UFC

I would say the Woodley loss was probably the surprise result of the night, I would thought Woodley would have had too much for Usman to cope with. Surprise Jones got away with illegal knee - whether UFC President Dana White would watch that back and investigate why it wasn't picked up by the referee remains to be seen or if Smith's team will appeal that Jones acted illegally.

Its funny jon jones always does something illegal in his fights eye pokes, illegal knees, 12 to 6 elbows....

Too sporting from Smith! He should have pulled a Bernard Hopkins and claimed that he couldn't fight on. Jones would have got what he well and truly deserved for pulling that crap. It could be dangerous to place responsibility on the fouled fighter in deciding whether to fight on or retire hurt. Personally I think a knee to the head of a downed opponent should be a disqualification.

Usman was sensational in dominating and overwhelming Woodley. I loved the assuredness of his performance.

(04-03-2019 12:53 )babelover48 Wrote:  I would say the Woodley loss was probably the surprise result of the night, I would thought Woodley would have had too much for Usman to cope with. Surprise Jones got away with illegal knee - whether UFC President Dana White would watch that back and investigate why it wasn't picked up by the referee remains to be seen or if Smith's team will appeal that Jones acted illegally.

At the weigh-in a few days before UFC 235 when standing eyeball to eyeball Usman looked the much bigger man & more like a weight size heavier & Woodley certainly isn't a small guy.It's a testament to how physically strong Usman is at the weight when he dominated an elite level wrestler in Woodley in the clinch & onto the ground with relative ease for pretty much the full 25 mins.

Some interesting fights over the next few weeks with Junior Dos Santos taking on Derrick 'Black Beast' Lewis this Saturday & on the 16th March Darren Till headlines UFC London when he takes on #10 ranked Jorge Masvidal in the main event.Till in his first fight since his failed title attempt against Tyrone Woodley last year.Masvidal is fighting on the back of two straight losses both on points to Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson & Demain Maia.Both have 2 common opponents where Till beat Thompson on points last year & Masvidal lost in a points decision & both stopped Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone with Till in the 1st round & Masvidal in the 2nd both in 2017.

(04-03-2019 13:23 )goatman222 Wrote:  Its funny jon jones always does something illegal in his fights eye pokes, illegal knees, 12 to 6 elbows....

I'm just surprised it wasn't noticed by the referee, would Smith have grounds to make an appeal if it was possible? I believe it is an instant disqualification to knee anyone in the head when the they are down. Imagine the chaos if VAR got involved...

(04-03-2019 18:43 )babelover48 Wrote:  

(04-03-2019 13:23 )goatman222 Wrote:  Its funny jon jones always does something illegal in his fights eye pokes, illegal knees, 12 to 6 elbows....

I'm just surprised it wasn't noticed by the referee, would Smith have grounds to make an appeal if it was possible? I believe it is an instant disqualification to knee anyone in the head when the they are down. Imagine the chaos if VAR got involved...

The referee, Herb Dean, deducted 2 points after watching back the replay several times. It was my understanding that under the new unified rules of MMA video could be consulted in order to come to a correct outcome - but that a fight could not resume if action replay had been invoked. Dean watched things back, consulted with Smith, and then waved the action back on. I wonder whether that was in breach of the new rules...

IF Dean deducted i think it would not have altered the result I imagine

(04-03-2019 21:08 )babelover48 Wrote:  IF Dean deducted i think it would not have altered the result I imagine

Yes, all the two points off meant was that it was closer on the score-board. Rather than 50-44 it ended up being 48-44. In a way one has to admire Lionheart's tenacity of not taking the easy way to winning the title through saying he couldn't go on but I kind of would have liked him to assert his rights and give Jones what he deserved. It would have been priceless to see Smith getting his hand raised in such circumstances and I think he would have been perfectly entitled to wave his head and say no to getting the contest back under way.

In the early hours Junior Dos Santos stopped #3 Ranked Derrick 'Black Beast' Lewis in the 2nd round with ground & pound in what was an entertaining see-saw match where both fighters traded bombs.Lewis seemingly doubled over in pain in the 1st after Dos Santos landed a spinning roundhouse kick to Lewis's stomach but every time Dos Santos got close to Lewis he tried to land haymakers as if he was trying to play possum which looked quite amusing.

Wiley UFC veteran Jorge Masvidal silenced the O2 Arena by sensationally knocking out Darren Till out cold with a huge overhand left hook in the 2nd Round.In what was a pretty even fight both attempting to land big punches but it was Masvidal who pulled the devastating left out the locker to score the KO & the rest as they say is history.