Tag: UFC

The upcoming heavyweight fight between Jon “Bones” Jones and Ciryl “Bon Gamin” Gane is expected to favor the former in terms of odds, but can he live up to the expectation?

Bones was supposed to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. But a disagreement about his contract prompted the organization to release him from the agreement and cost him his belt.

Instead of facing Ngannou, Jones will be fighting former interim champion and SportsNaut’s top-ranked fighter, Ciryl Gane, for the now-vacant heavyweight title. They will be the main event of the UFC 285 on March 5 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

OKBET players may have expected a slugfest between Bones and Ngannou, but this match will be exciting, especially with Gane’s uniqueness in his weight category.

Jon Jones versus Ciryl Gane Comparison

The Favorite

The former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion was considered the “greatest fighter of all time.” He has 26 wins, with one loss due to disqualification because of downward elbows.

But other than that, he was considered by Evolve MMA to be an undefeated fighter. A relentless fighter, who showed no mercy to every opponent he faced in the cage, Jones has earned a spot in UFC’s Hall of Fame. 

At age 35, Bones decimates his enemies through his natural fighting style. He does not force anything and instead waits for an opportunity he can take advantage of.

Jones is one of the taller UFC fighters to step into the octagon. He also has extra-long arms. 

While his legs are not gigantic for a heavyweight, looks can be deceiving. Bones is an expert on defensive wrestling, unorthodox Muay Thai, and Jeet Kun Do. He uses all those influences to inflict damage on anyone brave enough to face him.

What makes him special and the favorite of the upcoming fight is that he can mix all his mastered fighting styles and turn them into his own. Bones is also unpredictable, transitioning from wrestling to strikes in a blink of an eye.

Take for example, his fight against Daniel Cormier. No one believed Bones would attempt takedowns, and yet he did. As a result, his opponent was surprised by the former champion’s game plan.

He was able to execute his surprise attack thanks to his incredible wrestling skills. Once he takes an opponent down, his game control widens, not to mention how nasty his ground-and-pound skills were.

The Underdog

The reason why the Jon Jones vs. Ciryl Gane match is an exciting one is that the underdog is not totally at a disadvantage. Despite going up to probably the best UFC fighter, as per MMA Mania, Gane is also a monster of his own.

For a heavyweight, he is light on his feet and can switch from Southpaw to Orthodox simultaneously, which is probably why he withstood Ngannou for five rounds. In Muay Thai, the French was undefeated. His strikes were also powerful and impossible to read, especially with how cunning his hip feints are.

Bon Gamin (11-1) is an expert in misdirection. One simple mistake of biting his bait could be fatal, particularly once he lets go of his left leg.

For instance, his fight against boxer Junior dos Santos. Gane had set up a variety of moves, flustering his opponent. Even a simple hand movement from the French was enough for dos Santos to hesitate, thus opening himself for a ripping left kick.

While he is known for his kicks, Bon Gamin can also box. He highlighted his boxing ability during his fight against Don’Tale Mayes.

The French showed interesting moves in his boxing game. He incorporated feinting kicks and stance changes before swinging a big hook.

Bon Gamin also knows when he could outbox an opponent. His fight against dos Santos was an example of how intelligent of a fighter the French is.

Rather than exchanging blows with dos Santos, he used his hands to set up his devastating kicks. Gane would throw jabs before a low kick or flash a big swing to make him back down.

The French can also be lethal at close-range, especially with his Muay Thai. His elbow strikes are terrifying, thanks to his excellent positioning.

Conclusion

Although Jon Jones is the favored fighter to win the match, Ciryl Gane is not an easy opponent to take down. Moreover, Jones has been on hiatus for two years, and the match marks his comeback. Compared to the French, he recently fought Tai Tuivasa and knocked out his opponent.

Both fighters are built like fortresses. However, Gane will have a harder time taking down Jones, who has a takedown defense of 95%. But when it comes to striking, the French has better accuracy, landing 5.11 significant strikes per minute.

So in terms of the odds favoring Jones (1.77) over Gane (2.00), there is a huge possibility that they are evenly matched.

But if Jones wins, he will seal his place as one of the greatest fighters of all time.

What do you think, OKBET players? Will Bones make a spectacular comeback? Or will he fall in the hands of Gane?

Read: Ja Morant and the Grizzlies No Longer Safe in the West?

“FORGET the blood on the canvas, the sight of a near-defenseless bloodied figure being continuing pummelled, or the construction of a cage to add to the gladiatorial atmosphere; mixed martial arts (MMA) is boring.”

The Herald Sun columnist Ron Reed wrote this in his opinion piece last January 18. In each match he watched, he anticipated action, an all-out brawl against two elite fighters. However, he was disappointed. Disappointed that instead of meeting each other with fists, they turn into grappling matches, all they want is to force a submission rather than knock out their opponent.

Reed was so disgusted with what was happening to the MMA world and why it became so boring that he associated the sport with a “cockfight.” He was bored seeing the athletes spend minutes, if not rounds, trying to gauge each other’s strength and moves. 

The columnist was tired of wasting 25 minutes just watching fighters on the ground, clinching, grabbing each other, and focusing on making moves that guarantee submission. He wanted action and blood. He expected both fighters to slug it out in the cage, blood dripping, faces swollen, while they proved they were the better boxer or striker.

Although, that is not the usual case in MMA. The sport involves almost all fighting styles—from boxing, Muay Thai, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu, to taekwondo. Fighters do not just rely on their sheer strength or punching power. Most of them use strategy and their wits to overcome their opponent.

There are also times when fighters bark during pre-fight conferences but cannot bite once they are alone inside the cage.

Too Boring to Watch?

With MMA speculated to be “boring” to its audience, a Russian MMA promotion proved it to be true. In a listicle made by Sports Keeda, there was a match that had both fighters disqualified for being “too dull.”

Although the fighters were of caliber—former UFC fighter Rashid Magomedov and ACA title contender Ali Bagov—their matchup was a “snoozefest.”

A fighter also can put fans to sleep. Bleacher Report listed the five most boring fighters, with C.B. “The Doberman” Dollaway on the list. His fight against Jason “Mayhem” Miller bored fans to death as he constantly took Miller down, but nothing more. Dollaway did win, but fans felt it was one of the most boring victories in UFC.

Even Israel Adesanya was criticized for his lackluster performance after winning against Jared Cannonier via decision.

The Organization’s at Fault, Too

Well, Reed has a point. It is sometimes the organization’s fault that the sport became boring. Because the fighters have a variety of techniques they can utilize, mix-and-match styles can be an advantage for them. However, it also causes confusion as to who actually won the fight.

Take for example, the match between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev for the vacant UFC light heavyweight title.

The fight ended in a draw, something very unusual in championship bouts. Blachowicz and Ankalaev had an amazing fight. Unfortunately, the judges decided it to be a split decision, although the latter was dominant in rounds three to five.

The match’s conclusion baffled Ankalaev, who believed he had won the fight. But UFC’s Dana White clapped back with a question, “What do you want me to do?”

The fight was indeed close, with Blachowicz beating Ankalaev in the first two rounds. The latter made a comeback by taking the former to the ground. Unfortunately, he could not make a technical knockout or a submission just as the final bell rang.

But moreover, the fact that before getting to the main card, fans have to endure twelve mediocre matches, not to mention the analysis and advertisements crammed in between fights. So before the main event, most of the crowds were either asleep or had left the arena. 

Rather than address the issue, UFC stuck with its format, resulting in viewership declining. Rumors had that the 2018 UFC 224 was the “lowest-selling UFC pay-per-view in a decade, and several recent events full of elite fighters have financially under-performed.”

Conclusion

MMA is wide, with various leagues across the planet. If UFC, one of the most-sought tournaments in mixed martial arts, starts boring people, it impacts the sport. Fans, especially OKBET players, might not support it anymore because of the uneventful matches.

Nevertheless, there is still hope, with explosive fighters being holed in ONE Championship. Hopefully, in the case of UFC, the management would notice the bland fights they put up and finally come up with an exciting fight card from start to finish.

Read: Adesanya vs. Pereira Rematch: The Fight We’ve Been Waiting For

Wanting to exact revenge, Israel Adesanya will have a rematch with Alex Pereira for the middleweight title bout this coming April 8 in the UFC 287 at a soon-to-be-announced venue.

In their last three meetings, Adesanya lost. He was first defeated in April 2016 via a unanimous decision, which he did not agree with.

The Last Stylebender, in their second bout back in March 2017, went all-out and was on a clear path to victory. But a left hook to the chin from Pereira sent Adesanya to the canvass—out cold.

They met again on November 12, 2022, during the UFC 281, and the result remained the same—with Adesanya getting TKO’d while being ahead in the judges’ scorecard.

Losing to the same fighter three times, Adesanya wants to avenge those defeats, especially now that his opponent is fully committed to the mixed martial arts world.

Ahead of the UFC 287 fight, Adesanya warned his opponent that he would be “settling the score.” He used Billy the Puppet from the movie ‘Saw’ to send his message and, at the same time, hype the crowd.

Comparison

The Last Stylebender has been brawling inside the octagon 25 times, winning 23 and losing twice. Adesanya is a natural striker with a striking accuracy of 50 percent, landing 3.93 significant strikes per minute.

On the other hand, Po Atan has fought eight times and won seven times. He only suffered one defeat from Artem Vakhitov back in September 2021. 

Unlike his upcoming opponent, the current UFC Middleweight champion, who is also a striker, has a 59 percent striking accuracy, landing 5.23 strikes per minute. However, Adesanya is better in defense, having 58 percent compared to Pereira’s 53 percent.

Both fighters stand at 6’4″, but Adesanya has further reach than the champion.

But like most UFC fighters believe, Izzy is at a disadvantage when it comes to punching power and speed. In their last two meetings, Adesanya tasted the gloves of Pereira with no clear comeback, resulting in knockouts.

They suggest that The Last Stylebender invests in grappling and wrestling. Dan Hardy even said it would be a “smart” move to do, although based on Po Atan’s stats, his takedown defense is at 73 percent.

Nevertheless, Hardy stressed it would be beneficial for Adesanya to have another skill set so he doesn’t feel “trapped.”

“I think investing in grappling and wrestling is always gonna be a smart for Izzy to do. Just so he doesn’t feel trapped. I think you know.”

Conclusion

In their previous fight, Adesanya wanted the match to be a “horror movie,” promising that he would be Pereira’s worst nightmare.

“I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up. I want to make sure I’m right in his line of sight, so he’s looking at me. Even though the way you defend is different, the way you attack is different. It’s kinda stupid sometimes. No disrespect to kickboxing,” Adesanya told TMZ Sports.

However, he was knocked down in the fifth round, handing Pereira the middleweight belt after five successful title defenses.

Can Adesanya finally become the nightmare of Pereira, or will he end up losing for the fourth time in this much-anticipated rematch?

One thing is for sure: OKBET players are excited to see these two legendary fighters go head-to-head again.

Read more: Jorge Gallent leads Beermen to a 2-0 standing

A ranked versus unranked fight between Umar Nurmagomedov and Raoni Barcelos will be happening on Sunday, January 15, in the UFC Apex, and the prediction has the former emerging as the winner.

Nurmagomedov, 26, is the current #11 and has beaten the likes of Nate Maness, Brian Kelleher, and Sergey Morozov. He has 15 wins, with zero defeats, and is most likely following in the footsteps of his cousin, Khabib Nurmagomedov. OKBET players know that Khabib is an undisputed fighter with a record of 29-0-0. 

Meanwhile, Barcelos, 35, is the underdog, having fought 20 times and winning 17. His most notable fights, as per Verdict MMA, were against Said Nurmagomedov, Khalid Taha, and Trevin Jones.

In his last five fights, he lost against Timur Valiey via majority decision. It was followed by a unanimous decision loss from Victor Henry last January 22, 2022.

The two losses of the Brazillian striker had him having an odds of 6.70. His opponent, Nurmagomedov, on the other hand, has 1.12.

In the Russian mixed martial artist’s last five fights, he submitted Kelleher, Morozov, and Gonzalez.

Both fighters will be fighting in the bantamweight division to increase their ranks and finally get a title shot.

Comparison 

Nurmagomedov is slightly taller than Barcelos. The former stands at 5’8” compared to the latter’s 5’7” height.

The Russian mixed martial artist is also at an advantage regarding reach. He can reach a distance of 69 inches, unlike Barcelos’ 67 inches.

UFC’s No. 11 fighter is also accurate with his strikes, having an accuracy of 70%. He is also a slick fellow, dodging 85% of his opponent’s blows.

Meanwhile, the Brazillian only has a significant striking accuracy of 52%. His striking defense is not even close to that of Nurmagomedov, having only 62%.

Barcelos, however, is good at stopping an opponent’s takedown attempt. He has a 93 percent takedown defense compared to the Russian’s 0 percent.

This upcoming fight, nevertheless, will showcase Nurmagomedov’s high-pressuring wrestling skill as he aims for the UFC gold. He will try to take down Barcelos, a black belter in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Both fighters will have something to prove in their upcoming fight. Nurmagomedov will establish that he can also be as great, if not better, than his cousin; Barcelos will be proving that he can be one of the best strikers in the league.