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

[Vincent Van Goat]

tony just doesnt seem like the type of guy to pick his matches, like hes willing to beat whoever he has to to show hes the best, i dont get this "i need to sit out and wait for my shot at the title" vibe from tony

i get the feeling that if dana were to offer him gaetje in september, hed be like "sure why not" and i got respect for that

he can take a fight on the card and still serve as a replacement, although i dont see how fighting dustin would be all that different from fighting justin, everyone just wants to see him fight khabib

All respect to Justin, Dustin has proved to be on another level than him and has a belt, fake or not, to prove as such. A fight against Dustin right now is a much different ball game than fighting Justin. The stakes would be completely different

 

[champcruthik]

The only two fights that make sense from a logical standpoint for Tony Ferguson are the winner of Khabib/Poirier or Conor McGregor, who many of us believe won't return to MMA any time soon. But hey, "El Cucuy" clearly built different. If he wants to take a bout with Gaethje, I'm here for it. Got Ferguson and Conor both starching Gaethje in the stand-up.

 

[thehealthinspector]

hes not on another level, not at all, just beating someone doesnt simply put them at another level, they could easily run that back with a different outcome

the only person you could say is on another level at 155 is khabib, everyone else just ebbs and flows

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Marlon probably got some of the most devastating leg kicks in the lower weight classes and Henry endured and hardly lost steam. Was amazing tbh

AlJo don't have that same zip on the leg kicks but yeah he can make it a legit scrap. Like I mentioned earlier though, that Henry on Saturday isn't getting beat by many BW's. Marlon may have taken a lot out of Henry going forward. Game is unforgiving

 

[champcruthik]

What you mean, what would Ferguson and "Diamond" have to do to prove to you that they're in the upper echelon of LW? Just because Khabib is effectively the MMA Kevin Durant, it ain't a bad thing for "El Cucuy" to be Kawhi or Poirier to be Steph Curry. The point is, all three are elite for 155. Like I said, Tony hasn't lost since 2012. That's crazy, my G. "Diamond" been running through Eddie, "Showtime," Gaethje and Max. His striking has took a 180 for real.

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

hes not on another level, not at all, just beating someone doesnt simply put them at another level, they could easily run that back with a different outcome

the only person you could say is on another level at 155 is khabib, everyone else just ebbs and flows

Dustin beat Max, Justin, Eddie and Pettis. Consecutively. Besides that, his technique right now is superior to Justin's both offensively and defensively. They are different levels right now

 

[thehealthinspector]

Dustin beat Max, Justin, Eddie and Pettis. Consecutively. Besides that, his technique right now is superior to Justin's both offensively and defensively. They are different levels right now

max - we all know he needs to stay at 145 after what we just witnessed, and im sure justin hits just as hard if not harder than porier
eddie - this was 1 min from going to a decision with gaethje and had eddie not been careless, he may have finished dustin in that first fight
pettis - im taking justin over pettis right now

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

Max almost got to Dustin, that volume was still there. I don't know if Justin would have survived tbh. And he can take a lot of damage

You can go through Justin's resume and poke holes too, hell, Justin poked Barboza in the eye. You can go through any resume and poke holes

Besides Dustin beating Justin fair and square, besides the resume, I just again look at their techniques, and I believe Dustin elevated himself. Justin is respected and appreciated, I still have him high up there too. If he gave Khabib a run for his money I wouldn't be surprised. I'm just going off what we've seen of both men

 

[thehealthinspector]

you're right, porier beat gaethje fair and square, i wont argue that

but im not going to say 100% that hes on another level which goes back to my original point, tony just fought (and beat, yeah beat) cowboy, and im not going to put cowboy above gaethje, so i dont feel like tony fighting gaethje is some kind of disrespect to tony

 

[Vincent Van Goat]

I look at it more so that fighting Dustin right now would be much higher stakes than Justin that's all. I don't think Tony has anything to gain by fighting anyone who doesn't hold a belt at the moment

Justin should fight Iaquinta even though he's coming off an L. They have beef and Justin will probably want to fight at least one more time this year for a pay day since he only fought one other time

 

[champcruthik]

Sign me up for Gaethje vs. 'Raging' Al. I'm here for it. Justin probably becomes the first man to KO Iaquinta though, IMO.

Edit:
Forgot to add this to my Cejudo post, Henry sprained his ankle late Tuesday night. Imagine taking Moraes's kicks to that spot/region for five minutes.

 

[spiderjericho]

I respect Henry.

He got knocked out by the greatest FW and came back and beat him (he also had a rough first round in the second fight).

Henry and Captain America Eric A and crew came up with an amazing game plan. Henry deserves that win. And gets a pass for that cringe after that performance.

Honestly, I want to see Joseph Benivdes since that’s a loss he needs to avenge and the only real challenge outside of Al Jo.

 

[shogun]

That loss to ****** joe b was some BS. Henry should’ve got that decision and joe was talking all that crap before the fight like he was so much better.

Anyway, henry tough as hell. I remember he had that weird issue with his foot against demetrius where his foot kept rolling over and it looked pretty bad.

 

[BobbyLite]

Nobody wants to fight Gaethje. Knowing it’s gonna be a war and gonna end up on crutches for 2+ weeks. Just makes no sense for the top guys to fight him going backwards. And gaethje knows where he’s at in the division. Just a tough spot for him

 

[bware113]

hes not on another level, not at all, just beating someone doesnt simply put them at another level, they could easily run that back with a different outcome

Justin too careless for me to put him on the same level as these other guys. He's just too willing to get hit and while entertaining it's just not sustainable IMO. I don't believe yet

 

[jayt1202]

Justin too careless for me to put him on the same level as these other guys. He's just too willing to get hit and while entertaining it's just not sustainable IMO. I don't believe yet

I'd agree, Justin definitely isn't afraid to take damage and doesn't seem likely to change his style. I'd put him a notch below the top LW's like Khabib, Tony, Dustin.

That said I doubt Tony accepts a fight against Justin but with Dustin-Khabib not until Sept I have my doubts that if Khabib wins (which I expect) that he'll fight again on the new years card. More realistically he won't fight until late winter in in Q1 of 2020. Not sure Tony will want to wait it out but there aren't many other options. I'd like to see Dustin pull the upset and fight Tony in Dec. Justin is likely forced to fight a lower ranked guy if he wants a fight this fall.

 

[BobbyLite]

Seems all the fights in 155 have happened except for those at the top that are all tied up. Only new blood I like is Gregor Gillespie who I think is a beast. But ranked like #12.

UFC:239
Feel Santos/ Bones first round could be fireworks. After that jones should take over.

Askren/masvidal same card. Not sure when usman will be ready to fight again so who knows what’s next. Did Colby sign a bout agreement w Usman? Gonna be winner Askren/Masvidal v Colby. Then they fight Usman later when healed.

 

[newbs24]

Justin is trouble for anybody... His style has worked all but 2 times and both times it was late in the fight that he got finished... Would love to see him stay fighting the Top 5 guys but I dont think too many want that fight.

 

[blastercombo]

Not sure why waterson gets so much hype? Not that impressed with her. She’s nice but I’d be shocked if ever a champion

Because she looks good. UFC is still trying to find their girl to sell. They tried with Page but she’s horrible. Even then they’re attempting to push her

 

[blastercombo]

Looks like khabib said Connor doesn’t deserve a rematch. He’s absolutely correct

 

[Fong$tarr]

Because she looks good. UFC is still trying to find their girl to sell. They tried with Page but she’s horrible. Even then they’re attempting to push her

I also think her pitch as first mom to be a UFC champion is just sort of not appealing for the fans to care about.

 

[retroflashbacks]

Surprised they gave the TS to weili. Don’t feel like she is deserving but I guess it makes sense to put her on the first China card.

 

[champcruthik]

When Shevchenko scored the head kick KO on Eye.

 

[bware113]

I don't think I've ever heard someone make that sounds while getting hit except on a video game.

My reaction was more DC's. I didn't think she was ok. She got CRACKED!!!

 

[shogun]

I don’t even know who that is fighting andrade for the title.