Damn!Just watched the Woodley fight again. Gave me flashbacks of the time my dad whooped me for stealing car radios.
Woodley talking about his role in the new season of Cobra Kai. Probably will get spanked there too
Username is fairThe MMA thread
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
Username is fairDamn!
very true.That was a small crime from back in the day. Now I'm a saint. I forgot to pay for a 5p sainsburys bag and walked back 20 minutes to pay for it!
Lads Dana did the exact same thing to DJ, who then got accused of being scared to fight TJ when he had already fought Cruz at bantamweight earlier in his career when he was still working a full time job. Jones is absolutely not scared and if anyone deserves to be paid then its him at this stage of his career. Now I don't think Jones will win the fight but I could maybe see him getting Francis down and securing a submission win, unlike Stipe Jones has excellent submissions.
Its amazing how Dana can do this again and again and turn fans against fighters wanting to be paid their worth. FFS even McGregor is grossly underpaid for the type of money he brings in. Don't let him run the same narrative on Jones that he did on DJ. Its not like its unknown scrubs looking for money, its literally one of the greatest fighters ever.
Its amazing how Dana can do this again and again and turn fans against fighters wanting to be paid their worth. FFS even McGregor is grossly underpaid for the type of money he brings in. Don't let him run the same narrative on Jones that he did on DJ. Its not like its unknown scrubs looking for money, its literally one of the greatest fighters ever.
I feel exactly the same. He did it to DJ, Poirier, Colby and many many others. This is meant to be a legitimate sport but when it comes to money vs. matchmaking, money wins because Dana is a greedy tomato.
People shouldn't think it's impossible for someone to take Ngannou's shots. Didn't Rumble Johnson hit Cormier as hard as he could and DC survived ?
I think Jones picks Francis apart mixing up distance control/management with elbows, knees, and all kinds of kicks. If they get too close to each other, Jones is a world class wrestler and grappler in MMA standards.
Don't get me wrong, i'm totally impressed and tempted to pick Francis to beat anyone, but the entire appeal of a Jon Jones fight is the pattern of thinking that Jon is so much better than everyone else.
I think Jones picks Francis apart mixing up distance control/management with elbows, knees, and all kinds of kicks. If they get too close to each other, Jones is a world class wrestler and grappler in MMA standards.
Don't get me wrong, i'm totally impressed and tempted to pick Francis to beat anyone, but the entire appeal of a Jon Jones fight is the pattern of thinking that Jon is so much better than everyone else.
Can't say I like Ngannou and don't think he'll hold the belt for that long.
This. Thrilled for Francis, seems like a great guy.
People seem to forget how good of a fighter Jones is though. Fight IQ better than any I've seen.
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He isn't. He clearly lost to Reyes and arguably should have lost 2 of the last three fights at LHW. All 3 went to a decision and he looked around best in the Gus and Reyes fights, hence the backlash after the decisions were handed to Jones.
At this point in time - whether it's due to age or the fact that USADA has come into effect - this isn't the old Jon Jones. Sitting there trading with Reyes and failing to outshine him in a stand-up isn't a good omen, if he's planning on doing the same with Ngannou.
I thought DC knockout of Stipe was more impressive. Sure we all know FN got bombs in his hands and so did Jones. He didn’t jack himself for a full year, properly putting on weight to just duck Ngannou now. Nonsense.
I think peak DC would've beaten Ngannou. Too cerebral and strong on the ground.
I can’t see this version of Jones beating him. It only takes one mistake.
This version of Jones lost to Santos and Reyes, both of whom have looked average in fights afterward. He isn’t the same Jones with all that dynamic offense that people remember.
This is power that has never been seen before in the sport too, so there is nothing to compare it to.
The only outlier is if Jones has more power at heavyweight. That’s obviously a big question and could have serious repercussions. Is he strong enough to take Ngannou down at will? Will he hit harder and give Ngannou pause for thought coming in?
If he doesn’t have any extra power, then Ngannou has nothing to fear by coming in close and all it takes is one hit. His power is insane.
On the other hand, as a few others have pointed out, he was starting to breathe heavily. If Jones can keep him working and maintain distance in exchanges and shoot for takedowns, if it gets into a 3rd and 4th round, it’s all Jones.
This version of Jones lost to Santos and Reyes, both of whom have looked average in fights afterward. He isn’t the same Jones with all that dynamic offense that people remember.
This is power that has never been seen before in the sport too, so there is nothing to compare it to.
The only outlier is if Jones has more power at heavyweight. That’s obviously a big question and could have serious repercussions. Is he strong enough to take Ngannou down at will? Will he hit harder and give Ngannou pause for thought coming in?
If he doesn’t have any extra power, then Ngannou has nothing to fear by coming in close and all it takes is one hit. His power is insane.
On the other hand, as a few others have pointed out, he was starting to breathe heavily. If Jones can keep him working and maintain distance in exchanges and shoot for takedowns, if it gets into a 3rd and 4th round, it’s all Jones.
Was just thinking, is Francis a hammer blow for those who think Fury etc wouldn't walk over to UFC and dominate?Francis basically learned kicks and TD defence in 18 months after knocking everybody out and dominated Stipe. Why couldn't the bigger Fury be an incredible threat?
All the rounds in the Reyes fights were extremely close. It was very much like Hendricks-GSP.
Reyes did much better than people expected him to do and Jones that night was at a much lower level than people expected him to be. It was still a super close fight.
Ngannou has never faced anyone with Jones skillset. The fact this Jones isn't the one who went through Shogun Rampage Machida Evans Belfort Gus Glover and DC doesn't mean he can't turn back the clock for one night
He just needs to be perfect in that specific night. We're talking about the heavyweight division though, so it's entirely possible Ngannou just cracks him with a really strong shot and it's over...
I doubt we'll see as much tension and nerves in N'Gannou again, personally. There was a lot of demons and psychological pressure to contend with in this rematch, not to mention actually processing that this was a title fight and something he wanted so badly to win. The adrenaline dump and the instinctive tensing of muscles, even in a calm state, is going to be as responsible for the breathing as his physical output, I would suspect.
Fighting Jones does not come with the burdens and weight of destiny like facing Stipe did, not only that, even if Jones can come up and genuinely contend, it'll be a systematic fight that, I would think gives N'Gannou more time to settle and take in a much more complex problem.
I think even if Jones is competitive and a threat at HW, he's going to be an annoying fly that needs a decision to win and that begs the question of whether he himself has the tank to go 25minutes carrying 40lb+ more than what he's used to bringing into championship rounds. Even if he initially starts with the pre-requisite strength and power, will he still have it beyond 15 minutes? The stamina issue looms large for Jones just as much as N'Gannou, imo. This isn't LHW and his optimal weight and familiarity since turning pro; it's a whole other world against men who will sleep him in the blink of an eye. The propositions aren't what we're accustomed to at LHW.
For me, there's so many more questions around Jones here than N'Gannou
I guess you could ask why Stefan Struve didn’t dominate everybody. Size isn’t everything and some people just can’t learn it correctly.
I'd argue otherwise. The fight was close but the rounds weren't necessarily that close, and therefore were easy to score. Reyes comfortably outstruck Jones in the first 3 rounds and Jones got back in it in the last 2. It certainly was a close fight overall but that weakens the claim that Jones is heads and shoulders above the rest. By general consensus, he should have lost that decision.
I agree that anyone, including Jones, can come up big on any given night, especially in the heavyweight division, but if asked whether I expect him to beat Ngannou, I'd say no. He hasn't been tested at heavyweight and if your first fight in the division is against this version of Ngannou, I think he'd have to be considered an underdog.
Will Reyes bounce back from that Blachowicz beatdown ?
Sonnen mentioned that Dominick Cruz wants to fight O'malley.
I'd like to see it. Cruz either can find a way to recapture championship form or he can't and this is the perfect fight for him to showcase what he's got left. I wouldn't judge him just by the Casey fight.
For O'malley, obviously this would be a big fight against a legend. I doubt the UFC will go that direction though. A Cruz-Aldo matchup is too perfect to pass on...
I'd like to see it. Cruz either can find a way to recapture championship form or he can't and this is the perfect fight for him to showcase what he's got left. I wouldn't judge him just by the Casey fight.
For O'malley, obviously this would be a big fight against a legend. I doubt the UFC will go that direction though. A Cruz-Aldo matchup is too perfect to pass on...
I don't think so, but I could easily be wrong. How do you feel about him?
O malley would destroy him. Doms only path to victory is dancing around and stalling, which would make for an awful fight and result for the UFC.
I feel like there is definitely a potential top talent in there. He's powerful, he's technical and he's got good movement.
But what I just mentioned doesn't come together with consistency. Some fights he showed his power, others, his technique... against Jones it all came together, but he needs to make sure it stays there.
He seems to have a good head, the right mentality, maybe the Jones fight gave him a bit of a overconfidence. Even if he doesn't take the belt away from Blachowicz, I can see him being the champ once Jan retires.
Well, yeah... we know that Dom doesn't have knockout power and that he isn't likely to use wrestling or submissions.
But his movement game worked for years and years. I'm not ready to say he can't pull it off again.
Given O'malley's power and striking technique though, it would be very hard for Cruz to avoid taking a big one for 15 minutes.
Eh? Cruz is a fantastic wrestler and absolutely take O'Malley down and tire him out. O'Malley has only proven himself as decent so far and Cruz is one of the best ever. Has O'Malley ever shown himself to have good TTD? If not then Cruz has a very clear path to victory. However what I really want is O'Malley vs Aldo but no way Dana lets Sean anywhere near Jose in my opinion.
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Paddy the Baddy coming to UFC
He'll struggle against the level of opposition I think. Decent enough fighter to be ranked but can't see him going much higher
UFC/Dana wont do it. Cruz isn't finished just yet, there's a chance he'd beat Sugar on points and that won't be good for their next cash cow. I think O'Malley will get Cito Vera again. Bit of a story there and a chance to avenge his non-loss and also a fight he should be able to win.
I'm not in a rush to see the Chito matchup again. Is Cody booked ? That would be nice and I don't feel like it'd be too soon. Anyways, O'malley just became my favorite prospect to watch rise through the ranks.
Jon Jones apparently asked the UFC to release him (on Twitter)
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I agree that I don't want to see the Vera fight. I just think they might do it. No way they let him fight Garbrandt... I think he'd get murdered. Way too soon for that.
Pay the man. Give us the fight we deserve!
I just love this guy. One of my all time favs along with Poirier.
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He really is a class individual.
Outside of what he is as a man, I always loved the fact that he and Cain showed that being a HW champion did not mean walking around out of shape with comedic levels of cardio.
Whether he decides to call it a day now or throw his hat back in the octagon, he's left a tremendous legacy behind and deserves to be in the discussion of the greatest HW the UFC has seen.
You having a pop at Roy Nelson?
Stipe has a bad habit of holding up the division, im glad he lost.
It struggled for a while. Its painful the amount of rematches/trilogies etc that happen in the division. Not just on Stipe.
You having a pop at Roy Nelson?
So many of them can't go 2 hard rounds, and it's not because they're physically massive - they just don't train and condition themselves like they should which is shameful (to me, personally).
Agreed. There's a reason HW matches are the most entertaining the first 5 minutes and abysmal for the last 10-20 minutes. Basically, most of them are like a Friday night outside Weatherspoons.
So many of them can't go 2 hard rounds, and it's not because they're physically massive - they just don't train and condition themselves like they should which is shameful (to me, personally).
I mean, this is supposed to be a professional athlete. He's making light of not doing cardio and openly states he doesn't have his diet under his thumb. He's a template of so many HW's, which is why the likes of Cain and Stipe stood out like a sore thumb for the cardio they had.
Contrast that with heavyweight boxing and it's fair to say MMA has a long way to go in getting up to par. Not saying HW boxers are cardio beasts, but contrasted to their equivalent MMA fighter, they're triathlon and Tour de France elites.
Imagine how good he would be if he had great cardio to complement the ko skills.
I mean, this is supposed to be a professional athlete. He's making light of not doing cardio and openly states he doesn't have his diet under his thumb. He's a template of so many HW's, which is why the likes of Cain and Stipe stood out like a sore thumb for the cardio they had.
Contrast that with heavyweight boxing and it's fair to say MMA has a long way to go in getting up to par. Not saying HW boxers are cardio beasts, but contrasted to their equivalent MMA fighter, they're triathlon and Tour de France elites.