When Healthy, Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best in the world. Wikipedia
UFC 223 is, at least on paper, the best card of the year for the promotion. Despite the efforts by the MMA gods to sabotage the card by injuring Tony Ferguson, Max Holloway steps in on six days notice to fight maybe the most dominant grappler the UFC has ever seen. The stakes are high for both men, as the UFC stripped Conor McGregor of his 155 lb. title this week and announced that the Nurmagomedov-Holloway fight is for the lightweight title. Unfortunately, there have been three fights drop off the card in the last 24 hours. Artem Lobov vs. Alex Caceres, Ray Borg vs. Brandon Moreno and Michael Chiesa vs. Anthony Pettis have all been dropped in the aftermath of the Conor McGregor chair-throwing meltdown. Here is a preview of the card.
The headliner will feature Khabib Nurmagomedov, who has long been considered one of the best in the world WHEN HEALTHY, taking on the 145 lb. champion Max Holloway. Khabib is 25-0, and holds the longest MMA winning streak among active fighters, while his 9-0 start in the UFC gives him the fifth longest streak in the company. He has been an unstoppable force when the fight goes to the ground. He landed 88 significant ground strikes on Michael Johnson at UFC 205. He also hasn't had much problem taking opponents down. Holloway is one of the few fighters with a longer UFC winning streak than Khabib. He has won 12 straight fights in the organization. Holloway will obviously prefer to keep things on the feet. He has seven knockouts at 145 pounds, the most in the history of the division. The winner of this fight puts his name firmly in the mix for best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Joanna Jedrzejczyk gets a shot at revenge against Rose Namajunas, who took her title and dealt her the first loss in her career back at UFC 217. Joanna, one of the sharpest and most technical strikers in UFC history, was overwhelmed by Rose in the first fight. Joanna has always had the mental edge in her fights, and has always exuded confidence. It may be tough to present that confidence against a woman who knocked her out just a couple of months ago. If Rose can throw her off her game plan early, she could have a big advantage. Rose made a quiet climb to title contention, and has burst into the spotlight since winning the title. The pressure is on her this time, and it will be interesting to see how she responds to not being a massive underdog like she was in the first fight.
Renato Moicano takes on Calvin Kattar in a battle of fighters nearing top 5-10 in the division. Moicano is a BJJ black belt with good wrestling (a rarity sometimes in MMA), while Kattar is an excellent boxer that uses his superior footwork and jabs to control fights. Moicano will have to decide if he is better off counter-punching or counter-grappling. Kattar has yet to lose in the UFC, and Moicano's lone career loss came against Brian Ortega, who is the top contender in the featherweight division.
Al Iaquinta fights for the first time in over a year, as he has been selling real estate while involved in a UFC contract dispute. He is a solid boxer with good power and a strong wrestling base. Paul Felder is on the best run of his career, using his nasty elbow game to give him 3 straight UFC wins. This is a step up in competition though. A win for Felder will move him into the rankings, where a loss to the dangerous Iaquinta basically firms him up as a solid gatekeeper in the 155 lb. division.
The prelims include several familiar faces, including Joe Lauzon, Karolina Kowalkiewicz and an exciting matchup between Evan Dunham and Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
PREDICTIONS:
Nurmagomedov by TKO
Jedrzejczyk by DEC
Moicano by DEC
Iaquinta by TKO
Kowalkiewicz by DEC
Lauzon by SUB
Dunham by DEC
Magomedsharipov by TKO
Evans-Smith by DEC
Rodriguez by SUB
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.