PBP DWCS 2024 Week 8 PBP Discussion: Tue Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

[Jackonfire]

Tuesday 10.01.2024 at 08:00 PM ET
U.S. Broadcast: ESPN+
Venue: UFC Apex
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
MMA Bouts: 5

DWCS Week 8
205: Diyar Nurkozhay (9-0) vs. Bartosz Szewczyk (8-2-1)
145: Carlos Calderon (6-2) vs. Alberto Montes (10-1)
135: David Martinez (10-1) vs. Xavier Franklin (5-1)
185: Abdelah Er-Ramy (7-1) vs. Torrez Finney (9-0)
170: Jacobe Smith (8-0) vs. Christien Savoie (10-1-1)

Contender Series Weigh-in Results:​


 Diyar Nurkozhay (206) vs. Bartosz Szewczyk (206)
Carlos Calderon (145.5) vs. Alberto Montes (145.5)
David Martinez (136) vs. Xavier Franklin (135)
Abdelah Er-Ramy (186) vs. Torrez Finney (186)
Jacobe Smith (169.5) vs. Christien Savoie (170.5)



Betting Odds

Sportsbook Contender Series 2024 Week 8

 

[BoxerMaurits]

Hyped for this one

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Hoping for good performances from David Martinez, Diyar Nurgozhay and Jacobe Smith.

Smith reminds me of Woodley a bit.

 

[Buurtvader Ali]

 

[Deleted member 513083]

I hope Dana gives Finney a contract after his third time, especially on short notice.
He has given contracts to cans that basically become footnotes at most all the time, so have some mercy on Finney.

 

[BEATDOWNS]

6 or more (losing fighters get a contract too) plus a hot dog brander

 

[BjPenn2017]

Smith reminds me of Woodley a bit.

So skip this one since he’ll just be standing against the cage for 15 mins hoping his opponent runs into his right hand? lol

 

[MuffinsAppletree]

In

 

[Ares Black]

I hope Dana gives Finney a contract after his third time, especially on short notice.
He has given contracts to cans that basically become footnotes at most all the time, so have some mercy on Finney.

It's so silly. The week before Finney's first Contender Series fight, Dana signed a Bolivian farmer who got his ass kicked for 15 minutes. That guy is now 0-1 in the UFC, because of course he is.

José Medina ("Chicho") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology

José "Chicho" Medina (11-4-0) is a Pro MMA Fighter out of Santa Cruz, Bolivia and the #149th ranked Top Middleweight MMA fighter. View complete Tapology profile, bio, rankings, photos, news and record.

www.tapology.com

Meanwhile, Finney finished his opponent and was denied. Dana White is a clown.

 

[Lord Pyjamas]

Hoping for good performances from David Martinez, Diyar Nurgozhay and Jacobe Smith.

Smith reminds me of Woodley a bit.

Because of his music?

 

[liner]

.

 

[Neck&Neck]

 

[Deleted member 585708]

This didn’t go so well last week, but most weeks it’s been fine! So I’m speed-taping again.



Diyar Nurgozhay vs Bartosz Szewczyk

Spoiler

Undefeated Kazakh who won the Eagle FC belt sounds like a sure thing, right? Well, let’s see. Diyar looks to have got this chance after grabbing a finish of Emiliano Sordi, a less-than-durable journeyman who has fought a lot in PFL (lost to Ryan Spann on DWCS back in the day, too). Doesn’t mean much. Fight was slow, Diyar showed power in his hands, but I’ll reiterate: Sordi is not durable.

Diyar won the Eagle FC belt against a 19-14 guy with a mediocre record. Record was kinda similar to Sordi, but Diyar did not finish. Previously he’d crushed cans in R1, but found Eagle a step up. Diyar hurt Andreytsev with strikes in R2, showed good takedown defence in R1, and it’s kinda crazy Diyar didn’t finish in R2 suggesting he doesn’t have huge pop on his shots despite having power. Looked generally solid until R4 when Diyar seems to slow. That won’t matter here.

Bartosz is from the Polish non-KSW scene, and is 8-2-1 his only losses coming to Szymon Bajor (who had like a 28 fight experienced advantage) and Marcin Lazarz, a Split Decision defeat he avenged most recently. Bartosz has much faster footwork than Diyar, looks good at circling out, but he probably will stand in boxing range where Diyar could be dangerous. Bartosz looks a smoother striker, but will be there to hit if Diyar can cope with his speed on the exits.

Bartosz is very upright, has decent combos, looks like reasonable TDD, and will look for 3 or 4 strike combos punctuated by body/high kicks.

I actually think I like Diyar to win here, but I’m definitely going decision. Bartosz could style on Diyar if Diyar cannot close the distance, but I think the Kazakh will throw in a few takedown attempts and clinch work to slow it down. I actually don’t think it will be very exciting, hope I’m wrong.

Result: Diyar Nurgozhay by Decision

Alberto Montes vs Carlos Calderon

Spoiler

First thoughts: What’s the hook here? Both records are pretty meh, so this better be exciting…

Okay so this is all about that Karate or TKD style Montes has. Loads of kicks, lots of variety, high pace, and looks like he snatches subs too. His win over Rich Santiago was basically him styling on the guy before hooking up an Anaconda on the feet and choking him unconscious. Yeah. He’s an action fighter. So that’s the hook, what’s the catch?

This guy did lose to a nobody In Ira Lukowsky, and this was pure gameplanning from Ira. Put Montes on the fence where his arsenal is nulled, then you can afford to be a flat-footed power puncher type – and he KO’d Montes beautifully. He hasn’t won since. Major red flag on Montes.

Carlos Calderon is that 6-2 guy you wonder why they’re here. Like Montes, he’s fought in Combate Global, so there’s a talking point. Calderon is way taller than Montes which I wouldn’t have guessed actually. I guess it’s because Montes fights long with endless kicks. Calderon recently won a low level fight in LFA, which was actually really fun, with Calderon getting TAGGED on the feet before scoring a takedown. Calderon then took over, but I can see why he’s been picked here, this is a showcase fight for Montes (or so they hope).

Calderon has a less-bladed stance but does throw crazy kicks, and he’s probably comfortable doing that because he’s a decent grappler. Much of this will depend on if Calderon can get Montes down as and when he needs to, but as and when he tries, he’s going to have to watch out for those chokes. I can’t see a valid reason to pick Calderon here. I think if it goes longer, Calderon might be the tougher and slightly better rounded guy, particularly if he can close the distance and avoid those chokes in close.

Result: Alberto Montes by R1Sub

David Martinez vs Xavier Franklin

Spoiler

Martinez: first thoughts, fast, athletic, good striker, very hard to pin down, looks well-rounded, but I have reservations about the Combate level in general, and this guy is small. This guy definitely has the ‘UFC ready’ air about him, no question, his last finish was an insane spinning back kick KO of an experienced vet who he looked to have worn down nicely.

On the other side, Xavier Franklin is 5-0 (WTF, EXCUSE ME?!)… this guy better be good, or they’re basically trying to smuggle a Noche fighter in lol. Xavier looks tiny in his fights but Tap says he’s the taller guy here, which is so weird. Martinez must really be miniature. Okay so Xavier looks like a solid athlete and primarily a boxer. He likes to throw HARD. His cardio is a huge advantage to him at times, his win over Gutierrez basically saw him wear the guy down to the point he just sorta collapsed after some really nice powerful hooks to the body and whatnot. I do think he can mix the targets up really nicely, but I’m not getting the impression he’s as well rounded as Martinez – but will that even matter?

Seriously, though, how can Xavier be taller than Martinez? Has someone got something wrong here? Anyway, this looks like a fun fight to me, I actually really like both guys, and kinda wish they’d let Xavier get a few more fights under his belt before getting a fight like this – but will he just beat the shit out of Martinez? I think his issue is he’s going to be at a speed disadvantage, he’s a powerful-looking guy, as wide as he is tall, he’s going to need Martinez to slow down to put him in a rough spot, and… I dunno. I just don’t know. This is too close to call. I’m reticent to pick Martinez as this guy must be a flyweight… I’ll take the power of Franklin, assuming he has good TDD, which is admittedly a total shot in the dark. He looks like he would have the frame for it.

Result: Xavier Franklin by R3TKO

Abdellah Er-Ramy vs Torrez Finney

Spoiler

I’m not going to tape Torrez Finney, we’ve all seen him a million times, we know exactly what he is, the only thing we don’t know is… why is he back when Dana hates his style?

Judging by how quickly Er-Ramy got taken down in his recent R1TKO win in PFL, I can see Finney just DOMINATING this guy, he did not look good at all at stopping a wrestling offence. Very puzzling matchmaking. I like Er-Ramy’s kicks and strikes, he throws with INTENT, but I can’t see how it will matter. I think he gets worked over here and Finney gets his finish – maybe a sub – or we never see him again.

Result: Torrez Finney by R1Sub

Christian Savoie vs Jacobe Smith

Spoiler

Jacobe is a wrestler, he has hands, his wrestling opens up his hands, and he’s fought mediocre opposition – but experienced guys nonetheless. This guy’s wrestling is the start of everything, it looks like, but his top game is pretty boring. I can’t see Dana liking that at all. Basically, if Jacobe has to wrestle, he doesn’t look like much of a finisher – dominant, but not a finisher – but there’s a decent chance he’ll get you out of there before then anyway.

Smith looks a good athlete, good cardio for a muscular wrestler, that’s also a big deal.

Christian Savoie is a brawler with Jiu Jitsu I guess, one thing that seems to always be a feature of his fights is takedowns, and boy, that’s not good news here. Savoie is your multi-level guy though, he’ll get up and start punching you in the face, which I guess will give him a chance, just not a good one. This looks like your typical Barriault-type test only a little bit less refined. Can Smith beat a Barriault-type guy who zombies at you? And can Savoie even zombie at Smith if he gets taken down and beaten up?

I’ll pick Smith by Decision.

Result: Jacobe Smith by Decision

 

[Deleted member 585708]

It's so silly. The week before Finney's first Contender Series fight, Dana signed a Bolivian farmer who got his ass kicked for 15 minutes. That guy is now 0-1 in the UFC, because of course he is.

José Medina ("Chicho") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology

José "Chicho" Medina (11-4-0) is a Pro MMA Fighter out of Santa Cruz, Bolivia and the #149th ranked Top Middleweight MMA fighter. View complete Tapology profile, bio, rankings, photos, news and record.

www.tapology.com

Meanwhile, Finney finished his opponent and was denied. Dana White is a clown.

On the plus side, the fact Finney is here, and he's not given some nightmarish opponent 25-0 guy from the Caucasus shows me Dana acknowledges he's a clown.

 

[Oscar Madison]

I'm gonna be Dana --

"When I come in -- I don't know any of these guys or care about what they've done to get here.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TONIGHT!

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IN THIS FIGHT!

Be Joe Pyfer! Because that's all that matters"...

(Sanko nodding furiously)

 

[Substance Abuse]

The look on both of their faces stuck with me. We enjoy this sport, but man, you can almost feel the pain through the screen. Hopefully we get some good fights tonight. Respect to both participants in each bout.

 

[Jose Beehive]

Hola amigos

 

[WoozyFailGuy]

1. I'm here on time for the first time in weeks
2. it's only male fights
3. we're destined for some brutal finishes

 

[liner]

Yes it's starting! I got half an hour live. Hopefully at least one solid fight in the pbp. Pbp makes this so much more fun to watch.

 

[Axe720]

After missing the fights Saturday and spending the weekend with no power, no internet, and soaking up water out of one of my rooms, I'm glad to be back. Hope everyone is safe after the storm. Let's see some violence!