Post by jdfranchise on Mar 27, 2014 1:36:21 GMT -5
Ok, since this is the next pay per view coming up, I wanted to go ahead and start the predictions and discussion thread for this pay per view. So here is the current card, courtesy of MMA Junkie.com
Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira- for UFC light heavyweight title
Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson
Tim Boetsch vs. Luke Rockhold
Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
Andre Fili vs. Max Holloway
Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Joseph Benavidez vs. Timothy Elliott
Takanori Gomi vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Bethe Correia vs. Jessamyn Duke
Joe Ellenberger vs. Yancy Medeiros
Charlie Brenneman vs. Danny Castillo
Some early line thoughts to get the discussion started here.
Jones is going for his 7th title defense, and Glover is undefeated in 20 straight fights. Jones, while decimating a murder's row of top guys since winning the title, looked very human against Gustafson and I actually scored the fight based on the overall scope and round by round 48-47 Gustafson. He landed more, busted up Jones worse than anyone, stuffed takedowns and took Bones down at will. Is the fact that Jones had such a tough battle with Gustafson weighing on his mind and affecting his confidence leading into another tough fight? For what it's worth statistically wise, Bones will enter the fight with about a 9 inch reach advantage. So with that in mind, Glover is devastating inside, but can he get inside? If it goes to the ground, who has that advantage? How long will the fight go?
Rumble is back, and at the weight class he should've been at five years ago. He's looked great on the regional circuit, knocking out notables Jake Roshalt, DJ Linderman, and a lopsided decision over Andrei Arvloski to name a few names. But Phil Davis is a different breed than the guys he beat, with better wrestling and a hell of a wrestling game. Davis has pretty good striking, but Rumble has been knocking out 205er's with ease. Can Davis take one of those bombs from Rumble to get it to the floor? If Rumble goes to the floor, can he work from bottom or will it just be a matter of time before Davis closes the show? Who has the better gas tank?
I'm excited for Rockhold and Boetsch. Rockhold is exciting, well rounded and a finisher. Boetsch is hard nosed, gritty, and is a tricky fighter. Rockhold looked amazing against Phillipou and Boetsch has proven to be a tough out for anyone. Boetsch has only lost to top fighters and Rockhold has only lost to ViTRTor. Good matchup to see who belongs in the top 10.
Miller and Bobby Green is a good matchup and my top pick for FOTN. Green is talented and I think it's a matter of time before he puts it together, but Miller is a tough matchup for any 155 and a guy you have to be on top of your game to beat.
Safferdine and Ellenberger is another wow matchup. Two top 10 170's with well versed games. Technical game goes to Safferdine, power to Ellenberger.
So with these opening thoughts, what do you guys think?
Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira- for UFC light heavyweight title
Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson
Tim Boetsch vs. Luke Rockhold
Bobby Green vs. Jim Miller
Andre Fili vs. Max Holloway
Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine
Joseph Benavidez vs. Timothy Elliott
Takanori Gomi vs. Isaac Vallie-Flagg
Bethe Correia vs. Jessamyn Duke
Joe Ellenberger vs. Yancy Medeiros
Charlie Brenneman vs. Danny Castillo
Some early line thoughts to get the discussion started here.
Jones is going for his 7th title defense, and Glover is undefeated in 20 straight fights. Jones, while decimating a murder's row of top guys since winning the title, looked very human against Gustafson and I actually scored the fight based on the overall scope and round by round 48-47 Gustafson. He landed more, busted up Jones worse than anyone, stuffed takedowns and took Bones down at will. Is the fact that Jones had such a tough battle with Gustafson weighing on his mind and affecting his confidence leading into another tough fight? For what it's worth statistically wise, Bones will enter the fight with about a 9 inch reach advantage. So with that in mind, Glover is devastating inside, but can he get inside? If it goes to the ground, who has that advantage? How long will the fight go?
Rumble is back, and at the weight class he should've been at five years ago. He's looked great on the regional circuit, knocking out notables Jake Roshalt, DJ Linderman, and a lopsided decision over Andrei Arvloski to name a few names. But Phil Davis is a different breed than the guys he beat, with better wrestling and a hell of a wrestling game. Davis has pretty good striking, but Rumble has been knocking out 205er's with ease. Can Davis take one of those bombs from Rumble to get it to the floor? If Rumble goes to the floor, can he work from bottom or will it just be a matter of time before Davis closes the show? Who has the better gas tank?
I'm excited for Rockhold and Boetsch. Rockhold is exciting, well rounded and a finisher. Boetsch is hard nosed, gritty, and is a tricky fighter. Rockhold looked amazing against Phillipou and Boetsch has proven to be a tough out for anyone. Boetsch has only lost to top fighters and Rockhold has only lost to ViTRTor. Good matchup to see who belongs in the top 10.
Miller and Bobby Green is a good matchup and my top pick for FOTN. Green is talented and I think it's a matter of time before he puts it together, but Miller is a tough matchup for any 155 and a guy you have to be on top of your game to beat.
Safferdine and Ellenberger is another wow matchup. Two top 10 170's with well versed games. Technical game goes to Safferdine, power to Ellenberger.
So with these opening thoughts, what do you guys think?
