The Clinch Podcast

Fights. Are. BACK.

• Cheylenne

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Join me this week as I breakdown the baddest fights of UFC 324 and get excited for the who wins and why's of UFC 325!


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SPEAKER_00:

What's up guys? Welcome back to the Clinch Podcast. If you don't already know, my name is Shay, and here we just talk about MMA and have some fun. And this week we're gonna go ahead and go over UFC 324 and our fight picks for UFC 325. And I'm so excited to jump in. So let's go ahead and do that. So I was really excited to see that the bonuses went up to$100,000 for performance and$25,000 for finishes, which I believe is new. I thought that was the correct incentive to make for a paramount opener. And it hopefully sets the tone for this new era of crazier fights, more opportunities for fighters to get paid. So I was really happy about that. And I love how the event opened with Chris, Steve, and Dominic all in the octagon, just kind of enacting potential scenarios between Patty and Justin. I thought that was a cool addition to like fight warm-ups, you could say. And it was cool to see how Dominic can analyze fighters in action in a different way than just like his live commentating. I'm a visual learner, so the more visual I can get, the more fun I'm gonna have participating and learning. So it was really cool to see him break down things so specifically, and it gave me more of an appreciation for Dominic. I haven't always been like a super fan of his, but I really love his commentating style at UFC 324. So that was really fun for me to see. I thought it was worth mentioning. And the first fight that I want to talk about, of course, is John Silva Surfer versus Arnold Surfboard Allen. That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. I cannot believe that I was like witnessing that. I was like, did he just? And everyone else was like, yeah. That was so fun. And for the actual fight, I thought it started slower than I had anticipated that it would. And I was really surprised by Silva's pace specifically, but I do love how he picked it up at the end of round one. And round two, of course, is where things really started to get fun. Silva really started finding his rhythm and his creativity. And Alan was just incredible. And I really ate my words. I will never shy away from admitting things like that. I always love learning how I'm wrong and appreciating a fighter in a better light than I had described them the week before. Happens all the time with this podcast if you go back and listen. So I thought that he threw amazing kicks and he lands really heavy punches, which was surprising to me. I think he did a great job of maintaining control, but he and Silva both put on just like a really crazy show. It was technical and wild all at the same time. And Silva tried gaining some control time in round three to like even that out. And I don't mean that he didn't have control of the fight, I just mean like control time as an actual aspect in the fight, like on paper. So I think that he was doing a good job of considering all the aspects of the things that the judges account for and keeping things even. And that's what I thought he did in round three with trying to gain that control time, getting that takedown. He was just trying to make sure that if it was going to decision, that on paper he got the win. So I thought that it was fire that I could see him doing that. So I'm really excited that I got to see him win. I thought he was gonna win. It was a little different than I thought it would go, but still, I can't wait to see him fight again. That was a great way to welcome Paramount. I thought it was amazing. And the next fight that I am not too excited to talk about, so you probably already know what it is, was Silva versus Nama Yunis. Oh, I'm so sad about that fight. I'm so upset. And it started out super calculated on both sides, very careful. And I liked the opening pace from both of them, but I'm just not a fan of Silva. And I know that you guys know, even if this is the first time you're listening, you probably have already gathered that Rosalama Yunis is my favorite fighter ever. Like all time, she's my GOAT. So, with all that being said, even if that was not the case, I'm still not a fan of Silva's footwork. No one really is. It's been kind of a joke online. The footwork is just a little weird to me. It only seems like semi-effective, and it doesn't really seem to yield many unique offensive positions, and it's just very closed in, it's a very defensive stance, and it just looks really stiff, even though it's like quick and she's moving. This is what she's doing with her hips, you know. So it's just very weird, very stiff, and on top of that, she's just a bit boring to me. And that part might be because I love Ro so much and she just wasn't catching my eye in the fight. And I also think that unanimous decision is crazy. I think that is an atrocity to humankind, and those judges need to be, and those judges need to be investigated by the CIA, the FBI, the LFA, MAO. You know, all of those things they need to be investigated. But also, I'm probably just really sad, and I don't want to talk about anymore because it was lame and stupid and sad. So, anyways, on to the next fight. We have Sean O'Malley versus Songgy Dong. And first of all, did you guys hear when Chris Wideman said that Song Ye Dong was a hamster filled with muscle? Like, was that a fever dream, or did Chris Weideman really say he's a hamster filled with muscle? Like, I I didn't know how to take that. I didn't know quite how to like envision that. So I just envisioned like a tiny muscular hamster. But, anyways, the fight actually was a little bit slower paced than I thought it was going to be, a lot slower pace than I thought it was gonna be, actually. I thought Sean had less energy than I anticipated that he would, and Song had more than I thought that he would. And it still went the way I thought it was gonna go, of course, but I definitely don't have like many exciting things to say about the fight itself. I just wanted to mention that it just was kind of lackluster, and I just don't really see the fire in Sean. He's obviously still very talented and entertaining to watch, but just less so than he was before. So I wonder if maybe he's put up against a different type of opponent or what I don't know. It just song wasn't completely beat by Sean, so I don't know. It was just weird. It was weird to me. I don't know. It was weird. So, next, of course, we have Justin Gagey versus Patty Pimblett, and this was everything that I thought it was gonna be, but just in like a different way than I thought it would be it, if you know what I'm saying. I I thought it would be just like a bit more even, but it was still the war that I was expecting. I wasn't expecting either of them to get knocked out really, but it was just still insane to see the damage that Patty was taking without actually getting knocked out. Insane. And I'm really surprised that there wasn't like notable grappling, there wasn't a lot of it. And even in the little bit that was there, you would think that it would be advantageous for Patty to take it to the ground, but Justin actually out-wrestled him. So it was just really interesting to see that that's not where at least a third of the fight was focused. I think it would have been even more fun, but even without it, the fight was still incredibly fun. I think Patty still had a lot of great moments in the fight. He showed the type of endurance that you need as a contender and skill. He was just facing Justin Gachy and a very talented, hungry Justin Gachy. So I thought that it was so dope. Justin just showed what years of sharpened tools, endurance, and legacy building really meant when the cage door closes. He really exemplified all of those qualities and he took most of the right opportunities to capitalize and just showed why he deserved this shot, of course. You know, with all that being said, I'm not quite sure what happens when Ilya returns. Armand has, of course, been super vocal, talking all this and that, saying he's gonna like buy his house if he fights him, all this and that. And saying that there's really not a point of Ilya fighting Gaiche, but honestly, that's just not really his place to say that, even though I'm sure he feels justified in it being his place. I just think that Justin has been at this for years. He deserved the shot. It's not really Armand's pay grade yet to be talking like that about Justin. So I think he just needs to watch how it plays out. Of course, continue selling the fight with all these videos and remarks and all of that. But at the same time, I think he really is starting to feel it genuinely and it's becoming more than just trying to sell a fight. I just hope he's not too in his head so that when the time comes, he's not distracted and performs like he's distracted. So, and he always has the hope that the UFC does crazy stuff all the time and could totally pull a move, like, oh yeah, we're still gonna book Armand versus Ilya. You know, like it's just there's a likelihood that it could happen because the UFC sells random things like that to us all the time and we buy it. He has that hope right there. So, yeah, those fights were fire. I really had a good time watching them. It was so nice to finally have fights back. And yeah, we're gonna go ahead and move on to our fight picks for UFC 325. I'm so excited. And for the sake of time, I am not gonna go over every single fight, but let's just go over a few who wins and whys. And the first one that I wanted to start off with is Ty to Ivasa versus Talison Toshera. That one looks really fun. I know the odds favor Tallison, but I personally think that Ty wins here. If they're both coming off of a loss, then I think he knows more so how to adjust, pull off a statement win, and get the job done. And I think that it's totally possible against Tallison. And I'm not doubting Talison at all. I know that his hands are fire. I know that everyone thinks that he's gonna knock out Ty to Ivasa. I just don't quite see it. I think we'll be shocked. I think that this one, if you bet on it, it's likely that you can make money off the upset. That's just what I'm gonna put out there. But if you lose money, I don't know. Like, I'm just telling you my thoughts. Like, why would you bet on my thoughts, you know? And next we have Rafael Faseev versus Mauricio Ruff. And I think that this is gonna be another banger, and I think someone for sure gets knocked out here. And I'm not sure it's gonna be Ruff. And the reason why I think it's not Ruff is because Fazeev's great. I think he's super talented, but Ruffy has the track record, whereas Fazeev really has like more of a steady decision kind of pattern in his career, whereas Ruffy can really get it done. And I think if it does go to a decision, that Ruffy will still get it. In my opinion, I don't know, okay. And next, I don't even know why I'm mentioning this one, but I'm just gonna do it. Dan Hooker versus Benoit Sandini. Duh Sandini. Duh. Like what Dan is cool, whatever, but I I just don't know what's going on with him lately. He's kind of giving me crackhead vibes. Like, I don't know what's going on. I hope he's okay. I hope he can take a joke. Doesn't really seem like he can, so I hope he never finds this podcast. And he hasn't knocked anyone out since 2022, and that's that's kind of been a minute. I mean, I haven't knocked anyone out ever, but he hasn't since 2022. So, I mean, and even more than that, he hasn't really had any like statement wins since then either. So it's just like his mouth is getting kind of bigger than his talent, which sucks, but like then again, could fight like he's trying to keep his contract, but but realistically, I think Sandini just has it in the bag. And our main event, Alexander Volkanovsky versus Diego Lopez. And I know what the odds say and I know why they say them. I don't want you guys to hate me. I love Volk so much. I respect him so much. I think he's so fire. I would love to meet him one day and sit down with him and talk. But I think Diego wins this rematch. I think he's really done the work to grow and also compare to Volk's track record of the types of wins combined with the types of losses he's had. I think Diego really shows the edge and fight finishes on paper. So I really think that, of course, Volkanovsky's super technical and he can win a fight on paper and all the nine. But I think Diego has something very special. The way that he moves and the way that he calculates fights is very impressive. And I know that he doesn't have a spotless record, but he does have a consistency to him, if that makes sense. Like he's an all-around talent and he really can go out there and get a submission. He can get a knockout, he can win a decision. All of those things are accumulation of his work in all these areas of the game. And Volkanovsky's very similar. He's very competent in all the areas striking, wrestling, jujitsu, everything. And so I'm not saying that they're gonna have a clash of fight IQ. I'm just saying that it's gonna be a very similar fight IQ, and Diego's gonna be the one who has the edge in his footwork and his speed, and it's just gonna be so much fun. So I know what it says on paper, I know what the odds makers are saying, but I'm saying that I'm sticking to Diego wins by knockout. That's what I'm gonna say. So I don't know. Don't blame me. And we'll just have to see and talk about it next week, guys. But that was another really fun episode. It was an amazing week in a fight, so I'm so happy again that we are not having a dry spell anymore. And we've got back-to-back weekends, right back at it again this weekend with another big numbered event. I just had such a good time writing this episode, and I hope you enjoyed listening. But that's it for today. I will catch you next time in the clinch.

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Chey

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