UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Holland

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

I really hope Tai takes it, but this is a very tough fight, and none of Tais recent wins have aged well. I still believe he's improved drastically since his loss to Junior, but Pavlovich is a scary man. 

Well they don't all look like men, but its agree it's stupid. They're there to fight, not be eye candy. 

I agree with you about Holland not finishing Wonderboy in the first half. He could do it in the 2nd half of the fight but I think Wonderboy has the fight awareness to avoid getting finished in this fight. He is getting up there in age and another loss would spell the end closing in, so I imagine him having a conservative fight plan and trying to outpoint Holland while staying out of the way for KOs. Holland has a 6 inch reach advantage though so it'll be hard to stay out of his way.

On paper, Wonderboy is more proven and he's ranked 6th while Holland isn't even ranked. This is a big step up in competition at welterweight and I think UFC are doing it for a reason. Dana White really likes Holland, I'm sure others in positions of power do too, and this main event slot against the number 6 in the world is probably a favor for Holland stepping in short notice against Khamzat. If Holland wins he gets a big jump in the rankings and if it goes to a decision, I think the fight will be close enough that judges will be bias towards the Holland side. 

I'm cynical about MMA judging and them judging in favor of the significantly younger guy they can build up makes a lot more sense than going with the 39 year old vet in a close fight. Holland has the reach and height to stay out of the way and land on Thompson. Might have trouble getting the finish but a decision for Holland will be my prediction. He's been five rounds before at middleweight so it's not out of line to say he could do the same at welterweight.

Recently? He was 36 and 37 for those wins, he is now 39. Both Neal and Luque plodded after him in a circle and tried to make it methodical and technical without properly cutting off the cage or increasing the pace at any time to a sprint. Holland is too much of a wild man to just put it in first gear and keep it there all fight. He also has a big reach advantage on Wonderboy which those guy did not.
Neal could easilly have beaten Wonderboy if he had anything except head strikes in his arsenal, like a low kick for example. He walked himself in range to kick to the legs or body of Wonderboy time and time again as Wonderboy was circling off the cage and just leaning away from the head shots.
Even simply head strikes could have been enough if he wasn't so timid and took a chance and exploded a couple of times on Wonderboy since he's very explosive (unlike Luque who is more plodding and relies on his chin to win a "technical firefight"). As good as both Neal and Luque are I feel they don't have a plan B and it cost them.

Personally love Kevin Holland in his matchup against Stephen Thompson as my pick of the week

My full UFC Orlando Picks & Predictions: https://oddsmokermma.com/2022/11/29/ufc-orlando-full-picks-predictions/

I'm sorry I had to post this here... I've been laughing the entire video.  I forgot how amazing of a fight this was!

Whoever said Holland is overrated didn't watch his fights against Brunson and Vettori. If he literally had any background in wrestling before he got into the UFC, there's a good chance he could've knocked out both of those dudes as there were moments in both fights that it took place on the feet, and Holland had the clear advantage. He hurt both Vettori and Brunson in those 2 loses. Vettori was more staggered but would've been on wobbly legs if he didn't have such a wrestling advantage, and Brunson successfully executed a desperation takedown to avoid getting knocked out. Beating Buckley also aged really well as he beat a highly touted Russian and could've legitimately knocked out Imavov. Beating Fluffy aged really well too actually

* Edited at 11.29.2022, 3:04 PM ET *

I’m suprise Tracy Cortiz is the tapology favourte, I was never really impress with her,  while with Ribas she look good in every fight she in beside the times she get dropped, and that more of a chin issue then a skill issue 

* Edited at 11.29.2022, 3:19 PM ET *

@duck ive been seeing people all over twitter hyping up Cortez as one of the best dogs of the card. Im really not confident in either side and I think this is one of the closer fights on the card. not really getting all the Cortez hype

Yeah, mate, I agree with your comment. I understand when people say Holland is the favorite, but Wonderboy could win this. I took the over 2.5, but I'm not that confident about it tbh. Let's see. 

Maybe, I'll take a shoot at the over 1.5 on the Tuivasa fight. Like Lisac said, maybe they'll feel each other before starting to heavily brawl. I wish Tai had taken this fight next year, cause I'd be more confident to pick him. 

https://www.delinquentmma.com/post/ufc-fight-night-thompson-vs-holland-betting-guide

1. Hermansson is crazy for fighting Dolidze on short notice but he probably gets it done.

2. Schnell/Nicolau is a coin flip; I don't agree with the odds. 

3. Will be very impressed if Bam Bam pulls this off. 

Dolidze

Cortez is going to smash your girl

Anders by jo

He's gonna jack him off?

This really is a smashing card. Can't wait for it. Even the idiot comments of people like L-Andrew, Bananas and Tartara can't make me any less excited for this one

you should be paying me for the analysis i've made on this card, you're lucky I haven't put it behind a paywall that your broke ass can't afford

this is like michael jordan visiting your local basketball park and giving out basketball advice, where else in this world does this **** happen?

you've got the most successful MMA betting man on the planet giving out a free breakdown of the majority of this card and what do you do? what does your ungrateful broke *****ass do?

you throw shade and disrespect at me. you bite the hand that feeds you.

sorry guys, but a few more of these snarky annoying comments from rah and i'm putting my analysis behind a paywall for the foreseeable future

* Edited at 11.30.2022, 4:48 AM ET *