I couldn't have been more wrong in my prediction for Ronda/Holly. I based my prediction off of what we had seen from Ronda and what we had seen from Holly. Holly did good in her amateur fights and in lower tier organizations but a lot of people look like world beaters until they get into the UFC and it appeared as though that's what happened with Holly, so I don't feel as bad about my shitty prediction as I normally would I guess. After seeing the absolute beat down of Ronda and seeing the true gap in their skills I find it hard to see Ronda beating her in their rematch, even with a different camp. Holly's striking and movement are in a different galaxy than Ronda can ever hope to achieve. In my opinion Ronda is fucked either way: She either takes the fight soon and doesn't have enough time to improve and gets beaten down again and there goes your star. Or she waits it out, has a fight in between but that entire time Holly is getting better as well. Holly's striking when it comes to facing Ronda again doesn't need any real overhauls, so my guess is she works more on defending the take down and clinch work. Holly was able to do it easily the first time and I can only guess that it would be easier the second time around with more training. From what we saw in the first fight, Ronda's only chance is to sub her and just getting her to the ground didn't prove to be enough then, I can't see it being an issue in the rematch. Holly, based off that fight, is the Anti-Rousey. She is Ronda's Kryptonite. Ronda could take 3 years off MMA and just work on her hands and footwork and she still wouldn't be as good as Holly. That's legit. So you're fucked standing and your only chance is to get it to the ground. Well, that's hard as fuck with Holly apparently. So that sucks. Say you get it to the ground, based off that fight, Holly got right back up. Not saying that happens every single time but all Holly has to do is defend. She doesn't need to be as good as Ronda on the ground. She just needs to be able to create space to get up. She's already proved she can do that and she's only going to get better at it. So, again, I can't see Ronda winning the fight. Tate is legit a tougher fight for Holly than Ronda.
I don't know if my body is ready for this fight week. I think it is. You have the best Middleweight title fight in UFC history between Weidman/Rockhold and then my most anticipated fight ever between Aldo/McGregor. I know I used to shit on Conor but the Irish in me took over and I'll admit I've developed a Chael-like fanboyism for him. Chael I liked more because he was just funny and he entertained me and I admired how he walked up to the baddest dude on the planet at the time and showed him no respect and got in his face. I felt like Conor's shit was getting old but then I watched more stuff on him and his personality outside of all the pressers is what really made me like him. I really appreciate his approach to training and he has a mind for the game like few, if any, have. I've never seen someone manifest their own personal belief in themselves into reality like Conor does. His mind is legitimately a weapon and I find that fascinating. Plus, I like the way he dresses and again, the Irish in me came out eventually.
Normally when there is a big fight I can lean one way or the other but with this one I have no idea. Too many variables. Jose is one of the best in the world for a reason. He's supremely confident, as he should be. He hasn't lost in 10 years (although it isn't as impressive as it sounds, dude fights like once a year). On the other hand, he doesn't fight that much, has a history of injuries and has a habit of just coasting. The weight cut has always been hard for him and now with this absolutely ridiculous IV ban, that's going to be an issue. Cardio was an issue for him before, maybe it's more now? Who knows. He wants nothing more than to smash Conor, shut him up and receive a massive payday. Then on the other side you have this Celtic Warrior with a bulletproof mind than manifests itself into reality like few before him. Conor, in my opinion, is 100% in Jose's head. He's basically alpha'd him and big brothered him the entire lead up to the fight. He's been relentless. Not since Ali has someone drilled someone up to a fight like Conor has. Having said that, that puts an absolute insane amount of pressure on Conor to deliver. Conor has to lay in bed at night and wake up in the morning knowing you have set yourself up potentially for a massive, massive fall that could have devastating consequences on your professional life as well as his mind going forward.
Conor is always alpha'ing. Whenever he walks into a place his chest is puffed out, his head is high, he walks with a swaggar. Whenever he goes face to face with an opponent he noticeably puffs himself out (especially at weigh ins) to show how much bigger he is, how superior he considers himself to be. He's doing it with his constant shit talking, making you wonder who you really are and what you're capable of. Then he goes out there and backs it up. He shot across the cage at Mendes, exactly how he said he would. Closed the distance instantly and went to work. He let Chad wear himself out, got up and finished the fight in the exact same place he always finishes it. He backs them up against the cage, cuts them off to keep them there and then works his combinations until he drops you. Conor has amazing, flowing movement and is extreamly accurate and has a special type of punching power. Add to that a chin carved out from Satan himself and you have a motherfucker to deal with. Will that be enough? Can Conor eat those leg kicks like he thinks he can? What does Conor do when he's pressured? Conor dictates the pace of his fights, what happens when he's backed up? He's a lot bigger than Jose and what happens when Jose gets hit clean?
Too many variables. I hope my body is ready.