Official MMA discussion thread pt 3 UFC 318: Dustin Poirier vs Max Holloway BMF fight, all strikers card

[j4remi]

I cant see ilia not getting a title shot. It would be insane for him to vacate the belt for a contender fight.

That's an idiotic rule to be honest, you'd think they'd want guys to be double champs. Having a guy vacate his belt cheapens it for the next person that wins it, because it'll always be "You didn't beat the champ" to get it.

That's generally the debate, but the trade-off of keeping divisions going and having more reliable schedules for each title defense might be better for business.

Most double-champs have failed to remain active in both divisions. Also, I'm not sure if it's my bias or the stats would support it but it feels like guys that bounce up and down weight-classes fall off fast (Volkanovski being a recent example, Roy Jones Jr being my most memorable fall).

It's also worth noting that UFC originally had a "no double-champs" policy. I remember a long period of MMA fans wanting GSP to fight Anderson Silva because they were long-term P4P #1 and 2. But Dana White would always default to UFC policy to shoot it down. If I remember right, it took Conor McGregor's massive drawing power to overturn the policy.

a few interesting things. seems like dana isn't really dead set on an ilia vs islam superfight at 155 right now and what diego lopes said about no more double champs going forward is kind of half true. they'd just be expected to get busy and actually defend both belts now rather than what was going on in the past where they just held the divisions up for a while.

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seems like ilia wants nothing but a title shot though. not sure what leverage he has here since he just vacated..?

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I get why Ilia wouldn't want a contender's fight, but I'm guessing the UFC could change that by sweetening their offer. The expectation of double-champs defending both titles makes a lot of sense, since PPV's depend on those title fights at the top. I'd prefer the UFC discourage guys from moving up and down classes too frequently because I feel like it hurts fighter health

...but then again, I just think the UFC and MMA in general needs better rules about weight cutting. It sometimes feels like being a division champ comes down to being better at weight-cutting. Frankie Edgar is that last guy I can recall that truly felt undersized in his division, though Jiri has a case since he consistently claims he could make 185.

[Ghetto Gospel]

I get why Ilia wouldn't want a contender's fight, but I'm guessing the UFC could change that by sweetening their offer. The expectation of double-champs defending both titles makes a lot of sense, since PPV's depend on those title fights at the top. I'd prefer the UFC discourage guys from moving up and down classes too frequently because I feel like it hurts fighter health

...but then again, I just think the UFC and MMA in general needs better rules about weight cutting. It sometimes feels like being a division champ comes down to being better at weight-cutting. Frankie Edgar is that last guy I can recall that truly felt undersized in his division, though Jiri has a case since he consistently claims he could make 185.

i think anytime you change weight cutting rules, you have to consider that every fighter basically goes up 1 or 2 weight classes and that would involve potentially stripping champions or having current champions not able to make the weight anymore under the new rules and i don't think the UFC wants that.

i think having some form of olympic wrestling type weigh in before and after the fight would be cool just for "purity of the sport purposes" but i don't think the UFC cares about that given the obvious PED use, and the blatant cheating between the eye pokes, fence/glove grabs etc. imagine volk knocking out diego lopes then failing the day 2 weigh in only to get DQ'd and diego becoming champion? kind of a nightmare scenario for the UFC. just trying to keep the sport entertaining is where the money's at and where the UFC's at i suppose

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I cant see ilia not getting a title shot. It would be insane for him to vacate the belt for a contender fight.

That's an idiotic rule to be honest, you'd think they'd want guys to be double champs. Having a guy vacate his belt cheapens it for the next person that wins it, because it'll always be "You didn't beat the champ" to get it.

That's generally the debate, but the trade-off of keeping divisions going and having more reliable schedules for each title defense might be better for business.

Most double-champs have failed to remain active in both divisions. Also, I'm not sure if it's my bias or the stats would support it but it feels like guys that bounce up and down weight-classes fall off fast (Volkanovski being a recent example, Roy Jones Jr being my most memorable fall).

It's also worth noting that UFC originally had a "no double-champs" policy. I remember a long period of MMA fans wanting GSP to fight Anderson Silva because they were long-term P4P #1 and 2. But Dana White would always default to UFC policy to shoot it down. If I remember right, it took Conor McGregor's massive drawing power to overturn the policy.

a few interesting things. seems like dana isn't really dead set on an ilia vs islam superfight at 155 right now and what diego lopes said about no more double champs going forward is kind of half true. they'd just be expected to get busy and actually defend both belts now rather than what was going on in the past where they just held the divisions up for a while.

Read on Twitter

seems like ilia wants nothing but a title shot though. not sure what leverage he has here since he just vacated..?

Read on Twitter

I get why Ilia wouldn't want a contender's fight, but I'm guessing the UFC could change that by sweetening their offer. The expectation of double-champs defending both titles makes a lot of sense, since PPV's depend on those title fights at the top. I'd prefer the UFC discourage guys from moving up and down classes too frequently because I feel like it hurts fighter health

...but then again, I just think the UFC and MMA in general needs better rules about weight cutting. It sometimes feels like being a division champ comes down to being better at weight-cutting. Frankie Edgar is that last guy I can recall that truly felt undersized in his division, though Jiri has a case since he consistently claims he could make 185.

Why'd you have to remind me of Roy getting sparked like that?






And the UFC does need better weight cutting rules, their weight cuts seem far more extreme than boxing. You hear guys who walk around at 190-200lbs that fight at 155lbs, that will always be insane to me.

[j4remi]

i think anytime you change weight cutting rules, you have to consider that every fighter basically goes up 1 or 2 weight classes and that would involve potentially stripping champions or having current champions not able to make the weight anymore under the new rules and i don't think the UFC wants that.

i think having some form of olympic wrestling type weigh in before and after the fight would be cool just for "purity of the sport purposes" but i don't think the UFC cares about that given the obvious PED use, and the blatant cheating between the eye pokes, fence/glove grabs etc. imagine volk knocking out diego lopes then failing the day 2 weigh in only to get DQ'd and diego becoming champion? kind of a nightmare scenario for the UFC. just trying to keep the sport entertaining is where the money's at and where the UFC's at i suppose

Yeah, I think it's a back-burner issue for the UFC because of how it would upend the divisions. But for fighter health, healthy competition, and to make things more "even," I would institute rehydration rules. A fighter should have to stick within a certain percentage of the fight-weight during fight camp and on fight-day. So, a fighter could make weight at 155 but we'd say, they can't weigh more than 10% above that at any time during the 8 weeks prior to the fight or on the morning of the fight.

I do take your point though, that the UFC doesn't care much about rule-breaking and that they'd rather not risk losing a fight between two healthy guys when its so close to an event. But with fighters remaining at actually HEALTHY weights, it'd be a lot less taxing for someone to be a back-up. In fact, theoretically, everyone in the division would be within range to make weight on short notice.

About UFC caring for fighter's health
And just to add to the "UFC dgaf about rule-breaking," I'd like to shout out the mess this weekend. Song Yadong poked Henry Cejudo EGREGIOUSLY. No point was taken, but the fight was stopped after the round because Henry couldn't see...only the fight had gone long enough that it went to the score cards and Yadong won a decision where his eye poke was the most significant factor.

That's a reminder that the UFC went back to the old gloves that had a ton of eye poke issues. They changed those gloves for a while, and reduced eye-pokes but also saw a drastic drop-off in KO's. So, they switched back to the old gloves and the eye pokes are back. But they could have always taken the glove designs that have worked for multiple organizations since PRIDE fighting still existed. They just won't do it.

Why'd you have to remind me of Roy getting sparked like that?




And the UFC does need better weight cutting rules, their weight cuts seem far more extreme than boxing. You hear guys who walk around at 190-200lbs that fight at 155lbs, that will always be insane to me.

Man, I'm sorry I had to bring up RJJ. To this day, I consider Prime RJJ to be my favorite boxer to watch. He was untouchable. But he went as high as he could in weight classes, and came back down looking a step slower which was all it took for his untouchable status to go away.

The weight cuts are insane, and it feels like they've only gotten worse. Guys are way oversized for their divisions. I think Mighty Mouse would be the consensus GOAT if he didn't spend half his career competing against much bigger guys. I'm from the PRIDE generation that romanticizes the all-weight grand prix's, but when there's divisions...I want a 185'er to actually look like a 185'er and not to be a guy that can fight HWs comfortably.

[Guano]

i think anytime you change weight cutting rules, you have to consider that every fighter basically goes up 1 or 2 weight classes and that would involve potentially stripping champions or having current champions not able to make the weight anymore under the new rules and i don't think the UFC wants that.

i think having some form of olympic wrestling type weigh in before and after the fight would be cool just for "purity of the sport purposes" but i don't think the UFC cares about that given the obvious PED use, and the blatant cheating between the eye pokes, fence/glove grabs etc. imagine volk knocking out diego lopes then failing the day 2 weigh in only to get DQ'd and diego becoming champion? kind of a nightmare scenario for the UFC. just trying to keep the sport entertaining is where the money's at and where the UFC's at i suppose

Yeah, I think it's a back-burner issue for the UFC because of how it would upend the divisions. But for fighter health, healthy competition, and to make things more "even," I would institute rehydration rules. A fighter should have to stick within a certain percentage of the fight-weight during fight camp and on fight-day. So, a fighter could make weight at 155 but we'd say, they can't weigh more than 10% above that at any time during the 8 weeks prior to the fight or on the morning of the fight.

I do take your point though, that the UFC doesn't care much about rule-breaking and that they'd rather not risk losing a fight between two healthy guys when its so close to an event. But with fighters remaining at actually HEALTHY weights, it'd be a lot less taxing for someone to be a back-up. In fact, theoretically, everyone in the division would be within range to make weight on short notice.

About UFC caring for fighter's health
And just to add to the "UFC dgaf about rule-breaking," I'd like to shout out the mess this weekend. Song Yadong poked Henry Cejudo EGREGIOUSLY. No point was taken, but the fight was stopped after the round because Henry couldn't see...only the fight had gone long enough that it went to the score cards and Yadong won a decision where his eye poke was the most significant factor.

That's a reminder that the UFC went back to the old gloves that had a ton of eye poke issues. They changed those gloves for a while, and reduced eye-pokes but also saw a drastic drop-off in KO's. So, they switched back to the old gloves and the eye pokes are back. But they could have always taken the glove designs that have worked for multiple organizations since PRIDE fighting still existed. They just won't do it.

Why'd you have to remind me of Roy getting sparked like that?




And the UFC does need better weight cutting rules, their weight cuts seem far more extreme than boxing. You hear guys who walk around at 190-200lbs that fight at 155lbs, that will always be insane to me.

Man, I'm sorry I had to bring up RJJ. To this day, I consider Prime RJJ to be my favorite boxer to watch. He was untouchable. But he went as high as he could in weight classes, and came back down looking a step slower which was all it took for his untouchable status to go away.

The weight cuts are insane, and it feels like they've only gotten worse. Guys are way oversized for their divisions. I think Mighty Mouse would be the consensus GOAT if he didn't spend half his career competing against much bigger guys. I'm from the PRIDE generation that romanticizes the all-weight grand prix's, but when there's divisions...I want a 185'er to actually look like a 185'er and not to be a guy that can fight HWs comfortably.

To this day that flying armbar MM locked in is the most memorable athletic move I've seen in a fight.


As for the ilia situation I don't see how he doesn't get the immediate title shot. I normally don't like guys jumping a division and getting a title shot or the double championship bullchit. But in this case he is vacating the belt and there isn't anyone who is deserving - Arman missed his shot.

Plus I'm selfish and just want to see this fight. I'm an Islam fan but tend to lean towards ilia starching him. All depends if he can keep it standing and isn't afraid to let his hands go in fear of a takedown. It's such an interesting match up that I just want to see play out. I hope we get it.

Also, bummed the gathje v hooker fight is off. The sheer violence of that fight would've been legendary

[Ghetto Gospel]

i think anytime you change weight cutting rules, you have to consider that every fighter basically goes up 1 or 2 weight classes and that would involve potentially stripping champions or having current champions not able to make the weight anymore under the new rules and i don't think the UFC wants that.

i think having some form of olympic wrestling type weigh in before and after the fight would be cool just for "purity of the sport purposes" but i don't think the UFC cares about that given the obvious PED use, and the blatant cheating between the eye pokes, fence/glove grabs etc. imagine volk knocking out diego lopes then failing the day 2 weigh in only to get DQ'd and diego becoming champion? kind of a nightmare scenario for the UFC. just trying to keep the sport entertaining is where the money's at and where the UFC's at i suppose

Yeah, I think it's a back-burner issue for the UFC because of how it would upend the divisions. But for fighter health, healthy competition, and to make things more "even," I would institute rehydration rules. A fighter should have to stick within a certain percentage of the fight-weight during fight camp and on fight-day. So, a fighter could make weight at 155 but we'd say, they can't weigh more than 10% above that at any time during the 8 weeks prior to the fight or on the morning of the fight.

I do take your point though, that the UFC doesn't care much about rule-breaking and that they'd rather not risk losing a fight between two healthy guys when its so close to an event. But with fighters remaining at actually HEALTHY weights, it'd be a lot less taxing for someone to be a back-up. In fact, theoretically, everyone in the division would be within range to make weight on short notice.

About UFC caring for fighter's health
And just to add to the "UFC dgaf about rule-breaking," I'd like to shout out the mess this weekend. Song Yadong poked Henry Cejudo EGREGIOUSLY. No point was taken, but the fight was stopped after the round because Henry couldn't see...only the fight had gone long enough that it went to the score cards and Yadong won a decision where his eye poke was the most significant factor.

That's a reminder that the UFC went back to the old gloves that had a ton of eye poke issues. They changed those gloves for a while, and reduced eye-pokes but also saw a drastic drop-off in KO's. So, they switched back to the old gloves and the eye pokes are back. But they could have always taken the glove designs that have worked for multiple organizations since PRIDE fighting still existed. They just won't do it.

Why'd you have to remind me of Roy getting sparked like that?




And the UFC does need better weight cutting rules, their weight cuts seem far more extreme than boxing. You hear guys who walk around at 190-200lbs that fight at 155lbs, that will always be insane to me.

Man, I'm sorry I had to bring up RJJ. To this day, I consider Prime RJJ to be my favorite boxer to watch. He was untouchable. But he went as high as he could in weight classes, and came back down looking a step slower which was all it took for his untouchable status to go away.

The weight cuts are insane, and it feels like they've only gotten worse. Guys are way oversized for their divisions. I think Mighty Mouse would be the consensus GOAT if he didn't spend half his career competing against much bigger guys. I'm from the PRIDE generation that romanticizes the all-weight grand prix's, but when there's divisions...I want a 185'er to actually look like a 185'er and not to be a guy that can fight HWs comfortably.

To this day that flying armbar MM locked in is the most memorable athletic move I've seen in a fight.


As for the ilia situation I don't see how he doesn't get the immediate title shot. I normally don't like guys jumping a division and getting a title shot or the double championship bullchit. But in this case he is vacating the belt and there isn't anyone who is deserving - Arman missed his shot.

Plus I'm selfish and just want to see this fight. I'm an Islam fan but tend to lean towards ilia starching him. All depends if he can keep it standing and isn't afraid to let his hands go in fear of a takedown. It's such an interesting match up that I just want to see play out. I hope we get it.

Also, bummed the gathje v hooker fight is off. The sheer violence of that fight would've been legendary

imagine going from gaethje vs hooker to gaethje vs gamrot

Read on Twitter

[Guano]

Yeah, I think it's a back-burner issue for the UFC because of how it would upend the divisions. But for fighter health, healthy competition, and to make things more "even," I would institute rehydration rules. A fighter should have to stick within a certain percentage of the fight-weight during fight camp and on fight-day. So, a fighter could make weight at 155 but we'd say, they can't weigh more than 10% above that at any time during the 8 weeks prior to the fight or on the morning of the fight.

I do take your point though, that the UFC doesn't care much about rule-breaking and that they'd rather not risk losing a fight between two healthy guys when its so close to an event. But with fighters remaining at actually HEALTHY weights, it'd be a lot less taxing for someone to be a back-up. In fact, theoretically, everyone in the division would be within range to make weight on short notice.

About UFC caring for fighter's health
And just to add to the "UFC dgaf about rule-breaking," I'd like to shout out the mess this weekend. Song Yadong poked Henry Cejudo EGREGIOUSLY. No point was taken, but the fight was stopped after the round because Henry couldn't see...only the fight had gone long enough that it went to the score cards and Yadong won a decision where his eye poke was the most significant factor.

That's a reminder that the UFC went back to the old gloves that had a ton of eye poke issues. They changed those gloves for a while, and reduced eye-pokes but also saw a drastic drop-off in KO's. So, they switched back to the old gloves and the eye pokes are back. But they could have always taken the glove designs that have worked for multiple organizations since PRIDE fighting still existed. They just won't do it.




Man, I'm sorry I had to bring up RJJ. To this day, I consider Prime RJJ to be my favorite boxer to watch. He was untouchable. But he went as high as he could in weight classes, and came back down looking a step slower which was all it took for his untouchable status to go away.

The weight cuts are insane, and it feels like they've only gotten worse. Guys are way oversized for their divisions. I think Mighty Mouse would be the consensus GOAT if he didn't spend half his career competing against much bigger guys. I'm from the PRIDE generation that romanticizes the all-weight grand prix's, but when there's divisions...I want a 185'er to actually look like a 185'er and not to be a guy that can fight HWs comfortably.

To this day that flying armbar MM locked in is the most memorable athletic move I've seen in a fight.


As for the ilia situation I don't see how he doesn't get the immediate title shot. I normally don't like guys jumping a division and getting a title shot or the double championship bullchit. But in this case he is vacating the belt and there isn't anyone who is deserving - Arman missed his shot.

Plus I'm selfish and just want to see this fight. I'm an Islam fan but tend to lean towards ilia starching him. All depends if he can keep it standing and isn't afraid to let his hands go in fear of a takedown. It's such an interesting match up that I just want to see play out. I hope we get it.

Also, bummed the gathje v hooker fight is off. The sheer violence of that fight would've been legendary

imagine going from gaethje vs hooker to gaethje vs gamrot

Read on Twitter

[NoDopeOnSundays]

i think anytime you change weight cutting rules, you have to consider that every fighter basically goes up 1 or 2 weight classes and that would involve potentially stripping champions or having current champions not able to make the weight anymore under the new rules and i don't think the UFC wants that.

i think having some form of olympic wrestling type weigh in before and after the fight would be cool just for "purity of the sport purposes" but i don't think the UFC cares about that given the obvious PED use, and the blatant cheating between the eye pokes, fence/glove grabs etc. imagine volk knocking out diego lopes then failing the day 2 weigh in only to get DQ'd and diego becoming champion? kind of a nightmare scenario for the UFC. just trying to keep the sport entertaining is where the money's at and where the UFC's at i suppose

Yeah, I think it's a back-burner issue for the UFC because of how it would upend the divisions. But for fighter health, healthy competition, and to make things more "even," I would institute rehydration rules. A fighter should have to stick within a certain percentage of the fight-weight during fight camp and on fight-day. So, a fighter could make weight at 155 but we'd say, they can't weigh more than 10% above that at any time during the 8 weeks prior to the fight or on the morning of the fight.

I do take your point though, that the UFC doesn't care much about rule-breaking and that they'd rather not risk losing a fight between two healthy guys when its so close to an event. But with fighters remaining at actually HEALTHY weights, it'd be a lot less taxing for someone to be a back-up. In fact, theoretically, everyone in the division would be within range to make weight on short notice.

About UFC caring for fighter's health
And just to add to the "UFC dgaf about rule-breaking," I'd like to shout out the mess this weekend. Song Yadong poked Henry Cejudo EGREGIOUSLY. No point was taken, but the fight was stopped after the round because Henry couldn't see...only the fight had gone long enough that it went to the score cards and Yadong won a decision where his eye poke was the most significant factor.

That's a reminder that the UFC went back to the old gloves that had a ton of eye poke issues. They changed those gloves for a while, and reduced eye-pokes but also saw a drastic drop-off in KO's. So, they switched back to the old gloves and the eye pokes are back. But they could have always taken the glove designs that have worked for multiple organizations since PRIDE fighting still existed. They just won't do it.

Why'd you have to remind me of Roy getting sparked like that?




And the UFC does need better weight cutting rules, their weight cuts seem far more extreme than boxing. You hear guys who walk around at 190-200lbs that fight at 155lbs, that will always be insane to me.

Man, I'm sorry I had to bring up RJJ. To this day, I consider Prime RJJ to be my favorite boxer to watch. He was untouchable. But he went as high as he could in weight classes, and came back down looking a step slower which was all it took for his untouchable status to go away.

The weight cuts are insane, and it feels like they've only gotten worse. Guys are way oversized for their divisions. I think Mighty Mouse would be the consensus GOAT if he didn't spend half his career competing against much bigger guys. I'm from the PRIDE generation that romanticizes the all-weight grand prix's, but when there's divisions...I want a 185'er to actually look like a 185'er and not to be a guy that can fight HWs comfortably.

"Got any excuses tonight, Roy?"




Roy should have stayed at heavyweight, after seeing what Usyk has done there's no doubt in my mind Roy would have beaten Byrd and Brewster. Vitali may have been too big for him, but he could have fought Mike in 2005 and beaten him at heavyweight.



UFC needs more weight divisions, there's just not enough of them which is what leads to the weight cuts. The UFC has dodged bullets so far, but eventually one of these fighters is going to die from dehydration during a cut.

[j4remi]

To this day that flying armbar MM locked in is the most memorable athletic move I've seen in a fight.


As for the ilia situation I don't see how he doesn't get the immediate title shot. I normally don't like guys jumping a division and getting a title shot or the double championship bullchit. But in this case he is vacating the belt and there isn't anyone who is deserving - Arman missed his shot.

Plus I'm selfish and just want to see this fight. I'm an Islam fan but tend to lean towards ilia starching him. All depends if he can keep it standing and isn't afraid to let his hands go in fear of a takedown. It's such an interesting match up that I just want to see play out. I hope we get it.

Also, bummed the gathje v hooker fight is off. The sheer violence of that fight would've been legendary

imagine going from gaethje vs hooker to gaethje vs gamrot

Read on Twitter

Salute to one of the greatest finishes in title-fight history:




Of all the options for Gaethje, they managed to pick the worst possible one...the only guy that could threaten Gaethje's Performance Bonus streak in non-title fights (he's gotten FOTN or POTN in every non-title fight since entering the UFC).

Dariush coulda been interesting; Fiziev would have been fun; Jalin Turner woulda been my pick even though he's a bit lower ranked. But they went with the guy who shoots more than he jabs,

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Watch on YouTube

Guan0, you and the milita gonna be up on the mountain watching 313 tonight?

[j4remi]

I've been slacking. Tonight's a pretty good PPV, UFC 313 Pereira vs Ankalaev and Gaethje vs Fiziev. Been a busy week.

So quick picks:
- I got Pereira over Ankalaev, though it's not a sure-thing since Magomed's wrestling and submissions SHOULD add an interesting element to the fight. But I still like Alex to leg kick and left hook his way to a win.

- Gaethje vs Fiziev is a toss-up for me. Both guys coming back from long layoffs, Fiziev for serious knee injury and Gaethje for getting his chin taken off. I have no idea what either guy will look like. Gaethje won the first time, but it was close...

- I like Turner over Bahamondes, but my usual disclaimer applies. Turner's talent outweighs his results right now, but I think he'll put it together soon and become a PROBLEM.

- Ruffy looks huge, and everyone has him beating Green. I like Green, so I hope not, but Ruffy seems like the real deal.

- The prelim fights are genuinely worth throwing on. I really like Joshua Van vs Rin Tsuruya to be exciting. Van doesn't let fights get boring.

[j4remi]

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?s=46&t=c7eg_0vf10KosEyBJaEgQw

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Ank won that pretty easily, kept Alex on his backfoot the entire fight.

[Ghetto Gospel]

pereira forgot he has hands or something, just calf kick after calf kick

[Ghetto Gospel]

well at least jon jones has no excuse to keep ducking aspinall now so hopefully that fight gets made expeditiously

[HarthorneWingo]

Ank won that pretty easily, kept Alex on his backfoot the entire fight.

Except for the first round.

[HarthorneWingo]

Justin Gaethje is a freak of nature. I believe that he has very high bone density. I think he’s even spoken about that. His head is made of stone, lol.

So who does Gaethje fight next?

[j4remi]

1,5 for Pereira; 2,4 for Ankalaev; 3 was a toss-up. That fight sucked. Pereira saw the takedown attempt to end the first round and completely shelled up until the fifth, where he landed the head kick which is enough to win a round where neither guy lands anything else consequential.

I really think they need to start punishing failed takedown attempts on the scorecards. It makes for boring fights when guys can wall stall through entire rounds, and 0-12 takedown attempts is just ugly in a close fight. Ank did enough to win, but I hate seeing the title go to a performance like that.

Alex should be kicking himself for that performance too. He feared the level change too much to let his hands go, and those calf kicks don't hit the same when he's on his backfoot. Jan Blachowicz was more effective against Ank with leg kicks...and everywhere else really. I edged Jan over Ank when they fought.

[j4remi]

Justin Gaethje is a freak of nature. I believe that he has very high bone density. I think he’s even spoken about that. His head is made of stone, lol.

So who does Gaethje fight next?

Personally, I'd like to see him against Tsarukyan. Ilia vs Islam; Justin vs Arman (determines the next contender); Oliveira vs Max 2 (lines up the winner to be in the next contention-deciding fight, and also gives the fans an amazing fight).

Bahamondes from last night should fight Pimblett. That would be all sorts of fun.

[Ghetto Gospel]

Justin Gaethje is a freak of nature. I believe that he has very high bone density. I think he’s even spoken about that. His head is made of stone, lol.

So who does Gaethje fight next?

Personally, I'd like to see him against Tsarukyan. Ilia vs Islam; Justin vs Arman (determines the next contender); Oliveira vs Max 2 (lines up the winner to be in the next contention-deciding fight, and also gives the fans an amazing fight).

Bahamondes from last night should fight Pimblett. That would be all sorts of fun.

arman vs justin sounds like it has the potential to be a great fight and possibly an upset. right now the allegations against justin is that he has no ground game but that's because of the aftermath of the khabib fight who makes everyone look like they have no ground game. is justin can keep the fight standing watch out..