WHAT WE KNOW/WHAT WE LEARNED - BOSS FIGHT #7
- Toussaint Harper
- Mar 14, 2019
- 5 min read
Sao Paulo! What. A. Night. A night of plenty introductions and debuts. A night of surprises and overall ‘OH MY GODS.’ I must say this wasn’t a quickie by any means and although quickies can be nice, ahem, this night had a lot more for certain fights for me and analyze and watch from some of our rising Union GP talents. The questions being how did my picks go? How did the fans picks go? Am I sttoarting off well in my overall tally of right and wrong picks? I am officially starting the count now. All of the answers to these questions in the Boss Fight #7 edition of What We Know/What We Learned.
Shall I start by saying that cage was a sight to behold. If you love your eyes you might not have by end of the night. Shoutout to the Union comestics for this. I mean, I enjoyed it.
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT
#6 Sang-Hyun Lee (0-2-1) VS Nicky Rollings (0-0)
“YOU GET A HEADBUTT AND YOU GET A HEADBUTT...YOU ALL GET A HEADBUTT!”
My pick result: I’m starting off well with 1-0. Sang-HyunHeadbutt with the win in the 3rd Round.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 57% for Sang-Hyun Lee to win. Good job guys.
- Sang-Hyun Lee is winless so far in his Union GP career.
- Nicky Rollings coming in for his Union GP debut.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- Soooo...Lee either broke up with his significant other or his mother died. What was with the headbutts?! My word!!
- The pressure can bust pipes and even with the headbutts, Lee showed a good amount of dominance on the floor and taking Rollings to the mat.
- Nicky Rollings didn’t land one strike you guys take that as you wish.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT #5 Amani Crawford (1-2) VS JB Alan (0-0)
“RETURN OF DOG”
My pick result: 2-0. Crawford with the win in the 1st Round.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 56% for Crawford to win. You guys are keeping up I see.
- Amani Crawford with height and weight advantage. Last fight a loss to Bobbi London.
- This is HiLite JB Alan’s Union GP debut.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- Welcome back the Rock Hard ground game. Punishing blows and well-timed subs. I must give credit where due.
- JB Alan definitely came to rumble the combo at the beginning of the round was a beauty.
- JB Alan will be a smaller guy in a lot of these bouts the only way to outmatch the bigger mountains will be to utilize that speed advantage.
CRUISERWEIGHT BOUT #8 Dylan Michaels (0-1) VS Chris Santiago (0-0)
“MUST DO MORE THAN KICK IT”
My pick result: 3-0. Look at me go.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 57% for Michaels to win. You guys just copying me at this point!
- Dylan Michaels comes into this fight after losing his debut to Kaukau Havili.
- This is Chris Santiago’s Union GP debut.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- Chris Santiago has the kicking game. Dylan Michaels won with the strength game.
- Both are still going to need a lot of work to challenge along the top of the Cruiserweight division. Not saying they can’t do it just those along the top tend to move a lot quicker.
- Michaels power is sufficient. I didn’t see it as much in the Havili fight but it definitely shined in this bout.
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT #14 JoJo Holder (0-1) VS Tatum Momo'a (0-0)
“COMEBACK JO-NADO”
My pick result: Welp there’s goes the first. 3-1. JoJo with the win in the 2nd.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 74% for Momo’a to win. You guys joining me at the table.
- JoJo Holder walking in after her debut loss against Lauren Moore.
- This is Tatum Momo’a Union GP debut.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- You must come with it every round. Never know it can work for you.
- It was all Momo’a until that brutal kick. So note JoJo = brutal kicks.
- Flying knee to open a takedown? That’s a sign of fluid motion and no time wasted. JoJo surprised us all. The ground game was just the nightcap.
HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT #4 Damiko Conrad (1-1) VS Alejandro Rivera (0-0)
“NO MORE SNACCS”
My pick result: Back on the positive side. 4-1. Rivera with the 1st Round win.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 78% for Rivera to win. Guess you all took my words seriously. Yes, you should.
- Damiko Conrad comes in following a win against Amani Crawford.
- The theme of the night continues. This is Alejandro Rivera’s Union GP debut.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- I told you Rivera coming in with beeline focus. He showed us all that beelined focus.
- HiLite is bringing the contenders in the Heavyweight division.
- Conrad didn’t get steamrolled but as I said the focus must be at an all-time high for you to see a title shot at the end of the line. Big Snacc will be back I’m sure he just has to get more out of the lunch pack.
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT #13 Julie Tran (0-1) VS Zoe Sinani (0-0)
“PRIDE IS ALIVE”
My pick result: My shock of the night personally. 4-2.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 79% for Tran to win. I see she shocked you guys too.
- Julie Tran coming in after losing her debut fight to Gina VanZant.
- This is Zoe Sinani’s Union GP debut.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- Takedowns and control win the day. Sometimes you just have to stay busy.
- Dusty Whittaker is the blindest, deaf, and dumb ref in Union GP. I’m not sorry and it must be said by now.
- How slippery the mat was. The ground game is still alive somewhat thankfully.
CO-MAIN EVENT
LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT
My pick result: Ok Miss Morrow. I stand corrected 4-3.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 61% for VanZant to win. We keep that same shock.
- Kelsi Morrow coming in undefeated.
- Gina VanZant coming into the Co-Main after a win over Julia Tran.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- Morrow will no longer be cast aside. At least not in my eyes after this performance.
- Credit is given to Morrow’s camp because wow. The game plan signed, sealed, and executed to near perfection. 24% landing for punches and 8% landing for kicks stats for VanZant. Damn well done.
- VanZant was aggressive. Morrow was more evasive.
“WE GOT OUR NEW CONTENDER”
My pick result: 5-3. Wasn’t as much about the leg as I thought it would. Good on you Brock Quarry.
WHAT WE KNOW
- Fan poll voted 55% for Quarry to win.
- This is our Heavyweight Division Number One Contender bout.
- Heavyweight = Lights can be out quick.
WHAT WE LEARNED
- London has the heart of a warrior. Definitely.
- Brock showing signs of growth in that cage. It wasn’t just a stand and throw affair he waited patiently and picked his shots.
- We learned of course it will be La’Bell vs Quarry for the Union GP Heavyweight Championship.
FINAL RESULT ---
My picks: 5-3 (Not bad, not bad)
Public: 5-3 (That’s just because you all copied me.)
Make sure we keep track of this and math isn’t my strong point so don’t judge me. From this moment on I will be comparing my picks with the public vote and on the next article will be the picks and hits for upcoming UGP #9. The finalization of the card coming our way made official with Brock Quarry’s win. It’s going to be a warrior’s night in Las Vegas. You will not have to ask the question ‘Are You Not Entertained.’ Guaranteed. The UGP #9 K&L will have a bit more in store. Rankings and overall views of awards given. Basically something I can stick it to the man about. @HarperTUGP is the twitter. Until next time fight game or die.
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