The MMA Thread

[Liddell]

You seriously don’t know how this works do you...

This has nothing to do with the dolly issue in Brooklyn... Conor got stripped of his belt after that incident anyway...

But what Khabib did has far more serious implications for his title than Conor’s bus attack...

Conor was already being stripped that weekend... and all his problems were criminal charges.

What Khabib did was part of the event... overseen by the Nevada Athletic Commision. The biggest assholes commision wise in the world.

These assholes banned Nick Diaz for 5 years failing a marijuana test.

If Khabib gets a 12 month ban or longer... the UFC will have to strip him of the title because they won’t want to keep the belt on hold for another 12 months after Conor held it for so long.

Unfortunately Khabib isn’t Conor... he doesn’t have the sway with the UFC that Conor does.

I’m 100% dead serious that Khabib could be stripped... his did this in the wrong f**king state.

If they try and make an example out of him... which they have in the past to certain people.. other commissions nearly all uphold Nevada suspensions.

Having said that... if Khabib gets stripped... Personally I’ll still consider him the champ...

Just as I considered Conor the champ coming into this fight as he was the lineal champ.

Khabib won this fight fair and square... Lineage is what’s most important to me.

Khabib didn’t land a punch on anyone.

Connor punched Khabib’s trainer first when they were both up on the fence. He’ll be in just as much trouble.

 

[BuderusIsaBeast]

Genuine question, if Khabib does get a suspension from the Nevada atheltic commission does that only apply in Nevada? How does a suspension impact him in other states or even other countries?

 

[Game_Breaker]

Khabib won this fight fair and square... Lineage is what’s most important to me.

Let’s call a spade a spade
He didnt just win, he dominated Conor

If there is a rematch, he won’t be taking much smack

 

[Smack]

Khabib didn’t land a punch on anyone.

.

He landed one on the potato :^)

 

[Eelementary]

You DO realise that he’s trying to get that reaction out of you.

I actually think he’s what BJ Penn should have been.

He doesn’t mind fighting tough fights going up in weight to make the big fights.

Then you look at his record... wins against Max Holloway, Chad Mendes, Dustin Porier, Jose Aldo, Nate Diaz & Eddie Alvarez.

You’d find it pretty hard to find anyone with a better resume than that.

He actually is humble in defeat... has always been.

Lol I know he wants that reaction, and he gets it from me!

I get that he's a very good fighter, but when he loses, I'm happy.

Frank Mir was my favourite fighter - heavyweight with knockout power, and a real submission threat...what's not to like?

Then he started carrying on like a twat, and he lost my support.

McGregor is a fine stand-up fighter, but I've never liked how he carries on, personally.

Putting alcohol in front of Khabib was so disrespectful, imo - people laugh it off at, "That's McGregor for you!", but I think he crossed a line.

Showmanship is one thing - carrying on like that is another.

 

[Game_Breaker]

Putting alcohol in front of Khabib was so disrespectful, imo - people laugh it off at, "That's McGregor for you!", but I think he crossed a line.

Showmanship is one thing - carrying on like that is another.

He called him a ‘backward merkin’ for not drinking
Called his dad a coward
And brought up chechnya‘s war for some reason

It’s one thing to promote the match and be disrespectful to Khabib but he definitely crossed the line by bringing family into it, laughing at a painful war and mocking his religion

 

[ebbedfred]

Genuine question, if Khabib does get a suspension from the Nevada atheltic commission does that only apply in Nevada? How does a suspension impact him in other states or even other countries?

Basically, most other states will uphold that suspension, but more importantly the UFC will regardless. If they ignore it and take Khabib overseas to let him fight it will only annoy the NSAC which is not good for the UFC as they are probably the most important athletic commision to keep onside.

 

[Game_Breaker]

McGregor is also being investigated by the NSAC after they realised he threw the first punch on Khabibs crew

 

[Fire]

 

[shiznit]

How f**king great did Izzy look vs Brunson.

The kids legit as hell imo....

Gotta say though I’m super conflicted about him vs Rob...

I love Izzy... he has a style... or a flair... he’s got a real moxie or arrogance about him which is rare for a NZ athlete... It’s probably his Nigerian roots... it’s great to see...

Too many of our combat sports athletes are nice guys... like Joseph Parker and David Tua.... this kid is hot shit... and he ain’t scared to tell everyone...

He’s just sooo exciting to watch... striking at such a high, high level.

The thing with Rob though... he’s Whanau... surely i cant go against family....

 

[shiznit]

And something else I was thinking after watching Jacare KO Weidman...

How f**king crazy is the speed that the sport is evolving...

It seriously seems like yesterday we were talking about how Weidman & Rockhold were the next generation of the MW division and the likes of Anderson, Vitor, Hendo & Bisping we’re going to get stomped out by Weidman, Rockhold and co...

While we weren’t wrong about Anderson and the like being past it... how crazy is it that we are seriously talking like Weidman is probably done after this loss... and Rockhold is struggling to stay healthy....

Now we have another generation coming through with Adesanya & Costa and the like...

The rate of change is just brutal...

 

[Fufu Andronez]

And something else I was thinking after watching Jacare KO Weidman...

How f**king crazy is the speed that the sport is evolving...

It seriously seems like yesterday we were talking about how Weidman & Rockhold were the next generation of the MW division and the likes of Anderson, Vitor, Hendo & Bisping we’re going to get stomped out by Weidman, Rockhold and co...

While we weren’t wrong about Anderson and the like being past it... how crazy is it that we are seriously talking like Weidman is probably done after this loss... and Rockhold is struggling to stay healthy....

Now we have another generation coming through with Adesanya & Costa and the like...

The rate of change is just brutal...

Yeah there's always someone younger and faster out there. Plus these blokes see the levels that the silvas, rockholds, bispings etc set and they have a bar to work up towards and pass. It's amazing stuff.

Also I gotta have Bobby knuckles. As hit as Israel is right now, whittaker is a legitimate killer and is still serially underrated by the yanks imo. Has passed every test.

 

[Fufu Andronez]

Bit off topic but anyone see the latest re Mayweather's next bout?

Vsing the Rizin featherweight champ, a 20 year old killer Tenshin Nasukawa. Not sure what's to be gained tbh and feel like it might not even go ahead.. Kinda feel like it's a negotiation tactic with the actual fight he is after..

 

[shiznit]

Yeah there's always someone younger and faster out there. Plus these blokes see the levels that the silvas, rockholds, bispings etc set and they have a bar to work up towards and pass. It's amazing stuff.

Also I gotta have Bobby knuckles. As hit as Israel is right now, whittaker is a legitimate killer and is still serially underrated by the yanks imo. Has passed every test.

I think Stylebender is a terrible match up for Rob.

Rob’s wrestling is f**king AMAZING considering where he’s come from... but it’s really all defensive wrestling... aimed to keep the fight standing where he can turn the fight into a striking battle.

The problem for Rob is as good as his striking is... I think Stylebender is better.

It’s dangerous as hell having to keep the fight standing against him.

If you look at all the guys rob has beaten... none of them were real high level strikers.

- Yoel primarily a wrestler and rudimentary striker who’s explosive enough to hurt you in the stand up if you’re not careful.

- Jacare similar to Yoel but obviously a BJJ legend.

- Brunson a wrestler with a bit of power but sloppy stand up.

- Tavares an all rounder but not a super striker

- Uriah Hall a decent striker but no where near the level of Stylebender.

The last high level striker he’s fought is Wonderboy. And we all remember how that fight ended up.

Stylistically I think Izzy would be terrible for him.

 

[ebbedfred]

If you look at it the other way, I think Rob is a bad matcup for Izzy. Against a pure Wrestler, Izzy can do enough to avoid getting taken down and then light them up on the feet. Rob on the other hand, can at least hang with Izzy on the feet if he has to, but can wrestle him when he can, if he doesn't get him down he's not in as much trouble as a pure wrestler.

I would say Izzy is a better striker, but Rob is way more well rounded, but an intriguing match up nevertheless. I actually don't think Izzy should get an immediate title shot. I think he needs to beat a top 5 guy first, although some suggesting he could build his name by beating Anderson Silva. Either way, I think 7-9 months is too long for him to sit on the shelf, get him on the Melbourne card on the Whittaker vs Kelvin undercard.

I feel sorry for Weidman after the weekend. He has lost 4 out of his last 5, but he was winning against Jacare and got cracked, he was winning against Yoel and got cracked, he was winning (or at least right in it) against Rockhold and he threw a crazy spin kick and got taken down which changed the fight. Not sure where he goes from here, I'd move to 205 if I was him, much easier weight cut and a much, MUCH shorter que for a title shot. Basically, call out Anthony Smith, win that and get a title shot, that division is sooooo weak after Jones and Gus, which is funny, because it doesn't seem that long ago it was the deepest divison by a long way.

Very happy to see Alex Volkanovski get a fight with Chad Mendes, that will be an awesome fight on a stacked card!

 

[shiznit]

If you look at it the other way, I think Rob is a bad matcup for Izzy. Against a pure Wrestler, Izzy can do enough to avoid getting taken down and then light them up on the feet. Rob on the other hand, can at least hang with Izzy on the feet if he has to, but can wrestle him when he can, if he doesn't get him down he's not in as much trouble as a pure wrestler.

I would say Izzy is a better striker, but Rob is way more well rounded, but an intriguing match up nevertheless. I actually don't think Izzy should get an immediate title shot. I think he needs to beat a top 5 guy first, although some suggesting he could build his name by beating Anderson Silva. Either way, I think 7-9 months is too long for him to sit on the shelf, get him on the Melbourne card on the Whittaker vs Kelvin undercard.

I feel sorry for Weidman after the weekend. He has lost 4 out of his last 5, but he was winning against Jacare and got cracked, he was winning against Yoel and got cracked, he was winning (or at least right in it) against Rockhold and he threw a crazy spin kick and got taken down which changed the fight. Not sure where he goes from here, I'd move to 205 if I was him, much easier weight cut and a much, MUCH shorter que for a title shot. Basically, call out Anthony Smith, win that and get a title shot, that division is sooooo weak after Jones and Gus, which is funny, because it doesn't seem that long ago it was the deepest divison by a long way.

Very happy to see Alex Volkanovski get a fight with Chad Mendes, that will be an awesome fight on a stacked card!

I think the easiest way i look at it...

If you were to rate them as strikers...

You have the guys with not a lot of technical ability but hellish power...

Brunson - 4
Romero - 5
Weidman - 5
Jacare - 5

Next you have the good strikers who have a clear advantage against most on the feet.. although still susceptible to getting caught by the level of strikers in the previous group.

Rockhold - 7
Whittaker - 7

Then you have the elite strikers... these are the guys who the guys in the previous two groups just won’t be able to beat in a straight stand up fight... thankfully for the bottom group the wrestling aspect evens it up.

Till - 8.5
Adesanya - 9.5
Wonderboy - 9.5

It’s the worst possible match up imaginable for Whittaker.

The problem for Rob is while he’s a more well rounded fighter... he’s absolutely no threat as a wrestler to the top strikers.

His wrestling is brilliant against the lower group... that group is the group who use their strong grappling to compromise the striking of the higher 2 groups. But as his defensive wrestling is so strong it forces the lower group to fight in an area he has a clear advantage.

The problem against the elite strikers is he’s almost no threat wrestling them. He almost exclusively uses his wrestling defensively to keep the fight standing so it allows the elite strikers to fight completely free of any worry about being taken down.

Where a guy like Izzy or Wonderboy would have to fight almost at 60% because they have to protect themselves from
being taken down against a strong offensive grappler.

You let these guys go 100% with next to no worry about wrestling... you get Whittaker vs Wonderboy... that was the last time Rob fought a match up like that.

He got absolutely destroyed by Wonderboy.

I think for Izzy... his tough matchup would be Yoel, Weidman and to a lesser extent Gastelum.

Guys who can force the strikers to worry about the takedown so much that holes appear in the stand up. Ie what Woodley did to Till and even Wonderboy.

 

[shiznit]

Also I love me some Alex the great... he’s been working his striking with Izzy and Dan Hooker... he’s come in massively in that department...

 

[umina panther]

Today's fights were f**king insane.

 

[ebbedfred]

Loved seeing Cowboy get up.

The main event was an awesome fight with an unbelievable finish, absolutely crazy! Gotta feel for Zombie losing like that, but that was just incredible to see!

 

[umina panther]

Loved seeing Cowboy get up.

The main event was an awesome fight with an unbelievable finish, absolutely crazy! Gotta feel for Zombie losing like that, but that was just incredible to see!

All the stopping to shake hands f**ked him up I think. Great fight though