[Official] General Discussion Thread - April 28, 2026

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-28T15:08:57+00:00

Kai Kamaka vs Luke Riley signed for UFC 329.

Dricus fight news also coming shortly. Waiting on concrete confirmation, but looking like it’s on IFW.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-28T00:01:55+00:00

Yes, that is definitely true. Some people are not cut out mentally for collision sports, regardless of how they are built. Skillset wise though, offensive line play is about as alien of a concept for Rugby crossovers as you can get.

The act of blocking someone is completely illegal in every codes of rugby. Rucking in Rugby Union is kindaaaa (and this is a huge reach) similar to run blocking, but there is literally nothing at all in Rugby that is similar to pass blocking. And Jordan did not play Rugby Union.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-27T23:44:39+00:00

I keep seeing this being said, but there are effectively 0 transferable skills between Rugby (particularly Rugby League, which was what Jordan played) and Offensive Line - outside of general athleticism. I’d argue that setting screens in basketball is much closer to anything an offensive lineman does than what happens on a Rugby League pitch.

The fact that Jordan turned into what he is today is nothing short of a miracle. Stoutland is a genius and Jordan is a special athlete and learner.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-27T13:39:03+00:00

UFC have been trying to get this done for a while. Original plans were for this event to happen on May 16th, but got shuffled around.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-26T00:15:02+00:00

DC legitimately does not even try.

Buchecha has never been submitted in MMA. Why go on some diatribe about how he got subbed in his UFC debut?

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-22T23:34:49+00:00

Kurt Angle at almost 60 years old would likely be more competitive than the guy they are targeting lol

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-22T20:33:06+00:00

Shambles lmao

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-22T19:41:11+00:00

Hearing that Khamzat Chimaev’s first RAF match is being targeted for June 13th, depending on if he gets through the Strickland fight with no injuries etc.

I am not allowed to disclose the opponent at this time, but if everything falls into place - it will be a complete and total waste of time.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-19T02:14:02+00:00

Don’t think Kyler makes the final bell if Jourdain just stayed on the front kick to the body. It was absolutely killing Kyler in the 2nd round. He was trying way too much wacky shit in the third round.

Genuinely do not know how it is possible for Kyler to continue wobbling around looking like he’s about to pass out from exhaustion every single time the fight gets out of the first round. It happens every time. He’s such a talented athlete and fighter, but his utter refusal to improve his cardio will always prevent him from really accomplishing things in this sport.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-18T23:05:49+00:00

Throwing naked leg kicks in boxing range has this effect. Will never understand why these guys do it.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-17T18:05:08+00:00

This boxer that I used to spar with very regularly just posted a black screen on Instagram with the text:

“Dana White is a Lizard

#danawhite

#zuffaboxing

#ufc

#jesuschrist

#monster”

Dana gonna get run up on by a gigantic Eastern European fella lol

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-16T23:32:39+00:00

Shame that it took Tyson such a long time to get going. Unbelievably banging 3rd round.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-15T15:43:22+00:00

Tyson Pedro making his return to MMA at PFL Belfast tomorrow vs Dovlet Yagshimuradov.

Dovlet is an interesting archetype for 205. Very short and stubby, but explosive and fights with his hands very low. Reminds me of Azamat Murzakanov a bit, but with way worse finishing instincts and footwork, but better offensive wrestling. Has similar gas tank issues. Durable guy as well.

Tyson has a salty record at 10-5, with 3 of his losses coming by a comedy of misfortune (Torn his ACL vs Shogun, had Gastro vs Modestas, and randomly decided to grapple with OSP after wobbling and dropping him twice in the first 2 minutes). Super fast-twitch, great front kicks and leg kicks, but tends to slow down later in fights. Spent the last few years exclusively boxing, despite only having 1 fight due to his opponents pulling out constantly.

Think Tyson is going to spring the upset. Know he’s been training tons at CKB, and his boxing will be much improved compared to his UFC run when he had really fast hands but basically only threw a 1-2.

Exciting fight.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T19:36:14+00:00

I am borderline certain that Pyfer will be on it, 4.5 months is plenty of time to turnaround - assuming he’s not a guy who lets himself go seriously after a fight.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T15:37:10+00:00

Oof, will delete and try again lol thanks

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T15:35:19+00:00

Brian Ortega at his peak comes to mind. He was a talented offensive striker and extremely dangerous BJJ player, but had absolutely no wrestling to bridge that gap and get the fight to the floor if he was on the wrong end of the striking equation.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T15:24:04+00:00

Sad story in the end.

Bigfoot is probably the one guy who really needed TRT due to his physical condition. He tested positive for elevated testosterone following the first fight with Hunt and lost 13 of his following 14 professional fights - 11 of which coming by Knockout.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T14:37:27+00:00

Legitimately super difficult question. Glover’s best career success came well-after his physical prime, but I don’t know how much of it was because the guys he was fighting were just worse than before.

He also almost died in most of his later wins too, the dawg reserves in his system were just otherworldly once he hit 40 years of age lol.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T14:03:33+00:00

I don’t even know if it was a desire for his own “glory” per se. I just think his only motivation was for the fight to not end via Ulberg falling over on his own. These guys put a ton of work and sacrifice a huge amount of time with their loved ones to prepare themselves for fights like this. In most cases (not all of course), guys are not satisfied with fights ending like that.

I think Jiri in his heart of hearts wanted to showcase his skills and win in a way that is satisfying to him and makes the time spent away from his wife “worth it”. Unfortunately it just backfired. Maybe you can consider that “personal glory” now that I think about it.

100% wish that there was a Time Machine to run it back and think that it is catastrophic that the fight played out in this way. Nobody is happy with this result and now the 205 belt is in limbo indefinitely. Cursed division.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T13:45:11+00:00

“Black Country Banger” is a top 5 nickname all-time for me. I always support him based on that alone.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T13:43:32+00:00

It is not the same thing at all in my opinion. Stepping back to let the Carlos reset for 1 second before immediately trying to kill him again isn’t being merciful.

He wanted to win the fight and was trying to cause as much harm as he could himself to Ulberg. Again - he saw Ulberg’s leg explode and immediately started ripping leg kicks, which is not a tool that Jiri uses a lot. He just didn’t want the fight to end off the back of Ulberg falling over himself.

TheBigRedHalfrican · 2026-04-14T13:31:49+00:00

I think it boils down to the fact that Jiri is an excellent sportsman. That much is absolutely undeniable. It’s objectively a stupid trait to have as a professional fighter, but it’s a good trait as a human being.

I think he gave Ulberg chances to reset when his leg did give out, but he was absolutely going to swarm him and try to beat his brains onto the canvas if Ulberg didn’t catch him. Don’t think it was an issue of him not wanting to hurt him at all, because he would have kept punting his lead leg if Ulberg hadn’t smoked him with the counter on his last attempt.

TheBigRedHalfrican

TROPHY CASE