UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Korean Zombie

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

It because he Jreynolds favourite fighter. No one actually hate him

* Edited at 08.23.2023, 11:23 AM ET *

@Noxx 

"Losing to Gomis isn't a shame either. Especially if you look at what he did to Almeida just recently." Gomis is yet to fight Almeida, the same Almeida who lost badly to SABATINI... I guess you got confused.

Thinking about laying some juice on a Errens + Erin Blanchfield parlay. Looks sexy. 

@Mrckinhos 

You're very correct... Confused and clearly not fully awake yet when I typed it out lol. I corrected it. The dumb mistake aside, the rest I typed out is correct.

Holloway vs. Jung
Max Holloway, DEC
Zombie is one of my all timer favorites. Absolute legend of the sport. However I’m happy this is his last fight. His past couple have been painful to watch. Even in the Ige fight he didn’t look that great. Then, against the pfp king he got brutalized. He looked like he wasn’t in the same league unfortunately. Max is declining slightly but he’s still arguably the 2nd best 145er on the planet. I think this will be a clinic, similar to the Volk fight but a decision instead of a finish

Smith vs. Spann II
Anthony Smith, TKO, R1
This is a confusing one. Smiths last win was Spann but since then he’s looked super uninspiring and not in it. Spann got gotten 2 wins since that embarrassing L but hasn’t necessarily improved. When people give him adversity he struggles mightily. I’m just not sure if Smith has it in him anymore. For now I’ll pick him but I might change it

Chikadze vs. Caceres
Giga Chikadze, DEC
Giga is finally back after getting humiliated by Kattar. Skill wise he’s one of the best kickboxers at 145. However he lacks cardio and any ground game. Thankfully for him Bruce Leroy isn’t exactly a grappler. In fact I think he’ll be content to strike with Giga which will be his downfall. I think he could definitely win the 3rd round when Giga is tired. But I think Giga will edge the other 2 rounds

Nakamura vs. Garcia
Rinya Nakamura, TKO, R1
Pretty self explanatory set up fight. Garcia is arguably the worst 135er on the roster and Nakamura is a future contender. Elite wrestling background on top of being a powerhouse In the striking. Easy work for Rinya

Blanchfield vs. Santos
Erin Blanchfield, DEC
Been on the Blanchfield train since the start and I won’t stop now. She’s so damn good. She’s getting better too. Santos looked great against Shevchenko, but I think that Erin will just outwork her and out technique her in all aspects. It’s a very close fight but I gotta go with Erin

Tafa vs. Porter
Junior Tafa, TKO, R1
I’m picking for what I hope will happen. Tafa is super green in mma and was not impressive against Mo Usman. Porter does nothing well. Him just kinda being there is what keeps him in fights. I’m hoping for an early KO

Smith vs. Spann II
Ryan Spann, TKO, R1
What's the purpose of this rematch the last outing ended in devastating fashion for Smith I don't believe that changes this time

Tafa vs. Porter
Junior Tafa, TKO, R1
Didn't Justin Tafa knockout parker Porter?? Now they wanna feed him to baby Tafa that's crazy

Njokuani vs. Oleksiejczuk
Chidi Njokuani, DEC
I see it going to decision but I also see a mad knockout in the 2nd

Just trying to help out a channel I like.)

Remembering the Fugitt fight I would hope Billy smart enough to utilize some of his wrestling if he’s been watching tape. I’m sure they’ll hurt each other on the feet but if Billy hurts him and doesn’t utilize his grappling followed with ground and pound in a debut fight. Probably won’t be in the ufc for long.

I'm fairly confident in my Blanchfield pick. 

Erin likes to push the pace with high volume strikes, but her striking defence isn't the best and she does get hit a lot. She tends to brawl and get overconfident which could get her in trouble against someone like Santos. Taila may have low striking output but she has power and good counters. With that said, she's noticeably not the best fighting off her backfoot and tends to shoot when pressured. Which is exactly what I expect to happen in this fight. And in my humble opinion, that would play in Erin's favor. Not only because she's good on the ground fighting off her back, but also because Taila's takedown defence is very solid. Meaning, she gets a free shot to display her elite skills on the ground.

If they end up on the ground, I would give the edge in strength to Taila but that's about it. She has good top control yet leaves a lot of openings to get submitted. Which you could clearly see in her fights against Robertson, Shevchenko and even Modafferi. Making those mistakes against a submission ace like Blanchfield could be fatal. Especially if Erin manages to get top control herself. I also just think Erin is too slick to be controlled on the ground like Santos did against previous opposition. 
 
I see Erin winning this fight by armbar submission. I can definitely see a scenario play out with Santos catching her and knocking her down. If that does happen, I hope for her sake that she's not jumping on top of her to get a finish. Since that would benefit Erin, even if she's hurt. Santos really needs to keep this fight on the feet at all cost and have a good gameplan to handle Erin's pace and volume. Otherwise, I don't see her winning. 

By the way, I thought this would be worth mentioning. I just checked Giga's profile and noticed that he's going to fight one day after his birthday. So I'm pretty sure he's extra motivated to get that win.

* Edited at 08.23.2023, 2:10 PM ET *

Cortes-Acosta vs. Brzeski
Waldo Cortes-Acosta, DEC
Low level fight here. I think Waldo is just a better version of Brzeski. Both guys are decent strikers with middling takedown defense. The difference is that Waldos cardio isn’t bad. Brzeski’s is just awful. In every since of the word. He gasses after 3 minutes. I think it will be high volume with Brzeski managing to get a 29-28 or 30-27

Kazama vs. Armfield
Garrett Armfield, TKO, R3
Not a bad fight despite the lack of name value. Armfield fought Onama on short notice in his debut and looked alright all things considering. I think his striking is very solid, his wrestling is good too. But the thing that could get him in trouble is his Jiu Jitsu. It’s lacking badly. Kazama has the definite edge in that regard. Every other area I’d give it to Armfield. I expect it to be a fun fight that ends with an Armfield KO/TKO

Njokuani vs. Oleksiejczuk
Michał Oleksiejczuk, TKO, R2
Absolute banger. I was a believer in Chidi prior to the Duraev fight. He just looked awful. On the feet and on the ground. I think Michal is very good at 185. Borralho is a beast so losing to him isn’t bad. I think it’ll be an explosive first round but I see Michal breaking down Chidi in the 2nd with a TKO

Song vs. Bedoya
Rolando Bedoya, DEC
-275 is kinda insane considering what Bedoya looked like prior to the ufc but that won’t matter much here. Song is absolutely unimpressive in all aspects. Bedoya looked really bad on tape but he didn’t look bad against Khaos even though he lost. Even though he shouldn’t be a big favorite he should win

Kino****a vs. Goff
Yusaku Kino****a, TKO, R1
I agree with the bookies here. I like Goff, he’s a dawg but that’s about it. He leaves himself open at all times and is a punching bag. Yusaku looked really bad against Fugitt which is a bad look. But I think that Goff will give him the fight he wants and will cook him on the feet until a stoppage. Should be a banger either way

Liang vs. Aldrich
JJ Aldrich, DEC
-600 is insane lmao. Aldrich looked horrible in her last fight but this should be an easy win. Liang isn’t even Bellator quality

Choi vs. Errens
Seung Woo Choi, DEC
Jreys boy lmao. This is a loser goes home type of fight imo. Choi looked like he had promise but since the Erosa fight he’s looked stiff and his durability has diminished. Errens is a master of none. Striking not bad and Jiu Jitsu isn’t bad. But his wrestling his truly awful. I think on the feet the fight is fairly close but I edge it to Choi despite his horrendous showings recently. I think he’ll mix in takedowns just because Errens can’t defend them

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Thank God Jarno is a featherweight where there's like hardly any wrestlers.

After Jarno wins this. I recommend a Steve Garcia fight 

Jarno vs melsik. Let’s give melsik a tune up he needs one 

Holloway vs. Jung
Max Holloway, DEC
TKZ is so tough and Holloway has self-described "pillow hands", don't think he will be finishing TKZ

Chikadze vs. Caceres
Giga Chikadze, DEC
Rooting for my boy Bruce Leeroy from my favorite season of TUF

Blanchfield vs. Santos
Erin Blanchfield, SUB, R2
Could go either way

Tafa vs. Porter
Parker Porter, TKO, R1
Tough one, whoever catches the other one first I guess

Kino****a vs. Goff
Billy Goff
Wonder why this guy is such an underdog

Liang vs. Aldrich
JJ Aldrich, DEC
No way she was fighting 0-0 people the fight before the UFC

Chikadze vs. Caceres
Giga Chikadze, DEC
Really excited to see Giga get back in the ring, especially against Bruce Leeroy who I've been a fan of since he was on TUF!

Blanchfield vs. Santos
Erin Blanchfield, SUB, R2
Excited for this match between these two ladies!

This is a good match between two of probably the most dynamic strikers in the UFC featherweight division. Caceres is coming in with back-to-back wins and really coming into his own the past few years racking up a lot of decent wins and finishes. Before his loss to Calvin Kattar early last year, Chikadze was on a hot streak. This will be a chance for him to return to the win column against a known name.

Stand Up Phase:
The striking will probably be the most interesting aspect to watch these two fighters engage. Chikadze (OX) uses a decent amount of stance switching to set up his powerful kicks and clean 1-2 combinations. Chikadze’s considerable speed and timing has overwhelmed most of his OPPs in the UFC. His use of the jab and constant defense will be a significant hurdle to climb for any fighter. Caceres (SP) uses a variety of fluid strikes to confuse his OPPs to either find the finish or keep them unsettled to land their own offense. His use of BHs and combinations allow for him to patiently wear down his OPP before creating other opportunities for scrambles or finishes. I predict Chikadze’s speed and powerful left kicks from SP and OX will have a considerable effect on Caceres and force him to engage in the clinch to prevent further damage.

Clinch Phase:
Caceres seems to be the better overall grappler between the two. He throws decent knees and does well with fighting for UHs within the clinch and defending TDs along the cage. Also, his quick scrambles to find the back have been very effective in changing the flow of previous fights. From what I’ve observed, Chikadze makes sure to quickly disengage from clinch position to return to striking due to it being a clear hole in his game. He does have the ability to defend TDs but has shown little success in preventing them. I predict Caceres will use the clinch against the cage to slow Chikadze down and find opportunities to attack the back or find TDs.

Ground Phase:
Caceres has good control when he is on top and is very active on bottom. He tends to overextend himself at times and allows himself to be caught in Sub Attempts, but he has good awareness and Sub defense to account for it. Chikadze typically tries to hold position when he is on bottom. He does little to put up frames or progress to a better position to defend. Instead, he also overextends himself and will usually be put in a worse position. However, Chikadze has shown the ability to jump on Sub Attempts if the opportunity is present. I predict Caceres will attempt to find TDs or force scrambles with Chikadze to find the back and eventually finish. If Chikadze has made any significant improvement in his grappling since last year this should be considerably more interesting.

Prediction: Caceres wins by Unanimous Decision 
This should be a very high pace contest and would be my pick for potential FON. I predict Caceres’s striking will give Chikadze enough problems striking to keep him honest and the fact that Caceres is a SP will prevent much use of one of Chikadkze’s best weapon, the “Giga Kick” from SP he likes to throw. Chikadze’s speed and timing will be a tough hill to climb but I think a strategic use of clinch work and body work by Caceres would slow down Chikadze enough to where the speed advantage begins to disappear. If opportunity presents itself I could see Caceres sneaking to the back for a RNC finish but I predict Chikadze will have made enough improvements on the ground to have decent Sub defense and be able to consistently return to the feet.

Abbreviations:
OX: Orthodox
SP: Southpaw
OPP: Opponent
UH: Underhook
TD: Takedown
RNC: Rear Naked Choke
BH: Body Hook
FON: Fight of the Night