Brothers at Odds

Want to see our initial post?
Click here for the UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs. Bonfim – Breakdown and Analysis

Well I think we can all agree that it’s time to forget the name. My guy Gabriel Bonfim completely dominated Belal Muhammad for 25 minutes. Belal had pretty much nothing to offer Bonfim in terms of offense. Belal’s wrestling was non-existent and his striking leaves much to be desired. I think most of us were surprised to see Bonfim pushing the pace and pressuring Belal. While Bonfirm didn’t get the finish I was hoping for, it was a great performance all around. The one thing about Belal that impressed me was his solid chin as he ate many shots that would have put other fighters down. But with that main event, I am now absolutely crushing Robert in the Brothers’ Battles. My record now stands at 8-5. An absolutely insurmountable lead for little Bobby. This kid needs help everyone!

In the co-main event Brendan Allen pieced up Edmen Shahbazyan on the feet for the better part of 15 minutes. Shahbazyan didn’t really do much to hurt Allen at all, allowing Allen to coast to an easy victory. 

Right before that was my biggest disappointment of the night. Tom Nolan outworked my pick Fares Ziam to steal a decision victory. I was so confident that Ziam had the skills to slice through Nolan and many others but he just couldn’t put it all together on Saturday. Ziam did have some good moments when he let his hands go but for some reason he kept ending up on the bottom. Nolan was able to mostly neutralize Ziam’s clinch game that has broken many others. Ziam did rally to win the third round but it was too little too late. This one hurt as it broke my three pick parlay I was so confident in. Curious to see how these guys end up doing in the future.

The other disappointment of the night came right before that with Bryce Mitchell really outclassing Santiago Luna in every aspect of the fight. Luna looked incredibly raw. His Greco-Roman background did nothing to help him here. Mitchell’s veteran savvy and experience made all the difference here. Luna ended up on his back time and time again and offered little in defense. Mitchell absolutely deserved this submission victory. Hope they give him tougher competition going forward. 

Now to quickly go through the rest. Iwo Baraniewski made easy work of Junior Tafa in round one as expected. Really hoping the UFC increases his level of competition. Alessandro Costa also obliterated his opponent Matt Schnell in round one. I wish I had been more confident on Costa to get a finish but excited to see what he has to offer going forward. Marcus McGhee out-pointed a tough John Yannis for three rounds. Although Yannis lost I think he has a lot of potential going forward. Just needs more experience under his belt. Edgar Chairez had the most impressive performance of the night in my opinion. Slicing through Bruno Silva with ease in less than 5 minutes. Really going to keep my eye on him going forward as he is so incredibly well-rounded and dangerous in every aspect of MMA. Chelsea Chandler locked up and early armbar submission over the unimpressive Priscila Cachoeira. Cachoeira is now officially on the ban list. Joanderson Brito really impressed with a first round submission victory over the submission specialist Jordan Levitt. Nice work from the Burrito Boss. Also Jeisla Chaves out worked Yuneisy Duben for a grinding decision win and Ketlen Souza knocked out Ariane Carnelossi in the first round. 

While it was very unfortunate that my ultimate parlay of the week fell through I am very happy to say that I went 10-2 this week. My best week ever! My brother Robert did not have the same level of success. Maybe people can give him some advice in the comment section because he’s struggling to compete right now. My 8-5 Brothers Battle lead shall never be broken. I can’t wait to see what the battle or potential battles will be for the stacked White House card next week. I have to admit I think the whole White House event is silly but I cannot deny that the card is absolutely fantastic. I’ll tell you one thing right now. Josh Hokit by KO is free money. Until then!

I never knew what it felt like to simultaneously be a loser and someone who is getting railed at the same time until this card. I went 5/12.

5/12.

And let me tell you, those 5 weren’t the ones I backed with bets either. I got absolutely decimated to the point of almost giving up this week. But then I gazed into the mirror looking myself in the eye honestly – and then down to my Mamba Mentality tattoo – before coming to a realization:

You need to get gud scrub.

I needed to get gud again. I had weeks of fire success where I closed the gap in my competition with Chris to be the GOAT of Brother’s Battles. But I have been so busy with work, my doctoral education, my wife’s graduation, and life’s many responsibilities. It has left me undisciplined and unprepared to whoop my brother appropriately. But now my summers are free. My system will be built, improved upon, and utilized to dominate Chris in every facet of the game. Because I am such a good brother, I will get gud so that I can appropriately educate him in the arts of getting gud. How kind and benevolent of me!

8-5 is not enough of a deficit to stop me. I am determined to be champion no matter how many I go down. But I must give Chris his props this week. While it was undoubtedly my worst bet and picked week of all time, Chris had his greatest picking week ever. Going 10/12 is no easy feat, and Chris had an aura of confidence about him this week. Respect to Chris but I will do whatever I must to take the throne.

Now, as painful as it is to relive the crime scene, we need to talk about what actually happened this past weekend. The undercard was a rollercoaster of brief hope, immediate betrayal, and emotional damage. Ketlen Souza started my night off horribly by knocking out Ariane Carnelossi in the first round and making my Carnelossi pick look dead on arrival. Jeisla Chaves and Joanderson Brito at least gave me two of my few correct reads, with Chaves outworking Yuneisy Duben to a decision and Brito submitting Jordan Leavitt in the first round. Submitting a submission specialist is nasty work, and the Burrito Boss deserves his respect. But then Chelsea Chandler snatched up an early armbar over Priscila Cachoeira, who is now officially on fraud watch, ban list, blocked contact, do not disturb, never again territory. Edgar Chairez also sliced through Bruno Silva in under five minutes and made my Silva pick look ridiculous. Marcus McGhee out-pointed John Yannis, proving once again that potential does not cash tickets or protect me from getting flamed by my brother. Alessandro Costa and Iwo Baraniewski restored a tiny bit of dignity by handling business in round one over Matt Schnell and Junior Tafa, but those clean reads were really just two tiny bandages on a massive wound.|

Then came Bryce Mitchell versus Santiago Luna, and this is where the night started to feel personal. I backed Luna because I thought his Greco-Roman background could make things interesting, but Mitchell made him look completely raw and out of his depth. Luna had nothing for the grappling, kept ending up on his back, and eventually got submitted. That was not a close wrong pick. That was a “please delete the evidence” wrong pick.

Fares Ziam versus Tom Nolan at least gave Chris and I a rare shared moment of failure. We both picked Ziam, and Nolan outworked him to steal the decision. Ziam had moments when he let his hands go, but Nolan kept making the fight ugly, winning positions, and doing enough to take it. Shared stupidity is still stupidity, but at least that one also broke Chris’s confident parlay, so there was a tiny sprinkle of joy inside the disaster.

In the co-main event, Brendan Allen handled Edmen Shahbazyan, which was one of the few picks Chris and I both got right. Allen looked like the more complete fighter, stayed composed, and pieced Edmen up for most of the fight. Solid read. Not enough to save me, but solid.

By the time the main event arrived, my night was already a crime scene. Then Gabriel Bonfim walked in, dominated Belal Muhammad for 25 minutes, and placed the final dagger directly into my back. I backed Belal, and Bonfim made that look absolutely foolish. I thought Belal’s experience, pressure, wrestling, and championship-level grit would show up, but instead Bonfim controlled the fight from start to finish. Belal could not get his wrestling going, could not build enough offense on the feet, and spent most of the fight reacting instead of leading. I will give Belal credit for one thing: the man has a ridiculous chin. Bonfim hit him with plenty of shots that would have folded a lot of fighters, and Belal stayed in there. But moral victories do not count in Brother’s Battles, and my Belal pick was dead wrong. I never was a fan or knew his name in the first place. I made a foolish mistake.

So when the dust settled, Chris went 10/12 and I went 5/12. That is not a loss. That is a public execution. Chris only missed Ziam and Luna, while I was out here collecting red X’s like they were limited edition trading cards. Muhammad, Ziam, Luna, Yannis, Silva, Cachoeira, and Carnelossi all failed me. My only correct picks were Allen, Baraniewski, Costa, Brito, and Chaves. That is disgusting. That is shameful. That is the type of performance that makes a man stare at himself and ask if he should take up bird watching instead.

But I will not run from it. This is why the Loser’s Lament exists. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you get humbled. Sometimes your brother goes 10/12, starts talking crazy, and acts like an 8-5 lead is an unbreakable dynasty. I know Chris is feeling himself right now. He earned that this week. But let him enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. The summer of discipline has begun. The spreadsheets are coming. The tape study is coming. The Brother’s Battles throne is not his. He is merely renting it. Keeping it toasty for the true champion: MoMo – my doggo son – which means I am also champion.

Next week, I return with ferocity, wisdom, humility, and maybe a slightly better process. Congratulations to Chris on his best week ever. Congratulations to every fighter who made me look like a casual. And congratulations to me for surviving the worst picking performance of my life without deleting the website and all of my betting accounts.

The comeback starts now.