On Saturday night, I started seeing some whining about woman Welterweight fighters who aren't in the cast of The Ultimate Fighter 28. I said on yesterday's podcast that as soon as I got the cast list, I would take a detailed look at the cast. I got that list last night. When I saw the list of 28 fighters who were at May's tryouts, I said on my podcast the UFC would have a tough time coming up with eight fighters to fill out the cast because there were too many fighters who could best be described as "retreads" or "suspects" as opposed to "prospects". These are fighters who have proven to be terrible but they came to the tryout hoping that the low talent level of 145lb fighters would work in their favor. It looks like the UFC agreed with my assessment as only six of the eight fighters in the cast were at the tryouts. Most of the retreads didn't make the cut and that's what all the whining is about. Now I am going to look at who made the cast in alphabetical order. Marciea Allen is 36 years old from Sioux Falls, SD. Her record is 7-2. She's mainly a boxer but she has fought for Invicta and WSOF. For me, her age alone would disqualify her. I want young fighters on the show. She's a good athlete but that doesn't make her a good fighter. And all her fights have been at Bantamweight. Macy Chiasson is 26 years old from New Orleans. Her record is 2-0. One of the TUF requirements is to have three pro fights. This is not a hard rule so stop whining about it. She looked really good in her last fight in Invicta and she is a Welterweight. I thought she would make the show. Pannie Kianzad is 26 years old from Denmark. Her record is 10-3. I think most fans have seen her in Invicta. There are two sides to her career. In her early career, she fought at Welterweight. But she fought at Bantamweight in Invicta. I think she has done better fighting the lower competition level in Europe. That is not unusual for European fighters. Katharina Lehner is 28 years old from Germany. She was not at the tryout. Her record is 7-1. I didn't think she looked very good fighting Sarah Kaufman in Invicta. She has fought in both weight classes. As with Pannie, her looks were probably a factor. Leah Letson is 25 years old from Milwaukee. Her record is 4-1. She wasn't at the tryout but she's already under UFC contract. Her most recent fight was a win in Invicta as a Welterweight. Obviously she was spotted there. Bea Malecki is from Sweden. She has a 3-0 amateur record. Her fights were at 155. Obviously they saw something they liked at the tryouts. It shows me that they were trying to avoid bringing in retreads. Larissa Pacheco is 23 years old from Belem, Brazil. Her record is 11-2. Both of those losses were in the UFC. The last time we saw her she broke her arm losing to Germaine De Randamie in 2015. She's had one fight in Brazil since then. She's still young which probably helps her. But until I see her, I dunno. Julija Stoliarenko is from Lithuania. Her MMA record is 4-2-1. Last year she fought for the Japanese mixed rules company SEI*ZA. It's a weird concept and they seem to like to bring in foreigners. The fights are on an open mat so it's not MMA. Again this shows me they were trying to avoid retreads. I think the cast is a mixed bag at best. But I have said for years there aren't enough qualified 145lb fighters for a Welterweight division. That's still true. Most of the whining I have seen is about Cindy Dandois. She had a fight in the UFC that I am sure she got through her friendship with Miesha Tate. Her performance was so bad that she was released immediately. Why would they want her back? The answer is they wouldn't. So I don't know what the whining is about. She blew her opportunity. You might say that they are giving Larissa Pacheco a second chance. Larissa is ten years younger than Cindy. It's like I said. I think they were trying to avoid bringing in fighters that they already knew weren't very good. And I am well aware that some poor fighters have devoted fans. So maybe the problem is with goofy fanboys whining about crappy fighters.
No comments:
Post a Comment