[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the Shoredog Radio Network preview for UFC Fight Night 280, Fizi vs. Torres, also known as UFC Baku.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, BenDuffyOfShoredog.com, and with me as usual, is Keith Schillen, the executive producer of the Shoredog Radio Network.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, how are you doing today?
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm doing pretty well.
[SPEAKER_00]: We are recording a day later than we usually do.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's because Keith was laid up with a very bad sunburn.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was, you think his joke is not joking, I very burnt.
[SPEAKER_00]: All the toughest people in our sport are complaining of serious problems, like blows to the back of the head, growing fouls, unburns, you know, Keith just, you know, taking his place in line.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's see how I can blame it on her being.
[SPEAKER_00]: Her umdien should have gotten Keith off the soft field at least 45 minutes before, you know, he's there to protect the fighters.
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, UFC Baku, uh, UFC is headed back to Azerbaijan.
[SPEAKER_00]: We got a 13 fight card.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to jump out and say, I am, this is a good fight night card.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it's good in a way that is going to fly under the radar.
[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of times when, when Keith and I say this card is strictly for the hard corners, it's kind of, it's not even a, a backhanded compliment.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's disning the card saying, and less, you're the type of person that watches the UFC
[SPEAKER_00]: This card has nothing for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: When I say that this is a card for the hardcoreers, I mean, if you are serious about seeing a batch of either new or relatively new prospects, one or two of whom might pan out in the future contenders, this is the kind of card you want to see.
[SPEAKER_00]: The thing that pleasantly surprised me about this one is there's not much name value, but almost every fight has at least one fighter
[SPEAKER_00]: What we don't have is something like last week or yeah, the card I call hosts on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: She's a top 10 fighter, but she's a top 10 fighter that's been winning one losing one forever.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's nobody on this card, except for Raphael Fazeva, ironically, who's like one and four in their last five.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whatever prospects you see on here, it's people, yeah, but obviously, because these Azerbaijan's most famous fighter, but you look down the card, the rest of them, who's the second most?
[SPEAKER_00]: Sharble it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, oh, oh, the second from Azerbaijan.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, good grief.
[SPEAKER_00]: It.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
[SPEAKER_00]: Isn't the Zeem Sadikov from my, it might be in the Zeem Sadikov.
[SPEAKER_00]: I love that.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I know where guys are from.
[SPEAKER_01]: If I think as an off, a cloth, I just assume it's their Russian.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, and then, and then, and then Ben will like name some country that's a round Russia.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then really inside it, if it was a one-to-year spent savage, I'd be like, in my head and saying, whoa, whoa.
[SPEAKER_01]: Why can't I be like that?
[SPEAKER_01]: It's that'd be like, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it's red, it
[SPEAKER_00]: This is not the UFC's first trip to Azerbaijan, and Ryzen fighting Federation went there before the UFC did.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a reason that Azerbaijan is getting these cards and say Dagestan and Chechnya, and ones that come to mind more quickly for American fans.
[SPEAKER_00]: They haven't gone to.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, one, those are war torn countries a lot of the time, but too, Azerbaijan is a big country with a decent sized population and money.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like Baku, the arena they're at, it's a resort port on the Caspian Sea.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's absolutely gorgeous.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just watch the B roll footage when they pan in and start saying, you know, welcome.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Octagon returns to Baku.
[SPEAKER_00]: it's a beautiful city.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the kind of place where they can post up once or twice a year, draw this kind of talent because this card is full of debuting fighters or fighters on their second, third fight in the UFC who are from that part of the world.
[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of them are ones that have trouble getting visas to Western Europe or North America on short notice.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, and see, they're this or wait for the next card in Dubai.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, I do like that the UFC is establishing more of a presence in this part of the world.
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, there are tons of fighters here where you got your charra bullet types, a Kremlin scare of, yeah, they've taken a loss or two, but these are guys that are like five and one in the UFC, seven and two.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not fighters that are on their way down.
[SPEAKER_00]: Pretty much every fight on this card is good.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, this one, this one guy, I think is pretty sharp.
[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I agree, saying that there's a lot of, even like some of the unknown guys coming in, like some of the guys I brought in are pretty good additions.
[SPEAKER_01]: What I love is a lot of people don't know that Ben actually got a second job.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's working as a travel agent.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like, but who has these beautiful shores, everything's not expensive, it's a hit in jail.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, call me, I give you 10 days for the price of seven.
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, you man, Ben, the cruise bro, please do.
[SPEAKER_00]: Azerbaijan tourism board?
[SPEAKER_01]: Can I have that?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, this is, yeah, it's, I give, like, a sea minus.
[SPEAKER_01]: Just because it's, no, I don't, but a sea's good.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like a sea is what a car should be.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, like, that's average, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's like slightly below average, but it's just simply because,
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like it's missing a made of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I understand that Faseeva is in the made of it because he's the home guy and everything.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just, you know, I look at rank guys.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just like, manual tours.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's really good.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've been coming, and I know it's not that young, but you know, like rising guy in the division, everything, so it's nice he's going to step up.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just, if you gave me a Sean Brady versus Nassadini Mavoff,
[SPEAKER_01]: Let's say, I don't know, that is the first thing you guys have to do.
[SPEAKER_01]: Then I'm sitting there like, yeah, this is solid card, you know.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just feel like it's missing that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I want to like, I want to like touch on because we always get slack from some like person and be like, dude, what are you talking about?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, this car is awesome, or you don't have to watch it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, make it sound like we're something casual.
[SPEAKER_01]: We're going to do a two and a half hour.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, show breaking down these fights.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like we are this hardcore as they come, but uh, like, yeah, you talk about the, the freedom 250 card.
[SPEAKER_01]: Just 10% of the people watch this card.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I know it's a 9 a.m. start time.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a lot different, but like,
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, last week's card was, you know, with a really good mate of that one.
[SPEAKER_01]: The 10% of the people who watched the White House card watched their card.
[SPEAKER_01]: No, probably not.
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, but like, when we say like, it's not a good card on paper.
[SPEAKER_01]: It, it doesn't mean like, it's not worth the investment of your time.
[SPEAKER_01]: Because sometimes it would come through.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to give you a story, Tom and Keith.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, just because I read a comment.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's going to bitch in about a story, Tom and Keith.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, you're like this one.
[SPEAKER_01]: My son, my son's great.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like a little mini me, but my son is the ultimate follower.
[SPEAKER_01]: He finds a friend, whoever the friend is into, so he suddenly he tries to get into.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like my son doesn't know Jack shit about basketball.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's at my, it's like one of my closest friends, they're practically cousins, they grow up to you.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the kids really need the basketball cards
[SPEAKER_01]: He slept over his house for a couple days and he come back.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like, oh, Dad, I want to buy basketball cards and he's getting all the two of it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's gone through my old baseball cards and stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's got a little bit money from referee and soccer.
[SPEAKER_01]: So my wife brings them to that old baseball cards store or something.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm like, as soon as I'm like, hey, what are you doing?
[SPEAKER_01]: Like he's going to waste his money and it's going to sit in his closet and like what's the point?
[SPEAKER_01]: And by the way,
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know about Packard cards like 35 box, but he's insane.
[SPEAKER_00]: They don't, they don't come with a piece of gum in him, do they?
[SPEAKER_00]: No.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's no long speech about the cards.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got a nasty ass piece of gum last time I bought some cards, so he had to buy in a pack of cards.
[SPEAKER_01]: of the three major sports, I don't think I said hockey is the way the three major sports had probably no basketball the least of the three, but he buys a pack of cards and he pulls a Steph Curry card.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's one of five in the world.
[SPEAKER_01]: He spent 35 bucks and pulled a thousand dollar card today.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he's like, hey, go do it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's first time.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm like, great.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a guy for the rest of his life.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's going to be at the casino.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, take him out of the town.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hit
[SPEAKER_00]: That reminds me, something I do when I just need some wholesome laughs is I'll watch like just dog videos on TikTok or Instagram.
[SPEAKER_00]: And there's this one guy that his dog, his dog wants found like a turtle on the beach and since then like years later anytime he sees a rock of about that same size he goes and tries to flip it over assuming another turtle like that's going to be your kid with like the thousand dollar card.
[SPEAKER_00]: there you go.
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so 13 fights outside of the top two, which one are you looking forward to most on this card?
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, by far, like even more than the top two fights.
[SPEAKER_01]: Mets and mode over is on my con.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's got far the best fight on this card.
[SPEAKER_00]: That is a great one.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am looking forward to Asu Amabaya versus Charles Johnson, I mean, one thing, it's a couple of, well, flyweight fringe contenders, we know how Keith feels about those guys and the clash of styles.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to jump in and start pre-previewing that one, but I'm rare and to go.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those who are not familiar with our practice, Keith does his best to not see the betting odds before the show.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I will spring them on them if the line is closer than two to one.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if the favorite is less than minus two hundred, I will lay out the line and ask Keith to guess who the favorite is.
[SPEAKER_00]: If the line is greater than two to one, the favorite is usually obvious.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'll just say who the favorite is and ask Keith to guess the line.
[SPEAKER_00]: It has provided us a lot of comedy in the past, but I'm going to say that over the past six months or so, keeps getting good enough at this that it's almost not even funny anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: But nonetheless, we're going to torture him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Any general thoughts on this one before we jump in?
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, I just remind people it's an early start time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, early start time.
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe it is pre-lim started 9 a.m. Eastern time, so be on the lookout for that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just look for the how to watch UFC Baku article on Shoredog Friday morning.
[SPEAKER_00]: First up on the UFC Baku prelimbs is a lightweight matchup between a pair of debuting fighters in Tyre Abulayev and Jefferson, Nasi-Mento.
[SPEAKER_00]: Abulayev, the 29-year-old Azerbaijani, is 19 and 3 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently last October in Georgia.
[SPEAKER_00]: worth noting about him.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has bounced all over the place.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's fought in literally five different countries in his last five fights, but he fought in a frankly second tier promotion in Georgia last October, winning by second round submission.
[SPEAKER_00]: He gets the call up here partially because of his solid record, partially because obviously he's from the host country.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, get some butts in those seats.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is going to try to get his debut going against Nassimento.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's from Brazil.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know how old he is.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'll get to that in the moment.
[SPEAKER_00]: His record is a perfect 13 and no.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently just a month ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought the last weekend of May in LFA winning defending his LFA interim lightweight title for the second time by fourth round knockout.
[SPEAKER_00]: So unsurprising that he's getting the call up, but
[SPEAKER_00]: This fight, there are no odds available, and I do not know how old Jefferson Nazi meant to is.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't remember the last time we had a debuting fighter in the UFC, where I could not find their date of birth.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can place, I guess, as to his age, because I've seen the ages he was announced at in his LFA fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to guess he's around 26 right now, but it's pretty wild.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just talked up this card.
[SPEAKER_00]: I said, I thought it was a real good fight night.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't give it a letter grade, but I would have given it probably a solid B.
[SPEAKER_00]: Having said that, this has me mad, because I probably wasted half my tape study time looking up, stuff on these guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: And one, there wasn't a whole lot to find.
[SPEAKER_00]: And second, I don't think either from that grade after watching the tape on them.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love the, like, just adding this, the added it just a couple days ago.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, we're all done with my tape study.
[SPEAKER_01]: They like add this extra fight, you know what I'm like?
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, and of course, like, debut in fighters, and I don't know too much about them this way.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, wasn't Kevin Hommel thrown on there.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've seen him fight 30 times this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, they're still Kevin Hommel on the car.
[SPEAKER_00]: We can,
[SPEAKER_00]: Nasi-Mento and Abdullah, they're both kind of stocky, burly, lightweight, they're all wait to see the real tail of the tape when they walk out in front of each other, but they're both on the stocky, burly side.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nasi-Mento, he sets up orthodox, he's pretty broadly.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just see him coming forward and swinging wide hooks with both hands.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is a hard hitter, the people that he's hit,
[SPEAKER_00]: They clearly feel it the first time he touches him solidly.
[SPEAKER_00]: One thing I do like that he does is he'll wait in with his kind of broadly thing, but he's looking for sneaky opportunities to take the fights of the ground like just he'll throw his opponent will go to throw back and he'll just grab a quick body lock or trip or something.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take him down and then he kind of likes to either just stand over him or park in their guard posture up and he has some nasty ground in
[SPEAKER_00]: He's kind of a weird style on the feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: He kind of reaches out and pause and will just throw single strikes.
[SPEAKER_00]: The one strike he had that I did like was he surprised a couple of his opponents with just a nice kind of snap kick up the middle that he sort of used as a second jab, frankly, more effective than his real jab.
[SPEAKER_00]: He does his best work on the ground.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think his striking is mostly just sort of a means to an end to get it there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like I said, he's a stocky powerful guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he has a very stay attached grappling style, like you kind of see stocky powerfully built guys have.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the last two fighters he fought.
[SPEAKER_00]: And incidentally, those are the two fights I was able to find full fight tape on.
[SPEAKER_00]: More against guys with losing records.
[SPEAKER_00]: For you to be 17 and 3, 18 and 3,
[SPEAKER_00]: One of the fights I watched, the guy was so bad that it's hard to draw many conclusions from him.
[SPEAKER_00]: He ended up finishing the fight with Ed Arm Triangle from the wrong side.
[SPEAKER_00]: He just literally played on the guy in schools until he tapped.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that's he mental.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna guess he's a little younger.
[SPEAKER_00]: He looks to have a little bit better natural athleticism.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's definitely more of a work in progress.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's one that I could see developing into a solid UFC lightweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if I had to guess, both these guys are probably out of the UFC after their first four-fied deal, I'm leaning towards an assi-mento.
[SPEAKER_00]: He seems to have a better idea of what he wants to do in the cage.
[SPEAKER_00]: And because what he wants to do is come forward, throw lots of punches and try to take you down.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he's probably gonna come out on the right side of close rounds.
[SPEAKER_00]: So give me an assi mental by decision, but you should be able to hear this in my voice.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am no confidence in this.
[SPEAKER_00]: These guys are largely unknown quantities to me.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, do we don't have a vetting line on this one?
[SPEAKER_01]: Nope, we did not.
[SPEAKER_01]: All right, I thought you said that, but sometimes sometimes when you're talking on my rearranging my make sure I have my notes up for the different fighters.
[SPEAKER_01]: What I like about an estimate that it comes from LFA, which is always pretty good.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I know LFA is not what it was like 10 years ago.
[SPEAKER_01]: I might see, oh, I seem like, you know, I'm not this day become less, but I think maybe more organizations kind of work.
[SPEAKER_01]: like raise himself to the same level as like an LFA.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a little bit of my homer tendency coming in, but part of their problem is that Fieri has just booted them out of Texas.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fieri has become, because LFA used to rule Texas, Fieri's kind of done that.
[SPEAKER_00]: So they've reacted by being on the road more and frankly doing more in Brazil.
[SPEAKER_00]: LFA in Brazil is becoming really strong.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like a Western, like some guy wrote a town and like got the other like top, top.
[SPEAKER_01]: Gunslinger out of town like But still like you you know your champions malife.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know that used to hold a lot of weight, but
[SPEAKER_01]: He's, you know, a lot of movement on his feet, though he moves a lot, but he doesn't move his head a lot, which, and he was just hurt bad in his last fight, as you mentioned, was just a few weeks ago.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's concerning, I mean, he was almost knocked out.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he sets up his shots with faints, he's got quick hands, I like his straight right.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some plus power.
[SPEAKER_01]: Hard body kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a great high kick.
[SPEAKER_01]: He will but he will throw kicks without setting him up though He looks for body lock takedowns, which kind of shows that he's not this great wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is pretty good at winning scramble Well, I guess that he's not Traditional blasts or your hips wrestler He is a submission threat.
[SPEAKER_01]: He loves like the
[SPEAKER_01]: like I was like the call in the head show so it's like anaconda's darst stuff like that and I mean it's last fight he was was a yeah he got a stop at a thing of the fourth round so he's shown that him go deep into fights
[SPEAKER_01]: Abdullah, I have the first thing I don't like, he's very physically strong guy, but he's kind of slow, he looks like a minus after he likes to stay on the outside and then suddenly darted to range for big wing punches, he can be very wild though, he does have a good left hook, I'll say that and he has plus power, you look at him, you think he's guy, like, he got a knock head off, he's like more like a, like, he won't could have a lot of money, they look really good and he does have power, but like it's not.
[SPEAKER_01]: and that, like, he, he, he, he, he weightlifts more than he, like, does explosive exercises.
[SPEAKER_00]: If, if I may need, he looks like a heavyweight that somebody shrank down to lightweight size, like, just kind of barrel chested and thick and, yeah,
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but like like a little less of a stomach as like those like burly heavy weights are Like the ones like the guys that like the two of us a brothers can be
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to throw a flying knee to help close the distance because he struggles, think he stays outside and he struggles to get inside.
[SPEAKER_01]: He will avoid strikes himself by backing straight up on the sandline.
[SPEAKER_01]: He also pillars where they don't like.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is a good wrestler, but sometimes he just ducks his head and reaches, but if he gets to fight the ground, he's got busy ground and pound.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has seven sublanders record, but like you said, he's fought some real tomato cans.
[SPEAKER_01]: And he also jumped, he had a team.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it which is worse because he when he gets put on his back, he's sure let's get this so I've flip flopped on this one Some because I didn't get to watch as much stuff under that I want But also like this times I've seen things they've done where I'm like they look pretty good And I stopped making notes on like oh, this guy looks like a quality like addition to the UFC And then other times I'm like, oh my god, this guy's bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: This guy's bad.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't really have a good read on it either guy
[SPEAKER_01]: So I have no confidence about pick.
[SPEAKER_01]: You are with Nassimento.
[SPEAKER_01]: I kind of feel the same way.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was leading that way.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll see Nassimento, but I split the system.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next up on the UFC Fight Night 280 Undercard is a men's band-and-white matchup between Bexat Almokan and John Matsumoto.
[SPEAKER_00]: Almokan, the 28-year-old from Kazakhstan, is 12 and 3 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's 1 and 2 in the UFC, and he's coming in off a loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently last November at UFC Fight Night's Rookie Inverse's hooker, where he dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander DePoria.
[SPEAKER_00]: He will look to get back into the wind column here against Matsumoto.
[SPEAKER_00]: 26 year old Brazilian is 17 and 2 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 3 and 2 since joining the UFC out of season 7 of Dana White's contender series.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is coming in off a loss as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was back in February at UFC fight night about T-Stover's Oliveta, where he lost a split decision to Farid Basharat.
[SPEAKER_00]: Your favorite Keith is minus 160 underdog plus 135. Who are they?
[SPEAKER_00]: It's actually Matsumoto.
[SPEAKER_00]: John Matsumoto minus 160, Bexat al-Macon plus 135.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you single this fight out as a good one, and I completely agree with you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Tell me what you like about it, and who you think wins.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, the fact that this fight, the second fight of the card is to be, it's absolutely not like this should be on the main card.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think both guys are really good.
[SPEAKER_01]: Matsumoto, I mean,
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I scored both of his losses for Winthropon.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I just do not have, I know I scored the Rob Font form.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's both like super close, but like this guy, it this guy was undefeated, this fight, it's their phone top problem.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he's a multi striker.
[SPEAKER_01]: He can find out both stances.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he does stand directly in front of his opponents.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a little bit of a whole Duke ground striker.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a traditional like multi striker, uh, but he's constantly moving forward with it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got it's same pressure.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got great volume.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, his pressure alone crumbled miles, John's, um,
[SPEAKER_01]: type boxing very fast hands, accurate.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a great jab, he falls with combinations, clean one twos, he has plus power, he mixes his punches and it kicks together well, he throws a lot of kicks, kicks hard, he's a little more of an old school, like thigh kick kicker than your traditional, like go in, I'm upset with the last of the backwards.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like a traditional old school thigh kicker, instead of your new age, you know, kicking the
[SPEAKER_01]: But he has fast-high kick though.
[SPEAKER_01]: He will sometimes throw his kicks naked Defensively this is the thing that's bothering me about him.
[SPEAKER_01]: He pillars a lot which you know He blocks shots that way the problem is he's he kind of lets his opponents take him down with his entry because he brings his his hands up so high to when he pillars And he doesn't really move his head enough.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got that traditional moitai guy hide behind the gloves
[SPEAKER_01]: But he can wrestle.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got nice entries.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a good top game, a good Matt return to the resort, and his last fight, busy ground up pound.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good like B.J.
[SPEAKER_01]: Partition all over.
[SPEAKER_01]: He got a fantastic guillotine.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got five subs on his record.
[SPEAKER_01]: I talked about him getting taken down like we shouldn't get taken down by Dan our getter and free bash her up But he pops from right back up and he's a tough side of the bench I mean Rob Fontland is some good and hard shots on that he just kept coming and he's got great cardity like he doesn't stop
[SPEAKER_01]: bags out.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a con.
[SPEAKER_01]: This guy's a really good fighter too.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was surprised the line was a closer.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: He uses a lot of some movement.
[SPEAKER_01]: He cuts angles really well with his footwork.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, so you kind of stick and move and on a range with the speed.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got quick hands.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's accurate.
[SPEAKER_01]: He throws straight shots on the pike.
[SPEAKER_01]: He attacks with combinations.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes uppercuts, what he's inside.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he wouldn't go to one of my weight off.
[SPEAKER_01]: It cracked the market bait off.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hits very hard, he has 10 TKOs.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he just showed great power against Bracatona, who never was, I mean, say what you want about Bracatona.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's hard to stop and he stopped him.
[SPEAKER_01]: Good kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a really good wrestler, nice timing on his entries.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's good at grabbing his opponents when they move forward into his range or he times their step and end really good.
[SPEAKER_01]: He could also get like bylark takedowns against the cage.
[SPEAKER_01]: The one knock on the ground with him is really not much of a submission threat.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think this fight is awesome.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think this fight has further than I have written all over it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think they're both good on the feed, both come on the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: I like both guys a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: I really think both these guys could turn into contenders.
[SPEAKER_01]: I expect both of them to have success on the feet.
[SPEAKER_01]: And on the ground, I give Matt's motor the advantage and the output and the variety of the striking while I give Americana the advantage of the power and the overall wrestling.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't like the line.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think this should be a pick-up, but I think both guys gonna have huge moments.
[SPEAKER_01]: I see us put the decision all over.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to go with my boy, G-Mats, John Mats motor, like he's a guy that I've really stood out to me.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say he was my sports decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm glad that you see this as closer than the line looked as well, because I had no idea who the favorite was going to be before I cracked it open.
[SPEAKER_00]: the best thing about this is that both guys are relatively young and like you said, despite this being one of the deepest divisions in the whole UFC, they both look like future top 10 fighters on the right.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like none of them have any real bad losses.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are loss of been to very good fighters.
[SPEAKER_00]: They've been very close.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alma Khan coming in and day viewing against Umarna Magamadov is just cruel and you mentioned he had his moments in that fight.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I scored that one two rounds to one for Nirmagamadov, but the fact that Nirmagamadov was for the most part, tried to have an out fight with him and he got in side range and cracked him a couple times.
[SPEAKER_00]: I would like that just as the accomplishment, I like that
[SPEAKER_00]: Fighters in general in MMA and in the UFC, I don't think throw the uppercut enough, but even a lot of the ones that do, you can just see like their brain almost goes uppercut time and they'll wind up and throw an uppercut.
[SPEAKER_00]: He mixes them into combination in the pocket better than most, which is nice because that's when you really crack somebody and hurt them and I can see him doing that to Matsumoto.
[SPEAKER_00]: This one feels like a pick-up, I'm leaning Matsumoto as well, but not a lot of confidence on this.
[SPEAKER_00]: except that I'm confident that it's going to be a damn good fight.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next up on the UFC Baku prelimbs, at least as the card is set up as the beginning of fight week, is a Walterweight matchup between Daniel Dunchenko and short-noticed debut opponent Theodore Bergren.
[SPEAKER_00]: Don Chanko, the 24 year old Ukrainian is 13 and 2 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 2 and 0 in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently back in February at UFC Fight Night, about T-Siversa Zolevera, picking up a unanimous decision over Alex Morono.
[SPEAKER_00]: He will look to build on that momentum.
[SPEAKER_00]: extend his UFC win a streak to three straight.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had been scheduled to take on Andreas Gustafson.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gustafson, scarily enough about a month ago, was diagnosed with a part arrhythmia.
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously pulled from the card.
[SPEAKER_00]: They stuck with Sweden and in steps theater or Bergen.
[SPEAKER_00]: 26 year old is 8 and 3 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously this will be as UFC debut, but ironically he fought.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think on the very same night in February at a kind of regional show in Sweden.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's coming in on about five weeks notice, but he hasn't actually fought in over four months.
[SPEAKER_00]: So at least he's getting a decent turn around.
[SPEAKER_00]: Don Chanko unsurprisingly is your favorite Keith.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a guess
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I'm going to I'm going to put the what I what it should be for a second just because I'm learning how you say words were it's going to be like I think he's going to be pretty big like he's going to be like in like 350 400 range.
[SPEAKER_01]: I would.
[SPEAKER_01]: Before you said that I was leaning like minus 260.
[SPEAKER_01]: What is even bigger than that?
[SPEAKER_01]: I know, but two sixties wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Denial don't check.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, minus 525.
[SPEAKER_00]: Theodore Berger in plus 400.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wow.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't see the lines.
[SPEAKER_00]: Andreas Gustafson fell off the card to early for me to get reliable lines, but they might have made Dunchank, well, mine is 200 favorite over Gustafson.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not saying it would have been right, but just Dunchanko being young, being on that wind streak.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could see them kind of overrating them a little.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm interested in your take on this one.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me know what, if anything, is good about Bergren and who you think wins this fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I just want I had a check real quick to make sure that Bergen wasn't like moving up a way class or anything like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: I showed notice because if we get some like that wrong, we get we get crucified.
[SPEAKER_00]: I checked to he he is fought more to it is last six fights in a row.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, fair enough fair enough.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then you check like.
[SPEAKER_01]: what way he used to wrestle at in high school, you know, did you check that?
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a seven pound three ounce baby, you know, so don't don't come out.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I was, I was a little surprised at that Chenco is this big of favorite based on like his last fight, and obviously he's like knocking guys out and everything, but like, I don't think, like,
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's last night was marina, right?
[SPEAKER_01]: It was marina and it made it to the final horn.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there was much suspense, but yeah, yeah, he'd be them up, but like, everybody expected like spectacular, like, oh my god, why are we doing this to Osmarano?
[SPEAKER_01]: Now.
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, the tank was having a lot of success in the only 24 years old, so I mean, you know, I like that he's super jacked.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: That I think sells it.
[SPEAKER_01]: South Pole kickboxer.
[SPEAKER_01]: He dots off the center line to avoid strikes, which I like.
[SPEAKER_01]: He also cuts angles and set up his own chance with some of the likes.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's like seem very maturing and striking and good hits wicked hard.
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's not even in his power years.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he may be nice guys out.
[SPEAKER_01]: super fast.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a big kicking game.
[SPEAKER_01]: It kicks really good.
[SPEAKER_01]: He loves front kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not he's an average wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's an average.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think around he's not a big threat on the ground, but he's also not a big liability on the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: But how is his background?
[SPEAKER_01]: Bergrink?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Bergrink.
[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't mind some of the things I saw this guy, South Boar.
[SPEAKER_01]: It likes it, but though he does switch stances, very relaxed and striking.
[SPEAKER_01]: The knock is almost too relaxed because sometimes, yeah, you know, when I sort of have some low output through a lot of single strikes, but let's just hands go.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a nice left hook.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some good power.
[SPEAKER_01]: Kick the body well.
[SPEAKER_01]: Good calf kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: he will try to get the fight the ground, definitely not a wrestler, but he can like duck under a punch and get it, get it take down and like a scramble or like catch a kick to get the fight to the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think his entries are still pretty ugly, but if you get some of the ground, good ground, pound is got three subs on his record.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't understand why the line is this big.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think Burger is a pretty solid addition to the UFC.
[SPEAKER_01]: I liked what I've said.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like if he could weather an early storm like he could pull up it upset especially because there's such a question mark and then Chinko's Cardi and I know he was a distance last fight, but you know usually he's clocking guys so early super like he's a big physically strong explosive guy like he has a tie that could slow down It's weird because I'm given Berger version and a much better chance of winning this fight than other people are
[SPEAKER_01]: But then my pick is going to seem like I'm not respecting my walks.
[SPEAKER_01]: I still think then Chaco probably clocks them.
[SPEAKER_01]: So give me then Chaco to win my first run, TKO.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I like your description of Bergerin's approach, especially on the feet as relaxed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because yeah, he has good natural weapons.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a tall guy, as long range.
[SPEAKER_00]: He uses it fairly well.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has nice movements.
[SPEAKER_00]: he can he can sometimes be a little too relaxed in terms of not throwing enough volume.
[SPEAKER_00]: I also saw him come in a little lazy defensively a few times.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just saw him come in and eat left hands a few times from fighters that really did not have the speed arranged that they should have been able to do that to him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I saw some fighters who were otherwise overmass pretty badly on the feet sort of reach out and touch with leg kicks a few times and he
[SPEAKER_00]: He basically responded by just changing direction and overwhelming them with his own output, but a fighter that kicks his legs and doesn't just go away when he florees on him could present problems for him.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do think he has the potential to stick around and maybe turn into something, again, he's a 26-year-old guy with a
[SPEAKER_00]: some good natural gifts and plenty of time to work.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the deficiencies I've seen in them so far do not line up well with what Don't Chanco does well.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Don't Chanco gets back to the streak of early knockouts here as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me Don't Chanco by first round K.O.
[SPEAKER_00]: We head next to the Featherweight Division and a matchup between Con Offley and Javier Reyes.
[SPEAKER_00]: Offley, the 33-year-old Australian, is 13-4-1 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 2-2 in the UFC and after dropping his first two fights in the Octagon, he is now 1-2 in a row in a first-round submission of Ricardo Hamos last October and then at UFC 3-25 this January, a majority decision win over Yee-ja.
[SPEAKER_00]: 32 year old Colombian is 23 and 5 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 1 and 0 since joining the UFC out of season 9 of Dana White's contender series.
[SPEAKER_00]: He made his UFC debut against Douglas Silvati Androj at UFC fight night, Mariano versus Cavanaugh in February, knocking him out with one second left in the first round.
[SPEAKER_00]: So looking to build on that momentum, Keith, your favorite is minus 160
[SPEAKER_00]: Ray is his favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: You're correct.
[SPEAKER_00]: Have you array as minus 160, can awfully plus 135?
[SPEAKER_00]: Who you got in this one?
[SPEAKER_01]: It's so bad I screwed up.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I said it right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I got to be so bad.
[SPEAKER_01]: I read all my fights out, and then I'm like, all right, I get to do a paper study of the newest guy for some kind of scrum.
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I started just doing some matchups and then also, I get down to them like, oh man, I haven't picked up, I've had to pick a fast pass one.
[SPEAKER_01]: And this was one of the fights I haven't done a tape study yet, and I'm like, I'll do that one, they're like, not ranked flyways, but then deal like, talk about their records and then when it frees like, yeah, I screwed up with the lines close.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, anyways, unfortunately, I screwed up, I shouldn't have fast pass this one,
[SPEAKER_01]: So I flip a lot of times one.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the line should be even closer.
[SPEAKER_01]: I know it's a close line.
[SPEAKER_01]: I should be even closer.
[SPEAKER_01]: both guys have shown some really good skills but they also have some big flaws that keep them from becoming a ranked featherweight which is obviously a really hard thing to achieve anyways but I like what I've seen a lot of these ones.
[SPEAKER_01]: I might say it's really close but hopefully it has an advantage I think in the wrestling he mixes in his wrestling well so I'm going to go with the upset in this one I think it's a really close fight I'm going to say
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel exactly the way you do about this one, uh, just, I know this is the gambler's fallacy, but I think I picked against, well, I know I picked against Conoffli, his last two fights in a row, where he was at least a two to one underdog, and he may be looked done both times.
[SPEAKER_00]: And against the Cardio Homos, I even said that this fight is going to look closer than the line makes it look as Homos was like minus two, four to hear something,
[SPEAKER_00]: Because of that, they both have routes to victory.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, Ray is going to be much taller, longer, rangeier than Offley.
[SPEAKER_00]: And knowing that he's a kind of guy that we'll try to use that to his best advantage, but Offley is,
[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, made a good showing of closing the distance on taller range of your fighters across all four of his UFC fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's short and gives up range to almost everybody.
[SPEAKER_00]: He basically looks like Morab without a fucked up nose.
[SPEAKER_00]: Basically, you like, that's what he looks like to me.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he faces the same kind of challenges getting into striking range against most people in his division.
[SPEAKER_00]: but he's proven good at that, he's got surprising power and the wrestling being the thing in his back pocket.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm with you, can be awfully by close decision and we have our first unanimous upset pick of the night.
[SPEAKER_00]: middle weights take the cage next at UFC Baku as Nersulton Rizaboyev squares off against Andre Poliayev.
[SPEAKER_00]: Rizaboyev, the 32 year old from Uzbekistan, his overall record is 36 wins, nine losses, two draws and two no contests.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is four and one in the UFC and worth noting he is four and one in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's four and no at middle weight.
[SPEAKER_00]: He did a single fight at Walterweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: fought walking buckley.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure he said to himself, I thought these guys were supposed to hit less hard.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then we back to 185,000.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought at middleweight himself, too.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, my buckly has fought it mid a way to himself.
[SPEAKER_00]: But since moving back up, Roosevelt is one, two more in a row, including his most recent outing, which was just a little over a year ago, a unanimous decision over Justin Stalsfus.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's looking for his third straight win, his third straight back at middleweight against Poliayev.
[SPEAKER_00]: 28-year-old Russian is 10 and 4 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 1 and 2 in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's coming in off the loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought a table go TA at UFC 324 back in January, coming in on the wrong side of a unanimous decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, Rezaboyev is your favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a guess at what the line is.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not that bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ruseboy, have minus 225, Andre, a play I have, plus 180, and this is not like Picking's big and it's closer because usually the play around.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not off that, or I'm picking the offer.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm usually picking the under.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's funny, this fight for me is full of contradictions because Ruseboy has a couple years older and he has like three times as many fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yet somehow he still feels, I'm not gonna say he feels like a prospect, but he feels more like the guy that is still figuring out his game from one fight to the next than Play I have, who he's just 28 years old.
[SPEAKER_00]: This will be his 15th pro fight, and I feel like I already know what I'm getting with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Rizabwayev is an absolute huge middleweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: Both of these guys are big middleweight, but Rizabwayev is six foot five, has a wingspan on him.
[SPEAKER_00]: Play I have six four.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's an accurate striker on the feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has decent power.
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of, you look at his record, he has a good number of TKOs, but those tend to be from him, staying somebody and then really just pouring it on and a lot of them have been frankly against.
[SPEAKER_00]: defensively poorest fighters.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think of him as just a one shot kill shot artist, but he's like surprisingly good power.
[SPEAKER_00]: A ton of submissions.
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of his submissions were wrapped up earlier in his career.
[SPEAKER_00]: His fight style he tended to go to the ground more quickly and more readily.
[SPEAKER_00]: But all the tools are still there.
[SPEAKER_00]: He grapples exactly like you'd want a six foot five middleweight with hugely long arms and legs to grapple, he does well in scrambles.
[SPEAKER_00]: He just he can threaten to take the back, he can grab someone's neck or grab an arm from almost any angle.
[SPEAKER_00]: Really, the one time we've seen him lose in the UFC just.
[SPEAKER_00]: walking buckling made him uncomfortable.
[SPEAKER_00]: He felt the power a few times.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was dealing with a much faster, much shorter guy that just kind of kept them on the back foot.
[SPEAKER_00]: And it looked, it was something that we've seen play out many, many times in MMA over the years.
[SPEAKER_00]: Play I have.
[SPEAKER_00]: is pretty much the opposite of everything you would expect of Alexander Slamanko's protege.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like Slamanko is this short, almost pudgy, dumpy, Russian guy that throws nothing, but spinning crap all the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Poliive is a tall, lanky, less athletic than Slamanko by far, guy that really has more of a conventional kickboxing approach.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not a bad fighter, but,
[SPEAKER_00]: even if he either beats Rizoboyev or does something to hang on in the UFC, I think he tops out just another guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whereas Rizoboyev, again, despite having almost 50 fights already, he's a guy that I could still see turning into like a top 15 fighter at Middleweight Hell.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's probably two wins away from it right now, the way the Middleweight top 15 has.
[SPEAKER_00]: The thing to me is, Roosevelt is going to be more effective than Poliyev at a greater variety of ranges.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if and when this goes to the ground, I think he has enormous advantages there.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he could either get Poliyev stuck in a position where he just hammers him with ground shots until he's dead, or
[SPEAKER_00]: Tamersom until he's half dead and takes his back and chokes him out.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's my pick.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is one of the few fights on the card that I feel more lopsided about than the actual line is, but I think Resoboye of has this in the bag.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me Resoboye of to win the first round handle Lee and choke out play I have in the second.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, prior I have, he had that showing against Goodyear, so I think that has like close line, much closer than if this fight was booked six months ago.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's not a very good athlete, he's a South boy, he's a long and lanky.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does have good output.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is a technical striker.
[SPEAKER_01]: He kind of uses good footwork to kind of keep his distance.
[SPEAKER_01]: But then this time, his technique is terrible and he's like overextending on his shots, leaving him be calendared.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does have a big kicking game.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, cursed.
[SPEAKER_01]: What's clients first name?
[SPEAKER_01]: I got a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client, a client
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, I'm backing me right now just for mentioning it.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'd be back away pretty frequently for confessed, but yeah, he actually had a pretty competitive fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: He tries to wrestle, but he isn't good at it, and he's a bad defensive wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He did show improved, take down defense against Nick Klein, but I mean, Klein is really bad.
[SPEAKER_01]: He did get back up when the times, Klein.
[SPEAKER_01]: to come down and get it pretty quickly.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has two sub-known as a record, but he will rush positions to try to catch a submission.
[SPEAKER_01]: Roosevelt, I have...
[SPEAKER_01]: I, it's finally like he has, you know, which is a 32, yeah, 32, yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's in his prime, but it's still come with a view as a prospect because we're here because he has like 150 fights.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I do think he's someone to watch in the way class.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm glad that you're pretty high on him too.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's big for the way class.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's learning like he's well rounded.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a good striker, especially from distance.
[SPEAKER_01]: He kind of springs into his shots.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got quick hands.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's accurate.
[SPEAKER_01]: He loves his right hand.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does throw the right hand a little too much.
[SPEAKER_01]: He can over throw as much as sometimes, but he has good power.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he knocked out Eric McConaughey, which actually is better than you think.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a big kick in game.
[SPEAKER_01]: He loves to time as opponents kicks when they kick with a try to time it with a straight right He doesn't throw his lead left hand enough.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's something that I know there's a lot of rear punches He will wrestle
[SPEAKER_01]: It's his right.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's wrestling's a little overrated, but his grappling is good.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he does get the fight at the ground, he's a strong grab player.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some some good grinded pound on his obviously a massive submission thread.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got 20 subs on this record.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's a weak defense of wrestling, but he's one of those guys.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he doesn't mind the fight getting to the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's pretty good at scrambling.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I know Paul, I did much better against greater than people expected, but I think I had more to do with a greater not adjusting a game plan.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think Roosevelt is better than put the eye of everywhere.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think you probably get subs.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was about half my second round submission.
[SPEAKER_01]: I liked, this is not the fight I was looking at for a lot of the night, but I liked the odds that you said minus 220 for a guy that I think should be like minus 260, or probably even though maybe over minus 300, I'll take this as my
[SPEAKER_00]: And so we'll lie, the person that asked on our last preview is that I knocked you locked so the night anymore.
[SPEAKER_00]: I answered him, I said, I forget to.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then when Keith does it, I'm like, well, that feels like a lock to me, but I can't just copy Keith.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I went first this time and I told you that that I thought of Roosevelt had this in the bag.
[SPEAKER_00]: So this is the Union and it was lock of the night.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if we get it wrong, go after Keith.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: We head next to the light heavyweight division as undefeated
[SPEAKER_00]: You can have the 25-year-old Turk is 9-in-0 as a professional.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 2-in-0 since joining the UFC out of season 9 of Dana White's contender series and as the former reigning Erie's FC Light Heavyweight champ.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has already fought once this year.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was back in April at UFC Fight Night and Wakano versus Duncan, where he tapped out British and he betto in the first round.
[SPEAKER_00]: He also picked up a first round submission in the UFC debut last November.
[SPEAKER_00]: That one in just 33 seconds.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the man's working on a streak.
[SPEAKER_00]: We will see if he can keep it going against Walker.
[SPEAKER_00]: 26-year-old American is seven and two overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is one and two in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is coming in off a loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently in February at UFC fight night belt.
[SPEAKER_00]: T-stiverses, Oli Vita, where he got knocked out in the second round by Dustin Jacoby.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, you Kyiv is your favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a guess of what the line is.
[SPEAKER_01]: It is huge.
[SPEAKER_01]: Minus 550.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is exactly minus 550.
[SPEAKER_00]: You did.
[SPEAKER_01]: One thing I don't do now is my boy, you Kyiv.
[SPEAKER_01]: I have all about it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Abdul Rockman, you Kyiv minus 550.
[SPEAKER_00]: Julie is Walker plus 425.
[SPEAKER_00]: any fighters that are as unproven as these two because it is the 10th professional fight for both of them.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are 25 and 26 years old respectively.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm always a little nervous about someone being a five or six to one favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a chaotic sport.
[SPEAKER_00]: Somebody can slip on a banana peel.
[SPEAKER_00]: The best coach nine and a no fighter in the world is still liable to see one or two situations in a fight that he's never seen before and for all we know might not be able to deal with it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I have has only been the decision once in his entire career, and it was in like his third or fourth professional fight.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are reasons that somebody will upset him at some point.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just don't see that route to victory for Julius Walker.
[SPEAKER_00]: The problem here is
[SPEAKER_00]: You kind of is better at the kind of fight that Walker's going to want.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then on top of that, he has a whole other tool set that I don't think Walker is equipped to deal with.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, it's worth noting that Walker went three rounds with Alonzo Menofield and basically one and a half with Dustin Jacobi and he can presumably still remember third grade.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like so, my concern that he's so big and kind of gauky just,
[SPEAKER_00]: more explosive aggressive kickboxers are just going to get inside his range and knock his block off.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Jacobi eventually knocked his block off, but he's he's better able to defend himself on the feet than I expected, which is good because when he has a little time and breathing room to work, he does have some accuracy and power on on the feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: his ground game depends almost entirely on whether he initiated it or not, when he gets to fight, when he wants to fight on the ground and gets it on the ground and he's on top, he's a scary guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: When he gets taken down, the results are not good.
[SPEAKER_00]: All this just leads me to say, yeah, this line in, you guys favor make sense, because you guy is about as big and
[SPEAKER_00]: might have equal power on a shot for shot basis, and then he has just a much better ground game.
[SPEAKER_00]: I expect you to kind of have to handle business pretty, and pretty straightforward fashion here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me a kind of my first round submission.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm not gonna bother slapping a lock on a guy that's minus 550, but I feel pretty good about his chances.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, in fact, I mean, you kind of know our goal with this pick, especially because I was confident there would be a massive favor.
[SPEAKER_01]: But that said, like, Walker has had moments.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, this thing's like, you mentioned self, like,
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a long-lake guy, he will fight a both-stances, he fights with the traditional high-guard defense.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does need to improve his output on the feet, but he will throw straight shots, he's got good power, throw some hard kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a bad defensive striker, I know I'm very hard at people's defense, but they back straight up with a set of line, he doesn't move his head that much.
[SPEAKER_01]: He also doesn't react, wealth of strikes, I mean,
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he didn't get knocked out by a lines of NFL, but it also like couldn't because we got hit by a straight from NFL, they kind of flopped a little bit.
[SPEAKER_01]: He he does like to wrestle.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he gets the fight to the ground, he has to improve his top game.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a bad def our wrestling you said.
[SPEAKER_01]: But two's quite he's a big guy, big strong guy, he gets up pretty well.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has two subs on his record.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has guest out in the past, but he also like he gets against a lot of benefit and funnily a big deep and arguably one.
[SPEAKER_01]: Rackmath, I mean, the dude's a baby for the vision, he's only 25 years old.
[SPEAKER_01]: He also looks to fight out of both dances.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a pressure or he could control the pressure counterstrikeer.
[SPEAKER_01]: Good volume, fast hands, he's got a great right hand.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a solid wrestler, good top control, good ground of hell, and he has five subs on his record.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's just quickly subbed.
[SPEAKER_01]: Rinse in the heavy area.
[SPEAKER_01]: I am worried what his cardio has only been the distance.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think once in his career.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think Walker isn't a terrible fighter.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think when I've seen a raccoon off, he's just on a different level and he's a lot faster.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hits hard.
[SPEAKER_01]: I still have a lot of question marksman on him because of me.
[SPEAKER_01]: He finishes fights quickly.
[SPEAKER_01]: So there's a lot of things I want to see more of him.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I don't think this is good because fight will receive that.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he's going to clock him.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to say, he starts his walk at early.
[SPEAKER_01]: Give me a raccoon off by first round TKO.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next up at UFC Fight Night 280, and at least as the card is constituted as of the beginning of fight week, the top prelimm is a 170-pound matchup between the day viewing farm on Hassadov and Eric Nolan.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hassanaf, the 30-year-old Azerbaijani, is 4-0 as a professional.
[SPEAKER_00]: This will be his UFC debut, but he fought in LFA as recently as November where he knocked out Abdulrahman Fazilav in the first round.
[SPEAKER_00]: He will look to stay undefeated against Nolan.
[SPEAKER_00]: 28-year-old New Jerseyite is 8-4 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is O-1-1 since joining the UFC as the outgoing CFFC Walterweight champ.
[SPEAKER_00]: He made his debut last August at UFC 19 against Bisinger Souser Kaiav getting tapped out in the second round.
[SPEAKER_00]: He will look to bounce back from that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, your favorite is minus 180, underdog plus 140, who are they?
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll send the newcomer is a favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: You are correct.
[SPEAKER_00]: Farman Hassanov, minus 180, Eric Nolan plus 140.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is welterweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: Welterweight is one of the two or three toughest divisions in the UFC to stick around and then make it even into the fringes of the rankings discussion.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's been the case for at least eight or 10 years at this point.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hassanov might have that kind of upside, but it's hard to tell.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has four fights, and frankly, the first three of them were against pretty low-level guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I watched his entire career.
[SPEAKER_00]: I watched all of them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Watch all of his fights, and if you're anything like me, I'm like, OK, I don't know if you can get.
[SPEAKER_00]: Boom, Keith, Keith just inadvertently fast past my entire
[SPEAKER_00]: But the thing at the bottom of my notes is, I still don't know if this guy is good.
[SPEAKER_00]: Things that I do know about him.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a good size, well, to wait.
[SPEAKER_00]: He looks to be, you know, tales of the tape or notoriously unreliable.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he looks like about a 5, 11, 6 foot tall guy who's got a muscular bill.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, put like a little blonde flat top on him and he's built about like Deniel Dunchenko who looks like a comic book character.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he's what I think I look like when I walk out of the gym.
[SPEAKER_01]: I walk out of the gym, I have to lift in, you know, bench pressing on the Smith machine, nine of the three, you know, walk it out with my AC DC plan.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, he throws a decent repertoire of strikes.
[SPEAKER_00]: He throws in combination when his opponent has not done anything to make
[SPEAKER_00]: I haven't seen much out of him in the way of a clean level change in the shot from outside, like shooting a double leg that makes me think he's going to be a great wrestler.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he seems comfortable wherever the fight goes, at least against the level of competition.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's been facing has good natural power.
[SPEAKER_00]: He does over swing sometimes, but he looks like he has good power on everything even when he doesn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the times he's been on the ground and in a position to throw ground strikes, his
[SPEAKER_00]: Nolan.
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember looking at him ahead of his UFC debut and being like,
[SPEAKER_00]: he looks like a guy with a lot of bad habits who's just skated by basically on aggression, native athleticism and a couple of good weapons against the level of competition he's been facing.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that kind of played out when he fought by singer, suzerkai, like suzerkai have really just sliced right through him on the ground.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could see Nolan making this an interesting fight
[SPEAKER_00]: gets on the front foot makes us on off uncomfortable, but I see us on just having better natural tools and much greater upside.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unless he's just not as advertised like the people he's been fighting in Elefair just that bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he might be better than Nolan right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: And considering that it's been a minute since he's fought, there's every possibility he's continued to improve.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to take Hassanoff by second round knockout.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he probably has the faster hands, probably hits harder on the feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if it goes to the ground, I favor him there.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think he probably just finishes it with ground strikes.
[SPEAKER_00]: So give me Hassanoff by second round TKO.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not a ton of confidence just because these again are two very unproven fighters.
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, give me Hassanoff.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know too much about this way though.
[SPEAKER_01]: The one thing I do know about this fight is that it should have been like first second or third on the card.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it shouldn't be midway at the card.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if I sound off is good, but I do know that Molen.
[SPEAKER_01]: No one.
[SPEAKER_01]: had a good showing, I guess, she's a guy I have, but I feel that's a ceiling.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, big thing is he's a weak athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's not very explosive.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's kind of slow, but he's got solid boxing.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does like a lot of things technically well.
[SPEAKER_01]: He cuts the corners well.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does a lot of things offensively well.
[SPEAKER_01]: He cuts the corners really well.
[SPEAKER_01]: Defensively he doesn't.
[SPEAKER_01]: He backs straight
[SPEAKER_01]: like I said, he's slow, but like when he gets in the pocket, he's, he's, he's, you know, decent, he got a nice right hand.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got plus power.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hates being pressured back himself.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is open to Leike, some of that sort of music I have kind of, came, she's got, got cracked by him.
[SPEAKER_01]: I almost got knocked out in the first round.
[SPEAKER_01]: Mind you, this is kind of, this is one, so the guy I've took a fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was his second fight in the, like,
[SPEAKER_01]: He fought Tuesday and fourth Saturday, so, um, but it was, it was his leg.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he was going to have a heart of me kicked his leg and he kind of fell to the ground and was hurt with legs and that's when she was going to talk to go over the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, but I actually liked his dirty boxing that I've seen on the original scene of Brother Bygaret and, um, kind of like a radical tour style of kind of,
[SPEAKER_01]: out muscle guys and just do damage in there not much of an offensive wrestler he's a weak defensive wrestler but to his credit he does have a good fairly good get-up game but he has a bad sub-defense as we saw against his a guy off.
[SPEAKER_01]: Hassan off and the one thing I will say about this yes he it's hard to know how he good he is based on the competition
[SPEAKER_01]: But you still like you say he's super jack guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: He looks like a good athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, fast.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's not technical on the feet at all, but he is very wild.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a brawler.
[SPEAKER_01]: There was big whipping hooks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does have decent power.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not much of a defense.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to be the one moving forward.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hates being a pressure back.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's gonna be interesting in this fight who can be the one.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, you know, forcing the person under the back foot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's it.
[SPEAKER_01]: But again, it's hard to tell why he's in the conversation phase.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's a good wrestler like any wrestlers a lot and you know, shoot for takedowns a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: But sometimes he'll shoot from too far away without a set.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he gets to fight the ground, mean, run a pound.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and he's hard.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's hard to take down itself.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's pretty scrambling.
[SPEAKER_01]: No one is definitely the way more tactical fighter, while Hassan is way faster.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he has a massive advantage in the wrestling.
[SPEAKER_01]: I expect Hassan to take no one down from majority of the fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: No one's tough.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think no one makes the distance, but I'll say Hassan, I'll go to the newcomer.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say he wins by decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next up at UFC Baku, and we think this is probably the main card opener, is a middle weight matchup between Abu's Mega Madov and Mihal Oleg Shachak.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mega Madov, the 35-year-old Dagestani by Way of Germany, is 28-7 and 1 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 5 and 3 since joining the UFC as a former PFL Playoffs finalist,
[SPEAKER_00]: He's coming in off a loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently at UFC 320 last October, where he got tapped out in the second round by Joe Piper.
[SPEAKER_00]: Prior to that, he had been on a three-fight win streak.
[SPEAKER_00]: He'll look to start up a new one here against Oleg Shachak.
[SPEAKER_00]: 31 year old poll is 22 and nine with one no contest overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is ten and seven with one no contest in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is six and four since dropping the middleweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: He started in the UFC as a severely undersized light heavyweight and now he is a merely somewhat undersized middleweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's on a three-fight win streak, comprising all of his fights since the beginning of 2025.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has a first round TKO, said Requistumus, a first round TKO of Gerald Mirchart, and in his most recent outing this February, a unanimous decision over Mark Andre Barrio.
[SPEAKER_00]: So all of Shachuk looking for...
[SPEAKER_00]: his fourth win in a row, one that would almost certainly propel him to a top 10 matchup, Keith, your favorite is minus 130, underdog plus 110, who are they?
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I'll say, old Sagejack is a favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's actually mega mad off.
[SPEAKER_00]: I boost mega mad off minus 130, Mihal, Oleg, Shachak plus 110.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oleg, Shachak,
[SPEAKER_00]: He's a guy that it's it's easy to miss judge him and miss categorize him just based on the eyeball test, especially when he came to the UFC as a light heavyweight like he doesn't look like a great athlete is just I mean, I'm not going to say he's like a dad, but he's not this rippling column of muscle, but he's a pretty nimble and athletic guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: He looked extremely undersized at 205 pounds.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's on the small side at 185, but he has good power.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he had good power even at 205.
[SPEAKER_00]: His problems have always been either with people that are just way faster and more diverse than him on the feet or people who could take him down and explain his ground game.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has
[SPEAKER_00]: couple years ago he had those two technical submissions in a row where one of them got put to sleep and the other got his arm put put on backwards aside from that he's been a tough out for just about everybody.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's just been even though he's what ten and seven in the UFC I feel has always been a pleasant surprise.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maca made off is record in the UFC is mathematically about the same.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's five and three.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the winning percentage is about the same.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's not lost to any bad fighters.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's lost to Sean Strickland, champ, Kyle Bahullio, top 10 guy, Joe Piper, at least a fringe, like top 10, top 15 guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's not losing to bad fighters, but when he loses, he's looked bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: And even when he's won,
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, he's not been dominant, and he just, it's either age or the time off or just, he looked better than he really was against the people he was fighting in PFL in 2018.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I thought he'd be an average athlete.
[SPEAKER_00]: I actually think he's kind of a poor athlete.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's kind of slow in plotting on the feet and notably, like his hands and feet are slow.
[SPEAKER_00]: best route to victory here is to find a way to get all exchange to the ground like he I think he's still a decent wrestler although he's he gets that shine for being a guy from Dagestan whose name is magma made off he's not that kind of wrestler but he's a decent one and he's a good grappler when he gets people to the ground when where and how he wants but
[SPEAKER_00]: That's easier said than done against LXHAC.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going with the upset here, and it's one of those upsets where I don't feel like I'm stepping out on a limb.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is not Melissa Moans against BMSKita.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is one where I just think the line is wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think all LXHAC should be favored here, so if they're going to give them to me a plus money, I'm going to take them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me LXHAC by decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's going to be pretty one-sided, and if MegaMadeoff is,
[SPEAKER_00]: starting to erode at all at age 35, 36.
[SPEAKER_00]: All the shapes, piles up damage in a hurry.
[SPEAKER_00]: When is opponent starts to get tired?
[SPEAKER_00]: A late TK would not be out of the question.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, you got me excited for like a classic middle-weight, you know, unranked middle-weight matchup, or I didn't know that guy's a ranked right there.
[SPEAKER_00]: No, I don't think they're definitely not by us.
[SPEAKER_00]: They might be by the UFC, not that they have their new AI based ranking system.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't wait for like the UFC not, so we're not catching, they get in turn.
[SPEAKER_01]: You'll see not catch the AI ranked some guy twice in the same division.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: Or right.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some guy who not, like the guy who takes a break of choice.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's going to rank someone who's dead.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, it's just going to be something really embarrassing.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I don't know about topologies where I can say well, but, um, let's, uh, sorry, um, mega made of, uh, yeah, I don't know how I feel about his athleticism, like, I,
[SPEAKER_01]: he's not a good athlete, I think he's a better athlete than he looks, but like I said like then Chanco is one of who I think I look like when I walk on the gym, like megabit of is who I look like when I walk on the gym, you know, we've got like a little pop belly for a middleweight, he's long and lanky, he will fight out of both nances, you know fairly quick hands, but sometimes he doesn't have the best output,
[SPEAKER_01]: Let me go back to this fight with Michelle Perry, and that was thing was brutal to watch.
[SPEAKER_01]: So many single strikes.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't have plus power.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to lead with his rehand a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He'll switch stance mid combo with something I like.
[SPEAKER_01]: The problem is he doesn't throw a lot of combos.
[SPEAKER_01]: against cover, I owe he kept head hunting in that fight, which is in good.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a good kick in game, got a good high kick, his front, he blasted Dustin Stolfus like a million years ago with a good front kick, nice push kick, a lot of calf kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He will sometimes throw his kicks naked, so he's over those counters.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good, not great wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does like to wrestle a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's pretty good in scrambles.
[SPEAKER_01]: he likes getting close and it's probably where he's even better at like he'll get inside and like he'll look for like a shock in which is very rare and MMA he's a good grapple a good slick back takes not a submission threat though for a guy who who likes wants to get to fight to the ground I've said this before I ain't hate saying this but I feel like it's like the so much evidence for it is he what I think of front runners he like the first guy I think of.
[SPEAKER_01]: with things get bad, he tends to check out.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we saw it against Sean Strickland a really long time ago, but we just saw it against Joe Pfeiffer.
[SPEAKER_01]: About that long ago, he has Gast out a little bit in the past.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he did, he gasped, I don't know if he gasped out, but he was, he was starting to gasp against Michelle Perry in a fight that was so slow, and he was easily winning.
[SPEAKER_01]: Move over to all of St. Jack, Southport.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's on the gas, as soon as the fight starts, very aggressive, tons of output.
[SPEAKER_01]: Really good at forcing his opponents onto the bad foot, not letting him, not letting them escape.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's actually helped his take down to fit throw over the years because it's hard to shoot take down the one you're really getting forced back.
[SPEAKER_01]: Unless they let you get a good reaction when they throw a big shot, you kind of duck under something, but still as it is harder than, if you're the other one stalking,
[SPEAKER_01]: He does throw big combinations, he wings his overhand left that he likes to use to close the distance getting in the pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: He kind of whips his punches.
[SPEAKER_01]: He'll throw a big overhand right to.
[SPEAKER_01]: He works the body well and he beat Michelle Perra up with body shots.
[SPEAKER_01]: He mentioned his power, he's got a really good power and he's knocked out a lot of people so far to his career.
[SPEAKER_01]: His defense is bad, he's super hitable.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's one of those guys, like he's willing to
[SPEAKER_01]: that get hit to get his opponent in close to the pocket because he's one of the heat one to land one of his on heat.
[SPEAKER_01]: He trusts his chin and his power to be an alternate equalizer.
[SPEAKER_01]: His offensive wrestling, I'm glad you mentioned this, is extremely underrated.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like he has really improved in his offensive wrestling.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has taken down a lot of people.
[SPEAKER_01]: His defense wrestling still sucks.
[SPEAKER_01]: I should say so, she hasn't proved, but it would use to be one of the worst in the U.S.
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you gave him that, he really started to get back up.
[SPEAKER_01]: And the biggest issue is his mission defense.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he was his mission loss to Kevin Holley was so ugly.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you get to see him put his own brain position to be on board.
[SPEAKER_01]: Who's got a win this one?
[SPEAKER_01]: The magma made a shit wrestle immediately.
[SPEAKER_01]: No matter that, he should have the wrestling advantage.
[SPEAKER_01]: The problem is, I don't think he does.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think O'Shea just comes right at him, and I think Yola Walsham of Volume makes it a brawl, something that might have been a bit of once more technically sound.
[SPEAKER_01]: He was a technical like distance kickboxing match or he wants an enclosed grinding, gets to cage, trips, stuff like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think he's got the chance, I think O'Shea's just got a crack on him.
[SPEAKER_01]: So we have another consensus up so I pick him, O'Shea, but first of all, I'm not going.
[SPEAKER_00]: We stay in the middleweight division at UFC Baku, as Ikram Alaskarov meets Bruno Fahera.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alaskarov, the 33-year-old Agustani, is 17 and two overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is four and one since joining the UFC out of season six of Dana White's contender series.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's on a two-fight win streak, since coming up badly short in his,
[SPEAKER_00]: first UFC headliner against Robert Whittaker two years ago, he has back to backwinds over Andre Mooney's and Jen Youngpock.
[SPEAKER_00]: The most recent of those, the park fight was at UFC 321 last October.
[SPEAKER_00]: He steps back into the cage here after nine months against Fahera.
[SPEAKER_00]: 33-year-old Brazilian, 15-and-three-over-all, six-and-three since joining the UFC also out of season six of the contenders series.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's coming in off a loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently at UFC 326 back in March, where he got knocked out in the first round by Gregory Hudrick as.
[SPEAKER_00]: Prior to that, he had been on a three-five win streak.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he'll be looking to start up a new one here.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is not favored to get it done.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, take a guess of what the line is.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, as scare of minus 3 20.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's actually only minus 2 80, uh, incremental scare of minus 2 80, Bruno for hit up plus 2 20.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know whether Echromaluscarell is overrated underrated or rated exactly right because his fights tend to be feast or famine.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has lost twice in his career now and I'm trying to think of a fighter with a record like 17 and 2 in all of MMA history where there was
[SPEAKER_00]: Such an obvious route to victory because both of his losses, he got completely ice by the exact same right up or cut.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hamza Chmayev back in brave and then Robert Whittaker, you know, at UFC on ABC, that would be like a mad little and like a straight left.
[SPEAKER_00]: There you go, yes, anybody with a good straight left just, it's like he was blind in his right eye, he just, yeah, would just clock him.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's something like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, there are some differences in the nuance.
[SPEAKER_00]: I can't quite understand why I was just wild.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was too undefeated guys that were used to blowing through everybody in their path, swinging wildly on each other.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if they run that fight back 10 times, I think, should I have wins most of the time?
[SPEAKER_00]: But they were both so wild that there is one or two times in 10 that Alice Garoff lands first, and maybe we have a whole different narrative about Hamza Chmayev.
[SPEAKER_00]: the meeting with, and he just caught him with a single rearhand uppercut in space out of nowhere.
[SPEAKER_00]: They were just swinging wild in each other.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Wittaker one was a little more concerning, because Wittaker had watched the tape and just, he finished it with an uppercut, but he had completely outclassed Alaskar off.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that was,
[SPEAKER_00]: the under two minute beat down of 2024 in the UFC, basically.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just he knew Alaskar.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was tendencies, uh, caught him with the left hand cleanly several times, caught him with a glancing head kicked at almost finished them and then just caught him against the fence and nailed him with that uppercut.
[SPEAKER_00]: But they both underscore Alaskar.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was defensive problems on the feet.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like his, his best defensive is a good offense.
[SPEAKER_00]: and people that can take advantage of him not bringing his hands back of him, not moving his head very well, they've caught him cleanly.
[SPEAKER_00]: Bruno Faheta is not a perfect fighter, but he is willing to throw the uppercut and he throws very hard.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the upset potential is there, but Faheta is, I mean, he's a sledgehammer.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's power, you know, power striking power wrestling.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is a pretty good athlete, but he's a stocky stumpy guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unless he lands just a big wild shot in traffic, kind of like, should I have did?
[SPEAKER_00]: Or...
[SPEAKER_00]: he commits to getting Alaskar off to the ground by any means possible.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think this is a pretty obvious in straightforward win for Alaskar off because Fahida has just as many defensive laws as Alaskar off does and
[SPEAKER_00]: At the very least, we know that Alaskar was going to come forward early, throw a lot of strikes hard and yeah, I think this is a likely first round knock out for one guy or the other and I am leaning towards Alaskar off.
[SPEAKER_00]: So give me a criminal escape by first round KO here.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, this is a fun fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's definitely an action fight on the card.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it definitely could end in Burtlefash.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, any Burtlefash or a fight can be that way.
[SPEAKER_01]: Burtlefash is fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: I love this guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: And South poor, though he does switch stance a lot, not a very technical boxer, but he's, I mean, he's extremely explosive.
[SPEAKER_01]: He didn't set up his shots a lot with thanks, though.
[SPEAKER_01]: I wish he would do that and then exploded.
[SPEAKER_01]: He can count, like he can slip in count.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a, I mean, he's obviously a big power puncher.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, short right hook from the southmost dances is a really great shot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got nine T.G.A.O.'
[SPEAKER_01]: 's defensively.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has bad defense.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's very hitably.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't tuck his chin.
[SPEAKER_01]: Though not many guys that will want to throw it out of the pocket against them.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has also opened to light kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's of those big tree trunk lakes.
[SPEAKER_01]: uh... he has a judo background and he in the as an event or us are at all he gets a lot of take-downs he he likes to explode through his entries and uh... other time to like he can drive to shoot and drive through but i'll tell you just like duck is heading as a rush bull rush someone uh... against the cage
[SPEAKER_01]: Barry, the underrated grappler, he's got five subs on his record.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a weak defensive wrestler, but he is hard to hold down.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's shown improved cardio recently, but I definitely still wouldn't say that's a strength.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I am worried about his chin after Greg Rodriguez crushed him with a one big shot.
[SPEAKER_01]: Alex Garraf, he's a well-rounded fighter.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to march down as a opponent.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has good boxing, keeps everything tight.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a nice crisp jab, he's trying to be like more technical with the striking a little more controlled.
[SPEAKER_01]: He falls through with some clean shots on the pike.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a good hard tight hooks inside with his left hook kind of being a best strike.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's very, very big power.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he got 70 kilos.
[SPEAKER_01]: I was back like the Phil Haas fight we crushed him.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got big defensive issues.
[SPEAKER_01]: move his head enough.
[SPEAKER_01]: He pulls his straight back, which is where the against Rob Wittaker.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's what he got caught.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's pulling himself back.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does have good team kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is open to Catholics too because he doesn't check late kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He'll throw flying me to help him close the distance.
[SPEAKER_01]: He
[SPEAKER_01]: He mixes punches and kicks together.
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good wrestler, very good reaction to take down good top control.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is a submission threat.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes muscle moves like more isn't stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is hard to take down.
[SPEAKER_01]: What I like about something about him, he went against Park in his last fight and Park's a guy that he's going to take over
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he had enough cardio to get through the fight, um, and though deep against a tough recovery machining as park, I did a really fun fight, I just, I definitely could see, I mean, Buri hits a heart, he could, upset really anybody, you know, if you told me knocked out the champion, I wouldn't be sure, um, but I think mascara is just better than I'm everywhere, um,
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he takes the fight to for I think for his slows down and that's when I scare us that's land in some big shots.
[SPEAKER_01]: He might even get go for a take down, but I think I'll scare catch us over the second round.
[SPEAKER_00]: men's flyweights are up next at UFC Baku as Asu Al-Mabayev squares off against Charles Johnson.
[SPEAKER_00]: Al-Mabayev, the 32-year-old from Kazakhstan, is 23 and 3 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 6 and 1 since joining the UFC out of Brave CF.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's on a two-fight win streak since coming up short against Benel Kopp,
[SPEAKER_00]: a little over a year ago in the headliner of UFC fight night 253.
[SPEAKER_00]: He has back to back wins over Jose Ochoa and Alex Perez.
[SPEAKER_00]: The most recent of those, the Perez fight was a highlight real flying guillotine choke.
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, that was at UFC fight night, Srewuki and versus Hooker last November.
[SPEAKER_00]: So looking to build on the momentum of that sensational finish, he'll need to get past Johnson to do so.
[SPEAKER_00]: 35 year old Missouri native by way of Michigan is 19 and eight overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is eight and six since joining the UFC as the outgoing LFA flyweight champ.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he is coming in off a win.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently back in March at UFC fight night emit versus VIA hosts where he won a split decision over Bruno Silva.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith Almabaya is your favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a guess what the line is.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm laughing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Might as to $25.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is minus $250, Johnson plus $200 coming back.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm, I set off the top.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a big fan of this fight.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's men's fly-weight fights, so I assume you feel the same.
[SPEAKER_00]: Tell me what's good about it and tell me who you think wins.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't have the line as good.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, how many times is this Johnson going to be another dog and pull off upset?
[SPEAKER_01]: So Johnson, I mean, he's one of our guys.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not that long ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is less than two years ago that he knocked Josh fan out.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there you go.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, not ancient history.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's less than two years ago.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but that's unfair though.
[SPEAKER_01]: Because like two years ago, Josh fan was in China.
[SPEAKER_01]: I saw it's not right now.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like, it was not obvious.
[SPEAKER_01]: Johnson, I mean, he's a good athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's well-rounded.
[SPEAKER_01]: He moves well.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to switch stances.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a kickboxer.
[SPEAKER_01]: Nice volume of the feed.
[SPEAKER_01]: He just, I've been steadied about this guy at many times.
[SPEAKER_01]: He just he beats guys with pressure.
[SPEAKER_01]: He could go hard all 50 minutes.
[SPEAKER_01]: Josh Fay was obviously, you know, the biggest one of his career, but he also beat up Lunar Cabin off with pressure, which is, you know, that's a fight that A's really well.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, since he's before him, the dude has just dogged him.
[SPEAKER_01]: He wears his ponies out by just constantly working.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's so meant to be strong.
[SPEAKER_01]: Even when he's getting destroyed, he keeps working, put himself in position away and that's why like the key is to push him back.
[SPEAKER_01]: That's why he hated the pressure from Bruno Silva and you know, I'm very close fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got quick hands.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does really well in the pocket.
[SPEAKER_01]: Good at slipping or ripping.
[SPEAKER_01]: He looks for uppercut inside.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't get enough credit for his power, which is crazy because he's knocked out a bunch of guys including our current champion.
[SPEAKER_01]: his defense isn't the best he gets hit a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: I hear some roles with punches I've gone on a million times right I don't like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: And also like for a guy who wants to move some back when you roll with punches, you kind of you pull your body back and kind of give them the opportunity to move forward, which if you get rid of that, I think he would be even better.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he's got a big kicking game, a lot of high kicks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to also close the distance and, and, and, and, like, body locking, growing on his opponent for the size, he wrestles a lot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He will shoot from distance without a
[SPEAKER_01]: hard to hold down.
[SPEAKER_01]: The big concern I have with him though is his durability.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I know it was too fight to go now, but, you know, he was knocked out by Alex Perez, which is just concerning.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm about to have, and he's obviously a really good athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: His output is inconsistent though.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some fights he wins, repressions, other fights like the comp fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: It was law up, but I get to stand anyway we would have law up, but a good
[SPEAKER_01]: Matthias Nicolab, Nicolab used to be really good back with it.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does his best in the pocket, he hits hard, he'll toss out some spinning attacks.
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of his strikeings, because his opponent raised his defense, and that's when he will shoot under, which I love for a wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a very good wrestler, he's relentless to get the fight at the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he gets it down, he's got a good top control, good at what I would say, like attacking the post arms and keeping his opponents pinned to the chemist, he's very good at that.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't move to a better position, once the fight hits the ground, he's got slick backdix, he's got some mission artists myself, he's got 10 subs on his record, but one concern, especially against the guy Lee Johnson, due to his very wrestling heavy style, he will slow down Lee in fights.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm glad that you picked this fight out.
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, it's flyweights, but this is incredible fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot is way off, probably just from my love for Charles Johnson, I think this is, I don't think she would pick it on, but it's you pretty close.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I can see Johnson driving the first and just continuing to rally with his output and getting owned by his tire and finishing weight.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, we've seen it all the time already.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just like I'm about scrapping so much.
[SPEAKER_01]: I know Johnson is a very hard guy to grapple.
[SPEAKER_01]: But man, I like his grappling.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to say I'm going to grab who's Johnson for 15 minutes.
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess my better judgment.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say I'll pick the big favor.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say I'm by a predestision.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am glad that you apparently came as close to taking the upside here as I did.
[SPEAKER_00]: John Johnson is never going to get his proper respect.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think he just, he came to the UFC kind of unheralded and he didn't really respect it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm gonna hit it, I guess.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm worse, Tercut in the UFC, like the little mini Mullet Afro that's sometimes degraded.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's bad.
[SPEAKER_01]: It looks like a guy that he's serving is like last place
[SPEAKER_00]: He lost a dare, fell asleep with a frat party.
[SPEAKER_00]: He woke up with, you work on his face and everything cut off except the little fro moment.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like he was like, you know, Scott has crows the accent where she's saying like, it's not funny.
[SPEAKER_01]: I have school.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, like, he needs how to say like, it's not funny.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: If he had not,
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, if he hadn't gotten clocked by Alex Perez by the ghost of Alex Perez by the artist formerly known as Alex Perez in January, he might be the favorite in this fight, or it would at least be a pickup.
[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, that's, and the thing is, yeah, it was a bad look to lose the Perez.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a bad look to lose the way he did, but it's not like that's a route to victory that.
[SPEAKER_00]: really directly affects his matchup with Almobiah that much, like it's bad, but it doesn't instantly make me go, oh, then Almobiah is clearly going to have his number.
[SPEAKER_00]: I am, I'm leaning towards the favorite here, even though there is a ton of upset potential.
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously Johnson hits super hard and
[SPEAKER_00]: because of his pressure and volume.
[SPEAKER_00]: He gives himself a chance to actually put that power on his opponent's chin for the entire duration of the fight.
[SPEAKER_00]: So that's always there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just also the possibility that Johnson turns and trying to take some of by and down.
[SPEAKER_00]: We've seen what it looks like when Alma Bay was the guy on the front foot, applying the pressure, boxing, getting the opponent to raise their guard, then doing a well-timed take down.
[SPEAKER_00]: We haven't seen as much of what it looks like when someone tries to put him on his back.
[SPEAKER_00]: We might see that on Saturday.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, it all the things I'm describing are outside possibilities.
[SPEAKER_00]: The main chance is that Amabayev probably wins the first two rounds and holds on in round three for the decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's what I'm going with here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me Amabayev by decision as well.
[SPEAKER_00]: Next up, and third from the top, at least as the card is set up as of the beginning of fight week, is a lightweight matchup between the Zeeam Sadikov and Matthias Camilo.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sadikov, the 32-year-old Azerbaijani, though he lives at least most of the year in trains in Long Island, 11, 2 and 1 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: four one and one since joining the UFC out of season six of Dana White's contenders series.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's coming in off a loss.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently back in December at UFC 323 where he got pounded out with just a second left in the second round by Faraziam.
[SPEAKER_00]: That snapped a
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, it's not a firefight unbeaten streak that represented his entire UFC run up to that point.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he's looking to bounce back from his first UFC loss against Camilo.
[SPEAKER_00]: 25-year-old Brazilian is 10 and 3 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 1 and 1 in the UFC, and he's coming in off a win.
[SPEAKER_00]: He fought most recently at UFC 322 last November where he won a unanimous decision over a slava bar shop.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, set a call as your favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a guess what the line is.
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I think that they to my right at 200, he is minus 250 to me a little plus 200.
[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, pretty close.
[SPEAKER_00]: Tell me who you got in this one.
[SPEAKER_00]: And how you think the fight plays out.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, I'd off the air is like, why is this face so high?
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you tell me, I got tricked with a sadocalf one where they live a thing again.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that's by why you so high at the guard.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's just like, middle level guys.
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's why I'm like, why is this so high?
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think of him as South boy.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's, he's a pressure striker, nice volume.
[SPEAKER_01]: Good at slipping and ripping.
[SPEAKER_01]: So he's like a pressure counter striker.
[SPEAKER_01]: He does pillar a little too much.
[SPEAKER_01]: Especially for a guy who wants to slip.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has a good striker right though.
[SPEAKER_01]: I like to detect the body.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has some power, nice kicking game.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I go back to like the,
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a bonfire in fight where he, you know, destroyed him with a question market, which is fun.
[SPEAKER_01]: I help so throw some spinning attacks.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes he abandoned his wrestling though.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's been multiple fights, but he's done that.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he gets the fight, he doesn't have the best control.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he does have good ground-up home when he does control his opponents He can't get a submission of an obviously subterrence bikini quickly and he's got a good cardio It can be a little he's only 25 so he should be improving He likes to work from distance as it was striking he hates being pressured
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes boxing, he does need to use his movement and cut angles better to kind of avoid being pressured back, use faints to set up his shots, well, he needs to up his armpits, sometimes he throws away too many single strokes, especially against the guy like, setting off that's not a good idea.
[SPEAKER_01]: He works the body well,
[SPEAKER_01]: he has decent power, that's because he really steps into his shots.
[SPEAKER_01]: He gets, I mean sometimes he gets an over throw with shots, I like his calf kicks, he isn't a wrestler, but he will look for take-downs if he gets the fight the ground, he needs your improve his top control, I mean it's like that's like a theme, I didn't really stop my time.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's in my notes.
[SPEAKER_01]: He isn't a very good defensive wrestler.
[SPEAKER_01]: He struggles to get off the bottom.
[SPEAKER_01]: He only has two submission wins, but he does toss up a lot of stuff off his back.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he almost sub-gay-green a bunch of times.
[SPEAKER_01]: I am concerned with his gas tank.
[SPEAKER_01]: He gasmed a little against a bar chef.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the line is off.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think this could be closer than the line suggests, like about 250, I think it should have been like minus 170 or on that range.
[SPEAKER_01]: I still think Saticoff is just slightly better than coming in both on the fee and definitely in the wrestling.
[SPEAKER_01]: Can you set it off by decision?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, not too much to add to that, except that
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though Camille was only one and one in the UFC, just I haven't seen that much out of them to indicate that I guess I assume just because he's a young, good sized for the division and moves pretty fluidly like, oh, he's clearly going to pan out into something good, but at least at this point he's not there yet.
[SPEAKER_00]: He looked bad on the ground against Gabe Green, and he looked okay, he got a lot of bar shop, but bar shop at this point is a guy with really, really obvious and well-established routes to beating him, and yeah.
[SPEAKER_01]: And guys, he's a guy, click the page.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, let's all go.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he gave Camilla more of a fight than
[SPEAKER_00]: then he should have to a guy that wants to be a future top 15 fighter at lightweight.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm still waiting for Camilo to turn a corner even into a guy that I'm sure is UFC material.
[SPEAKER_00]: Whereas with Sadaqov, I am at the very least sure that he's UFC material.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, if he'd beaten for as Ziam last December, he might still be third from the top on this card, but he'd be fighting a fringe top 15 type guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I like you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think you's better than Camilo.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just about everywhere.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the few vulnerabilities and lapses he has, don't really line up that well with the things Camilo does.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have set a call of bite decision here.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if I hadn't already slapped a lock on something, I'd probably put it on this fight.
[SPEAKER_00]: That brings us to the co-main event of UFC Fight 9-280, a middleweight matchup between Sharma Gametov and Michelle Pereira.
[SPEAKER_00]: Megametov, the 32-year-old Dagestan is 16 and 1 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 5 and 1 in the UFC, and he's coming in off a win.
[SPEAKER_00]: He suffered his first career loss to date last February against Michael Page, came back last July with a unanimous decision over Mark Andre Barrio.
[SPEAKER_00]: So, Megametov looking to start up a new win streak here, will need to get past Pereira in order to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: 32-year-old Brazilian is 32 and 14 with two no contests overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is 10 and 5 in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's coming in off a win.
[SPEAKER_00]: He picked up a split decision over Zach Reese at UFC fight night, Strictlin versus Hernandez, down here in Houston, back in February.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's that the three fight losing streak for the Demolidore.
[SPEAKER_00]: So he also looking to start up a new win streak.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is not favored to get it done.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith Sharable, it is your favorite.
[SPEAKER_00]: Take a guess what the line is.
[SPEAKER_01]: huge minus 500.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not quite that bad.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mega made up is minus 350.
[SPEAKER_00]: Put data plus 275.
[SPEAKER_00]: There isn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: There is definitely a route to victory for put data here.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the whole thing that has.
[SPEAKER_00]: But to squalification is certainly one.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, then we're not getting many just qualifications in the UFC recently.
[SPEAKER_01]: Did that occur of demons then?
[SPEAKER_01]: You could pull a lot of gutted shoot on it.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think the squad will find so.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then Herbert put up a video.
[SPEAKER_00]: You see, you can shoot them just not directly in the two inch stripe on the back of the head.
[SPEAKER_00]: You got his.
[SPEAKER_01]: It's good.
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll get one warning on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Shoot him right behind the ear.
[SPEAKER_00]: The whole thing that fueled Pereira turning the corner from this bizarre regional walking highlight reel and, frankly, kind of, you know, gong-show punchline into an actual contender for a minute is that, yeah, he calmed down his insane striking a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: He also moved up to 185 pounds and realized that the same incredible athleticism and strength that fuels a striking also makes him a pretty damn effective wrestler.
[SPEAKER_00]: Magametoff has improved his defense of wrestling and get up game, but they are still vulnerabilities.
[SPEAKER_00]: So there is a route to victory there.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's just that Pereira has looked so bad in a couple of his
[SPEAKER_00]: Last, over the last two years, just things that started to fall apart.
[SPEAKER_00]: I keep, it's not that he got destroyed by Anthony Hernandez.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hernandez in 2024 did that to everybody.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's that Hernandez didn't have to do the outlast and run you into the ground thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like he was on, put it from the jump, put it a getting drawn into an abuse mega made up by a abuse mega made up was not a good look.
[SPEAKER_00]: And then obviously getting blitzed by Kyle Dockis.
[SPEAKER_00]: I imagine getting blitz by Caldocas is why he's in this fight against our bullet, because they're hoping sure our bullet will do that in Azerbaijan and light the crowd up.
[SPEAKER_00]: If the line was, Mega Manov minus 500, I'd say, man, yeah, look for a little flyer on the upset here.
[SPEAKER_00]: He still, Mega Manov still has known vulnerabilities and potato probably still can't shoot a double leg.
[SPEAKER_00]: he might and there's no indication that the fight's getting back to the feet of he does.
[SPEAKER_00]: But no, horrible it is still like a wonderfully enjoyable kickbox for the watch and credible dexterity in his legs, nice fast hands, good power and everything, usually even while remaining within himself without over swinging on things, like I like the exotic stuff he throws out.
[SPEAKER_00]: He loves, you know,
[SPEAKER_00]: He's almost like a pitcher with like a fastball and a change up like his high kick and his question mark kick have the same set up until it breaks six feet in front of the plate the plate being the other guys had.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have the feeling we're going to get to see that here.
[SPEAKER_00]: I bet Sharable it comes out a little bit wary expecting potato to either do some wild capo
[SPEAKER_00]: throw like a flying something and try to slide right into a take down and then two minutes into this fight when he realizes that put it is not going to try to take him down.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to open up and it's going to get real fun.
[SPEAKER_00]: Give me a minute of, give me a minute of by second round TKO.
[SPEAKER_00]: If this had been a year or two ago, I would have said put it and make it to the final horn, but he seems to be aging before our very eyes.
[SPEAKER_00]: And
[SPEAKER_01]: whatever magma made off ceiling is he seems to be reaching it right now uh... yeah i got magma it up again this one yeah i i totally agree with everything you said i think they want uh... uh... magma don't have a like another highlight real kind of situation he's he's he's really improved
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I mean, he's an obviously the incredible athlete.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a dynamic striker.
[SPEAKER_01]: Tons of variety and he's striking.
[SPEAKER_01]: He likes to work from distance, where he's super fast, he's a nice jab.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's kind of right-hand is really good.
[SPEAKER_01]: When he starts filling himself, he's open up a big combination, he's working the body, he hits hard.
[SPEAKER_01]: uh he starts fast to i mean he's got a bunch of fresh rung uh chaos now he he was struggling with the faint of micropage and i mean micropage is a different level strikers especially compared the bishop or but um
[SPEAKER_01]: Jeremy Bullett, he's got incredible kicking game, nonstop with this kick suit, but that's best part of things.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's creative with his kicks, so you're kind of missing him everywhere.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some mean calf kicks, some of the best body kicks you'll see.
[SPEAKER_01]: He is open to counters, though, because he will, like, just focus on kicks and drive his hands and stuff when he's throwing kicks or cutting that set him up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Some of the best definitely needs you'll ever see, too.
[SPEAKER_01]: He he also throw them defensively if you if you're looking to wrestle on and a lot he'll look to throw on knees up the middle for that He doesn't look to wrestle much and is is wrestling defense is terrible.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got no get up Game, but he has found ways to be a little bit better.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'd not get in taking down now He's still most struggling and some really high level wrestlers But when he gets taken down like the one thing he does he's looking for damage upon He's like if at elbows while you're you know in his garden stuff
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I had this right up about my ship or her, but it's like everything I we've said about it for years, it's fun spinning stuff to explore so it's all got like that's not him like this guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think he's shot.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he's taken a lot of damage.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's gunshot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He gasigances after he reads.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he looks like a shell of his former self.
[SPEAKER_01]: Is there an avenue of victory?
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, he wrestles.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's still a very physically strong guy.
[SPEAKER_01]: But I think he's he's gunshot.
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think he's going to be strong.
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of strikes against shareable.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think shareable is going to beat up his legs, beat up his legs.
[SPEAKER_01]: and maybe prayer looks to wrestle.
[SPEAKER_01]: They just get blasted with a knee or something.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think shareholders could not come all the first round.
[SPEAKER_00]: With that, we come to the main event of UFC Baku.
[SPEAKER_00]: A five round lightweight contenders fight between Rafael Fazeev and Manuel Torres.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fazeev, the 33-year-old from Kazakhstan, by way of Thailand, by way of South Florida, is 13 and five overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is seven and five in the UFC.
[SPEAKER_00]: he is coming in off a loss and he has in fact lost four of his last five dating back three full years.
[SPEAKER_00]: We saw most recently in January at UFC 325 where he got knocked out late in the second round by Maurice O'Hoofe.
[SPEAKER_00]: Prior to that, he had a win over Ignacio, Bob Mondez, almost exactly a year ago, and then prior to that, three straight losses, though, in fairness, two of them were to Justin Gachy losses that have aged well to say the least.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, he definitely needs to get back in the win column.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's going to try to do it against Torres.
[SPEAKER_00]: 31 year old Mexican is 17 and three overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is five and one since joining the UFC out of season five of Dana White's contender series.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's on a two-fight win streak.
[SPEAKER_00]: He got knocked out by Ignacio Balmondez, a little under two years ago, since then he has back to back first round knockout wins over Drew Dober and Grant Dawson.
[SPEAKER_00]: He will look to make it three in a row with three wins in a row, at least.
[SPEAKER_00]: Keith, this is the closest line on the entire card.
[SPEAKER_00]: Your favorite is minus 1-25, underdog plus 1-05, who are they?
[SPEAKER_01]: I love this, it's closest line.
[SPEAKER_01]: Man, I don't know.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm, you know, I'm as he tore his hair.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's actually physique.
[SPEAKER_00]: Raphael physique, minus 1-25, Manuel Torres, plus 1-05,
[SPEAKER_00]: it is interesting that these guys have a bad as opposite momentum as you could get.
[SPEAKER_00]: It has one, five of six.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fazeve has lost four of five, but the one guy fazeve beat and the one guy that torres lost to are the same guy, Ignacio Balmondez.
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you wanna paint this for me as a meeting of
[SPEAKER_00]: an up-and-coming contender who's about to learn their levels to this because yeah Fazeva's lost a bunch of fights but their two of them were competitive fights against literally your champ right now and the other two Maurice Yohofi is a top 10 creeping up on top five fighter Mateus Gamrott is a top 10 fighter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fazeva's not lost anybody bad and he's not lost badly the most of the guys he's fought.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like the the Gamrott fight ended with that weird knee injury.
[SPEAKER_00]: I do worry that even at 33, Physiive is slowing down and being what he is where he is a short, compact striker who actually wants to have an outstriking battle whenever possible.
[SPEAKER_00]: When that top gear starts to slip, things are going to go downhill really fast.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think we're going to find out here because Torres is
[SPEAKER_00]: going to be a little bit taller.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think he's going to have noticeably longer reach and he's going to want to have a much more just conventional kickboxing battle with them.
[SPEAKER_00]: I could also see him testing physiques take down defense.
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel so physiques take down defense has come a certain way since it's early time in the UFC, but like it's still not great.
[SPEAKER_00]: kind of like a little bit of a version of how we talk about Shara Ballet.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a hard fight for me to pick, but I do think it's tore as is time.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if he's a future, camp or even a future immediate title contender, but I do think he's a legit top 10 guy.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think Fazeva is just going to have hard sledding.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Torres is going to be coming forward throwing decent volume, keeping Fazeva on the back foot, not letting Fazeva maintain that kind of just outside of kicking range, then just outside of punching range that he likes and then bouncing or spinning into action.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't think he's going to be able to settle and do a groove doing that on top of that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, physive has more experience in five round fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's had lined a couple of events, but the fact that this is going to be five round fight actually makes me feel good about Torres.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's just going to test physive's endurance and durability.
[SPEAKER_00]: That much more give me Torres by decision.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't have a ton of confidence in it, but I do think the younger man gets his hand raised here.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm intrigued by this fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: I agree.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, a lot of stuff you said about the physique.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I definitely have some, I don't know what the world is like for hesitation to pick against them being that's in this home country.
[SPEAKER_01]: Like it's always that like boosts.
[SPEAKER_01]: Last guy walking out, everything.
[SPEAKER_01]: When he's on his game, he's a fantastic player.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, obviously, he confided both dances, though I'd prefer him in the cell postage.
[SPEAKER_01]: For a short guy, he does work pretty good from distance.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good technical striker.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's accurate.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a great straight right.
[SPEAKER_01]: He falls in attacks with combos and gets into the pocket and has really good steps.
[SPEAKER_01]: Still, so this still looks at Sage has a good step on a shot.
[SPEAKER_01]: He returns fast.
[SPEAKER_01]: He gets outstruck if his opponent can kind of force him on his back foot, kind of trapping me against the kid and stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: He put a kick and move well.
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, he doesn't move his head as like he used to, like, well, he used to do like that matrix stuff and all that.
[SPEAKER_01]: But he has very good power.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a elite kicking game, a lot of kicks, a lot of calf kicks, a lot of good body kicks, got a great high kick.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think going back a while, he had some spinning wheel kicks and stuff.
[SPEAKER_01]: He will close the distance, you know, in your work of course, he's a much better, like,
[SPEAKER_01]: grinder inside, looking for the knees inside.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't get enough credit for his offensive wrestling.
[SPEAKER_01]: uh... though he he has not written wrestling guys he should have recently came to wrestle ratio rufi uh... but if he does get in scrimmels he's underrated grapple overall uh... he has displayed you know fairly good take that a fence and when he first gave you see it was a poor defense of wrestler uh... but the big concerns to me is is one is his cardio i mean his his cardio failed him in the just in the eight you fight
[SPEAKER_01]: and I'm worried about his chin, his defense is falling apart, he's taking tons of damage.
[SPEAKER_01]: You mentioned the name of all the guys he's following, he's got some studs.
[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm worried about the chin, just take a moment of damage, you check against Mercer Horfius last fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: Taurus is a really big way way.
[SPEAKER_01]: So I think it would be a big size difference between these two.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a long and lanky.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a good striker, a good volume.
[SPEAKER_01]: He doesn't set up his attacks sometimes when I was sitting outside and suddenly blitz, but he's got fast hands, he's got a good jab, he's got a good power in both hands.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he just knocked out Grant Dawson, which is a really good win.
[SPEAKER_01]: Big kicking game.
[SPEAKER_01]: He uses keep kicks to keep his distance.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not the best defensive strategy just in a little too tall.
[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of them as I just had to do with this frame.
[SPEAKER_01]: He has been hurt by you guys.
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Bob Monday is Chris Duncan.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's a bad offensive wrestler, but he will shoot take them.
[SPEAKER_01]: He just doesn't set them up.
[SPEAKER_01]: Not too bad inside looking for body lock, take down stuff like that.
[SPEAKER_01]: If he gets to the fight to the ground, he's a good grab on me.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got some slick backtakes.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's got seven subliners record.
[SPEAKER_01]: He made some Chris Duncan.
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I think this is a really good, great matchup.
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm worried about Tor's cardio, like you, you like the deep of the fight goes,
[SPEAKER_01]: mainly as a vote of non-confidence and physiques durability at this point, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
[SPEAKER_01]: That's not stuff.
[SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, it is the big step of competition.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is the big step of a moment.
[SPEAKER_01]: He hasn't been close to fight this magnitude.
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, a main event, everything.
[SPEAKER_01]: But you know, because your durability is just as big of a question mark, if not even bigger, if this fight stays on the feet, we could be on for a really, really good tree.
[SPEAKER_01]: I should think Fizif could have advantage on the ground.
[SPEAKER_01]: But how many of you, man?
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel this is a passing of a torch fight.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think we'll maybe have some back and forth exchanges.
[SPEAKER_01]: I think they both go look pretty good early.
[SPEAKER_01]: I just keep seeing Taurus and landing something big.
[SPEAKER_01]: Fizif's durability starting to fail.
[SPEAKER_01]: He's finding the guy like puts him out.
[SPEAKER_01]: go like we've seen him get you know again hurt a lot and I see Taurus put some out I say he wins by third branch he came out I think this is what our third word the census of epic
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure is, and that is it.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Shoredog Radio Network preview for UFC, Fight Night 280, Feziversa Torres, also known as UFC Baku.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have been Ben, he has been Keith.
[SPEAKER_00]: If this is your first time watching or listening to one of our previews, first of all, thank you, we hope you've enjoyed it.
[SPEAKER_00]: We do our best to bring you a mix of in-depth analysis and occasional humorous or historicicides that we think is pretty unique in this space.
[SPEAKER_00]: Please do like, subscribe, neither of those things cost you a thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: They make our bosses happy and allow us to keep bringing you this content free of charge.
[SPEAKER_00]: Drop us a comment, Keith and I both man the comment section.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'd love to hear your take on these fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: We actually picked three unanimous upset picks.
[SPEAKER_00]: on this card are batting average on those unanimous upset picks is pretty darn good, but if you think we missed any, let us know.
[SPEAKER_00]: We'd love to hear your take on these fights.
[SPEAKER_00]: We usually have a live recap right after the main event where he takes the captain's share and we talk about all these fights and what's next for the winners and losers.
[SPEAKER_00]: There may not be one this weekend, but I will let you know through the Shoredog social channels once we know.
[SPEAKER_00]: At any rate, thanks again for listening, enjoy the rest of your week, buy all means, enjoy these fights.
[UNKNOWN]: I'll pray now, I'll pray, yeah