UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Thompson vs. Luque
Stephen Thompson, DEC
Very fun kickboxing match, I am leaning on Thompson to win a close decision.

Chookagian vs. Maia
Katlyn Chookagian, DEC
Fun fight man!

Jotko vs. Shahbazyan
Edmen Shahbazyan, SUB, R1
Jotko is very boring and uneventful and I’m relying on Edmen to pick up a RNC won in under 3 minutes,

Good vs. Rencountre
Chance Rencountre, DEC
I thought Chance looked very good in his last outing feet or ground and he was a big underdog and I like Good but I think Chance picks up a dominant win by way of decision.

Lee vs. Gillespie
Kevin Lee, DEC
I think Lee is more experienced and more seasoned and was beating up Tony Ferguson before that really slick triangle, Lee also has a better resume than Gregor holding wins over a lot of top guys in LW, one of em being Chiesa which is very impressive so I expect him to dominate Gregor in a grueling, boring and uncomfortable and hard 15 minutes getting like a 30-25 or 26.

Finally somebody is actually seeing the fun of it and not being a negative, dry, boring keyboard warrior!!!! Thank you!!!!

Nobody giving Nate a chance here or what ? He made that fight happen after a 3 year layoff. He won't get tired or K.O ed, he won't stop coming forward and he snatches necks on the ground. He will defend his BMF belt which he inherited from his brother Nick in the Garden. I feel there is a pretty good possibility we see Masvidal getting choked out if not that at least 3 to 2 rounds decision. 

Smooth sailin

the longer this fight lasts the more it favors nate. i agree with unhinged, nate wont be submitted,  ko'd or out worked/boxed. so imo if jorge doesnt finish nate within 2 rounds its a close decision win for nate. i hate picking against either of these guys. jorge will be my hero forever for what he did to till and the same to nate for what he did to mcgregor. but my pick is nate by decision in a fairly close hard fought fight. 

@phillip53 I agree with both of you. These are the two scenarios I can imagine too. 
Either way Masvidal and Diaz are great figures in the sport, great personalities and already left unforgettable footage for us to remember. I'll go with Diaz sub or decision. 

Smooth sailin

Masvidaaaaaal is going to K.O. Nate you'll see. I don't want it to happen but I somehow do.

It's a fight only one can win or they slugfest each other for 5 rounds and get the bloody DRAW xD

FUN CARD

Goddamn this card has me erect... my boy Andrei might be getting slept but it is what it is. 

Hopefully we get to see an epic throw down between these two gangsters, 5 hard fought rounds resulting in the most epic draw ever and Jorge gettin his own BMF Belt. They'd be the BMF Brothers forevaaa xD

* Edited at 10.09.2019, 10:43 AM ET *

This is the best card of the year, even the prelims are stacked.

@niobe

Yes this card is very tight friendly and deep

Amazing Kevin lee is on the fightpass prelims

Although this is one of the best cards of the year, I’m thinking the December ppv takes the cake with 3 title fights

LEE VS GILLESPIE ON FIGHT PASS IS A FELONY!!!! ******* MONKEY'S RUNNING ****! THEY SHOULD BE ON THE MAIN CARD NO QUESTION!!!!!!

Gillespie belongs on the maincard for sure !! Give this fisherman some respect

@bruce so true !!! But man Gregor is good. He will totally blow his post fight speech in order to talk about his "favorite thing to do in life" .... xD

* Edited at 10.11.2019, 8:29 AM ET *

@bruce I think Gillespie and gsp are the only guys with a chance of out wrestling khabib. 
Am I crazy?

gregor has definitely a chance against Khabib take the reggae sharks word for it :) 

I know a fisherman when I see one 

Madsen should be included there, no? I doubt he and Khabib will fight though.

So many x-factors in this one. Is Kelvin the same after that Adesanya fight? Was Kelvin really only at 60-70% in his last fight? Is this too big a fight for Till's first one since moving up? How will Till look at Middleweight? With all that mind I am not particularly confident in this pick either way but I am leaning towards Kelvin and here's why. 


Basically almost every advantage that I think Till is going to gain from this move up in weight I think Kelvin pretty much has also. 

• Weight - Till was clearly a diminished version of himself at Welterweight and the same can be said for Kelvin, what we do know though is that Kelvin has put his weight issues behind him, he's coming up for his third year as a Middleweight so he's comfortable there. Now im about 90% Till makes weight for Middleweight but he also cuts a lot more than Kelvin walking around at 210lbs. 

• Cardio - Not that Till is known for gassing but with not having to dehydrate himself as much as he did previously you'd think his overall cardio and ability to push a fight would improve. Again this is something we have seen that Kelvin has already greatly improved on as he was sort of known for fading at Welterweight (and granted he still slows down in the 4th & 5th but nowhere near to the same degree)

• Speed - This one im really not too sure on Kelvin's got fast hands but so did Till & Welterweight, my only question of Till's speed is will it have potentially been hampered by him adding muscle mass.

• Power - I would say there are definitely Middleweights in the Top 15 who hit harder than Kelvin but he does have proven power at Middleweight, he's finished Bisping, Kennedy and Belfort. Where as Till only finished 2 of his 6 opponent at Welterweight, not saying he won't be carrying more power at Middleweight but we know Kelvin's carrying it already. 

• Wrestling - I don't expect Kelvin to really try and put his wrestling to use as we don't see it that often from him but its a weapon he has that Till just doesn't. 

• Striking - This should be the most obvious trump card for Till right? Well styles make fights and I think Kelvin's striking could potentially be a perfect foil for Tills. Till has the natural advantages in terms of height, reach and striking pedigree. Kelvin has fantastic head movement though, has great boxing and just went 5 rounds with arguably the best striker in the UFC. The reason I think Kelvin's style might work well against Till is that Darren likes to leap in with shots which can give up his reach advantage he also likes to do work in the clinch where with Kelvin being the shorter man I think he could get caught.

Masvidal vs. Diaz 
Who will be the BMF? I honestly have no idea my gut tells me to go with Masvidal as Diaz traditionally loses to bigger guys but those bigger guys have a wrestling base and I can't see Masvidal going and dry humping Diaz for 25 minutes and then claiming to be the BMF in the UFC. But after that last performance against Showtime I am leaning towards Diaz 
Result: Nate Diaz DEC


Thompson vs. Luque 
Luque has already had a stellar 2019 and he's gonna try and cap it off with the biggest scalp of his career. Thompson is just not a great fight for Vicente though, hell he's not a great fight for anyone to try and look good against and despite losing 3 of his las 4 I still think Wonderboy is a few levels above someone like Luque for the moment anyway. 
Result: Stephen Thompson DEC


Anderson vs. Walker

Oh poor Corey I honestly can't remember the last fight he had where I chose him, the main issue for me is he has no outstanding skill, he's good pretty much everywhere but isn't really great anywhere. Compare that to Walker who has come in to the UFC like a god damn hurricane with 3 first round knockouts, its not hard to see where im going with this one.
Result: Jonny Walker KO/TKO RD 1


Lewis vs. Ivanov
This fight could signal the end of Lewis time as a Heavyweight title contender imo. Ivanov is likely gonna be a big underdog but he's just a tough dude, he took JDS best bombs for 5 rounds and wasn't put away so I think he can probably contend with Lewis who may have more power but is far less technical. Not to mention Lewis gasses hard and unless he manages his energy perfectly I think you see Ivanov just start to chip away in the second and third rounds. 
Result: Blagoy Ivanov DEC


Lee vs. Gillespie 
Damage control for one fighter and a potential coming out party for the other, Lee has really had a tough time since the Ferguson fight and now he's matched up with the guy with arguably the most potential in the Lightweight division. With a near even split of submissions and stoppages Gregor is dangerous anywhere and if Kevin's hasn't addressed his cardio issues I think we Gregor getting the tap late in the fight.
Result: Gregor Gillespie SUB RD 3

I just see thats Ivanov is the odsmaker favorite againts Lewis, Did I miss something? I hate Derick Lewis but I belive he would kick Ivanov ass prety easy!