Elsalvajeloco

Donaire is a weird one. I think the Montiel performance was a bit deceptive. People thought (HBO played a giant role in this IMO) that he was gonna be this storm that was gonna blow through 122 and 126. Those fights after the Montiel KO (keep in mind, Montiel started his career at 112) were pretty disappointing and tepid affairs. Then, Rigondeaux brought him back to Earth. The Jessie Magdaleno and Nicholas Walters fights showed he should have never been above bantamweight. Sure, there are some okay junior featherweights he can beat. That doesn't mean he should campaign there. Donaire was a victim of HBO wanting a new superstar to showcase. As much as I miss HBO boxing, I don't miss that era from 6 or 7 years ago when Max Kellerman would verbally fellate fighters on air. He just went overboard with the P4P nonsense.

The thing here is Derrick likes to fight in bursts. If you're not going to take him down like Cormier did, he is fighting you at one constant speed: either really slow and plodding or sudden. He doesn't have a changeup. Even Rogan pointed out in the final round of the Ivanov fight all he does is throws right hands. Even in spaces where he can try new offensive tactics, he doesn't do anything. Alexander Volkov got knocked out by THAT GUY. That itself is amateurish. With Hardy, on the Contender series and the fights just after that, it was this silent agreement we meet in the middle and let the best man win. When he had that fight in Brooklyn on the first ESPN show, he was finally fighting someone wasn't going to fall down immediately and was going to implement the safest strategy to win the fight. That threw him off because he never had a look like that. However, if you look at the Juan Adams fight or the fight with Sosoli where Sosoli was trying to do what Allen Crowder was trying to do, Hardy was very much ready for a longer, tougher matchup. That shows me he is actually learning at American Top Team and listening to what they want him to do. He didn't look like an amateur in those two fights. Now, is Volkov going to fold like Dmitry Smolyakov? No, I don't expect that at all. I think this is a fight where Volkov is either catching Hardy at the right time of his career where he isn't there just yet or he is catching him at the wrong time of his career. I don't see any middle ground.

I was listening to the new 83 weeks about When Worlds Collide yesterday. I understand where Eric is coming from. Being the #3 promotion doesn't mean a whole lot if the #1 has a virtual monopoly over everything. Also, Dave got happy over the early success of UWFi in that same time period and we see how quickly that crashed. However, Conrad's point was that based on how volatile wrestling was at that point and how the business was declining or plateaued for both WCW and WWF, being able to do PPVs and have decent gates in the US at that point is nothing just brush off. Eric is talking about they didn't have TV. If you're getting on Meltzer and Alvarez all the time about being Monday morning quarterbacks and only being smart in hindsight, you can't say they didn't have TV when at the time you had no fucking idea if they would get TV. You didn't even follow the product. Keep in mind, this is also a time when people probably felt there needed to be great change in the wrestling landscape in North America. Even though Meltzer was too optimistic, you could see why he would be happy a new player arrived on the scene.

If you saw his fights on Contender Series, he needed to win inside of a minute. Juan Adams (a guy who I thought was just slightly better than him if not as flawed) was a test he needed to pass and he passed it. The Sosoli outcome was what it was, but I felt he looked more like an actual fighter in that fight than most of his previous fights. Moreover, it was against a guy basically doing a bargain bin version of what Roy Nelson has been doing his entire career. If a guy is just going to walk forward at you looping overhands, you might as well score points. So if he figured out a way to beat Volkov, it wouldn't shock me really. Volkov is supposedly the better fighter, but he's facing a guy who went from glorified Toughman fighter to a potentially top 30 heavyweight inside a year who also is still learning and progressing. He could get submitted in round 1 or he could knock Volkov's block off. That type of growth, especially at heavyweight, is unpredictable.

Somebody asked about a stadium show in Russia (maybe Dagestan specifically) several months back IIRC in reference to Khabib in the MMA Talk thread. If the North region of Brazil can get a UFC card, they might as well do a proper card in Dagestan. The problem is the quality of the venues. If the UFC refuses to do the Blaisdell Center even on the small chance of going to Hawaii, a good portion of Russia seems to be out of the mix (which tells you a lot considering the venues they've done in the past in Brazil). I don't even think Makhachkala has a sport arena. For such a talent rich place, there won't be a UFC event held within a reasonable distance probably ever. Damn shame.

Kattar's opponent resume so far is pretty damn impressive: Fili, Burgos, Moicano, Fishgold, Lamas, and now Zabit. He has had no freebies.

UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 21: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar November 9, 2019 Moscow, Russia (CSKA Arena) Zabit Magomedsharipov (146) vs. Calvin Kattar (146) - Magomedsharipov, DEC (unanimous) Alexander Volkov (251) vs. Greg Hardy (265) - Volkov, DEC (unanimous) Zelim Imadaev (171) vs. Danny Roberts (170) - Roberts, KO (punch), R2 (4:54) Khadis Ibragimov (206) vs. Ed Herman (206) - Herman, DEC (unanimous) Ramazan Emeev (171) vs. Tony Martin (171) - Martin, DEC (unanimous) Shamil Gamzatov (206) vs. Klidson Abreu (206) - Gamzatov, DEC (split) ESPN+ Preliminary Card: Magomed Ankalaev (205) vs. Dalcha Lungiambula (204) - Ankalaev, KO (front kick), R3 (0:29) Rustam Khabilov (171) vs. Sergey Khandozhko (171) - Khabilov, DEC (unanimous) Roman Kopylov (185) vs. Karl Roberson (185) - Roberson, SUB (rear naked choke), R3 (4:01) Abubakar Nurmagomedov (170) vs. David Zawada (170) - Zawada, SUB (triangle choke), R1 (2:50) Alexander Yakovlev (156) vs. Roosevelt Roberts (156) - Roberts, DEC (unanimous) Pannie Kianzad (136) vs. Jessica-Rose Clark (135) - Kianzad, DEC (unanimous) Grigory Popov (136) vs. Davey Grant (136) - Grant, DEC (split) Event Bonuses ($50,000) Performance of the Night: David Zawada Performance of the Night: Magomed Ankalaev Fight of the Night: Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Calvin Kattar Attendance: 11,305 Cancelled Fights: Junior dos Santos vs. Alexander Volkov - Dos Santos Bacterial Infection Vinc Pichel vs. Alexander Yakovlev - Injury to Pichel Ed Herman vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov - Antigulov Withdrew From Bout

Here is this week's template: EVENT #131 World Boxing Super Series: Inoue vs. Donaire (11/7/2019) - Saitama, Japan (Saitama Super Arena) WBA Super World/IBF/Ring Magazine Bantamweight Championship: Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire - Inoue, TKO, R8 WBC Bantamweight Championship: Nordine Oubaali vs. Takuma Inoue - Oubaali, DEC Shokichi Iwata vs. Alejandro Valladares - Iwata, DEC Katsuya Fukui vs. Chakkit Ratchakhot - Fukui, TKO, R2 Daiju Kogo vs. Eiki Kani - Kogo, TKO, R1 EVENT #132 Bellator 233: Salter vs. Van Steenis (11/8/2019) - Thackerville, OK (WinStar World Casino) John Salter vs. Costello Van Steenis - Van Steenis, TKO, R3 Muhammad Lawal vs. Andrew Kapel - Lawal, DEC Leslie Smith vs. Arlene Blencowe - Smith, DEC Tyrell Fortune vs. Azunna Anyanwu - Fortune, TKO, R2 Julius Anglickas vs. Jordan Young - Young, SUB, R2 Janay Harding vs. Amanda Bell - Harding, DEC Romero Cotton vs. Jason Perrotta - Cotton, TKO, R2 Logan Storley vs. EJ Brooks - Storley, DEC Tyree Fortune vs. Chuck Campbell - Fortune, DEC EVENT #133 KSW 51: Pudzianowski vs. Jun (11/9/2019) - Zagreb, Croatia (Arena Zagreb) Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Erko Jun - Jun, TKO, R3 Borys Mańkowski vs. Vaso Bakočević - Mańkowski, DEC Cezary Kęsik vs. Aleksandar Ilić - Kęsik, TKO, R3 Damian Stasiak vs. Antun Račić - Račić, DEC Darwin Rodriguez vs. Ivan Erslan - Erslan, TKO, R2 Roman Szymański vs. Miloš Janičić - Janičić, DEC Oli Thompson vs. Ante Delija - Delija, TKO, R1 Daniel Torres vs. Filip Pejić - Pejić, TKO, R1 Sebastian Przybysz vs. Lemmy Krušič - Przybysz, DEC Krystian Kaszubowski vs. Ivica Trušček - Kaszubowski, TKO, R2 EVENT #134 UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 21: Magomedsharipov vs. Kattar (11/9/2019) - Moscow, Russia (CSKA Arena) Zabit Magomedsharipov vs. Calvin Kattar - Magomedsharipov, DEC Alexander Volkov vs. Greg Hardy - Volkov, DEC Zelim Imadaev vs. Danny Roberts - Imadaev, TKO, R2 Khadis Ibragimov vs. Ed Herman - Ibragimov, TKO, R1 Ramazan Emeev vs. Tony Martin - Martin, DEC Shamil Gamzatov vs. Klidson Abreu - Gamzatov, DEC Magomed Ankalaev vs. Dalcha Lungiambula - Ankalaev, DEC Rustam Khabilov vs. Sergey Khandozhko - Khabilov, DEC Roman Kopylov vs. Karl Roberson - Roberson, TKO, R3 Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. David Zawada - Nurmagomedov, DEC Alexander Yakovlev vs. Roosevelt Roberts - Roberts, DEC Pannie Kianzad vs. Jessica-Rose Clark - Kianzad, DEC Grigorii Popov vs. Davey Grant - Popov, DEC BONUS EVENT #1 Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+: Herring vs. Roach (11/9/2019) - Fresno, CA (Chukchansi Park) WBO Super Featherweight Championship: Jamel Herring vs. Lamont Roach - Roach, DEC Kubrat Pulev vs. Rydell Booker - Pulev, DEC Esquiva Falcao vs. Manny Woods - Falcao, TKO, R6 Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Albert Onolunose - Alimkhanuly, DEC Amir Imam vs. Marcos Mojica - Imam, TKO, R4 Gabriel Flores vs. Aelio Mesquita - Flores, TKO, R3 David Kaminsky vs. Travis Jerig - Kaminsky, DEC Robeisy Ramirez vs. Fernando Ibarra De Anda - Ramirez, DEC BONUS EVENT #2 Matchroom Boxing USA on DAZN: Saunders vs. Coceres (11/9/2019) - Los Angeles, CA (Staples Center) WBO Super Middleweight Championship: Billy Joe Saunders vs. Marcelo Esteban Coceres - Saunders, DEC WBC Lightweight Championship: Devin Haney vs. Alfredo Santiago - Haney, DEC Ronny Rios vs. Hugo Berrio - Rios, DEC Diego Pacheco vs. Aaron Casper - Pacheco, DEC Reshat Mati vs. Cody Peterson - Mati, TKO, R3 The Event #131 deadline is Thursday, November 7, 2:45 a.m. CST. The Event #132 deadline is Friday, November 8, 5:00 p.m. CST. The Event #133 & #134 deadline is Saturday, November 9, 10:30 a.m. CST. The remaining Saturday events deadline is November 9, 6:15 p.m. CST.

Does Campbell know that no video exists online of Alberto's most recent MMA "fights"? Why put that unnecessary pressure on him? Oh, BTW, Combate Americas is replacing LFA on AXS next year.

I see Millender probably winding up in PFL or at the very least back in LFA. He probably could be on a Bellator card when they're at Pechanga or at the Forum, but Bellator doesn't make it a priority to pick up lower profile UFC talent anymore. It's usually guys who at one point were ranked or did something notable. They will get a Sam Sicilia or Sabah Homasi every now and then, but their prelims are still littered with regional guys. Their prelims could easily be UFC castaway fodder, but they actively choose not to do that. So it's 50/50 at best that he lands with Bellator. With Millender, he was probably one of those guys who just lost at the exact wrong time in the wrong division to do so. The UFC is not starved for talent at welterweight, and his upside isn't that high where you have to stash him away. If he isn't signed to a long term contract somewhere else and wins some fights in the interim, there is a good chance he will be back. Horie probably deserved another chance, but at the same time if they looking to cut dead weight, some of the country specific talent is going to be expendable. If he didn't piss them off by turning down fights or whatever chaps their hide at the moment, the primary reason he likely got cut is they're not going back to Japan anytime in the near future. That or he wasn't going to be ready to fight on the card coming up in Busan or the card in Shenzhen months back. Either way, he was still very expendable.

HAHAHAHAHAHA THE GIANTS SUCK

Danny Throw-It-to-Saquon-10-Yards-Behind-the-LOS

How do you feel now?

I don't think that matters one bit especially considering 1) if they wanted to, they can find a way to de-age someone now and 2) Dwayne's physique is much closer to Kerr on PEDs than some other guys in Hollywood who would need several months to get in that type of shape. Plus, since it's his baby, the production is at his behest. He is the guy who is going to be shopping this film to the studios and I guarantee you they will take if he is the one starring in so he can have a big dramatic role for awards season. I think he learned from Fighting with My Family that's it either all or nothing. The real question is when is he going to find time to do it. They probably don't have a script or director yet. By the time that gets all squared away, he will have probably committed to four or five other big projects. I don't see a very fast turnaround on this. However, if this goes to Universal, Sony, or WB (studios he frequently collaborates with) and get some Chinese money from Alibaba Pictures or Tencent behind it, it might get done a little quicker.

From the MMAFighting article above: From Junkie

Hopefully, Nate watches this fight back and realizes this fight wasn't trending in his direction. When they stopped the fight, he seemed a little broken up. Maybe he realized they could justify stopping the fight. Either that or he really thought he would do better. He just doesn't need to chase this rematch down. Lets hope he's that self aware. I think the crowd (or at least the pro Nate contingent) at MSG was a bit deflated everytime he was getting pummeled which was 85% of the fight. There are a bunch of entertaining fights out there for Nate that aren't Jorge Masvidal. He probably and most likely won't win most of them, but I think Nate's following would believe he had a chance in those fights rather than fight Jorge again. If you're a fan of Nate, how do you see Nate legit beating Jorge in a rematch? There were on the ground (after Nate got dropped) two or three times and Nate was nowhere close with any submission. Jorge slowed down a little bit in the third round, but Nate was getting his ass whooped to the point where he wasn't going to have the energy to summon up anything in round 4 and likely wouldn't be able to do in round five on the small chance he made it there. He was getting busted up bad and his vision likely would have been compromised as well. Lord knows his corner isn't going to stop it. Nate slapping strikes won't really doing anything to affect Jorge, and he certainly wasn't landing enough of them do that over the course of fifteen minutes. Having another fight like this where he isn't competitive against Masvidal doesn't do wonders for his image.

Besides a few fights here and there, boxing is kinda dead in Southern California. Plus, I don't get why people continue to do fights at Dignity Health Sports Park (fka the StubHub Center) when it's empty for most boxing events nowadays. When Robert Guerrero had an afternoon fight there for a PBC event years ago, I thought it was pretty damn empty. Lately, it's like that or even worse for every fight because they just bring any fight there. Moreover, Top Rank just did a card at Banc of California stadium which is a very nice venue. However, it was empty that night because Emanuel Navarrete was fighting some no hoper. Here you had Jason Sosa, who no one would believe had a chance to win, against Miguel Berchelt who is not really that big of an attraction. I found it amusing that ESPN before the fight (because Molina vs. Okada went super short) showed clips of Vazquez-Marquez III which had a full, energetic crowd at the same venue. Then, we go back to the live feed where you have the ESPN boxing crew virtually sitting in front of a dark backdrop because they couldn't move tickets. Why would you remind people of how far boxing has fallen in many ways? That seems like a major production blunder even though I know what they were trying to do.

I'm pretty sure this is going to be the motion picture remake of the documentary.

Just a nasty, nasty KO.

I am still surprised the UFC didn't strike while the iron was hot and make Edwards vs. Masvidal. Granted, we got the Askren fight instead which led to this fight. I wouldn't go as far as to say Nate is a very good fighter by virtue of something you brought up. I think he's a good fighter who is capable of having very good nights depending on the opponent and the style matchup. However, if he gets bedeviled by someone doing simple defensive moves and gets hurt through accumulation, he is way, way out of his element like you rarely see from many fighters at this level. We saw it here, we saw it at points in the McGregor rematch, and we saw it years ago when he fought Josh Thomson and Dos Anjos. When he gets hurt and can't stop someone's best strikes (remember when RDA chewed his legs up with those low kicks?), he visibly retreats within himself. If you're another good fighter and get past that first veneer or layer of toughness he displays, you can take Nate Diaz to the woodshed and it won't even be close. It's a miracle Nate has been around this long without having the strong athletic prowess that closes that gap. However, we should understand that's the reason he has never been considered to be a legit championship threat.