UFC 174: Johnson vs. Bagautinov

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UFC_174

Main card
Flyweight Demetrious Johnson (c) vs. Ali Bagautinov
Welterweight Rory MacDonald vs. Tyron Woodley
Light Heavyweight Ryan Bader vs. Rafael Cavalcante
Heavyweight Andrei Arlovski vs. Brendan Schaub
Light Heavyweight Ryan Jimmo vs. Ovince St. Preux

Preliminary card (FX)
Welterweight Daniel Sarafian vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
Women's Bantamweight Valérie Létourneau vs. Elizabeth Phillips
Bantamweight Yves Jabouin vs. Mike Easton
Lightweight Kajan Johnson vs. Tae Hyun Bang

Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)
Bantamweight Roland Delorme vs. Michinori Tanaka
Lightweight Jason Saggo vs. Josh Shockley

Bagautinov really is in over his head here. Realistically he should have been given another fight or two before being thrown in with one of the pound for pound best in the business. Don' get me wrong, he's good, very good, but Mighty Mouse is a different animal altogether. His speed and athleticism will frustrate Bagautinov all night.

In Rory MacDonald's last loss I felt he completely brushed off Robbie Lawler as some has been that he would steam roll through. Unfortunately for him Ruthless has had a renaissance akin only to Matthew McConaughey. After that we saw a much more focussed fighter (against Demian Maia) and here shouldn't be any different. Woodley is a large WW which he uses to muscle around his opponent and throw bombs. However MacDonald is a large WW himself and both of Woodleys losses have come against large WW's that he couldn't bully. MacDonald should pepper him with jabs and get the decision.

Bader's last two wins were against opponents with a combined age of 84. And against Perosh he couldn't even get the finish. This summed up Bader to a degree. Great wrestler with lots of power but not an accurate striking machine. He says he has been working on his striking game and with that in his arsenal we may see a new Bader. Fejaio has had success against top wrestlers in the past but has had trouble when it gets heavy with the strikes á la Thiago Silva. I really think it will come down to how much Bader's striking has improved.

Honestly can't believe how excited I am for the Arlovski vs. Schaub fight. I've always liked Arlovski and would love to see him get a few wins in the UFC together. Accompanying those pistons for hands he has a very overlooked and criminally under utilised ground game. Schaub may not want to mess with Arlovski's hands so he may elect to try his ground game. The chins of both guys have been questioned but lets be honest, not many people could take the shots Arlovski succumbed to.

Zero-Cool

Been a big fan of Bader since TUF, always thought he would go further but he seems to be stuck in gear.

I really really hope Andrei does alright, would be awful for him to get finished in the 1st round or something.

mailburner

I'd love to aa win tomorrow

wondering if schaub will stand and bang or take him down
I'm guessing it'll be the latter myself
arlovski should have an advantage standing if he doesn't get caught
delighted to see him back


I like baga but really don't think he has a prayer
I just don't see a way he can beat dj

no idea who to go for, rory or tyrone
it's a fight I can't call or have no preference who wins

weemcd

Really, really looking forward to this card.

Would love Bagautinov to win, instantly reminds me of Fedor when he speaks, a calm, gentle ... absolute killer. Good style to watch but Mighty Mouse is an absolute dynamo, never stops, MM UD for me even though my heart wants Bagautinov to win.

Would also love Woodley to smash McDonald, though I'd imagine Rory moves all night to a decision win, something similar to when Condit fought Diaz. Lots of footwork and avoid getting into a rumble.

Not that interested in Bader fight, would LOVE to see Arlovski wind back the clock and record a UFC win, but I've no idea where he's at going by recent competition he's faced. Last 2 fights I saw him in was when he smashed Sylvia and got DQ'd for soccer kicks, and when Rumble tooled him up in WSOF. I think Schaub is an alright dude, he's been on Joe Rogan podcast a few times but as a fighter I but him in the same bracket as Mitrione, Pat Barry etc. Never going to be top level.

Jimmo V OSP to be a strikers delight of a matchup, don't really care who wins as long as there are some nice exchanges on the feet.

EuskalHerria

In the replay you can hear Jimmo say "my arm is broken" and then OSP just twisting the f**k out of it. Opportunity knocks but that looked vicious enough that I could feel it.

jimpump

Come on master bader

IanMc666

Mighty Mouse's movement is just fantastic.

Zero-Cool

Fairly shyte night of fights. Rory completely schooled Tyron, looked like he was fighting his little brother. Mighty Mouse is just too fast, unreal skill. I'm not sure who won between Andrei and Schaub but I know who lost, the fans!

Bang and Kajun was a great fight, nice striking and some class moves on the ground.

I'd like to see Andrei fight Mir next....or would I, I dunno.

weemcd

I never want to watch Mir fight again!

mdwexford

Rory was impressive, looks like the Lawler fight was a wake up call for him and looks a different fighter since then.
Johnson was different class, suppose fighting Dodson again next is the way to go.

Zero-Cool

weemcd wrote: »

I never want to watch Mir fight again!

I want to see him get one more win with a sub and then retire. Maybe 1 more fight against Nog but that wouldn't be an easy fight. Sick of seeing him rocked trying to stand with this powerful strikers when he could just take them down and sub them.

Davei141

Under card was class, main card not so much. Lot of the great fights on paper just didn't materialise in the end.

That_Guy

Thought it was a pretty crap card myself. Johnson is a great fighter but I haven't exactly seen anything new from him. He's so fast and dominant that I just don't see any realistic competition as of yet. Dodson will be next in line but he's already beaten him.

MacDonald looked good. Think he's definitely earned himself a shot. Completely schooled Woodley who looked so off the pace it wasn't even funny.

The women's fight was entertaining and enjoyed the Bang/Johnson fight in the prelims.

Other than that... Meh.

Also, was anyone else getting annoyed watching those gobshítes standing up and waving like idiots everytime the camera was pointing in their direction during the main event? Though the incessant shrieking from some female members of the crowd throughout was a close second.

Dermighty

Cavalcante needs to retire.