UFC 290: Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

That fight could also have some pretty high level grappling DDP should fare better there.

Rob has some of the best grappling defense I ever seen, It's rare to see him  get takedown and if he does, He's getting back up, I think I actually rate Rob grappling defense better then his striking, And that no knock to his striking, If your plan is to grapple with Rob, You will lose, You have better odds trying to grapple with a full grown bear

* Edited at 05.30.2023, 8:36 PM ET *

It's funny I did not realize how excited for this fight I am lol, both great guys probably zero trash talk.
Then game time both will go out looking to take the other scalp, head and maybe soul.
Loser should get Costa to right that mistake but this is gonna be fun for however long!

If you are going to take DDP to win this fight, take him to win by a finish because I just don't see DDP winning a decision.  If he wins, he is going to catch Rob somehow in this fight however unlikely that might seem. 

* Edited at 06.01.2023, 4:39 AM ET *

Petrino vs. Prachnio
Vitor Petrino, TKO, R1
Take the younger guy who doesn't have all the wear and tear, granted he doesn't have the experience either. My rd 1 KO might get changed after watching some fights especially the Rountree one bc if he made it to decision he must have a granite chin

Crute vs. Menifield II
Alonzo Menifield, TKO, R2
Maybe Menifield won't do anything to lose a point in a round he's losing to get a 10-8. Hopefully we get a conclusive winner

This week I went back to see Dricus's 2 fights against Soldic in KSW and apart from his characteristic striking in the first round of the first fight he showed great recovery after suffering an early knockdown, excellent wrestling and good ideas in grappling (with 30 more seconds in the first round, he would have gotten the victory by submission) in the second round he knocks Roberto with an excellent counter where he highlighted a good technical foundation to avoid the heavy shot that Soldic had thrown and launch the counter KO punch almost simultaneously. In the second fight he was clearly outmatched and knocked out by Soldic, but his cardio looked good and despite being knocked out he showed heart throwing hand until be unconcosious as he had been in trouble since the start of that third round.

Currently DDP has a higher muscle mass than when he fights in Welterweight and that means he generates a higher amount of lactic acid since he has been in the UFC, but I consider that the sinus issue has been the main thing in his cardio in the UFC and after the With surgery to correct only 8% capacity of his nostrils, his cardio should look considerably better against Whittaker. I really don't understand the criticism of DDP, practically labeling him as the worst Top 5 Fighter in UFC when despite being tired DDP manages to have moments of explosiveness and can keep throwing bombs having low energy when most fighters fight sloppy and with zero defense when heavy-tired.

At the end of the day DDP made it to the Top 5 by doing the work: finishing almost all of his fights and when he didn't finish Tavares he managed to win the last 2 rounds to secure an UNSTEALABLE 29-28 decision on the scorecards (after getting tired and losing the first round), his next fight is Whittaker and if he wins he would face Adesanya, those 2 fighters (one a former UFC Champ and the other the current UFC Champ) have practically beaten 90% of the Current Top 10 of the categories without as many Complications, winning those 2 fights would make DDP one of the best MW in UFC history and losing any of those 2 fights would not make him a bad fighter. 
I have no doubt that Du Plessis gonna beat fighters like Vettori, Strickland and Jared in the future: Dricus has proven to be a threat with his striking, submissions and ground and pound, the other 3 are fighters with generally one-dimensional strategies and with a low percentage of finishes (Cannonier being the most effective of the 3 in finishes).

* Edited at 06.11.2023, 3:27 PM ET *

Whittaker KO

"despite being tired DDP manages to have moments of explosiveness and can keep throwing bombs having low energy when most fighters fight sloppy and with zero defense when heavy-tired"

you can throw bombs and fight sloppy with zero defense at the same time; in fact, that's exactly what Dricus does. he rushes in and throws sloppy bombs with no setup or defense. Whittaker ko indeed 

* Edited at 06.11.2023, 4:57 PM ET *

People love to hype up ddp because he’s exciting & keeps winning, but he’s facing guys with exploitable holes

Perez - can
Giles - very talented but a complete idiot of a fighter. He had ddp shelled up against the cage & decided to drop his hands 
Tavares - not who he used to be when ddp fought him. Much slower now 
Till - dog**** fighter who stopped caring about mma after the woodley loss. I don’t think he trained for ddp 
Brunson - no gas tank, very chinny, washed 

Whittaker has virtually no holes in his game. The worst part of his game is his chin, but he balances that out by having insane recovery. Even if ddp drops him I doubt he gets a finish. Whittaker will school him in every aspect of mma. Also, I should point out that ddp is winning these fights, but they are UGLY. He makes just about every mistake in the book & gets sniped badly every fight. His winstreak ends here

perfectly put. Dricus has literally zero paths to victory. gonna be a wash 

Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez
Alexander Volkanovski, DEC
Volky puts up a striking clinic vs Yair. 50-45.

Moreno vs. Pantoja III
Brandon Moreno, DEC
I’d take Pantoja Decision, but judges usually favor the champ if it’s a close fight (which this will be)

I accept the ambiguity of that comment, since it is a fact that usually when tired fighters lose or forget any notion of technical or defensive fundamentals (including Du Plessis), but throwing punches with KO Power is not common. being tired, enduring the opponent's attacks is not the usual perfect example is Omari Akhmedov practically every time he got gassed in the third round he was knocked out by his opponents, even being knocked out for victory by Sergio Moraes and Jordan Young (RIP) who only had one victory by KO in his professional record. At least 50% of strikers on the entire roster only have KO power in the first round of the fight, the vast majority of fighters when they run out of cardio end up losing via TKO or submission like Agapova vs. Dobson to mention an example. 

Despite being tired and heavy breathing DDP manages to undeniably beat Tavares in Rounds 2 and 3, submit Till in a 1-1 (First Round could have been 10-8 Dricus) Fight and Stops Brunson after losing the first round. 
Not the best performances (especially in the cardio department) but winning 3 times in a row (and win by stoppage in two occasions) in those conditions is something that surely 95% of the UFC roster couldn't do.

It's actually a pretty solid statement. Whittaker is the most well rounded fighter in the division and is obviously the favorite in this matchup, although in my opinion Dricus has a better chance of beating Adesanya and Whittaker than fighters like Vettori, Cannonier, Strickland and Costa, I think the odds are currently so exaggerated with a Whittaker at almost -400, but that the fact that he must be the favorite is something obvious

What I can discuss from your statement is the relativity of the value of the names: The same ''old, washed and chinny'' Brunson drops and nearly finish Jared in the first round and was winning before Cannonier caught him when he was tired and I I don't hear people criticizing Jared like they do Du Plessis and we're not counting the fact that Cannonier had one of the worst performances for a contender in a title fight.

By the way, Tavares was on a win-streak before the DDP Fight and he didn't drop in level right in the training camp for UFC 276, on the contrary, many said that Tavares was in his best shape and with improvements in his skillset before the fight. His performance drops could have been due to damage taken against DDP, not because he was washed just before UFC 276.

At the end of the day DDP has shown to have more resources than toughness, expect the KO blow lands and Jabs buffeting that are practically the only resources of fighters like Vettori, Cannonier and Strickland respectively (which in theory are the others that make up the Top 5, although Strickland I think is currently the #7 ranked fighter).

fair enough. I understand your point: that when they're gassed, most fighters aren't pushing through and winning like Dricus does. but unfortunately I think he's hit his peak, what he does just won't fly against Rob or any other elite MW for that matter

what I do have to strongly disagree with you on is that Dricus has a better chance of beating Izzy and Rob than the rest of the contenders. maybe he could do something against a Strickland or a Costa (not saying he'd win), but Izzy and Rob are such horrible nightmare matchups for him

I respect your point of view. But for example Cannonier already faced both (Whittaker and Adesanya) with Robert the fight was even at the beginning, but in the third round he was almost knocked out by Whittaker, against Adesanya he was defeated by distance management and leg kicks from Israel in a main event that will be remembered negatively by the fans. 
Vettori lost twice against Adesanya (first fight was a split decision and second fight was cleary outclassed) and against Whittaker, he was cleary outclassed in Paris. We agree that Costa and Strickland have the least chance of beating Adesanya and Whittaker. 

Regarding the chances of DDP, I think he has a chance to catch Whittaker with a good hand (plus considering that the cardio issue can be solved with the operation) and with Adesanya I think he has more chances due to his wrestling and having a greater effectiveness in his submission game than Vettori or even Whittaker (Whittaker has 5 submissions in 25 wins and DDP has 10 submissions in 19 wins). Sometimes the analyzes are based on 50% facts and 50% hypothetical scenarios.

Vettori had 3 Chances and Cannonier had 2 Chances and both lost, while UFC 290 represents Dricus' first opportunity to try to defeat Whittaker/Adesanya.

* Edited at 06.12.2023, 3:32 PM ET *

Dricus definitely has a chance to catch Whittaker; theoretically, anyone would. but is there anything tangible to look at that suggests he will? I don't think so. it wouldn't be the craziest thing that's ever happened but Rob is operating on such a higher level in every aspect of MMA (except maybe pure BJJ, but especially striking), I just don't see it. regarding Dricus vs Adesanya, I don't see him taking down Izzy. Adesanya's tdd is truly elite; Dricus's takedowns def aren't. if Dricus could get him down, I'm sure Adesanya would be able to pop right back up. and of course on the feet it wouldn't even be close 

* Edited at 06.12.2023, 4:08 PM ET *

Volkanovski vs. Rodriguez
Alexander Volkanovski, DEC
While Yair Rodriguez is a skilled striker and has notable victories, Volkanovski's well-rounded skill set, incredible cardio, and experience in high-pressure situations make him the favored fighter in this matchup. Expect Volkanovski to utilize his striking, control the pace, and secure a unanimous decision victory after a highly competitive five-round battle.

Moreno vs. Pantoja III
Brandon Moreno, DEC
Considering Moreno's ability to maintain a high pace, mix striking with takedowns, and control the fight, it is likely that he will come out on top. The fight is predicted to go the distance, with Moreno winning by unanimous decision based on his overall performance and skill set.

Nickal vs. Gore
Bo Nickal, SUB, R1
Considering these factors, I predict that Bo Nickal will emerge victorious in this fight. His superior wrestling background, combined with his fast and powerful striking, will likely give him the advantage in the stand-up exchanges. Furthermore, his ability to take the fight to the ground and capitalize on his submission skills should lead to an early-round victory, possibly via submission in the first round.

Whittaker vs. Du Plessis
Robert Whittaker, DEC
Considering Whittaker's experience, well-rounded skill set, and recent success in the Octagon, he is likely to utilize his striking and defensive abilities effectively against Du Plessis. Whittaker's ability to maintain a high pace throughout the fight, coupled with his improved striking and defensive skills, should enable him to outpoint Du Plessis and secure a victory via unanimous decision after three rounds.

Hooker vs. Turner
Dan Hooker, DEC
Considering Hooker's overall skill set, his past performances, and his ability to adapt and capitalize on his opponent's weaknesses, I predict that Dan Hooker will win this fight by decision.

Lawler vs. Price
Niko Price, DEC
Considering Lawler's recent decline and Price's overall skill set, it is predicted that Niko Price will win this fight by unanimous decision. Price's unconventional striking, top control, and higher output should give him an advantage over Lawler, who has been on a losing streak and is described as washed in his recent performances.

Brady vs. Maddalena
Jack Della Maddalena, TKO, R2
Considering Della Maddalena's impressive boxing skills, explosive scrambles, and his ability to finish fights, it is likely that he will capitalize on Brady's defensive weaknesses and land a significant strike that leads to a knockout victory. The fight is predicted to end in the second round, with Della Maddalena emerging as the winner by knockout.

Rodriguez vs. Saaiman
Christian Rodriguez, DEC
Christian Rodriguez has shown impressive skills in both striking and grappling. With a perfect record of 5-0, all finishes against inexperienced opponents, Rodriguez has displayed beautiful boxing and smooth transitions to grappling. He possesses great hands, mixing in knees, kicks, and unusual elbows effectively into combinations. His takedown and cage defense are exceptional, always digging underhooks and turning to maintain control. In his previous fights, he has demonstrated good boxing, tight submission attempts, and solid scrambles. Despite losing in his last fight against a high-level grappler, he showcased his ability to hang with a superior level of grappling. Rodriguez has also displayed good movement and efficient range finding in his striking. Although he has been taken down in the past, he has shown a great use of butterfly hooks to unbalance his opponents and has successfully secured submissions. With his patient and calm approach, along with his good cardio, Rodriguez is expected to outpoint his opponent and secure a decision victory.

Kirk vs. Ribovics
Kamuela Kirk, DEC
Considering Kirk's experience in the UFC and his ability to go the distance, I believe he will utilize his previous setbacks as learning experiences. Kirk's overall skill set and determination will likely enable him to weather Ribovics' early aggression and find success as the fight progresses. Kirk's durability, combined with his experience against tougher opponents, gives him an edge in the fight, leading to a decision victory in the third round.

Petrino vs. Prachnio
Vitor Petrino, TKO, R2
Considering Petrino's undefeated record, impressive knockout ratio, and aggressive fighting style, he has the potential to capitalize on Prachnio's vulnerabilities and secure a knockout victory. The fight is likely to be competitive, but Petrino's superior power and relentless approach give him the edge in this matchup.

Crute vs. Menifield II
Jimmy Crute, TKO, R2
Based on their previous performances and the stylistic matchup, I believe Crute will utilize his grappling and ground game to control Menifield. He will likely look to exploit Menifield's weaknesses on the ground and land significant strikes to secure a TKO victory, most likely in the second round.

According to espn, ceerod is out against saaiman. Looks like they are finding a replacement 

Hooker vs. Turner
Jalin Turner, TKO, R1
Anyone that sactions 155 Turner bout should be removed from the comission idc. Turner is a ******* cheater but at the same time I wish he KO'd Gamrot but now he is gonna KO Hooker so Im gucci with it **** ****** kickboxing team