Official MMA discussion thread: UFC 231 Holloway vs Ortega finally!

[HarthorneWingo]

Who's next for Conor?

Khabib?
Tony F.?
Max?
Nate?

[HEZI]

Who's next for Conor?

Khabib?
Tony F.?
Max?
Nate?

The vibe I got from him after the fight was that he feels like he owes Nate a tie breaker, so we might get that trilogy

[j4remi]

Who's next for Conor?

Khabib?
Tony F.?
Max?
Nate?

The vibe I got from him after the fight was that he feels like he owes Nate a tie breaker, so we might get that trilogy

Luke Thomas implied that all parties want that match. Conor/Nate for December. Someone asked if it would be a title fight and Luke said he wasn't sure. It's a strange thing to have an interim championship bout and then the champ comes back to fight a non-title bout against someone who hasn't even been competing...but if they want to cash out big, it's gotta be Nate.

Conor named all four of those guys as people he wants to see soon though, so while he wants to cash that Nate check, I think we can expect him to finally take some actual title defenses soon. Conor vs Max would be epic now.

[HEZI]

Who's next for Conor?

Khabib?
Tony F.?
Max?
Nate?

The vibe I got from him after the fight was that he feels like he owes Nate a tie breaker, so we might get that trilogy

Luke Thomas implied that all parties want that match. Conor/Nate for December. Someone asked if it would be a title fight and Luke said he wasn't sure. It's a strange thing to have an interim championship bout and then the champ comes back to fight a non-title bout against someone who hasn't even been competing...but if they want to cash out big, it's gotta be Nate.

Conor named all four of those guys as people he wants to see soon though, so while he wants to cash that Nate check, I think we can expect him to finally take some actual title defenses soon. Conor vs Max would be epic now.

Yeah I'd love to see a title match and really all those opponents would make it an interesting fight. The thing about both Nate and Conor is that they are still young enough where they can hold off on it for now. We all want to see these guys do it again one more time, but sometimes even a simple rematch can take years and years to finally happen and at that point at least one guy is way past his prime and it's not as interesting anymore. Let Conor make his transition back to the UFC and let him defend his belt then start the buildup for the trilogy, would make things a lot more interesting.

I think they should wait for NYC 2018 at The Garden

[HarthorneWingo]

The vibe I got from him after the fight was that he feels like he owes Nate a tie breaker, so we might get that trilogy

Luke Thomas implied that all parties want that match. Conor/Nate for December. Someone asked if it would be a title fight and Luke said he wasn't sure. It's a strange thing to have an interim championship bout and then the champ comes back to fight a non-title bout against someone who hasn't even been competing...but if they want to cash out big, it's gotta be Nate.

Conor named all four of those guys as people he wants to see soon though, so while he wants to cash that Nate check, I think we can expect him to finally take some actual title defenses soon. Conor vs Max would be epic now.

Yeah I'd love to see a title match and really all those opponents would make it an interesting fight. The thing about both Nate and Conor is that they are still young enough where they can hold off on it for now. We all want to see these guys do it again one more time, but sometimes even a simple rematch can take years and years to finally happen and at that point at least one guy is way past his prime and it's not as interesting anymore. Let Conor make his transition back to the UFC and let him defend his belt then start the buildup for the trilogy, would make things a lot more interesting.

I think they should wait for NYC 2018 at The Garden

I'd like to see that fight too, but Conor needs to fight a fight in his weight class and put his belt on the line against the no. 1 contender, whoever that is. He's been taking too many fights without defending his belt in favor of these money fights. Which I fully understand. But now it's time to get back to work.

[HEZI]

Luke Thomas implied that all parties want that match. Conor/Nate for December. Someone asked if it would be a title fight and Luke said he wasn't sure. It's a strange thing to have an interim championship bout and then the champ comes back to fight a non-title bout against someone who hasn't even been competing...but if they want to cash out big, it's gotta be Nate.

Conor named all four of those guys as people he wants to see soon though, so while he wants to cash that Nate check, I think we can expect him to finally take some actual title defenses soon. Conor vs Max would be epic now.

Yeah I'd love to see a title match and really all those opponents would make it an interesting fight. The thing about both Nate and Conor is that they are still young enough where they can hold off on it for now. We all want to see these guys do it again one more time, but sometimes even a simple rematch can take years and years to finally happen and at that point at least one guy is way past his prime and it's not as interesting anymore. Let Conor make his transition back to the UFC and let him defend his belt then start the buildup for the trilogy, would make things a lot more interesting.

I think they should wait for NYC 2018 at The Garden

I'd like to see that fight too, but Conor needs to fight a fight in his weight class and put his belt on the line against the no. 1 contender, whoever that is. He's been taking too many fights without defending his belt in favor of these money fights. Which I fully understand. But now it's time to get back to work.

Which belt are you referring to? It's only been November since he beat Eddie Alvarez and he spent the last few months preparing for the Mayweather fight. I think he's done with the featherweight division, he's basically ran through everybody there. Max would be the only guy who would make sense for him but I don't see Conor dropping down to 145 ever again so Max would have to come up to 155 for it to happen but it can't be for the belt. If Conor is to defend the Lightweight belt then it has to be against Khabib, the man has earned a title shot.

[j4remi]

Yeah I'd love to see a title match and really all those opponents would make it an interesting fight. The thing about both Nate and Conor is that they are still young enough where they can hold off on it for now. We all want to see these guys do it again one more time, but sometimes even a simple rematch can take years and years to finally happen and at that point at least one guy is way past his prime and it's not as interesting anymore. Let Conor make his transition back to the UFC and let him defend his belt then start the buildup for the trilogy, would make things a lot more interesting.

I think they should wait for NYC 2018 at The Garden

I'd like to see that fight too, but Conor needs to fight a fight in his weight class and put his belt on the line against the no. 1 contender, whoever that is. He's been taking too many fights without defending his belt in favor of these money fights. Which I fully understand. But now it's time to get back to work.

I like this idea as well. Winner of Ferguson/Lee should get Conor. They both trash talk and will sell that fight well and they have intriguing skill sets to challenge Mac. They blew it by not paying Nate top dollar to fight Tony for that interim belt. But I wonder if WME is just gonna rush this because they've got both Nate and Conor healthy and fresh off of a build-up that saw Nate name-dropped a LOT. They could be thinking "let's not risk either guy losing, getting hurt or getting popped...make the money now and they'll both be draws no matter who they fight after." It's annoying, but it suits the WME style to date.

[HarthorneWingo]

Yeah I'd love to see a title match and really all those opponents would make it an interesting fight. The thing about both Nate and Conor is that they are still young enough where they can hold off on it for now. We all want to see these guys do it again one more time, but sometimes even a simple rematch can take years and years to finally happen and at that point at least one guy is way past his prime and it's not as interesting anymore. Let Conor make his transition back to the UFC and let him defend his belt then start the buildup for the trilogy, would make things a lot more interesting.

I think they should wait for NYC 2018 at The Garden

I'd like to see that fight too, but Conor needs to fight a fight in his weight class and put his belt on the line against the no. 1 contender, whoever that is. He's been taking too many fights without defending his belt in favor of these money fights. Which I fully understand. But now it's time to get back to work.

Which belt are you referring to? It's only been November since he beat Eddie Alvarez and he spent the last few months preparing for the Mayweather fight. I think he's done with the featherweight division, he's basically ran through everybody there. Max would be the only guy who would make sense for him but I don't see Conor dropping down to 145 ever again so Max would have to come up to 155 for it to happen but it can't be for the belt. If Conor is to defend the Lightweight belt then it has to be against Khabib, the man has earned a title shot.

I think that's my point. It's going to be an entire year and Conor has not defended the belt once. That's not right.

[HEZI]

I'd like to see that fight too, but Conor needs to fight a fight in his weight class and put his belt on the line against the no. 1 contender, whoever that is. He's been taking too many fights without defending his belt in favor of these money fights. Which I fully understand. But now it's time to get back to work.

Which belt are you referring to? It's only been November since he beat Eddie Alvarez and he spent the last few months preparing for the Mayweather fight. I think he's done with the featherweight division, he's basically ran through everybody there. Max would be the only guy who would make sense for him but I don't see Conor dropping down to 145 ever again so Max would have to come up to 155 for it to happen but it can't be for the belt. If Conor is to defend the Lightweight belt then it has to be against Khabib, the man has earned a title shot.

I think that's my point. It's going to be an entire year and Conor has not defended the belt once. That's not right.

Ah ok, yeah I agree he needs to get back into the octagon and defend his belt I said this right after the Mayweather fight. Good thing is he sounds like he's eager to return and won't take too much time off

[HarthorneWingo]

Is this going to happen? I'm reading that Conor wants Khabib.

Read on Twitter

[Slo]

Is this going to happen? I'm reading that Conor wants Khabib.

Read on Twitter

No chance in hell. Not with Khabibs injury history and pulling out of fights plus Ferguson and Lee are fighting for the interim belt at UFC216, so has to be the winner of this fight next for Connor (in 155)

[HEZI]

What's this I'm hearing about Conor vs. Paulie Malignaggi fighting in Dublin?

[HarthorneWingo]

What's this I'm hearing about Conor vs. Paulie Malignaggi fighting in Dublin?

I saw a headline that read that Paulie offered to fight Conor for free.

[bringbackhoffa]

Is this going to happen? I'm reading that Conor wants Khabib.

Read on Twitter

No chance in hell. Not with Khabibs injury history and pulling out of fights plus Ferguson and Lee are fighting for the interim belt at UFC216, so has to be the winner of this fight next for Connor (in 155)

Not necessarily there is an interim champ in the 185 weight division yet bisping is not fighting in a unification bout but is facing gsp.. belts have no meaning other than trying to get more ppv buys by stating there is a "title" fight

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[bringbackhoffa]

looks like DJ going to have to wait a bit longer to beat the record, fight with Borg off.

[HarthorneWingo]

Jones's B sample also positive.

[j4remi]

Frustrating week. The p4p top dog loses his opponent a day before his fight and the arguable GOAT is about to be suspended for years...maybe he'll fight in Japan.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[j4remi]

This weekend's PPV was fairly slept on but wound up being pretty good. I wrote a recap and threw in some thoughts on Jon Jones. I'll quote the Jones bit because I think that's a topic everyone in the MMA world is discussing but some quick bits:
- Henry Cejudo is improving faster than anyone in the division and he's beginning to look like he could really be a threat to DJ with time to build on his game.

- RDA is probably one win away from a title shot with Woodley.

- Shevchenko beat Nunes in my eyes but didn't do enough to make it a clear pick.

The news looming over MMA this week is that Jone Jones’ B-Sample tested positive for the same steroid as his A-Sample. The GOAT contender will face his second suspension for using a banned substance. This is after a suspension for his hit and run, admission of drug use, sketchy results on a previous drug test and getting his first PED suspension reduced through the infamous “dick pill” defense. At this point, whether this was another accident or not is beyond the point. The man has had too many chances and made too many mistakes to continue to be in the GOAT conversation. He now falls into the “what could have been” zone or worse, the Barry Bonds section of his sport. Bonds was the best homerun hitter I’ve ever witnessed, but his use of steroids has made him an afterthought in many conversations about baseball’s greats. Jones may find himself in a similar situation, drawing the ire of fans whether these were a multitude of accidents or simply acts of arrogance and defiance. The GOAT conversation is probably back to Fedor, Silva, GSP and a handful of others but whenever Jones comes up, an asterisk is bound to follow.

[HarthorneWingo]

This weekend's PPV was fairly slept on but wound up being pretty good. I wrote a recap and threw in some thoughts on Jon Jones. I'll quote the Jones bit because I think that's a topic everyone in the MMA world is discussing but some quick bits:
- Henry Cejudo is improving faster than anyone in the division and he's beginning to look like he could really be a threat to DJ with time to build on his game.

- RDA is probably one win away from a title shot with Woodley.

- Shevchenko beat Nunes in my eyes but didn't do enough to make it a clear pick.

The news looming over MMA this week is that Jone Jones’ B-Sample tested positive for the same steroid as his A-Sample. The GOAT contender will face his second suspension for using a banned substance. This is after a suspension for his hit and run, admission of drug use, sketchy results on a previous drug test and getting his first PED suspension reduced through the infamous “dick pill” defense. At this point, whether this was another accident or not is beyond the point. The man has had too many chances and made too many mistakes to continue to be in the GOAT conversation. He now falls into the “what could have been” zone or worse, the Barry Bonds section of his sport. Bonds was the best homerun hitter I’ve ever witnessed, but his use of steroids has made him an afterthought in many conversations about baseball’s greats. Jones may find himself in a similar situation, drawing the ire of fans whether these were a multitude of accidents or simply acts of arrogance and defiance. The GOAT conversation is probably back to Fedor, Silva, GSP and a handful of others but whenever Jones comes up, an asterisk is bound to follow.

DC got his belt back. Now what? DC vs. Gus? Volkan?

[bringbackhoffa]

This weekend's PPV was fairly slept on but wound up being pretty good. I wrote a recap and threw in some thoughts on Jon Jones. I'll quote the Jones bit because I think that's a topic everyone in the MMA world is discussing but some quick bits:
- Henry Cejudo is improving faster than anyone in the division and he's beginning to look like he could really be a threat to DJ with time to build on his game.

- RDA is probably one win away from a title shot with Woodley.

- Shevchenko beat Nunes in my eyes but didn't do enough to make it a clear pick.

The news looming over MMA this week is that Jone Jones’ B-Sample tested positive for the same steroid as his A-Sample. The GOAT contender will face his second suspension for using a banned substance. This is after a suspension for his hit and run, admission of drug use, sketchy results on a previous drug test and getting his first PED suspension reduced through the infamous “dick pill” defense. At this point, whether this was another accident or not is beyond the point. The man has had too many chances and made too many mistakes to continue to be in the GOAT conversation. He now falls into the “what could have been” zone or worse, the Barry Bonds section of his sport. Bonds was the best homerun hitter I’ve ever witnessed, but his use of steroids has made him an afterthought in many conversations about baseball’s greats. Jones may find himself in a similar situation, drawing the ire of fans whether these were a multitude of accidents or simply acts of arrogance and defiance. The GOAT conversation is probably back to Fedor, Silva, GSP and a handful of others but whenever Jones comes up, an asterisk is bound to follow.

DC got his belt back. Now what? DC vs. Gus? Volkan?

Likely Gus. Volkan needs 1 more fight build up some more hype, too bad the UFC didnt re-sign Bader. could of ran Volkan vs Bader as a co-main to DC/GUS