UFC 271: Adesanya vs. Whittaker 2

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

He will wrestle a bit. Guaranteed. Or some form of grappling. He will also be hungrier since he forfeited 40% of his purse. 

* Edited at 02.11.2022, 12:36 PM ET *

don't worry be happy

Just like you guaranteed he would show up ready and hungry?

I believe it's the largest weight miss in UFC history. I guess we will see what type of impact it has. 

Matt "AVOIDS DANGER" Schnell

* Edited at 02.11.2022, 1:29 PM ET *

He did show up ready and hungry. That's why he was overweight. Too hungry. 

The thing is William knight didn’t even tried to make weight, to miss weight by 12 pounds or 6 kg is a sign of that. If he miss by 1 or 2 pounds it’s more forgivable, as I’m not cutting weight a cutting weight is hard. William knight wants to cheat by ether be 12 lb heavier or not cut 12 lb. people will call Grisham a ***** for not taking the fight, but IMO he be a idiot to take a fight with someone who clearly cheating

Wow 40 percent Knight is a ******* idiot he could have won and even pulled a bonus.
Now he will probably splat lanky boy get no bonus and only about half his pay very stupid.
Plus there will be no end of oh he would have lost if he made weight and it will be a factor.
Not cutting means he probably will not be as depleted and may not be as empty in gas.
The halfwit Anthony Johnson did this often from welter to middle he missed over ten pounds too.
I'm not picking maxi but I don't want knight to win now think hes cheating also a bad tactic.
Maxi not a "BIG" guy has fought plenty of heavies and done ok the only bad is he did cut weight.
Ok my ramblings over go back to your coffee..

Perez vs Schnell officially off…

I think the weight miss goes heavily into William Knight's favor since it is at heavyweight he will gain so. such more weight on top of the 218 he weighed in at. Prime spot to catch Grishin and put him to sleep OR hold him up against the cage and win a boring decision.

Originally I liked Dobson here, but I think Malkoun is going to take him down, wear him out and grind his way to a victory.

Adesanya vs. Whittaker II
Israel Adesanya, DEC
Rob is more patient, but it'll still be Izzy's fight. I think 2-3-4-5 go Izzy and Rob wins the first. My prediction is the takedowns don't play much of a role in the fight. Rob attempts like 2 they get stuffed and he gives up on them

Cannonier vs. Brunson
Jared Cannonier, TKO, R1
Don't like the pre-fight comments from Brunson and Cannonier will be much harder to take down than Edmen-Holland-Till. The end of Blonde Brunson's run.

Haqparast vs. Green
Nasrat Haqparast, DEC
Everyone will scream robbery, and it'll go to split against Bobby Green. I've seen this story before.

Modafferi vs. O'Neill
Roxanne Modafferi, DEC
Casey O'Neill is good but she does have holes in her game. Roxi to end her career on a W, don't care how stupid I might look.

Silva de Andrade vs. Morozov
Sergey Morozov, TKO, R2
Morozov dominating another opponent will continue to show how scary Umar is

Wells vs. Mathetha
Jeremiah Wells, SUB, R1
My brain says Wells by heart says BLOOD DIAMOND. I'll go with my brain but I can see it already, Wells dominates him in the first gasses in the second and gets finished in the 3rd and the crowd goes crazy for Blood Diamond.

Arlovski vs Vanderaa 

Arlovski DEC 

kind of annoyed this is the featured prelim cuz arlovski isn't fighting an exciting opponent but whatever. I think vanderaa is a can but he can win this fight. vanderaa is a really ****** HW but one thing he can do is the classic swang n bang. in the tafa fight he just kept throwing and showed hes got a decent chin. Now, hes gotten destroyed in his other two fights but those were 1) against much better guys (not to say that vanderaa is better than arlovski, cuz hes just not) and 2) those guys were also both wrestlers. Now, arlovski is old but hes been looking quite good recently. Arlovski has had a career of ups and downs but hes been doing a lot better recently and thats due to him taking fighting more seriously. arlovski said hes been training more and hes also switched up his fighting style; arlovski has been koed 11 times but has only been koed once in the past 3 years. hes shown better striking defense and has used his veteran experience to beat the lower level Hws. I think he should be able to beat vanderaa easily but we'll see how he looks out there.

Modaferri vs O’neill 

Oneill ko round 3 

I was originally going with O'Neill decision but ive decided to go with late finish. my reasoning for this is the damage Roxanne has taken. yes, she's only been koed once (twice if you count the tuf slam ko) but she has taken a ton of damage and its started to add up. we saw Lauren Murphy hurt her badly not too long ago and taila Santos dropped her badly in her most recent fight. Now, Roxanne does occasionally get massive upsets but the only real hole in Casey's game is her striking defense and Roxanne doesn't have enough power or good enough striking to actually do anything there. on the feet, Casey throws tons of volume and doesn't really let up either. she's also a black belt and is quite good on the ground too. I think she gets a late finish because she will be unrelenting and the pressure will break Roxanne in the later rounds.

Knight vs Grishin 

Grishin DEC 

I actually hate this fight. Its moved up to HW now because knight cant make weight. Knight isn't a wrestler so im not too worried about the weight difference. on the feet, I think grishin is the more technical fighter but knight has a crazy power advantage. im really not getting the hype on knight tho; he doesn't really have technique and his striking defense is abysmal (36%). I really dont like the low striking defense against someone who is taller and has a bigger reach. hes also taking this fight on two weeks notice and had that big weight miss so not sure how his cardio will be either. Grishin is old and really boring but hes not a bad fighter by any means; he had a very competitive fight with dustin Jacoby who's quite good.

Lawrence vs martinez 

Lawrence DEC 

this one should be good. im going to cut mana some slack for his last performance because it was short notice and his coach had died the previous week so I dont blame him too heavy for the weight miss and underwhelming performance. he did show that his gas tank is pretty good despite koing all his opponents in the first round. mana has some serious power, when you watch his fury fc fights he absolutely starches everyone. he did show on contender series that he isn't clueless on the ground (as he did hit a nice reversal) but getting taken down and subbed by drako Rodriguez is such a bad look. I also just think this is a nightmare matchup for him. ronnie Lawrence is a great striker and even better of a Wrestler. on the feet hes very quick and throws tons of unpredictable stuff like spinning backlists and whatnot. his head is very stationary which I dont like but he makes up for it because he moves so much its very hard to land cleanly. on the ground however, is where Lawrence excels. Im so shocked with his wrestling ability because he didnt even wrestle in HS or college yet he can chain together and spam takedowns (I believe he has 20 takedowns in 2 ufc appearances). He can effortlessly pick up and slam opponents and even hit a duplex against cachero. to top it off, Lawrence has a never ending gas tank and can just keep going 110% for 5 rounds.

Hernandez vs moicano 

Moicano sub RD 2 

for this one I can see how Hernandez wins but I cant believe so many people think hes going to cream moicano; hes really not that good. he had a good start to the ufc with his ko of beneil but he hasn't done anything since. hes gone 3-3 losing to decent competition and beating nobodies. Now, hes looking good against these nobodies but people are saying hes looking evolved now and I just cant get that from beating low level regional replacements. Hernandez is a solid striker who ultizies his speed and movement to dart in and hit his opponents. hes got decent wrestling and a black belt but only really uses his striking. for moicano, I think hes a better striker (his striking is underrated) and definitely has the superior ground game. On the feet, moicano is a Muay Thai striker; he uses leg kicks a lot and for someone with 0 ko's is quite high volume and has some decent power. he doesn't use wrestling a ton but hes used it a lot more since coming down to LW. against jai Herbert he had like 5 take downs. hes not a god on the ground but he has shown to be very dangerous and I think he is far superior to Hernandez should he take the fight there. on the feet I think he has the advantage but he has to be careful of the power shots from Hernandez. moicano doesn't have a glass chin but he can be cracked by guys who hit hard. also, yes moicano has been given (mostly) easy fights at LW but his level of competition is far better than Hernandez's.

Ulberg vs Cherant 

Ulberg ko round 1

ulberg should be lock of the card. I saw someone earlier in the thread refer to cherant as the "LHW Jerome rivera" and I think that hilariously accurate; cherant is a bjj guy who came to the ufc on short notice and really hasn't impressed at all. Hes been finished in both his ufc fights in the first round so we really haven't gotten to see really anything from him. we already know his striking isn't good and his bjj cant be that great because he got von flu'd very easily against meinfeild. cherant did switch his camp to sanford mma but I really dont think thats going to do anything here. Ulberg is very green for mma but I am impressed with what I see from him; hes very high volume, hits hard, and has great technique. so his last fight was disappointing in terms of the result but he didnt fight bad at all; just got caught. he was teeing off on Kennedy and had him hurt pretty bad but did blow the gas tank. now, im not worried about his gas tank because almost nobody can maintain that pace for very long, but it did show he needs to learn to pace himself. Now, thats something he should do in the future because, realistically, hes not going to need more than a round to ko cherant.

Malkoun vs dobson 

Dobson ko round 1 

this is a weird one; im not really sure where to rate either guy. Malkoun has bad competition and got steamrolled in his debut, but he also dominated alhassan on the ground. Im still going to assume hes really not that good because alhassan has very poor tdd but Malkoun did show he has wrestling to make up for his lack of striking. For Dobson, im impressed with what I see but I dont really know how good he actually is. his whole style is just bum rush you and try to kill you either on the feet or take you down and sub you, but he hasn't really fought anyone good. I will say, his striking technique looks pretty impressive and he was able to take and sub his opponent at will but im also not sure how his cardio will be able to hold up if he cant get Malkoun out of the first round. I see this fight going the same way the hawes fight did; Malkoun gets swarmed and cant really do anything about it but im worried what happens if it leaves the first round/malkoun lands a takedown.

Douglas de silva vs sergey vs morozov 

Morozov DEC 

im actually tempted to go with d silva here but idk. he is old but looks in great shape. hes been inconsistent in his career but has fought (and beaten) some very tough guys. he excels on the feet; hes got tons of power and good technique. morozov is pretty solid on the feet as well but doesn't have the greatest head movement which makes me a little uneasy. hes only been koed once but he can be cracked. the reason I have him winning this fight is because he is a very underrated wrestler. it didnt look great because he got rag dolled by Umar but Sergey has a great sambo background and should be able to negate d silva's striking. I would probably switch to d silva if he had better tdd.

Wells vs diamond 

Wells ko round 2 

this is such a good fight to start the card. So blood diamond has a lot of hype on him and I dont really see it. Hes got flashy striking and I will say I am impressed by his kicks, but I dont know how good he his in an MMA capacity. Hes only got three fights and didnt look that great in his most recent one either. He has an extensive kickboxing background (I think over 60 bouts) and his striking is very unorthodox. he can just throw kick from anywhere at any time; I remember watching one kickboxing match where he got hit nonstop for 90 seconds and then threw a headlock and ended the entire fight with one strike. Hes getting a short notice replacement but wells is a much tougher fight than cosce by a significant amount (imo). Wells is old but seems very skilled. Hes super strong and trains with the likes of Sean Brady and pat Sabatini. Everything he throws has bad intentions and hes actually a very good grappler too. I feel as if he could ko diamond on the feet but his best bet is to take him down and sub him. from the tape ive seen, wells opponents dont really get up once he takes them down. I would not be surprised if diamond Kos wells with a head kick but I think wells is just better everywhere.

Adesanya vs Whittaker 2 

Adesanya DEC 

not much to say here. Adesanya is one of the greatest strikers we've ever seen and is looking better and better each fight. I think Whittaker is incredibly skilled but I havent seen him significantly improve since the first fight. now do I mean im not impressed? absolutely not, but hes just doing the same thing hes been doing before; steamrolling everyone else. Whittaker has said hes going to use the wrestling more but I really dont see him being affective. look at his numbers on his current win streak: 2/13 against till, 0/4 against cannonier, and 4/7 against gastelum. Izzy has a great tdd at MW and the Vettori fight showed that he is constantly improving his ability to get back up, stuff tds, and escape sub attempts. this fight will probably be more competitive than the first but I still dont think izzy looses

Lewis vs tuivasa 

Lewis ko round 1

Tuivasa is very underrated from a technical standpoint. hes a brawler but utilizes leg kicks and has good knees too. hes also quite good in the clinch. the reason im not picking him here is the step up in competition. tuivasa is very good but derrick lewis is top 3 for a reason. he may not have much actual skill but lewis is and has been a top level gatekeeper because of his brawling style and power. derrick lewis is the ko king and you just cant brawl with him (unless you're ngannou). I keep seeing the greg hardy fight and seeing how tuivasa got wobbled bad and that just makes me feel more confident in lewis. I am a little worried about derrick in Houston because he has been ****ting the bed the last few times around but he looked great against daukaus.

Cannonier vs brunson 

Cannonier ko round 2

this is one ive broke down a ton of times but it basically goes like all of brunsons fights. ive been wrong fading Brunson but I dont think im going to stop here. The way you beat him is to keep it on the feet and avoid the takedowns; easier said than done but cannonier has the best tdd of anyone Brunson hs fought on his win streak. Brunson had a ****** tdd at LHW and HW but at middleweight its sitting at 85%. Brunson has improved his striking but his chin isn't great. Till and Holland were very close to finishing him but their lack of tdd cost them the fights against Brunson. I thin cannonier has too much power and will be strong enough to stuff takedowns. Brunson is a very good underdog tho

Phillips vs Rojo 

Rojo ko round 3 

this is my favorite fight on the card. Kyler is an insanely talented BW and rojo is very underrated. Rojo came to the ufc on short notice against Jourdain and impressed, despite not winning the fight. Training at entrap gym, rojo has a very good, very aggressive boxing approach. he was bringing it to jourdain and hit some nice combos on him without slowing down. Now, he was winning like 9:40 and then got caught at the end of the second round and subsequently koed but I was still impressed with the pressure he put and the damage he could take. Now Phillips is coming off of a weird loss (it should have been a draw but not the worst decision imo). he destroyed paiva in the first and then gassed trying to finish and lost the next two rounds. Gas tank aside, Kyler is an incredibly impressive fighter. he trains at a great gym in the MMA Lab and has extensive martial arts background; ibjjf blue belt champ, cal state wrestling champ, and California judo champ. he also is a brown belt and nikidokai red belt. Phillips is very fast and throws insanely powerful strikes. be it spin kicks or his wild combos he has it all. the main worry is the gas tank and thats why I have him losing the fight. The right pick to make is Phillips but I really think rojo has a good chance. Rojo has suspect grappling but if he can make Kyler strike the whole time I think his pressure will drag Kyler into a brawl where hes uncomfortable and will lose late in the third.

Green vs Haqparast 

Green DEC 

This is such a banger. haqparast was supposed to fight John makdessi next week but instead they made this fight; which is so much better than the original. both guys are very similar statistically; both throw high volume and outstrike their opponents by a ton, while both having good tdd and very good striking defense. however, nasrat is pretty much just a striker, where Bobby green has a wrestling background along with great striking. Nasrat doesn't hit crazy hard but he can throw tons of volume. however, ive noticed that once he gets taken down, he has trouble getting back up. On the feet, he should be competitive with green, and maybe even wins on the feet but I personally feel like green is the better striker. Green has a very unorthodox fighting style where he fights with his hands at his side and dodges punches with his movement instead of blocking. its very unorthodox, and usually works but ive seen him get hurt from this style many times (Poirier, fiziev, vannata, etc.). Now bobby has a great chin and has escaped the ko many times but that is the caveat to his style. However, im still very impressed with what I see on the feet. his timing to block shots is awesome and hes been feeling himself a lot on the feet, like with his ko of Al. he doesn't use it that much but he has very underrated wrestling and I think he will be able to use it to get nasrat down. also, I have to side with brown because he has tons of experience where nasrat is good but usually loses when he has a step up in competition.

the greatest all time MW conversation is sounding super casual haha. I'm glad someone mentioned Anderson Silva but there's a guy named Michael Bisping who beat anderson silva and another guy named St Pierre who I know fought mostly welterweight but Whittaker has a nice portion of his career at 170 as well. So are we talking skill for skill or résumé? 

* Edited at 02.11.2022, 2:58 PM ET *

IMO you can't add GSP to that conversation with only one fight at MW then dipped. If he got a few title defenses then I'd agree.

awilson70 i respect that, and i'll even agree with you. I added that to my response as you were responding. I think age is a factor in why he didnt fight 85 for a long period of time but with that being said, Whittaker fought a nice portion of his career at 170 as well (yes i added that after as well). 

* Edited at 02.11.2022, 3:01 PM ET *

Whittaker was 12-4 when he moved up to 85, he's now 23-5. 16 WW fights, 12 soon to be 13 MW fight. So yea, it's about 50-50 and  he's clearly a better 85er than he was at 70 but he still has fought more at 170 at this point