Keith and Ben preview “UFC St. Louis” with detailed predictions and picks for all 13 fights. Side topics of conversation include former troubled basketball star and current activist/motivational speaker Chris Herren; onetime MMA flyweight contender, convicted murderer, and notorious age cutter Alexis Vila; and, of course, Bo Nickal.
0:00 On the road again (hallelujah)
10:21 J.J. Aldrich (13-6) vs. Veronica Hardy (8-4-1)
21:36 Jared Gooden (23-9) vs. Kevin Jousset (10-2)
28:28 Charles Johnson (14-6) vs. Jake Hadley (10-2)
38:28 Billy Goff (9-2) vs. Trey Waters (8-1)
48:37 Tabatha Ricci (9-2) vs. Tecia Pennington (13-6)
1:02:20 Terrance McKinney (15-6) vs. Esteban Ribovics (12-1)
1:18:26 Chase Hooper (13-3-1) vs. Viacheslav Borshchev (7-3-1)
1:33:07 Waldo Cortes-Acosta (11-1) vs. Robelis Despaigne (5-0)
1:44:11 Alex Caceres (21-14, 1 NC) vs. Sean Woodson (11-1-1)
1:57:53 Diego Ferreira (18-5) vs. Mateusz Rebecki (19-1)
2:09:17 Alonzo Menifield (15-3-1) vs. Carlos Ulberg (9-1)
2:21:55 Joaquin Buckley (18-6) vs. Nursulton Ruziboev (34-8-2, 2 NC)
2:34:53 Derrick Lewis (27-12, 1 NC) vs. Rodrigo Nascimento (11-1, 1 NC)
2:49:10 A quick rundown of all the picks
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welcome to the Sherdog radio network preview for UFC on ESPN 56 Lewis versus nasimo also known as UFC St Louis I’m your host Ben Duffy of sherdog.com with me as usual is the executive producer of the Sherdog radio network Mr Keith shillin Keith how you doing today I’m doing great man how you doing I’m doing well uh as we speak right now we’re less than 24 hours removed from the end of ufc3 one that was certainly a card that delivered plenty to talk about you know controversy shocking upsets uh it ran the whole gamut I’m still buzzing a little bit from that one in a way that I’m not always even after a big Pay-Per-View event UFC 300 being an OB Beast exception of course we die from that right into at least it’s not another Apex card it’s the UFC on the road and UFC Fight Night and the ESPN cards on the road where you know it’s UFC Austin UFC Columbus UFC you know Charlotte what whatever the promotion does seem to put a little more effort into them that you know they they’ve gone to some effort to put some Midwestern and some specifically St Louis fighters on this card the overall quality of the card I it’s not approaching pay-per-view card level but uh it’s definitely A Cut Above I think most of the epex cards this year uh tell me if I’m crazy how do you feel about this one yeah I give it like a c like I think it’s okay like the main event is is not the sexiest main event I mean Derrick Lewis is what he is at one point he was you know big star and funny and obviously he’s a fan favorite and he’s got a lot of accolades with all the all the Knockouts and stuff he has but the you know the shinness kind of ran off him like we C we all know what he is at this point he’s never going to challenge for a title again or he’s never going to be a threat for the title again so it’s you know he put him in fun match ups I would have rather had this be a co-main event and have like a bigger Main Event so that’s kind of why I’d give it like a c but yeah overall the the cards are being in front of a crowd to me is gonna score more points the Apex is terrible the the Apex is absolutely terrible seem small to me you make it seem small that’s a beautiful way to put it and it’s not just us spoiled jaded media member saying it more and more you have actual Fighters saying I’m sick of fighting at the gay packs yeah so if you guys watch the recap show we ended a little after 3:00 am. this morning I had to be at a girl softball game at 9 um I be at 8 AM the game started at 9: okay it was cold it was kind of drizzly it was I don’t know High 40s 48 40 it was it was a miserable day there shouldn’t be more people at a girls 14 you mind you wasn’t it was a travel season but it’s still like the scrimmage part of the the travel season the games don’t even really matter there shouldn’t be more people at that than at the premier mixed martial art organization the world event just shouldn’t happen it shouldn’t happen completely agree and I don’t want to go too far down this tangent but the the new policy the UFC announced just a couple weeks ago where Fighters families are going to be allowed to come see them at the Apex but literally just for their fight so your folks get to see your fight and then they Usher them out so the next two fighters families can come in like if you’re a fighter that’s from Brazil hell if you’re from Virginia if you’re from South Texas you’re gonna travel to Las Vegas to get into the Apex for 20 minutes and then go back home that sucks and there are a good number of Fighters that they have four or five fights in the UFC and they’ve only ever fought at the Apex yeah it sucks it’s terrible it’s it’s miserable and I agree with you I mean Derrick Lewis is the king of Houston and he will be for as long as he wants to keep fighting but he’s lost five of his last seven fights in that Arena it’s not going to Matter St Louis is going to go bananas for that guy yeah absolutely and and then in the co-main event you have walking Buckley who’s probably St Louis’s best fighter right now it’s gonna yeah it’s gonna be a Live card and it’s gonna feel bigger like you said the Apex makes the sport feel smaller this C card from the crowd response in the arena you’d think you you were watching you know one of the best cards of the year and that’s what makes it fun yeah so I wish the one of the media members would ask Dana like they they they beat around the bush but they don’t specifically ask them like hey you constantly say you want to go to this place and this place and this place wouldn’t it be easier if you stopped having cards at the Apex like when are you got to go full-time on the road and and ask that I promised the listeners I don’t get to go to a lot of Us events I mean I kind of just cover the Northeast here uh I guess technically I probably could have pushed for Newark but it’s it’s tough It’s middle of like my daughter’s travel softball season everything and I coach but if I get that chance and no one’s asked that I’m I’m gonna directly ask Dan like that I promise you guys that all right uh deal uh if if I’m the next one of us to cover one they come down here to Texas next I’ll ask I mean hi he probably would give like a [ __ ] answer but at least ask like the people who are there every week why have they have not asked is is depending on his mood he’ll either give kind of a a bluff non-answer or he’ll like snap at us and you know try to like rile up the UFC stands against us I don’t give a [ __ ] either way I don’t either Ian sherog lost its credential for like 10 years and we were just fine so and then the shilad duy show gets it kicked out again uh um next time we do the sh Duffy so she Duffy show and it’s like it we’ll see some other website not not.com back on the loudmouth MMA podcast Network yeah yeah exactly so I I uh we are not anti like I’m not an anti-d white no like there’s obviously some things like I don’t like him hitting his wife and stuff like that but I would say we’re we’re pretty fair bals like I think he’s done wonderful things for I think he does bad things but not like some of the writers had bloody elbow that would just wouldn’t wouldn’t constantly stop tweeting negative things about him but in this case when it comes to the Apex to me it’s a terrible take yeah it’s it’s it’s not great for this yeah so let’s talk about the positive I’m really happy that they’re gonna be in arena St Louis hope the Bears are flying I hope and the post just the post fight interviews make it so much more exciting being in like there’s nothing worse than Joe Martinez being like Make Some Noise if you are ready and there’s like four people there yeah it sounds like you’re in a you know like a junior high talent show or or and you know some opening some you know fighter third on the card wins his fight gets a knock out he’s like Dana give me 50 G’s and then realize that Dana’s not even there yeah all right enough raging on this any uh General well here let me let me ask you my usual question okay uh off of a win who on this card is closest to a title shot okay let me see and usually I say outside of the main event but I’ll include the main event here because neither Lewis nor nento is that close even if they win so on this whole card I mean I’ve got a take I was looking for that like women’s fight because that’s the the shallow division is always the closest yep but I don’t know I’ll give you mine menafield elberg winner is the closest that’s what I was leaning with like O’s won like five in a row Medfield is like five fight unbeaten streak or something like that yeah I I could see Derrick Lewis just be but with like side note it’s it’s aspadol defending his interim title you know he’s supposed to fight SEL gan gan has to pull out and they just called Old Reliable Derrick Lewis kind of thing I could see that that I think would be like the most likely yeah some guys that some guys that are nice streaks they’re just in the wrong division like Buckley’s just in the wrong division it’s a great division for him like talent wise but it’s just the wrong division to make like P Mohamad exactly no that’s that’s a perfect example and we’ll talk about that more when we get to his fight but it’s sad and ironic the dropping from 185 to 170 has flipped a switch for him competitively but now he’s doing it in a division where it was it’s just much much harder if he had stayed in middleweight just winning two losing one winning two losing one he might actually have back act into a title shot more easily than if he just stays at welterweight and keeps wrecking people like winning four and losing one so I agree yeah he just be giving up a foot to everybody in height which which fight on this card are you most excited to see I think that one I think Buckley’s fight Buckley and rabo in his first shot at 170 I I don’t hate that at all I think that one I mean there’s a couple there’s a couple and I’m in and and I apologize if I say I’m I’m excited to see uh how do I say his name despain again re Des Spain yeah because because dude honestly that would be the answer of who’s closest to to a title shot I’m excited to see him just because of everything that goes along with him because he’s he’s such a like exciting addition to the heavyweight division terrifying addition to the heavyweight Division I I’m not mad at that at all and this is one of those cards where more than matchups I’m excited for there are individual Fighters I’m excited to to see do their thing and probably none more than rebell to Spain yeah exactly like I’m excited to see Waldo a Costa Cortez I I don’t think you’ll have to see him for very long but we’ll talk about that fight we get it uh shall we shall we dig into these prelims yeah all right first up at UFC St Louis is a women’s flyweight match up between JJ Aldrich and Veronica Hardy Aldrich the 31-year-old Colorado Native is 13-6 overall she’s 9 and5 in the UFC she’s 6 and4 since moving up to flyweight she joined the UFC as a strawweight standout moved up to flyweight where she again is six and4 and is on a two-fight win streak uh those being a knockout of nalang at UFC fight night hallay versus Korean zombie last August and then a unanimous decision win over Montana dear Rosa in October at UFC Fight Night do versus green she’s back in the cage for the first time in about nine months and she’ll be facing Hardy the 28-year-old venz whan by way of France is 84-1 overall she’s three and4 in the UFC which does not sound that impressive but worth noting that she came back last year in fact just a little over a year ago after three years off and has looked like a completely different fighter since uh she fought twice last year taking a dominant decision is over Juliana Miller in March and then coming back in December and taking a split decision over Jamie ly horth at UFC on ESPN daru versus cukan so uh the former Miz meedo now Mrs Hardy will look to make it three in a row uh Keith there are a number of close lines on this card in fact on the whole 13 fight card I think there were only three Fighters that are a two to one favorite or greater so I will quiz you on some of these lines that’s good no completely agree we just finished a card where there were three four to one favorites are greater and one of those favorites I slipped on a banana peel but uh in this fight your favorite is minus 145 your Underdog plus 120 who are they that’s tough I mean I I I I think the line should be even closer but I it’s a close line I’ll go Hardy maybe the favorite uh correct Veronica Hardy minus 145 JJ Aldrich plus 120 uh tell me who you think wins this one and uh how the fight goes the first thing that just stands out to me is is why is this card the opener you know both these girls are on a two-fight winning streak and you know not the deepest division you know I’m not saying they’re close to a title shot or anything like that but they’re close to being ranked um I I just think this fight should I’m not saying it should be on the main card but I think it should be two or three spots above I I always think about you know put down about order you know if the main event is the most marketable most you know and then you kind of Trinkle down from there this one you know when you added the division the marketability everything to me this isn’t the least markable fight because the way I think about it is I I know there’s an argument you want an exciting fight to kind of get the people to want to be in their seats but but I think about it more of the if I’m G to show up late if I have something going on whatever it is like you know I can get there with a second third fourth fight I I want the least one I’m interested in be the first one to fight right yeah and if I mean if the UFC is looking to open the curtain with a a banger this will probably be a pretty Lively fight but yeah I’m sure I’m sure it’s minus money to go to decision because neither woman is a super venomous finisher it’s not really a finisher Division if you just want to see someone get their ass knocked out you know open up or or if you wanted to fight that’s probably not going to make it to the final horn open up with Hooper versus borov or good versus J yeah exactly exactly uh into the action of this one I think it’s a very competitive fight I I I actually like both girls a lot I mean they’re at a winning streak uh JJ Al is someone I’ve kind of been much higher on than I think a lot of people have been I think what stands out to me she’s got that pale skin you know she’s you know you in the bright lights of St Louis she she could get like a sunburn from the lights in the arena like that’s how pale she is they might be handing out dark like disposable dark glasses in the like you’re in a 3D movie or something so you don’t get the The Aldrich glare on you yeah yeah and I’m not trying to talk [ __ ] like I’m the same boat so so you both got that Irish tan yeah yeah she she she doesn’t look like an athlete she looks I mean she looks like she like should be working the front desk at a hotel or something like that’s what she looks like that said I’m she’s more athletic than I originally credited her with she’s she’s a good Striker she’s a southp some good boxing bit of a point fighter you know doesn’t have the most power but she she likes to stick and move she cuts angles really well to kind of keep her opponent’s guessing she sets up her shots well with FS like she understands the the um strategic part of her striking she draws out a you know counterattacks well with with the faints great one twos down the pipe I’d say pretty fast hand you know not the biggest hitter but uh not not not very good in the Clin like like Ariel ski beat her up there going way back sa ma beat her up there but she’s a better outside wrestler than I originally thought like she’s an underrated offensive and defensive wrestl I mean I go back to like Courtney Casey fight like I go back to strategy she she was looking for takedowns against Courtney Casey no she she’ll struggle to chain wrestle together because she’s that’s not normally her thing she’s one of the ones she kind of she needs to learn how to you know you know change a double to a single or then go back take a single to to a double and back trips uh she also was it really bad look when she was headlocked twice by NE Leong which which that that regardless of how high she goes up by rankings and how long of a streak she can go on a 10f fight streak that note stayed in my noes for a while you know I uh Vera cardi you’re absolutely right I mean she’s in the right way class now uh she she looks like a much different fighter than when she left she she’s a sticky move Fighter moves a lot trying to get her opponents to kind of Chase Tas her and she counters attacks she’s she Dodges away from counters really well she’s got quick hands though she can be a little wild and and kind of Swing wildly I I like her jab I like that she’s added kicks really well into her punching combinations she got really good high kick you know she comes from a taekwon do Styles you see that you see that like kind of Holly home push kick she likes that she throw some spinning attacks under Red Power she hits harder than I expected um she’s hurt her last two opponents with the Striking still you know still the issue is her not much of offensive Grappler she’s still a weaker defensive wrestler if she’s taken down she struggles back to her feet though she did hit an onar on pan VI a while back uh this is a really good match up I’ve really foot fled on this one I like both of them a lot I think they’re both really good Strikers I give aldrid the edge in the in the boxing but I give hard of the edge in the speed and in the range kicking uh and she’s also probably the harder hitter like I said I footp flopped even now I’m making making the pick I don’t feel confident ALR will occasionally look for a takedown and that just adds another Avenue of victory for her and that’s like I’m splitting head but that’s what I’m going to go with I think that I think both will have moments but if aldr can add some takedowns that could win her close rounds I’ll go with that upset right away I’ll give alge by Split Decision a buckle up shillan and listeners because I think there going to be quite a few upset calls on the night there are a lot of very close lines on this card and I know that I’m I mean spoiler 13 F card I think I’m probably picking five or six upsets uh Keith is is coming out of the gate hot and this is one that we agree on first of all we both kind of talked about whether this was the most appropriate fight to open the card but that’s nothing to do with these two women because they’re both good flyweights and they’re both women that I’ve definitely underestimated you mentioned that you’ve been higher on Aldrich than some people yeah you’ve been higher on aldr than the person that you talk to for six hours a week about MMA uh I was really slow in in getting on the Aldrich train and really just laziness on my part because she has a low-key personality I underestimated kind of how competitive and nasty she is because she has just sort of a average physique for a professional fighter I underestimated how athletic she is and how hard she hits I’ve come around on that and uh yeah she’s a good Striker with underrated slash underused wrestling Hardy the the problems that I had they’re more quantifiable her first run in the UFC she was really young and she was a very undersized bantamweight for a lot of it I mean like she got mashed by Ashley Evans Smith even at the time she was a more skilled fighter than Ashley Evans Smith just Smith looked two weight classes bigger than her uh since she’s been back yeah uh it’s it’s a whole different thing the overall skill set is the same but the power is suddenly there and as you are always quick to mention on these previews she’s coming into the power years now she was 21 22 23 the first time around fighting Bantam weights now now she’s 28 in fighting flyweights and while she doesn’t have walk-off power really almost nobody does at Women’s flyweight she has stinging power everything she lands especially her hands just you can see women shake it off you can see them stop in their tracks the the Mike Tyson everyone’s got a game plan until they got punched in the mouth thing like women adjust to her power when she starts hitting them like Juliana Miller knew going into their fight that her best bet was to get the fight to the ground she presumably was gonna have an advantage on the ground but after taking a couple shots from Hardy she just didn’t really seem to want it uh here I think Aldridge is g to have a bit of a size Advantage ironic since Aldrich is the one that came up from straw weight around the same time that Hardy was fighting or was dropping from bantamweight but alr’s going to be a little bigger uh I think the the Southpaw thing will I mean not give Hardy problems hard’s a very good Striker herself but just give Hardy a different look that doesn’t let her get untracked uh quite as quickly and easily as she’s used to if Aldrich turns to her wrestling which I expect you will she’s a pretty smart fighter I agree with you that that’s something that can allow her to maybe win close rounds find a safety valve if she is getting stuff she doesn’t like from Hardy on the feet and even the threat of you know can help her own striking get untracked gim me Aldrich in a competitive decision here as well in a fun card opener welterweights take the cage next in St Louis as Jared Gooden faces off against Kevin Jay Gooden the 30-year-old Atlanta native is 23 and9 overall he is two- four in the UFC across two different stints with the promotion he’s one And1 since returning to the promotion about a year ago uh he came back to the UFC last March dropping a unanimous decision to carlston Harris then uh came back in December and Tapped Out Wellington Turman in the second round so he will look to uh make it two wins in a row Edge closer to 500 overall in the Octagon he will need to get past you say to do it 31y old New Zealander is 10-2 overall he is 2- 0 since joining the UFC as the outgoing hex fight series Walter Way champ he uh fought twice last well he he fought four times last year he fought twice last year in the UFC debuted in September and Tapped Out kefir Crosby with a rear naked choke late in the first round came back on a fairly quick turnaround three months later in December and took a unanimous decision over s Canan so he’s looking to make it three in a row I believe it would make his overall win streak something like seven fights uh he is favored to do so just say is minus 220 good and plus 180 I I like when Gooden’s around in the UFC I think his fights are generally fun I think there’s a hard ceiling on how good he can be he is a huge welterweight like a just a gigantic guy for the division in a lot of the same way Randy Brown is like his upper body like not only is he like ridiculously tall for the division but he’s got a big upper body like broad shoulders muscle on his arms that kind of the way he crams that into to a welterweights frame is by having long kind of Skinny Legs he’s a big dude uh not a terribly good athlete at least by the by comparison to the welterweights that he faces just you know he’s a little bit plotting uh hard hitter you know a pretty good repertoire of strikes but has some defensive liabilities that I’m sure you’ll be able to uh go over in better detail than me uh his his ground game is a bit of a deficiency as well just I see to say who’s not a small welterweight either being better than him pretty much everywhere and just a faster uh like just a faster athlete as well Gooden might be the harder hitter on like a single shot for single shot basis but I just don’t think it’s going to come down to that uh just because J is better at throwing in combination throws a better diversity of strikes and is better defensively so even if like again even if Gooden punches the bag at the dve Busters and and gets a higher number J is the guy more likely to get significant strikes onto Good’s chin and onto his body Gooden even when overmatched has been extremely tough I’m gonna say this one makes it to the final horn but just say just kind of puts a beating on him like kicks him to the legs and body uh tags him with punches upstairs I think it’s fairly unlikely that this fight goes to the ground unless somebody shoots a desperation taked down or is really badly hurt uh but if it goes there I I think Jay may may have the advantage there as well uh give me Jay by a pretty one-sided decision in a fight contested mostly on the feet yeah this so this is like a fight that I think could could open the card instead of instead of the females there uh yeah I mean good and is but he is at this point is I I agree that he’s he can be exciting but he’s I mean he’s a card filler that’s that’s what he is he’s he is a large guy I’ll give that his his boxing you know he doesn’t have many huge weaknesses but nothing really jumps out to you you know he’s got boxing not a lot of tells and his you know you know pretty technically sound kind of just touches until there’s an opening but he has good power especially when he can get into his range he’ll work to the body he’ll throw the lead uppercut like that naked uppercut which I which I don’t like uh but still nothing too major doesn’t really handle pressure well he wants to be the guy kind of bullying moving forward he drops his hands a little bit you you know actually when I say he has I should have said nothing jumps out to you there is the big waiting is his defense like he doesn’t move his head at all and he keeps his hands down like he’s he forgets about defense uh he will look for a taked down but he’s definitely not a I wouldn’t say he’s a great offensive wrestler not the best defensive wrestler struggles to get up on the bottom he did catch Wellington Turman which was nice uh I am a little worried about his chin though even in that fight tourament he heard him a bunch of times Dre say we talk about good and be large I mean Dre was like a massive guy he might be the biggest welterweight I’ve ever seen long and lengthy you know little little flat foot a little stiff uh but you know that was I was saying coming into UFC but he looked fantastic against s Kanan looked like a completely different fighter good out I mean it’s still a s take that for it’s worth but good output tight boxing straight shots long jab he was setting up his shots well with faints he he also lacks heav movement hean he’s been cracked a lot but and he keeps his chin high in the air he kind has that tall man’s defense but the dude is durable I mean I’ve seen him get hit with some big shots and mean he’s he’s got hell of a beard on him he just keeps moving forward and it doesn’t seem to affect him big kicking game you know hard leg kicks really quick high he can get up there super easy because of his size uses his size really well in the clinch very physically strong guy likes the you know Muay type plum clinch got some good dirty boxing I like that he looks for elbows inside and knees inside the clinch he’s got a judo back black Bell background uh so he can you know get some takedowns from the clinch but he also will shoot a strong top game I’ve seen him stall on top but he did get a quick sub on on kefir Crosby take that again what it’s worth it’s kefir Crosby but when he lets his ground and pound go I mean he’s big so he’s kind of has that like Kenny and Juku Johnny Walker type thing where he just kind of the those long arm long legs it’s kind of hard to stop coming in but he’s not the best defensive wrestler I’m with you I like I like J here he’s bigger he’s got better volume he’s stronger he’s probably the better Grappler the issue is the defense if suddenly his chin can’t handle it that’s that’s Gooden’s best Advantage maybe he lands a big shot puts him out I really see that as the only Avenue of Victory especially the fight the deeper the fight goes I think the volume of Jay will take over I I’m with you good in stoughs I think he goes the distance give me Jay by decision men’s flyweights take the cage next as Charles Johnson takes on Jake Hadley Johnson the 33-year-old St Louis native Hometown fighter is 14- six overall he’s three and four since joining the UFC as an LFA flyweight standout he did win his last timeout took a unanimous decision over aad makum at UFC Fight Night Del versus imov back in February that allowed him to bounce back from a three-fight losing streak to close out last year so uh he’s looking to make it two in a row get back to 500 in the UFC he will do it at uh or he will attempt to do it at the expense of Hadley 27y old Birmingham England native is 10-2 overall he’s two and two since joining the UFC out of season five of Dana White’s Contender series as a then uh undefeated Prospect he lost his last timeout dropped a unanimous decision to Cody Duran that snapped a two-fight win streak for him over Carlos candelario and Malcolm Gordon so he’s looking to get back in the win column looking to get back over 500 in the UFC uh your favorite in this fight Keith is minus 170 your Underdog is plus 140 who are they uh I’ll say Hadley is a favorite you’re correct Hadley is minus 170 Johnson plus 140 I’m gonna I’m gonna flip this one to you uh for the pick first but first I want to get something out of the way that I should have during the intro uh one thing that this card definitely has to recommend it is this might be one of low-key the UFC’s alltime cards for people with freakish physiques like yes sha Woodson is the most weirdly built fighter on this card he always will be every time he fights but for once there’s some competition around you got Charles Johnson the like 5 foot1 fly flyweight we got Trey Waters the six fo oh my God or 65 growing yeah you got Chase Hooper Chase Hooper yeah yeah and F Hooper could still be being so young he could still be growing and and on on the flip side you got Tisha Pennington one of the shortest women in in the UFC I feel like on this card and her opponent and her opponent yeah Tab thei and uh this car this card has 26 Fighters I feel like about 10 of them if you just lined them up again like in silhouette I could I could identify him like that’s derck Lewis uh that’s Alex ceras you can tell by the hair that’s definitely Shawn Woodson that’s reell to Spain that’s Chase Hooper uh that’s definitely Tisha Pennington have you just had a grainy like security video that I have to look at all the time you just pick them out easily yeah it’s like uh having said that oh and I mean always a place in my heart for Charles Johnson it’s just so rare you see a black dude with a mullet uh you know so more power to him for would be proud yes Houston Zone uh anyway so we we got uh it’s hard to call Johnson a prospect but you know he’s hanging in there maybe still hasn’t shown the best he can do here Hadley still looking to regain some of that shine that he had when he joined the UFC uh who gets it done here and and what does it look like yeah so I’ll tell you when you were doing your intro a lot of times I I’m I’m don’t please don’t take this personal like I’m like shuffling my notes and and kind of figure out who I want to start with and how I want to say things and uh you mention from St Louis and suddenly I had a like I had a scare that I had like I was mixing Jake Hadley I thought I thought you said Hadley was from St Louis and I had this like scare like that I’m like wait a minute I thought H was that guy from Britain and I like I thought I had like I I didn’t know the wrong person you know then I’m like question was it oh his name’s not Jake Hadley is it like Jake Hansen and I’m like and then I’m like oh it’s Charles Johnson is from St Louis I didn’t realize that he was from St Louis uh Hadley Hadley was like a good addition to the UFC he was a guy that had like a lot of Buzz uh you know anybody coming from the UK that has a kind of bigger personality talks uh kind of gets that uh but he he can fight guys like Southpaw he’s got really good volume PR you know he presses the ACT kind of this non-stop Pace constantly taking ground cutting off the cage trapping his opponents very technical in that sense uh like his boxing is good good jab a lot of variety and striking constantly mixing up the attacks mixing up the combinations I love that he focused so much on the Bodywork it’s like something that he you know such a big part of his game defensely he has this he’s like the weirdest defense he has this like weird pillaring where he he he bends his right arm across his body um kind of like a like I don’t know I mean it’s a is it like a Philly shell but from like a UK version that I don’t know about the the Birmingham shell I maybe I don’t I don’t know but you know it can it can break his opponent’s punches coming up because he kind of has his elbow there but it also leaves him wide open for body shots because he kind of keeps it high like this um he he does also back straight up on the center line when he’s not the one press forward good kicking game turns his hips over really well so he really crushes especially to the body from the south B stance against an orthodox fighter I’d say he’s a better offensive wrestler than I than I thought good top game um I always knew he was a good Grappler I just meant like he overall wrestling I should say he looks to advance position the problem is he’s a and this happens a lot of from guys who don’t come from a wrestling background they kind of have to focus when you’re not in the wrestling room working on it you kind of have to focus on one aspect and and the defensive wrestling has kind of Taken he’s a weak defensive wrestler uh he but he’s super flexible he gets to fight the ground he he he can toss up some missions change sub missions together I mean go back to like his his fight against Mitch Rosa who’s who’s you know I dog people from new Eng but I think mosa is a pretty solid Prospect I I think he’s the best I’m glad you mentioned that because I think he’s might be the best Prospect in that weight range in New England right now could be yeah yeah I mean it’s not same much but yeah so uh he had a go go Plata on on on Mitch he was going almost goo plot and mitza so the problem is he does struggle to get up the bottom because he plays that j-j just game I go back to like the Alan Nest but Alan N is a really good Prospect himself but he really struggled to get off the bottom Charles Johnson he’s he’s a good athlete he moves well he’s elusive constantly uh darting back and forth between stances kind of get you guessing kickbox you know kickboxer on the feet um kind of a counter Striker slip and rip guy he does roll with punches which I which I’m not crazy about and is rolling you know doesn’t bode well with pressure like I go back to like it’s been a while ago but when Fu against zumoff he really hated the pressure from Zuma gof uh I like that he also works the body big thing about him like he you know he first came in the UFC I think about a striker he’s more of a wrestler he wrestles a lot uh he gets a lot of takedowns the problem is he’s also one of these guys that doesn’t come from wrestling back he’s good offensive wrestler he’s a terrible defensive wrestler and and he’s a guy he’ll get back to but he’ll give up his back and stuff to get up to his feet which is which is concerning I like Hardy’s offensive tools I hate his defensive tools especially as defensive wrestling Johnson could turn this into a wrestling match and win like he has no problem doing that being that he’s from St Louis I I didn’t factor that in it makes me a little less confident in my pick which obviously I’m going with uh Hadley I think Hadley will do enough in the grappling if he’s taken down to challenge Johnson kind of create a scramble maybe put Johnson in some trouble I think once he gets to the feet Hadley’s gonna have his way I think he’s quicker I think he’s he’s kind of coming into his own especially with his kicks and his and his clean boxing Johnson’s tough he might hurt him a little bit but I don’t think he takes them out give me Hadley by decision yeah I there’s upset potential here you you mentioned Hadley has some deficiencies in terms of of like defensively has some deficiencies some of them are skill deficiencies that you outlined you know head movement backing backing straight up uh others are just the natural product of how aggressive his offensive style is and kind of how unorthodox it is at times and it’s yeah it’s uh unless he really changes his approach I think it’s going to Define his ceiling at 125 I mean 125 is full of aggressive guys with diverse offensive tools and most of them you know it’s a very live by the sword Die By The Sword type division like as skilled as all the guys are there are very few of them that are super defensively sound um Johnson could could catch Hadley but like Johnson has good snap on his strikes he has that just like long limbed Tommy Hearns type power where even punches where it doesn’t look like he’s swinging hard just have snap on him but I don’t think it’s enough to really make Hadley pay for a mistake and it’ll get interesting if if Johnson turns to his wrestling early but and if he does if he’s smart he will but I I I’m with you I I think Hadley takes this one I think it stand to be even closer than the lines are and Hadley’s only like minus 170 but I I’m leaning Hadley here as well much to the uh disappointment of the hometown crowd uh give me Jake Hadley by decision too welterweights are up again as Billy gof faces Trey Waters Goff the 25-year-old Connecticut native is 9-2 overall he’s 1 and0 since joining the UFC out of season six of Dana White’s Contender series he’s on a seven-fight win streak overall he made his UFC debut last August at uh UFC Fight Night Holloway versus Korean zombie where he knocked out yako kinosh in the first round uh that spectacular debut came almost a full year after his appearance on the contender series uh it hasn’t taken him a full year to get back in the cage but it has taken him about nine months uh he will look to make up for lost time by taking it out on Waters Waters 29y old Floridian 8-1 overall also 1-0 in the UFC he also fought on season six of the contender series he actually lost uh got Tapped Out by uh Gabriel bunim not is M that just barely fought by Gabriel bonim he went and won one fight in LFA then got the call up to fight Josh quinland last April at UFC on ESPN song versus Simone where he won a unanimous decision it’s taken him a full year to get back into the cage uh and he is uh favored to get it done here Waters is minus 170 Golf Plus 140 uh speaking of promising prospects from New England like I no longer have the time to watch as much Regional MMA as I did 10 years ago when I was just an obsessive fan or even five years ago when I was at Sherdog but my duties were much different than they are now but gof is a guy that’s been on my radar mostly as you know I’ve just seen him get past some of the other guys that I thought were some of the more solid prospects in New England in his weight range there like you know people like uh Gary boletto um sea L like guys that I thought might end up on the contender Series yeah guys that I thought might end up on the contender series themselves and just watching gof really run right through him especially in the case that Gary BTO Jr just crushed him yeah and still just 25 years old which takes a little of the sting off the fact that he seems to have regressed into this like basically once a year fighter uh since getting the call from the contender series but I do see upside guy he’s he’s not huge and well I mean nobody’s going to look huge next to Waters but a good siiz 170 pounder uh aggressive Striker with good power and I’d say a developing ground game it’s uh it’s not his best skill set and more importantly it’s it’s not his Instinct like I’ll I’ll talk on these previews a lot about okay this is what this fighter knows how to do well and then this is what their instincts actually make them do when the punches start flying uh GF is is a guy that is coming along and becoming more well-rounded even while piling up this this win streak and that that’s a good place to be in uh Waters obviously the most the thing that stands out about him is that he He’s listed at 65 and we’ve talked before about how we know that weights are accurate I mean a few weird exceptions aside we know that weights are accurate cuz the guys are getting weighed the day before their fights everywhere from the smallest Regional promotion all the way up to the UFC they never get measured for height they don’t like half the time when someone comes to the UFC they told their a promotion eight years ago how tall they were that got passed to the next promotion that got passed to tough or Contender series that got passed to the UFC and nobody ever actually took a a tape measure to the guy it’s how Shane Carwin Shan from like 6’5 to 6’3 to 6′ one you know in the space no he literally did where’s where’s Dev at get Dev come on dude get this get this business going I mean Dev said that he accepted the job I mean he he named a bunch of attractive female Fighters is the reason he was raring to go so his heart may not really be in it to go you know down to Florida and measure Trey Waters but go on man we got to give equal treatment uh but Waters he may actually be 65 he is absolutely huge he does not quite have the reach on his arms that you would expect like he’s not 65 in the way that Johnny Walker Ryan span is where it looks like they could grab both sides of the Octagon at the same time and just kind of you know pull on the bars uh but he is huge his size creates matchup problems it’s going to create matchup problems for every welterweight he ever fights even other ones that are considered big but at this point in his development he actually doesn’t put it to his best possible use like he knows in his mind that he’s best served fighting an outg game but thus far I he doesn’t quite have the athleticism to force that on people and he hasn’t shown an ability to consistently use the kind of inside weapons that other tall but not super fast Fighters uh develop to to make that work I I mean he be right as of right now this is gonna sound like an insulting comparison but even when he wins I I see kind of like welterweight Stephen stru where he’s way big but smaller faster guys are are able to get in and do damage on them I actually think that’s what goff’s G to do uh unless Goff is compromised by you know whatever physical ailments have kept him on the shelf for most of the last year and then most of the last year before that uh I think he’s going to be faster I think he’s a harder hitter on a punch for- punch basis and think we are going to get a little bit of welterweight uh Stephen Ro type action where they going to be some fun exchanges early on but GF is going to get inside and like land an overhand on wat Chan and things GNA start rolling downhill from there give me a Goff by second round KO in a mild upset here yeah so Billy golf was a guy that like I was at his very first professional fight and I was I think I was at a couple of his first I remember being at a Bellator Fight uh too I think it was second or third fight he was at and then obviously you know CS fights I’ve seen better A lot of his fights and he was a guy when he first started he was just he was just another guy but he you’re right he’s continue to improve he’s at that age where he’s improving he’s not the greatest athlete but the dude is freaking tough as Nails I mean he could take a beat and just keeps bringing it he’s a pressure kickboxer that he beats his opponents by forcing his opponents onto the back foot just constant again I’ll say again just constant pressure great volume he loves to get in the pocket and just braw it out he can be wild he can overthrow his shots kind of leave him up with the counter but he’s got power I mean he has Tiko wins over good guys you mentioned G BTO Justin suner was was a guy that had you know I still think a decent guy but you know was a rising guy in from New England he throws kicks uh though he’ll throw some naked kicks so that that’s an issue he has a lot of defensive is just chin high in the air drops his hands a little bit he’s hurt so many times uh because he’s just willing to eat one to land some if he gets inside strong dirty boxing I mean he butches something with mean mean elbows I wouldn’t call him a wrestler by any means but he can win rounds with with some wrestling he’s if he’s taken down he’s hard to hold down he keeps working he doesn’t have a single submission win so that’s something that uh concerns me Trey Waters I mean you mentioned it’s huge 65 6’4 65 something like that counter Striker not the Great output kind of a very patient Striker uh relies on slipping and ripping which is kind of tough to do when you’re a tall guy he’s got quick hands though he I think he hits hard his walkoff KO in in the LFA was something was really impressive good kicking game uh mean c kicks but he’s been hurt a lot uh he isn’t much of a wrestler he is a submission threat though he can get the fight to the ground he he’s got those long arms and legs obviously uh if he locks up it’s going to be really hard to get out of so he’s he’s got three Subs on his record I think it’s a really really hard fight to pick uh Waters has you know he’s got the height he’s got some power that’s a serious issue gosth pressure and volume could easily take over I’ve I’ve also I I think this is a really tough one I flip flopped technically Waters is better and if like he I could see pot shotting and and kicking and you know just golf having such a hard time with the range the natural thing but golf is a junkyard dog I not a guy that picks New England Fighters often and I’m not pretending that GF is special like I think his is Peak is is a mid-range guy I hope I’m wrong I really do like I hope they get a star uh and he’s he’s at a young age so I could be wrong go is going to stay in his face man I’m with with you man I I everything in me says dude this should be an easy pick for Waters look how big he is like the you know he he like he can look eye to eye with Sean Woodson like not many people could say that I think golf’s gonna make it a brawl and I think it’s gonna take over I think it’s GNA win with v I think he might hurt him at some point I think he’s gonna finish him I’ll say I’ll say golf by second round TKO all right for those keeping track at home and if you’re not keeping track at home why are the hell you watching this show that is two unanimous upset picks in the first four fights of this card as I said buckle up and uh pet responsibly we head now to the strawweight division for a clash between tabith arichi and Tisha Pennington RI the 29-year-old Brazilian is 9-2 overall she’s 4-2 in the UFC she’s 4- one at strawweight she made her debut in the UFC uh on short notice at flyweight against monor about as excusable a loss as they come she did get knocked out for her efforts uh she went on from there to drop to 115 pounds won four fights in a row to become a woman of interest in that division that streak came to an end in her most recent cage appearance she fought at UFC 295 last November where she dropped a split decision to lupy godinez uh nonetheless a fun and competitive fight but she’s looking to get back in the wind column here and she will need to get past as uh the former Miss Torres to do so Tisha Pennington 34y old Floridian 13-6 overall nine and six since joining the UFC uh out of Invicta Fighting Championships she lost her last timeout as well uh dropped a split decision to McKenzie D that was just a little over two full years ago at UFC 273 prior to that she had been on a three-fight win streak so that Dynamic remains kind of the same between the two obviously the big difference is that Pennington has been out for two full years that because she had a baby with uh her spouse fellow UFC competitor Raquel Pennington uh she’s back she’s still just 34 clearly aiming to prove that she has something left to offer the division Keith your favorite in this fight is minus 140 your uh Underdog is plus5 who are they oh man I have no idea um tor’s favorite you had been perfect so far you have your first slip up of the Night tab at the reachi minus 140 Tia Pennington plus 115 uh this also is uh we’ll need to this will be the unveiling of our newest segment since this is 5 foot one generously so listed Tisha Pennington versus there’s no way she’s really 5 foot2 Tabitha baby shark reachi uh this will be the first fight where we have to ask could Porsche Baines block these women’s jump shot I am going to guess that she probably could she’s a little shorter and while both of these are very athletic uh little straw weights you know REI probably doesn’t have much basketball skill yeah I mean if it was could Porsche block her penalty kick no way and then uh Pennington also a fantastic athlete she doesn’t strike me as the type to do much hooping so uh much as it pains me to say it I I think the tiny woman could probably SWAT both of these ladies jump shots one thing you forget is tor is originally is from Full River Mass which is the uh it’s a rough era I used to live in Fall River but it’s the city that the former Chris Haron NBA star if you follow Chris Haron was the Boston Celtic who was like doing I don’t know what was he doing like heroin and [ __ ] as he was playing he was like a first round pick and he was he dropped like 50 points and he was but he ran he was like leaving the arena at halftime to go get some cocaine and [ __ ] uh his brother actually works for my Police Department he’s actually a great I think the guy he’s he’s became like a public speaker he actually went to my kids school and and talked to him so um he he the Herod not the guy from my work okay but uh so he’s actually had a incredible turnaround so good for him but uh so I’m going to say she can stop tapi I I can’t pitch a tapi know like dribble and and and kind of fade away but TAA I think Tia could like box her up and and you know pump fake and then you know Step Back Fade Away jump shot I’m say t I don’t think she gets Tes no I think tabichi probably like dribbles it with like both hands like plants both feet and does like the two-handed set shot like some player from the 1940s that’s like wearing Chuck Taylor’s to play basketball in I I I agree with you we’ll have to see what Porsche has to say about it but that’s the new segment we’ll probably have to dust it off at least a couple times a year and part’s from like Wales and stuff so yeah I mean there’s no way she knows anything about basketball there been like a Welsh basketball I mean I’m not the biggest NBA guy but not that I not that I can think of honestly yeah yeah a tired for third world country to send some in the NBA uh anyways um this fight this fight is yeah this fight is so close I had a hard time wondering I when I was I was really stuck on who was winning I said oh you know Tia’s a you know bigger name she’s been around for while that’s why I kind of Wonder but it’s it’s hard to really know what you get with Tisha Tes after her being out for two years you know how does a body react to having a baby obviously is is is a huge thing besides being out for two years the thing that shocked me is she’s only 34 yes thank you I to be so much older like I expect 7 and 38 yeah she’s like 34 so uh that man and she’s been in the U a long time so she obviously got in really really young well she’s one of the ogs she’s one of the ones that came over when the UFC established the division all the way back in 2014 yeah she was on the reality show like she did it with um the one that ker spaza won to win the title yeah and she lost to SP in the quarterfinals yeah yeah yeah like beat beat Rose in the finals but rose Rose had hair then so that they kind uh so obviously when we break down film on somebody we have to go by what we last seen it’s like you we’re not gonna guess uh you know what we’ve last seen is Tisha Tores she’s a girl that constantly switching stances fights out of both things good volume she likes to stay on the outside move footwork footwork footwork and then crash in in Blitz she’s got quick hands she attacks with combos throw a lot of kicks she adds kicks into her punching combinations despite being undersized she likes to battle on the clinch um you’d expect her to get out mused but it’s actually a safe place for her a lot of times not much of an offensive wrestler she likes to work in the clinch but she’s not looking for takedowns good get up game if she’s taken down and she’s shown that she’s athletic and has the cardio to go hard the entire fight RI you mentioned it it’s not often she has to be the taller fighter so that’s kind of cool for her she’s she’s very athletic she also moves well she fights out of both stances also good boxing likes to stick and move cut angles really well kind of get her opponent’s guessing she gets in the pocket and she lands good hard shots fast hands uh she can fall in love with her overhand right trying to you know land a big Power Shot she’s got a nice pop in her in her shot something I’ve seen her add more recently like before she was more of a a point fighter in the Striking she’s kind of land some big shots doesn’t have much of a kicking game uh doesn’t really throw kicks as much she also likes to roll punches which never looks good to the judges she’s a judo black belt she she she actually uses her height you know disadvantage well in the clinch because she kind of gets her head right underneath her opponent’s chin now that’s obviously Not Gon be the case against Tia Torres but it’s something to she likes to do good to get up a body lock she also shoot and get takedowns with entries good good top game good BJJ she has three Subs on a record and and she showed you know a good ability to avoid submissions when like P van was throwing up submissions at her these Fighters are very similar the way they fight they’re both shorter sticking move artist use movement you know as a tool Torres has a bigger kicking game while Richie hits harder and is the better offensive Grappler it it’s so hard guessing what you’re GNA expect from Taurus you know Judah long layoff but if she’s lost a step at all Richi could win for that I’m gonna say Richie gets the better of exchanges and wins the decision give me Richie by you know I see it’s really cool I see split decis yeah I I like that you pointed out the similarities between these two obviously the physical similarities being two short women even for straw weight but who are muscular too yeah they they look a bit like each other very dark you know obviously one’s Brazilian one’s Portuguese but yeah dark dark hair and darker complexion and stuff yeah and both jacked and jacked and have kind of like the you know strong angular face features no I I I see that uh completely and uh yeah Torres her or I need to stop doing that Pennington her nickname the tiny tornado is one of the most accurate nicknames in all of MMA just you know I like how I like how you call a teach tourist one time you’re like I gotta stop doing that I completely call a teach Tes the entire like 12 times hey you know sorry I I I it took me about uh uh I don’t know three fights before I stopped calling Nina aner off yeah I still say Nina an off instead of Nina Nunes yeah it’s you know it gets forget it she’s never getting it it took us too long to learn to pronounce chagan we’re not abandoning it now screw that no uh no like we we average it both together it’s like that uh what it’s called like scramble golf or like four guys golf together they all and so real quick my Dona has a a girl on her travel team that she’s been with for like four seasons her name’s Ellie she’s one of the pitchers she’s a great kid so consequent Ellie but her catcher on her Junior High team is Ella and I cannot oh get call her Ella every single time she gets up every play I’m like nice job Ellie and my and my daughter and my wife they have to correct me every single time and it’ll be a seven in game and I’m gonna call her Ellie 15 times anyways sorry sorry Ellie no Ella Ella see I just called it Ellie yeah I mean my parents have had four kids and the first three they named Ben Ken and Diane like they got our names wrong all the time and just anyway why why do that to yourself uh you you mentioned that uh Pennington is surprisingly Stout in the clinch you don’t need to look any further back for that than her win over Hill it was a closely contested fight but kind of the Difference Maker is where Hill is normally surprisingly rugged in the clinch uh at the time Torres just got the better of a lot of those and that was to to my surprise I believe I picked Hill in that fight uh just because I thought there you know their Muay Tha Styles would end up in a lot of clinches and I thought heill would get the best of and she didn’t so if Pennington is the same fighter that smashed Sam Hughes beat Angela Hill really took Mackenzie dur to the wire she has a very good chance of beating REI so like my pick here if if I go Pennington it’s me saying that yeah she’s still just 34 uh she has the rep reputation of being a bit of an ATT gym rat so e you know baby aside I don’t imagine that she got out of shape or or got that Rusty and if I say I’m going strongly for REI it’s me saying well yes REI is good which I think she is but also that it’s possible that Pennington might have slipped a little bit because she really does depend on speed and explosion for her kind of like bounce into range style and also that there just might be a bit of rust if Pennington just looks out of sorts in the first round and it takes her that first five minutes to to really get into gear that might be the entire difference in the that might be the difference between winning and losing RI is the slight favorite and I think that’s exactly why I I have the feeling that if Pennington was coming off the hill and D fights just but it was six months ago instead of 24 months ago I bet this would be pickham uh I’m with you I’m leaning towards REI but if Pennington comes out and looks fantastic in the first round and she wins a competitive fight that wouldn’t surprise me in the least and it’ll be be good to have her back uh what would surprise me would be a blowout either way just you know that that’s my thought thus far Pennington really hasn’t lost to anyone bad like she had that four-fight win streak that LE or fight four-fight losing streak that led a number of people to write her off and when you look back Jessica andrj Yan yjic wayy Jong and Marina Rodriguez was an absolute murderer’s row of people to fight in a row like champ champ champ and perennial top 10 fighter who at the time was cruising you know up towards title contention uh if Pennington and she was competitive in all of them like none of those women stopped her uh if REI blows her out then REI is better than I thought she was uh but I don’t think that’s the case give me REI in a really competitive decision here and probably a a really fun high volume uh you know battle where both women’s cardio is on Full display next up on the UFC on ESPN 56 undercard is a lightweight clash between Terence mckenny and estabon riix mckenny the 29-year-old Washington State native is 15- six overall he is five and3 since joining the UFC as a veteran of season three of Dana White’s Contender series he fought on the contender series back in 2019 got knocked out by Shawn Woodson whom we’ll be talking about a little later went on a nice little win streak in various Regional promotions and got the call from the UFC in 2021 since then as I mentioned 5 and three uh he is on a two-fight win streak he fought four times last year lost his first two appearances of the year but closed out the year with uh first round Knockouts of Mike Breeden and Brendan morat uh the most recent of those the morat fight was in October at the yussa versus Barbosa fight night he’s looking to make it three in a row perhaps finally established some kind of consistency to his UFC run which has been alternately dazzling and disappointing he’ll have to get past riix to do it uh riix 28-year-old Argentinian 12- one overall one- one since joining the UFC out of season six of Dana White’s Contender series as an undefeated at the time Prospect he suffered his first career loss A little over a year ago dropping a unanimous decision to L rajabov at UFC 285 he bounced back from that in July with a unanimous decision win over Camella Kirk uh odd here riix is a I mean he’s not a huge favorite but by the standards of this card a pretty big favorite he’s minus 190 mckenny plus 160 uh I’m gonna throw something out here and I’m not normally a guy that brings a lot of stats to these previews I I think that’s the Lazy Man’s way to pick in handicap fights I maybe way who knows well I mean and I feel bad good at this I well if I’m bad at this it’s not because I’m lazy it’s because I’m dumb okay so because and I I I will call names when you when you see you know Yanni the Greek or minty bets doing a segment that’s and it’s three it’s a three minute segment and two minutes is saying fighter a is five- one against south paw fighter you know B is uh two and four after eating pancakes for breakfast looking up stats is easy watching tape is hard and takes a lot of time yeah yeah that’s so I’m going to bring a stat here but I I’m gonna elaborate uh on it a little bit so if you’ve been watching the UFC for even a year or two you know that Terence McKinny is The Ultimate Live By The Sword Die By The Sword fighter in the entire promotion right now he is he has 21 professional fights he’s only been to the third round once and it was in like his third fight that’s n okay here you go he has eight fights in the UFC and he’s never been past the midpoint of any of them he’s never been to the middle of the second round but this is this is the crazy part okay if you list all eight of his UFC fights in order from the shortest to the longest like in because in the UFC he has a 7c knockout of M faola he has a 20 second knockout of Brendan morat but if you list him from the shortest to the longest the first five are his wins his three longest fights in the UFC are his losses yeah that’s the key to Terrence mckin and obviously anyone can say well you know either mckin is gonna Stars this guy or tap him out in a minute or he’s gonna lose that’s exactly what I’m gonna say and andick the under but but here’s the reasoning behind it uh part of it is yeah McKenna’s insane goer broke style and you know probably his weight cut make it so that he does not have good cardio he like he might have the worst cardio of any fighter as good as him in a weight class as low as his in the entire UFC but the other problem is if if the fight goes past the first couple of minutes his opponents start to figure him out because he doesn’t really have much of a game plan if the fight goes beyond that I mean look at his fight with Drew Dober that was a little over two years ago it was uh the most fun I have had in 3 minutes and 17 seconds since my senior prom night uh but they swung on each other man they swung on each other like a pair of Maniacs for the first 90 seconds both guys got hurt like Dober was completely on skates a couple times too but about two minutes in if you watch that fight they both just kind of take a deep breath and then Dober goes back to work and mcken looks bewildered like the fight just started again uh same and you know his other losses in the UFC is M bone is just a better fighter nazim sakov is probably just a better fighter but again there was some wild early going where mcken had his moments but as the fight went along it the other fighter was just better prepared better cardio yes probably more durable but also just better prepared that’s the real problem with mcken and that’s what’s kind of defining uh with defined all of his losses in the UFC and it’s what’s going to continue to Define his uh his ceiling cuz he can finish anybody in that division in 30 seconds like I don’t favor anybody in the UFC lightweight division against Islam makev like you know he’s going to be probably minus 400 against his next against all of his title Challengers until he loses but yeah if he fight if he’s fighting Terence mcken this Friday or this Saturday I’m not getting up I’m gonna watch that [ __ ] because mckin gonna come out with like a flying something you know or just yeah or just you know jump guard with a guillotine that might actually work the question here is whether that’ll cost him against riix and the funny thing is riix has a little of the same Vibe he is a guy that he only had his first loss period when he got to to the UFC but he’s a pretty big lightweight who’s athletic aggressive to a fault and much like mcken he’s an equal opportunity uh Maniac like he has uh just a super aggressive ground game a preference for arm locks I mean I think he won like four fights in a row by by Cura uh but a wild swinging guy on the feet that likes to get into a brawl and at least on the way up could always trust himself to come out on top just because he was bigger he was faster he hit harder uh he ran into Delo rajabu and that just didn’t work and it’s maybe an indication that it’s not going to work against UFC level uh lightweights but he’s a guy that I’m kind of hoping will calm down and you know get a more focused game because I I do see good upside in him but here riix is exactly the kind of guy that is going to give Terence McKenna a chance to do the Terence McKenna thing that’s why I’m kind of surprised that the line is what it is like I’m not terribly surprised that riix is the is the favorite but I’m surprised that he’s almost two to one because he’s extremely likely to come out and get in the wild braw of Terence McKinna and if McKenna even like reaches down and like touches his leg I think RX will just Dive Right into one of those Looney Tunes scrambles you know where the Lun Tunes fight there’s the cloud of dust with like feet and and fists flying out of it uh ruix is going to give mcken every honest shot to win this fight the question is whether I I think it happens and I’ve been going back and forth on this fight all day long well tell all all week long give me another upset here I think ruix has more upside I think McKenna is dangerously close to being one of those he is what he is type guys even though he is still very young or relatively young he’s still in his 20s riix even though they’re close to the same age has more of the prospect still being molded feel probably just because he has so many fewer fights at at the highest level uh this could seem like a really silly pick If this just turns into another fight where mckin wins the first minute of the fight and then you know what’s happening after that and he gets finished you know early in the second round but give me mcken by first round knockout here or you know if it turns into a first round club and sub that wouldn’t surprise me either but give me rovix to lose a fight he probably should win by obliging Terence McKenna with just a wild brawl yeah this is this is a this is a really exciting fight cuz you you know it’s going to be something Bonkers um that’s what mcken fights yeah I mean r is being a you know pretty hefty favorite or know pretty sizable favorite I don’t I don’t feel comfortable piing anybody against mckenny because I mean McKenna dude he could knock out freaking Frankenstein you know what I mean if he lands his big shots the guy’s a South ball he’s very explosive fighter you mentioned it he’s extremely fast he comes out throwing hard long distance strikes fast hands works the body he’s quick he hits hard um massive power I mean even losses like they like Drew Dober fight he almost starts Drew Dober in a fight that he lost yeah the issue is he tries a walk off KO like every single punch it really overextends his punch he can you know he can make the mistake of throwing shots from his hips and kind of leaving himself open to counter and because he comes out like a Berserker you know he he needs to stop it’s early I know it’s it’s sounds lazy to be like the deeper the fight goes at least I I feel comfortable picking mckin but there’s a reason why it’s it’s it’s said a lot because it’s true know absolutely true uh he’s you know he gassed himself a little bit he also tends to check out I said it before he seems like a bit of a front runner and and you know what though that’s been said about other guys who were able to turn around I mean Charles Alero at one point was considered a front runner I saw someone who was was talking bad about um the guy the guy who who who retweeted I like but he he was responding to somebody else’s tweet and it was talking about I don’t remember who it was maybe Bon fin maybe or um not the one I just fought not Gabriel G Gabriel Bonin and he was saying like oh that guy’s a that guy’s a fraud and all this and and I’m like I remember when Robbie l lost to Pete Sprat and he you know he came out like gun he look good and then he tend to gas a little Sprat took over and it was oh Lola is a front runner Lola does Lola doesn’t have the fighting Spirit when he gets hard he’s just an athlete about freaking Robbie Lawler but that’s what that’s remember that’s what was was said about him yeah yep and so it we could laugh about that with Terence McKinny one day we could be like d stupid stuff we say about terce mikini yeah you know he’s still yeah he’s a little older so it’s not like he’s like super young but yeah you know he’s he still has some time but he’s he’s around the like at age 29 Charles Olivera was still considered a flaky yeah you know abely yeah absolutely so uh good kicking game he throws hard push kicks lot of high kicks like like that’s something I can see throwing like right away throw a high kick to start the fight uh and it’s got gets crushes he likes flying these uh he he can get inside I mean he beat the crap out of Eric gazal in the clinch he he’s a good wrestler the junior college All America he’s really fast entries turns the corners really well looks Advanced position on the ground hard ground and pound he’s got seven sub wins he quickly sell Eric Gonzalez I don’t know if that’s the case he wants to do against uh against eston but you know it’s it’s something that’s in my notes for him but he T to guas he guess against Jude over in the first round you have to worry about his durability he was knocked out by Shan Woodson Drew Dober Israel Bonin they all knocked him out and he doesn’t he seems to not react well to punches he almost overreacts when he gets hit uh RI rivitz he’s also a good athlete on the feet he fights out of both stances high volume tight boxing not much tells Works behind a Cris jab he attacks with combos throws a lot of power shot you mentioned he can be wild he Canna be Reckless which leaves an open to counter I mean he got tagged up uh even in a win on the contender series but in his UFC debut was a little more controlled and and and definitely the Avenue of that’s the weight of Victory against mckenny you come out like you know you try to match McKenna’s fast start and you could get caught uh he does have plus power he also loves flying these he’s he’s a guy he’s a good Grappler but he’s not a great wrestler um his Tak down defenses is weak but he’s he’s a good obviously BJJ artist he’s pretty good at winning scrambles he can catch kamur you you me catch submission you you mentioned he’s a bit of like a kamur specialist hits kamur from like every position possible uh he he improved his ability to get off the bottom and get Camaro Kirk as the fight went on which is uh something that showed growth in his game uh because he’d kind of play BJJ a little too much and get stuck on bottom uh and he showed he has cardio he can go hard the whole time I like mcken early obviously you know the deeper the fight goes on the more I like Riv the fight hits the ground I I think mckenny can do well early but obviously he’s going to have to be perfect as it’s is Riv gonna be tacking he’s gonna be rolling to kamor you know rolling maybe to a KNE bars all kinds of stuff I think both guys are good the both guys are super fun dude we’re gonna have a third consens upset I’m going to go with McKenna I’m gonna say he doesn’t I think it comes out guns blazing that’s the way you got to pick him you know what I I still believe in mckenny I you know my every fight he has I every loss I should say I start disbelieving more and more this might be like the last stand for him I say he land something big I say he does it early I think he does it a minute and a half in give me like mckenny by first round knockout there you go that’s three upset picks in the first six fights and yeah just one last note he’s I forget the the first guy that we said this about but McKinny has bad losses in the UFC in fact all of his losses are horrible but he doesn’t have losses to bad guys yeah you know and some of his wins have aged well like himz Zam zam’s 5 and one in the UFC now we recently said about um Alex Perez like he had Alex Perez didn’t have like he had a bad streak but who he lost to wasn’t bad mmhm yeah next up at UFC St Louis and at least as the card is constituted as of the beginning of fight week the top prelim is a lightweight matchup between Chase Hooper and vaslav borov Hooper the 24 year-old Washington State native is 133 and one overall he is s and3 since joining the UFC as a veteran of season two of Dana White’s Contender series uh he won on the contender series but was not immediately signed since getting signed again uh seven and three he’s on a two-fight win streak he fought twice last year taking a unanimous decision over Nick Fury in May and then coming back and tapping out Jordan levit in November at UFC Fight Night Allen versus Craig he will look to make it three in a row uh his first such streak in the UFC in order to do so he will need to get past uh Slava Claus 32-year-old Russian by way of Sacramento is 73 and one overall he is two2 and one since joining the UFC out of the fifth season of the contender series uh he fought to a draw in his last fight fought twice in 2023 knocking out mahash in May then coming back and fighting nazim sakov to a majority draw at UFC 295 in November so uh he’ll look to get back in the wind column here he is moderately favored to do so bov minus 175 Hooper plus 140 uh Keith in preparing for this fight I I was surprised when I did the math and I realized that Hooper is seven and three in the UFC it’s and it’s very much the same thing I love it that kind of informed the popular narrative about Sage North cut where ah North cut what a joke what a bu the UFC’s Golden Boy uh the UFC he was SI Sage was six and two when the UFC cut him and they cut him off a win yeah s was not a bad fighter and Hooper he was the youngest guy in the UFC when they signed him you know very famously he was like 19 years old there were the jokes that he was you know Ben aspin’s illegitimate kid for for a kid I’m still going to call him a kid he’s literally yeah you know younger than my oldest son for a kid that has literally learned to fight under the brightest lights was signed too early uh you would expect that School of Hard kns to result in something worse than a seven and3 record in the UFC but he’s seven and three and while he definitely remains a bit of a specialist like he is best at grappling uh his striking is developing I mean I think part of it is just that he’s growing like just physically maturing becoming a physically stronger guy I he seems to be a better athlete than he was like I I this sounds insulting but his first couple fights win or lose he just kind of seemed weak and slow and in over his head like I was like well this is a lot of fun while it lasts but this dude is not long for the UFC I still don’t think he is a future top 15 guy at 155 pounds though I’ve certainly been more wrong than that just you know his physique his skill set I look at the top 15 and 155 pounds and those are all guys would just eat him for lunch uh but he’s become a solid guy he’s not fighting for his job on Saturday he’s fighting for a three-fight win streak uh this is again one of the old school specialist versus specialist matchups that you see more and more rarely these days as the sport becomes more well-rounded uh because borov is a very good kickboxer who has severe obvious deficiencies on the ground uh the difference with borov is he’s 32 and I think you yeah I’m pretty sure he was already 30 when he hit the UFC even though he’s at a great Camp to shore up your ground game in Team Alpha M just the clock’s ticking you know uh Hooper is literally eight years younger than him uh Hooper is a better Striker than he was five years ago but he’s still not a great one especially defensively like he’s still a tall fighter and I just said this about uh Trey Waters earlier on this card but he’s a tall fighter who in his mind knows that he is best served by a an outfight on the feet but just doesn’t have the skills or physicality to impose it on people especially just better Strikers with better footwork anyone who’s physically strong enough to bully him around anyone who’s athletic enough to slip past his jab and kicks and just get into the phone booth barov is all those things man like uh if this goes to the ground at any point all bets are off uh Hooper is I mean he’s not a lights out wrestler but he’s a good Grappler he’s good in scrambles just long arms and legs good at you know good at taking the back in transition good at threatening with submissions from odd angles where his opponent clearly didn’t expect it uh yeah if and borov has just seemed really hapless when fights have gone to the ground like just not good Fighters have really run game on barov on the ground I’m sure that’s improving from fight to fight again as he works with just a team of monster wrestlers and ground guys at at alpha male but I can’t imagine he has shored up his deficiencies more since his last fight than Hooper has man I so badly want to go with another upset and picker here but the thing is while borov has been out wrestled and outg grappled he hasn’t been tapped out like he’s been in trouble a few times and he’s maintained his composure uh he’s done the right things you know with Uriah Faber yelling at him to to survive those situations so for me to pick Hooper I’m really picking Hooper to be able to get barov down in at least two rounds and threaten enough uh you know with submissions and positional dominance to win the rounds while not getting knocked out on his way to do it and that’s just hard for me to pick uh kimm me barov to win a decision ision here probably pretty one-sided where he is just hacking at Hooper’s legs uh going with kicks to the body Hooper’s tendency to not move his head and keep his hands kind of down I could see barov head kicking him or just catching him with some monster punches but Hooper’s been surprisingly tough so I’m not picking The Knockout here but give me barov to kind of put Hooper through the meat grinder this is a pretty friendly matchup for Slava borov because it’s a guy that yeah he’s a better Grappler but it’s probably going to struggle for ways to get the fight down yeah uh side note as you mentioned Sage North I I’ve always found it super weird that that people like love the the downfall of of sage North I just I don’t get it the guy’s the nicest guy on the planet Earth like he should be the guy people root for uh I will admit this like yeah I I’m a Christian and my my wife’s Christian my wife is the most Christian person ever so uh I tend to like cheer for the people are openly Christian uh that’s it like that’s what like if if he was your son like that’s exactly the kind of person you want your kid to grow up to be like so and I mean he looks like the like the bully bad guy from like an 80s or 90s high school movie and and if he was an arrogant like [ __ ] he’d be really easy to hate yeah I’ve interviewed him I think you’ve interviewed him he’s no I never I haven’t I haven’t but at least I don’t think I have yeah he’s the nicest guy like just and and and in much the same way as well Stephen Thompson you can tell it’s genuine yeah exactly uh put for so long you can only put on the G long I’m not saying his lifestyle is G you get what I’m saying if if if it was fake yeah it were you get moments with Kobe Covington where he’s not like a prick sure you know because they they forgot to put it on so yeah like and it I would be surprised like I’m not Christian but he walks his talk and clearly not a Christian of convenience like like kind of like Stephen Thompson they’re two of the guys that I would be most shocked to find out like you know they were cheating on their wife or hell even like cheating on their taxes like they’re just yeah they’re just good dudes yeah though it could happen though they’re the guys that actually read the Bible instead of just scrolling to the end and clicking I agree like it’s Apple user agreements it’s [Laughter] contract uh this fight if you if I went you’re right absolutely right about Chase Hooper’s record in the UFC is is pretty stunning if if you if even you went back a couple years ago and finish we’re the guys that be like hey hold off don’t quit on on someone who’s super young but part of me was like oh man this guy this ain’t the guy if you told me a couple years ago that I’d be intrigued by a Chase super fight i’ would been surprised but I really him at this point if he wins this fight like thr’s narrative like he’s especially if he does somewhat okay on the feet now am I expecting him to do well on the feet no I don’t and not not against a level Striker like porv Hooper he’s he’s not much of an athlete he’s a South bar he tries to use his length from from striking range he marches forward with good output he throws straight punches down the pipe but his his strikes aren’t the fastest they don’t have much power he he hasn’t really come into his power really developed any power he throws a lot of arm punches kind of does the same like one-w combination he he something they was like trying against Alex caceras and his defense is bad I mean he got beat up by Stephen Peterson beat up by Steve Garcia doesn’t really move his head doesn’t react to strikes too well kind of flops around I mean his whole thing is he wants to Grapple not the best wrestler but I’ll say this he’s Relentless to get the fight there willing to pull guard willing to IM andar rooll will just kind of bull rush his foes if he gets to the fight to the ground I mean the guy is busy mean ground and pound super slick I mean back takes against like Alex leras who’s a good Grappler himself very aggressive uses those long arm and legs locking submissions we saw that he gets in the Peter Barett fight uh very funky style grappling hips are constantly moving can get submissions everywhere I mean he subed Jordan L say what you want but that’s Jordan L world and and and he dominated there and he’s good Cod cardio I’ll say that he’s good card and he’s got toughness like we don’t talk you don’t think because he’s like this Goofy kind of kid but like kid’s tough man he he he’ll take a beat and keep coming barf he’s incredible Striker obviously K kickboxing level I think he was a champion uh does fight the Muay Tha you know Muay Tha striking style stands a little tall in front of his opponents doesn’t really move that much but he’s quick and he’s explosive he’s super accurate nice jab hard tight hooks crushes the body uh I mean go back to like the Dakota Bush and just see what he did to toota bush with body shots good at slipping his head off the center line and countering with some of his own power shots I love his kicking game kicks to all areas of the body some of the best CF kicks you you’ll see he obviously has serious knockout power the the issue is he’s been rocked himself I mean he was hurt bad against uh sakov in his last fight you go back to like Chris Duncan Duncan dropped him with a shot junan hurt him with a c kick uh you mentioned his grappling he’s a terrible Grappler what you know offensive grappling is not there one of the worst defensive wrestlers in the UFC possibly the possibly the worst defensive wrestler in the UFC mark took him down 11 times Mike Davis took him down nine times um but to his credit you don’t get those many takedowns unless you get back up his feet and he is hard to hold down and you mentioned he’s hard to submit so this is again I feel it’s lazy like similar to the Terence bikini fight where it’s just like well this the ultimate Striker versus Grappler where both guys have massive advantages in their respective area but that’s the case here you know I don’t think this will be a close fight I think one guy will destroy the other either Hooper gets the fight to the ground and quickly you do I want say quickly Subs but like quickly dominates like controls backpacks him does all that uh I’ll say this yes barov has has gone been long times on the ground and not been submitted but this is probably the best submission artist he’s fac not the best Grappler like d case is probably the like the strongest wrestler or Davis is pretty solid wrestler himself but they’re not the submission threat that Hooper is if Hooper doesn’t dominate then it’s probably Bru blasting Hooper you know so I I I I’d sprinkle on the under in this fight that you know especially if you if you think Bar’s gonna win I almost want Hooper to get the fight the ground you know and dominate because I i’ like to go against the the you know the grain a little bit like the people like oh people hate this guy then I’m gonna for this guy you know I think he actually will give R down I think br’s G to do what you what you said like hold off get back to his feet I’m glad that you are super on the fence because I’m on the fence too which is crazy to think like I never expect to be on a face on a chase super fight especially against a guy that I think is good you know has huge advantages I just expect I just expect he’s gonna make a mistake he he’s going to have to come in he’s going have to eat shots I expect BR have to land some shots possibly maybe some a body shot maybe maybe drops him hurts him with a body shot and I think he gets a KO late in the first round give me bar my first round Toko the six fight main card of UFC St Louis begins with a heavyweight slugfest between Waldo Cortez a Costa and robell despain Cortez a Costa the 32-year-old Dominican by way of Arizona is 11- one overall he’s 4- one since joining the UFC out of season six of Dana White’s Contender series he is on a two-fight uh win streak after opening last year with a decision loss to Marcos aerio Del Lima he bounced back with a first round knockout of Lucas dresy in August then in his first fight this year took a unanimous decision over Andre Arlovski he will look to make it three in a row at the expense of The Undefeated to Spain 35-year-old Cuban is a perfect 5-0 as a professional he is 1 and0 since joining the UFC earlier this year he made his debut at UFC 299 in March against Josh perisian needing just 18 seconds to knock him out that’s one way to look at it the other way to look at it is that The 18-second Knockout is actually despain’s second longest career fight he will look to make it a perfect six and0 to open his career A Perfect 2 and0 to open his octagon run he is moderately favored to do so to Spain minus 170 Cortez aosta plus 140 okay I’m gonna sound conflicted here like I’m having an argument with myself because on the one hand I’m gonna say that I’m not buying into all the robell to Spain hype like it’s obvious it’s obvious why the hype is there he’s this absolutely Titanic guy that is a decorated karate practitioner and has been knocking everybody out in literally 4 seconds 3 seconds 12 seconds uh that’s that’s not going to last forever once the heavyweight is terrible but once you get to the top 10 I’d be very shocked if he would I’d be very shocked if he was even doing that to the Marcos aerio the lias of the world on the flip side I’m surprised that the line here is as close as it is because Cortez a Costa is tailor made for reell dis Spain to tea off on uh I’ve said on this show a million times about heavy weights that all you need to do to have some pretty decent success at heavyweight all the way up to the top promotions in the world all the way up to kind of maybe not the top 10 but skirting around the the 25 20 25 best heavyweights in the world is to have one good weapon and the aggression and fight intelligence to leverage that one weapon like that that’s just not true of any other division in the sport Cortez a Costa he has a couple things going for him one he’s gigantic even by heavyweight standards he is a for real for real heavyweight who’s he’s not that fat and he sometimes has to cut a little weight to get under 265 like he is a huge guy and while he’s not a sensational or complete Striker by the standards of any other division he’s one of the rare heavyweights with a pretty good Jab who’s willing to use it and that’s been enough like he has surprisingly little knockout power for a guy as huge as he is who throws as many strikes as he does but at least against the bottom crust of what the UFC’s Heavyweight division has to offer it’s been enough gotten past Jared Vander Chase Sherman Lucas dresy who probably should be a light heavyweight the ghost of Andre Arlovski uh it wasn’t enough against maros aerio Del Lima Del Lima is an exper iced veteran kickboxer who does have the full tool set has very good kicks very good punches uh is more athletic than his kind of barrel chested physique would lead you to believe and just he’s better than a Cortez a Costa against despain again Waldo Cortez a Costa is Tailor Made for This Man to tee off on because Cortez a Costa wants and needs to conduct the fight on the feed but he doesn’t have enough power to give despain much to think about uh despain shockingly fast and Nimble for a guy his size especially a guy his size who’s 35 and I mean he’s Cuban so he might actually be 45 for all we know he might be the heavyweight Alexis V uh he is he’s six foot seven he walks around 261 pounds long legs long arms and all of his striking offense maximizes that it extends it it’s like long kicks that it just seems like he he can cover half the cage with kind of one switch what like one switch stance kick he could you can go from like one warning track to the other uh covers ground shockingly fast everything he throws has monstrous power on it not because he’s overswinging but just because he’s a gigantic Guy moving that fast who nonetheless has his feet under him and you know and is a very experienced Striker against Josh perisian in his debut I mean we both picked him by first round knockout it was the most obvious pick of the year and I at least said I’d be surprised if pan even makes it past the first minute I think Cortez a Costa might make it to the minute Mark I I think despain is likely in for the new second longest fight of his career but not by much yeah give me despain by by first round knockout I I expect he’s gonna come out in his you know kind of low bladed stance uncoil from that with some huge high kick even if it’s just a kick to just kind of get aosta backing up and reacting to it and then he fall holds it with a very nice straight punch lances aosta aosta goes down uh I expect to Spain to get the first round knockout here again probably in the first half of the first round and it could be one of those ones where aosa doesn’t actually lay a finger on him yeah so I’m I’m I’m going over this dude’s record this main I mean his Knockouts are I mean it’s it’s insane I mean his entire career is 5 minutes and 31 seconds yep and 454 of it is his first fight his last four fights it’s a total of 37 seconds 37 seconds that’s right basically his entire career is the countdown to our recap show like the little like we give a couple minutes for people to get in you know to find find the stream like that’s his career I was sitting there thinking because you know that alpha male you got to think like this which is really stupid I’m like I think I last 18 seconds against him no mind you I’d run away as fast as I possibly could for those 18 seconds you know until you know until he like freaking Subzero me and and and was Subzero that you say come over here and pull me over it was scorpion because he was scorp I’m sorry I’m scor get over here yeah yeah yeah yeah get over here and then freaking knock my head head off but uh so I’m not trying to like I’d win or anything like that I just you know these guys are dumb enough to go after him that’s the problem like these guys actually think they could win and that’s why they get knocked out as quick as I would be terrified so I’d run like I’d be like a you know when I when I was like the other day I was cleaning up my my shed and there was a mouse in the I’m like trying to get the mouse and just running around like that’s that what it would be like you know it took me more than 18 seconds to get the get the mouse out of my [ __ ] you know but I was uh moving the uh uh the spreader the you know the seed spreader I mean the guy is huge he’s 67 265 86 in reach he’s got a longer reach than Jon Jones so incredible Taekwondo Olympics broad medalist he just Springs at his opponents he hangs he hangs his hands low so they all come wild from the side but they’re quick they’re massive power he throws everything into his shots I mean he knocked perisian out while backing up you know crushing high kick mean leg kicks I haven’t seen too much of his offense of grappling but he did stop some takedown attempts in his M debut like you really have to just look at his ma debut and and judge his whole career by it you know he didn’t have the best technique but regard regardless he you know he’ll be hard to take down due of his height and then you expect him to be better in you know grappling since his I’m not now again I’m not expecting him to be you know verom out there but yeah he’s expecting to be better uh Waldo Cortez a Costa he’s a box with good volume you mentioned he works behind a jab he sets up his power strikes with the faints uh throws clean shots on the pipe but that really wasn’t the case got Andre owski he looks really bad against him he kept trying to end the fight with one big shot uh he likes to wrap his power shots around his opponent’s defense but he just couldn’t do that against owski al was avoiding his shots really well uh his best thing is when he goes to the body he does have some power but I think it’s it’s it’s grossly overrated like the broadcast team is going to pretend he hits as hard as like Bo nickel does and just not the case because of his boxing style he gets his legs kicked off and it’s like fight after fight after fight he’s open to leg kicks he also keeps his chin high in the air he’s a weak defensive wrestl Chase serman took him down a bunch of time he’s a weak Grappler looks one dimensional I’m with you I’m all over disain here you know we I’ve seen Cortez aosta get his legs kicked off and then you have this big massive guy that could just kick harder than anybody’s face that said I don’t think it’s going to be the kicks I think I’m gonna go the opposite I’m gonna say the street continues I say to Spain lands a massive shot early I’m gonna say he does it again I’ll say he doesn’t like 30 seconds I I just I can’t see a way for for Cortez D Costa to win because he’s a boxer you know yeah and it’s it’s why I’m shocked that the line is as close as it is like I agree despain is only minus 170 what do they think Cortez aost is going to do like for three rounds I gu I mean maybe they thinking just because the inexperience they don’t want to lay too much yeah but yeah I’m with you fair to ask what his cardio will look like if somebody makes it to the round yeah problem is he’s gonna knock him on in 30 seconds so give me to SP by first round Kno next up is a featherweight contest between Alex caceras and Shawn Woodson caceras the 35-year-old Floridian training out of Arizona is 21 and 14 with one no contest overall he’s 16 and 12 with one no contest since joining the UFC out of the 12th season of The Ultimate Fighter he did lose his last timeout uh he fought twice last year beat Daniel paneda via decision in June then dropped the unanimous decision to Giga jakad in August at the hallay versus Korean zombie card so he’s been on the shelf for about nine months he comes back looking to get back in the win column against Woodson 31-year-old St Lewis native should uh get a warm welcome from the hometown crowd he’s 111 and one overall he is five one and one since joining the UFC out of season three of Dana White’s Contender series he’s on a five fight unbeaten streak and a two-fight win streak fought uh once last year and once already this year uh he took a unanimous decision over Dennis bookia last August at UFC on ESPN San Haagen versus uh looked good against bazook but worth noting that bazuki was literally I think the fourth opponent they they tried to find for him uh came back at UFC 297 in January and took a split decision over Charles Jordan so uh Woodson on a hot streak again hasn’t lost a fight in uh almost four years he is Comfortably favored to extend that streak here as he is minus 190 cacer is plus 150 uh feel like we say this or at least I say this every time he fights uh caceras is a fun success story there’s there’s no reason if you go back to the ultimate fighter 12 all the way back in 2010 to believe that he was going to be the guy who stuck around on roster you know almost 15 years later like yes he was the I I think he was the youngest guy in the house but and and he had the you know kind of the the goofy personality because he was 20 years old we were all and he still does he still he still does I mean I mean he still has the afro with the afro pick in it sometimes like he’s he’s stuck with the the Bruce Leroy gag but he didn’t seem particularly skilled he wasn’t off the charts good athlete there’s there was no reason to believe that he would be passing Michael Johnson as the most successful uh Alum of that season but but here he is and at 35 still fighting the best he ever has like he has continued to improve over the course of his career and while 35 years of age at 145 pounds it’s definitely on the precipice he hasn’t shown like any signs of serious physical decline he I mean despite the the Bruce Leroy Persona you know and you know the kind of stuff he’ll do in the cage he’s always been at his best as a Grappler and kind of a you know Funk style wrestler you know he’s a he’s a sneaky Grappler he’s good offensively and defensively he’s good in scrambles he’s gotten better at being more of a conservative round winning positionally sound uh Grappler as well it’s part of what has sort of powered him to uh you know to to the level where he is where yeah he’s not a top 15 featherweights but again he’s not fighting for his job this weekend not even close I I he’s won something like eight of his last 10 fights uh yeah it’s just it’s been a fun success story he has become the best possible Alex casseras he could have been um all credit to him for just Contin continuing to improve he was one of the earlier guys to get out to the MMA lab uh and you know he was ahead of the curve in it becoming one of the best camps in in the whole sport so yeah he he’s a lot of fun he’s still a basic Striker who doesn’t have much power and he himself is kind of hitable so he’s in trouble when he’s fighting a better Striker that he can’t get to the ground and that’s kind of played out I mean who’s he lost to in the last six years gig Chaz sadique Yousef and yeah cron Gracie cron Gracie was an absolutely terrible style match up for him but Yousef and Chad are just better kickboxers better athletes with more power uh and caceras just got kind of stuck unfortunately for him that’s a pretty good description for Woodson as well uh the most obvious thing about Woodson is of course his stature he in terms of physique Cuts one of the most unique figures in the entire UFC I don’t know if he’s the tallest featherweight but he probably is uh I don’t know if he has the longest reach but he absolutely has the longest inseam uh Adam Duffy you know top on my Bulls list at the last recap he has funny takes on fighter sometimes and he told me that Shawn Woodson looks looks like his Adams sleep paralysis demon just where he’s like all legs and kind of he look like that uh what was that uh I’m trying to think of Mr slender or something Slender Man no he totally looks like Slender Man like put kind of like the big trench coat and and stuff on him and like if his fingers were like extra long he he looks like he should be like a NBA draff Prospect like that like you know some guy’s analyzing him real deep and he’s like yeah you know he’s gonna have to put on some size on that frame but he’s got the long you know long winds span and all that no absolutely like D Porsche Baines is not SL is not swatting away this man’s jump shot uh he’s I you’re better at breaking down the technical side of this than I am but what El I’ll say is he is one of he’s maybe the most enjoyable pure boxer in the UFC for me to watch like you know when I talk about boxer boxers I’m not the analyst you want to ask where he falls in the the hierarchy of most technical boxers but like Terence Crawford is like one of my favorite boxers to watch it’s just it’s technically beautiful to watch it’s nice to watch just like the little nuances of timing and distance that you can only get with a certain amount of just natural vision and athleticism and then just tons and tons and tons of reps uh yeah I I love watching Woodson do his thing I you I just love watching his hands but then on top of it it would be a shame if a guy that can probably enter the Octagon just by stepping over the stepping over like Ivan Drago entering a boxing ring didn’t have good kicks and he has nasty kicks as well being so tall and having such long legs obviously he’s great with the knees he uh I mean he got to the UFC by killing Terence McKenna whom we talked about a little while ago with a flying knee uh Woodson’s limitations I think are always going to be defensive wrestling and grappling you know a fighter who can either get him to the ground and keep him there and beat him up or can catch him uh in a moment of in attention even like on the feet or in a scramble is probably always going to be able to take advantage of him but in his entire UFC run so far only one guy’s been able to do that Julian Arosa and there’s no shame in that Julian Arosa is uh Elite at least as a quick strike uh offensive fighter yeah this is a I understand why the line is what it is because I think caceras is going to be stuck on the outside I think he’s going to run into a ton of Jabs from Woodson I think he’s going to run into some push kicks right up the middle just right to the gut that both stop your forward momentum hurt like hell take some wind out of you it’s just going to be rough slitting for ceris and if ceris really decides to try to force the issue and like crash the pocket to you know get his hands on woods and get a body lock a standing back take something to get the grappling going I could see him running right into a knee or an uppercut and really get hurt uh ceris is normally super tough he’s a hard guy to hurt on the feet but if he pushes it if he pushes the issue against Woodson on the feet I could see him getting cleanly knocked out in a way that he really hasn’t in his career so far uh I’m not picking that to happen my call is that Woodson gets a dominant decision here though where ceris is just kind of frustrated stuck in Woodson’s world for 15 minutes and uh is looking much the worse for wear by the end of it yeah this is um I’m surprised like that we don’t get more reports of this amount of people turning down fights with sha wson because that just sounds like if I was a a lightweight that just seems like when I had my one MMA fight I actually did fight at lightweight and that sounds miserable like if I if I showed up to the like this is R you don’t even know who you fight and I mean I knew the guy’s name but I know I think about him if I showed up and show once and walked in be like yo [ __ ] that like sorry guys for my friends I just broke my leg Yeah oh yeah yeah I’m feeling dizzy or something I I had a bad weight cut some so i’ for a reason I L something on the stove like I’d be gone uh Alex ceris you know what I love about Alex ceris I always think about like f week like if he gets interviewed like I try to a lot of times like my you know if I’m doing like meaningless work at at a computer you know there’s some that just you every job has like tedious stuff I put the headphones in and I listen to like the media interviews for the week you know I love when Alex ceris gets brought in and someone’s always gonna ask him his thoughts on other fights in the card and he’s gonna be like I don’t watch fights and then and then he’s gonna get asked again the very next time they’re gonna ask him so if if he’s gonna be they’re gonna ask him about the main event he’s gon be like I don’t really know these guys um he he’s well-rounded he he’s athletic he moves well Southpaw that works behind a jab I like he works the body uh he did really well againsts pan going to the body he follows up with you know weird he throws some weird angles he kind of like bounces his head off the line and he kind of you know he loses some power that way but he has shown some some some power Recon I mean he starts Julian Rosa he hurt Daniel pan kicks are a big part of his game he’s an underrated Grappler he’s a sneaky Grappler uh you know his defensive wrest wring is is pretty bad but his offensive he’s like this funky style grappling where yeah he doesn’t mind putting himself in bad positions to get a submission he has great submission defense I mean he fought off submissions against Daniel Pena he’s got seven Subs himself he’s he’s got a tough match up against Sean Woodson I mean Woodson is I mean you talk about how big he is he’s massive constantly switching stances L loves to work from the outside very calm and poised just touches into there’s an open he has this thing where he’s moving his hands around so much that it’s it’s it’s tough to kind of know where they’re coming from he’s got a great jab he batters the body he he looks when you crash the pocket on him he turns everything coming up you know he tries to walk you into uppercuts he seems to be adding punching power which something like the knock on him was like you for such a big guy he doesn’t really crack but he just St to see that more he St to hurt guys more he throws a lot of high kicks and so easy him just to toss it up to your head the way to beat him is to press him and force him you know to have to really close in those long shots but you’re going to eat shots coming in uh the fact that he’s added step in knes when his opponent gets inside is such a great tool to his game uh defensively he shoulder roles a lot which is a very boxing style which never looks good to judges he also I’ve seen him in the past not recently but in the past he kind of get forced back and he kind of like has it like Anderson Silva like having his back against the cage which I I I hate that obviously there certain guys that can do well there uh but generally speaking it’s it’s it’s I I think you’re you’re you’re taking a huge gamble uh I’d like to he has really so he uses the cage to defend takedowns but he’s also he he’s shown his takedown defense as really greatly improved that was like a little bit of a weakness and his sub defense uh you know is better you know he did get submitted by Julian Rosell but that fight is getting further and further you know in the rearview mirror uh he also Gass in that fight which we’ve seen him really improve his gas in as he’s gotten older I’m surprised by that I expected him to have you know worse weight Cuts it’s still something I’m still always worried because he’s such a big dude I like what’s in here though I mean I think he styles to ceris I think his box gonna be way too much I I don’t think ceris G have any answer for him because there’s mighte try to wrestle him I just don’t know if he’ll be able to get him down I don’t think he gets a k oh ceris is so tough but I think wson just rolls to a very easy decisive decision victory next up at UFC on ESPN 56 is a lightweight matchup between Diego faera and Matas reesy faera the 39-year-old Brazilian by way of South Texas is 18-5 overall he is N9 and5 since joining the UFC as the outgoing LFA lightweight champ he won his last timeout he came back after about 18 months away last May at UFC Fight Night dur versus Hill and knocked out Michael Johnson in the second round that snapped a three-fight losing streak for him uh that left some observers myself included thinking that perhaps he was done with the sport for good uh but nope he came back last year he won and here he is almost a full year later uh back in the saddle looking for a second win in a row against reesy uh reesy 31-year-old poll is 19- one over overall he is 3-0 since joining the UFC out of season six of Dana White’s Contender series he is on I believe a 16 fight win streak overall he fought three times last year all in the UFC uh getting a unanimous decision over Nick Fior a second round knockout of L rajabov and in his most recent appearance at UFC 295 in November a first round submission of Roosevelt Roberts uh he’ll look to make it four in a row and mint himself a Rising contender in the ultra crowded UFC lightweight division he is I believe the biggest favorite on the card uh strongly favored to do so he is minus 280 FAA plus 235 uh on the comeback Keith I will flip this to you first since I have uh a bit of a conflict of interest here uh let me know who you think wins this one what you think the fight looks like well I don’t think that rki should be the biggest favorite in the card um just because we’ve seen Kos Diego FAA look absolutely fantastic in the past and and we’ve seen him be an elite fighter at times you know at 39 years old that’s obviously a good chance that’s in the past but when you have a guy like desp what he’s doing I mean that guy should be the biggest favorite on the card but whatever uh K FAA he’s he’s he’s on the sides for the division you know and I know you said this before that he he’s not as small person um but he looks small for the division yes I he looked great in his last fight and and it kind of stopped a little like losing streak and and the thing about him and and he definitely fits in that category where he’s he’s you know he’s got like a losing streak but he didn’t lose to bad guys he lost to really good guys I just I’m not sold on him being back to form I mean he’s really old be Michael Johnson doesn’t doesn’t sell me you know the peak of K Farah was he was a big volume guy problem is his volume against Gregor Gillespie against uh matus gamarro was really dropped now he could work behind a jab I love that he doubles it up he throws tight shots down the pipe uh he loves like this double jab right combo so kind a very boxing style to it he also targets the body um where he’s kind of trying to tire down his fo with that not great defensively he’s always been a hitable guy got a good kicking game he likes to wrestle but he’s probably average at it he’s not a fantastic wrestler but if you can get to fight the ground he has Elite BJJ credentials the problem is they just credentials at this point you know he was outg grappled badly against really good Grapplers but badly by Gregor lesie by uh benil darush both guys are Elite Grapplers but but to me he’s shown that he’s not in that category of a Grappler anymore now he obviously still submission right he’s got seven Subs but a big concern is he’s gassed I mean gassed against Gillespie gassed against darus he gassed against gamarra th those are concerns now things have changed since his last fight you feel you guys can figure out what I’m saying that we might see it change physically for calla uh reesy I mean this guy when he first came in UFC he was a guy I liked a lot then he looked bad against uh Nick F I was like oh my he’s not that good but then he’s like Sensational recently he’s a short compact fighter I mean he looked fantastic and like L rosov ran right through Roso Roberts is another fight that he looked Sensational he’s a South excuse me he’s a southp really good output fights with a lot of pressure this kind of Bob and weave style where he you know slips to the side and he it’sit he cracks hard throws hard hooks works the body well he has really nice power he’s got eight Kos nice inside kicks I mean he beat Ros legs off with leg kicks defensively he’s still easy to head he’s and that’s because he’s he wants to get a ranger L Power Shot so he’s one of these guys he’s he’s willing to like hey let’s test each other chins uh he’s a very good wrestler good good entries very physically strong I mean we saw the contend he pick up his slam his opponent strong top game looks to pass I me he had had a crucifix at one point slick back takes good ground and pound he’s got six Subs I mean hit Roso Robins one of the slickest umbr I’ve seen in recent memory uh the he did gas against Nick Fury but that he’s looked much better recently there was a change of opponents there’s a lot of things you know there’s things sometimes outside the cage that we don’t know about I I know this is you’re not gonna like this I just I don’t believe in car Diego F anymore I’m reesy here I say he beats a fur with his pressure with his leg kicks with his power I think he wins to grappling too I think fa is gonna yeah this guy’s bigger and stronger than him I think he’s gonna spend a lot of time on bottom I think robes is gonna get a late stoppage give me Rees by third round TKO yeah I’m I’m not mad at the pick at all like for one thing I I’ve made it clear that yeah I live in Texas but Texas is a big Place diea operates out of the Rio Grand Valley like his gym is literally like five miles from the Mexico border uh for me for me where I live like Houston you know actually like Woodlands or woodlock to get to him it’s almost exactly the same distance for you to get from your front doorstep to Baltimore like no it’s seriously like like the same it’s like a five and a half six hour drive that Texas a big place so and and but I like Diego I’ve you you know talk to him a bunch of times he’s a super good dude I mean I’m not saying that there’s a problem with my level of partiality but I’m literally wearing a Diego FAA team shirt right now uh just for for effect uh but there was a time sorry sorry to interrupt you and I will not drop Carlos Diego feta I’m always Gonna Leave Carlos in there that’s because everyone at Forest just calls him CDF anyway so he goes by like everyone’s name in the initials but you mentioned that you know his his three fight losing streak wasn’t against Bad Fighters but he looked bad in them is the problem cuz we’re talking about a guy that he went on a a six-fight winning streak and he you know kind of propelled himself to the edges of the top 10 but he got there you know with well-rounded skills high volume High motor aggression uh good good offensive wrestling for a BJJ guy and then you know very good grappling but he also got there with toughness and grit like he beat Maybeck taov on on fight Island in that fight where like he was a pretty like he was an underdog but it was fight Island and it was that event it was I think UFC 242 where it was like 84 degrees in the building it’s like dude you know I’m from manow in Northern Brazil and then I move to the Rio Grand Valley like don’t threaten me with a good time and he just totally outgassed tysim off to see the guy that did that honestly kind of Wilt against both Gregor Gillespie and Matas gamrat is the problem because on paper darus Gillespie gamrot three excellent wrestlers excellent ground Fighters uh it’s understandable that that he would lose but just Gillespie just so out hustled him and then gamrot where gamot was out wrestling him so bad that the like you know tap to strikes from the knee to the body on the ground it was just it it just felt like a mercy kill I was surprised he came back at all and I was even more surprised when he came back and lamped Michael Johnson with like basically a walk-off knockout but I’m with you I I I don’t believe he’s fully back for one thing I if he’s fully back at age 39 that would almost be a first in the history of this division like there’s got to be some uh there’s got to be some decline there and and we’re talking about a guy who if if we’re just talking straight here he missed two years of the prime of his career because he popped badly for performance-enhancing uh substances and uh usada threw the book at him now in the post usada era maybe he gets a little of that mojo back I I don’t know but even the FAA who beat Michael Johnson I think is going to have rough sledding against breski I underestimated breski coming into the UFC you know yeah he had a gudy winning streak and a ton of you know highlight real Knockouts but they were mostly against very overmatched foes and I just thought okay he’s a stocky musclebound 155 Pounder with a high output style he has passable cardio when he’s dominating the action but I don’t think this is going to work in the UFC and I’ve been wrong so far and granted Nick fur and Roosevelt Roberts are not great but L rajabov is a pretty legit win and fedo will be another pretty legit win if he’s able to do to him what he’s been doing to everyone else uh now when I look at reesy maybe he tops out of being kind of like a a poor man’s Michael Chandler where uh he’s strong enough and athletic enough good enough wrestler and good enough punching power that the height disadvantage just it doesn’t really matter like Michael Chandler’s lost some fights here and there but it was never because he was like too small uh yeah that that’s a rough look for FAA uh I I wish the guy will I think he’s a super good dude I’ve interviewed him several of his Fighters I like Forest guys but yeah I think it’s going to probably be a pretty dominant performance for reesy give me reesy in a pretty dominant decision here uh and one where third from the top at UFC on ESPN 56 is a light heavyweight matchup between Alonzo menifield and Carlos olberg menifield the 36-year-old Dallas native is 153 and one overall he is 83 and one since joining the UFC as a two-time veteran of Dana White’s Contender series he competed on the very first season stopping Daniel Jolly with an eye injury was not immediately signed he came back on season two knocked out uh Deshawn Boatright in just 8 seconds that was good enough to get the call since then again 83 and one and he is on a five-fight unbeaten streak after dropping a kind of bewildering and flatl looking decision to William Knight back at the end of 2021 he has wins over ascar moov Misha cenov Jim crout well a draw with Jim crout and then an actual win uh and in his most recent appearance uh took a unanimous decision over Justin jacobe that was uh in December at UFC 296 so he’ll look to extended to three wins in a row against olberg who is in a similar situation the 33-year-old New Zealander is N9 and one overall five- one since joining the UFC out of season four of the contender series after dropping his UFC debut to Kennedy z uh Honestly by getting caught and then knocked out in a fight in which he had been doing well he is rattled off four he has rattled off five straight wins over Fabio cherant ton Nuki Nick neeran eor Pia and in his most recent appearance at UFC 293 last September daun Jung whom he Tapped Out of all things uh late in the third round soberg on a five fight win streak flashing uh some new tools to his game the the former professional kickboxer and he is a comfortable favorite to keep the Good Vibes going here as he is minus 210 menifield plus 170 Keith let me know how you feel about this one who you think wins and while I mean menafield has been a borderline top 15 top 10 guy for a couple years now as he’s racked up this streak if you’re picking olberg tell me kind of what you see as his top upside in this division yeah I’ll do that at the end um yeah as far so yeah about these guys just kind of General overview I’ll say this about I was never high on manafield but there’s eventually where you got to start changing your opinion on a guy when he starts winning and winning and winning I mean he’s I mean if he beats elar I mean you talking about he’s got to be ranked in in facing like a top like fighting this guy like Anthony Smith or some someone like that a Nikita Koff level fighter if if he if he can beat olberg uh but it’s gonna be a tough Tas I mean olberg is definitely one of the best it’s you know I don’t want to say prospects but you he’s kind of established himself but you know kind of a newer guy he’s he’s an elite athlete he’s super athletic he’s he’s a good Striker very comfortable and relaxed he’s explosive you know kickboxer he’s fast he’s accurate he’s bit of a sniper with his accuracy technically sound really good from distance kind of a classic out fighter he gots angles really well when he’s attacking and that’s because he has such good footwork he’s he’s good at using his movement to kind of pull his opponents into his power if you chase him you know he he he avoids strikes with his high God defense uses Fain and hand fighting and even faints with his hips too to kind of set up his shots uh he does really well to keep his distance like his check left hook is is something he uses really well to keep his distance he did it against Fabia shant shant could not get past it I mean Fab shant gave up pretty early trying but U he has really good power uh good kicking game he likes those those oblique kicks he’s got mean calf kicks his ground game has gotten so much better we’ve seen it offensively l some ground and pound I mean he got a sub against dun Jung uh which is you know I I don’t I don’t expect him to be a you know decorate Grappler but it’s something to see that he’s he’s improved metafield he’s he also is a good athlete he moves well he fights behind also fights behind guard defense he likes to work from distance he’s got a beautiful uh counter right hand he has serious power and we saw him blast Misha cenov we saw him hurt Jimmy crw a lot in their fight he often will look for the perfect below and kind of Telegraph and load up everything and he could overthrow his shots which leaves him to be a big you know Target to counter which which you know it’s the issue which is kind of keeping him from the very top of the division uh he he also fights in spurts he’s with this guy he he likes to kind of conserve his energy which I actually think is really helped him be a much better fighter now due his height he still struggles getting inside guys I mean like Dustin KOB with his footwork and length something he he struggled with I like his kick game though strong C kicks he’s got a quick high kick uh he he used to be a really bad defensive wrestler but that has come a long way he’s shown a lot of improvement I me stuff takedowns from Devin Clark Misa cenov Jimmy crew they’ve all struggled to get him down and and overall grapple has come a long way I mean he cut Jimmy CR with a with a guillotine he has passed he has Gass out in the past but he’s been able to Pace himself so much better I mean his gas tank has drastically improved it is it is not even CERN anymore alberg is looking really good he looks it seems like he’s looking better and better every fight I don’t know when I’m G to stop buing in Manfield if he builts olberg then then I I that’s it he’s he’s good I just I like Holberg a lot I think he styles on Ben Field I I just picture him being too fast too explosive hits too hard I picture him going after those Stumpy legs of of Manfield and kicking it over and over again I think he follows that up with some big shots LS land something big I say I say this is like a one of those big like wake up calls to the division like watch out forberg I say oldberg lands something big give me him by second round knockout yeah this is a s this was a surprisingly tough one for me to kind of envision and pick despite how wide the line isberg is a guy who and I think I may have said this ahead of one of his last couple of fights but losing to Kennedy zeku and his UFC debut may have been the best thing that could have happened to him because coming to the UFC as an undefeated knockout artist who looks like a movie star is a teammate of is is AD asagna like if he’d beaten zaku for one thing they matched him with like a top 20ish guy at the worst right out of the gate he probably already would have made it to a title shot by now and maybe too soon or or would have made it to a serious top level Contender just too soon or made EV made event like that so it may have been the best thing that could have happened to him because since like since that fight he hasn’t fought anybody yet as good as Kennedy like this is him five wins later you know five dominant wins later finally getting back to a guy that’s at Kennedy zaku’s level or higher like that that’s what that did for him it changed the UFC’s entire booking approach to him because if he beats zeku he’s fighting a top 10 guy in his second UFC fight uh and maybe it’s too much too soon for him uh I’ve said before like stardom is there in the making uh he’s got the little bit of cocky personality he looks like the steal your girlfriend villain in like a 90s kickboxing movie he looks like what it would look like if the rock had been a kickboxer instead of a football player him and Sage North got together just stealing your girls bad bad villains yeah uh you know uh ahead of uh one of his previous fights you know Keith confided in us that if things ever went wrong between him and M shillin they’d probably both go hang out with Carlos alberg separately so uh um like this should be a coronation for him because this is matching him against one of the better kickboxers in the division if he I’m with you if he styles on menafield the sky is the limit I think it’ll be a little tougher than than maybe the odds indicate or than a lot of observers think because everything you said is right like men field you know for as powerful and fast and athletic is and as good a striker as he is is kind of short and Stumpy for the division well I say Stumpy like he’s you know like built like the penguin no he’s stocky and just jacked with muscle uh but you know what he had a lot of the same disadvantages against Dustin jacobe and found a way to win uh I mean jacobe was cutting him up with leg kicks he was having a ton of trouble getting past Jacob’s jab and found you know just finally kind of gutted it out walked through a jab and got you know to where he could actually Land one of his power punches in jacobe and actually put him down uh he could he could do that kind of thing to olberg but it would need to be kind of a lapse of attention on alg’s part kind of the way that uh zuku caught him so this is it’s a low-key dangerous fight for olberg menafield has really turned some corners like every loss menafield has in the UFC in hindsight is just kind of a heads scratcher like all three there has three UFC losses Devin Clark oven St PR William Knight I think he’d thrash all three of those guys have we fought him again this weekend I I you know it’s unfair in the case of OSP because he’s like over 40 now but just yeah he’s he’s better than his losses and he’s continued to improve get more well-rounded as he goes as he’s gone along found ways to succeed in what should have been bad matchups for him like the jacobe fights he could certainly do that here again against olberg but I’m with you uh olberg just seems to be I don’t want to say growing in confidence because he does not look like a guy who lacks for confidence but he’s been growing in experience Poise and composure the kind of confidence that actually matters in the moment in the cage I just don’t see ber making the kind of mistake that would let menafield really change the the momentum of this fight uh you said second round knockout I’m gonna say that this makes it to the third and I wouldn’t be completely surprised if it made it to decision I could see olberg who’s already kind of a weight and snipe kind of guy being cautious specifically because he realizes that this is the biggest fight of his career so far that this is the one that actually propels him into the top 10 onto the the bottom of the you know sha Shelby speed dial for title type fights but I I do think he keeps it pretty one-sided I’m gonna say he wins by third round TKO and by the point that that comes men Field’s face is is busted up from running into the jab being pulled onto like the the left hook his legs are chewed up uh from orber just you know continually working on them to hopefully slow menifield down keep them on the outside uh yeah give me olberg by third round TKO after lots of attrition and that’s ju I could see that being just the kind of thing that would uh spark Alex P’s interest at 205 you know a chance to get another scalp from one of his nemesis’s uh teammates and and key Training Partners uh another you know solid kickboxer that brings us to the co-main event of UFC St Louis a welterweight matchup between Hometown favorite waim Buckley and nuron rabv Buckley the 30-year-old St Louis native 18-6 overall 8-4 since joining the UFC as a veteran of LFA Bellator several other promotions uh he’s eight and4 in the UFC but it is worth noting that he is three and 0 since dropping to welterweight he came to the UFC as an undersized or at least under tall middleweight dropped to 170 pounds dropped back to 170 pounds after back-to-back losses to nardine imav and Chris Curtis and since then he’s perfect uh he has knockout of Andre fialo a dominant decision over Alex morono and in his most recent appearance just really six weeks ago he has a second round knockout of sente luk four in a row for a guy with as many highlights as Buckley might allow him to jump the line just a little bit in the 170 pound division one of the most notoriously difficult to break into the top 10 uh in order to do so he get a t shot before B muhamad does absolutely um uh in order to to make any of that happen though any of those horrible injustices he will have to get past r the 30-year-old from usbekistan by way of Philadelphia is 348 and2 with two no contests overall he’s two and0 in the UFC and on a 10-fight win streak overall uh he made his debut in the UFC last July knocking out Bruno FAA in like a minute and a half came back uh in March of this year at the same blandfield versus Fior card and took about three three and a half minutes to knock out sedric withs Dumis uh that makes him a okay in our book but uh he is now focused on his upcoming fight he is well let’s throw it out there Heath your favorite in this fight is minus 150 your Underdog plus 120 who are they I’ll say who is uh the favorite uh nope we got some Hometown love wae Buckley minus 150 nuron rabv uh Plus 120 tell me how you think this one plays out and I I mean with Buckley it’s a done deal if he wins an uncontroversial fashion he’ll almost certainly be in the UFC’s welterweight top 10 he will probably be in sherd Do’s welterweight top 15 and again a guy with his style is likely to hell he might actually get in ahead of ahead of Bal which would be a sad sad thing but uh tell me you know if you believe in either of these guys as a future Contender yeah I mean if if he if he wins I can see his next fight being a like on the main card of a pay-per-view you know third from the top fourth from the top or or even of really right place right time he could be in a fight night Main Event against I mean I could see him going against like uh Stephen Thompson or Sean Brady or something something like that um this is a fun fight this is the fight that I’m probably most intrigued by um Buckley I mean he looked great recently obvious obviously he’s an insane athlete I mean I I still believe he’s probably got the best knockout in the history of the UFC um but B based on like feet like athleticism you know the max hollyw might be up because of the magnitude of everything but he’s he you know back to Buckley he’s so explosive as an athlete we’ve seen that he’s got good footwork he cuts the cages really well good lateral movement I love that he he moves his spot where he’s throwing so his opponents don’t see it coming you know like he’s kind of darting around Southpaw that he’s got great output fast hands he likes to stand in the range and then dot into the pock you stand out of range me and then dot into the pocket and and land big shots I like his his straight left he’s really measuring his shot with that and Landing pretty accurate shots I I like that he works the body he throws a lot of hard hooks great ability to land power shots in just the smallest spaces uh the way he darts his head you know a little bit of a be Bob and weave style where he DS his head off the center line and really well to set up his knockout shot like I always go back to the draw right one where he just rolls and just lands the perfect shot he uses faints really well uh he rolls with punches which I’m I’m not crazy about but based on his his physique the you know shortest stock you guy you know it works for him better he’s got a quick high kick I mean he knocked Andre F fiello out with a high kick he’s a much better Grappler than he gets credit for because we see these Knockouts and everything but he he likes to get to the clinch he likes to work in there get some body lock takedowns he took down um Abdul Rak alassan like five times in their fight he has been taken down in the past but he showed against Albert D a good wrestler he show really improved takedown defense if he’s on top he’s got hard ground and pound he show some really improved cardio in both those fights I just re mentioned um allisan and DF yeah I was used to be worried about his chin because you know he was knocked dead by Chris Curtis but he has he has even had legs buckled since then uh who’s a BF he’s a really experienced guy for a guy who’s you know still somewhat newer in the UFC he’s a big dude he’s huge he he was a go I mean we have him listed at like 6’5 I don’t know if that’s correct but he he’s legit like 6’3 is he was not a small which is which is really concerning like how how’s he going to look going down in weight because he wasn’t a guy he wasn’t undersized no he’s a long and lengthy guy I mean he’s gonna I mean you got a long lengthy guy for him versus a shorter stock here guy in Buckley If he if he if the weight cut doesn’t affect him he’s gonna have a huge size Advantage uh on the feet he’s he’s he’s a very fast well-rounded fighter he’s got fast hands he’s accurate uh he he throws straight shots he loves his straight right he loves timing you know his timing the point of contct and beating them I mean we’ve seen him recently a lot trying to typ kicks like you throw a naked leg kick he’s coming stepping right in he’s gonna eat that kick against the leg to land a big Power Shot and he’s got really do he really does have good power good kicking game kicks to all ear of body I think his Russ’s a little overrated I I don’t think is as good as as people think because you you you his name is rabay off like you expect him to be you know khabib and and and turnning the corner he’s not he he kind of struggles to get the fight the ground but if he gets the ground he is a serious submission threat he’s got good back takes good scramble ability uh he’s I think he’s got like 20 Subs on his record so if he can get the fight to the ground that’s something Buckley’s gonna be really aware of I’m I’m surprised by the betting line um because I me I wonder you know I wonder how much they taken in the the weight cut this is a really good fight I fot fled a little bit but I’m picking Buckley he is really grown on me I think both Fighters will have their moments I just rof I’m worried about the weake cut and and him slowing down and that is when Buckley can take over I think he can land good shots I think he can win clinch battles I think he actually might get some takedowns of his own and he’s going to have the crowd like every time he lands the crowd’s going to be erupted he’s G get the biggest chair of the night I think both guys are had the moments I think Buckley’s gonna win give me Buckley by un decision yeah I I am nervous about this pick because and I think I’ve said this about L my pcks tonight but this is one where if I’m wrong I may just be spectacularly wrong like uh I have I have been and I’m continuing to lean rabv in this fight but if I’m wrong it might be Buckley by a knockout of the Year Contender just it does make me like the weight cut by itself does not necessarily make me nervous because if you go back to RV’s Regional career uh he he may actually have more fights at welterweight than at middleweight but they were years ago and they were in very kind of low-level Regional CIS promotions you know then promotions like like WF and and pro FC and stuff and if you look at the tape of those like he physically looks like a different guy he looks like just a skinny like a tall lanky skinny kid uh and he seems to have more muscle on his frame now but whatever it is that led him to think that he one that he needed to cut to 170 because he debuted in the UFC and he trashed his first two opponents in the first round like he’s looked great so far neither Bruno F FAA nor sedric W Dumis are are great Fighters but rabv did exactly what he was supposed to do to him uh and he was than both of them yeah yeah it’s dumus is a big guy Dumis is is a tall rangy guy and R was at least as big and FAA is more of a short muscular tank but bruo did not give up visual size to either of them so for him to decide that he needed to drop to 170 was interesting and for him to decide that he could do it without issue on I think six or seven weeks turnaround is also interesting because the thing is my guess is that wae Buckley wanted to be on the St Louis card badly enough that he would have read to fight at 185 if he had to to get on this card like there there’s no way he was going to pass it up good point that’s it is interesting and it could either be him just not being realistic about his own body’s aging and limitations it could be him knowing something that we don’t if the rabv uh that has you know that has fought in the UFC so far that fought in his last couple uh fights over in in Europe and Asia shows up if he’s not depleted by the weight cut just the real question to me is can he avoid Buckley’s kill shots um I agree that Buckley’s wrestling and grappling are underrated and they’re underrated by me like it’s it all goes back to me again my first walking Buckley fight being him versus Logan storle that was not a good place for his his wrestling to shine but the problem to me is I don’t think we see it Buckley’s going to be looking for The Knockout here it if if Buckley shoots a takedown in this fight as anything other than desperation because he’s badly hurt or just looking to close things out because rabv is badly hurt if if he does anything other than those things like shoots for a takedown as an actual strategic decision I will be extremely surprised so because of that I I think that works in ruo’s favor it’s one fewer thing for him to worry about and then it just goes back to him being a pretty good Striker himself uh being really rangy and also being a good wrestler I agree that he’s not a lights out wrestler there aren’t many lights out wrestlers that are built like him Jon Jones is about it that I can think of uh but he’s a good wrestler and he’s a very good Grappler if he can get this thing to the ground I think Buckley is going to be in quite a bit of trouble uh give me rabv and I’m gonna say he finds a way rabv in the mild upset by third round submission the St Louis crowd isn’t gonna love it it’ll be interesting to see whether he stays at 170 after this but uh yeah give me nuron rabo have to get it done in the mild upset and if I’m wrong I’m probably going to be wrong with him staring at the lights in like 2 minutes and I might call in sick to the recap show with that we come to the main event of UFC St Louis a heavyweight clash between perennial Contender Derek Lewis and Rising Contender Rodrigo nento Lewis the 39-year-old Houston native is 27- 12 with one no contest overall he’s 19- 10 in the UFC a run that has seen him become the UFC’s all-time leader in knockout i’ seen him become a fan favorite a longtime top 10 fighter a one-time interim title challenger but he’s had a rough run of late he has lost five of his last seven fights and he is coming into this fight off of a loss uh he appeared most recently in November in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 231 where he went down to hostile territory in Brazil and dropped the unanimous decision to jailon almea so he’s looking to get back into the win column presumably looking to pad his UFC knockout record prove that even as he pushes 40 he still has something to offer he will try to do all of those things against Nasim Mento the 31-year-old Brazilian is 11- one with one no contest overall he’s 4- one with one no contest since joining the UFC out of season three of Dana White’s Contender series he’s on a three-fight winning streak uh stretching all the way back to 2022 he fought twice last year taking a split decision over air latifi in May at UFC Fight Night dur versus Hill and then on the same UFC s Paulo card where Lewis fell to uh Almeida he took a unanimous decision over dant May odds here are fairly close your favorite is minus 150 your Underdog plus 120 who are they Keith uh um Derrick Lewis is the favorite you’re correct Derrick Lewis is minus 150 Rodrigo nasimo plus 120 uh I’ll go first if if you don’t mind I the scouting report on Derrick Lewis has changed over the uh what is it three four years that we’ve been doing these previews four years ago I would have said Derrick Lewis is one of the greatest pure sprawling Brawlers in heavyweight history uh hard guy to take down down extremely hard guy to keep down hits with crushing power and deceptively athletic and deceptively smart and nuanced as a striker despite just the big old knockout King tattoo and the the ridiculous you know celebration like that that was Lewis just the ultimate sprawl and brawler with a little you know extra sauce since then more and more Fighters have been able to take him down like he’s just started to slow he’s been through a ton of Wars even in his victories he spent a lot of time losing his fights until he won he’s taken a ton of punishment uh while my back is finally healthy was a you know running gag for what feels like 10 years he has had back surgeries that have taken something out of him and so he went from being very difficult to take down and almost impossible to keep down to you know Sergey SPAC basically using him as a tackling dummy more disturbingly he started to lose firefights of the kind that he used to reliably win like he used to be one of the most frightening guys in the entire UFC to stand in the phone booth with just he had great instincts and reflexes for slipping and rolling with punches uh in close range and he would come back with just monstrous power that his opponents couldn’t deal deal with he can still do that from time to time I starched Marcos ojerio Del Lima less than a year ago but increasingly you know taiu iasa stood toe-to-toe with him took his best shots put him down Sergey P pavlovich stood toe-to-toe with him you know didn’t even really take his best shots just slipped and parried his best shots and plunked him so nazim Mento is the kind of guy that Lewis would have been tailor made to thrash a couple of years ago it feels a lot closer now but Rodrigo nasimo has never fought anybody on the same level as even the version of Derrick Lewis we have right now like you can make a pretty good argument that his best win in the UFC his best win period is like latifi like he’s beaten don t May twice but yeah without looking I would guess that Naim Mento does not have any wins over anybody that’s over 500 in the UFC and when Chris dacas found Naim Mentos chin he put him out fast and easy and dacas even at his very best during that little flash was at best a very very poor man’s Derrick Lewis like yeah this is a fight that would have been tailor made for for Lewis to just Style on him it’s a little more concerning now like Nasim Mento is a huge guy and kind of like Lewis surprisingly Nimble on his feet for for as gigantic as he is but he’s not Gable stepson on the feet he’s not like he’s not even like surreal gone you know in terms of being that big and able to move that fast he’s still a little uming and while he’s at his best as kind of a top position bully he’s had a tough time getting to those positions against lesser Fighters than Lewis uh nento is on a good run like he’s on he’s like 4- one in the UFC he’s he’s on a nice little unbeaten streak but I I think he might be the highest ranked guy or the guy with the most momentum in the division right now that I feel this comfortable taking Lewis over uh if even if Nasim Mento is able to get Lewis down I I think Lewis is probably going to be able to get back up because naso’s whole thing will be to try to pass the side control try to set up an armed triangle or try to grab you know a Far Side Kamura those are all things that the Derrick Lewis sit up and get up uh game uh bottom game seems to work well against and if nento has trouble getting Lewis down just a big dude lumbering into range with his chin in the air which is what this guy is I like I think we’re GNA get kind of like we got in the maros aerio de Lima fight last year we’re gonna get one more great Harrah in the Twilight of Derrick Lewis’s career I think Lewis lamps this guy in the first round and it doesn’t mean that Lewis is back it doesn’t mean that he’s going to make his way back to another title shot like it makes me sad to say it but I could very easily see Lewis being out of the UFC before his 40th birthday like I could see him beating Nasim Mano and then losing two more fights this year or something like that but this should be like one last great harah look for Lewis to drive the crowd wild catch Nasim meno coming in with just like a crushing uppercut like he did to uh blades or just teeing off on the fence with a shockingly fast combo like he did Chris dacas Nasim Mento goes down Lewis does his weird Worm dance takes his pants off says something outrageous and we go home yeah um yeah Derek Lewis I mean who knows with this guy he’s a very athletic heavyweight I mean he’s he’s the king of being patient and waiting and then suddenly blitzing in with Legendary Power I mean obviously has the most knockouts in UFC history I’ve said this a million times about Derrick lose he just he doesn’t have to land you know clean he just hit a grazing shot though he is I’ve said this about him a lot too he’s more accurate than he gets credited he’s good at measuring his foes and picking up their timing perfect examples is like Curtis blades he he lulls and then he explodes he throws high kicks he throws flying knees he has a better gas tank than people give him credit for he’s a guy that he constantly looks like he’s tired but he doesn’t fight tired I mean we’ve seen many many times him coming from behind and and winning fights late in fights I mean the the AO latifi fight you know it’s it’s it’s you know it’s kind of getting little further in the rearview mirrror but that’s the one where he’s in this back and forth grueling battle and it was his cardio that helped him win a fight now you The tuasa Knockout is concerning you know um he used to have this rock hard chin and we’ve seen him recently knocked out several times the pavlovich not so much I mean pavlovich he he can he connects on anybody he’s knocking you out so now you could argue the timing the speed might be something like that he got hit with those that he might his reaction at time might be an issue okay like I’m okay with that but so so far as his chin I’m not super concerned now he’s not a very good wrestler you know he he has used his size and and and got on top of guys and and Unleashed some of the scariest meanest ground Pond you ever see defensively that’s the concern I me we saw him get taken down by Sergey spak and just quickly St Bly get no motivation didn’t want to be there now on the flip side while he got dominated against gelon al MAA he did he didn’t get sub by him he shows him sub defense in that so that’s that’s something to be positive see he like just he put up enough of a fight in that fight that most people kind of thought Almeida stock took a hit oh yeah exactly yeah yeah some some people think his stock took a hit because a lot of people think that one that Almeida was like a top three top five guy could be a future champion and a lot of people think Lewis is shot yeah but like I I’ve rarely seen a fighter get [ __ ] on so hard for winning 5045 as Almeida did against Lewis and a lot of was due to Lewis being motivated against a ranked guy who’s been as successful as Derrick Lewis has I think it’s somewhere in between while Derrick Lewis isn’t the fighter he once was he’s not completely shot while AA might not be the favorite to win the title that’s what a lot of people believe like a lot of people thought he was like the favorite this is the next guy uh he’s not his stock shouldn’t going on either like he’s still a really serious threat in the division now obviously the uh C blad’s Noto changes some of that but I’m talking about I’m talking about that night you know um Neo I we get off track but naso I mean for a guy who’s fighting in the main event and fought a lot in the UFC I don’t have a lot of I don’t have a lot of notes on him because I mean he’s a South boy he’s pretty athletic he marches forward he likes to throw it out the pocket throw big big shots he throws tight shots down the pipe his right hook is is a good shot he he throws a lot of kicks he’s got a quick high kick but he has defensive issues one is he keeps his chin really high he has like this like um kind of tall man’s defense if he when he grapples he’s looking to get inside looking for sh CH takedowns uh he will shoot from distance though uh got good ground bound he’s got some slick submissions especially for heavyweight he’s got six Subs on his record um but a lot of things the reason why I don’t have that many notes it’s a lot of things he’s done has been done against really lowlevel UFC Talent this is a massive step from competition in my opinion even a I don’t want to say shot I really I don’t think Derrick Le shot but even a a declining Derrick Lewis is still a huge step up compared to you know dant Ma and and t d ma again and yeah twice and T Boer and guys like that so there’s a lot of question marks is is Lewis motivated I don’t know is leis shot I don’t know is the injuries finally taking still I don’t know I’ll say this Derek Los loves the crowd he he he loves being the center of attention this isn’t in the Apex this is in a crowd that’s could be rocking Forum I think that helps in the motivation I’m I’m still confident that Derrick Lewis is is better than NASA Mento I’m picking him here the could naso land a big looping shot and and knock derck loose out ca could he get a take down and control him I’m not sold on naso’s ground game like I don’t think he’s Curtis blades out there you know I don’t think he’s Almeida out there and Almeida couldn’t finish Lewis I think Lewis is gonna I think they’re gonna get a moment they gon throw on P and N was just too hitable and Lewis Just Hits too hard I say Lewis catches him with a big shot Knocks him out I I’m with you I think he does it early I think it’s first round I think he gets that and I think it’s going to be epic I think Derrick Lewis like you said does that like Predator worm thing whatever you say you want to say the Bears are flying people are going crazy you know people screaming my balls is hot and is just extending his record of UFC knockouts give me D lewi my first round knockout and there you have it the shog radio network preview for UFC on ESPN 56 Lewis versus Nim Mento I have been Ben he has been Keith if this is your first time watching or listening to one of our previews first of all thank you we hope you enjoyed it we do our best to bring uh as good a a blend of in-depth analysis and occasional side tangents as you’ll find anywhere in this industry uh please do like subscribe uh drop us a comment Keith and I both man the comment section uh we love to hear from you there we’re we’re good about responding we we picked a good number of uh upsets we had three unanimous upset picks on this card I think that might be a record for us if you think we’re way off base on any of those or we missed any other low hanging fruit let us know cuz if you’re right we will definitely give you uh all of the credit you deserve on the recap and that’s where you should join us we will be live on the Sherdog YouTube page right after the main event Keith takes the captain’s chair we will talk about all 13 of these fights uh talking about what was good what was bad what was surprising what was contr IAL there’s always something uh talking about what’s next for some of the notable winners as well as losers and talking with you the live chat is open that whole time so we are taking your questions your comments and your hot takes in real time we have a growing community of friends that hang out with us after the fights and we would love you to be part of it between now and then thank you once again for listening enjoy the rest of your week and by all means enjoy these fights [Music] [Applause] [Music] make your better fairy tales while you’re hunting for your wh so cold and blind don’t count
22 Comments
Lewis could be champ…hes always dangerous
Lol at yall describing woodson 😂😂😂
Thank you, guys. My new fav. Love the info.
I got my tix
Just glad my basketball skills are finally being recognised, haha. Wales is all about rugby. Btw this main event should be Lewis vs Rozenstruik and its madness that its not.
The boys☝️
Billy Goff defends punches with his face. Takes to many clean shots
Nice job as always gentlemen, please post the Bayou Saints outro song soon 😉
New listner here, im surprised how funny you guys are, and how good this show actually is. Like ive been listening to Zane simon and connor rebusch for like…13 years, this is kind of like that level of quality. Surprised i found out now. 3 hours of pure joy if you ask me
Begin my week with the show like always. Great job gentlemen
This is gonna be the first UFC event ill be attending and i think its a really solid card to be fair
Lot of tightly contested bouts. Shout out my underdog if it hits.
Charles Johnson: One of the most talented and athletically gifted flyweights on the roster. When he puts it together and shows up with the right mentality there's not many guys that can beat him, probably no one can beat him in a 5 rounder as shown when he fought Brandon Royval, he was breaking him in the 3rd round. He is his own worst enemy, so if the Charles Johnson with low output on the feet and lazily giving up takedowns shows up Jake Hadley is winning a split decision with his boxing and sub attempts on the ground. If not Charles should embarass him and send that inbred goblin back packing to the UK and out of the UFC.
Goff: Love his pressure, tenacity, grit. Trey Waters's durability is not going to hold up for long at 170, seeing a guy like Goff who pushes an endless pace and infamous for upsets, I highly recommend taking a stab on him asap, just got him at +123 and the lines only closing in
Hooper: He's cooked on the feet but his tall wiry build could really help him drag Slava Claus down with like an upper body BJJ takedown and tap him out
Caceres: Crafty unorthodox vet that can't be replicated, I don't even think he knows what he's doing in his fights half the time, he just uses his experience to adapt and go with the flow but sometimes to his own detriment. He could do what Julian Erosa did and catch a sub on Woodsen late in a scramble, I still like Woodsen to stick to his game and outbox him
CDF: Easy Underdog. I don't see how Rebecki wins, CDF is impossible to hold down scrambles like a cat in a bath. Striking and power very underrated. I have loved this guy since he upset Mairbek Taisumov in Abu Dhabi, over 90 degrees and just put a beating on him on the feet. Mixes up his combinations and kicks in weird angles with a high volume. Don't think the calf kicks are going to be a problem for him as CDF constantly switches stances
Alonzo: Has shown to be a very underrated grappler, has become more cerebral on the feet as far as defense goes but still raw and stiff. Hits like a truck though so if he catches Ulberg its gonna be brutal especially if its out of the 1st round. Unfortunately, I do think he gets caught first Ulberg's just too accurate.
Good job Keith and Ben!
lol the visual of Johnny Walker going full Gibbon and ripping down the octagon like Samson gave me a great chuckle
UFC on ESPN 56: Event
Quality comments and analysis guys, as always. I now tend to listen to your pre-event predictions every time and see how they match up to my own picks. Keep it up!
Ulberg has learned on the job. He needs experience and cage time but keeps lighting dudes up. Eugene Bareman was trying to get him to throw his cross but he didn't have the confidence. The one time he threw it, he dropped Jung.
I think he'll have another hiccup or two, but he might be a future champion.
@ 31:25 its actually a 'skullet.' The skullet is a close relative of the mullet. First cousin, if I remember correctly. It is in between the rat-tail and mullet.
44:20 Goff was in a car accident. Based on an interview with korean John and AllStarMMA youtube channel. I think there was other ailments as well. Dont remember the exact quotes of the interview.
@ 1:20:00 tapology shows hooper as 5-3 in UFC, not 7-3. If you include his DWCS, 6-3.
Despite this small error, the point still stands. 5-3 is a lot of UFC experience.
Now the question I have…. could Kalib Starnes last more then 18 seconds of running away from Despaigne?
whoever porche is , she not blocking my jump shots either