The MMA Thread

[bertarapsfan]

I don't see any current MW contender as being a problem for him. A prime Chris Weidman would have given him some problems cause he'd be able to get inside no matter what but Weidman is washed and there isn't anyone else like that right now at 185. The only guy who has really had his number is Alex Pereira and he doesn't do MMA, as far as I know, and that was also 5 years ago(?). Whittaker would certainly fight him differently a second time around but he just isn't skilled enough.

Also, shout out to Mean Hakeem Dawodu! Guy trains at the same gym as my friend's son and he is apparently a really good guy as well as a beast in the ring. Wasn't the best first round ever but that win makes him a person of interest now at 145 and he should get a step up next time out.

Ya its crazy he has pretty much already cleaned out the top of the division and has only been the champ a year.
Canniorer could be a good fight but Izzy wins, Whittaker should get a rematch at some point and then maybe till if he can piece some wins together.
Funny thing is gastelum gave him the best fight but hasnt been able to piece together a winning streak. Maybe by the time Izzy defends 2-3 more times Kelvin can get back on track id love to see that one run back.

Hakeem was awesome i loved that fight never heard of him before saturday. Loved when he stood in the middle and yelled stop running and ref got mad at him for swearing lol. Berta represent!!

[bertarapsfan]

Porrier by Desison
Hooker by TKO

[Demographic Shift]

And McGregor gets KO'd in the 2nd.
Have to say I did not see that coming and it may end the run of one of the greatest personalities in sports.
That line... I am here to apolgize to absolutely nobody is gold.

[bertarapsfan]

Gotta give porier credit, He is an elite fighter that guys tuning in to see Conor might not have know about. He has beat every big name in the divison aside from Khabib. Like he said last night he is the Champ right now even if he doesnt have the belt.

The game caught up to Conor while he was away. The top 5 guys in lightweight are all potential title holders on any given night. Conor has to have the perfect night to beat guys like Porier, Gaethji, Chandler, Hooker, Fergueson and oliveria.

I dont think he can compete for a title in the divison, Probably looks to take money fights Diaz for the triology, of maybe a Masvidal fight. Then again Dana might just make those other 5 beat each other up let Conor get 1 win at L.W then throw him in a title shot

[bertarapsfan]

Dana also said he is thinking Chandler vs porier for the belt. But think a win over Hooker doesn't Vault Chandler over Justin IMO. He didnt take any damage chandler should be able to jump back in there relativlty quick to fight Justin. Winner of that take Dustin for the undisputed belt

[Joey]

Still think Conor is the better fighter between him and Poirier, but damn if Poirier didn't look good in there. Also thought Hooker was going to put up more of a fight. Chandler seems legit, but I need to see him fight againt before he gets a title shot.

Also blows my mind that Usman isn't a bigger name than he is. Dude has all the charm and charisma, and is an absolute beast in the ring to boot. Going to be a good one with him and Burns, but I see Usman coming out on top.

[bertarapsfan]

Still think Conor is the better fighter between him and Poirier, but damn if Poirier didn't look good in there. Also thought Hooker was going to put up more of a fight. Chandler seems legit, but I need to see him fight againt before he gets a title shot.

Also blows my mind that Usman isn't a bigger name than he is. Dude has all the charm and charisma, and is an absolute beast in the ring to boot. Going to be a good one with him and Burns, but I see Usman coming out on top.

I dont think Conor's better. Dustin has been active and improved so much dude has beat huge names. Conor hasn't really beat a good fighter since grinding out a win vs diaz. And Diaz isn't a top end fighter just really entertaining and can sell a fight.
if Conor doesnt catch Aldo in 15 seconds the narrative would be totally different. Look what dustin did with leg kicks Aldo would have done it even worse

As for Usman I'm not really that surprised. He is a great fighter but doesnt have an exciting style and not really the personable IMO. I dont really like Izzys persona but it still draws eyeballs. Usman is kinda boring inside and outside the ring. Kinda like a modern GSP hes going to have to defend the belt like 5 times before he can maybe start to be a huge star, but I dont knowing I ever see him being a must watch ppv headliner for casual fans

[bertarapsfan]

Great performance by Usman! Whittman obviously helped his stand up. If he gets any better on the feet to go along with his ground game the rest of the welterweights are fucked.

Just sucks that not many people were probably tuned in to see him. Kinda of a weak card. His biggest chance to gain fans was the stacked card on fight island and it ended up a clinch battle. He must be aware of his lack of PPV selling power to the casual to call out Masvidal again instead of the guy who clearly should have the next shot in Leon Edwards.
He needs to have that kind of performance on a big card or vs a big name like masvidal and the casuals will start to take notice. He is one of the best champs thet UFC has right now but he just isnt catching on hope that card can start to change that.

[slaw]

Great performance by Usman! Whittman obviously helped his stand up. If he gets any better on the feet to go along with his ground game the rest of the welterweights are fucked.

Just sucks that not many people were probably tuned in to see him. Kinda of a weak card. His biggest chance to gain fans was the stacked card on fight island and it ended up a clinch battle. He must be aware of his lack of PPV selling power to the casual to call out Masvidal again instead of the guy who clearly should have the next shot in Leon Edwards.
He needs to have that kind of performance on a big card or vs a big name like masvidal and the casuals will start to take notice. He is one of the best champs thet UFC has right now but he just isnt catching on hope that card can start to change that.

Burns made a terrible mistake last night when he laid in his guard way too long in the first round. Usman was definitely hurt and ready to go but that allowed him to recover. It reminded me a little of when Condit hurt GSP and was so surprised he didn't know what to do and ended up falling into GSP and getting beat up on the ground.

Not really sure what they do with Usman. He has beat every top guy in that division outside of Wonderboy and Chiesa and I don't think either guy is a threat to him at all. Maybe Leon Edwards (they won't have fought in almost 6 years) but who is interested in that fight? Masvidal would be a bigger payday, though, I don't think the latter has the same draw he did when they fought the first time. The only big names outside the UFC would be Lima and Rory McDonald but neither guy is exactly in his prime. Maybe Usman could go up to 185 but if Adesanya isn't there then i don't see any big, meaningful, draw of a fight for him there either. The only interesting fight for him right away would be a rematch with Covington.

[bertarapsfan]

Burns made a terrible mistake last night when he laid in his guard way too long in the first round. Usman was definitely hurt and ready to go but that allowed him to recover. It reminded me a little of when Condit hurt GSP and was so surprised he didn't know what to do and ended up falling into GSP and getting beat up on the ground.

Not really sure what they do with Usman. He has beat every top guy in that division outside of Wonderboy and Chiesa and I don't think either guy is a threat to him at all. Maybe Leon Edwards (they won't have fought in almost 6 years) but who is interested in that fight? Masvidal would be a bigger payday, though, I don't think the latter has the same draw he did when they fought the first time. The only big names outside the UFC would be Lima and Rory McDonald but neither guy is exactly in his prime. Maybe Usman could go up to 185 but if Adesanya isn't there then i don't see any big, meaningful, draw of a fight for him there either. The only interesting fight for him right away would be a rematch with Covington.

Leon is defiantly the guy who deserves the next shot IMO. Their 1st matchup is so long ago it doesnt even matter both guys are totally diffrent beast and neither has lost since. Leon stepped up for the company and took the Chimaiv fight when no W.W wanted him. He's got screwed was supposed to get woodley before burns but got stuck in london when covid hit. Took the hype beast in chimaiv and got cancelled when he got covid.
I would like to see a covington rematch to that was an awesome fight, Masvidal would probably be a better fight to with a full camp. But kinda leads to my point, Usman isnt selling fights himself colby and mas are elevating the matchup.

The rightful next challenger in Leon doesnt move the needle. .Think Leon-Usman would be a great fight but dont think the UFC or Usman wants to make that fight

[slaw]

Leon is defiantly the guy who deserves the next shot IMO. Their 1st matchup is so long ago it doesnt even matter both guys are totally diffrent beast and neither has lost since. Leon stepped up for the company and took the Chimaiv fight when no W.W wanted him. He's got screwed was supposed to get woodley before burns but got stuck in london when covid hit. Took the hype beast in chimaiv and got cancelled when he got covid.
I would like to see a covington rematch to that was an awesome fight, Masvidal would probably be a better fight to with a full camp. But kinda leads to my point, Usman isnt selling fights himself colby and mas are elevating the matchup.

The rightful next challenger in Leon doesnt move the needle. .Think Leon-Usman would be a great fight but dont think the UFC or Usman wants to make that fight

Thing with Edwards is that he hasn't fought in almost 2 years and he hasn't beat anyone currently in the top 10 at WW other than Luque. His resume isn't all that impressive despite the winning streak. Covington says he won't fight him and Masvidal isn't interested. Edwards won't fight Wonderboy or Chiesa so the options are limited despite there being a lot of potentially great fights at 170.

I think we will see Usman-Masvidal 2 this year then they can be patient into 2022 and maybe force some hands in that division.

[bertarapsfan]

Wow usman. Wow rose.

[slaw]

Wow usman. Wow rose.

The Usman knockout was a bit surprising but Masvidal was way too casual all fight. I thought Usman would just put him up against the cage and wear him down but definitely a highlight knockout for the champ.

Wasn't surprised by Namajunas. Her stance gives kickboxers headaches. I think people forget how good she is cause she barely fights but outside of the Andrade surprise slam finish, she hasn't had a definitive loss in 7 years and her record is deceiving cause one other loss was a split decision and two were right at the start of her career.

Shevchenko was awesome. That split decision second fight loss to Nunes was a killer cause a Nunes-Shevchenko rubber match would be a no-brainer but no way Nunes needs that fight. It's too bad that there is no competition for either of those women cause they are superb fighters to watch.

[Joey]

What a wild card. Every fight had something to talk about.

First up, RIP Weidmans career. Dude was one of the OG real ones.

Second, I love Anthony Smith. Could listen to him talk about fighting all day. Looked like he did to Crute what happened to O'Malley. Foot nerves just died from the leg kick.

Shevkenko is amazing. She's kind of in that Cyborg area, where you just wonder who the heck she fights next. Andrade was the first "threat" on paper she's faced in a while, and she fucking crucified her. Literally!

THUG ROSE! Called this one, and couldn't be happier. Weili is a real one, but Rose is on another level than these other ladies. She deserves to say she's the best.

And god damn. I said this a while back in this thread a couple times, but Usman is terrifying and is somehow still underrated.
But now that he's developing a real stand up, I just don't see him losing any time soon.

[slaw]

What a wild card. Every fight had something to talk about.

And god damn. I said this a while back in this thread a couple times, but Usman is terrifying and is somehow still underrated.
But now that he's developing a real stand up, I just don't see him losing any time soon.

Burns had a chance after he hurt him and blew it.

Covington has a chance against him. Not sure about Edwards. Wonderboy is an intriguing match up.

Which is all good for Usman cause he has some legitimate fights ahead of him.