#clay guida

[beautifulviolence]

Jim Miller Chokes out Clay Guida

[cerealsensei]

Snippet of tomorrows podcast. There was a certain fight from UFC 237 that made me feel some kind of way,. Thank you to @theanticool for letting me vent lol.

[theanticool]

Clay Guida waited 9 whole minutes to shoot for a takedown. He deserves to lose this fight.

[cloacacarnage]

[reelinplace]

[thesportssoundoff]

“Is this really the kind of card you bring to Norfolk, Virginia all due respect to the fine folks who live there?!” UFC Fight Night Poirier vs Pettis preview

Joey

November 6th

We just passed the UFC's biggest weekend of 2017 and normally after a big weekend, a not so good card follows. This time though after a big card, we've got a really good free TV card to follow it up. Live from Norfolk, Virginia, the UFC rolls into town with a pretty damn solid card that has just a little bit of something for everybody. Like really compelling on paper fights? We gotcha! Like WMMA? Gotcha! Like old veterans with something to prove? Gotcha! Like bantamweights? Word! Heavyweights? I mean we got those too! Ya like Sage Northcutt? WHO DOESN'T?! This UFC card is an Oddlot and I can approve of that, topped by a fantastic main event pitting Dustin Poirier vs Anthony Pettis.

Fights: 13

Debuts: 1 (Karl Roberson)

Fight Changes/Injury Cancellations: 1 (Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Jared Cannonier)

Headliners (fighters who have either main evented or co-main evented shows in the UFC): 11 (Anthony Pettis, Dustin Poirier, Matt Brown, Diego Sanchez, Andrei Arlovski, Nate Marquardt, Raphael Assuncao, Joe Lauzon, Clay Guida, Jon Dodson, Sage Northcutt)

Fighters On Losing Streaks in the UFC:  3 (Andrei Arlovski, Matt Brown, Nate Marquardt)

Fighters On Winning Streaks in the UFC:  2 (Matthew Lopez and Raphael Assuncao)

Stat Monitor for 2017:

Debuting Fighters (Current number: 33-29)- Karl Roberson

Short Notice Fighters (Current number: 20-31-1)- 0

Second Fight (Current number: 23-33)- Michel Quiñones, Tatiana Suarez and Junior Albini

Cage Corrosion (17-11-1)- Tatiana Suarez

Twelve Precarious Ponderings

1- Is it FINALLY going to be time for Dustin Poirier to get that big career defining win? Poirier has been fantastic at 155 lbs, an action fight fan's dream fighter, a finisher and everything else you can put on a guy. He is must see TV and it's no surprise that since dropping to 155 lbs, he has three bonuses (and was likely robbed of two other ones since the Alvarez fight didn't get 50K and his KO of Bobby Green happened on a card where dudes were getting flattened left and right). Lost in the love for the 28 year old Louisiana native is the fact that he hasn't had that ONE signature win. He's beaten a lot of guys who in theory live in that 15 to 10 range of the LW division but the big win has eluded him. At FW, entertaining losses to guys like the Korean Zombie and Cub Swanson plus a KO to Conor McGregor are probably his trademarkk performances. At 155 lbs, he looked on his way to putting himself in the conversation among the likes of RDA, Pettis, Alvarez, Ferguson and the crew before Michael Johnson removed him from the conversation in a stunning upset. He looked on his way to getting that win vs Alvarez before he got hurt and eventually kneed illegally.

The entire career of Poirier feels like a collection of moments where he's good enough TO win but not great enough to rise above. In main events, Poirier is 0-2. In co-main events, he's 0-1. If we judge fighters by their ability to rise up, so to speak, then Poirier's record is not giving you a ringing endorsement for confidence. Even saying that, we're discussing a 28 year old who is ultra skilled in every capacity. Maybe he's a step slower than the heaviest hitters in the division (he looked to be moving at Tivo slow mo speed vs Michael Johnson) and maybe you have questions about his ability to deal with pressure. Maybe you worry about his composure which could explain his so-so record in big fights. Whatever the case, even at 28 years old, we're reaching the "He is what he is" portion of Poirier's career. A fantastic action fighter who SHOULD be among the elites at 155 lbs. This is a big fight for him.

2- Similarly, Anthony Pettis. Lost in the record is the how and why we got here. Pettis simply got out dogged by an injured RDA in a fight where both guys were impaired. After that? I mean I thought he beat Eddie Alvarez pretty clearly. Edson Barboza is a better version of Anthony Pettis which was just all kinds of wrong for him. Ignore everything at 145 lbs because that was a bad idea. The point I'm trying to illustrate here is that Pettis is far better than he's shown since 2015 or so. We're talking about a fantastic athlete still entering his prime who is still capable of big fight magic. His resume is littered with well known names and those aren't fluke wins. Even if I believe that Pettis has become a big stagnant in recent years, on his good night he's probably better than your favorite lightweight. Poirier is going to be a pretty valuable test for him and what remains of Pettis as a top 155er.

3- I know Matt Brown is retiring but I really hope win or lose Diego Sanchez follows him into whatever MMA Valhalla is.

4- Andrei Arlovski vs Junior Albini is so much of what MMA is and so little of what we wish it to be. Arlovski is 0-4 and while he didn't get sparked in his last fight, he showed so little against Marcin Tybura that I don't even really see the point of this fight other than trying to launch Albini's career. That's great and all but Albiini is ONE fight into his UFC career and we have no idea what he's really all about. The only way we learn anything about him is if he loses and that'd speak volumes in the negatives. This is a very odd peculiar fight.

5- Joe Lauzon vs Clay Guida has one of two ways of ending. The first is Lauzon dropping Guida early and snatching his neck or the other is a hot start for Lauzon followed by two rounds of Clay Guida just smacking him around on the ground if Lauzon doesn’t get an early sub. It’s so weird this fight hasn’t happened earlier than this point but even so, I’m pretty geeked about it.

6- Jon Dodson vs Marlon Moraes is one of those fights with no middle ground. It's either all action or it's the world's smallest fastest staring contest.

7- While I don't like the fight, Tatiana Suarez vs Vivianne Pereira seems like a really great fight between two solid strawweight prospects. Pereira is a little undersized but she's hyperactive and looked worlds better vs Jamie Moyle. Tati Suarez has title contender talent and a fantastic base for the division but she's been out for a good long minute. Excited for this one even if I dislike the fact a prospect's gonna get knocked off.

8- Really excited to see Matthew Lopez get his crack at figuring out Raphael Assuncao. If you beat Assuncao, you should be like champion emeritus at 135 lbs. Lopez had a way too tough debut vs Rani Yahya and even in that fight he was more than competitive in scrambles and on the feet. Since then Lopez has picked up two wins over competent 135ers like Johnny Eduardo and Mitch Gagnon. That said, Assuncao is forever at a level above most of these dudes in the weight class.

9- We're starting to get to that point where the DWTCS signees are getting opportunities to have fights. Boston Salmon lost his chance but Karl Roberson gets a shot now. Dropping from 205 to 185 lbs, Roberson draws Darren Stewart who was really impressive in Cage Warriors prior to getting his UFC call up. He got hit with the Francimar Barroso train after a no contest and now he'll also make the drop to MW. Excited about these two guys.

10- Of the twelve fighters currently posted up on this main card, it almost seems reasonable to half of them could be retired or out of the UFC by next year. You have Arlovski, Diego Sanchez, Joe Lauzon, Clay Guida and Nate Marquardt who could all be on their last legs or considering retirement not including Matt Brown who is genuinely retiring.

11- Everybody's favorite human Ken Doll is back in business, baby! Sage Northcutt has returned!

12- It has the potential to be a bit of a dud but Court McGee vs Sean Strickland could be a fantastic little fight on the prelims. Strickland's kind of lost his way from his more exciting pre-UFC days but I Think he's still got high upside and McGee always shows up to fight.

Must Wins

1- Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis looked back vs Jim Miller---but that's really not enough of an indictment on what remains. Miller's a good test for if you still have enough to be considered elite but he's not quite the measuring stick for whether you ARE elite. Pettis has a lot of questions that still need answering even if vs Miller he looked aggressive while being composed, tremendous with his kicking game and more in check with each passing second of the fight. Dustin Poirier has power, variety in his hands and I can't imagine Pettis is going to outwrestle him if it comes to that. The fact that this is five rounds and Pettis has looked AWFUL in his last two fights meant for that distance is worrisome.

2- Dustin Poirier

Dustin Poirier's career will be one of two things; a long career as a best action fighters of his time but never challenged for anything major OR a career where The Diamond is able to get over the hump and contend for titles and more main events.

3- Marlon Moraes

There were a lot of subtle flaws hidden by Moraes when he was competing at the WSOF.  It's not to suggest he's not really talented (he is) but when he would take his foot off of the gas, he wasn't challenged much by inferior competition. Against Raphael Assuncao, I thought he showed some of those flaws and it ultimately cost him in a close fight. Dodson is similar in Assuncao in the sense that a boring fight is a fine fight for him. If he can't blitz you and overwhelm you with his speed, he's fine with just giving you enough offense to take a decision. Moraes going down 0-2 as the 135 lb class is loading up again would be a dire circumstance so he needs this one in the worst way.

Five Fights Not To Miss:

1- Dustin Poirier vs Anthony Pettis

2- Super Sage vs El Chapo in a battle of amazing nicknames

3- Tatiana Suarez vs Vivianne Pereira

4- Joe Lauzon vs Clay Guida

5- Matt Brown vs Diego Sanchez

[theanticool]

B.J. Penn vs. Clay Guida targeted for UFC 237 in Brazil

Two UFC veterans will battle inside the Octagon in Rio de Janeiro.

It never ends

[theanticool]

Clay Guida takes a decision over BJ Penn