The MMA thread

Luke1995

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Yeah but he lost and there are now a new wave of top LHWs coming into top form. Izzy would get swept aside and wind up closer to mid table than at the top. He should stay at MW for at least another couple of years then decide what's next.
Outside of Jiri and Rakic I don't see much else there... maybe Reyes can get back into the mix.
 

Charlie Foley

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Dana etc saying it's too early for Chimaev to get a title shot but the reality is the division is looking thin at the top now. Usman came through at a good time and beat fighters like Woodley and RDA who were both declining massively. Burns almost knocked him out. Masivdal is always game but realistically isn't as great as they've built him up to be. His main wins are against Covington. Nothing against Usman who's a very talented fighter but I really don't think we've seen him tested outside of Covington. Nobody wants to see Usman/Masvidal 3 so the only real fight to make at the top is Edwards/Usman 2 if he can get through Masvidal.

So really when you look at it, who is there? It's Edwards or Chimaev, I don't see what other fight you can make for Usman. Burns has only had one fight since his loss to Usman, can't throw him in there. Masvidal lost twice comfortably. Covington needs to fight a few different fights to build himself back up. It's literally Edwards, Chimaev or a superfight. I'd honestly get Chimaev in there with one of the top ranked guys as soon as possible and if he pulls it out of the bag you've got a game fight in him and Usman. It'll all come down to what happens between Edwards/Masvidal. They really need Chimaev waiting in the wings though in case Masvidal spoils the party and beats Edwards.

I'd quite like to see Covington against Masvidal, would be a cracker.
In fairness, Colby only had one fight in between Usman losses, and Masvidal had 0!

i agree with you we need edwards to beat Masvidal, and then we get Edwards-Usman and Masvidal-Colby. After that we see where Chimaev is I guess
 

Luke1995

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Ankalaev and a resurgent Johnny Walker as well.
The jury is still out on whether training at SBG will benefit Walker. I think he should just go back to the reckless striker he was before.

In the long term that could be a problem but in the short term he has the explosiveness and raw power to hurt anyone early.
 

T00lsh3d

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Just watched the Gaethje Chandler fight through. Recency bias and all that….but is it the greatest 3-round fight ever? Or if not, list some better ones for me
 

MarylandMUFan

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Just watched the Gaethje Chandler fight through. Recency bias and all that….but is it the greatest 3-round fight ever? Or if not, list some better ones for me
It was amazing. I am really thankful that it was only 3 rounds. If it was 5, they may not have gone as hard but if they did, 5 rounds could have left both of them damaged beyond repair.
 

T00lsh3d

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It was amazing. I am really thankful that it was only 3 rounds. If it was 5, they may not have gone as hard but if they did, 5 rounds could have left both of them damaged beyond repair.
I reckon Chandler would have gone as hard and been finished in the fourth. He was teetering in the 3rd and his leg was shot to shit. A wonderful fight
 

Eyepopper

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Anyone watching 271?
I'm trying to but Mauro Ranallo makes watching Bellator close to unbearable.

Their coverage is second rate at best, but that guy, feck me I can't listen to him.

Sounds like he's constantly voicing the promo for Steve Seagals latest, made for terrestrial TV, movie
 

SuperiorXI

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I'm trying to but Mauro Ranallo makes watching Bellator close to unbearable.

Their coverage is second rate at best, but that guy, feck me I can't listen to him.

Sounds like he's constantly voicing the promo for Steve Seagals latest, made for terrestrial TV, movie
Mute them and stick some alternate commentary on, works for me!
 

Eyepopper

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Mute them and stick some alternate commentary on, works for me!
Its on in the middle of the night here so I have to record it to watch tomorrow.

He honestly makes me want to just switch it off, he's awful. I can't be doing with that totally OTT American shtick.
 

Paxi

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There is something going on between Conor and Yan..
 

Eyepopper

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Then, when you get a break from that fecking ejit, you're given the glorious insights of this tool...



It must all appeal to the American market or something, but for me, as sub par as some of the fights can be, it's those two that turn me off from watching Bellator.
 

Paxi

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I love the stiffness — it’s just perfect.

I’m gushing over people going into rigour mortis and that just encapsulates how much I love violence.
 

George Owen

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I love the stiffness — it’s just perfect.

I’m gushing over people going into rigour mortis and that just encapsulates how much I love violence.
The wife could always use him as an ironing board. :lol:


Prelims starting in 2 hours.

Anyone have Yair for the upset? I'm definitely rooting for him.

Imagine the scenes if he KO Max.

Ps. I think Max might be ripe for a KO loss soon. The cumulative damage he has absorbed, has to show eventually.
 

Paxi

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The wife could always use him as an ironing board. :lol:


Prelims starting in 2 hours.

Anyone have Yair for the upset? I'm definitely rooting for him.


Imagine the scenes if he KO Max.

Ps. I think Max might be ripe for a KO loss soon. The cumulative damage he has absorbed, has to show eventually.
Aw for feck sake… why did you remind me??
And no there is no upset. Apart from Poirier there is nothing to suggest that Holloway will get beat.

He’s totally getting fecking beat now.
 

Paxi

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@George Owen i also have no idea why I removed The Volk from the equation…:houllier:
Nevertheless i don’t see Yair winning. Max is very good and Rodriguez is just good so it boils to that. If anyone tries to tell anything different- then they’re lying.
 

George Owen

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@George Owen i also have no idea why I removed The Volk from the equation…:houllier:
Nevertheless i don’t see Yair winning. Max is very good and Rodriguez is just good so it boils to that. If anyone tries to tell anything different- then they’re lying.
Max is definitely better than Yair, but at the same time, Max has never fought anyone with Yair's flair.

El Pantera won't be trading inside the pocket with him. He gonna move around, keep the distance and attack from all angles. He will look for that one shot to turn off Max's lights (a liver/head kick, or some spinning shit, elbows), and that shot could come at any point during the 25 minutes. So even if Max is cruising, he can end up losing if he loses focus (Like the korean zombie).

Gonna be a good one for sure.
 

Paxi

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Max is definitely better than Yair, but at the same time, Max has never fought anyone with Yair's flair.

El Pantera won't be trading inside the pocket with him. He gonna move around, keep the distance and attack from all angles. He will look for that one shot to turn off Max's lights (a liver/head kick, or some spinning shit, elbows), and that shot could come at any point during the 25 minutes. So even if Max is cruising, he can end up losing if he loses focus (Like the korean zombie).

Gonna be a good one for sure.
Well nothing expected from you but an amazing detailed post.

In regards to flair, yes it works some of the time… how many time has it actually worked? Don’t get me wrong, Yair has the greatest K.O of all time with something that even a video game couldn’t recreate until he did it.

He’s entertaining but I think he’ll fall well short of Max.

Im actually rewatching Garthje vs Khabib now and it’s incredible just how good Khabib is. Honestly, watching that fight without the emotions attached.. Khabib is literally levels above him and Gaethje is ridiculously good.
 

Paxi

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@George Owen sorry to annoy you again but you’re like the authority here. My question is, how good is Khabib when he’s making Gaethje throw ridiculous kicks that will never ever ever trouble anyone and that’s 3 minutes into the first round. It’s mental!
 

Dirty Schwein

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I am excited about tonight's main event but I can't see past a Max win.

The highest ranked fighters Yair faced are Edgar and KZ. He lost to Edgar and was losing to KZ until the very last second of the fight. We have seen Max dominate many top rank fighters.

Of course, Yair has the style to win this but if it gets into deep waters, I would favour Max.
 

NM

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@George Owen sorry to annoy you again but you’re like the authority here. My question is, how good is Khabib when he’s making Gaethje throw ridiculous kicks that will never ever ever trouble anyone and that’s 3 minutes into the first round. It’s mental!
The leg kicks were actually working a little. It was part of the plan. The problem Gaethje had was Khabib can take anybody down and keep them down for inifinity
 

George Owen

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@George Owen sorry to annoy you again but you’re like the authority here. My question is, how good is Khabib when he’s making Gaethje throw ridiculous kicks that will never ever ever trouble anyone and that’s 3 minutes into the first round. It’s mental!
Yeah, that was a masterclass. I said before that fight, it was gonna be his easiest title defence, but he made it look way easier than I expected. Gaethje was in panic mode (a bit emotional maybe) from the very beginning and ended the round completely drained. (Crazy to me that 2 judges gave the 1st round to Gaethje.)

We all know how good a Sambo wrestler he is, but I think it's Khabib's mentality and fight IQ that sets him apart (tier 1*) from the rest of the fighters. Master of his trade, sticks to the basics and play it safe, no matter what's going on with the crowd, etc. Definitely the best lightweight of his generation. I don't think he is/was unbeatable (no one is), but the fact he won all those fights while barely getting hit, puts him at the top for sure, because the ultimate goal in a fight is to win while not getting hit. Tony for example (even if he were still undefeated), had a similar impressive win streak, but after every victory, you could tell he was leaving a piece of himself in the octagon, so he goes a tier below.

PS. I don't want Gaethje to get the next title shot, because we all know that Islam is better than him.