The Fight Library Blaine Henry

Does Ryan Garcia stand a chance against Devin Haney this weekend? The two fight on DAZN and I can’t really give Ryan Garcia much credit after all these shenanigans in the build up.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia: the resume
4:55 The new, aggressive Devin Haney
11:06 Ryan Garcia’s path to victory
13:56 Be coachable

The resume of Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia are not comparable in the least bit. Haney has fought Kambosos, Kambosos, Lomachenko, and Prograis in his last four. Ryan Garcia is coming off of an underwhelming win over Oscar Duarte. Is Garcia a high level fighter or will Devin Haney have a field day?

This new Devin Haney, the one from the Vasyl Lomachenko and Regis Prograis fights, is exciting. No more jab and clinch merchant, Haney is now an action fighter. If that comes out against Garcia, Devin Haney could have a coming out party that puts him on the world stage in terms of popularity.

Ryan Garcia DOES have the skills to beat Devin Haney. He’s fast, surely. How does he beat Haney? That is the next thing we discuss, as tall an order as that may be.

Lastly, Ryan Garcia needs to be COACHABLE. After his performance against Duarte, I talked about how he was an uncoachable fighter. If you have Derrick James as a coach, why wouldn’t you use him? Ryan Garcia must trust in his coaches if he wants to win this fight.

Max Holloway stole the show at UFC 300. Sure, Alex Pereira smashed away Jamahal Hill but it was Holloway’s knockout of Justin Gaethje that broke the most waves.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Max Holloway slumps Justin Gaethje
8:08 Alex Pereira’s one-hitter-quitter
15:08 Weili Zhang has a tough night
18:47 Arman Tsarukyan breaks through the static
22:01 Bo Nickal’s tough night
24:18 Jiri Prochazka back in the win column
28:18 Kayla Harrison’s UFC debut

We started the show off different from the usual and talked about, not the main event, but Max Holloway vs. Justin Gaethje. This is a new version of Max Holloway, one that isn’t insistent on volume. Instead, “Blessed” is selecting his shots better and making them count. He’s also making an effort to get hit less. His win over Justin Gaethje at UFC 300 was capped off by the last second knockout that only Max Holloway could deliver.

Alex Pereira was the man of the hour against Jamahal Hill. Continuing his Glover Texiera revenge tour, Alex Pereira knocked out Jamahal Hill in round one, his best yet at 205. What’s next for Alex Pereira? Will he have an old foe return from the shadows? A new contender? A heavyweight challenge? Only time will tell. And time is ticking for him to appear on UFC 301.

Weili Zhang vs. Xiaonan Yan was the co-main event on in the stacked UFC 300 card. What was thought to be a walk-over for Weili Zhang turned into a rather tough night despite what the score cards read. Several times Xiaonan Yan hurt Zhang, had her in advantageous positions and more. At the end of the day, Weili Zhang managed to snag a win and a title defense.

Other topics in this episode will include Arman Tsarukyan breaking through the static against Charles Oliveira, Bo Nickal’s tough day, Kayla Harrison’s UFC debut, Aljamain Sterling, Jiri Prochazka and much more. It’s safe to say UFC 300 delivered all that and a bag of chips.

UFC 300 is finally here! In today’s podcast we’re breaking down some of the cards best fights including Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:48 What’s on the line for Alex Pereira?
4:38 Jamahal Hill’s path to victory
10:09 Weili Zhang showcase fight
13:34 Gaethje and Holloway’s violence bowl

More than a win is on the line for Alex Pereira at UFC 300. He’s got potential mega fights down the line too. At 36 years old, Father Time is lurking and Pereira doesn’t have much longer. But the man before him, Jamahal Hill, is a tough challenge in it’s own respects. Alex Pereira will want to make sure to approach this fight with all the proper tools in his tool belt. History shows us that is exactly what he is going to do.

Jamahal Hill will have to prove his reign, as short as it was, was legitimate. Alex Pereira is a tough challenge for the American. But Jamahal Hill, being a southpaw, has some different tools than what Alex Pereira has dealt with in the past. Still, Jamahal Hill will have to fight a different kind of fight at UFC 300 if he wishes to recapture that which was his once upon a time.

In the co-main event, Weili Zhang and Xiaonan Yan are competing in the first ever China vs. China title fight. Is the fight going to be close? If Weili Zhang fights how she’s supposed to, it should be an easy night for the reigning champion. Xiaonan Yan is a fantastic striker but poor grappler. If Weili Zhang puts on the singlet and goes out to wrestle, it can be a quick, easy, and lucrative night for the champion.

For the BMF title, Justin Gaethje and Max Holloway are facing off in a legend vs. legend matchup. Can Max Holloway deal with Justin Gaethje’s low kick and power? Will Justin Gaethje be able to deal with Max Holloway’s volume? This fight is one born of pure violence and has two of my favorite fighters on the card. It sucks that one has to lose.

Brendan Allen has won seven straight but lacks a marquee win. What’s next for the Louisiana middleweight? Let’s look at that as well as what else UFC Vegas 90 has to offer!

Chapters:
0:00
1:01 Brendan Allen has a tough night with Chris Curtis
10:25 Damon Jackson has a new W and hairline
13:23 Morgan Charriere is not elite
18:22 Ignacio Bahamondes’ highlight KO

Brendan Allen extended his win streak to seven straight while avenging his last loss to Chris Curtis. The fight was a close affair with back and forth action that capped off a fairly decent event that was UFC Vegas 90. Brendan Allen survived being hurt several times and ground out a win that will put his eyes forward looking for that marquee win to give him a title shot. Chris Curtis took this fight on short notice and showed out all the same. We got his usual body work, his awesome boxing and his toughness. But at the end of the day, we needed a winner and that winner was Brendan Allen.

Alexander Hernandez is a notorious quitter. He took on Damon Jackson who was sporting an all new hair line, and Hernandez showed some heart in this fight. After being controlled by Damon Jackson for most of the fight, Alexander Hernandez managed to knock down Damon Jackson in the third round. Alexander Hernandez is explosive and has struggled with heart in the past. While he lost this fight, he showed improvements.

Morgan Charriere has a lot of hype on him for someone with a 19-9-1 record. He took on Chepe Mariscal and lost the decision. He had his moments, sure, but Morgan Charriere couldn’t deal with the pressure and wrestling of Chepe Mariscal. At the end of the segment I question if Morgan Charriere will be a significant fighter or a cult favorite.

Lastly, we will talk about Ignacio Bahamondes knocking out Christos Giagos in the first round. 6’3” and lanky as it comes, Ignacio Bahamondes is an incredibly interesting fighter. He switches stances, has fantastic finishes, but is there to get hit. The fight with Christos Giagos was no exception. With his win, Ignacio Bahamondes lives to fight another day. Maybe in the Sphere in Vegas, as he called out in his post fight speech.

Erin Blanchfield really ran onto Manon Fiorot’s jabs and crosses all night. Didn’t try much different. Just ate them all night. Now it’s back to the drawing board for the 24 year old.

Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:10 Manon Fiorot deserves a title shot
6:07 Erin Blanchfield needs some work
9:50 Joaquin Buckley gets career best win
14:02 Chris Weidman combination eye pokes

Manon Fiorot has one of the best résumé’s in the women’s flyweight division. Myra Bueno Silva, Rose Namajunas, Jennifer Maia, Katlyn Chookagain, and now Erin Blanchfield. all great wins. Manon Fiorot may not be the most exciting fighter but she is the most deserving. Unfortunately for her, timing might not work out and another fight may be in the cards. But there’s no doubt that Manon Fiorot deserves it.

Erin Blanchfield had one of those “time to get better” fights. Manon Fiorot really put it to her all night with some basic tools. Erin Blanchfield didn’t work on anything different for the fight. She tried to impose her will. At 24, it’s time to get better. I have no doubt in my mind that Erin Blanchfield will be back in title contention soon.

Joaquin Buckley took on a docile Vicente Luque and smashed him out in the second round. Now at 170, Joaquin Buckley seems to have found his home a weight down from where his internet breaking knockout. What’s next for Joaquin Buckley? Possibly a shot at Michael Venom Page as was once discussed by UFC brass.

Lastly, Chris Weidman, the former middleweight champion, returned against Bruno Silva. While he fought well early on and ate some shots that answered a few questions about his chin, Chris Weidman managed to invent combination eye poking that would make Bruce Lee proud. Despite the controversy, Chris Weidman was able to finally get a win in close proximity to New York, his home town.

Tim Tszyu and Rolly Romero were both dethroned in two very different fights. In today’s podcast, we talk about the first PBC card on Amazon Prime.

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:10 Tim Tszyu gashed up
5:05 Sebastian Fundora vs. Terence Crawford?
9:51 Isaac Cruz is a terminator
13:55 Rolly Romero’s fraudulent title reign

Tim Tszyu was one of the higher regarded undefeated fighters. With two belts on the line, he took on Sebastian Fundora on three weeks notice and paid the consequences. After an elbow to the head gone awry, Tim Tszyu couldn’t see for most of the fight after two rounds of good boxing. There, he suffered and couldn’t get his shots off on Fundora and it ultimately cost him his title and another on the line. Tim Tszyu will be back.

Sebastian Fundora, however, just set himself up with a major fight with Terence Crawford. His win over Tim Tszyu came nearly a year after his knockout loss and couldn’t have gone better. Fundora surely didn’t mean to elbow Tim Tszyu on the crown but it did happen. Once the damage was done, Sebastian Fundora finally used his genetic gifts and jabbed down the blood-blind Tim Tszyu to cruise to a questionable split decision victory. The fight was pretty one sided and how a judge gives that fight to anyone besides Sebastian Fundora is besides me.

Isaac Cruz and Rolly Romero made up the co-main event on Amazon’s debut boxing card. Isaac Cruz walked forward with his high guard and proceeded to club Rolly Romero into submission. After almost finishing Romero in the first round, Isaac Cruz kept plodding forward, battering up the reigning champion for eight rounds. In the seventh, he almost put Rolly Romero away and in the eighth, early at that, Isaac Cruz became champion at 140. Guess who I want to see him fight? Subriel Matias. As usual.

Rolly Romero took a beating but wasn’t as bad as I thought. He did look better than I assumed he would. Make no mistake, however, Rolly Romero got beat up and showed that he didn’t really have what it takes to be champion at 140. He struggled to keep Isaac Cruz off of him all night it it cost Rolly Romero his title.