UFC 302

Plum and DA, who do you guys think will win between Dustin Vs Islam ? I think Dustin stands a chance in catching Islam when they fighting on there Feet, but if it goes to ground, Dustin might be in real trouble. I hope Dustin wins. And if Strickland underestimates or is to over confident against Costa, his lights will be going out for a while. I think Costa might just do it. Some good match ups this weekend : )

Same boat as you really, M. Dustin has won me over with how he's gone about his career. Still love that he wasted Connor and never boasted about it one bit. Have listened to him on a few podcasts, one in particular where he described a brawl he got dragged into. Didn't big himself up at all, even though he likely cleared house, but rather went on about how his friend was dropping everyone. A cool guy and hard not to support.

Boring to say, but it's a 50/50. I like all the Dawg-istanies too though. They ooze class.

Weird, when you think about it, the loudmouths often end up just being filler. The hall of famers like Silva, GSP, Kgggabhhib(haha), they were all gentleman and didn't need words to sell fights. GSP is still the OG in my book though.

Also rooting for Costa. Poor guy never gets an easy fight...Whitaker, Rockhold, Izzy, Romero. Haha can't a man catch a break? After Strickland's complaints post the Dricus fight, I kinda always want him to lose now. I think Costa is more powerful than Dricus, and he won't take that jab business from Strickland. Both guys like to bang, so it's gonna be war on the feet. My head says Strickland but my heart says I want the angry drug dealer to collect his money ;)

Agree Dustin is one of the solid ufc fighters like Dricus or Justin gaethje. They genuine and just get on with it. For Connor it’s all about the show.

Just to add to the above.

Usyk, also a humble guy of few words, and I believe he became an instant hall of fame candidate a few weeks back when he dumped Fury and unified all the belts. Nuts to think he came up from cruiser weight to do that.

Usyk is great guy and a formidable Boxer….really like the guy.

Damm Dustin did well to protect the take down but in the end it was Islam with his wrestling power….both the post match interviews was great…2 great guys….Strickland was just a controlled beast and deserved the win.

Both fights went as we expected I suppose.

Why on earth Costa's corner were telling him he was 2-1 up after 3 rounds is a total mystery. Especially when losing this fight means he'll likely be dumped from the UFC. Strickland was never gonna KO him because Strickland is never very accurate with his power punches. He was happy to brawl Romero but not Strickland? Very weird.

Just shows what great fight IQ Dricus has and how much better his team are. He came in and ate the jabs because he knew that was all Strickland had and if you battle past that then you can land your own power shots.

Who next for Islam I wonder?

Must say, as much as I enjoy the UFC, the striking is so sloppy. After some of the epic boxing over the last two years, watching Crawford dismantle Spence, Usyk take down Tyson, Loma's comeback, and so many more, the UFC is starting to feel like boxing felt for me 5 years ago before Tyson and Wilder brought it back, and boxing is surging ahead again.

I think the biggest fight this year will be Connor v Chandler. Both still decent but over the hill. It's starting to feel more like WWE than ever before.

Looking at Strickland beating Izzy months ago, it was only exciting because it was Izzy being beaten, but the fight itself wasn't that great. Strickland's fight last night was just as meh. Even the Islam fight was more about the personalities than the fight, for me. Of course there's always some intrigue in a matchup like Porier vs Islam but it all too often goes as expected.

I still watch all the fights but I find myself far more invested in boxing. I mean, the Fury and Usyk rematch, Loma potentially fighting Tank, any fight of Canelo's ever. Same with Crawford, who is actually looking to emulate Joe Calzaghe in going unbeaten over a very long career and, unlike Mayweather, doing so while coming to fight instead of running.

Perhaps the UFC is in a slump and will recover but it defos seems to have lost a bit of that edge.

M, I don't know if you watch Kendo, but if you never got into it...it's a rabbit hole that I highly recommend. Attending at least one Kendo World Championship is very very high on my bucket list. It's absolutely fascinating and devoid of all bullshit. So underrated.

Funny you say that about WWE as I feel the same way….the only thing that is missing, is these ridiculous storylines they have in between the WWE Wrestlers….I hope the true Gladiator style of UFC stays…I don’t know a lot about Kendo, but it looks interesting. Actually very popular in Japan as 1.8 million people practice it. Far more than the olympic sport of Judo…I will Check a Match.

Izzy v Dricus will be a lekker fight though.

I hope Dricus stomps Izzy's head into the canvas.