UFC 291: Poirier vs. Gaethje 2

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

I fell this card will be decision heavy, but still think the main card will be good.

Well it's in Salt Lake City so most of them would probably be gassed past round 1 if they fight at a good pace.

@Hyrm, there's been a lot of decisions over the past two cards.  I think the one from two weeks ago, almost every fight in the undercard went to decision and then the last one there was a lot of decisions too.  I think the main event is most likely going to go over at least 3 rounds because both guys have too much heart for it to end early but who knows.

I have a really hard time seeing how Matt loses. These Alaska fc guys aren’t it

Dunno. I think Semelsberger has a bit too much unearned hype, and Medic not enough. 

Semi is definitely not great but nothing Uros has done in his career has left a long lasting impression on me 

He's got a kind of weird, lanky, unassuming sudden power to him. His strikes come from odd angles and timing, and seems to consistently shock guys with how much damage happens so suddenly. I dont think he's got the highest ceiling, but I kinda view Semi as Bryan Barbarena Jr. I think some tricky counter shots early can slow his entries, and then Medic can start leading the exchanges from distance. 

I think Vergara has the best value on the card. He's -160 and Salvador is pretty trash

Idk if I can trust Vergara after that lacerda fight bro was literally sprinting around in circles trying to survive

That being said Salvador is garbage too🤣

Błachowicz vs. Pereira
Alex Pereira, TKO, R1
Pereira is the guy to fix this division. I see him as the guy to hold the belt and defend it. The division has been a mess for a while, with the belt exchanging hands like a game of hot potato. The whole buildup to this fight is around how Jan will just grapple Alex non stop, but i don’t remember Jan being this killer wrestler. He was held on the ground by Ankalaev and had no way out. Even with all the leg damage to Ankalaev. People mention Jan’s kicks as a potential problem. Against a 2 weight kickboxing champion? Yeah, i don’t think so. Nothing Alex has not faced before. Yes, Jan is obviously good, don’t get me wrong. He held the belt for a reason. But then he lost that belt against Glover, who is now coaching Alex. Thats huge. He beat Izzy with a heavy grappling based gameplan, so its easy to assume that he will do the exact same to another middleweight kickboxer. But Izzy was noticeably smaller than Alex even at middleweight. Their body types are so different. Alex will be bigger than Jan at light heavyweight. Jan is also 40 yo with a lot of miles on that body. The record is a little deceiving too. Jan could well be 0-3 in his last couple fights if not for a wild leg injury for Rakic and the judges in the Ankalaev fight. I think Alex is more than capable of holding off Jan’s takedown attempts. He’s light on his feet and the knee up the middle will be there. I think he’s done enough mma training by now to keep this on the feet. If its on the feet, theres only one winner. Taking Alex in the first round. Poatan time.

At different times I’ve been pretty high on both Semi and Uros, and with that being said I tend to agree that this fight favors Semi but I don’t think it’s as wide as you think. 

I agree that Alaska FC guys are trash but I think Uros is an exception to that. He clearly takes fighting seriously as evidence to moving to Kings and getting real training, and he has a pretty good build and hard to deal with style like mentioned. I don’t think he’ll ever be true top 15 material but I can see him being around awhile and giving a lot of guys hard fights. Similarly, I think Semi has a lot of natural gifts a talents but at times I feel like he’s displayed some pretty poor fight IQ that makes me hesitant to ever be 100% confident in him to make the right choices when fighting. 

That all being said, Uros is a finisher and Semi is extremely hard to finish. Morono had half of Semi’s face swollen shut and he managed to dog out the third round somehow. I think being up at 170 could help Uros here actually since this fight is on short notice and at altitude. I do think he has a bit of an uphill battle here with Semi, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a close fight or if Uros even manages a win. 

"Fight 3 rounds with tough dudes"
You mean he has a good chin. Because that's all I've seen

That's legit the only reason I haven't bet medic at the underdog price. If uros doesn't ko him can he still win?

Uros is much cleaner on the feet. 

Semi got out techniqued by khaos enough said


I like semi but he should never be this loved unless he's fighting some guy that has no business in the ufc like Witt, Sano, Minus

Are you forgetting what happened the last time Uros fought someone the same size as him (turner)? He gassed out and quit within a round. Uros looks good at 155 because he’s bigger than everyone and throws heat. He doesn’t like to get hit at all and his cardio isn’t good either. I’m shocked so many people think he beats semi

The thing for me is, yeah Uros is more technical and a better fighter, but he doesn’t react to being hit and his cardio is so untested. At least we know semi has three round cardio and death touch power. Medic has one round of cardio and doesn’t like to get hit

I think Semi got more gunshy than anything against Khaos bc he was afraid of his power. That fight was not the greatest bc both of them were very hesitant on the feet. I think the only fight Semi truly just got beat up was the Morono fight. The Wells fight was closer than the scorecards suggest. I think the Khaos fight was too early in his UFC career to really know his skill level. I don't think Semi is amazing with technique, but he makes up for it with length and power. Uros also took this fight on short notice up a weight class after a long layoff. I think it's more people doubting Uros than overhyping Semi

I agree with Ayy on this one. I think Uros has potential, but once the fight gets dirty, he seems to wither and he's up a weight class now. He was kind of a weight bully at 155

I got Semi he is bit of a goofball but the size and athleticism is enough for me, I used to rep AkFC but none of those guys are even Alaskans and the promo is not known for much talent.
Jake M has kod real 170ers could not do much to Semi very useful data as Jake was an upgraded 155er.
He also has the grappling advantage, Uros "MAY" have a speed and cleaner technique advantage.