Christ. What a shit show LHW has become
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- Thread starter Fortitude
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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?
Class.
That's really disappointing for a champion to give up like that.
I love this!!! Heavy weights getting subbed!! This is amazing!!
Order will come to the division soon.
Rakic, Jiri, Ankalaev... the true best fighters of the division can't be denied any more.
Felt really flat after some top top performances tonight
I love this… 
Love this. So good its almost scripted, like old men passing the belt around
Guys.. Jones… cannot.. come back here!!!
Personally it always felt like Yan Cory was the bigger fight, and how it turned out it was always going to be hard to top that
Chimaev and Islam are the two best prospects in UFC. I would love to see them fight each other.
Glover is awesome. Well done! Him against Prochazka will be a great fight.
You don’t think they’ll be pushing Khamzat all the way towards the WW title? WW needs stars badly as it is. It’s a right ropey division
Agreed. Those three are the future and one of them needs to be fighting Glover for the title next.
I’d love to see what Hamzat can do against Masvidal. It would be the final test before he gets a title shot imo.
He’d annihilate Masvidal. If they wanted to give him a genuine test, Burns or Luque maybe? Matchmaking at Welter is hard as hell though, and I suspect he won’t be put in with anyone too dangerous before his title run is cemented. Actually Mas would make loads of sense, big name and unlikely to cause him any problems, then he could challenge for the title
I can say categorically that this fight will never ever happen.
Yeah cause that’s the way way mma works..
He’d “annihilate” Masvidal but Burns or Luque would be a problem?
I think it would be a good fight, and would be far above the level of low to mid tier opponents he's had to face so far.
Chimaev is a scary motherfecker. I wouldn't want to walk past him let alone fight him.
Makachev is another scary mofo. Imagine playing twister with that guy...
Sandhagen did his best but we all know Yan is the champion in that division for years to come. I heard Aljo been taking acting classes as a part of his training camp.
Very happy for Teixiera... But it shows how far this division, which used to house the goat, has fallen. Gustaffson will probably quickly fight next and get his hands on the belt whilst it's in hot-potato mode. He has already easily beaten these two before.
Makachev is another scary mofo. Imagine playing twister with that guy...
Sandhagen did his best but we all know Yan is the champion in that division for years to come. I heard Aljo been taking acting classes as a part of his training camp.
Very happy for Teixiera... But it shows how far this division, which used to house the goat, has fallen. Gustaffson will probably quickly fight next and get his hands on the belt whilst it's in hot-potato mode. He has already easily beaten these two before.
Sandhagen was a real bad matchup for Yan.
Give me something?
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Aljo has absolutely no chance against him. The pressure is too much for anyone. I
Masvidal is a bit of a **** hero but honestly, when was the last time he looked decent in the cage? Right now he’s a far easier fight than either Burns or LuqueYeah cause that’s the way way mma works..
He’d “annihilate” Masvidal but Burns or Luque would be a problem?
They gave him a wrestler in Aljo and he was making easy work of him before the knee too. Yan is just an absolute weapon.
Agree. Masvidal is my favourite fighter in the UFC, absolute box office, but I think the Usman fight showed the levels. He looked great in the Diaz fight though.
Islam and Chimaev are ridiculous, but I think that was evident. People can keep pointing to the fact that they haven't done it to top 5-10 fighters, but I'm not sure how much of it is their fault when no-one seems to want to fight these guys (and who can blame them, honestly). At least in Islam's case, it's becoming a lot harder to say no - his next fight is a title shot depending on the schedule or at least a no. 1 contender fight imo.
I don't see anyone in the top 5 beating him either. Porier would probably put up the most fight, but even then, the Dagestani's have ridiculous stamina, don't think Porier could match that.
I don't see anyone in the top 5 beating him either. Porier would probably put up the most fight, but even then, the Dagestani's have ridiculous stamina, don't think Porier could match that.
Enjoyable card. Jan doesn't like his neck being messed with; Yan's wife is fit - is she a model?
Russia are looking like they'll be a dominant force in men's MMA, by end of 2022.
Russia are looking like they'll be a dominant force in men's MMA, by end of 2022.
Appalling refereeing in the Dos Santos vs Saint Denis fight.
Saint Denis acting like this is a one-off fight for his life instead of an intended career; he'll be ruined inside a couple fights at the rate he takes hits. Needs to learn toughness is a bonus, not the main body of what you should be relying on in there. Getting hit the way he does, without ever moving off the centre line is going to take literal years off him.
Saint Denis acting like this is a one-off fight for his life instead of an intended career; he'll be ruined inside a couple fights at the rate he takes hits. Needs to learn toughness is a bonus, not the main body of what you should be relying on in there. Getting hit the way he does, without ever moving off the centre line is going to take literal years off him.
It’s going to really blow up in the next 5-10 years. The rise and stardom of Khabib, Yan and even an influencer like Hasbulla just shown how much of a lucrative sport MMA is. If Dagestani fighters were just into combat sambo because of peer pressure, now they’ll be doing it with a clear goal. Of course this has been always the case but Khabib, Fedor and Yan are having a massive impact on an upcoming generation whom are yet to even step in the cage. Exciting times to be a Russian mma fan.
They're so polished as well, to the point, the divisions aren't ready for the onslaughts they put on. What's particularly scary for the American gyms is they're coming up against better wrestlers with almost by default, better striking due to the completeness of sambo out the gate. It's one of the reasons fighters with ranks are avoiding them like the plague, because no matter what, it's an extremely risky fight and one they only want to take when they're being forced to.
It's going to take some time to catch up for the rest once the stranglehold (literal or figurative) is put on their divisions. Will take some true martial artists, raised in combat from young ages, to match them, I think - basically putting a mirror image back to them.
It'll force the sport to improve, ultimately, as, like you've said, there's going to be a wave of these guys looking to make their fortune with the path to the UFC.
Btw, are there rival camps in Dagestan? What happens if you've a champion and top 1 or 2 contenders all being Dagestani? Will they fight each other?
I’m actually not sure about rival camps to be honest mate. Im sure there are, just as with anyone. I mean they fight each other at local level for sure but if they’re team mates then they wouldn’t.
What about Yan though? An absolute beast…
Yan is a monster. I thought Sandhagen might pose him some stylistic problems but Yan worked him out and swept him aside. He actually looked fresh at the end of the fight, like he could have done another 5 rounds. feck knows what’s in his gas tank but it’s good stuff
Thoughts of what he's going to do to Aljo probably
It’ll be shades of the Khabib-Conor ground and pound.Thoughts of what he's going to do to Aljo probably
"Act now! Go on! Improv, method, whatever! Show me your acting chops now!"
feck"Act now! Go on! Improv, method, whatever! Show me your acting chops now!"
Pray for aljo
Yes. Usman isn't a draw. Colby hasn't gotten many fans with his MAGA hat. Masvidal's luck has run out. And Leon, well, he is too nice. It makes sense to push Khamzat.
He can build himself into a big star at WW and then have a massive champ vs champ superfight with Adesanya.
I could see Islam bouncing between divisions too though.
Yeah, probably not. It makes more sense to have both of them building themselves up in separated paths.
Russian MMA is absolutely stacked, man. Ankalaev is going to be LHW champ one day, and I wouldn't give up on Volkov getting the HW strap either.
Has no tells... on anything
can't tell when he's hurt; or bothered; or tired; or what he'll come out with from his box of striking tricks. He throws everything with KO power from the first round right through to the end of a contest, too. That's mentally draining in itself, as he's trying to knock you out with every action.I thought Sandhagen ran out of gas and then his strikes just looked gangly and flimsy. By design, Yan made him work at maximum output earlier in the fight completely assured in his belief he would turn the tide as the fight went on, which is what we saw. They started off with a similar level of power in their strikes, but by the 3rd round the exchanges became one-sided as one looked like he could end the fight if he connected with a couple of shots and the other started to flag and hit more pitter-patter shots outside of the jump knees and odd spinning elbow.