2024 MMA General Discussion and Fight Announcements
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Taytro
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pistolpete11
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Pereira-Rountree is dumb. Seems to me like the UFC is giving Pereira a freebee for being so active and stepping in on short notice a few times. I get Ankalaev is 'boring' and hasn't done himself any favors with the NC/Draws, but the resumes aren't even comparable.
Taytro
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I think the UFC is going the entertainment route rather than the "sporting" or #1 contender route. Rountree vs Pereira is almost certain to be a banger. They giving Pereira a guy they think will stay standing and build Pereira more with little risk. It's his 4th fight in the last 10 months so they probably figured he earned an easier matchup. He's become the ultimate company guy and the UFC rewards that heavily.
That said, I wouldn't count Rountree out. He has big power too, But he's definitely not the most deserving guy, and clearly hasn't earned a title shot yet with his 1 win against ranked opponent.
pistolpete11
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I don't really get the 'entertainment' angle. This isn't a star getting an undeserved title shot because they are a big star. This is a 34 year old, largely unknown, low ranked fighter who's getting an undeserved title shot and will generate no hype whatsoever.
I don't think it's a particularly good fight either. Sure, Rountree has a puncher's chance, as most guys at 205 do, but he's overmatched.
Taytro
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I think it's simply that Pereira fighting Rountree has more potential to be entertaining and generate highlights/content/promotional material than Pereira fighting Ankalaev does.
Ankalaev has been in some fun figures but also some absolute snoozers. I'm sure the UFC remembers him finishing off his last title shot with 9.5 minutes of grappling in the last 10 minutes of the fight. If he beats Pereira with the type of performance he had vs Blachowicz, the UFC loses big. I think they're trying to mitigate that risk because it's a likely outcome if they fight.
Bunk Moreland
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Think the draw really set Ankalaev back in the eyes of the promotion, that was his time to shine and take over the vacant division as his own and the fight was a stinker causing them to rebook another completely different vacant title fight later. His only fights in the last two years since is a no contest and a nice win finish both against Walker. Dont think they want to just give him another title shot off that which is why they're having him fight Rakic.
They needed another headliner before the end of the year.... rankings are:
1- Jiri: just lost to pereira
2- Ankalaev: they want him to fight again
3- Hill: just lost to pereira
4- Jan: not sure his status since the injury but his last fight was a loss to oereira
5- Rakic: coming off two losses
6- Ozedmir: back to back first round finishes
7- Krylov: 3 straight wins
8- Rountree: 5 straight wins 4 finishes
They probably looked at it as 1-4 would be recycling the same stuff. 5 needs a win. 6-8 only ones that made some sense and Rountree had the better recent history and could put on an entertaining fight so he got it by default.
They needed another headliner before the end of the year.... rankings are:
1- Jiri: just lost to pereira
2- Ankalaev: they want him to fight again
3- Hill: just lost to pereira
4- Jan: not sure his status since the injury but his last fight was a loss to oereira
5- Rakic: coming off two losses
6- Ozedmir: back to back first round finishes
7- Krylov: 3 straight wins
8- Rountree: 5 straight wins 4 finishes
They probably looked at it as 1-4 would be recycling the same stuff. 5 needs a win. 6-8 only ones that made some sense and Rountree had the better recent history and could put on an entertaining fight so he got it by default.
pistolpete11
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Bunk Moreland
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Will we see a third win with no contract??
I am not exposed
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16Skippy
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Probably no one lol but I do remember Jack Slack bringing up that Anderson Silva was pumping his tires years ago before anyone knew him, maybe even before he was in the UFC.
From what I've read, it's more of a timing/location issue than the UFC skipping over Ankalaev. Pereira has claimed he wanted to fight Ankalaev, and asked for the fight. On the other hand, Ankalaev also claimed he was never offered the fight. Notice Ankalaev's next fight is in Abu Dhabi.
pistolpete11
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Pereira's last fight was in June. When did they announce Ankalaev-Rakic? August? If it's a timing issue, it's one they created themselves.
As for the location, I mean, I guess. I dunno. Ankalaev-Rakic is like the 4th biggest fight on that card. I don't think they really need it there.
Avs_19
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The only thing I could see is if Ankalaev can't fight in the US, which he has denied and his last fight just this past January was in Vegas. There has been some speculation about that though.
Other than that, I don't buy the timing angle. Both fights were announced in the same month and they're also fighting in the same month. They announced Ankalaev's fight on August 8th for October 26th and Pereira's on August 16th for October 6th. It's almost as if that was done intentionally so when the expected push back to Rountree getting a title shot came up, they could just say Ankalaev was already booked.
Other than that, I don't buy the timing angle. Both fights were announced in the same month and they're also fighting in the same month. They announced Ankalaev's fight on August 8th for October 26th and Pereira's on August 16th for October 6th. It's almost as if that was done intentionally so when the expected push back to Rountree getting a title shot came up, they could just say Ankalaev was already booked.
BGDDYKWL
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Pereira is so active I don't have a huge problem with it. This approach isn't without risk though. If Rountree flatlines him, Pereira loses most of his drawing power, and it's not a guarantee you have an immediate rematch, so now we're stuck with Rountree-Ankalaev which no one is interested in.
16Skippy
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I wonder if they are doing with Ankalaev what they are doing with Kayla Harris?
IE are they so confident Poatan will beat Rountree, and Ankalaev will beat Rakic that they are really just building up a future fight with Poatan vs Ankalaev?
Sheppy
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Am I the only one with next to no interest in Stipe/Jones?
42 years old, hasn’t fought in 3 years and his last fight he was flatlined.
42 years old, hasn’t fought in 3 years and his last fight he was flatlined.
Taytro
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No I think almost everyone has moved past this month's ago. The only ones who still support it are Jones fan boys that try to justify this by saying beating a semi retired guy makes Jones the HW goat.
pistolpete11
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If so, they should know better than this. It's MMA. Wild shit can happen.
I think they just don't give a shit about Ankalaev and would be perfectly fine if he loses to Rakic. If he wins, great, they have a clear cut #1 contender. If he loses, they'll just throw somebody else in there for Poaton.
I was fine with it last year, dare I say even looking forward to it, but too much shit has happened since and it's crossed the line from "really doesn't make sense but whatever" to "absolutely ridiculous".
I will say that if Stipe wins, though, that's an all time UFC moment that would make it worth it in hindsight. If Jones wins, it's "thanks for wasting our time."
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Bunk Moreland
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I'm just indifferent about it.. better off just looking at Aspinall as the legit heavyweight champ and Jones vs Stipe as a retirement fight for the both of them (hopefully).
I wonder how much they're going to charge for this fight in November cause last year it was $725+ for the cheapest face value ticket... only to have the main event get hurt and you could get it in the high $300's on the secondary market which woulda been awful if you jumped on the original price. I'm guessing it'll be around the same cause people keep buying these tickets and they'll keep raising the prices until they stop selling out.
Dana is already trying to pressure Jones into fighting Aspinall, kinda funny. I bet he rides off into the night after beating new mythical fighter Limping Stipe
Chaels Arms
Formerly Lias Andersson
There was an interesting exchange where someone (Kevin Iole?) pushed back against Dana regarding the Jones/Stipe/Aspinall nonsense. After getting through the usual Jon Jones hype fest from Dana he forced Dana to a point where he said, essentially, "We had this fight booked, I'm not going to disrespect a highly accomplished veteran fighter like Stipe by taking it away from him." I don't actually believe that at all. When has the UFC cared about disrespecting older fighters? Isn't this the same person who tried to have Nate Diaz annihilated by Khamzat Chimaev on his way out?
It's obvious Jones only wants to fight Stipe. That's the real reason. Dana wants as many Jones fights as he can get and this is the only way to get one more out of him. If he tried to make Jones v. Aspinall Jones would just retire. I expect both Stipe and Jones will retire in the Octagon no matter what happens. If they're smart they should be ready to announce Aspinall's next fight at the press conference right after Jones v. Stipe.
It's obvious Jones only wants to fight Stipe. That's the real reason. Dana wants as many Jones fights as he can get and this is the only way to get one more out of him. If he tried to make Jones v. Aspinall Jones would just retire. I expect both Stipe and Jones will retire in the Octagon no matter what happens. If they're smart they should be ready to announce Aspinall's next fight at the press conference right after Jones v. Stipe.
I am not exposed
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No. I wasn't interested in it when it was first announced.
The interest is even less for most people now more time has gone by.
You're now in the majority.
