News Chris Curtis vs Max Griffin, Calvin Kattar vs Steve Garcia, Jake Matthews vs Chidi Njokuani Added to UFC Nashville

Kattar vs Garcia will be violent

Garcia is on a good streak and will finish Kattar
 
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1.) Curtis should have been at 170 from the start. He had a decent run at the regional scene at 170 and acquitted himself well against some tough opponents in the PFL even in his losses fighting at Welter. At 185 he was always undersized. But with him abruptly deciding to make the cut again when he's now on a loss streak after taking a lot of wear-and-tear lately... at 37 years old, no less... the optics aren't great. He's already visibly slowed down against the last few Middleweights he's fought, so I imagine the speed differential will be that much more noticeable at 170. It might give him a little late-career resurgence to pick up a couple of Ws and paychecks before he calls it a career, but it could just as easily backfire.

As for the match-up, Griffin is a decent opponent for him. Another scrappy vet who will test every area of Chris's game. He's a little more well-rounded, maybe not as good of a pure boxer though. I suspect Chris is able to sprawl Griffin's takedown attempts and win enough pocket exchanges to win a bloody 29-28 Decision, but it'll definitely get rough at some point. Max's best bet is to keep the threat of the takedown in Chris's mind and use his kicks and footwork as much as possible.

2.) Pretty excited for this one. It's hard to get a read on where Kattar is at in terms of his downward trajectory. He's certainly in the twilight of his career, but at the same time I don't want to over-correct... because it's not hard to imagine him putting together a "Y'all must've forgot" kind of performance, especially against someone like Garcia.

I will admit that Steve had exceeded my expectations. He is a pretty basic fighter, but his power is otherworldly for a FW and I legitimately think he might be able to give dudes like Emmett and Silva a run for their money in that regard. Decent hand speed, too. His shot selection, defense, grappling, and overall skill set are all pretty mediocre but he's aggressive and has loads of heart which lets that power really shine through. Maybe that's enough to let him clip Calvin and finish him where no one else has, or at least do enough damage to sway the judges. If not, I see Calvin piecing him up very badly and putting on a bit of a clinic.

3.) Chidi's age worries me, especially because I think he's cutting a fuckton of weight. I also think Matthews could mix in the grappling with his boxing here, both of which have historically troubled Chidi. That being said, I'm gonna favor Chidi. He's shown a lot of success in harnessing his massive frame to bully opponents in clinch & wrestling exchanges at 170 if things get physical and at range he's an exceedingly technical striker with a vast array of weapons. So long as he's the one dictating range and pace, I think he'll do fine. Matthews often seems a bit too lackadaisical in his fights, I don't think he's the one to make Chidi uncomfortable in the way he needs to.

4.) Tuco has good training partners and a couple of decent wins on the regional scene, but I don't think he's very good in the grand scheme of things. He seemed hopelessly outclassed against both Sy and Stirling. Tafa is way less talented than either of those guys and is testing the waters at 205 (which I do think he has the frame for) for the first time, though.

Tokkos has been KO'd multiple times in his career, so he's certainly vulnerable to someone with Tafa's sort of power. If he plays around on the feet, it's probably only a matter of time until he gets caught. He might have a bit of a speed advantage and could even win a handful of striking exchanges, but he should really look to set up takedowns before hunting submissions on Junior. Tafa's defensive grappling is... fairly suspect.

I'll probably favor Tafa, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Tafa shit the bed and get outgrappled here.
 
Siver! said:
Scheduled for 170, I believe.

Pretty late in his career for Curtis to start cutting, not a fan of that.
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He fought at ww before and I do think he is undersized for 185.with that said the older you get the harder the cuts seen to be. i think he smokes Griffin though.
 
Griffin vs Curtis sounds like an ex-WW gatekeeper vs an ex-MW gatekeeper fight
Njokuani was 0-3 at MW, and he is now 3-0 at WW. I am curious to see what he can do vs Matthews
Katar vs Garcia is a good fight, as Katar seems one foot out (0-4), and Garcia is on a 5-fight win streak
Tuco vs Tafa should not be a UFC fight
 
Garcia vs Kattar-something has to give?
Kattar -hasnt been stopped via strikes
Garcia -stops everyone with strikes

If Kattar doesnt get koes I think he comes back late to tko Garcia
 
Lets see if Chidi can make weight in this one, he failed in his last two fights..
 
MMAJUNKIE had Tafa fighting someone else earlier today, Gautier I think.

Think Njokuani lands something nasty on Matthews and Curtis wins a decision.
 
Prediction: Curtis is going to complain about something fight related :p

I do agree with him complaining about last fight stoppage, though.
 
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