Welcome back to the Parlay Points Blog for w/e August 24th. On the podcast, it was all about the NFL but we can’t miss a chance to talk about some of the other big sports stories going on. Let’s start:
*UFC - UFC 241 was this past weekend, and did it ever deliver on some great fights! Paolo Costa won via decision over Yoel Romero. Nate Diaz returned after 3 years away from the UFC to defeat Anthony “Showtime” pettis via decision and in the main event: Stipe Miocic KO’s Daniel Cormier in the 4th to win back the UFC Heavyweight title.
Parlay Points: 1. Costa and Romero put on a Fight of The Year candidate. Very close fight (which i had Romero winning) but Costa gets a huge win on the way to a title shot. I wouldn’t be shocked if they had an immediate rematch with how this fight went.
2. War Stockton. Diaz looked great in his return. Pettis just couldn’t connect on enough key shots to hang with the volume of Diaz’s attack. The pro-Diaz crowd (which the card was based in Anahiem, CA) ate up the return of one of the most polarizing figures in MMA. Diaz wasted no time in post fight to call out…..Jorge Masvidal. If Diaz is committed on returning, this is a HUGE money fight for all parties involved. For a company lacking in huge star power, the UFC has to embrace Nate (and hopefully Nick’s) & his demands to really move the needle.
3. Miocic weathered the storm and landed a big shot when he needed to. Cormier was winning this fight, albiet he didn’t have the usual demeanor he brings to his fights. It’s almost as if he knew he was checking out after this one. Now the question becomes: where do both fighters go from here?
For Miocic, it has to be a rematch with Francis Ngannou. Miocic put on a wrestling clinic in their first encounter but Ngannou has grown from that fight (Throw out the Derrick Lewis disaster). If not him, then who else. No real marquee names at the top of the HW class right now . Jon Jones isn’t moving up. The only other option is a trilogy fight with Cormier
For DC: It has to be the trilogy fight with Miocic. Jones is NOT moving up classes and there’s no way DC is cutting down to fight Jones at 205 for a third time. If the Miocic fight isn’t appealing, then I fully expect to see hang he octogon gloves up for other interests. Maybe WWE? Maybe more UFC commentary? Maybe stepping away to focus on coaching? The options are unless post-fighting.
*UFC - Conor McGregor is back in the news for the wrong reasons….again. A video of him punching an elderly man in a bar has surfaced. The incident apparently happened in April of 2019. McGregor has publicly apologized for the incident during an ESPN interview with Ariel Helwani.
Parlay point - The fact I have to type “again” when it refers to Conor and legal issues speaks volumes. Arguably the biggest name in the UFC is screwing up his own brand by being careless in his own hype. Someone, wheter it’s the UFC or those closest in his camp, REALLY need to pull him aside and have a talk with him. McGregor is lucky he walked away as he did (imo) from the incidents with Khabib, and yet again, he’s throwing it away because he thinks he’s bigger than he is. It’s one ting o say it in an interview, it’s another to do the actions. Let’s see how this unfolds.
That’s all for the blog this week. Make sure to check out the latest #ODPH podcast episodes where the panel breaks down the NFL season & how each team is going to finish! Thanks for reading!