UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Jamie Mullarkey just went from possibly being on his downfall in fighting Guram to probably knocking this dude out on short notice. Fighters from Tajikistan are generally good, but Naimov lost to the two out of the three decent dudes that he went against and that won win was a split decision. Jamie Mullarkey is 10x better and more experienced than all of Naimov's former opponents

Blackshear is more than likely going to lose this fight, but I hope the UFC doesn't cut him because I do think he has the potential to be a top 15 bantamweight. They really should put him against someone like Chad Anheliger to show that he's good enough to keep around after this fight

Not happening lol

Kara-France vs. Albazi
Amir Albazi, TKO, R2
Kara-France got that dog in him, relentless fighting even when losing, submission and ko threat even when injured. Crisp long combos, stays in the pocket when offensive and times opponents well.

Castañeda vs. Gafurov
Muin Gafurov, TKO, R3
Castaneda can get out worked. Eddie Wineland and Miles Johns are not high caliber fighters. Even though Miles was

Grishin vs. Lins
Philipe Lins, TKO, R1
Nice card

Am I crazy for thinking Castañeda at almost pick ‘em odds is a hammer? I know he’s done well in the two fights since but Muin looked terrible in his Contender Series fight imo against a very mediocre opponent. I tend to believe Castañeda when he says last fight he was affected by bronchitis since he usually has such a great gas tank, and I feel like he’s going to really just push the pace and easily take rounds 2 and 3, if not the first as well

I don't think you're crazy at all, and we should probably bet the man. I remember how many people LOVED him in the last fight vs Santos (also on the card) and are now probably sitting there upset they bet him and refuse to take him this time. Typical bettor syndrome that will in my opinion get you in trouble most of the time. Never jump ship because you were simply on the wrong side that night. 

I also think now that Santos won his last fight, everyone seems to love him all so much now, but before against Castaneda, they didn't give two ****s about em...Give me Castaneda and Munoz JR. People so quick to jump ship and play recentcy bias, very curious to see what happens in those two fights.

Yawnnn 🥱 

Kara-France vs. Albazi
Amir Albazi, DEC
I'm pulling for Albazi to get the decision.

Caceres vs. Pineda
Alex Caceres, TKO, R2
I love Caceres' style and feel like he get's the TKO in Round 2.

Miller vs. Gordon
Jim Miller, TKO, R1
Anytime Miller is fighting, I'm always pulling for him. Round 1 TKO for Miller.

Elliott vs. Altamirano
Tim Elliott, DEC
I really like Altamirano BUT Elliott has this one in the bag - by decision.

Silva vs. Souza
Karine Silva, DEC
Silva by decision.

Mullarkey vs. Naimov
Jamie Mullarkey, DEC
Mullarkey by Decision

Zaleski vs. Nurmagomedov
Abubakar Nurmagomedov, SUB, R1
Nurmagomedov by submission in round 1. Let's GO!!!

Castañeda vs. Gafurov
Muin Gafurov, TKO, R2
Gafurov to win by TKO in 2nd round

Arlovski vs. Mayes
Andrei Arlovski, TKO, R2
Andrei Arlovski - still going strong. I see Arlovski winning in Round 2 by TKO

Santos vs. Munoz Jr.
Daniel Santos, DEC
Daniel Santos by Decision

Yu Frey vs. Reed
Elise Reed, TKO, R2
Elise Reed wins by TKO in the 2nd Round

Lacerda vs. Blackshear
Luan Lacerda, DEC
Luan Lacerda by Decision

Grishin vs. Lins
Maxim Grishin, DEC
Maximus by Decision

@meluka I wouldn’t say hammer, but people are totally sleeping on him. He’s much better than muin

Ehhh, idk about "much" better, but Castaneda should definitely be the favorite. I'm really not surprised the odds are almost a pick'em. There's very little separating guys like Gafurov, Anheliger, Miles Johns, Alatangheili and Castaneda from one another (in my humble opinion).

I will say Gafurov has a much clearer path to victory than Naimov but I still also lean Castaneda. 

I think he’s much better 

Muins striking isn’t really that good, it just looks scary because he carries a lot of power. He doesn’t let his hands go that much & is too dependent on landing that spinning back kick he so loves. He doesnt put out a lot of volume otherwise & his striking defense isn’t great either. He is marketed as a 2x combat sambo world champ but his grappling also leaves a lot to be desired. A gust of wind could knock him over & his top control isn’t all that suppressive. Pair this with the fact he has poor cardio & it seems like this will be a tough fight for Muin. Now, I’ll cut him slack for the dwcs fight because he came into the fight compromised & has also never looked that bad in his other fights. However, the other decisions I’ve seen him in, he is slowing down a lot after round 1. 

Now Castaneda is kind of a jack of all trades but a master of one. He’s got skills everywhere & uses his cardio as a weapon. He turns the pace up to a 12/10 and tries to break his opponents. Maybe skill for skill Muin is better in certain areas, but I just think the pressure of John is too much. Muin will be landing harder shots but all the volume & forward pressure is gonna be coming from John. Maybe he can get a takedown but again, his top control is nothing special. I could very easily see John getting right back up and putting the pressure on 

* Edited at 06.01.2023, 8:35 AM ET *

Did you just compare Anheliger to Castaneda?

Lol, no comment 

I mean you started that comment off saying Castaneda is much better and then preceded to write two paragraphs that seems to detail them as being very similar in terms of talent

I get in general the point you're trying to make though which is that stylistically you think it's a bad matchup for Gafurov.

You literally did comment though and yes, I did.

There is very little separating all of those guys in terms of skill, experience, and career highlights. They're all guys trying to crack the top 30. 

I can't remember a single thing about Gafarov from capping him what? A week ago? Other than that he can grapple. But my notes says Castañeda 55/45 Gafarov and to bet accordingly. I always rely on my notes when I cap a fight ahead of time so I suppose I didn't find him to be a trashcan.

Castaneda by close decision. 

All the skis and the ovs in the UFC, until I've seen them fight live all I see is a very blurry image of a guy with black hair and a neckbeard whose first english word is "brather". Could literally be anyone out of millions of people on earth.