UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Caceres vs. Pineda
Alex Caceres, TKO, R3
Caceres to win by ko tko

Castañeda vs. Mendonça
Mateus Mendonça, TKO, R2
Awesome fight here. I really like Medonça and what he has to offer. He’s fast, powerful and explosive. He just rushes things a little too much which is why he got tired. Even then he still did very well against Javid who’s a legit top 15 talent. Casteneda is very solid everywhere. I just think that Mateus will be able to win where he needs to. He’s gonna keep on the pressure as well like Santos. It’s gonna be a fun one either way

Arlovski vs. Mayes
Andrei Arlovski, DEC
Mayes is just so bad. He’s got some slight athleticism but other than that he has nothing to offer. On the feet he’s technically poor and doesn’t throw anything out there. His grappling is horrendous and cardio is not much better. Andrei may be ancient but he should take this one with a 29-28

Santos vs. Munoz Jr.
Daniel Santos, TKO, R2
Very interesting fight here. Santos is your typical Chute Boxe type athlete. Always coming forward with crazy pressure and volume with the same middling defense in striking. His takedown defense also isn’t the best, however he does have an outstanding get up game. Now Munoz is a good grappler and has decent cardio as well as ok striking. I think Santos will come with the same game plan as he did with Casteneda. He’s gonna have no respect for Munoz that will get him taken down a few times, but I see Santos ultimately breaking him with volume

Yu Frey vs. Reed
Elise Reed, DEC
This is just a nothing fight. Reed has traded wins and losses in the ufc and her skill set is very clear. She’s a kickboxer with 0 grappling. She’s so clueless in fact it’s sad. So me picking her here is purely based on her improving on the takedown defense. Frey is a different story, she’s very mid everywhere except on the feet. Where she’s very stiff, so stiff in fact that everyone lands on her with almost no resistance. It’s how she got KOd by Viana. Her grappling isn’t awful and she’s pretty strong so I do see a world where Frey just takes her down for 3 rounds but for now I’ll take Reed

Lacerda vs. Blackshear
Luan Lacerda, DEC
This is actually a fun fight. Lacreda had a fun fight win Stamann last time out and looked pretty good on the feet but he’s mainly a grappler. He’s very dynamic off his back and he’s very long so he’s able to get positions effectively and snatch up limbs. Blackshear is also a grappler but he’s a little different. He’s very strong and is also technically proficient on the mat. However he does give up position and is reversed when he overcommits. I could see Lacreda subbing him but Da’Mon does a good job of not getting finished. It’s gonna be a fun grappling matchup I see Lacreda winning fairly handily

Grishin vs. Lins
Maxim Grishin, DEC
This is a very interesting one. Grishin hasn’t fought in a while while Lins has come back after a long layoff and picked up 2 wins, albeit against Prachinio and washed up OSP. I think Grishin is the more technical fighter, he’s mainly a volume guy who pops the jab and low kick as his main range finders. Lins is a former heavyweight and carries decent power but he doesn’t find the mark as effectively on people who are defensively sound. His durability also isn’t that great. His grappling isn’t bad but I don’t see him taking Grishin to the canvas. I think Grishin maintains a good distance and will be too fast for Lins on the feet and will be able to win a 29-28 or 30-27

* Edited at 05.21.2023, 2:02 PM ET *

Kara-France vs. Albazi
Kai Kara-France, DEC
Not sold on Albazi yet. His toughest opponent so far has been Zhumagulov. Going with KKF due to his great anti grappling & being a little better in the stand up

Caceres vs. Pineda
Alex Caceres, DEC
Pineda struggles against guys with good kickboxing

Miller vs. Gordon
Jim Miller, DEC
If Gordon had a full camp & didn't just get knocked out id probably pick him but I'm not sure how well he'll be able to take a shot

Elliott vs. Altamirano
Tim Elliott, DEC
Elliot is the much better fighter. Altamirano is hard to keep down but if Elliot doesn't gas this should be him all day. Also Elliot will be taking his anger out on victor since he found out his wife was banging Kevin croom. Side note, imagine banging Elliot and croom. Gross

Silva vs. Souza
Karine Silva, DEC
Souza is taking bums to decision. Silva is a beast

Zaleski vs. Nurmagomedov
Elizeu Zaleski, DEC
Zaleski has been out for a year and a half & is now 36 so that's my main concern but he's the overall better fighter

Castañeda vs. Mendonça
Mateus Mendonça, TKO, R3
This is a 50/50 fight. I don't think mendonca should be a +145 underdog but I also don't think he should be getting over 75% of the votes either. I'm leaning Mendonca because he's the faster guy with a slightly bigger reach & difficult to finish.

Arlovski vs. Mayes
Andrei Arlovski, DEC
If Arlovskis chin holds up which is a big If then he should win this because Mayes is your typical dumb trash heavyweight

Santos vs. Munoz Jr.
Daniel Santos, TKO, R2
Santos is dangerous everywhere & munoz doesn't have any threat to keep santos from coming forward the entire time

Yu Frey vs. Reed
Elise Reed, DEC
Both trash but Reed is the better striker so I think she'll cause more damage. Reed could get held down the entire fight because her ground game is non existent. Who knows, let's just pray it gets cancelled in the next 2 weeks 🙏

Lacerda vs. Blackshear
Luan Lacerda, DEC
Difficult fight to predict. Both a good grapplers I just think Lacerda is a little bit better in mostly grappling fight. Might change my pick in the next 2 weeks

Grishin vs. Lins
Philipe Lins, DEC
Another difficult fight to predict. I think Lins will do more damage

Kara-France vs. Albazi
Kai Kara-France, DEC
This is an outstanding fight. Glad it’s a main event. Now Albazi is very good, he’s got solid hands, outstanding grappling skills, good movement and is very strong. Kai on the other hand is definitely one of the best anti wrestlers in the UFC’s lower weight classes. Hes made it a point to not get out wrestled and he’s done a great job at doing so. On top of that he has outstanding cardio. I’m not sure about Albazi’s gas tank but I’m pretty sure that he’s gonna be able to keep up a good pace. Extremely close fight but overall I gotta favor Kai winning a tight decision

Caceres vs. Pineda
Alex Caceres, TKO, R2
Caceres has come on recently and has made himself known as a solid contender in the top 15 of featherweight. He’s good everywhere, good striking with high volume and unpredictability on top of some slick head movement that gets him out of danger really well. Pineda looked better in his last fight but this feels like a fight where Caceres just pieces him up to a lite decision win or tko

Miller vs. Gordon
Jared Gordon, DEC
This is a great fight here. Both guys are very experienced and both have sort of similar skill sets. The difference is that Gordon plays it safer and overall better imo. Better boxing, better kicks but slightly less powerful. The ground game is about even at this point with Gordon being the more controlling type and Miller going for more subs. Of course the factor that Gordon did get KOd not too long ago is unnerving. But I still think he’s able to come away with a solid decision win

Elliott vs. Altamirano
Tim Elliott, DEC
Poor Elliot man. Guy has been going through it. But I think that situation will push him to come in and dominate an infieor opponent. Victor is on the lower end of ufc flyweights. I think Tim is better everywhere and will win a comfortable decision

Silva vs. Souza
Karine Silva, SUB, R2
No idea here. Wmma underdogs have been winning a lot recently so who knows

Kutateladze vs. Mullarkey
Guram Kutateladze, DEC
It’s about time we get to see Guram fight again. Skill wise Guram is outstanding. Great technical striking, solid power, great takedown defense and a solid overall ground game. Jamie is solid as well, he’s got good but not great striking. He’s got some power though as well as a decent ground game on top of pretty good cardio. This overall is a good fight for Guram because it’s such a step down in comparison to Ismagulov and Gamrot. I could see a finish but I’ll be safe and go decision

Zaleski vs. Nurmagomedov
Abubakar Nurmagomedov, DEC
This fight just all depends on Zaleski’s takedown defense. If he’s able to stay on the feet then he should be in business. Now that’s not to say Abubakar is a bad striker. He stays very tight and keep things simple with popping out the jab and the straight right hand. His grappling definitely isn’t something he uses very often but when he does it’s pretty solid. With all that being said though I think Zaleski will still find his way to outstriking him and winning a fairly clear decision

I don't blame Maxim Grishin for ducking Almeida twice, lol.

Kutateladze vs. Mullarkey
Guram Kutateladze, TKO, R3
Ground & Pound Win Round 3

Miller vs. Gordon
Jim Miller, DEC
Gordon doesn't look good, even when he's winning. Hell, I would say he looks so bad when he's winning that those performances results in controversial losses and No Contests ! He may lose a back and forth grinding affair here against the venerable veteran...

Elliott vs. Altamirano
Tim Elliott, DEC
Altamirano fought really good in his previous fight. he showed that he has the ability to put the pressure on for 3 rounds easily with vicious striking howevr Tim Elliott is a large step up. Even though Elliott might be aging in terms of skills I think this might be a match up too soon for altamirano.

I honestly didn't think being on Albazi would be such a contrarian opinion for this card, but it sure seems like a lot of people are taking KKF. I personally keep coming back to the Askarov fight, which I thought KKF very narrowly lost but that fight was very close and worthy of a split. 

Albazi is better than Askarov at everything and he'll have two extra rounds. The biggest thing that has me leaning for Albazi is his improved striking, which looked absolutely phenomenal in his last fight. It's an easy performance to sort of gloss over because it was against a debuting fighter, but Alessandro Costa is actually pretty good. 

KKF has great TDD but he's arguably only faced one really good wrestler/grappler so far in Askarov. Again, Askarov isn't anywhere near as skilled nor as efficient as Albazi. Askarov is pretty much just a wrestler who relies on his cardio to just spam takedowns over and over. Albazi is much more tactical because he has the grappling and subs in his back pocket as well as good striking.

I don't see a massive difference in QOC between these two fighters either. Albazi hasn't beaten an elite UFC flyweight yet but to be fair, KKF hasn't really either. Askarov was his one elite win and he's no longer in the promotion. As a matter of fact, the only wins KKF has over fighters currently in the promotion are Garbrandt and Nam. You give KFF the edge here because he's fought Royval and Moreno twice, but it's not like those were great results. I see very little difference between KKF beating guys like Nam, Bonterin and Paiva and Albazi beating guys like Zhumagulov, Gordon and Costa. 

I definitely think KKF has a shot, but as of this writing I like my original prediction of Albazi by sub. I just dont see KKF defending TD's for 5 rounds and I think Albazi's striking is more than up to the task here. 

I think you are wrong. Dead wrong.

😉

Kai Kara France does not have a shot.

* Edited at 05.22.2023, 8:25 AM ET *

France = most over rated fighter on the UFC roster.

Now watch all the morons on here start saying how they always  thought Albazi was going to win.

How is he iverrated? All I see is people **** on him. I was one of the only people saying don’t sleep on kkf against Moreno. Everyone said he was gonna get dogwalked and that fight was very competitve until the finish

I mean I definitely think KFF is over-rated but I think calling him "the most over-rated in the promotion" is being far too kind and respectful towards Dan Hooker and Josh Emmett. 

I think KKF is good but I don't think he's a top 5 flyweight. He currently holds that perception due to the favorable matchups he's had which includes 2 nice finishes.

At the end of the day, I think he loses to guys like Kape, Albazi, Figgy, Moreno, Royval, and Pantoja 9/10 times. He's a ranked flyweight but not a top contender. 

Kara-France vs. Albazi
Kai Kara-France, DEC
win

Caceres vs. Pineda
Alex Caceres, DEC
win

Miller vs. Gordon
Jared Gordon, DEC
win

Elliott vs. Altamirano
Tim Elliott, DEC
win

Silva vs. Souza
Karine Silva, DEC
win

Kutateladze vs. Mullarkey
Guram Kutateladze, DEC
win

Zaleski vs. Nurmagomedov
Elizeu Zaleski, DEC
win

Castañeda vs. Mendonça
Mateus Mendonça, DEC
win

Arlovski vs. Mayes
Don'Tale Mayes, DEC
win

Santos vs. Munoz Jr.
Johnny Munoz Jr., DEC
win

Yu Frey vs. Reed
Jinh Yu Frey, DEC
win

Lacerda vs. Blackshear
Luan Lacerda, DEC
win

Grishin vs. Lins
Philipe Lins, DEC
win

i agree he is overrated.

just like moreno, pantoja, figueiredo

there is some new blood coming soon

please do it