UFC Fight Night: Makhachev vs. Moisés

The official Tapology discussion thread for the event!

Reneau vs. Tate
Miesha Tate, DEC
blah blah blah. enough with the activity sh*t already. This fight is Miesha Tate's to lose. and i don't see her losing.

Islam Makhachev

19-1-0 ranked #6 worldwide lightweight, 5’10” 70.5in reach, coming off 7 back to back wins in UFC against low level fighters. Dominated Drew Dober on the ground in March tape rev.

Striking: Feints a lot, reads shots well and evades well; southpaw, vulnerable to the jab and kicks.

Ground and Grappling: High-level wrestler with the ability to take people down with confidence, shoots and executes well, converts clinch control to sweeps and throws using Sambo and Judo style moves, D.C. sees him on par with Khabib. And that alone is something of a spectacle.

Overall: Russian fighter of Dagestan with good reads, defense, takedown ability and grappling on a high level. This opponent will also have good ground game, reads and strike defense, be able to break the southpaw guard standing up, and his challenge will be not to get hurt by low kicks and take the fight down and win by submission. On his feet, I don’t know man, he will fight a timed counter puncher and younger fighter Thiago.

Weigh-in: Good, a bit tired/worn out looking. 

Thiago Moises

15-4-0, Ranked #14 lightweight worldwide, coming off of 3 back to back wins, high level BJJ practictioner 5’9 70.5in reach, last fight against Alexander Hernandez in 2021

Striking: Muay Thai. Fights comfortably with good reads and defense. Has solid striking IQ and can land low leg kicks and roundhouse kicks to the jaw. Patient.

 

Grappling and Ground: BJJ Black Belt ; taking him down will be hard for Islam but these two will not end easy on the ground.

 

Overall: Dual-Threat to Islam; Great challenger and will make a solid bout. Shoutout to matchmakers. Calm, relaxed fighter patient with good reads and counters inside the distance, will break a fighter down with devastating kicks; not someone to take as a joke on the ground. Cardio is superb like opponent. Tough pick man. Both have good takedown ability, and kick/reads. It will be a tough bout if both fight as they always do probably go 3 rounds by points.

 

Weigh in: looked healthy and confident esp at press!

 

Safe Picks

Nascimiento ML v Baudot

Rodrigo 

overall has Non-technical poor standup with excellent takedown conversions and grappling skills plus BJJ skills. What he lacks in speed, he makes in power. If he gets on his back in Ground Pound that worries me, he does poor against someone like Chris Daukus who punched fast and loaded up on combos. His shell defense is pretty good on the cage , but in the middle he needs work.

 Baudot 

He is not a combo boxer. Occasionally he will throw the cross with a hook, but when he gets caught it is over. He is unable to move around the ring consistently. He is a green fighter and may not be UFC material.

Figuieredo ML v Gordon

Figuieredo - Francisco is good at BJJ, grappling, and takedowns. His kicks setup distractions for shooting or getting into a clinch fight. His BJJ and takedown + defense against submissions is A1. Cardio has been an issue in past, take note.

Gordon - Moves too inefficiently, too jittery, great ring movement in terms of circling, not being backed up, if he gets taken down by a BJJ expert, ITS OVER. This guy has WORK TO DO.

Lemos ML v Ruiz 

Lemos - Movement is paced with and a confident Muay Thai practitioner just easy to tell; reads well and evades, highly powerful punches for a lady IQ solid, and accurate powerful jab that will drop women instantly, cross combo that stuns all women in her class just from her bout with Livinha. Great distance management and control

Ruiz - She will pose a problem for Lemos with her pressure, and ground game. Lemos will have to keep the distance and use her power to knock her down. These ladies are both well rounded fighters, but Lemos has more power and better kicks/distancing than. She def has UFC star potential and with some good training can see her climbing into the top 10 easy

One Big Parlay Below

Nascimiento ML

Figueiredo ML 

Johns ML

Johns - :  Wrestler with solid pace, good boxing shell defense, cardio, Strength are his Cardio, strength, explosiveness, unpredictable, fast speed, takedown attempt Weaknesses are his inability to convert takedowns to the ground and finish them or do submissions or effective control, against a BJJ black belt from Brazil, this will be an issue. Another weakness is against a taller 

fighter who uses kicks to keep distance from him.  WATCH WEIGH INS

Dos Santos - Strengths are his power to weight ratio able to land that right hand and concuss his opponent then go for the takedown, ability to submit someone efficiently with his BJJ skills being top notch, great against the cage in clinch battles. Weakness areas are his lack of defense when throwing his power punch the right cross, and his in. He did phenomenal against Martin Day on takedown and submission. Fight against Andre Ewell was major reach disadvantage. One way he can easily lose is by points from opponents speedy jab. He doesn’t do a good job of covering with shell defense and a speedy southpaw jab with reach is his kryptonite. Needs work on setting punches up. Strong chin tough guy. Mentally egotistic and can get in his head. Has more experienced with seasoned fighters. Tough one.

Taha ML

Taha - Again a tough one to pick. Toss up really. He is technical with counters for everything, Taha is a quick and powerful fighter with a tough attitude, chin, mentally focused and technical. He has issues against high level BJJ practitioners, taller kick-boxers, and closing distance.  Against Sergey, he will need to watch for a timed cross to the chin and work to win by points.

Sergey Morozov - Fights with heart; Has a good right hand, heart, weaknesses are his inability to form effective combination punches, flatfooted. Another weakness is getting taken down and kicked. Against Khalid, his biggest worry should be getting KOd or out worked by pressure. Toss up. Both looked solid at weigh ins.

Lemos ML

Benitez ML everyone is leaning to Quarantillo; but I give edge to Benitez off tape reviews + depth of past fights

Benitez - Trains at AKA which is elite. He might have problems against the jab of Quarantillo. He will need to take the legs out, maintain distance as Quarantillo loves being close and brawling. Strength wise, he will have an easier time fighting in clinch and pushing Quarantillo around. Benitez has the advantage. Pressure boxers like Quarantillo are not effective against Benitez fight IQ.

Quarantillo - This fighter is traditionally in flyweight ranked #39 (145lb) but moved up to lightweight (155lb) to fight Gabriel Benitez. (at least what Tapology stated). He has a reach adv with a tall and lanky physique reminds me of Sean O’Malley. Likes to brawl. His signature style is lead with the jab, drop low, and finish with the right. Kicks are strong too, but can get taken down. Easy to take down. Not a good clinch grappler. Will want to stand it up. Good knees to body as counters. Strong striking and reach with his frame he is naturally easier to make weight at light weight at 5’10”. Keeps his jab hand too low and can get knocked out by an accurate right from opponent.

Stoltzfus ML

Vieira - From his record and wins and losses, he is too one-dimensional before tape, relying on BJJ too much. After tape review, against Anthony Hernandez, he almost won by taking ground control and submitting Hernandez but Hernandez escaped and he gassed. I would say he has a very poor gas tank; won’t last past 1 round.  Dana White may just cut him after this.

Stoltzfus -  : He will have no issues reach wise, but power wise at a disadvantage. On the ground, he will have no issues evading submissions, but will want the fight standing up to have his edge. I believe he will have more gas in his tank, better standup (just a bit better), but against a BJJ expert like Rodolfo, I feel he will be much weaker strength wise and at a huge disadvantage on the ground.

Gamrot ML

Gamrot - An in-shape fighter with good endurance, lack of depth in UFC experience so I can’t give too much credit. He is strong in unconventional fighting styles by moving left and right constantly and takedowns with good power and reflexes. His weaknesses are maintaining dominance on the ground, expanding energy from moving a lot, leaving himself way to exposed up top on feet, and someone who can close the distance will be a threat to him.

Stephens - Jeremy Stephens good weigh in/bit dry/tired/unconfident. This guy is a veteran with depth of experience and age too. Has stood his own against some of the best but he doesn’t have the IQ to surpass his past. He is a hard worker, but fails to be intelligent. He can get in his head which is another issue against Gamrot. This may be his phase out. Had issues making featherweight; and he has the reach advantage. **Watch weigh ins

Miesha Tate ML

Miesha - 18-7-0, ranked #42 bantamweight, has beat Holly Holm before, automatically gets my bias, coming off win against Jessica Eye (tape), 5’6” 66.5” reach, been out the came since 2016

 

Striking: Poor head movement, good timing of the right, good reads and level changes; preserves her energy well and counters well

Ground and Grappling: Good wrestling and submissions

Overall: Will have the reach disadvantage here. Will have the experience advantage and looking more young and able. Strong wrestler; will dominate clinch. Never been knocked out before. Coming off 5 year hiatus; watch weigh ins; but overall ML

 Marion Reneau - 9-7-1, #13 ranked in bantamweight, 5’6” 68in reach,

coming off 4 Ls to moderately skilled women, 44 years old. Tape against Macy Chiasson

Striking: A stout fighter with strong kicks and cross

Grappling: Trouble in clinch; esp taller fighters;

Overall: A stout fighter with good level and movement; poor boxing strong kicks; on the way out; Weak damaged nose

 

 

 

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 12:54 AM ET *

Reneau TKO's Cupcake Tate 2nd round

Bro, you get mad at my picks on a picking site, how can you be this stupid????. I just copy all your picks to make you happy darling 

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 12:22 AM ET *

Makhachev vs. Moisés
Islam Makhachev, DEC
Islam by smesh. Thiago is good, but as Khabib would say, "This guy is not on my level." Islam might get the ground and pound finish, but Thiago's never been finished, so I'm going with the decision.

Reneau vs. Tate
Marion Reneau, DEC
I know probably the obvious pick is Tate, but idk I have this gut feeling Reneau is gonna give it everything in her retirement fight and get the win. That 4 and a half year layoff doesn't make me feel confident in picking Tate.

Vieira vs. Stoltzfus
Dustin Stoltzfus, SUB, R2
I would absolutely love if Vieira comes out and gets a slick sub in the first. This guy is a world class BJJ practitioner, but damn, that last fight... sheesh! He gassed so quick, so I'm not sure I can trust his cardio. If this gets out of the first round, I think Stoltzfus can find the finish just like Anthony Hernandez just did.

Rodriguez vs. Parsons
Daniel Rodriguez, TKO, R2
Parsons has 9 wins, all 9 subs... I wonder where he's gonna wanna take this fight lol. D-Rod trains at 10th Planet, so I trust his jiu jitsu. I think this is a terrible matchup for Parsons as his debut.

Lemos vs. Ruiz
Amanda Lemos, TKO, R2
All Ruiz has is her judo throws, and Lemos isn't gonna let her do that like Buys did. Ruiz is just too small, she should honestly be fighting at atom weight.

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 1:14 AM ET *

Makhachev vs. Moisés
Islam Makhachev, DEC
If Islam can avoid the submissions/bad positions when going for taking down Thiago, which I believe he will, then he easily dominates this on the ground. However, it's not like Moises is Demian Maia so maybe I'm exaggerating a bit.

Makhachev vs. Moisés
Islam Makhachev, DEC
Moisés is very underrated but Makhachev is better than him everywhere and will just wrestle him to a decision.

Reneau vs. Tate
Miesha Tate, DEC
Miesha has been away for a long time but she looks ready and Reneau shouldn’t give her any problems here. If Tate fights like she used to before, and that’s a big if, this will be an easy win for her.

Gamrot vs. Stephens
Mateusz Gamrot, DEC
Jeremy Stephens only has one path to victory in this fight and that’s knocking Gamrot out. I’ll take Gamrot to win here.

Vieira vs. Stoltzfus
Dustin Stoltzfus, TKO, R1
After watching Vieira get submitted by Fluffy Hernandez in his last fight, I can’t back the guy. Stoltzfus isn’t anything amazing but he should be able to play it safe early on and then Vieira will gas out heavily again. I meant to put Stoltzfus by decision. 

Quarantillo vs. Benítez
Gabriel Benítez, TKO, R2
Tapology votes leaning heavily towards Quarantillo and I honestly have no idea why. Benitez looked good on the scale and his kicks are going to be a very big problem for Billy Q. Billy Q puts up a good pace all fight but Moggly is going to knock him out.

Rodriguez vs. Parsons
Daniel Rodriguez, TKO, R2
Rodriguez should make this look easy because Parsons has fought cans and is coming in on short notice.

Lemos vs. Ruiz
Amanda Lemos, DEC
Ruiz pulled off a huge upset in her debut against Buys but I think she will lose here. Amanda Lemos is obviously on another level than Buys and she will prove that tonight.

Taha vs. Morozov
Sergey Morozov, DEC
Taha has extremely heavy punching power and Morozov will get knocked tf out if he tries to strike with him. I think Morozov plays it smart and takes Taha down every round.

dos Santos vs. Johns
Miles Johns, DEC
This is a very hard fight to call but I’m leaning Johns. I think dos Santos is a good fighter but Johns is on the rise.

Figueiredo vs. Gordon
Francisco Figueiredo, TKO, R1
If you lay -310 down on Figgy I don’t know what to say. Both of these guys aren’t good. I would not be shocked if Gordon pulls off the upset if his chin can hold up for more than 2 minutes. I’m going to say it doesn’t.

Nascimento vs. Baudot
Rodrigo Nascimento, SUB, R1
Alan Baudot is so bad. Nascimento still has a lot to work on and someone could expose him along the way but it won’t be Baudot.

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 1:12 PM ET *

Damn Tapology doing me dirty by not updating.

- Makhachev 4th Round Sub, Moises BJJ doesn't matter when he is being russian hammered by Mr.Makhachev.

- Benitez DEC, Billy Q should be able to hang with his cardio but dude needs STRENGTH!


- Morozov DEC, Taha looked sucked at weigh ins and Morozov looked STONE COLD!

- Lemos SUB 2nd RND, Ruiz gives her back up a lot and has that MEXICAN FIGHT SPIRIT, she will not be KO'd. Submission do to putting herself in a bad position very likely on the other hand.

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 8:05 AM ET *

Reneau vs. Tate
Miesha Tate, DEC
Listening to Reneau's interview she's already thinking about retirement, hell probably already retired in her mind just collecting her last check. She was saying she can't wait to do normal things again and whatnot, while Tate has a goal to make a good comeback into the sport and climb up the rankings for a title shot. Was a tough fight for me to judge nonetheless due to the long layoff for Tate but I'll choose based on the mentalities between the 2 

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 8:58 AM ET *

Nascimento vs. Baudot
Rodrigo Nascimento, SUB, R1
I am 50/50 on this fight but if I had to lean more to one side it'll be Rodrigo, Aspinall double legged Baudot with ease last fight so his takedown defense is skeptical. I'll remain 50/50 though because it's the UFC, they're heavyweights and it's the 1st fight of the night. I've learned my lesson locking a fighter in the 1st fight of the night, liable to ruin your whole night just that fast

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 9:10 AM ET *

F. Figueiredo couldn't finish Rivera and practically struggled with him on the feet and that doesn't sit right with me, without him taking Rivera down it would've been a close decision. If Malcolm didn't look so bad at weigh ins I wouldn't be counting him out as much here

Quarantillo vs. Benítez
Billy Quarantillo, DEC
Is Vegas smarter than all of us?

Figueiredo vs. Gordon
Francisco Figueiredo, DEC
Much closer than the picks or odds suggest. Being the only fighter in the UFC to have fought Jerome Rivera and NOT finished him doesn't inspire confidence. Rooting for Gordon.

Makhachev vs. Moisés
Islam Makhachev, DEC
i feel like islam could finish it, but moises has never been finished so i'll go decision.

Reneau vs. Tate
Miesha Tate, DEC
think marion is just psyched to get another payday and the chance to fight a pioneer.

Gamrot vs. Stephens
Mateusz Gamrot, DEC
maybe jeremy stephens can finally get removed from the rankings here. he's gonna swing big, but i'm expecting gamrot to be able to matador him and change levels opportunistically.

Vieira vs. Stoltzfus
Rodolfo Vieira, SUB, R1
straight forward pick, i'll say rodolfo learned to conserve a little better.

Quarantillo vs. Benítez
Billy Quarantillo, DEC
i'll say billy's activity gets him ahead on scorecards.

Rodriguez vs. Parsons
Daniel Rodriguez, TKO, R2
not enough known about parsons to think he'll pull out a sub, so instead i'll take yet another popular pick and say rodriguez snipes him.

Lemos vs. Ruiz
Amanda Lemos, DEC
monster rat came through and maybe got an undeserved decision, i don't think lemos is gonna be as easy to drag around.

Taha vs. Morozov
Sergey Morozov, DEC
losing to a nurmagomedov is understandable, as is losing to barcelos, but after the failed test i have my concerns.

dos Santos vs. Johns
Miles Johns, DEC
submitting martin day isn't gonna get me to take dos santos, though obviously seeing johns get ko'd by bautista has me thinking it could happen again.

Figueiredo vs. Gordon
Francisco Figueiredo, TKO, R1
yeah... this kinda seems like a setup for fig.

Nascimento vs. Baudot
Rodrigo Nascimento, SUB, R2
can't fault baudot for losing to aspinall, nor rodrigo for losing to daukaus. anything can happen at hw, but i see why nas via sub is the popular pick so i'll get on board.

Makhachev vs. Moisés
Islam Makhachev, SUB, R5
Last second, when it looks like he's already got a decision win in the bag.

Reneau vs. Tate
Miesha Tate, DEC
I think Reneau retires having never been finished, which is cool.

Gamrot vs. Stephens
Mateusz Gamrot, TKO, R3
The difference in fight IQ is astronomical, and I think Gamrot fights defensively enough to avoid getting caught with a bomb

Vieira vs. Stoltzfus
Dustin Stoltzfus, SUB, R2
More embarrassing when it happens twice

Lemos vs. Ruiz
Montserrat Ruiz, SUB, R2
It's time to put some respect on the name

Taha vs. Morozov
Sergey Morozov, DEC
Some live dogs all over this card

Nascimento vs. Baudot
Rodrigo Nascimento, SUB, R1
This is such a mismatch

* Edited at 07.17.2021, 11:28 AM ET *

Gamrot vs. Stephens
Mateusz Gamrot, DEC
Gamrot should do the sensible thing here, don't brawl, jab move, takedowns, easy decision. But I Wont be surprised if Stephens KO's Gamrot and he doesn't ****** MOVE!!!

Quarantillo vs. Benítez
Gabriel Benítez, DEC
I always find it interesting when Tapology disagrees with the bookies. I agree with the bookies here, Mowgli should handle Quarantillos pressure and use it to land hard strikes, especially those nasty leg kicks he throws. Billy Q is a fun fighter, I think this will be fight of the night, but Mowgli will prevail

Lemos vs. Ruiz
Amanda Lemos, TKO, R2
Erm Yeah so spamming head and arm throws is gonna lead to an absolute **** kickin here!!!

Figueiredo vs. Gordon
Malcolm Gordon, SUB, R2
Biggy Figgy aint Figgy Smalls. If Gordon wasn't made of glass I'd be all over him at this price. Still contemplating picking Gordon here just for the fact that Figgy is WAY overrated here!!! Just becuase their brother/sister is a great fighter doesn't mean they are!! Yet they always get overrated! See Antonina Shev, Alex Emielankenko, Valentijn Overeem, Dan Miller,Mo Usman, Nick Serra, Dan Lauzon, there's been a TONNE yet still you get odds like this!!?? ****, after that rant I have kinda forced myself into picking Gordon haven't I! Welp, here goes

Tieoken, I'd put Moises 4th on the live dog list behind Billy Q, Morozov, and Gordon.

Rodriguez vs. Parsons
Daniel Rodriguez, DEC
This should be a good one. D Rod is very good at sticking on the outside landing big punches with good movement to go with it. Parsons will come out aggressive, look to back you up against the fence and take you down which is where he does his best work. Feel like this won’t work against a guy in Rodriguez who good grappling and Jiu Jitsu training over at 10th planet. Rodriguez was also training for Abubakar who is a strong wrestler so feel like he should be prepared for this sort of matchup

Lemos vs. Ruiz
Amanda Lemos, TKO, R2
Lemos should dominate Ruiz here, way too big and skilled in all areas. We all know what Ruiz is going to try and do, close the distance clinch up and then look for that head lock to drag you down to the mat. That won’t work against Lemos who is so strong and physical for the weight class

Taha vs. Morozov
Sergey Morozov, DEC
This one is going to be a very close and entertaining fight. Morozov is probably the more technical guy who also has decent counters which could stifle Taha’s offence. He may struggle with Taha’s athleticism, but I feel like his overall skill set will get him the win. Close fight though

dos Santos vs. Johns
Miles Johns, TKO, R2
This should be Johns fight to lose. He looked so solid in his last fight and massively improved in the striking department, especially with his lead hand. Johns also has good wrestling so I think he can dictate where this fight goes. He will have to be careful though as ADS is pretty reliable to spend 15 minutes biting down on the mouthpiece looking for the finish. He may have success backing up Johns however, but I feel Johns fights well on the back foot and can find the finish later on in the fight

Figueiredo vs. Gordon
Francisco Figueiredo, DEC
Gordons awful fragility is what has me heavily favouring fig here. He should be better than Gordon in all aspects, striking and grappling especially, which is Gordon’s only path to victory imo, however figueiredo has him outgunned there

Nascimento vs. Baudot
Rodrigo Nascimento, SUB, R1
Nascimento should win this handily tbh. Baudot’s grappling defence is awful and Nascimento is a good grappler. Baudot does have some pretty unorthodox strikes so Nascimento should be careful for however long it lasts on the feet. Nascimento should get the takedown quickly and find the sub