Fight Previews and Posts

UFC 291 Preview: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2 By Michael Jones - @keepingitrealmma                                                                                                     &  Dave Manley - @mmabobblehead   Battle of the 'ustins Act II is set to take place at elevation. As if Alex Pereira needed another reason  to take his foot off the gas at some point, he can rest easy knowing these two violent gentlemen  have 'Fight of the Night' honors wrapped up.          1.  Dustin Poirier (29-7) vs. Justin Gaethje (23-4)             Hardcore History : Some might say he was always the original B.M.F., having soundly defeated a few of the most violent strike...

UFC Fight Night:  Holloway vs. Allen  By Michael Jones - @keepingitrealmma &  Dave Manley - @mmabobblehead A love letter to [exponential] chaos...          1. Max Holloway (23-7) vs. Arnold Allen (19-1)               In a tremendous clash of styles, the Ironman is set to face the chess master, but who is who? There are at least 3 major factors to consider in this matchup: volume, damage, and grappling. First, we will look at volume. Max Holloway's victims have come to expect an avalanche of strikes anywhere between 212-746. The former was his interim-title-winning TKO of Anthony Pettis, the latter being his criminal beatdown of Calvin Kattar. To be fair, those are strikes thrown, not landed. Still, that is staggering to deal with, when you can barely mount your offense because you're so busy defending. Then there is the damage. Max's strategy has limits, he takes a ton of punishment in order to deliver i...

UFC 287 Preview: Pereira vs. Adesanya 2  By Michael Jones - @keepingitrealmma &  Dave Manley - @mmabobblehead          1. Alex Pereira (7-1) vs. Israel Adesanya (23-2)                Here we go again... again, again. It feels like this fight went down yesterday. In fact, it was November, which is a very quick turnaround for a guy who was TKO'd. Has he had enough time to make adjustments and build back his confidence? Can anyone right the ship in just 4 months, when you have to get over the hump of losing to one guy 3 damn times in martial arts competition? One way to look at that question is to consider the number of UFC champions who lost their belt and won it back in immediate rematches. As of January 2022, Deiveson Figueiredo was the first guy in over 17 years to do it. Since then, 2 fighters have attempted it and only 1 was successful, Amanda Nunes. All told that's only 3 successful redemptions in 12 trie...

  UFC 286 Preview: Edwards vs. Usman 3 By Michael Jones - @keepingitrealmma                                                                                                     &  Dave Manley - @mmabobblehead For perspective and for fun, here's my August 23rd recap of Edwards' KO win:  "It's interesting to note that in between rounds, you could hear Usman's coach, Trevor Wittman, yelling '"No Mistakes"'. It's like he anticipated this fight going off the rails if Usman got too comfortable... or God forbid, took a shot to the groin. Usman started the round bullying Edwards up against the cage, showing off his superior gas tank, and tucking us in to witness his impending record-tying win. Referee Herb Dean was going to have no...

UFC 285 Preview: Jones vs. Gane By Michael Jones - @keepingitrealmma                                                                                                     &  Dave Manley - @mmabobblehead               And with the changing of the tide, Francis committed to his uncertain future. Now out of sight, only to leave a hole in our hearts. You may be in line with his reasoning or you may be on the company sauce, regardless, you're very curious to see if Jon Jones can take his place. With a win over Gane, we may forget all about the departed champion of the world. With a loss, we may be left to pick up the pieces.         1.  Jon Jones (26-1-1NC) vs. Ciry...

  UFC 284 Preview:  Volkanovski vs. Makhachev By Michael Jones - @keepingitrealmma                                                                                                     &  Dave Manley - @mmabobblehead Very rare are those  who bare the capacity to venture onward,  climb the mountain and gaze upon the horizon. Of those brave enough ,  only a few will wonder what lies beyond, craving the endless journey, a glory out of reach. Of those few, only two will scoff at legacy, motivated not by accolades, but by  reaching a plane where their accomplishment surpasses any previously established understanding of what's possible.  - - - Those two men are about to collide. Not for our ...