Saturday March 4, 2023

Main Card
PPV10:00 PM
Prelims
ESPNN/ESPN+8:00 PM
Early Prelims
ESPN+5:30 PM

MAIN CARD

Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane<TITLE FIGHT>

Valentina Shevchenko vs.

Alexa Grasso<TITLE FIGHT>

Geoff Neal vs. Shavkat Rakhmonov

Jalin Turner vs. Mateusz Gamrot

Bo Nickal vs. Jamie Pickett

UNDERCARD

Derek Brunson vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Viviane Araujo vs. Amanda Ribas

Julian Marquez vs. Marc-Andre Barriault

Jessica Penne vs. Tabatha Ricci

Da’mon Blackshear vs. Farid Basharat

Kamuela Kirk vs. Esteban Ribovics

Cody Garbrandt vs. Trevin Jones

Let's go Bones & Bullet.

Very solid card top to bottom
This is a great fight. A lot of people might not be aware.

They're both welterweight contenders and Shavkat is undefeated with all finishes. He could get derailed with a loss or get 1-2 fights away from a title shot with a win

Huge Bones fan here. I want Jones to win but Gane is so talented. I don't see how Jon wins this fight on the feet.

This fight is impossible to predict despite what anyone says. We can't know what Jon will look like after a 3 year layoff and +30lbs at 35 years old. He will also be fighting the biggest, fastest, and strongest guy he has ever fought. I think there's a higher chance that he looks bad and loses, but if he hasn't lost a step, Gane is in trouble.

I said in the other thread, Jon's only experience against HWs are the guys in his camp and they are legit bottom of the barrel fighters. Gane is on another planet when it comes to skill and athleticism. I mean these guys were terrible in their primes and they're all washed and bloatmaxxed now. How does training with this group prepare him for Gane?

Picks:

Gane
Shev
Neal
Turner
Bo
Dricus

I think Geoff Neal is being disrespected as usual. I said before the Luque fight, when he is healthy and on form, he's a problem for anyone in the division. Shavkat has looked great against low level guys. If Neal can keep it standing for periods of the fight, it will be competitive.

Turner has been looking like a future contender. It's short notice for Gamrot and I've got a feeling Turner will KO him.

Most of these picks could be hilariously wrong but yolo.

My prediction: Gane by split decision (tho it should be unanimous), 48-47

Fight IQ: Jones - Nuff said. I don't think Ganes fight IQ is as bad as people say after it came out that his coach said he had to give him a finish though. If we're going with that specific moment then lets also talk about Jones vs Santos. I think they both have great IQs but Jon has the best in the sport

Power: Gane - Jones has never been a heavy hitter, there is an unknown with him adding weight but I'd assume Gane still hits harder.

Speed: Gane - We don't know how Jones moves at HW but I'm going to assume Ciryl is faster given that he's the fastest HW we've seen

Cardio: Gane - Jones has great cardio too but he's moving up a weight class against the most well rounded athlete in the division.

Grappling: Jones - Obvious choice, but I will say that Ganes grappling is underrated. Even in the Ngannou fight it's not like he was close to being finished. If Ngannou catches ANYONE and takes them down I don't see them getting up easily

Boxing: Gane - This is Jones weak point in terms of striking, Gane has an extremely fast Jab and very solid defense

Elbows: Jones - Slightly lean Jones here

Kicks: Even - Jones has great leg kicks but Ciryl throws spinning heel kicks to the face like a welterweight.

Clinch: Jones - Hard to say but I favor Jones. Some people don't know but Gane was a Muay Thai fighter and looks great in the clinch, the only problem is he doesn't have the wrestling threat which is an extra thing you have to worry about in MMA when clinching

Hand fighting: Jones

Dirty tactics: Jones

Footwork: Gane

Feints: Even

Chin: Even

Creativity: Even - Jon Jones is the most creative fighter ever but people have adapted and learned from him.


Overall ability to mix it up: Jones - This is Jones biggest chance for winning, while I think his takedown presence in this fight is being overblown and believe he'll have worse striking, he's the best at mixing it up and that could lead to a victory.


Analysis: Jones has almost always been better on the feet than his opponents, the only time he wasn't were close fights. This is an extremely important point because Jones can't just take people down at will like Khabib, he relies on having a striking advantage to be dominant and secure takedowns. Because I view Gane as having the striking advantage along with underrated TDD, I'm giving it to Gane by decis.

Shame to see that WMMA bullchit stinking up the card.

lmao @ cody garbrandt being on the undercard fighting a nobody

And here's the thing, even though I think it'll be a close decision it will be obvious that Gane is the better fighter. I can see Jones getting Gane down to win the round but not actually doing anything significant with it, similar to Reyes.

Of course but it's annoying to have a 45min break between the main event and real co main especially when the main event ends up being pushed back til after midnight. Watching it at a buddy's place so I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves in the meantime though.

Jon Jones got fat. lol

Seems like he started the DC diet.

No way this is close. Gane by TKO round 3

Jon Jonesvs. Ciryl Gane

Valentina Shevchenkovs. Alexa Grasso

Geoff Neal vs.Shavkat Rakhmonov

Jalin Turnervs. Mateusz Gamrot

Bo Nickalvs. Jamie Pickett

That's entirely possible. I love Jon Jones to death, but Gane is just on another level.

I also based my decision on the long layoff and how Jones looks on his last two fights. . Either way, just lol if your body is not ready for this card.

Lol, he's a Heavyweight.

Yeah the long lay off is going to hurt Jones pretty bad.

I mean it could work in his favour as well, being able to recover from any injuries and not sustaining any damage, who knows though, could work against him too.

no, just what his hand looks after the surgery and maybe even some UFC photoshopping to create this discussion. There are plenty of other pics of his hand looking fine and if he was nursing a really injured, swollen hand he wouldn't be showing it off like that drawing attention for the medical staff to notice.

Geoff Neal missed weight by 4lbs but looks in shape. You never know what you're gonna get with him. It's a shame because he's a very good fighter. Got caught drunk driving not long ago as well. I think he has mental problems.

That's about what I had it to begin with but keep changing it. About to bet 1k on it

Grasso low key a hbb will not skip hnnng

lold

Going from pretty convinced that Gane will win to feeling like Jones will take it home. I'm getting those laser focused killer vibes from him, I think he's ready to take it.