UFC 214 Review

It has been one day since UFC 214 and the shock and awes are in full effect this morning. Welcome to GET THE KO and I am excited to provide you my feed back on the main fight card with other fights that I loved to watch. A lot of questions were answered and it was an amazing night. Sure there was a dud fight and I will touch on that later on in the night. Let's get started:

MAIN EVENT CARD

JIMI MANUWA VS VOLKAN OEZDEMIR

This was the quickest fight of the night and we expected some big bombs to be dropped. What we did not expect was how quick the fight would be. On the podcast last Sunday night Anthony and I both predicted Volkan would come out swinging and finish this fight, and he did. In 22 seconds we saw Volkan finish Jimi. Once they were in the clinch and against the fence Volkan landed two big bombs in which Jimi could not recover on and was finished. It was a great win for Volkan, and he ultimately called out the winner of the DC vs Bones Jones fight, with a win last night I think he deserved it.

Robbie Lawler vs Donald Cerrone

On the podcast Anthony and I were sure Donald would be able to control the fight with his length, but when the bell rang all that went out the window. In the first few seconds the bell rang, Lawler came out swinging immediately and threw Donald off his game instantly. Donald does have a tendency of starting off a fight slowly and then gaining momentum. Lawler in the first round never gave Donald the chance to start off. He began to tee off and Cowboy failed to implement his game plan. However in the second round Lawler felt he had the fight won and began to ease off the throttle, however Donald began to get in his groove and land shots. Robbie knew the third round was going to be his and took over immediately, implemented the first round game plan. Donald could not get his game plan back, and it showed. Robbie deserved the win and it was great to see, now I want to see if he gets a title shot against the winner of Woodley vs Maia.

Cris Cyborg vs Tonya Evinger

This is one of my three surprise fights of the night. It was more than obvious this weight class for Cyborg, she was meant to be the champ for the UFC and we did not expect anything less from Cyborg. After two different women turned the fight, with one of the being a champion, Tonya Evinger wanted to step up to the plate and fight. For three rounds Tonya stood toe-to-toe with Cyborg and did not back down, sure when she was getting hit she needed to back away and recoup. However when Cyborg would commit, Tonya did everything she could to turn the fight into a dirty match up to favor her. However Cyborg is a veteran of the sport and refused to fall into the trap. She is a truly an artist in her style of fighting and made it a great fight. It ended in the third round but, give props to Tonya for taking a fight on short notice. Tonya was amazing and I am sure she will be ready for her next fight in the future. As for Cyborg, I would love to see Holly Holm get her shot at Cyborg at the next title defense.

Tyron Woodley vs Damian Maia

This was a bore fest of a fight. Woodley and Maia refused to throw punches and made the fight longer than it needed to be. Woodley did defend 21 take downs from Maia. Five rounds of little punches and many take downs defended. Now I want to see someone like Woodley vs Lawler fight again.

Jon "Bones" Jones vs Daniel "DC" Cormier

This was a fight two years in the making and needed to finally happen. DC had a lot of animosity towards Jones especially when he had only lost to Jones. Jones needed to win this fight to show he has never lost a step. With his two brothers in the crowd, Jones seemed motivated to win the fight. It is not like he needed extra motivation to fight. DC came out of the gates and wanted to initiate his game plan however, Jones needed to use his size to win the fight. Jones picked his shots and took full advantage of them. He beat up DC from top to bottom, head to shin, and never let up on the fight. Both fighters did great in defending each others take downs (0-6 between the two). Eventually in the third round it was a head kick that DC never saw coming, that lead to his downfall, because Jones was mixing his shots so well. DC thought a low kick was coming predicted wrong and was hit with a vicious head shot in the third round that ended his night.

Let us not take anything away from DC, I had the fight scored 1-1 going into the third round. DC was a great champion and utilized his game plan every time. He was not afraid to face anyone and took the fight to everyone. Whether you were Rumble or Alexander, he took on the best and it was great to see him do it.

Let's move to the more interesting call out in UFC history. Jon "Bones" Jones after both interviews were done grabbed the mic and said "Brock Lesnar, if you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you meet me in the octagon". My jaw dropped to the ground when this call out happened. It was reported earlier this week that Jones wants to fight Brock, in which Brock responded saying "Anytime, Anywhere." As of today and the infamous mic drop moment Brock has said "Be careful what you wish for, young man." Now Brock has to go through six months of testing before he can be fully clear to compete, but he has been reinstated in the USADA since then. He began testing back in early July and putting blood samples back in. This is a fight that could take off and be planned for November (if the UFC by passes two months of testing) but more than likely will take place after March. Brock is still currently under contract with the WWE and it will end and Brock will be a free agent.

Surprise fights for the night:

 Aljamain Sterling vs Renan Barao

This was the second of three surprising fights for me of the night. Barao I thought would want to the fight as he battles to get back in to title contention. He has currently lost 5 of his last six fights and does not seem to get his bearing straight at all. Though he did score two take downs in the fight, he also ate a lot of strikes during the fight. Sterling worked his game plan and did an amazing job so congrats to him. During the podcast I said this would be a fight to watch and unfortunately Barao did not show up to it and it was disappointing.

Kailin Curran vs Alexandra Albu

Let's be honest I have not shied away from the fact I love Hawaiian fighters and Kailin Curran is no exception to it. Though her time in the UFC has not been well to her, she is a brawler and loves to make fights dirty. She is willing to take a punch and deliver them as well. However, I would not be lying if I did not say Alexandra did not catch my eye. She was great on her striking and her take down game, she was not worried too much about what Kailin knew. Alexandra was looking at her fight and was happy with her game plan and she did well.

Fight of the Night:

Brian Ortega vs Renato Moicano

This was the fight of the night and Dana picked this correctly. Ortega ate a lot of punches but what made this fight even better was two guys standing in the pocket and trading blows. It literally felt like one guy who throw and then tag the other guy and let him throw his punches. Just like Joe Rogan I was very surprised to see Moicano look for the take down in the third round against a person like Ortega (who is a deadly black belt). Moicano took the fight to the ground on a great shot but, Ortega was ready for the take down and got the guillotine choke and ended the night. The crowd loved this fight, I am sure people at home loved this fight, and Dana loved this fight. I can not wait to see if there is a part 2 to this fight next year.

With the UFC heading toward Madison Square Garden in November 2017, it will be interesting to see what they bring next. I look forward to seeing all of the fights to be announced but for now it sounds like GSP vs Bisping will be the headliner for that fight.

Also with Jones vs DC in the books, we all know what fight to look forward to in August and the anticipation is killing most of us. Mayweather vs McGregor is going to be massive and exciting to see.

Let me know what you are excited about. Also do not forget the podcast will be on later today www.anchor.fm/gettheko. You guys can now subscribe to the podcast on your android and apple devices just go to the Google Play Store or Itunes search for GET THE KO and you will find it there. Thank you for those who have subscribed already, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The struggle

You have to admire the determination of a person, whether that is a person who loses a lot of weight to get healthy, or a MMA fighter who seems to be on the brink of a fight being called only to win. Guys like Chris Leben, Holly Holm, or Chris Weidman. These three fighters who seemed like they were on the way out found ways to get back in the fight and get wins.

Chris Leben

It may sound unusual to have a person like Leben on the list especially when his last fight, he was knocked out cold but continued to fight. He thought the fight with Uriah Hall was over but realized he was just fazed out and called the fight. The man who continued to come back and fight until it was all over finished out. You have to admire his fighting spirit, you would have thought Chris was a beginner with how many punches he ate. Made you feel like he was taking his first steps kind of like:

Check out his highlights here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s7uYTga1rA

Leben is a beast and he will be an amazing trainer.

Holly Holm:

The biggest shock of the world was at this moment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGALJ4dognU

Y'all remember Holly's kick to take down the amazing champion. However what most people do not know is Holly was almost the Buster Douglas of the MMA world. She was 0-3 since that fight, and needed a win badly. It took almost two years for her to get her first win, she really does have the heart of a champion and in time will get another shot at the belt. I enjoy watching her fight because she is a pure striker who continues to work on her game and develop herself.

Chris Weidman:

Some of you will think I am crazy to add him on this list but it is necessary. But he just won last night, and you would be correct. It was a good win versus a tough Kelvin Gastelum (spoilers for those who did not know). But prior to that, he had a three fight losing streak: Luke Rockhold, Yoel Romero, and Gegard Mousasi. It was not like they were by decisions either all three loses were by KO, and that is tough on someone. You really have to wonder where one's head is at when they suffer defeats like that. But he stayed strong against Kelvin wore him down and got the tap out. People will remember Chris for:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qthrce3b2Q

Now that he has got another win under his belt, it will be interesting to see how far he can ride this momentum.

Let's talk about a fighters who needs to get back on the comeback trail:

Travis Browne

I do not mean to keep attacking this man, but I have to be honest. It is very disappointing to see what he has become, from where he was. The man was a devastator, a force in the UFC. He had so much potential and he has thrown it all away. It is very concerning to see someone throw away the opportunity on a shitty fight camp, and do nothing about it. I am and will always be a fan of Travis Browne, but I would not be doing myself justice if I did not come to the realization he maybe washed. Maybe it is time to hang up the gloves, because his corner sure is not going to help him find the right advice during the fights. Other fighters are adapting to how Travis fights and countering, and unfortunately he is not seeing it. I hope to see him bounce back and get some great knock outs, but only time will tell.

Jake Ellenberger

Again another one of my favorite fighters and maybe I am being over critical on it, but I have to be fair. Since his north/south choke out of Josh Koschek, Ellenberger has lost four of his last five fights. I am a huge fan of the Juggernaut and wish I could see him make one more run at the title, it maybe a little late but I think he can do it.

Do not worry next week guys I will be giving my full review of UFC 214, we have to be excited because Jon Jones vs DC is the fight we have been waiting for, for over a year. It will be a good time, so keep posted.

The Presser of Pressers

It was only a matter of time before I started to cover this story. What started out as a playful jab turned into one of the biggest spectacles, they world has ever seen coming out of the combative sports. We have two of the biggest juggernauts from two different worlds finally facing off in the sport. Now if we want to really keep count, MMA is up one to Boxing (James "Lights Out" Toney Vs. Randy "The Natural" Couture - UFC 118) via Arm Triangle choke. However now we move into the boxing ring, and Conor McGregor will now be battling Floyd Mayweather on August 26th in Las Vegas. Could it be a one-sided fight? Sure it could be. Does Conor actually stand a chance in the boxing ring? Yes, he does. Will the fight end in a knockout? Probably not.

For those of you who say that Mayweather will destroy Conor and KO him early in the boxing match, I say this:

Here are some of the reasons why I think Conor could stand a chance:

SOUTHPAW:

It is no secret that Conor is a southpaw. What we have seen recently from Mayweather in his last few fights, is the difficulty to box southpaw fighters. Taking this into account sure Mayweather could train with fighters who box southpaw; sure he could try and find guys who mimic Conor. However, you can not plan for Conor. Sure you take away knees, elbows, and feet from Conor but he is still a great boxer. Conor loves his left hand and Floyd will still plan for it, but it is still tough to know without being in the ring with Conor:

Aggression:

Though Conor loves to be on the attack but one thing he also loves to do, is play the counter puncher. Just remember when Jose Aldo came out on the attack:

He counters and looks for the finish in all of his fights, and Conor does well on his feet to avoid punches. While Mayweather is a counter puncher, we know Conor is not afraid to take the fight to Mayweather and eat shots while looking for the counter:

Endurance:

This will be both an advantage and disadvantage for Conor. In the first four rounds Conor understands he will need to push the fight and continue to throw punches. However, knowing he is going from 4oz. gloves to 10oz. gloves will eventually take its toll on Conor as the fight goes on. He will need to continue to push the tempo of the fight, however after the four rounds Mayweather will take over the fight and it could cost McGregor in the long run.

Conor's Chin:

Conor has one of the toughest chins in the UFC. There is no question about it, he has taken multiple punches from numerous fights and have come back to win the fight (Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor II). Mayweather has been known to break his hands with the punches Mayweather can through, Conor needs to withstand the fury of what Floyd can throw.


Now let's not say that Conor is going to win this fight, we are watching him battle the most dominate fighters in the Boxing world. A man who is undefeated, can take time off and still collect some of the biggest paychecks in the world. He has fought the best of the best in the boxing world and has stood tall among all of them: Vitor Ortiz, Shane Mosley, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, Canelo Alvarez, Ricky Hatton, Oscar De La Hoya. The list goes on and on, what makes Floyd so good: simple answer everything.

Fast Hands:

There is no doubt he has some of the fastest hands in the fight world. He can land a punch without you seeing it coming.

Some of the best do not see it coming. With Conor normally fighting in the MMA world, most fighters do not have the speed like Floyd. Conor needs to work on his head movement and his defensive tactics to counter Floyd. But, even if you can get Floyd to miss and you get your counter off, he still will slip your punch and land another one:

Defense:

Whether you are the 2015 Denver Broncos, the 2013 Seattle Seahawks, 2001 Baltimore Ravens, or 1985 Chicago Bears...Defenses win championships. 9 out of 10 times the defense is going to win, and Mayweather is a master a slipping punches:

making you miss:

or simply just blocking your punches. Mayweather is so good at making his opponents miss and capitalizing on what you throw. Conor is not ready for this type of fighter and will need to throw punches in bunches and look out for the counter punch, which I do not see him doing.

Stopping Power:

Sure it has been a long time since we have seen Mayweather knock a guy out, I mean Victor Ortiz never saw it coming. But when Manny Pacquiao was throwing punches Mayweather was able to move and stop him in his tracks:

This will be an interesting match up, however I do not see it going Conor's way. Floyd is going to be tough to hit and even tougher to KO, but with every fighter has a puncher's chance to win the fight. If Conor wants to win the fight, he is going to have to corner Mayweather and avoid the clinch as much as possible. If Conor can limit the ring and corner Mayweather, there is a small chance Conor could win this fight.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming fight, I know its six weeks away but we can talk all day. Let me here your comments and see what you think.

Also you guys can catch me on Get The KO podcast apart of anchor.fm or just go to anchor.fm/gettheko and listen up. You can call in and the following week we will address what you brought up. Myself and Lou will talk with all of you and look forward to hearing from you.

UFC Match-Ups...Oh man, Oh man, Oh man

It has been a extremely long time since I have written an article on the blog, with all the distractions going on lately. I feel like I needed to take a break, with that being said I am here to write and talk to you all about the latest fights and how amazing it has been to see. Let's run it back:

The Fall of "Hapa"

I have made it no secret that I am a fan of Travis Browne, however since 2014 Browne has has 2 wins in his last 8 fights. I am not a betting man, but I am going to assume that is not good. At one time Travis was considered one of the most fierce heavyweights in the UFC. His team is not giving him good advice and even during his fights in between rounds have not given him any information on how to better fight his opponents. In his last three fights I had Travis winning those rounds, then coming out of the second round he has either lost momentum or the fight in general. It is almost like he has given up. Clearly he is suffering from lack of cardio and judging by the kicks he threw last night. His shin game is not as strong as it once was. There is no doubt he still has heart but how much of it is in the UFC is yet to be determined.

Travis was offended by Derrick Lewis who was calling out his fiance, after KO'ing Browne. Travis has also requested they "run it back" but judging by his fight last night at UFC 213 prelims. He is no where ready for that work again. Travis needs to change up his camp and find a new team to work with. Travis trained with one of the top teams in the world with Greg Jackson and suddenly left to train with Edmond Tarverdyan (you know the guy who "trained" Ronda Rousey). I am not impressed with Edmond and in fact I think he is going to get Travis' career cut short, if Travis continues to train with him. When you train with the best, you are going to get the best results, and it will bring the best out of you. Hopefully Travis can return to the form he was once at and not look like this again:

The New King of the Featherweights

You have to admire someone like Jose Aldo, sure he lost to Conor McGregor. Dana gave Jose the belt back after it was stripped from Conor, after Conor won the Lightweight belt. But a change had to come, and with that Max Holloway showed up. I have said I am fans of Hawaiian fighters which is why I am glad that Max showed up. 

 He forced Jose Aldo to throw punches in bunches at a pace his body could not handle. A new champ was crowned, Max is a fan favorite because he does not shy away from punches. If you challenge him in the center of the Octagon, he will stand there and throw blows with you, it does not matter where you are from he loves to throw, and throw often. Once of my favorite things about Max is, he is humble. After winning the title he made sure to pay his respects to Jose Aldo, in the interviews he acknowledges the great things Jose did for the sport. I am excited to see Max get his next defense, more than likely he will be a co-main event kind of fight but it will be fun to see. Congrats to the new champion.

The Upset of the Year?

Unless your name is Brock Lesnar and you demand a high profile fight, it is more than likely Dana is going to laugh at you and tell you to earn it. However at UFC Ultimate Fighter 25 Finale, we saw UFC Debut of Justin Gaethje fighting Michael Johnson (rated Number 5 Lightweight in the world). Justin and Michael threw punches left and right in the first round and heading in the second round, Justin gained the advantage and finished Michael with a few seconds left in the round. That was a huge win and gives him a enormous boost up the ranks. Shout out to Justin and what heart he showed in the ring, he called out Tony Ferguson (maybe Dana will reward him with that fight) and I would love to see those two go to war.

The Cowardly Lion

I expect to catch some heat for this one, but really I do not care. There is something to be said about a person when they do not make weight, lack of discipline or maybe just a poor camp in general. There is another thing to say when you show up to a fight, talk smack, make weight, then complain of an illness. Then the day of the fight, you claim an illness, get cleared to fight, and tell your boss you still can not go. Maybe something is wrong with Amanda (No Longer the Lioness) Nunes but right now, I am calling her out for ducking Valentina Shevchenko. Sorry but you get no love from me right now, I was excited for you when you fought: Shayna Baszler, Sara McMann, Valentina Shevchenko (the first time), Meisha Tate, and Ronda Rousey. I was excited to see you get in the Octagon and get ready to go to war, but now and until something medically comes out, you ducked Valentina. Sure the last fight was close, sure you two were banging and connecting, but you had a gameplan for what she brought to the table. Maybe you did not properly make the weight and your body was feeling off, sure it happens but to not fight at all, after fans wanted to see you and paid to see you...that is cold right there. Valentina prepared for you and was ready to make some money and you took that from her. A champion always looks for the opportunity to win, and make themselves better but you definitely dropped the ball on that. 

Side note: Shout outs to Joanna Jedrzejczyk for trying to step in and fight Valentina on an hour notice. There are rules in the fight game and unfortunately the Nevada State Athletic Commissions needed 72 hours for a pregnancy test to clear her. She was ready to fight and even brought her gear with her to fight. 

As of July 9, 2017 Dana White has said Amanda will no longer headline a fight in the future and for good reason. 

That is all my stories I wanted to touch on today. Leave me a comment down below on what you want to see covered next week and I will try my best to get to them. Also be on the look out later, GET THE KO Podcast will get started and it will be fierce as my co-host Anthony Lujan and I talk about the UFC.