UFC Apex: Font vs Garbrandt, Yan vs Esparza, Ramos vs Algeo, Hermansson vs Shahbazyan

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > UFC Apex: Font vs Garbrandt, Yan vs Esparza, Ramos vs Algeo, Hermansson vs Shahbazyan

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Brut: Aug 21, 2007

Oops tonight's card is super early and has been going for almost an hour before I realized.

CommonShore posted:

Want a breakdown?

I�m going to level with you � I almost didn�t do this one because this card is so dire, but I was bored and found half an hour here so lets do it. I�m going to do most of this from memory without looking up the fighters� pages unless I need to.

Main Card � all of this is ESPN+
Bantamweight Main Event Rob Font vs Cody Garbrandt
Font is a pretty good punch-centric bantamweight, with solid power. He put away Marlon Moraes in December, leaving him on a 3-fight winning streak. Cody Garbrandt is the former divisional champion who just recovered from a 3-fight skid by loving decapitating long-time top contender Raphael Assuncao in one of the best KOs you�ll ever see. Oh and now he�s recovering from Covid, which cost him a shot at 125 lb champ Devi Figgs. Cody�s strength is that he is possibly the fastest puncher in the sport; his weakness is that he has a questionable chin.

Strawweight Yan Xiaonan vs Carla Esparza
Yan is the other ranked Chinese strawweight. She�s undefeated in the UFC but she hasn�t finished anyone. She�s basically a kickboxer and she has gotten past opponents like Angie Hill and Claudia Gadelha. Esparza is the division�s first champion, and as of this week she�s probably the best wrestler in the division by a wide margin. She�s on a 4 fight streak having squeezed out some split decisions over Marina Rodriguez and Michelle Waterson. Oh and she has a win over the current champion.

Heavyweight Justin Tafa vs Jared Vanderaa
Tafa has nowhere near enough fights, but he�s Mark Hunt�s prot�g� and he has a sweet moustache. He is 1-2 in the ufc and looked like dogshit in a decision loss to Carlos Felipe in January. He has room to develop though, and he�s basically a baby for a heavyweight, so it�s worth watching him to see if he levels up. Vanderaa is a DWCS guy who lost to Spivak in his UFC debut.

Featherweight Felicia Spencer vs Norma Dumont Viana
Spencer is a Canadian grappler who was given an opportunity to show how tough, game, and brave she is against Amanda Nunes. She�s actually a decent fighter, and cool and likeable, but she unfortunately doesn�t have a division. I suspect that they brought in Viana just because they�re contractually obligated to give her a fight or something. She lost to Megan Anderson, went down to Bantamweight, missed weight, won a fight, and then is back at featherweight. Don�t be surprised if both fighters get released after this. Unionize, ladies.

Flyweight David Dvorak vs Raulian Paiva
Making me actually look at Wikipedia pages and tapology here. I�ve definitely seen Dvorak fight twice but I don�t remember him. He�s a Czech with a 2-0 UFC record, most recently beating Jordan Espinosa. No idea. Paiva is a Brazilian who came from DWCS to take surging Kai Kara-France to a split decision. I remember that being a good fight. He�s now on a two fight winning streak, though he missed weight last time.

Middleweight Jack Hermansson vs Edmen Shahbazyan
I hate this matchup from a divisional development perspective but it�s a good fight nonetheless. Shahbazyan is the other Glendale Fight Club fighter. He�s an extremely young striker who is good at fighting but bad at not getting beaten up by Derek Brunson. Hermansson is a Norwegian grappler, now fringe contender, who lost his momentum to Marvin Vettori in his last fight. He�s very tough and game and does cool grapple poo poo.

Prelims
Bantamweight Ricardo Ramos vs Bill Algeo
Ramos is a hot-cold fighter best known for his spinning back elbow poo poo HE�S DEAD KO of Aiemann Zahabi. He got KOed by Lerone Murphy in July. Algeo the guy who fought Lamas in Lamas�s retirement fight and looked decent in a loss. He outworked Spike Carlyle after that. He�s a pretty well-rounded fighter with an inflection towards wrestling and looking like he eats corn. Note that both fighters are making their bantamweight debuts here, I think, moving down from featherweight.

Ben Rothwell vs Chris Barnett
Of Mice and Ben is back � his last fight got cancelled for some reason I don�t even remember. He�s big and he�s dumb and he walks forward like a zombie winging punches. He draws late replacement Chris �Huggy Bear� Barnett, a 5�9� former super heavyweight who is way too agile and hilarious for a guy his size. He does like spinning kicks and back flips and stuff. Most of his wins are in Road FC in China, but he�s a darling of those of us who follow z-tier international MMA.

Welterweight Court McGee vs Claudio Silva
Court McGee is still around eh? Should I even check what happened in his last fight? Sigh I better. Oh he lost to Carlos Condit to end up on a 3-fight skid, and now he�s 3-7 in his last 8. Ok. He�s a former TUF winner who is basically a grinder and he apparently has some kind of Dana White Privilege. Silva is an older grappler with really embarrassingly bad striking technique who put together a long winning streak, including Leon Edwards, and who got outpointed by James Krause in October for his first UFC loss.

Flyweight Bruno Gustavo da Silva vs Victor Rodriguez
Best name on the card! Bruno Gustavo is a Brazilian who is 1-2 1NC in the UFC. He KOed JP Buys in March. No idea, though I recognize his picture on Tapology. Victor Rodriguez is an American who got KOed by hot prospect Adrian Yanez in October. He has wins in Alaska FC and something called �Blood Sweat & Beers.� I think he�s moving down from bantamweight.

Featherweight Josh Culibao vs Sha Yilan (aka Shayilan Nuerdanbieke?)
Culibao is an Aussie who is 0-1-1 UFC with a Draw to Charles Jourdain. Shayilan is a Chinese fighter who is 19-6 and making his UFC debut. He is tagged as a grappler and has a 2-1 series with �Yibugele� and several fights in something called WLF W.A.R.S.

Lightweight Damir Hadzovic vs Yancy Medeiros
Hey Yancy is still around! He�s an action fighter � lanky kickboxer � who is worth watching. He lost a decision to Lando Vannata in February 2020, apparently, and that leaves him on a 3-fight losing streak. Hadzovic is Bosnian-Danish and has apparently been around for a while. His best win is to Marcin Held. He got stormed by Renato Moicano in Mocano�s Lightweight debut. Probably a pink slip fight.

Lightweight Rafael Alves vs Damir Ismagulov
Ismagulov is 3-0 in the UFC with 3 unanimous decisions, notably over Thiago Moises. He came from M-1. Alves is a Brazilian journeyman who fought his way in through DWCS and is making his UFC debut.

# ? May 22, 2021 21:48

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 07:40

Alaois: Feb 7, 2012

hey remember cody garbrandt

# ? May 22, 2021 22:00

DoombatINC: Apr 20, 2003; Here's the thing, I'm a feminist.

Loved how much heavy slapping Culibao was doing, not enough fighters just smack the gently caress outta their opponents

# ? May 22, 2021 22:35

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

Gotta support my big Big Ben loving Rothwell.

# ? May 22, 2021 23:04

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

Just turned this on

Feel free to make fun of me because i deserve it but I am rooting for Cody tonight :frogbon:

# ? May 22, 2021 23:05

Michael Transactions: Nov 11, 2013

Hermansson vs Shahbazyan will be good.

# ? May 22, 2021 23:08

LobsterMobster: Oct 29, 2009; "I was being quiet and trying to be a good boy but he dialed the right combination to open the throw-down vault and it was on."

"Walter Foxx is ten times brighter than your bulb at the bottom of the tree merry xmas"

MassRafTer posted:

Gotta support my big Big Ben loving Rothwell.

Rothwell vs Barnett is the only good fight on the card :colbert:

# ? May 22, 2021 23:09

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

LobsterMobster posted:

Rothwell vs Barnett is the only good fight on the card

It's a fight that seems impossible to be happening in 2021.

# ? May 22, 2021 23:35

ccubed: Jul 14, 2016; How's it hanging, brah?

Can you make prop bets on heart attacks for heavyweight fights?

# ? May 22, 2021 23:46

DoombatINC: Apr 20, 2003; Here's the thing, I'm a feminist.

And after one round, Rothwell-Barnett settling into the kind of Huge Fellow Violence I was hoping for :neckbeard:

# ? May 22, 2021 23:48

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

Fight of the year.

# ? May 22, 2021 23:49

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

what's this about not turning your back? Makes sense if a fighter is just gonna waste time running away and not engage, but that's the first time i've heard warnings for that.

# ? May 22, 2021 23:51

DoombatINC: Apr 20, 2003; Here's the thing, I'm a feminist.

beep by grandpa posted:

what's this about not turning your back? Makes sense if a fighter is just gonna waste time running away and not engage, but that's the first time i've heard warnings for that.

I think it's the distinction between falling back to avoid damage and reposition, and running away from Ben Rothwell like how you might run from an avalanche or volcano

# ? May 22, 2021 23:55

DoombatINC: Apr 20, 2003; Here's the thing, I'm a feminist.

I don't have anywhere else to put this or even a structured joke beyond the observation but, Ben Rothwell fights exactly like Sam Sheepdog

# ? May 23, 2021 00:06

blue footed boobie: Sep 14, 2012; UEFA SUPREMACY

Excited for this match between *check notes* two unranked trash weights?

# ? May 23, 2021 01:42

G-Hawk: Dec 15, 2003

bye paul felder

# ? May 23, 2021 01:46

Cyber Dog: Feb 22, 2008

paul has always been super fun to watch and im glad he has a new gig and is retiring in a thoughtful and considered way. will miss him in the ring but wish this path was one we could see for more fighters

# ? May 23, 2021 02:01

blue footed boobie: Sep 14, 2012; UEFA SUPREMACY

Omg Bandera�s head

# ? May 23, 2021 02:02

blue footed boobie: Sep 14, 2012; UEFA SUPREMACY

That man has a vagina on his head

# ? May 23, 2021 02:04

Sjs00: Jun 29, 2013; Yeah Baby Yeah !

they are bleeding a lot huh

# ? May 23, 2021 02:04

MassRafTer: May 26, 2001; BAEST MODE!!!

Wild round. Love the blood spatter all over.

# ? May 23, 2021 02:05

Truther Vandross: Jun 17, 2008

Lol Jesus Christ that�s a lot of blood

# ? May 23, 2021 02:05

blue footed boobie: Sep 14, 2012; UEFA SUPREMACY

wtf it�s just a tiny knick

# ? May 23, 2021 02:06

Ratios and Tendency: Apr 23, 2010; MURALI

Tafa just don't got it

# ? May 23, 2021 02:09

Sjs00: Jun 29, 2013; Yeah Baby Yeah !

ouch man ouch

# ? May 23, 2021 02:10

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

# ? May 23, 2021 02:13

G-Hawk: Dec 15, 2003

Majestic fight

# ? May 23, 2021 02:14

Ratios and Tendency: Apr 23, 2010; MURALI

All time nadir of post-fight interviews

# ? May 23, 2021 02:18

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

this sucks

# ? May 23, 2021 02:30

Sjs00: Jun 29, 2013; Yeah Baby Yeah !

lots of blood tonight b

# ? May 23, 2021 02:31

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

Sjs00 posted:

lots of blood tonight b

lots of seasoning on this ufc mat tonight

# ? May 23, 2021 02:32

CommonShore: Jun 6, 2014; A true renaissance man

this carla esparza fight :sickos:

# ? May 23, 2021 02:34

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

oh wow, I didn't realize esparza was so high ranked.

Time for Rose :getin:

# ? May 23, 2021 02:36

DoombatINC: Apr 20, 2003; Here's the thing, I'm a feminist.

Jesus, Carla :stare:

# ? May 23, 2021 02:37

Digital Jedi: May 28, 2007; Fallen Rib

Blood for the blood god

# ? May 23, 2021 02:39

Ratios and Tendency: Apr 23, 2010; MURALI

Font making Cody look kinda shot tbh

# ? May 23, 2021 03:14

Michael Transactions: Nov 11, 2013

Cody looking gassed.

# ? May 23, 2021 03:15

beep by grandpa: May 5, 2004

yeah this is tough to watch

# ? May 23, 2021 03:18

TastyAvocado: Dec 9, 2009

I had forgotten it until Bisping mentioned it, but this really might be a case of covid permanently damaging Cody's cardio.

# ? May 23, 2021 03:18

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 07:40

h3r0n: Dec 22, 2005

Zero answer for that jab.

# ? May 23, 2021 03:19

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > UFC Apex: Font vs Garbrandt, Yan vs Esparza, Ramos vs Algeo, Hermansson vs Shahbazyan

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