News Edson Barboza vs Justin Gaethje official for UFC Philly on March 30th

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Yeah fair points.

If you're reasoning Gaethje to win, you definitely have to say Barboza is susceptible to pressure. Who knows, Justin might also want to dust off his wrestling shoes to give edson more to think about.

If you want to see it for Edson, there are reasons as well. He is susceptible to pressure but Gaethje is less tricky than the guys who have had success against him in the past. There have been guys like Melendez for example who pressured Barboza a lot but didn't threaten enough with the TD to make him uncomfortable. Melendez got lit the fuck up in the close range, despite looking sharp early and pressure hard. Gaethje is really prone to eating big, clean shots. That's basically his M.O, even against less talented strikers.

I think the x-factor is how well can Gaethje take cleans shots from Edson. Unless he pulls out another quick knockout (which is entirely possible), you can almost bet Edson is going to tag him a lot. What worried me about Gaethje against Vick (I was rooting hard for justin) was that Vick kicked him in the first 30 seconds and it seemed to hurt Justin a lot but Vick didn't notice. He addressed after that he was hurt bad to the body from that kick. He is battle worn you know. He's been stopped by strikes in 2 of his last three and rocked and dropped in 5 of his last 6.

Edson took a ton of damage from Khabib and Lee as well but at least against Hooker he showed no signs of residual effect. At least in my opinion. I don't know if you agree.

Melendez doesn't have much punching power and he's far more of a grappler in MMA than Gaethje is. I'm not sure who I favor in this fight as I can see either guy winning. I really think the most important thing is who controls the range, if Barboza can keep Gaethje at kickboxing range for long periods of time he will likely win, if he cannot and Gaethje is constantly in punching range of Barboza then he likely wins. Barboza is really good but his best weapons are his kicks and he needs range for those while Gaethje is much better in the pocket than Barboza is and even throws low kicks from that range as well(Barboza doesn't in that range).

I do agree that Barboza doesn't seem to have been negatively impacted by the Khabib and Lee fights which was a question before his last fight, same can be said for Gaethje though as well since both have taken a lot of damage in 2018.

It seems the poll results are accurate, this is a very close fight and should be a great one, I just hope it lives up to the match up on paper.

 

[legkicktko]

Melendez doesn't have much punching power and he's far more of a grappler in MMA than Gaethje is. I'm not sure who I favor in this fight as I can see either guy winning. I really think the most important thing is who controls the range, if Barboza can keep Gaethje at kickboxing range for long periods of time he will likely win, if he cannot and Gaethje is constantly in punching range of Barboza then he likely wins. Barboza is really good but his best weapons are his kicks and he needs range for those while Gaethje is much better in the pocket than Barboza is and even throws low kicks from that range as well(Barboza doesn't in that range).

Yeah, possibly but Gil’s boxing at least in my opinion is on a comparable level to Justin’s. Just does hit way harder though and has leg kicks.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see some knees in the clinch come into play like the kind Hooker ate in their fight. Justin likes to duck his head a lot when he’s in close. That’s how Alvarez KO’d him.

 

[who?]

stylistic nightmare for justin

stupid fight really

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Yeah, possibly but Gil’s boxing at least in my opinion is on a comparable level to Justin’s. Just does hit way harder though and has leg kicks.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see some knees in the clinch come into play like the kind Hooker ate in their fight. Justin likes to duck his head a lot when he’s in close. That’s how Alvarez KO’d him.

I think the reason why Melendez had trouble with Barboza was cause he couldn't hurt him with punches and he has had a long career and years of wear and tear and his wrestling isn't what it once was plus Barboza is the better striker with more power and very good TDD.

Yeah, it would be a good idea for Barboza to use knees in close.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

stylistic nightmare for justin

stupid fight really

How exactly? I don't see either as being a bad match up for the other. Gaethje is much better fighting in the pocket than Barboza is and Barboza is much better at kickboxing range than Gaethje is.

Whoever can dictate what range they fight at should win and it could easily be either of them.

 

[legkicktko]

Yeah, it would be a good idea for Barboza to use knees in close.

Yeah I feel like he first started doing that against Hooker to counter the forward pressure. It was very fast and effective how he grabbed the plum and sent knees up the middle.

Cerrone has done that successfully for years because he’s also suceptible to pressure.

 

[Portland8242]

How exactly? I don't see either as being a bad match up for the other. Gaethje is much better fighting in the pocket than Barboza is and Barboza is much better at kickboxing range than Gaethje is.

Whoever can dictate what range they fight at should win and it could easily be either of them.

Gaethje's just gotta make damn sure he keeps Barboza on the back foot the whole time. The name of the game is constant forward pressure, get him on the cage, clinch up, dirty box, etc etc... Hooker tried to stand and bang at kicking range which is the worst thing ever to do vs Barboza.

 

[who?]

How exactly? I don't see either as being a bad match up for the other. Gaethje is much better fighting in the pocket than Barboza is and Barboza is much better at kickboxing range than Gaethje is.

Whoever can dictate what range they fight at should win and it could easily be either of them.

justins head foward style and toughness will mean another beating.

he could be in some big fights with his exciting style.

barboza is in my opinion a run of the mill guy that could easily beat the shit out of justin just because justin fights like an idiot and barboza can be dangerous with single shots.

ufc will end justins career early and fans will miss big fights.

for instance justin vs kebab is an amazing matchup stylistically but we swont see it because justin will be brain damaged before then.

stupid ufc matchmaking by no chin shelby

 

[legkicktko]

Hooker tried to stand and bang at kicking range which is the worst thing ever to do vs Barboza.

Yeah but at the same time that fight cemented this.

Before the fight it was Edson has taken too much damage, Hooker is younger, the better boxer, better striker. Even Jack Slack said Hooker would likely beat Edson at his own range, at his own game. Barboza has taken two back to back beatings. Hooker was smoking people on the feet and knocking them out.

Now we learned, Barboza is still damn good at range and not battle worn.

 

[Portland8242]

Yeah but at the same time that fight cemented this.

Before the fight it was Edson has taken too much damage, Hooker is younger, the better boxer, better striker. Even Jack Slack said Hooker would likely beat Edson at his own range, at his own game.

Now we learned, Barboza is still damn good at range and not battle worn.

Just for the record I was one of the few who bet on Barboza to win vs Hooker.

Barboza may have got wrestle-fucked a couple times in his last couple fights, but you still need a precise and proper game plan vs him. This dude will clean you the fuck out if you don't properly prepare for him.

 

[legkicktko]

Just for the record I was one of the few who bet on Barboza to win vs Hooker.

Barboza may have got wrestle-fucked a couple times in his last couple fights, but you still need a precise and proper game plan vs him. This dude will clean you the fuck out if you don't properly prepare for him.

For sure brother.

And still improving. But Barboza is in that position similar to Cerrone where they’ve lost a few fights, so the popular thing on the forum is to think any Joe shmo is gonna beat them.

Cerrone loses every big fight. Mostly because if he wins, then it’s not a big fight anymore lol. That’s fans for you. That’s how it works. But if he loses, then that’s the important one that would have counted.

Edson is the same way. Everyone he beats is overrated and he constantly supposed to get outboxed by any swinging dick, until he doesn’t.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

justins head foward style and toughness will mean another beating.

he could be in some big fights with his exciting style.

barboza is in my opinion a run of the mill guy that could easily beat the shit out of justin just because justin fights like an idiot and barboza can be dangerous with single shots.

ufc will end justins career early and fans will miss big fights.

for instance justin vs kebab is an amazing matchup stylistically but we swont see it because justin will be brain damaged before then.

stupid ufc matchmaking by no chin shelby

That is the best way to fight Barboza though, if you get inside the range of his kicks and stay there, he's far less dangerous.

 

[NoBiasJustMMA]

Gaethje's just gotta make damn sure he keeps Barboza on the back foot the whole time. The name of the game is constant forward pressure, get him on the cage, clinch up, dirty box, etc etc... Hooker tried to stand and bang at kicking range which is the worst thing ever to do vs Barboza.

Absolutely, Barboza is very good but if you can keep it in the pocket where he can't kick he's far less dangerous. I feel like we'll be able to see out who's going to win in the first 3 minutes of the fight(the range this fight takes place in is very important).

 

[jeff7b9]

This is approaching the borderline of being a dark web snuff show. I feel a little guilty even considering the idea of watching something that brutally violent.

Be careful what you wish for my fellow MMA fans.

Here is to both men coming home with brains intact.

 

[PeleProtege]

 

[JayPettryMMA]

Forgot to update this. It's official.