The MMA Thread: DON'T ASK 4 STREAMS & NO GIFS- Cannonier, Imavov, Reyes, Rosas on NOW

[illphillip]

I'm not mad at how any of those fights play out with those 4 guys and honestly Eddie vs. Nate is an OK "title eliminator".

Though I don't know if anyone wants to see Eddie fight Conor again if he wins.

Though I don't know if anyone knows if/when Conor is fighting again so.....

 

[shogun]

alvarez’s title defense was one of the worst i’ve ever seen. Got beat down the whole time while it lasted.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Eddie doesn't deserve squat

If he beat Poirier in a rematch then sure

 

[Cashflow]

 

[spiderjericho]

Breh you want ngannu to fight Brunson? That's a crime lol, he's a mw

I meant the Black Beast. Derrick Lewis. It’ll be fire works. Neither is a big wrestler.

 

[jayt1202]

While a fight with Nate and Eddie could be entertaining Alvarez definitely isn't deserving. Not sure I'd want to see Kevin Lee against Nate either as he'd prob just wrestle him. Maybe Conor drops the belt and they do a tuneup fight against Nate lol.

I just hope Nate gets a fight this summer and isn't blowing smoke.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Gaethje should have fought nate and Alvarez fight Poirier but Alvarez is trying to measure how much clout he has and simply refused to rematch Poirier in hopes of a title eliminator

I don't blame him but I can definitely dislike him for the move

 

[illphillip]

The matchmaking makes perfect sense to me.

Gaethje to me is a style nightmare for Nate. Vicious leg kicks which is what RDS used when he dominated Nate.

Gaethje is also coming off a loss. Not a ton of upside to beating him right now and not the ideal "tune up" fight.

Eddie is a former champ. Coming off an impressive win. Over a previously undefeated fighter. Who was in two of the best fights of 2017.

And a win over Eddie puts Nate right into some kind of #1 contender driver seat. Which is exactly what the UFC needs and wants.

The Eddie/Poirier situation is ****** up. And they should fight again. But it doesn't have to be right now per say.

The division is a mess and the fights that make the most sense are Nate vs. Eddie or Nate vs. Poirier. And Eddie being a former champ maybe gives him the edge.

And ultimately, they are both great fights either way.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Well yes it makes perfect sense because Eddie refused a rematch

They're stuck with where their at

You give Eddie a Diaz match and watch Eddie turn into a wrestler. Snooze fest

 

[illphillip]

It makes perfect sense either way.

I would say moreso than Dustin/Eddie and Nate/Gaethje. From a business standpoint.

Nate isn't coming back for cheap most likely, and a win over Gaethje doesn't do much for him in terms of positioning and a loss certainly wouldn't either.

Damn y'all really mad over what are still two strong matchups

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Not really bro lol we just disagree that's all

As I said before, I understand Eddie's plot. I don't blame him for doing this but again that doesn't mean I can't dislike him for the move

I never questioned anything from a business stand point in the first place, I simply said Eddie doesn't deserve a title eliminator unless he fights Dustin. Technically speaking. Of course Dana can decide whatever he wants and make Nate vs Eddie the #1 contender fight

If we're talking on paper, a stand up war between Nate and Gaetjhe is more enticing than a potential clinch/wrestle fest with Eddie vs Nate. I'm not really debating on what the UFC wants either

The division isn't really a mess.

You have Eddie vs Khabib fighting for the title sitter until Conor returns if he ever does. After that you have Eddie and Dustin

Barboza lost. Gaetjhe lost. Lee lost. Nate lost.

It makes it more of a mess now that Eddie and Dustin aren't fighting

 

[illphillip]

So you're shifting part of your narrative to what you think might happen in a fight between Eddie and Nate?

Like the dude didn't just bang it out with Gaethje in his last fight? And look spectacular doing it? And KO RDA in his win before that?

OK Proceed with your "dislike". I'm good with both fights.

 

[illphillip]

Dub

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

OK so you're shifting part of our narrative to what you think might happen in a fight between Eddie and Nate?

Like the dude didn't just bang it out with Gaethje in his last fight? And look spectacular doing it? And KO RDA in his win before that?

OK Proceed with your "dislike". I'm good with both fights.

Dude relax I have no idea why you're turning this into a thing

I'm not shifting anything, Eddie has opted to go for the stifling strategy multiple times. I know plenty about "Bellator Eddie" though and his wild slugging style. We don't know what will happen, I'm just saying it's certainly a possibility Eddie could go the "safe" route to ensure his best avenue for victory

There's a striking difference when it comes to Gaehtje vs Nate vs Conor. Nate and Conor will put it on you technically and Eddie sure as hell knows this

I will proceed with my dislike of Eddie's choice not to rematch Poirer since it's the matchup that most makes sense. If you don't like that, nobody's forcing you to agree with my opinion. If Poirer happens to beat Gaethje it does nothing for him since Eddie already beat him lol. Now that's a true mess right there

If the fight happens of course it's a great fight. I just hope it doesn't propel Eddie to a title shot, all I've been saying this whole time

 

[illphillip]

Dude relax I have no idea why you're turning this into a thing

Irony

Sure it's a "possibility" Eddie wrestles. I guess you're convinced he will since you've mentioned this wrestling narrative twice now. But there is also a possibility he doesn't. None of his last 3 fights have hit the ground.

Nate and Gaethje are not that different when it comes to striking. Nate is not that "technical" at all. He gets hit a lot and is willing to eat shots to return fire.

Gaethje is another good win for Poirier. Beating a washed Pettis wasn't that impressive to me. And I rock with Dustin and ALL of ATT's fighters. But Alvarez's resume is better in and out of the UFC.

Their fight was a ****** up situation. But both of these match ups make perfect sense to me moving forward.

For the record, Eddie vs. Nate isn't even signed yet and it is a possibility they are keeping Eddie/Nate on deck in case there is an issue with Tony and/or Khabib for the 4th time. I don't think they'd put Dustin in there right now. And while you can argue that Nate doesn't "deserve" it, Eddie/Nate make more sense right now IMO.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Irony

Sure it's a "possibility" Eddie wrestles. I guess you're convinced he will since you've mentioned this wrestling narrative twice now. But there is also a possibility he doesn't. None of his last 3 fights have hit the ground.

Nate and Gaethje are not that different when it comes to striking. Nate is not that "technical" at all. He gets hit a lot and is willing to eat shots to return fire.

Gaethje is another good win for Poirier. Beating a washed Pettis wasn't that impressive to me. And I rock with Dustin and ALL of ATT's fighters. But Alvarez's resume is better in and out of the UFC.

Their fight was a ****ed up situation. But both of these match ups make perfect sense to me moving forward.

For the record, Eddie vs. Nate isn't even signed yet and it is a possibility they are keeping Eddie/Nate on deck in case there is an issue with Tony and/or Khabib for the 4th time. I don't think they'd put Dustin in there right now. And while you can argue that Nate doesn't "deserve" it, Eddie/Nate make more sense right now IMO.

No man, you came in here saying folks were mad and what not, you're like fishing for an argument when there is no need for it lol

Nate and Gaetjhe are different strikers in that Nate will break you down systematically. I think he is much more technical than Gaehtje who is loading up everything with bad intentions

Porier vs Eddie made the most sense, it was the clear next #1 contender fight. Now that they're not matched up if both Eddie and Dustin win their next fights it will be a mess. It wasn't really a mess until this rematch did not happen

Either way no, nobody is "mad". I don't care either way because I don't think Eddie nor Dustin has anything for either Conor, Khabib or Tony. It's just a matter of Dustin not getting his opportunity when he deserved it. Beating a washed Pettis doesn't move the needle at all but rematching with Eddie was literally the easiest match to make considering all the circumstances. Taking on the opponent that Eddie just beat is very unfortunate for Dustin's move up the ladder

 

[illphillip]

Either way no, nobody is "mad". I don't care either way because I don't think Eddie nor Dustin has anything for either Conor, Khabib or Tony. It's just a matter of Dustin not getting his opportunity when he deserved it. Beating a washed Pettis doesn't move the needle at all but rematching with Eddie was literally the easiest match to make considering all the circumstances. Taking on the opponent that Eddie just beat is very unfortunate for Dustin's move up the ladder

Sounds good.

Sometimes the "easiest match to make" isn't the best or smart one though.

 

[illphillip]

Applicable....

http://www.mmaweekly.com/dana-white...ediately-but-rules-out-two-possible-opponents

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Sounds good.

Sometimes the "easiest match to make" isn't the best or smart one though.

Again, this is why I said I do not blame Eddie for not taking the rematch. For whatever reasons he may have it's his choice. I know damn sure he isn't afraid of Dustin nor Dustin's style

Their rematch was the best match to make in terms of moving the division forward. Both coming off wins while everyone's coming off losses and before that they had an incredible showing against each other

Of course we all know the company doesn't always care about moving a division forward. In this case there was a clear cut match to determine a #1 contender, Eddie did not want to partake and here we are

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Can't ever take what Dana says at face value, but I'm really hoping he keeps to his word and gives RDA his shot against Woodley and has Conor return to fight Khabib or Tony

I would love to see Nate get a fresh opponent, even if it's Eddie... or better yet take a fight at WW. Hell why not, there's some names there too

 

[illphillip]

Was Eddie actually offered the rematch? Or is this all for naught?

Eddie and Dustin fighting now doesn't move the division forward right now though. It's still stuck.

It wouldn't be out of the question for the winner of Eddie/Nate (if it happens) to fight the winner of Poirier/Gaethje (assuming Gaethje and Eddie don't both win) while the winner of Tony/Khabib finally fights Conor.

Hopefully.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Eddie had zero interest in a rematch so I'd imagine Dana wouldn't bother offering him that fight

Eddie literally said "it's the silliest thing I could do"

Eddie also has 1 fight left on his deal so that obviously plays a part in his unwillingness to fight Dustin. Again, can't blame him for this choice

It's not really stuck... yet. Khabib and Tony will fight... and then we wait on Conor. If Conor doesn't return (which tbh nobody has any clue), the winner of Eddie/Dustin is clearly the rightful #1 contender to face the winner of Khabib/Tony. The division is slowly creeping towards a resolution and making contingencies if Conor holds out even longer

If Conor does return, then he'd fight Khabib or Tony and then Dustin/Eddie would have to make a choice to fight or sit

Of course Nate being in the picture again is a wildcard

 

[illphillip]

We been waiting for Tony and Khabib to fight for the right to fight Conor for over a year

Division truly moves forward once a proper champion is crowned.

Until that happens everything below is fair game.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

We been waiting on Tony vs Khabib to actually fight for so much longer smh lol

I do think the division is taking steps to go forward in such a case that Conor decides not to come back in 2018. I mean, seriously, if Conor doesn't come back this year I actually think Dana will pull the plug

Truthfully, nothing is fair game with Conor in the picture. At this point he's a gift and a curse to the sport. He has brought so many positives IMO (recognition for the sport, its fighters, more pay, fun fights) and of course many negatives that I don't need to list. We can't use standardized models or past logic when it comes to this guy

 

[illphillip]

I believe in Tony's talk with Ariel he said that Dana told him the fight with Khabib was for the undisputed championship.

First reporter asks about Conor and he starts back pedaling