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Third Thread is overdue. 200 pages of MMA discussion fam, we been at this for a hot minute! Anyway the latest MMA news is interesting and I've got some thoughts and additional info for some of this.

HarthorneWingo wrote:Jorge out against Leon Edwards with an undisclosed injury. Khamzat has thrown his name in the ring. The fight is scheduled for next month. Edwards, however, wants to fight Usman next.

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brutalitops wrote:I dont think anyone in the top 5 want that Khazmat fight

I think Magney/Thompson/Chiesa get fed to him first, Usman V Leon, Luque Another top contender right now

Jkam31 wrote:It’s a fake injury to get a Colby vs Jorge fight to happen crazy thing is an mma guy on YouTube called that this would happen right after Colby lost to CEO of EPO

I'm thinking Usman vs Leon makes the most sense for everyone too. I hadn't heard the Colby vs Jorge thing, but it does remind me that someone was just discussing those two as TUF coaches. I'd have to think they'd be more entertaining than Volk and Ortega were. So that adds up too.

Khamzat is in an interesting spot. He hasn't earned top-5 contenders yet, there's not enough in it for those guys to take that fight. So I agree that it's gotta be someone in that 5-10 range. Two in that range just booked to fight each other, Wonderboy vs Belal Muhammad is official. That leaves Magny and Chiesa...Magny has actually expressed interest in taking it. So I could picture that being next up.

The guys left floating then are Luque who ought to be next in line for a title shot after Edwards (and has a case to go ahead of him off recent activity). Michael Chiesa who lost to Luque. And Geoff Neal, who always has potential but can't seem to put it all together.

bringbackhoffa wrote:Khabib (or Ali) throwing shade at Gatgjhe on instagram..this could get interesting..

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I saw Khabib talking about streaks and losses, but I feel like he's making the same mistake here as he did trashing Aldo. He's not accounting for strength of competition. That's why I don't rate Khabib's win-streak and dominance as GOAT-level...I don't think his competition stacks up with some others. The same goes for Islam and Gaethje. Islam's best opponent is Dan Hooker on short notice...I rate 7 of Gaethje's UFC opponents above Dan Hooker.

Gaethje vs the winner of Poirier/Oliveira is the fight to make...and Beneil Dariush vs Islam Makhachev is what the fight fans deserve, give us that grappling goodness. I want to see those scrambles!

On the side of things that sells but which I find the least appealing...

j4remi wrote:On the side of things that sells but which I find the least appealing...

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Round 1 - Jorge

This MMA thread beats the RealGM MMA thread. Great job Remi.

So "The Count" chimes in with

Edwards v. Usman
Masvidal v. Covington
Khamzat v. Burns

Khamzat was supposed to fight Leon earlier this year before covid hit. There's no reason not to run it back now. As for Leon, he'll benefit way more from beating the hype train than getting dominated by Usman again. Literally no one wants to see that again. But everyone wants to see him fight khamzat. This time khamzat is top 10. So rank isn't as much of an issue like he's previous bs talking point. He was scared to fight him before until Dana made him, and he's pulling this shyt again. Almost losing to Diaz and poking Belal's eye out is hardly a TS guarantee. But beating khamzat would be.

And if Leon is truly champ material, he should have no problem fighting khamzat.

HarthorneWingo wrote:This MMA thread beats the RealGM MMA thread. Great job Remi.

So "The Count" chimes in with

Edwards v. Usman
Masvidal v. Covington
Khamzat v. Burns

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Wasn’t able to respond to you in the last thread but ya Colby gave Usman the name CEO of EPO

I doubt edwards gets Usman I think Usman sits for a little and Edwards gets Khamzat they were supposed to fight early this year anyways. After Colby rag dolls Masvidal probably gets the winner of the edwards fight than that winner gets Usman

Jkam31 wrote:Wasn’t able to respond to you in the last thread but ya Colby gave Usman the name CEO of EPO

I doubt edwards gets Usman I think Usman sits for a little and Edwards gets Khamzat they were supposed to fight early this year anyways. After Colby rag dolls Masvidal probably gets the winner of the edwards fight than that winner gets Usman

Colby's nickname game is elite...max-level trolling. He def learned from Chael.

Dana's comments about Khamzat make me think they'll take it a bit slower. But I could see a mini-tournament if Usman is taking extended time off...and he likes to take his breaks.

While we're focusing a lot on the Welterweight and Lightweight pictures; the Featherweight division gets the highlight fight this weekend.

Max Holloway holds damn near all of the striking records in the UFC. He also owns the best damned highlight reel of styling on his opponents in all of MMA.



But in terms of highlight reel...his opponent, Yair Rodriguez is one of the few that competes!


Max has faced elite competition for incredibly long and he's beaten a who's who of Featherweight greats. He knocked down Volkanovski twice in their last match, but lost a close decision but that's the only all-time UFC FW that Max hasn't fought. Max throws a bunch of volume, takes a mean punch, and has great takedown defense (after being weak at it early in his career).

Yair hasn't fared as well against elites. He pulled a last-second KO over Korean Zombie for the best win of his career, but was gonna lose that fight on the scorecards if Zombie hadn't got reckless. He also fought Frankie Edgar and got crushed (Max beat Frankie clearly btw). That said, Yair has been out of the octagon a long time and was growing fast between fights. So if he continued to gain during that span, he'll be a really interesting foe. Yair throws crazy kicks, has elite athleticism, and packs more power than Max.

Yall know my pick. Max is my favorite fighter, I rate him the uncrowned king of the division. I'd prefer he jump into the chaos of Lightweight soon, but take enough time to add the needed weight to hurt those bigger bodies. P.S. Max has beaten Oliveira but it was due to a freak injury and Max fought an absolute classic with Dustin Poirier but Diamond clearly took three rounds.

I'll try to get to some of the other interesting fights and names on the card before the end of the night. But I had to give my boy Max his hype. Yair and Max should have a striking war and I expect it to be a real show.

Forgot to mention this, Cris Cyborg fights tonight. I don't see her losing to anyone at Bellator but that just means if it happens, it'll be big news.

Valerie Loureda is on the undercard as well.

But the fight I'm most interested in is Aaron Pico vs Justin Gonzalez. Gonzalez is 12-0 but without the level of competition Pico has seen. So it's a nice prospect match-up. I think Pico seems to be putting everything together more and more, he was a super prospect to begin with. The kid's a really good wrestler, has dynamite hands and hand speed, but has had to learn smarter fighting and better defense the hard way. He looks better every fight though and his upside is elite.

Leon's in a tough situation. Usman can easily make him wait another 6 months which would add to the level of inactivity for Edwards going into that title fight. Kamaru has been a very active champion and after that action packed fight with Covington, I can see him taking a good amount of time off and essentially add on to the "rust factor" that Edwards will have going into that matchup.

While Khamzat has looked very dominant in his 4 fights, he can't jump the queue and fight a top 5 contender just yet. I'd love to see him in a fight with Luque or Chiesa. I know Magny has been calling for that fight but a matchup with Chiesa would be great to watch when it goes to the ground or one with Luque striking.

That was one hell of a fight. Another gem from Holloway, but yair was right in it and really did work.

j4remi wrote:That was one hell of a fight. Another gem from Holloway, but yair was right in it and really did work.

One could've made some nice scratch betting on Yair to take it to a 5 round decision.

Cookies4Life wrote:Leon's in a tough situation. Usman can easily make him wait another 6 months which would add to the level of inactivity for Edwards going into that title fight. Kamaru has been a very active champion and after that action packed fight with Covington, I can see him taking a good amount of time off and essentially add on to the "rust factor" that Edwards will have going into that matchup.

While Khamzat has looked very dominant in his 4 fights, he can't jump the queue and fight a top 5 contender just yet. I'd love to see him in a fight with Luque or Chiesa. I know Magny has been calling for that fight but a matchup with Chiesa would be great to watch when it goes to the ground or one with Luque striking.

Khamzat v. Gilbert Burns would be fire. Dana's gonna look at the PPV numbers when making these fights, right?

HarthorneWingo wrote:

j4remi wrote:That was one hell of a fight. Another gem from Holloway, but yair was right in it and really did work.

One could've made some nice scratch betting on Yair to take it to a 5 round decision.

I threw a soft bet at Max by submission because I knew Yair has a hell of a chin. Suffice to say I was losing my mind during the second round submission attempt sequences

Khamzat is calling everyone out!

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Sounds like Khamzat vs Burns is close to fruition. Also, Gaethje and Islam are talking like they'll fight each other...should be easy to set up because they share the same manager.

and also, KO of the year contender:

Today's card is light as hell, but it starts bright and early (3:00) and does have some names worth looking for.

Loma Lookboonme is a true Thailand Muay Thai practitioner. I always hype her up because her striking and clinch work is really fun to watch. She's undersized for the division, but just technically fun to watch and her last loss was a really competitive fight with Angie Hill who is damned good! I've been sleeping on her opponent, I won't lie.

Terrence Mckinney has been mowing dudes down in the first round and he fights on the prelims also.

Meisha Tate is back on the main card and main event...but I feel like Ketlen Vieira is a terrible match-up for her. Really big, tough chin, and a beast on the ground in her own right.

Michael Chiesa vs Sean Brady is the most intriguing fight on the card. Chiesa is top-10 and legit; Brady is undefeated and has been working up the ladder. Dude's tough as nails, heavy-handed, and immediately jumps into the top-10 conversation with a win. Chiesa...I can't shake the doubts I've always had since he's a hot and cold fighter, but when he's on Chiesa is a monster.

Then we get an Adrian Yanez fight...Yanez is violence embodied, he's not the technical talent that Chito Vera is but has a similar vibe in how he wears opponents down and can beat 'em with all sorts of striking approaches. I bring that comparison in because Davey Grant is the opponent here, and he survived to a decision against Chito. So this might be a sleeper for FOTN.

Also, Joanne Calderwood and Rani Yahya have main card fights, both had sparks when they started but haven't been able to build consistent output. Calderwood is closer to the top, but that's because 125 hasn't really built up enough depth yet IMO. Still, both fighters I'm mentioning have entertaining styles when they focus and work.

Khamzat manhandled Jack Hermanson in a wrestling bout last night. The Weasel thinks he might be up for Izzy instead of Usman. Crazy.

HarthorneWingo wrote:Khamzat manhandled Jack Hermanson in a wrestling bout last night. The Weasel thinks he might be up for Izzy instead of Usman. Crazy.

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This makes me really curious about his grappling with the elites at Welterweight. He's bound to be stronger and has a unique style with all those tricky trips. Speaking of elite grappling, the best two grapplers in Lightweight besides the current champ are actually fighting.

https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2021/11/ufc-fight-night-beneil-dariush-vs-islam-makhachev-booked-feb-26

Dariush vs Makhachev is gonna decide the number one contender after Gaethje gets his title fight (I'm speculating but it seems clear). Dariush is REALLY good at grappling and scrambling, Makhachev needs no introduction. This will be a LOT of fun to watch.

Also we got a dope weekend docket in terms of main events. My guy Kyoji Horiguchi is back in Bellator to fight Sergio Pettis for a title he rescinded due to an ACL tear. He's one of my top-3 favorite fighters, explosive with KO power on a Karate base that is really rare at 125. Him not being in the UFC is a travesty, but Sergio Pettis is a GREAT opponent.

I'll do the UFC next, but I gotta run so expect an edit

Font vs. Aldo Fight Night. I’m especially looking forward to the Riddel-Fiziev fight.