- I haven't seen that til now. Wtf is it?
What's that?
That's where we're at in this world Ed. People are standing single file to be an experiment without paying attention to new emojis.
👁🗨
The All seing eye!!! Big fucking brother!!!
Congratulations @edprivat! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Your next target is to reach 74000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!