UFC 266: Volkanovski vs. Ortega

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

As much as I love Nick Diaz, I don't think next Saturday night will end well for him.  I think Robbie Lawler starches him in the first round via TKO.  Robbie has been active fighting ranked fighters nonstop over the past 6 years while Diaz was gone.  I love Nick Diaz and he is a legend of this sport just like his brother but I believe this is his final fight ever.  

* Edited at 09.19.2021, 12:15 PM ET *

Santos - Merab - Fiorot parlay? +137

i just noticed nick and robbie is a 5 rounder, thats good news for nick

noticed how some on here are dissing nick and roxanne because of their age. be careful my young friends, remember what happened last night. lol

44 year old yoel romero lost last night 

Dan Hooker   vs.   Nasrat Haqparast 


The problem with hooker isn't that he loses. The problem with Hooker is that when he loses, he loses extremely badly. He's far more likely to go out sans consciousness or several liters of blood, or both, than he is to go out dropping a bout on points. It makes for a superb spectacle but it's not great for his career prospects long-term. He's suffered two pretty brutally beatings back-to-back now, and I think his war with Poirier was kind of his Ferguson vs Gaethje moment.That was the tipping point. His Chin isn't what it was, and he's not going to be the same fighter he was ever again.


Haqparast has very fast nasty hands and is exactly the kind of pressure fighter that is going to give Hooker fits.  Yes, he did get KO'ed by Dober but if we're all honest that's not hard to do and Dan, who doesn't carry anything like that power, is far less likely to do it. Hooker does his best work through the middle/outside but he probably won't be given a whole lot of time or space to execute any of that in this fight.


Haqparast KO/TKO  within two rounds.




Roxanne Modafferi   vs.   Taila Santos 


I do not enjoy the way UFC has deputized Modafferri as the top 5 gatekeeper of the division. I do not enjoy her fights, and the rate at which she is arbritarily thrown on to every other card is as irksome as the way she uncommonly defeats women who she really has no right to, destroying my wagers along for the bargain. And she'll do it in a soiled knee-sleeve and looking like she trained by knitting beanies for the homeless, too.


Do I even have a right to complain? Nobody is making me watch her bouts. But she's always kind of just...there, like Amy Schumer, or the faint but definite waftings of a dissipating fart in a small room. Say you went out for lunch and ordered a salad, and it arrives with a **** in it. You call over the waitress, point out the problem, she acknowledges it, and then asks you're happy with everything else. You say you suppose so. She then tells you to just eat around it, and walks away.


Anyhow I think Taila is a solid prospect allthough high win-margin records like hers in WMMA have a similar value of merit as Kim Jong-un's supposed militrary and general life achievements and need to be taken with a mountain of salt. She's quite obviously the superior striker and hopefully she has the TDD to keep it in her wheelhouse. Roxanne will be a harder and different kind of grappling test than Robertson.


The swingy nature of Modafferi's performances always has me in doubt. She's either incredibly effective or absolutely useless. Her showings are truly Bipolar in the sense that Catherine Zeta Jones' life is; sometimes she's deliriously happy. And sometimes she has to suck an old man's ****.


Talia Santos by decision, hopefully. 

You know a guy name fishrat. I think you might like him

Moraes vs. Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili, TKO, R3
Its gonna be a tough 1st round for merab but if he survives i think he wins easily

Robbie has the same problem as Woodley, he won't pull the trigger more than twice a round. Robbie's a legend but he's looked very bad in his last few fights. I remember screaming at my TV during the Covington fight because he literally wouldn't throw a single punch. I think this is the perfect fight for both guys and could very well be the last time we see either of them fight. As for Nick's inactivity, he made a test cut to 170 about a year ago so I don't think this was just some spur of the moment comeback. I think he's gonna come back in shape and without the damage Robbie has taken over the past 5-6 years. 

I love a good Norm Macdonald joke

I need to see Blaydes knocked out by someone not named Francis Ngannou or Derrick Lewis before I say he's got a glass chin. He's been in brawls with two of the hardest hitters in the history of combat sports.

Volkanovski vs. Ortega
Alexander Volkanovski, DEC
Volk should win this fight but I would not be shocked if Ortega subs him. Ortega is an extremely dangerous opponent.

Shevchenko vs. Murphy
Valentina Shevchenko, TKO, R1
Lauren Murphy is tough. That’s it. She moves extremely slow and is going to get knocked out badly by Shevchenko.

Lawler vs. Diaz II
Robbie Lawler, DEC
Diaz hasn’t fought in a while and Lawler has been way more active. Lawler is a goat and it’s awesome to see him fight still but he should probably retire soon. I think he has enough left in the tank to beat Diaz here though.

Blaydes vs. Rozenstruik
Curtis Blaydes, DEC
Will Blaydes get knocked tf out again? Probably not. Blaydes will make this a boring fight but you gotta do what you gotta do to get a win.

Andrade vs. Calvillo
Jéssica Andrade, TKO, R1
Ground and pound coming for Andrade. Calvillo is decent but Andrade is on another level.

Moraes vs. Dvalishvili
Merab Dvalishvili, DEC
Dvalishvili is gonna wrestle Moraes the whole fight and win a decision. We all know it’s coming. It’s sad to see Moraes on his way out.

Hooker vs. Haqparast
Dan Hooker, DEC
I don’t think Hooker will finish Nasrat but he should be able to get the win here. He’s on a 2 fight losing streak but he’s on a higher level than Nasrat right now.

Abdurakhimov vs. Daukaus
Chris Daukaus, TKO, R1
Daukaus is the real deal and I see him putting Shamil to sleep.

Modafferi vs. Santos
Taila Santos, DEC
Santos should win this fight pretty easily.

Fiorot vs. Bueno Silva
Manon Fiorot, TKO, R1
Fiorot could get taken down a bunch of times here but I highly doubt Bueno Silva will be able to do that. Fiorot is a problem and she’s putting the division on notice.

Maximov vs. Roberson
Nick Maximov, DEC
Roberson isn’t bad but Maximov is just going to take him down and sub him. I’m shocked that the odds are so close here, especially because Roberson loses all the time by sub. Maximov also fought a way bigger guy on DWCS.

Medic vs. Turner
Uros Medic, TKO, R1
Turner is going to sleep in this fight. Medic is a beast.

Semelsberger vs. Sano
Matt Semelsberger, TKO, R1
I could probably beat Sano. Somewhat kidding. This fight won’t last long. Semelsberger is going to throw a punch and Sano is gonna fold.

Morales vs. Pearce
Omar Morales, DEC
Morales is better than Pearce but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Pearce win. Pearce is very good and does a lot of things well.

* Edited at 09.19.2021, 8:52 PM ET *

Morales vs. Pearce
Jonathan Pearce, DEC
Morales has the power advantage, but JSP has the volume and cardio advantage. Morales wins the first round, Pearce starts to grind out a decision later in the fight as Morales gasses out.

i will never watch mma again if ortega wins

a

* Edited at 09.19.2021, 11:42 PM ET *

I mean he looked good on his last fight. He has a pretty good chance winning.

Don't worry Ortega's been busting loads in Traci Cortez and forgot he was fighting. Volkanovski is gonna take his soul.

Would somebody care to explain to me the trend of antipathy and hatred on this forum for Brian Ortega? I don't really follow the news and it seems that people on here regard him as though he banged a kid in church or something. I want Alex to win too, but I'm struggling to understand how Ortega seems to be engendering the contempt he is.

* Edited at 09.20.2021, 12:47 AM ET *

His personality is just a vapid cali stereotype, comes off very inorganic at times. Personally indifferent to the dude and always baffled by which fighters get the most hate from fans. Ortega's also got a sweet lowrider so that's something.  

* Edited at 09.20.2021, 1:54 AM ET *