Official UFC 245 Usman vs Covington Discussion Thread

[Hired_Merc]

December 14, 2019
T-Mobile Arena
Paradise, Nevada, United States

Main Card

Welterweight - Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Colby Covington - UFC Welterweight Championship Bout
Featherweight - Max Holloway (c) vs. Alexander Volkanovski - UFC Featherweight Championship Bout
Women's Bantamweight - Amanda Nunes (c) - vs. - Germaine de Randamie - UFC Bantamweight Championship
Bantamweight - Marlon Moraes  vs.  José Aldo
Bantamweight - Petr Yan vs. Urijah Faber

Preliminary Card (ESPN2)

Welterweight - Geoff Neal vs. Mike Perry
Women's Bantamweight  - Ketlen Vieira vs. Irene Aldana
Middleweight - Ian Heinisch vs. Omari Akhmedov
Welterweight - Matt Brown vs. Ben Saunders

Early Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)

Featherweight - Chase Hooper vs. Daniel Teymur
Flyweight - Brandon Moreno vs. Kai Kara-France
Catchweight (131 lbs) - Jessica Eye vs. Viviane Araújo - Eye came in 5lbs over
Middleweight - Punahele Soriano vs. Oskar Piechota

[Kickass32]

Very solid card indeed
I hope I'm wrong but i see CC and Usman being an ultra boring fight

[jax]

I'm looking forward to this fight and whole card really. The CC-Usman fight is interesting because its 2 guys who almost fight the same trying to implement their gameplan more.

I see a lot of fence pinning for sure but the stand up should be interesting, usman the harder more crisp striker but CC has an awkward style that is hard to read.

[Bigdawg_04]

I've got to do a designated driving service tonight (fund raising for the boy's school trip to Montreal), but I don't have to start til 11pm & go til 2am, with getting on the road for work for 7am tomorrow.  Needless to say, I will be watching the fights & going to work, albeit with no hangover though, so that's a plus!!  Hahaha

[jax]

Aldo lost close SD in his BW debut....could have went either way.

[Kickass32]

Watched a few of the fights this morning:
Max and Vokanovski....great performance by Vokanovski, dude is very good everywhere with power and a chin. The leg kicks really took their toll on Max who had his moments but he just couldn't sustain them for long. I don't want a rematch yet but down the line I'm sure we'll see it.
CC and Usman was a very entertaining fight for sure, glad I was wrong with that prediction of a boring fight. Hats off to CC, great heart, tough as nails fighting through the broken jaw. 1 judge had it 3-1 Colby, 1 had it 3-1 Usman and 1 had it 2-2 going into the 5th....certainly not out of the realm Colby could've become the new champ.
Now I know it was only a 40 year old, over the hill Urijah Faber but Yan still look very fucking impressive, he beats Cejudo if they fight IMO
Geoff Neal mad quick work of Perry and looked impressive doing it. Perry should consider leaving the UFC for a while and getting some rest and fighting more regionally and get some wins under his belt

[Hired_Merc]

Man, what a great card. CC and Usman was amazing, loved that fight. Everyone looked good in defeat also, such a great event. Possibly up there for event of the year.

[jax]

I enjoyed it too, the CC-Usman fight could have went either way going into the 5th but Usman pulled it off, too bad CC had the broken jaw that obviously didnt help him trying to fight with that.

[Kickass32]

Very impressed with CC's striking, but I think it's pretty obvious he doesn't posses either the power or the technique to be a real threat to KO anyone and that hurt him as well

[Washed the fuck Up]

Sooooo pleased with how the fight ended....not impressed with CC's striking...it wasn't horrible...but looping and lack of technique was frustrating to watch...he did connect quite a bit, but still has a lot to learn. no questioning his heart either

[Kickass32]

Sooooo pleased with how the fight ended....not impressed with CC's striking...it wasn't horrible...but looping and lack of technique was frustrating to watch...he did connect quite a bit, but still has a lot to learn. no questioning his heart either

I wasn't impressed with Colby's striking in that it was great, I was impressed in that it wasn't as horrible as I thought it'd be. Colby has made some big strides in his stand up. I really wanted Colby to win that fight and he was about 2 minutes away from doing so....I do get why people were very excited to see CC go down though

[jax]

He did raise his stock in that fight even in a loss, Kamura has also improved his stand up and must be recognized as one of the best ever WW's. not sure who can even challenge him besides CC who can defend his wrestling if they had to. I was also impressed with CC's standup but wanted him to apply a little more pressure at times and maybe mix in some wrestling just to change things up.

[Kickass32]

See I can see Woodley, Edwards and Thompson giving him a good fight

[jax]

Did you read what Woodley said after the fight? Of course he wasnt impressed and said he was still the WW GOAT....Is it just me or does every single thing that comes out of his mouth just stupid and delusional...

[Kickass32]

Did you read what Woodley said after the fight? Of course he wasnt impressed and said he was still the WW GOAT....Is it just me or does every single thing that comes out of his mouth just stupid and delusional...

Oh no it's not just you, he is stupid delusional. Tyron fought an idiotic fight against Usman and got his ass handed to him. A motivated Tyron who follows a smart gameplan I feel can beat Usman though.....but Usman is improving every fight. Thompson has a good style to give Usman fits I think, he has good TDD and could give him fits

[mu_shin]

Late to the game, but really enjoyed this event.  

    Sorry to see Max Holloway go down, but you can't take anything away from Volkanovski.  Strong chin, appropriate game plan, and pretty flawless execution.  Holloway wasn't able to keep the shorter fighter at the distance that served his game, and Alex used his strength to bull his way in time and time again.  The leg kicks were big in this one, as was Volkanovski's conditioning, which was superb.  

      What can be said about Amanda Nunes?  No need to prove she could kickbox with a multiple-time world champion, she applied real mixed martial arts techniques and dominated a world class fighter.  

      I, and most of the guys in the bar I was watching in, thought Jose Aldo did enough to win.  Thought he looked good, and hope we get to see him again at 135 lbs.  

      Faber fan from way back, but time for the California Kid to retire again...

      As not just an MMA fan, but also as a former martial arts instructor, I was so pleased that Kamaru Usman proved more than equal to the task of derailing Colby Covington.  If you guys recall, I've always been about what happens in the cage; the rest is theater.  Colby is a showman, who proved in this fight he's also a legit badass who wouldn't quit.  Big respect for the young lion for his actions in the cage, but still disappointed in Covington's sportsmanship following the loss.  This was a close fight going in to the fifth, but the finish was not close.  I heard Dana White calling for Woodley/Covington, which I think is the right move for Colby to stay relevant at 170, and to prove he's a top tier welterweight, but Covington will have to take some time off to heal the broken jaw he earned in a great title fight.

[Kickass32]

Hey Mu_...Merry Christmas......If twitter is to be believed, Woodley and Edwards are scheduled to hook up....presumably to leave CC some much needed recovery time??? We'll see hoe Colby recovers from this loss, we've seen on many occasions where that top tier fighter gets to the top and gets his title shot only to lose and seemingly never get back. Covington has the wrestling and cardio to compete so I think he'll be ok

[jax]

Will be interesting to see who Usman fights next...I'm not sure Masvidal really wants that fight considering a "Conor" fight is still possible should he get by cowboy or is Conor going to get an undeserved title shot if he wins avoiding and jumping Gaethje

[Kickass32]

It certainly sounds like it coming from Dana's mouth that Conor will get the Khabib/Tony winner

[jax]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

[BluenoseGreig]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

Assuming Conor beats Cerrone, it's sounding like Dana has basically told him whatever he wants next he can get.

[Kickass32]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

I see a very similar ending for Conor in either of those scenarios, Khabib mauls him and either gets the TKO stoppage or the tapout again and I see Masvidal beating him up and turning his lights out on the feet

[Kickass32]

So pretty much status quo for the paper champ

[Kickass32]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

Assuming Conor beats Cerrone, it's sounding like Dana has basically told him whatever he wants next he can get.

I just hope Cowboy beats Conor to put all this B.S to rest.....but I see 0.0% of Cerrone winning

[BluenoseGreig]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

I see a very similar ending for Conor in either of those scenarios, Khabib mauls him and either gets the TKO stoppage or the tapout again and I see Masvidal beating him up and turning his lights out on the feet

I'm not so sure. Masvidal has looked great recently, but if Conor is anywhere near to the guy who ran through 145 and Eddie Alvarez, I think he beats Masvidal…...big if, that he's still that guy though.

[Kickass32]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

I see a very similar ending for Conor in either of those scenarios, Khabib mauls him and either gets the TKO stoppage or the tapout again and I see Masvidal beating him up and turning his lights out on the feet

I'm not so sure. Masvidal has looked great recently, but if Conor is anywhere near to the guy who ran through 145 and Eddie Alvarez, I think he beats Masvidal…...big if, that he's still that guy though.

Really eh? I actually think this is a relatively easy win for Jorge, WAY more power, better chin, WAY better cardio.....I see Conor going to sleep

[BluenoseGreig]

I honestly think he will take the Masvidal fight next should he win, Dana also said Conor wants that fight and I think he stands a better chance against Masvidal then he does Kabib....should he beat TF

I see a very similar ending for Conor in either of those scenarios, Khabib mauls him and either gets the TKO stoppage or the tapout again and I see Masvidal beating him up and turning his lights out on the feet

I'm not so sure. Masvidal has looked great recently, but if Conor is anywhere near to the guy who ran through 145 and Eddie Alvarez, I think he beats Masvidal…...big if, that he's still that guy though.

Really eh?   I actually think this is a relatively easy win for Jorge, WAY more power, better chin, WAY better cardio.....I see Conor going to sleep

I guess I'm just not all that sold on Masvidal being so great. Yes, he's good, very good......but he beat 3 guys who are nowhere near elite, just also very good. Conor has shown he can be elite, albeit at 145 and years ago! The big issue for Conor, as always, is his inability to be able to last longer than 2 rounds. I reckon Masvidal still has issues against fighters who can dictate a fight, range being a big thing, and Conor is one of the very best in that area.

[Kickass32]

I just think that at 170, Masvidal's overall game is much better. Jorge has better cardio, has a better chin, hits way harder, has the 1 hitter quitter capabilities that Conor doesn't have. Jorge also has the intangibles, like when the going gets tough Jorge will still be there gutting it out, making him dangerous, Conor doesn't have that gear

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