UFC @ the APEX
UFC 250 Recap
- Beyond USA soccer and maybe Tennis, women have a hard time garnering athletic attention. But women are showcased in Mixed Martial Arts; last week Amanda Nunes showed she is the greatest women’s fighter of all time, and this week will be the second UFC fight card in a row that is main evented by women.
- Aljamain Sterling, what a performance!!! My buddy wrestled with him at Cortland. I was rooting for him, but I was nervous. I thought Sandhagen’s striking was to outclass Aljo, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I hope he wins the title.
- Cody Garbrandt is back. He looked unbelievable. Very technical, didn’t look to brawl, and shut the critics up. Give me Cody vs. TJ 3.
- Devin Clark vs. Alonzo Menifield was an absolute banger. Clark broke his eye socket in round 1 and came back to win with pure heart.
- Amanda Nunes is the greatest womens fighter of all time, who does she fight next? Germaine de Randamie gave Nunes all she could handle on the feet, but GDR couldn’t stop the takedown. Megan Anderson’s wrestling looked solid in her last fight and she can give Nunes a challenge on the feet. I’d watch Megan Anderson vs. Amanda Nunes at 145 lbs.
- This dude on the left hit Dana White hard and direct on fighter pay. Fighter’s pay is a complicated issue, and I am not the authority on the matter, but I’ll give it a try. Dana likes to say fighters are independent contractors and they have all signed contracts, they don’t have to fight if they don’t want to. The problem with that statement is that the fighters can’t go negotiate a fight with Bellator or ONE, because they’re under contract with the UFC. An electron is both a particle and a wave function, a fighter is both an independent contractor and not an independent contractor. The fighters receive about 15% of the revenue. It’s fair to say the UFC takes that money and invests into the sport of mixed martial arts. They are building performance institutes around the world. The Reebok deal financially hurt some fighters but legitimized the sport. One thing that really stands out among the other fight promotions, is the UFC spends a ton of money dedicating themselves to drug testing. And the UFC has built a platform to showcase fighters, PVZ doesn’t have the Instagram followers she does without the UFC’s spotlight. Having said all that, it would be nice to see fighters in the UFC not need to have second jobs to survive.
- Fight Island kind of sucks, it’s Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. It’s basically just Abu Dhabi. Nevertheless, there are a ton of great fights on the docket, UFC 251 is going to be awesome.
- This fight card isn’t great. I’m going to take a look at two fights that I’m looking forward to seeing, Marvin Vettori vs. Karl Roberson and Andre Fili vs. Charles Jourdain.
Marvin Vettori (-230) vs. Karl Roberson (+200)
The Italians are the most dramatic people in the world. Don’t believe me? Watch any Series A soccer match. Here is Marvin “The Italian Dream” Vettori causing a scene in a hotel lobby in the middle of a pandemic, two weeks ago.
Things I Like
- What you see is what you get with Marvin Vettori. Kings MMA is known for hard sparring, he likes fight. He likes to move forward with 1–2’s, mixes in a left body/high kick, and carries power. When his opponent is stagnant against the fence he will try a flying knee.
- Vettori isn’t a tremendous grappler but he’s a meatstick, he can muscle a takedown and his top game is strong. He also has good takedown defense.
- Vettori measures range well. He gives up reach at 185 lbs, but he has good vision.
Things I Don’t like
- His calves are there to be kicked. He doesn’t check leg kicks and the inside leg kick is always there for his opponent.
- Vettori is muscled up, he tends to get a little fatigued when he fights but nothing concerning. But, his body is there to be hit. A couple body shots mixed in with some calf kicks and Vettori’s energy bar could drain quicker than normal.
- He doesn’t throw calf kicks. It’s a very important technique in today’s MMA, Vettori doesn’t do it.
- I almost didn’t put this in here but Andrew Sanchez caught him with 3 spinning back fists, and Cezar Ferreira almost caught him twice with a spinning wheel kick. The spinning stuff seems to confuse Vettori.
Two weeks ago Karl Roberson was forced to stop his weight cut due to medical reasons. This caused his fight with Vettori to be canceled which lead to the hotel confrontation. Two weeks later Karl Roberson misses weight by 5 lbs…this is the main event, I can’t wait.
Things I Like
- Fast hands.
- Good Body Kicks.
- Attacks the calf with kicks.
- High Level kickboxer.
Things I Don’t Like
- Hasn’t shown he can stop the takedown.
- Cardio is an issue.
Prediction
Vettori is an emotional meat stick and can muscle his opponents to the ground from the clinch. Roberson is a converted kickboxer that hasn’t shown the ability to consistently stop the takedown. I can’t ignore that strength weakness relationship, especially with the smaller octagon. Vettori’s top pressure and ground and pound should win him a decision here. But, if Roberson is able to keep the fight standing, he has the advantage on the feet. Close fight.
Betting
I was anticipating betting Roberson here because he’s the superior striker, but can’t stop the takedown. This is a close fight and (+190) might still be a good bet, but I will pass.
- Pass
Andre Fili (-240) vs. Charles Jourdain (+200)
This has fight of the night written all over it. Both of these guys throw down, should be a good one.
Andre Fili is really underrated in the 145 lbs division. He should be much higher in the rankings, he’s currently not ranked. This could be a showcase for “Touchy” Fili.
Things I like
- Fili’s best attribute is his jab. Everything is set up through his jab.
- I really like Fili’s kicks: head kicks, body kicks, calf kicks.
- Submission threat off of his back.
- He sees punches well which makes him an effective counter puncher.
Things I Don’t Like
- Fili is really good at timing a takedown but he doesn’t hold his opponents down when he lands takedowns. This results in wasted effort.
- Doesn’t check leg kicks. His lead leg is there to be hit.
- Jab can become predictable and be countered.
I saw Charles Jourdain in Rochester. He fought Desmond Green on short notice up a weight at 155 lbs. This kid is young and confident and likes to throw down. It’s very possible Charles Jourdain has improved tremendously since his last fight because he is so young.
Things I Like
- He likes to throw a flying knee which has the potential to knockout his opponent.
- He finds his distance by throwing calf kicks early.
- Jourdain is very willing to jump into the pocket and throw some big punches.
Things I Don’t Like
- A little undersized for 145 lbs.
- Poor striking defense, can be hit.
- Poor takedown defense.
Prediction
Size is the difference in this fight. Andre Fili has size and his jab will keep Charles Jourdain at bay. We’re looking at a Fili Decision here.
Betting
If you’re looking to have fun Andre Fili winning by KO at +500 isn’t unreasonable.
- Andre Fili Wins by KO (+500)
