The MMA Thread

[Valheru]

You can add Jones/Miocic to that list if Jones is to be believed.

And Sterling/Cejudo for Perth as well apparently...

 

[Wizardman]

UFC 281.....wow

Chandler/Porier was the fight most expected it would be. For a guy that has a lot of losses since coming into the UFC, Chandler have been competitive and has had his chances to win every fight that he has been involved in. He knocked the stuffing out of Porier on the feet....than for some reason, he decided to take it to the ground when the momentum changed. He is not the brightest fighter on the roster but full credit to Porier. I get the feeling both will have to wait in the queue for a title shot though.


Esparza/Welli: Most expected a change of hands title wise.....and that is what we got. I think Welli could occupy top spot for some time.

Izzy/ Peirara: I expected a boring fight similar to the Izzy/Cannonier fight.....I was so glad to be wrong. When it comes to fighting Izzy, size does matter. He was up on points before the 5th round....but never looked truly comfortable for the whole fight. Great fight from both.

 

[Valheru]

UFC 281.....wow

Chandler/Porier was the fight most expected it would be. For a guy that has a lot of losses since coming into the UFC, Chandler have been competitive and has had his chances to win every fight that he has been involved in. He knocked the stuffing out of Porier on the feet....than for some reason, he decided to take it to the ground when the momentum changed. He is not the brightest fighter on the roster but full credit to Porier. I get the feeling both will have to wait in the queue for a title shot though.


Esparza/Welli: Most expected a change of hands title wise.....and that is what we got. I think Welli could occupy top spot for some time.

Izzy/ Peirara: I expected a boring fight similar to the Izzy/Cannonier fight.....I was so glad to be wrong. When it comes to fighting Izzy, size does matter. He was up on points before the 5th round....but never looked truly comfortable for the whole fight. Great fight from both.

That Poirier/Chandler fight is what MMA is about, what a pair of warriors. Agree with your point re: Chandler and his fight IQ, he didn't need to take Poirier down in the 3rd and he slipped over the top of him and gave up his back. I personally thought Chandler was the better fighter throughout and had it 20-17 going in tot he 3rd, if that 2nd round wasn't 10-8 then I don't know what is. The judges disagree though and had it 19-19.

It goes without saying Perreira is a major issue for Izzy. The bloke made Izzy who is a tall middleweight look small. Izzy brought it to him though and was winning 3-1 on all 3 scorecards. Not sure why Izzy even engaged int he 5th TBH, he should have just stayed out of reach. It opens the division right up though because we have that weird UFC math where Perreira has it over Izzy but I rekcon Whittaker and Vettori take Perreira to the ground and beat him.

In other news, Islam/Volk confirmed for Perth and they have also confirmed an interim FW title fight between Yair and Emmett.

 

[Smug Panther]

That Poirier/Chandler fight is what MMA is about, what a pair of warriors. Agree with your point re: Chandler and his fight IQ, he didn't need to take Poirier down in the 3rd and he slipped over the top of him and gave up his back. I personally thought Chandler was the better fighter throughout and had it 20-17 going in tot he 3rd, if that 2nd round wasn't 10-8 then I don't know what is. The judges disagree though and had it 19-19.

It goes without saying Perreira is a major issue for Izzy. The bloke made Izzy who is a tall middleweight look small. Izzy brought it to him though and was winning 3-1 on all 3 scorecards. Not sure why Izzy even engaged int he 5th TBH, he should have just stayed out of reach. It opens the division right up though because we have that weird UFC math where Perreira has it over Izzy but I rekcon Whittaker and Vettori take Perreira to the ground and beat him.

In other news, Islam/Volk confirmed for Perth and they have also confirmed an interim FW title fight between Yair and Emmett.

Hate bullshit fake interim belts and Yair sure as hell doesn't deserve it. Neither have anything for Volk

 

[shiznit]

That Poirier/Chandler fight is what MMA is about, what a pair of warriors. Agree with your point re: Chandler and his fight IQ, he didn't need to take Poirier down in the 3rd and he slipped over the top of him and gave up his back. I personally thought Chandler was the better fighter throughout and had it 20-17 going in tot he 3rd, if that 2nd round wasn't 10-8 then I don't know what is. The judges disagree though and had it 19-19.

It goes without saying Perreira is a major issue for Izzy. The bloke made Izzy who is a tall middleweight look small. Izzy brought it to him though and was winning 3-1 on all 3 scorecards. Not sure why Izzy even engaged int he 5th TBH, he should have just stayed out of reach. It opens the division right up though because we have that weird UFC math where Perreira has it over Izzy but I rekcon Whittaker and Vettori take Perreira to the ground and beat him.

In other news, Islam/Volk confirmed for Perth and they have also confirmed an interim FW title fight between Yair and Emmett.

Bit late on this… been away in the bush…

yup I agree with this… I think he cautiously had it won but it was always on a knife edge…

Ive seen people complain about the stoppage… I think Goddard stopped Izzy from getting hurt worse IMO…

 

[Jono078]

No issues with the stoppage. It would have led to unnecessary damage with the next few.
Absolutely great fight. I’ve never been so heartbroken for a fighter after a loss. He was winning and then to go down practically the same way as previous fight, wow. That’s gonna be one heck of a demon to overcome. Especially since he was maybe 10 seconds away from closing the book in the first round.

 

[Smug Panther]

Nice to see a few hype trains derailed today

 

[Jono078]

I don't think I feel 100% saying Volk was robbed, but man I thought he did enough to win.

Or perhaps I should say, where the judges rewarded Islam for the takedowns or "control", Islam did nothing with it and I'd argue Volk had the better of those positions, except for the first round.

If there was 1 more round today it would have been super interesting.

Anyway that's how it goes. The Holloway fans are probably saying this is what it feels like.

 

[Valheru]

I don't think I feel 100% saying Volk was robbed, but man I thought he did enough to win.

Or perhaps I should say, where the judges rewarded Islam for the takedowns or "control", Islam did nothing with it and I'd argue Volk had the better of those positions, except for the first round.

If there was 1 more round today it would have been super interesting.

Anyway that's how it goes. The Holloway fans are probably saying this is what it feels like.

I do think 3-2 to Islam was a reasonable result. I take your point though, that 4th round was extremely hard to call as Islam had thep position and control but volk belted him the whole time. I think it's one of those fights where the champ got the benefit of the doubt.

Either way, volk's stock only rises IMO and I don't see how he should lose his number 1 P4P ranking. That was the result you would expect when 1 faces 2 with 1 going up a weight class. At worse they should be equal.

It was a tremendous performance from volk, Islam murdered oliveira but never had volk in trouble on the ground. If both clean out their divisions over the next 12 months I think we see the fight again. Volk has a live challenger with a rapidly improved Yair first and possibly Allen after that if he beats Max.

 

[Chins get the wins]

Volk is the featherweight GOAT and Australia's best athlete since Bradman

 

[Valheru]

What more can be said about Volk, he is Australia's best athlete going at the moment and it's not particularly close, he cannot be denied. He does not get anywhere near the kudos in this country he deserves. He made Yair who is a very talented fighter look 2nd rate and I don't see anyone beating him anytime soon int he FW division. I don't think he gets the Islam fight next due to his injury and I think he knows it as it was a half hearted post fight call out at best. I reckon he fights Ilia in December and then looks to go up to LW again.

The Flyweight title fight was a banger. 48-47 Pantoja was a fair result IMO, I could have lived with 48-47 the other way but how that judge got 49-46 Moreno is beyond me. Either way, Moreno deserves a rematch in what was a close contest.

Du Plessis looks the real deal after dominating Whittaker. He is an absolute tank of a Middleweight and if he can get hands on Izzy he will cause him trouble. Speaking of Izzy, that was absolutely putrid behaviour by him in the post fight showdown. Basically saying Du Plessis isn't African because he ain't black. He makes himself very difficult to like at times.

 

[shiznit]

What more can be said about Volk, he is Australia's best athlete going at the moment and it's not particularly close, he cannot be denied. He does not get anywhere near the kudos in this country he deserves. He made Yair who is a very talented fighter look 2nd rate and I don't see anyone beating him anytime soon int he FW division. I don't think he gets the Islam fight next due to his injury and I think he knows it as it was a half hearted post fight call out at best. I reckon he fights Ilia in December and then looks to go up to LW again.

The Flyweight title fight was a banger. 48-47 Pantoja was a fair result IMO, I could have lived with 48-47 the other way but how that judge got 49-46 Moreno is beyond me. Either way, Moreno deserves a rematch in what was a close contest.

Du Plessis looks the real deal after dominating Whittaker. He is an absolute tank of a Middleweight and if he can get hands on Izzy he will cause him trouble. Speaking of Izzy, that was absolutely putrid behaviour by him in the post fight showdown. Basically saying Du Plessis isn't African because he ain't black. He makes himself very difficult to like at times.

To Izzy’s defence… Dricus started this when he came out publicly and all but said that Izzy, Francis & Usman we’re not real African champions…

What Izzy did while certainly crass it was actually quite calculated… both Dricus and his coach have been out in the media talking about how African he is and how Izzy isn’t… so Izzy started calling him his African brother and then threw the N-word out there knowing full well Dricus couldn’t say it back… lol

Dricus has no f**king idea what guys like Francis had to do to get out of Africa… Dricus wasn’t faced with a lifetime of working in a sand mine working for pennies for the rest of his life so he had to flee to Europe… spending time in jail.

Dricus also had no idea why Izzy’s family felt they needed to leave Nigeria so they could build a better life for their children.

he should have just apologised for it… and left it at that… but he and his coach keep pushing it so it’s become a bigger issue now.

This isn’t me just blindly supporting Izzy either… I felt the same about Izzy when he pissed Rob off when he suggested Rob couldn’t claim kiwi heritage anymore…

 

[Chins get the wins]

To Izzy’s defence… Dricus started this when he came out publicly and all but said that Izzy, Francis & Usman we’re not real African champions…

What Izzy did while certainly crass it was actually quite calculated… both Dricus and his coach have been out in the media talking about how African he is and how Izzy isn’t… so Izzy started calling him his African brother and then threw the N-word out there knowing full well Dricus couldn’t say it back… lol

Dricus has no f**king idea what guys like Francis had to do to get out of Africa… Dricus wasn’t faced with a lifetime of working in a sand mine working for pennies for the rest of his life so he had to flee to Europe… spending time in jail.

Dricus also had no idea why Izzy’s family felt they needed to leave Nigeria so they could build a better life for their children.

he should have just apologised for it… and left it at that… but he and his coach keep pushing it so it’s become a bigger issue now.

This isn’t me just blindly supporting Izzy either… I felt the same about Izzy when he pissed Rob off when he suggested Rob couldn’t claim kiwi heritage anymore…

Great fighter bit he's cringe as f**k and a dud bloke

 

[Valheru]

To Izzy’s defence… Dricus started this when he came out publicly and all but said that Izzy, Francis & Usman we’re not real African champions…

What Izzy did while certainly crass it was actually quite calculated… both Dricus and his coach have been out in the media talking about how African he is and how Izzy isn’t… so Izzy started calling him his African brother and then threw the N-word out there knowing full well Dricus couldn’t say it back… lol

Dricus has no f**king idea what guys like Francis had to do to get out of Africa… Dricus wasn’t faced with a lifetime of working in a sand mine working for pennies for the rest of his life so he had to flee to Europe… spending time in jail.

Dricus also had no idea why Izzy’s family felt they needed to leave Nigeria so they could build a better life for their children.

he should have just apologised for it… and left it at that… but he and his coach keep pushing it so it’s become a bigger issue now.

This isn’t me just blindly supporting Izzy either… I felt the same about Izzy when he pissed Rob off when he suggested Rob couldn’t claim kiwi heritage anymore…

Oh I get Dricus threw the first stone but it hardly warranted Izzy's response IMO. To me Dricus more came across as trying to market himself in the African market as a genuine African champion i.e. he lives and trains there. I'm in no way discounting the experience of Izzy, Usman or Francis' families in Africa. Perhaps Dricus' comment was a bit tone deaf and he could have just apologised.

Having said that I would like to think Izzy could carry himself with a bit more poise and dignity. If someone told Leon Edwards he isn't British because he ain't white there would quite rightly be mass outrage, this is no different. I don't mind Izzy building up the fight with something to the effect of "I'm going to show him what a real African champion looks like" but he chose to go down the race track and I think he has come off looking a bit silly to say the least.

I do think he will won't he fight though, don't think Dricus will be able to get hands on him.

 

[shiznit]

Oh I get Dricus threw the first stone but it hardly warranted Izzy's response IMO. To me Dricus more came across as trying to market himself in the African market as a genuine African champion i.e. he lives and trains there. I'm in no way discounting the experience of Izzy, Usman or Francis' families in Africa. Perhaps Dricus' comment was a bit tone deaf and he could have just apologised.

Having said that I would like to think Izzy could carry himself with a bit more poise and dignity. If someone told Leon Edwards he isn't British because he ain't white there would quite rightly be mass outrage, this is no different. I don't mind Izzy building up the fight with something to the effect of "I'm going to show him what a real African champion looks like" but he chose to go down the race track and I think he has come off looking a bit silly to say the least.

I do think he will won't he fight though, don't think Dricus will be able to get hands on him.

I honestly still can’t believe he beat Rob.

Without trying to be disrespectful to Dricus… I can’t see how he beats Izzy. He certainly isn’t a better striker… and while he’s a big guy… I wouldn’t say he’s bigger than Izzy… and certainly isn’t bigger than the monsters Izzy has fought in the past like Costa, Jan and Alex.

I just don’t know how he’s gonna beat Izzy… he could do it like Jan… grapple him towards the end of the fight… but I don’t know if he could handle Izzy for 3-4 rounds before getting finished TBH…

 

[Chins get the wins]

I honestly still can’t believe he beat Rob.

Without trying to be disrespectful to Dricus… I can’t see how he beats Izzy. He certainly isn’t a better striker… and while he’s a big guy… I wouldn’t say he’s bigger than Izzy… and certainly isn’t bigger than the monsters Izzy has fought in the past like Costa, Jan and Alex.

I just don’t know how he’s gonna beat Izzy… he could do it like Jan… grapple him towards the end of the fight… but I don’t know if he could handle Izzy for 3-4 rounds before getting finished TBH…

A lucky punch that ends Izzy's career would be nice

 

[shiznit]

A lucky punch that ends Izzy's career would be nice

A lucky punch ain’t gonna do it… he’s too slick of a striker to do it.

A guy like Bo Nickal will be the skill set to do it I think.

I want Izzy to move up to LHW… so Rob can go and work with CKB… I think he would benefit greatly by working with those dudes… i feel sorry for Rob sometimes… it kinda feels like him against the world when he goes to fights.

whereas Izzy or Alex… they roll on up with an entire crew full of coaches and teammates supporting each other… I reckon Rob would benefit from that.

 

[Fufu Andronez]

A lucky punch ain’t gonna do it… he’s too slick of a striker to do it.

A guy like Bo Nickal will be the skill set to do it I think.

I want Izzy to move up to LHW… so Rob can go and work with CKB… I think he would benefit greatly by working with those dudes… i feel sorry for Rob sometimes… it kinda feels like him against the world when he goes to fights.

whereas Izzy or Alex… they roll on up with an entire crew full of coaches and teammates supporting each other… I reckon Rob would benefit from that.

Too many miles on the Whittaker clock now. Time for him to just take some fun fights and make some cash before he hangs it up imo. Get himself a few finish bonuses etc against lower competition.

Would love for him to even retire and attempt to build a CKB style setup in Australia, he has the facilities just needs the right coaches and roster

 

[Valheru]

Well there goes Izzy's legacy and any tak of the MW GOAT. Beaten up by f**king Sean Strickland for 25 minutes.

 

[Valheru]

The great man is taking on Islam again on Sunday morning on 11 days notice

If he manages to pull this off he is in the conversation for MMA GOAT