UFC 302 - MAKHACHEV VS. POIRIER JUNE 1 GREAT CARD!!!!

[jipped genes]

Lightweight	Islam Makhachev (c)	vs.	Dustin Poirier
Middleweight	Sean Strickland	vs.	Paulo Costa
Middleweight	Kevin Holland	vs.	Michał Oleksiejczuk
Heavyweight	Jailton Almeida	vs.	Alexander Romanov
Welterweight	Randy Brown	vs.	Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos

This is a fat card chocked full of awesomeness. I am stoked for this card. I am probably more pumped for this than UFC 300.

Islam Vs Poirier is a dangerous fight for Dustin. Islam is a BEAST. But this is a GREAT fight. Poirier was supposed to loose his last fight vs a favorite and won. Can he pull it out again? I think Islam will win, his wrestling is too dominant. He will have size and weight on Dustin, but don't count out the Diamond!

Strickland vs Costa. Both guys are excellent strikers that go about it different. Strickland is a volume pinpoint striker that chips away until his opponent falls. Costa has that POWER. Strickland lost to DDP but is still ranked as the #1 contender. Costa is ranked & but is 1 and 3 in his last 4. Two of those vs Izzy and Whit.

Holland vs Ole Both strikers, both 2 and 2. should be good. Holland will have a distinct advantage if they end up on the ground.

Almeida vs Romanov This is a stye fight. Almeida has heavy hands but is a grappler and a strangler. Romanov is very well rounded and has never been subbed. the big factor is cardio. Almeida is a sprinter with huge gorilla muscles, Romanov has great cardio. These guys are finishers. About 40 fights between them and only 3 decisions all together.

Rude Boy Randy Brown vs EZDS Brown has lost 1 in his last 7 by sub. he is an incredible striker. fun to watch, also has good chokes. EZ is primarily a striker, He is not a power guy but is real good with controlling distance which he will need vs Brown. This will be a tactical fight and a fun fighters fight.

 

[MR. BMJ]

2 More days! Getting excited for it. Not as excited as I want to be, but the main and co-main fights should be pretty good.

The Almeida vs. Romonov flight is now showing to be on the prelim card. It looks like the Niko Price/Alex Morono fight is now on the main card....bleh. Probably will be a good fight, but neither guy is going anywhere.

I like both Justin and Islam, both seem to be good guys. They got heated on their face-off. Islam started the smack talk, but then got offended when Justin called him a mother-fucker, lol. WTF, lol. Jipped, my thinking is exactly as you called it above. I too think Islam is a favorite from his wrestling, and size differences alone, but Justin is Justin and is a badass in his own rights. He needs to avoid the takedown at all costs. He has a good ground game himself, but not elite-elite level. It would be interesting to see what happens if Justin puts Islam on his back. I think some of these guys with good wrestling get too defensive (for good reasons I guess), but they totally abandon their own ability to take the wrestling to these guys (Dagestani guys) and then they become too 1-dimensional and dependent on the standup. IMO, Justin either avoids the takedown all fight and has to keep it standing, or he can do that + add in his own level changes and stuff to also keep Islam guessing some. When Volk fought Islam in the first fight, he did well when he put the wrestling pressure back on Islam and mixed it up. That said, Islam has improved his standup as well. Just hope it isn't a quick fight by Justin getting pinned, LOL.

Can't wait for the Strickland/Costa fight!

 

[MR. BMJ]

Here is the shortened video of the stare down between Islam and Poirier. They cut out the beginning where Islam starting the talking. I'm not sure what he was saying, but then they went back and forth a little before where this video starts, lol. I keep laughing that Islam got so offended over being called a motherfucker, lol. You can't get offended by whatever you choose after you start the smack-talk and then somebody 1-ups you with a curse word. I mean, people say MF'r so commonly now it's not like it's even being used for it's true meaning. Not only that, but what's so bad about fucking mom's? heh heh heh!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=813704243726585

 

[MR. BMJ]

Here is the longer version, lol.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1008654333980384

 

[USMCRabi]

I'm taking a small chance on Poirer with the KO +812 odds boosted.

 

[MR. BMJ]

I'm taking a small chance on Poirer with the KO +812 odds boosted.

Hey, sounds good to me....it's never out of the realm of possibility with him! If he can survive the ground game and takedowns, he has a HUGE chance of winning...IMO

 

[USMCRabi]

Hey, sounds good to me....it's never out of the realm of possibility with him! If he can survive the ground game and takedowns, he has a HUGE chance of winning...IMO

Well most of my money was on Dustin. I added this to cover my losses and some. If Dustin won would have won hundreds.

Not that great of a night fight wise for the main card. Kind of boring. That Strickland fight was horrible.

 

[jipped genes]

Lightweight	Islam Makhachev (c)	def.	Dustin Poirier	Submission (D’Arce choke)	5	2:42
Middleweight	Sean Strickland	def.	Paulo Costa	Decision (split) (46–49, 50–45, 49–46)	5	5:00
Middleweight	Kevin Holland	def.	Michał Oleksiejczuk	Technical Submission (armbar)	1	1:34
Welterweight	Niko Price	def.	Alex Morono	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00
Welterweight	Randy Brown	def.	Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos	Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)	3	5:00

• Fight of the Night: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier
• Performance of the Night: Islam Makhachev and Kevin Holland

The Islam vs Dustin was definitely the best fight I saw. I did not watch the early prelims. I had high hopes for the card but sometimes they do not pan out.,

 

[MR. BMJ]

Agreed with all. The Islam/Dustin fight was a great fight. I thought it was over in the first round when he took Dustin down, lol. Dustin had good defense in the body triangle and survived. He did the same in another round and worked his way out. Islam kept catching him in the standup when he'd grab his shorts or in a transition when his guard was down. That was frustrating to watch at times. That said, Dustin made it a fight and started getting in a groove. That leg flip/spin by Islam at the end was crazy.

Strickland did his thing, but Costa kept backing up the whole fight and didn't start to engage until the final round or so at times. I think Costa has lost some of his killer fight instinct. Rogan was saying the same in the fight and how he lost something after fighting Izzy. It was a way different fight than I thought would happen. I guess Strickland has a way of doing this to other fighters though.

It's hard to not like Kevin Holland, he is a funny ass guy. He cranked on O's arm after going easy and waiting for him to tap....then he was like "okay," and snapped it. He jumped the fence and went straight to shake President Trump's hand. Most fighters did this last night, it was pretty cool to see...even Khabib after the fight went up to him and was shaking his hand.

The Price and Morono fight should have never been a main card fight, it was boring.

Brown vs Dos Santos was a pretty good fight. It would have been the best fight on the main card if Dustin/Islam did not perform.

 

[jipped genes]

Agree with all, Dustin did better than I suspected. Hard to beat a dominant wrester with a chin and can throw hands.