UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Pick every fight from 1.5 and down odds and you'll average 85% and walk as a god among the mma peons.
None of you know anything. Plato's Cave of dumbass fight pickers in here.

New season of  TAPOLOGY’S BADDEST MF’ERS - 2024 is up! It launches together with this card! Everyone's invited.

@mue11er 

pretty much anyone on this forum you see with a ranking

@andygonzalezmma 

Don't act like you don't have a instagram (@andygonzalezmma2)

Where you upload your full card predictions, you are just too much of a coward to submit them here😂😂 mr.Bryce Mitchell over Emmett

* Edited at 01.06.2024, 8:07 AM ET *

Andrei, stop fighting. 

McGhee vs Bolanos 
McGhee KO RD 2

Happy they rebooked this fight, I still think bolanos is ass but this is such a good stylistic matchup. The bolanos signing is completely and utterly baffling to me. He wasn’t some well known prospect and was losing to cans in bellator so its not like he is some elite talent nobody knows about. His highlight reel is cool but again, its against literal tomato cans & we saw in his debut that he can’t do those same things against ufc level comp. He is a terrible mma fighter but his striking is pretty solid; he comes from a muay thai background & it shows in his fights. Bolanos is a powerful strikers & sticks to the basics of muay thai; tons of leg kicks, good clinch, and decent boxing. He also has a spinning elbow that he loves to throw but that won’t fly at the ufc level. In his debut, he looked great in round 1 when they were just standing but once they started to grapple Bolanos fell off a cliff. He won the fight but man it was ugly; no idea how to wrestle, no idea how to grapple (he literally told the ref to stand them up after being controlled for 3 seconds lol), and at the end of the fight he was almost willingly initiating the grappling. He was very lucky phillips is as bad as he is because any ufc level fighter would’ve dominated him. Bolanos also got really tired and just accepted the backpack in round 3.He is fighting a fellow striker with no wins over ufc level comp so the matchmaking is favorable, but im not sure thats enough. The reason I say this is because Bolanos hasn’t fought anyone on a similar striking level as him. Mcghee is a very clean striker, its hard to put an exact name on his style but he flows out there. He mixes kicks with clean boxing, and is always feinting & switching stances on the outside. At distance McGhee uses his jab & all sorts of kicks, and when he gets up close he uses his boxing. His boxing combinations are very crisp and he puts a ton of power into his shots; he doesn’t wind up on anything though, he just has natural power and very good technique. His timing on everything is also very good; i know buys is terrible but i was really impressed with how mcghee found the perfect shot for the walk off. The big difference for me is the speed and footwork of mcghee. Bolanos has only fought guys who are relatively stagnant & stand in front of him. Mcghee is always moving, always switching stances, and he is super fast as well. Bolanos is a very solid striker but he is pretty stationary himself, I think he is really going to be thrown off by mcghee’s speed and movement. Funny enough, this is also one of the only times mcghee will have a grappling advantage; his grappling isn’t amazing but its better than bolanos’s. Maybe bolanos shows us something nobody knew about but that debut of his was just so atrocious I can’t pick him to win another ufc fight. He is getting a favorble style matchup but i think mcghee is simply better everywhere; theres a difference between being a lifelong mma fighter vs making the transition from muay thai to mma. 

Basharat vs Lapilus 
Basharat DEC 

This is a really great fight, I'm shocked it's being buried in the prelims. I suppose it could end up being a little boring but both these guys are very good and the winner likely gets a top 15 so I'm surprised it's not on the main card. Lapilus is really solid but his style is frustrating to watch. He is a point fighter, and a very good one at that. Its annoying though because he has ko power but instead relegates himself to winning a boring low volume sparring match. Lapilus is able to do so because of his reach and distance management. Lapilus has an absurd frame for the weight class (73 inches of reach is a cheat code) and he is very good at pulling you in and countering with his left hand. When he gets you playing his game, Lapilus is gonna stay on the outside and pick you apart with leg/side kicks and his boxing. Hes very talented but it is so dull to watch because he is very good at what he does. I was pretty disappointed with his return to the ufc as well; he clearly won the fight, but it was a very lackluster performance & showed a lot of his major flaws; specifically, his wrestling and ability to deal with pressure. Lapilus always has very good distance management but if you are able to cut him off & get him near the cage he struggles a lot. Of course he can still win exchanges in the pocket but he is not nearly as comfortable when the opponents are dictating the pace and pressure. As a result of this, it also hurts lapilus’s tdd. Lapilus has great defense and a really good sprawl but he doesn’t cage wrestle well at all. IN the open its extremely difficult to get him down but near the cage its very easy; anybody who presses him up against the cage is able to get takedowns. We saw this get abused in the lavrentyev fight; he bullied lapilus with his judo against the cage & lapilus was helpless. On the other hand, Farid has been nothing but impressive to me. I still struggle to pick which basharat is better, but I do like how farid uses his entire skillset where javid is all striking. Farid and Javid have extremely similar striking, the only real difference is farid’s defense isn’t as good. It’s still very high level but he gets hit a lot more cleanly than javid does. Farid is all about the jab and low kicks but much like his brother he is attacking all parts of the body and throws at a high clip. He doesn’t have great power but he just surgically picks you apart with his striking. The striking in this fight will be very competitive but I lean farid because he has more tools where Lapilus is almost all boxing. The difference maker here is the wrestling; Farid does not shy away from using his wrestling & damn, its good. He times his shots very well and can also wrestle in the open which is hard to do. When he gets you on top, Farid is very good. He stays in half guard (will look to transition obviously) and rains down GNP on you until he finds an opening for a finish; I was very impressed with how he made changes on the fly and finished KR for trying to get back to his feet, very high level stuff. I think farid is going to be able to mix in wrestling & win a decision. If lapilus is getting controlled by everyone else hes fought, he is not going to be able to do much against farid.

Wilson vs Silva 
Silva KO RD 1

Not a whole lot needs to be said about this, Wilson isn’t close to ufc level and never should’ve gotten here in the first place. Before I **** all over his game, I will say he has a few good qualities, such as his size for the division and he has a really tight squeeze on his subs. But that's where the good qualities end. On the feet he fights like wonderboy but with all the bad qualities. He can only kick, has no idea how to throw a punch, chin up in the air always, completely lost in boxing range, and super chinny. He will attack submissions frequently but its very low level bjj; he just attacks whatever sub is possible. No tdd and if he does get you down its very easy to reverse him. I picked silva as a pretty big underdog on dwcs and came away impressed. It was hard to really get a read on him since his tape was quite limited but he looked great against vallejos. What really stands out to me is his footwork; silva is super light on his feet and is always moving around the cage with ease. His boxing looked very clean and he showed some good kicks as well. I don’t really see a point in breaking down this fight further because silva is just gonna sleep him in the first round, wilson is one of the worst fighters currently signed to the ufc. 

Nolan vs Motta 
Nolan KO RD 1

Great fight to set the tone for 2024. Motta is honestly one of the most limited fighters in the ufc, every time I watch his tape I see the same things yet i’ve continued to back him each time. Motta has really good natural power & i’d say that’s where the good qualities end. His best (and really only) weapon is the left hook; really good power and timing thrown on it but thats really the only move he knows. Motta will occasionally throw a punch to the body or throw a kick but his game can really just be broken down into hooks and overhands. This limited skillset has killed him in the ufc; we’ve now twice seen him get grossly outclassed by two guys who just sat back and fought very simple gameplans. Miller picked away at Motta’s legs & he had no idea how to deal with the kicks, leading to a violent ko. Then, in his last fight trey ogden put a masterclass on him. I was really frustrated watching this because his gameplan was so simple (jab, leg kick, feint takedowns) yet motta had no answer for anything. He hasn’t learned how to check leg kicks, he doesn’t know how to fight against a jab, and he was biting on every feint, even the most telegraphed ones. Ogden is a decent fighter but watching him outclass someone like that really shows Motta’s skill level. Besides the limited striking and nonexistent gameplanning, Motta has really bad durability issues. Sure the guys hes lost to in the ufc hit hard but motta is getting koed stiff as a board every single time (and had multiple losses like this on the regional scene as well) so his chin is only getting worse. It also doesn’t help that he has no defense either, he just absorbs punches with his head and doesn’t move it at all. And now he's facing his worst possible style matchup; a massive, lanky ko artist. Being totally honest, I wasn’t as impressed with Nolan's tape on second rewatch. Nolan is really solid, he just has a lot more development to do than I originally thought. Nolan is a 6”3 lw and every fight he comes to take your head off. Nolan likes to brawl but his length allows him to stay just out of his opponent’s range but leaves just enough room so he can land. Nolan is kind of awkward when he throws but his size and power compensate for that. I really like Nolan’s work in the clinch, he attacks the body up close and throws a ton of knees and elbows. Nolan also has the wrestling advantage here; much like his striking, the technique is awkward but Motta can’t wrestle at all so it's an advantage for nolan. When he gets on top hes got pretty nasty gnp. Overall, Nolan will win this easily but he is a lot greener than I originally thought. There’s still a lot of holes in his game but luckily for him, hes facing an extremely limited fighter with no durability. Barring dwcs debut tax or a fluke I think this is a very easy round 1 ko for nolan. Motta should retire after this, hes not built for fighting.

Bunes vs Van 
Van KO RD 3 

I like this fight but im also a little sad because bunes went from a very easy fight to an extremely difficult one. Van is still very green but he is an absolute stud of a prospect. We saw him face adversity in his last fight & never slow down despite the ko threat of his opponent. He walked him down and broke him with his pace and pressure. Van’s pressure is incredible & I love how he constantly rips the body when attacking. What’s also impressive to me is how quickly he is improving; he has only been wrestling for a year now and his tdd is significantly better than ti was on the regional scene. Bunes does offer some challenges for van though; for starters, he is quite big for the division and has really dynamic, fast twitch striking. Everything bunes throws has power & he is pretty quick on the feet. He loves his kicks (specifically his wheel kick) but has really solid hands too. The difference on the feet is going to be Bunes’s head movement (or lack thereof). Bunes does a great job of getting out of the way of shots, but he has no lateral movement at all; his head never leaves the centerline. Bunes has a pretty good chin but he gets rocked almost every fight as a result. I can’t see him standing with van long enough to avoid getting hit with something big. Bunes’s best bet is either a ko, or using his grappling. I really like bunes’s grappling; he is a 2nd degree black belt & much like his striking, he brings a dynamic submission game to the table. It can cost him at times as Bunes will give up top control or the back to attack a sub, but he also has the flexibility & grappling level to win moments off of his back. I am really impressed with how he can chain things together. He may be able to get van down but I think van is smart enough that he won’t allow bunes to get one of his crazy flying subs or get a back take. I actually think this is a decent test for van, as bunes is much better than his record shows. However, there is a reason Bunes’s record is that way; he has a ton of skills but also a lot of flaws. The head movement is what I believe is gonna be his downfall here, but he has also shown his cardio isn’t incredible and he will lose moments playing bjj off of his back. I think this is a showcase spot for van

Hawes vs Ferreira  
Hawes KO RD 1

The confidence in ferriera is actually baffling to me. I get fading hawes because of his chin but bruno is ******* awful; the tapology odds are not at all indicative of how this fight is going to go. Dont get me wrong, hawes could absolutely look spectacular before getting caught, but when thats literally the only way he loses this fight, the overwhelming confidence in bruno is just baffling. Maybe im just biased but I really dont think bruno is all that, he should be at 170 and is really just a power merchant. Hes got nuclear power but he cant fight technical at all. He has no combinations and doesn’t set up any of his shots, he just throws single shots at a time. He also really telegraphs his punches by stepping into them before throwing. Brunno does give different looks with his stance switches & feints but his inability to put together combos or set things up really hurts his overall game; then again, the power is the equalizer here. Brunno doesn’t have to be technical in this matchup because all he needs to land is one power shot and hawes will either go out cold or immediately start wobbling. Despite this, I think it's important to note that while brunno has a better chin, he is a punching bag on the feet; he willingly takes punches to give one and that could screw him here. A lot of people seem to forget that hawes overall skills are incredible, if he could take a punch I truly believe he would be ranked in the top 10. Hawes has a big reach advantage and is a very good striker in his own right. Hawes is extremely physical and uses all of his weapons on the feet. His boxing is very clean but he has a good arsenal of body kicks & I really like his use of step-in elbows that he displayed against deron winn. I think the main difference here is the combinations of hawes; he will use his reach advantage and pick brunno apart with strikes where brunno has to close the distance and only throws single shots. Hawes is also a very good wrestler (although he barely uses it) so thats another path to victory for him. Brunno is a judoka but his wrestling doesnt seem all that great. There's a very real possibility that hawes looks good & gets koed out of nowhere (story of his career) but I really don’t think brunno has the skills to pull it off. Yeah, hawes is a glass jaw but the only people to beat him in the ufc are all top 15 (besides ikram but we all know hes good) and have much better skillsets than brunno, who is all reliant on his power and physicality. If hawes doesn’t get koed, I think he will look -500 or higher here. 

Arlovski vs Acosta  
Acosta KO RD 1

This is a crazy mismatch. Waldo isn’t even really that good but arlovski is so past it at this point in his career. I’ll always applaud him for managing to save his career 2-3 times, hardly anyone is able to recover from brutal consecutive losses like that; but, father time has finally caught up to Arlovski. The past 3 years of arlovski’s career have consisted of him doing the absolute bare minimum to win close decisions against the bottom of the roster. Arlovski’s flaws are all still there but hes been able to win fights using his fight IQ, experience, and abusing the fact that the bottom tier heavyweights don’t have the ko power or cardio to beat him. And even then his fights were still very close 99% of the time. We’ve seen that if you don’t play into arlovski’s point fighting game, it's incredibly easy to beat him. He can’t really match a high pace anymore & once you pressure him his defense goes away. Thats the biggest issue because arlovski has been plagued with a glass jaw his entire career; once you stop playing in a sparring match, arlovski’s chin can’t take heavyweight punches. His chin has always been bad, he just stopped getting koed every fight because he was facing really bad fighters. Im not overly high on waldo but he’s got enough good qualities for a heavyweight that I see him having a lot of success. He’s pretty large, has solid boxing, and really good cardio for a heavyweight, all of which is enough to beat arlovski. We’ve seen the easiest ways to beat waldo are to either lie on him or leg kick. Arlovski doesn’t wrestle at all so hes going to have to win by outpointing waldo & i simply don’t think he has what it takes to do that. He can’t match waldo’s pace and he definitely cant deal with the pressure of waldo. I see this going similar to waldo’s dwcs fight where he walked down his opponent turning the pace up to 10, and his opponent just melting under the pressure. 


Semi vs parsons 
 Semi KO RD 1 

This was a very unexpected replacement but im all here for it. Semi is looking to bounce back after an extremely disappointing 2023; semi has always been lacking in his skillset but we really saw him get exposed for it this year. Its frustrating because semi really has all the tools to succeed but he has no idea how to actually fight. Hes got josh emmett level power but much like emmett, he has absolutely zero killer instinct. If semi lands clean on you, its almost a guaranteed knockdown. The problem is once semi hurts people, he never follows up and allows them to get back into the fight each time. I dont think theres a better example of this than the matthews fight. Everyone (myself included) expected semi to get dogwalked, and he lost like 12-13 minutes of the fight but won because he scored a knockdown every round. Matthews would very clearly control the first 3-4 minutes of each round but then semi would find the power shot and flip the round into his favor each time. Its actually hilarious to think that if semi had any killer instinct, he would be on a 6 fight win streak, instead hes fighting for his job. Another flaw in semi’s game is his wrestling. We saw Morono and Wells were able to beat semi with their wrestling; the former stood with semi the whole fight but his wrestling saved him round 3 after the flying knee. We’ve seen that when semi hurts guys, they are almost always able to recover because semi lacks the wrestling ability to either disengage or find his way on top and win with gnp. We also saw Fletcher win a round off of semi by wrestling him before he ultimately gassed out. Semi is facing a grappler so I am a little worried this could go south for him but, parsons has a lot of holes himself. He has skills everywhere but I wouldn’t say he necessarily excels anywhere. His striking is pretty effective; for having no kos he actually hits pretty hard and he is good at landing on his opponents. The issues with parsons striking are his defense and his entries to his combinations. Parsons is a stationary target, that head doesn’t move at all & he just eats punches on the chin; if he wants to win he will have to start shooting from the opening bell. I simply can’t see him being able to stand with semi without getting slept. He can definitely land and have success but that power is gonna be too much for him. I also hate how parsons starts his combos; he never jabs or throws a straight punch, he always enters with a hook & its really telegraphed. If parsons does come in grapple heavy then this will get interesting; parsons lives up to his nickname & makes sure to put the pressure on in all of his fights. His wrestling isn’t great but parsons will continuously shoot to get you down. When he does get you down, Parsons will constantly look to find a submission & is constantly scrambling to match your position. A caveat of this style is Parsons often makes a mistake during transitions which leads to the opponent getting back up. If parsons had defense and a better chin i would pick him for the upset. He has the skills to ragdoll semi for three rounds & even finish him but the problem is he gets hurt against everyone he fights & he is not surviving a punch from semi. 

* Edited at 01.06.2024, 11:13 AM ET *

Ank vs Walker 2  
Ank KO RD 2

I really don't see this going much different than the first fight. Ank was dumb for throwing that knee but he was clearly in control of the fight. walker fought smart with the leg kicks, but he was still getting hurt with almost every shot ank landed. The wrestling was also so easy for ankalaev. As long as he doesn't throw an illegal strike again, this is his fight to lose.


Kape vs Nicolau II  
kape KO RD 2

I was not expecting this fight to get made but I am happy ufc is deciding to rematch these two because I thought Kape was robbed pretty badly. Their first fight was pretty close but I dont think this rematch is going to go the same way at all. Part of that has to do with kape finding his footing in the ufc; he had previously stated that he was having trouble adjusting to fighting without shoes & there was a noticeable lack of volume in his first couple of fights. I think both these guys are elite flyweights but both have qualities that I dislike. For nicolau, I think his skills are amazing but his fighting style is terrible to watch; he lulls you into a boring point fighting match where he wins by doing the bare minimum. Kape on the other hand fights to his opponents level. He makes fights closer than they need to be by not putting out enough volume and plays around way too much. Now, Kape is able to get away with this because he is naturally gifted; he really is an insane athlete. He reminds me a little bit of figgy in that regard, he doesn’t always have the best fight IQ but his natural abilities even the playing field. We saw in the first fight that nicolau was the minute winner while Kape won the big moments with his power. This time around, I don’t think kape is going to be nearly as gunshy. When kape lets his hands go, his striking is absolutely ferocious; hes so slick with his movements and has some ridiculously fast hands mixed with crazy power for the weight class. Nicolau is a sniper, and while he can fight more technical than kape, I think kape has the better striking. Nicolau also is pretty chinny, so kape needs to just land one punch while nicolau has to be on point for 15 minutes. We saw him hurt nicolau badly in the last two rounds, so i think if kape puts the pressure on he will get a finish. Nicolau also doesn’t like to be pressured so this would be beneficial for kape. What worries me this time around is the wrestling of nicolau; he is a pretty good grappler and has great control. Kape is a great wrestler/grappler in his own right but he does have a tendency to lie on his back when he gets taken down; we saw nicolau win round 1 with control. I highly doubt nicolau comes in with a wrestling heavy gameplan (as it's not his style) but I think he would be smart to wrestle more this time around. I'm confident kape will come in more aggressive this time because he finally has a legit opponent in front of him, everyone else hes been booked against pulls out & you can tell kape is really pissed about it. I feel he is going to come in here to make a statement and finish nicolau. 

Miller vs Benitez 
 Miller KO RD 1

I find it very strange they booked miller so close to 300. Luckily for him this is a pretty favorable matchup so he should be good to go. I have been loving this “renaissance” of millers career as of late. Hes fighting guys hes significantly better than but has randomly pulled this ko power out of his ass & i am loving watching him blast guys into outer space. Despite these hilarious finishes, it should be noted that miller is still decently past his prime. He’s retained a lot of his skills but he’s still a very beatable fighter. Miller has always been durable but his chin is slowly declining (hes been hurt by people not known for their power) and his cardio isn’t what it used to be. Hes also a little slow as well. That being said, Miller still has most of his skills & tons of experience that he brings to the table. Miller is pretty solid everywhere; hes got good boxing combos, a good head kick, really good counters, and always very solid bjj/wrestling. At this point in his career he has seen everything, so his experience plays a big role as well; this was shown in his loss to hernandez. Miller lost because hernadez was just simply younger and a better athlete but miller made it really close with his counters and even almost finished the fight late. Despite losing I was actually quite impressed that old miller was able to stand and brawl with him, even if he wasn’t winning. That is important for this fight because he is fighting a brawler. While miller is on the decline, benitez has declined even worse. A career FW, benitez made the move to 155 in his last fight because his body couldn’t handle the cut. He was constantly missing weight and looking awful in fights. I don’t wanna say his durability is totally gone because he was facing hard hitters, but he was getting slept badly in almost every fight. Benitez is still putting up competitive effort in his fights but he just gets dragged into these wars & his body can’t handle the damage. Despite being a striker im not a big fan of benitez’s striking; hes a very good kicker, especially with leg kicks but his boxing is meh to me. He has decent power but I hate the way he throws punches, he leaves his chin out a lot & with the decline in durability this style only compromises him more. These two are gonna throw down on the feet but I have to favor miller, he has cleaner technique and a big power/durability advantage. I was also not impressed with benitez’s cardio either; i know billy q is a cardio monster but benitez was dead tired after like 6 minutes of striking. Miller doesn’t push a pace nearly as high & his cardio also isnt amazing, but he can fight hard for 15 if he needs to & like i said earlier, that hernandez fight was a pretty high pace. Miller can also win with grappling though; benitez has horrible tdd. Hes got decent bjj but he is only really a submission threat off of his back. It was really concerning watching billy q take him down with ease & backpack him like that; billy is not a great grappler at all, so imagine what miller will be able to do. Now, miller loves to strike so i'm expecting a standup war until he finds that chin. Since this will be a brawl, I am worried miller could get finished, but I have to favor him due to durability & just for where hes at rn in his career. Miller is slowing down but he is still winning fights and looking good. Benitez is looking bad even in his wins (his only 2 wins in the past 5 years are against tin cans) and has shown a decline in his game.
 
Simon vs Bautista  
Simon DEC 

I like this fight a lot but the matchmaking is strange to me. The ufc was priming bautista with cans & now that hes reached the top 15 level, they now give him his worst style matchup? After struggling (and arguably losing) to a much worse wrestler his last fight? Simon got embarrassed in his last fight but don’t let that fool you, he is a very good fighter. What I like about ricky is how well rounded he is. He is primarily a wrestler but his hands are also really sharp. Rickys wrestling is fantastic, I think hes one of the best at 135. He times his shots incredibly well (as evidenced by his td accuracy) and is unrelenting with his takedowns; if you try to stand back up, hes going to drag you right back down & will shoot the entire fight. He doesn’t do a ton when he does get on top but his control & unrelenting wrestling pressure makes up for it. Simon also has good submissions from the top but doesn’t always go for them. Striking is where simon is at his weakest but even then he is still a very capable striker. Its very basic but also effective, his arsenal consisting of leg kicks and punches to the head. Simon has clean boxing skills & being a wrestler his best weapon is that overhand right. What makes simon an effective striker is his power, he really hits like a truck for this weight class. The biggest hole in rickys game is his defense, Ricky has a bad habit of walking into punches at times. Its funny because he actually has really good defense (62%) but sometimes he gets too trigger happy and will walk into punches to get his own off; Ricky has a solid chin but he can be koed. Now I am actually a big bautista fan, but I think this is a difficult matchup for him. Bautista is incredibly well rounded but his big hole is wrestling. Hes got great grappling skills & some wrestling knowledge but he really struggles against good wrestlers; been that way his whole career. We saw jay perrin control him at times and then his last fight bautista had an incredibly hard time with blackshear. Bautista is good at defending the initial shot but once you chain attempts together, thats where he struggles. It’s not like bautista is clueless to wrestling, but he has struggled against significantly worse wrestlers than simon, so I don’t see why simon can’t just bully him on the mat. Bautista has very good grappling so I could see him creating scrambles, but even then ricky will just readjust and keep wrestling. I think I lean bautista in the standup but ricky can definitely beat him there too. I really love bautista’s striking, like the majority of the mma lab guys, he just has super dynamic striking and uses all of his available weapons. His power isn’t anything crazy but he is just a very solid striker and puts everything together well. However, I don’t think the striking gap is really that wide & the wrestling gap is very wide. I think this is a pretty easy win for ricky, and this is coming from a fan of bautista’s. I just don’t think hes ready for a step up like this; he arguably lost his last fight, has historically struggled against wrestlers, and his level of competition is extremely poor. Comparing the opponents of the two, its not close at all. 

* Edited at 01.06.2024, 11:13 AM ET *

PRESTON IS GONNA SMESH YOUR BOY!

Sounds like you want Preston to smash you more like it

Nicolau vs. Kape II
Manel Kape, DEC
I think Kape edged out their previous fight.

@AyyLmaonnaise 

I think you're severely underrating Ferreira's skills. He's not "******* awful" by any means. That fight with Robocop wasn't just some fluke win. It was a competitive fight up until the point he split Robocop's face open. No shame in losing to Ruziboev either and I think that loss will age well. I pretty much feel the same way you do on the rest of the fights though. Good breakdowns

* Edited at 01.06.2024, 1:59 PM ET *

Thanks for breakdowns Ayy lot's of data, I have Bruno but most of his "skills" are tbd.
All I know is someone is getting kod even if the ref shoves one of them too hard.

 
Dog Of The Card!!
-Gaston Bolaños

Locks Of The Card!!
- Jim Miller
- Manel Kape
- Joshua Van (DEC)
- Jean Silva   (KO)

Watch Our YT Video Below!!

@DevinM34 

talking bout Robocop he also got knocked by jordan williams mf’s calculating from lucky strikes now, its not justifiable that bruno is this highly touted here after freezing in his last one and hawes coming in hungry af not bout to lose his job the better athlete by far not worse that he has a major reach advantage 

@devinM yeah calling him awful is a bit of a stretch but I really don’t think he’s that amazing. The Robocop win was good but it’s very important to factor in that Rodrigues is a brawler with a shaky chin. He is more skilled than Bruno but decided to play into Bruno’s game, thus giving Bruno a higher chance of winning; if they fought 10 times I truly believe Robocop wins 7 or 8 times. 

Part of the reason he lost to ruziboev was because of the size disadvantage BUT, it was also due to one of his overarching weaknesses; his striking defense. Brunno takes a shot to give one, while he might not be as chinny as hawes or Robocop, he still takes a lot of damage in his fights. Sure, this style works against chinny guys (and it may very well work here) but it’s not like he can’t be knocked out. I know the ko losses say otherwise, but people forget hawes is actually a very good kickboxer. He hits hard as **** & puts together combinations very nicely. Given that Bruno is built like a spark plug & at a size disadvantage, I think hawes will be able to use his reach advantage to control the striking. I think it’s also important to note who is hurting hawes on the feet. Daukaus, imavov, and ikram are all pretty big for the weight class (the latter of the three hawes was actually lighting up on the feet), I know Curtis hurt him too but his striking is much cleaner than Brunno’s (and again, a fight hawes was crushing in before the stoppage). Hawes has been training at k dojo/renzo gracie Philly for this camp so I really think we may see him use his wrestling (for those who don’t know, hawes wrestling is what carried him to top prospect status back in the day). If he does grapple, I think he stands a very good chance at dominating Brunno there. 

TL:DR, while Bruno absolutely can put hawes lights out, I think hawes is a much better fighter than him, just looking at the skillsets of the two. If you take away brunno’s power what does he really bring to the table? Sure he’s explosive, but because he’s so short he has to lunge in to get his shots off & again, is still very hittable. I also think it’s important to note that hawes has only ever lost to top 15 level guys, and Bruno is not that.